Fantastically Uneventful

This week was fantastically uneventful. If I were to give you an update of every one of our investigators it would go something like this.

(INVESTIGATOR) has visited with the missionaries for some years now and really has the desire to progress and get baptized. BUT unfortunately he/she has to (Insert one or more of the following)

a) get divorced
b) get married
c) get divorced then get married
d) quit smoking
e) get divorced, married, quit smoking

Ok, don`t get me wrong. I love the people we`re visiting right now. The redundancy of the situations just starts to get to you.

I have a less active Hermana in my ward who we`ve been sent by the bishop to reactivate. She was raised in Brazil so I get to learn a little Portuguese every time I go. I don´t have much hope of communicating with Scott by the time I get home, but it`s fun anyway. Also she loves to cook. We had dinner with her last week. A truly exotic dish for Argentines. Rice and beans. I hadn`t eaten rice and beans since the MTC. It was quite the treat. I never knew something so simple could taste so good. I think of Scott every time I go. We have dinner again tonight which is definitely something to look forward to.

Also, an Hmno in our ward is a war veteran. He somehow was involved in the conflict in Yugoslavia a few years back. Fighting in a place we now know as Croatia. Never thought I`d find a link between Croatia and Argentina, but I got to talk a bit about his experiences. He had a Spanish grammar book to learn Croatian and I studied a bit. Suddenly I was very grateful to just be learning Spanish. So I`ve felt close to both my brothers this week.

Another experience (As I’m short on time this week, and seriously, not a lot has happened in Burzaco) as we were walking, I got chased by my first dog. Mind you chased. Not bitten. That was an experience. We were walking down the street when all of the sudden a big Rottweiler got away from its owners and began bounding toward me. I froze, and then adrenaline kicked in and I started to panic giving it a good chase. I started taking off my backpack in hopes of giving it something to chew on other than my flesh but at that point its owners had already caught detained the mighty beast as I continued running, saved another day. Those dogs are man eaters. I hope to have a better dog story by the end of my mission. but for now that`s all I have. I can only imagine how ridiculous it must look to the average argentine bystander, sitting outside on the porch drinking mate. When an abnormally tall Yankee starts running down the street in a shirt and tie trying to strip off the backpack all this with a Rottweiler trailing close behind. Elder Sanchez was very amused. Every time we see a dog he starts laughing and tells me to watch out.

I love this church. I know it`s true. I never cease to learn things from the Book of Mormon. It really is the keystone of our religion. I`m always impressed to see that the things I read there can apply so specifically to my work.