He is HOME........

What an amazing day to see him walk down that airport hallway.....joy and thankfulness abounding.  Thanks to all of you who have supported him in this journey, give him a call, he would probably love to chat:)  907-315-0112

I Like This Area The Best.....

 I kinda got the last two out of order....sorry

Hey there,
My week was good. I have had the opportunity to help out a lot of

 missionaries in these past weeks and we are starting to see the results

of it all. We are trying to find the right people and as we are doing as the Lord
has commanded with the tools he has given us, we are trying to do our
best. I haven´t really been blessed to see a lot of the fruit of my
labors while I´ve been here in Argentina, but I´m sure some day I will
find it out. I hope it is actually something haha. I have been putting
forth my best efforts and I know that my Father in Heaven knows it.
Thanks for supporting me for every step dad, your the best.
Love, Elder Hayden Summers

Mom... HI!
My week was busy and fast. I like this area the best out of any of my
previous ones! It has the mountains close-ish and I can see them and
the snow that they have covering them! I never realized how much I
missed the mountains until I got to this area. Also this area has had
good missionaries here before me. That means that there are good
people here to work with and we can find even more good ones from
them. But now for this last transfer the
area is good and we can only make it better. This week me and my comp
led the mission, so that was cool. Its crazy what can happen when you
have a comp that wants to work just as hard as you do! Love you mom!
Be safe and stay spunky :)

It Really Stinks.....

Hello Mom,
Me and my companion are trying our hardest to keep doing

 what we are supposed to do. It really
stinks that people have agency sometimes haha. I cant imagine how hard
it was for our Father in Heaven to send us all here and know that some
of us would use that wonderful power of agency for bad things. I cant
fathom it and when I see people making bad choices and not doing
as they are supposed to it hurts me, and I´m not even their father
haha. I guess I´ve become to understand that the things that God goes
through are totally something meant for an eternal and perfect being
with all the exact attributes that we are to learn and develop here.
Just something that I´ve been pondering lately. But we found a lot of
new people to teach this week and we actually just need to get them
all to come to church and they can get in the water and get baptized
by fire! Love you mom! Ttyl

Hey dad,
My week was good
and me and my comp are killing it here. I feel like I am finally seeing
somewhat of success in my mission. We were the top companionship in the
mission again and I can only see us working harder and harder all the
way until the end. I am so grateful to have you guys supporting me,
there are some missionaries who dont have that. Thanks dad, your
awesome. Love ya pops.

Endure To The End.....

Hey you,
           Well on the subject of time, I dont like it hah. It never
stops, it slows down when you want it fast, and it flies by when you
want it to last longer, it seems to never be on our side. I heard from
somewhere that the Lord allows time to slow down for us during hard
trials so that we can have time to learn more out of the experience,
interesting right?
My week was good, I traveled to the mission offices for some random
meetings and such, it was like a 4 hour bus ride there and back again.
I found that I´m being transfered to a place called Valle de Uco to be
with my old comp  from Texas. It’ll be a great transfer with
him, at least I´ll look at it that way for now haha. It´ll be good. It
doesnt matter how many people Texas has, Alaska will still be 3 times
bigger than them. I will miss this area but it is time for a change. I
tried my best to leave the ward better than how it was when I came, I
hope that I succeeded. I promised myself that I would not be the
missionary that relaxes for the last bit of his mission. I am trying
my best to stay the most obedient that I can. 6:30 in the morning gets
earlier and earlier every day haha. ENDURE TO THE END! Then once the
end arrives, keep enduring. Chau dad!

Whats up my mom!
I would like to say that conference blew my
holy socks off! When I say holy, I don’t mean spiritual... So yeah it
was amazing and I think that all the talks touched on something really
important. It seemed to me that many of the messages talked about
being able to act on a spiritual prompting without doubting and
completely confiding in the Lord. That is quite the challenge to act
on something that we feel without knowing how it will turn out, but
the Lord knows a LOT more than we do and I would think that he knows
what he is doing haha. Yes he knows exactly whats up. We are at the
beginning of my very last transfer in the mission. I am getting moved
to a place called Valle de Uco.  He isthe same comp that I had basically

 almost exactly a whole year ago in Rivadavia. Isnt that wierd?

I was taken aback. I have been
going through probably the most trying time of my mission in these
last few weeks and I have been pushed beyond any limits that I ever
had before the mission. The gift of being able to bite my tongue and
not just say whatever I want to that hurts everyone around me has
finally been entrusted to me, for the most part haha. At least when it
matters I think haha. I just have a new and crazy experience everyday
that fills my journal right up line by line, and fills my experience
bar up as if I was leveling up in the game of the mission daily! I
have never felt such fast progression in my life and it is almost
scary to me because each day I dont know what will happen or how to
handle it, but it is givin to me in the moment, just at the exact
right time! Its the coolest thing EVER! Its nice knowing that I´m not
on my own and that the Lord walks with me and helps me along the way,
as long as I am worthy of such divine help. I dont want it to end!! But oh well,

 thats life right haha.

My Heavenly Father Loves The Stuffing Out Of Me....

Sup pops,
I cant believe that football is over already for you guys.
The work here continues on. I wrote mom about the tough times that are
showing up in my way these days, but its not a big deal, endure to the
end!! I love being a missionary and it is the best thing that could´ve
ever happened to me. Its so cool that I have this time to serve and to
grow and help others progress. I get much more excited to see other
people progressing than to see my own little progress haha. It is just
such a joy filled life, but I dont know where the joy comes from
because I hardly ever have real success here and the people sometimes
won´t even give us the time of day (that happens for real) but I feel
more light in my life than EVER! Yup its awesome. I wish to keep
growing and keep moving forward with my understanding of the gospel
and the great work which is the Lord´s. His hand is over us and will
always help us if we are to just submit to him and his will as a
little child. Love ya dad!  Scripture of the week: 1 Corinthians 15:58

Hey mom!
Anyways my week
was good. It was really hard and I am finding myself in situations
that are trying me in more ways than I can count haha. Its super
great! I guess the Lord wants me to really grow in these moments that
I have here. I am totally down for whatever he wants to throw at me!
It is harder than ever but really I feel that I am not alone in all
this. That feeling of not having to do it all by myself is something
that I have always longed for, I am way grateful to be able to feel
it now more than ever and to know that my Father in Heaven loves the
stuffing out of me :) Conference countdown!! It will be epic and
amazing and filled with food... At least for those who get to watch it
at home, or if your a missionary and bring all sorts of junk to snack
and munch on. I realized last time that I brought snacks that made
really loud noises and sounds and distracted from the talks so this
time I will be planning that out better. Silent food? Does that exist?
At least not for dad, it makes its appearance one way or another... I
hope you have another busy but fulfilling week mom! Love you lots!!

Thanks Everybody......

Why thank you so much mom for wishing me a good bday. Actually on the
bloggy blog I want to thank the few people who wished me a good day as
well because I dont really have time to write everybody back haha so
THANKS EVERYBODY! My birthday present from the Lord was an opportunity
to baptize our investigator! We have been working with her for four
months, I found her when I got to this area and now she got all
purified and stuff. It was the coolest gift I could´ve gotten here. We
did a big asado at night and partied a bit. The week went by pretty
fast. We are just trying to find more people to teach, it seems as if
that is always the story. But little by little this ward is growing.
As long as we are going forwards we arent going back! Have a great week
mom, your the best.
Love from me, like, alot :)

The longest distance I traveled this week was a half hour bus ride to a
place to go and work with some peeps haha. But I think that I am going
to miss how much we walk here. I have fallin in love with walking and
just soaking in my surroundings. The smells, well, I could do without
some of those, but for the most part its a great experience. I
remember that on road trips I would just play my gameboy or just
always be looking at what wasn´t outside. Man I have learned that the
world is just a beautiful place and I want to travel a bunch so I can
see it all. Sometimes I really feel that I am just a little pawn in this

 world and that the Lord just moves me around to different people

and situations and that He has all of the control. I am not complaining

 at all haha because He knows light years more than I do and I am

 glad that I can confide in his hand so that I can hopefully do His will here.

 I am not even close to perfect but I know that with the help of Christ it

 is possible to get there.
Love you dad! Hasta luegito papa

Even Though It Was a Little Thing.....

It rained a bunch here and
we got really wet walking in the streets all day long. You´d think
that the people would have compassion on two young dudes walking in
the storm and knocking doors. You´d think that they would at least let
you in to warm up or to have a glass of water. But if you thought that
way, you´d be thinking wrong.. The rain seemed to just give everyone a
lame reason to just turn a servent of the Lord away from trying to
save thier souls. I have a new comp now too from California.

 He got here on wednesday and my comp left to go to
San Juan. I hope your week is better than the last and that Fishman
can run the ball some more. Love you dad, the mission is awesome!!

We got to see the re-dedication of the Buenos Aires temple on sunday and the cultural
celebration on saturday. They were both really cool. I have never seen
either of those two things before. I found out that Elder D. Todd
Christopherson speaks spanish way well! He served his mission in
Argentina and still speaks way fluently. I could only spot a few
errors when he was talking, but it was on really tough stuff so he has
a whole new coolness level in my book. With getting a new comp and
all, it made this week kind of drag along. He has lots of ganas to
work and also knows alot about college and technology. It is way cool
too because I had been pretty lost on the school thing and he got here
just in time to help take out a lot of my doubts and questions. I just
love how the Lord knows us all and answers prayers in his ways, my new
comp, being here is an answer to my prayers and it
never stops amazing me of how loving our Father in Heaven really is to
us. I love it when little things like this happen, it makes my
testimony grow a ton more, even though it was a little thing. Have a
safe week and I´ll ttyl :) LOVE YOU!!

We Are All Stoked....

Sup Pops,
 These past few days have been in the70´s or 80´s I think.

Its been pretty warm and there is still another
month left of winter here haha. Aparently there is a big annual storm
that rolls through here on August 30. It hasnt come yet but they say
its on its way. They call it the Santa Rosa haha. Your trip to Kodiak
sounds like it was a great experience of pain for you haha. I think I
am going through one of those experiences right now. Its all good
because with how fast time is going by it´ll get here uber fast. I
didn’t ever think that I would hear (or read) you say that church was
awesome before I started my mission. You seem to say that every week
now. I am way proud of you for getting stronger in the gospel and not
falling away like I see here so much in families that have
missionaries leave. Thanks for trying and just pushing along.
Love ya dad. Hasta la vista, baby

Hey momma,                  
    My week was good. This next sunday we are going to watch the
re-dedication of the Buenos Aires temple and we are all stoked! There
are three sessions but we are only allowed to watch one of them.. And
there is a cultural celebration on saturday that we are allowed to
watch as well. Me and my comp are tagging along at a very slow walking
speed haha.  I got the other shoe that was bent in half and Im going to
wear them today to see how they are. There is some colateral damage to the
structure of the shoesbecause of the extreme heat they must´ve endured on the
trip here but I think I can fix them. Thanks for everything mom I love you a ton
load!

A Strong Testimony of Studies....

Hey dad,
My week was well and we didnt really see that many great things.

 But we did find a couple of families that are really cool and are helping them
come back to church little by little. I have this talk that was given
by Alvin R. Dyer called ´For what purpose´. It is a great talk on
missionary work and the real purpose why we are doing this work in
these times. I dont read it very often but this last time I studied it
well and got a lot of cool information out of it. It explains why
there are different races on this planet and how here in the day of
this life, which starts with birth and ends after the spirit world, is
our only time to progress and try to better our standing in front of
God. It talks about a lot of cool things that just opened my mind. I
also started to study my Patriarichal Blessing in depth. I seperated
it into three catagories, blessings, talents, and the third catagory
is counsil and results of following the counsil. I have to say that it
is really really really sweet! In those moments too I felt like things
started clicking better and making more sense to me. I have developed
a strong testimony of studies here on the mission and to do it is
super important. I learned the reason behind why we study and that if
we dont we are only preventing ourselves from recieving even higher
revelation from our Father.  Love ya

Love you mom!!!!
The pics,
me and elder smith saying good bye to elder robinson,
mac´n´cheese!
one of the roads we walk everyday
one of the shoes you sent me that wont bend back to regularity... the
other is still in transit

It's Greatness....

Sup dad,
            I really like to hear that our ward is still producing
missionaries. Too bad none of them are coming here to good old
Argentina, I could´ve shown them the ropes down here. I remember when
you guys were saying spanish words on mothers day and I have your
voice stuck in my head of how you said the word queso hahaha,
priceless. The advice I like to give here to new people trying to
learn the language is that it will come when it needs to come, but to
be ready for that moment because it comes much sooner than you expect.
It usually helps them, I think... No one told me anything about that
stuff and kind of just left me hangin in that aspect. The work is still work

 and the key to working well is going to work. I am glad that I learned mostly

 how to work before the mission because now I have gotten better at it. I see
missionaries get here and they dont know how to put all they got into
something. Its not easy but at the end of the day when you lay down
and your legs just tingle for all the walking you did, you feel really
great. I strive for that feeling every night, a physical tiredness and
a spiritual tiredness as well. Its greatness.
Love ya dad, stay foggy (your hair)

Hello

My new companion arrived, he is a latino from Buenos Aires,
 He is pretty cool and we get along well. He has a walking
impedement form birth and walks really slow so I am having to adjust
to that. I dont know if I walked fast before the mission but I
definately do now! I dont mind it but its just different. Transfers come next
week I love the area and the people and everything but I would like to have my last three
months in a different place with all new things. If that doesnt happen
its okay because it isnt what I want that is important, its just doing
as I am told and follow the instructions of my leaders, aka Jesus
haha. Fishman just looks like a goober, its good to know that he hasnt
changed too much. Love you mom!

The Week Was Well......

Hey Viejito,
              With football starting and fishing ending it sounds
like a sad but grateful transfer to another season of life. The price
you put for the Grebe, isnt that a bit more than what you bought it
for? I am way glad that there are people who want to jump on board,
literally even. How do you mean that it almost took you out? Dont tell
me that you think that your getting old or anything, I dont want to
hear that excuse when I out fish you next summer haha. The mission
life is pretty cool and fun and all together a crazy ride of emotions,
impressions, and physical and mental fatigue. It tests every particle
of what we are as holders of God´s power and is really the only way to
prepare us for what is to come. God will never be beaten, so he needs
followers that will never be beaten either. He is a winner and
overcomes the bad in whatever situation and never lets something sad
sway him from always being full of love to everything he has ever
created. He knows what we will do because he knows us so well, it isn’t
because our future is set in stone. He gave us a list of things that
we are capable of doing and even told us that we can achieve even far
greater things with his help if we believe in him and his son. I hope
to be able to break the barriors that satan puts in front of me to
make me think that I ¨can´t¨ do something. Like you told me long ago,
there is no such thing as can´t. Have a blast this week and keep Fish
from getting brain damage. He is the smartest one out of us all. Love
you dad, hasta luego.

Hey mom,
              So Fish got a concussion huh, well that means that he
joins the girly club with Cache ;) Its all good, i think i got a
concussion out here on the mission and i never thought that would
happen but whatevs. The week was well. My comp ended his mission
yesterday so this whole week i had to try and help him out in working
and stuff. Now I have no companion and I’m in a trio once again. Its
peculiar that exactly one year ago I was left without a companion
because he ended his mission as well and I had to bounce around from
different trios for a week and a half and now its all happening again.
Its super cool that I can go back one year in my journal and see
exactly what happened that day and how I was feeling. Its pretty weird
because more often than not I have things that repeat about once a
year around the same time. Its happened regularly for the past 7-8
months and its an interesting fact. Its so true when it was said that
life is just one eternal round haha. I´m doing great and cant believe
that August is almost half way over already! Silly time is ridiculous.
But everything is good here. I was looking for a sombrero for Fischer but
they don’t have any size big enough for his ogre shaped scull ;) Love
you guys lots!!

The Book of Mormon is so SWEET...

Long week this time.
                             We had a rather sucessfull week and it
just seemed like it took forever to reach today. I got a little under
the weather for a day but im much better now. Its great to know that
we are on the Lords errand and i am way happy to hear that home is
doing great as well. I dont have much to say but i do know that the
Book of Mormon was written for us and our time, the same as for all
times. It helped me out a lot this week and i just cant explain how
much i love that book. Have a good week mom!! Love you!!

Hey dad,
Football starting up is so crazy and i bet fischer is just going to
> kill it there. The play that you guys sent me was way good, i watched
> it like 20 times and analyzed it and everything haha. The
> work is going along and i kind of was feeling down the other day and i
> began to read some random scriptures that i had marked a long time
> ago. I fell across Moroni 9:6, i read it a few times and as i realized
> what it all meant i was almost immediately helped out and felt better
> and everything was fine. The Book of Mormon is sooo SWEET! Have a good
> week dad, love you.

The Weather Is Pretty Unpredictable...

                 Well you guys had a rough season of fishing! It
totally must´ve been the prayers and everything that helped you guys
get back in, Cache must be praying extra hard haha. It is too
bad that we wont be able to work on it again.  But anyways, my week
was fine. A lot of doors shut and trying to help people who dont think
they need the true church in their lives. Its okay though because some
day they will know that we are right, im just bummed that they
couldn´t have accepted it right now. Maybe the seed will yield fruit
later on, one can only hope. In our priesthood quorom we did a
foozball tournament and my comp and I came out as third place and got
a trophy haha it was pretty cool. They take foozball pretty
seriously.. Its almost comparable with you when you watched me play
basketball, but nothing could out do you haha. Love you dad, stay
awesome.

Hey mom,
              So this week was good. It wasnt as successful as we
wanted but it was good. We are finding some more people and just
trying our best here. The weather is pretty unpredictable and its
really cold in the morning then warm in the day and cold at night
again. One of the hardest things to do here is find people who are
ready, who will go to church, and who will want to change. It is
pretty much the same story all around but hey its still tough. We
tried going golfing today but it just so happened that they are closed
only on mondays.. The guy there said he´d help us out for next week
though so there is hope! Its good to see that smitty is still
the same as ever with the steak bones haha. Love you mom! Have a good
week!

Spiritual Recharge....

My past week was pretty long, transfers makes things really fast but really slow as well.

 We have some good investigators and the work is coming along. Its as hard as
ever but i like it alot. The pench is cool and as four elders in a
place its gotta be fun. Today we made chicken subs (argentine style)
and played some bball and soccer. I write down some things that my
comp says because they are just so out there. The quote of the week
this week was what he said exactly after having sneezed a big sneeze,
he said, ¨I have hydrogen peroxyde coming out of my nose.¨ HAHA! The
poor guy meant to say carbone monoxide but he gets things confused, i
love it.
Love you mom thanks for everything!

Hey dad,
             Wow the fishing sounds incredible! That must mean that
towards the end of the season the price for the permit to commercial
fish should go up, that is way cool. I´ve been doing all that I can
from so far away to try and help you out. Prayers are all I can offer.
 My week went well, fast and slow and everything is just
the same. I really appriciate the time that I have to study the
scriptures in the morning everyday. I hope to be able to keep that
kind of habit throughout my entire life. It starts my day off
wonderfully and it gives me the spiritual recharge that I need every
morning. But besides that I just wouldn´t trade this time here for the
world. It is way cool too how the more that you dive into the
scriptures and pour your heart out to the Lord, the more you
understand and recieve in return. Its super true that we will ever be
endebted to Him. Good luck and be safe dad, love ya.

Mission Dreams Accomplished...

Happy Birthday Mom!!!
                                It just so happens that on saturday, your bday,
one of my mission dreams was accomplished... I saw 6 whole people pass
by on one little motorcycle! It was crazy. The order of people from
front to back was a young kid, kid, mom driving, another kid, another
mom, and a baby on the second mom´s hip. But at least they were
wearing helmets, oh wait, they didnt have any.. It was a crazy thing
to see alright. The week in general was pretty slow. Transfers is this
week and i am staying here. I also got a package
that was stuffed to the bursting point with a new sweatshirt! Sadly
though, the chocolate chips that were inside the nalgene bottle all
melted and resolidified as one big chunk that wouldnt come out of the
bottle. So, knowing that nalgene bottles dont ever break, i began to
throw it on the ground to try and break up the chocolate mass so i
could get it out. The very first throw happened and the top of the
nalgene bottle busted off and chocolate went everywhere.. It was a sad
moment when all the dust cleared and i realized what i had done... But
thanks for the stuff haha :) Have a great week!!
Love your son in Argentina.

Hey dad,
. My week was alright. My comp got sick and for a couple of days we were
grounded to the pench by his sickness. I tried to stay productive and
read and i actually sewed my pants. But as a missionary when you have
to just be locked up in the pench all day long it is probably one of
the most boring things that there is on this planet. I have the
options of reading, studying, or fixing broken things. I installed a
new door handle and lock the other day to our back door that didnt
have one and we recently fixed a whole in the roof where water and
cold air would sneak in. Ive found out that when I have ever had a
need for something here in the mission and i express my desires to
find such thing, the Lord always provides. Like yesterday, I was
telling the guys to keep their eyes out for some cardboard so we could
patch up the holes in the pench. The other 2 missionaries left, we
live in a 4 man pench, and they came back in twenty seconds later with
two big cardboard boxes. I think that it was a blessing that they
found them so fast and just right outside our house, the Lord always
takes care of his sheep, that is a fact. Thats all for now. Love you dad!
ps. I´ll be praying that you do good on the boat and that you stay safe.

Love The Mission a Ton Load....

Hey mom,
                So on sunday after church we did the baptism and it
was fantastic! The members kind of helped out a bit, which never
really happens, and it was great. It was a lot less stressfull to say
the least. Today is the independence day of Argentina and we got to be
the judges for the wards ´Empanada cookoff´ it was way fun :) On the
4th we just worked like normal but we still had fun. I like my area
and my comp and i have fun. Its just doing the same thing over and
over again. Investigators always have unique problems but its super
easy for us because the answer is always the same. The way things work
is just so simple! We obey and endure and we win! It sounds a LOT
easier than it really is but if we just follow the rules there will be
nothing to pull us down. I really love the mission a ton load! Thats all i got,

i love you mom!
ps. the pics are of my comps American flag, the start of the empanada
thing, and the after picture

Hey dad,
           So i really hope that you guys can sell the Grebe before
you get too far into the season. At this point your in it till the end
right? Or if this guy from washington wants it now will you give it to
him? I wish i could be out there to help you, i loved it when me and
you went out it was way fun. My week was good but really fast. Its
been like in the 20´s here in coldness and it almost snowed once but
it was just a thick fog at night. The problem is that the houses are
made out of bricks and cement and have 0 insulation and the cold just
comes right in. But I have to get used to the cold or else im going to
be an ice cube back home. Be safe on the ocean, i know how it can get
out there. I also know your attitude about waves and thinking that you
can take on anything. We got through a lot of close calls and i would
rather you be cautious and careful more than ever. Thanks Dad. Love
ya!

Thanks For Understanding....

Hey mom,
                Thanks for sending some shoes but really dont worry
about me. The shoes i have right now are fine and will last. I
actually wanted to ask you something if you can hear me out. I was
thinking about asking you to not send me anymore packages. My
reasoning is that you can just save all that money that it costs to
send the stuff here and that way when i get home in a long time off
i´ll be super uber happy. Mail is always good but a stop on the
packages would help me too because i have to pay Argentina like 50 to
100 pesos every package that i get from you guys. Thanks for
understanding :) The week was good for me and we are making progress

 in the area. We have a way cool investigator that is going to be entering

the doors next sunday!!!! He is a father of a family and his wife was

pretty less active and now they are back full swing! AHH!!

 I just love this work!! I dont really want it to end! I still have a lot of

 time left so there is no big problem there. Just have to keep working

till the end! To answer your question of what you can do from there,

 you can keep smiling, stay happy, and give me a big hug when i see

 you in the airport, that is all i really want :) So the pictures are of the

baptism and our pday early 4th of july celebration with all gringos.

We made hamburgers and played futbol and man football afterwards.

Love you mom!

Way cool that the encampment thing went swimmingly swiftly smooth. It
wouldve been cool to help out with such a wide scale event. My week
was good and i am happy about everything. It was interesting. But besides

all of that things are great and i just am really content with it all. We did service this
week and it was great. We found an investigator that came to church
and got up in priesthood class and preached to all of us that jehovah
is Gods name and that saturday is the day of rest. It was great haha.
Just the kind of stuff i know will happen and i cant really stop it is
super funny afterwards but hard to sit through in the moment. Thats
all i got for the week. Love you dad!

I Would Choose To Have Fun....

Hey mom!
                So this week was pretty hectic. We worked a bunch and
it was way fun too. I dont know how i am having so much fun but i
really am :) i think that i would choose to have fun over not having
fun, it makes sense to me. Its way cool that the gospel has touched
Warren´s family, that is soo COOL! I dont know what it would be like
to be home alone for any time period at all anymore. We had two
baptisms on saturday!! They were these sweet investigators that were
way ready and it was amazing. Their names are Claudio and Amanda. They
were really happy and all of their family showed up for the service.
They were the only ones attending practically, the bishop and the
first counselor sluffed off and the 2nd counselor came. In the end,
all is well. My comp, is really funny. He reminds me
of a mixture of Tracy and Larry the Cable Guy haha. He has a thick
southern accent and has a million stories about random funny stuff. We
get along pretty well us two. Thats my week, love you mom!

Hello Dad,
              My time here since the last time that i wrote you
has been busy and cold. Its not cold enough on some days to put on a
coat but on other days the coat doesnt suffice haha. That just means
that we have to get into more houses so we can be warm for a bit. The
cold wouldnt be so bad here but there is no insulation in the pench
let alone any other means to keep warm outside of standing directly in
front of the heater that uses gas. With that heater, if we leave it on
in the night, we dont survive the night because of carbon monoxide
stuff haha. So yep life here is the best. Ill probably never go
through stuff like this again in my life for a while, i hope, but it
is super fun for me and it wouldnt be a mission to me if everything
was too easy. You have to suffer to gain the greater prize. No
championship team wins anything if they havent given their all and
gone through the worst. The Lord says that our weaknesses may be our
strengths, and that is completely true. I was thinking that when you
listen to the General Authorities talk, sometimes one person can
testify stronger about one topic than another. I think it is because
that apostle may have had to go through something fierce and gained an
even stronger testimony of this church afterwards. So, their weakness
becoming their strength. I dont know it was just something i was
pondering a bit ago. The busier you stay the faster time goes so keep
busy! I know i am. Love you dad.

They For Sure Don't Just Grow On Trees....

Well, you sure had an exciting week! I am way happy for you dad that
you are really enjoying your calling and fulfilling it how you are
meant to. Baptisms are the greatest ever. They for sure
dont just grow on trees and every single one of them is a miracle. I
was looking at my notes from General Conference from April 2011 and
this past april and looked at the church membership number. If my
statistics are correct, we gained about 300,000 members last year.
That means that out of the 365 days of the year, an average of 821 new
members entered into the kingdom of God each day! That is way cool for
me to think about. My week was good and its colder now. A couple times
we have had to leave with sweaters and coats. I have been continually
fixing our pench and now it is starting to turn around. Stay great
dad, love you.

Hi Mom,
You cant force people into the water and have it mean the same thing,

it has to be a friendly hand that helps them along. They dont really

know what its going to be like or anything, and once baptized,

 the new members enter into a whole new world that they haven´t really

 experienced before. We need to help them every step of the way and

 be their friends so that they can feel comfortable there and happy

with the decision they just made to be baptized. My week was good

 and people are popping up out of nowhere, but the problem is that

they dont ever want to keep going with us haha. We have some people pretty
close right now but they just have to come to church! I love you mom
:) Have a great week.

Its Always An Adventure...

Hi Mom,
            Time always goes by way faster when you travel and change
places.. I feel like i was just getting here and now im knocking on
having a whole week here. I am finally learning a little bit better of
how to remember peoples names! My whole mission i have had troubles
with peoples names and realizing who it was and stuff. But now im
better, not great, but better. My new comp is small, redneck, has a
slow southern accent, and he is really funny, he makes me laugh at
least. I think itll be a fun time with him here. With only 4 transfers
left i feel nervous that its getting there but excited that i will
have accomplished the coolest experience and biggest goal that i have
had up to this point in my life. Its pretty wierd for me to try and
think back to what it was like going to church not as a missionary. In
all of my dreams i am a missionary and i follow the mission rules in
my dreams... WIERD!!!! It kind of freaks me out but whatever i guess.
Im happy, kind of healthy, and still alive. Thanks for everything mom,
i love you like a gigantic ton of Argentine dulce de leche :) BYE!

Hello Dad,
             So I really like my new area. It isnt as much city as
before and i feel more comfortable here. My comp is from North
Carolina, he has little time left on the mission and he is pretty
cool. He is just stacked full of jokes and little funny things, there
is no end to his jokes... It isnt too cold here but it is sufficiently
cold to have to wear sweaters and sometimes coats. I dont have a coat
but i got one just recently from the mission offices that i will
return after i am done with it. That is a lot easier than buying a new
one i think. I am way happy with the change, although i didnt want it from
before im okay with it now. The pench is a dump. Ive been doing some
renovating ever since I showed up and now it is kind of livable.
There is a door that doesn’t shut and cold air just flows into our
room which does not have a door.  I took care of both of the problems
but the kitchen, bathroom, and  front door all have work to do.
Its always an adventure. Love ya dad, peace.

I'm Happy My Feelings and Promptings Were Right...

Hey dad,
My week was good for the most part. I found out about 2 hours ago that

i am being sent over to a different area now. Its in a different part of the mission
completely and not in Mendoza or San Juan. So now i will have served
in all three provinces of this mission, thats cool. I really didnt
want to leave this area because it is just starting to turn around.
Ive been working my tail off more than usual the last few weeks and i
didnt know why. Now i have to just pack up and leave everything i did
here in the hands of the other missionaries coming in. I am a bit
nervous because we were going to be doing a lot of great things in the
month to come. They had just put us in charge of a stake mission
activity to happen in july and i was way pumped to organize that and
do all that stuff. Oh well! The other missionaries will take over and
love it in place of me. The place im going is called 25 de Mayo. I
dont know if you can google earth that exactly but trying never hurt
anyone. Love you dad stay sane and try to get some kings that arent
minnows ;)

Hey mom,
               So yeah i am exactly in guaymallén where she lives but
on wednesday they are sending me to a different place called San Luis.
As missionaries we arent really allowed to drink the mate with the
bombilla with the people because it usually wastes hours of working
time but everyone in the whole world down here drinks it. But we drink
mate cocido and when i get home i am definately going to her house to
drink some and chat in castellano :) I really wish we could go to
Buenos Aires and do something for the re-dedication but i think we
just get to watch it over sattelite. This area is going to have some
good success in the next coming months, too bad i have to leave a far
ways away. I think that it is about a 4 hour bus ride away. I had a
feeling i was leaving yesterday, and in the night it was such a strong
feeling that i just couldnt deny that i was going to leave here. Then
this morning we get a phone call and it was all true. I felt a lot
more calm after they said i was going because i basically knew it from
the beginning. Im happy my feelings and promptings were right but
frustrated that they had to be right in that way haha. But everything
is good and im going where He wants me to go with a smile and my will.
Love you mom!

Never Tried to Work Out My Spiritual Muscles Before...

Hey dad,
              The week was
well. The boat troubles just sounds rotten, i hope that all turns out
okay. You better catch a bunch of giant kings this year dad. But you
also have to let them go because when i finally get to fish for them i
want to catch their monster babies. I think that the life of a
missionary is so sweet, like ive expressed a million times before, and
i really enjoy it. It is definately not easy at all, i have to try and
push myself all the time to not break all the rules that sometimes
seem kind of childish, but its all part of the big plan. This
experience has been super tough on a spiritual level, i am pretty
foolish that i never tried to work out my spiritual muscles before,
but now they are all way tired and been through a lot haha. It is all
just the begining to enduring to the end for sure. Stay safe for the week and

working alone on the Grebe. Maybe getting someone to help you out would

be a good idea bucause your getting pretty old haha, nah im just playing, but for
reals, help always helps. Love you dad thanks for everything.

Hey mom,
>> You can tell fischer that i know exactly how he feels
>> with the whole ´doing the eagle scout not under my own will´ thing, Im
>> right there with him. The week went well and we are really trying to
>> find more new people to teach and to spread the word. I kind of
>> thought that i had the bus system down here a couple of weeks ago, but
>> then i was humbled this week. The same day i took two wrong buses, and
>> where they took us was an hour in the complete wrong direction and we
>> had to wait it out till the end. We ended up being almost 2 hours late
>> for lunch haha. I dont know how it is for the Elders who have cars of
>> their own, or even bikes, but i dont think that they have to worry
>> about that happening to them. Diego blessed the sacrament like a stud
>> and wants to start coming on splits with us, its insane :) Just way
>> cool! Anyways the work goes on, and on, and on, and all that good stuff. The temple
>> of Buenos Aires is going to be re-dedicated in september and we are
>> allowed to watch it!! Fun times indeed. Just know that life is dandy,
>> and that is all :) Love you mom!

Weeks are Flying By......

Ø       Hey dad, i pretty much said all that there is to say to you guys
> yesterday haha. But yeah it seems like talking about my mission for
> only 10 minutes would be pretty impossible because i just love it so
> much and would probably explain alot more than anyone would ever want
> to know haha. But a ten minute return talk sounds perfect to me. You
> all look great and sound like your enjoying life alot. Without me and
> cache there now you must be saving thousands on food and gas money.
> This week we should be working hard as usual and trying to find more
> people to teach and try to help this part of the world out as much as
> we can. Thanks for everything dad, love you.

Just some pics. It was great talking to you! I hope caches prime
proselyting hours werent completely ruined... ;)

Hey mom whats crackin?
                                     So the last week went by flying
indeed. It was full of us working and trying to get some members to
come out and work with us.. And it worked! Kind of.. We did start a
calender for people who could leave with us and visit our
investigators, which is a true revolution in the mission, and we are
way pumped to use the members as awesome tools to help people come
unto Christ. Today we went to a place called El Cerro de la Gloria.
Its on a small hill and its like a tribute to something insignifacant
i think. But it looks cool and we got to run a bit up the hill and
enjoy our short ours of rest outside doing productive things. Diego
got the priesthood yesterday and is a priest now. He is so cool, i
think that he is the best/coolest/greatest convert i have had my whole
mission. Time is going by too fast, thats a fact. The pics are of our
trip to the hill of glory. They kind of explain themselves :) except
one where i am by a fence, that is just a mind bottler.. Im doing
great. Love you lots mom!

Sup dad,
>              That is way cool what is going on with the guy who asked
> for a Book of Mormon! He sounds pretty golden to me. In this past week
> i hit my big 18 month mark in the mission. I didnt really celebrate
> this one, even though its a missionary tradition thing i decided not
> to conform and do things my way :) But i did treat myself to some nice
> icecream so that was fantastic. There is a new elder in the pench and
> he is from Uruguay. It is nice because my comp and the other elder,
> who are gringos, wanted to learn spanish better so having a latin come
> was perfect for them, and for me. It is really nice to be able to see
> how much i have progressed in the language, i know it wasnt at all
> just on my efforts, but i was recieving a bun load of help from above.
> In the language right now i am just trying to expand my vocab and
> perfect the accent. I will have no problem helping you out when i
> return, but i only know mendocinan spanish and it might be way
> different from anything you have ever witnessed. I feel great and cant
> believe that time is just so fast. Keep gold panning in the snow like
> that and your bound to get something... Love you dad, stay awesome and
> be prepared because me and fischer are going to take you down! Old man
> strength only helps you so much.

Do Not Delay.....

Yeah it was cool. Well im happy to know that fischer is doing good in
track and getting better every time. I dont really know how good it is
when you say he threw it 114 feet, good or great? Im not so sure. This
week was slow because it was full of stuff that was tough indeed. But
the most important part is that we finished this week, its behind us,
and we are looking at this next one as an automatic better one! We
should have a baptism at the end of the week and it is a way studly
dude. His name is Diego and he is just a boss. I just love this work
so much and its insane and crazy and unpredictable and basically the
best thing ever. We cooked german pancakes this morning to celebrate
my comps birthday. For some reason i couldnt get them how you cook
them mom but they were okay, i made a syrup too and it was okay as
well, i mean at least it filled us up :) Me and my comp get along very
well, he was a track guy himself and did jumping stuff for BYU provo,
he is a little frog man. I really appriciate all of your support and
for sending another package! We will see if it ever gets here.. I have
faith it can happen, the impossible is possible!. Love you!

Hey dad,
My week was good, i got a lot of reading done, my comp got sick,
we all are getting sick and it is just lame-o. Even our mission
president and his wife and getting sick and having to stay indoors for
days at a time. We arent goint to die, but its annoying all the same.
The video of fischer running makes him look beastly, that kid is going
to be able to break me in half when i get home. But the older brother
always wins in the end, thats a fact. Thanks for your support dad,
this next sunday will be the last time i talk to you guys until i see
you in the anchorage airport in november, its going really fast now
and i cant seem to slow the time down. There is so much to do and so
little time! Like Elder Holland said in conference, ´Do not delay, its
getting late´ That should be a wake up call to us all that it really
is the last days here. Well with that i´ll end and i´ll talk to you on
sunday! Love you dad.

I Was Blessed......

Hey there momma,
                             Okay well just for you mom i will call
the sickness by the fancy name of food poisoning. So yeah i really am
happy to have my comps changed right now. He has 9 months in the mission

But anyways, i have one exciting story from our
first week as comps here. On saturday we had to go and clean the
church in the morning so we went there and cleaned it up. We usually
dont take our cell phone with us anywhere but i had to bring it with
me this day. We left the cleaning thing to go and pick up a lunch kind
of a long walks away. We got there and they gave us lunch to take home
in a bag. We headed home and it was just a straight walk to the main
road we lived on. We walked on this street and saw 5 teenagers on the
side of the road in front of us pull bandanas over their faces and put
their hoods on, we knew at this moment we were toasted. We tried to
walk by them and they waited until we had gone by them then came
running at us. I looked back and my comp was surrounded by them and
they started searching his pockets and asking for money. I pulled out
a peso or two from my pocket and got them to leave him alone. They
started searching my pockets and taking things out and keeping them.
They took all they wanted and left us alone. We were shocked by what
had just happened but we looked down at the bag of food and we still
had it so it wasnt a complete loss. Little did we know that not even
200 yards down that same road was another punk. He shook our hands
then stole our food and the little dignity that we had left. We wanted
to fight him but mission rules says no to that, and he had a bag that
he kept his hand in so we decided to let him just take the food. They
ended up stealing my comps leather gloves, our cell phone, the map to
our area, the watch that dad gave me, our food, and our innocence
haha. They didnt hurt us but we were and are still really mad at them.
The craziest thing was that they robbed us with a smile and it was
kind of creepy. Later that day we had one of the most spiritual
baptisms that ive seen my whole mission. Saturday was quite the
rollercoaster of a day that one only hopes to avoid, but it turned out
really nice. We got robbed twice in 5 minutes on the same road. The
guy taking our food at the very last was like the final slap in the
face to us, the cherry on top, the kick in the shins after your
already on the ground, but we didnt resist even though we wanted to.
It was a good time and im fine dont worry about it :) I was blessed
that they didnt find my personal credit card, mission credit card, my
document, or my 50 pesos that i had in my back pocket so there is one
miracle out of maybe alot that happened that day. So i just wanted to
tell you that im all good and am looking forward to finding more
people that are waiting! Love you mom!

Hey dad,
>              So i kind of exlpained my week to mom and my whole
> robbing incident. But the watch that you gave me i remember you
> telling me that if it gets robbed it wouldnt be a big deal because it
> was cheap haha, well it happened at long last. The road that we went
> down, we have learned since saturday, is basically walking right into
> the lions den. They rob everyone there with revolvers and take
> everything, even cars that go down that road get robbed and messed up
> bad. So we will no longer be going down said road ever again. The
> members here once hearing that that happened to us got really soft
> hearts and we very kind to us. Me and my new comp,
> compared it to if two mexican missionaries came to our wards and
> hardly knew the english language and got robbed how bad we would feel
> and would want to help them, thats kind of what is happening to the
> members here right now haha. In a space of a few hours on saturday we
> got to witness the very worst scum of this place and also the
> brightest nicest spirits there could be, what a blessing it is to
> notice what the gospel can do to people and a family if they are just
> to live it. Our church really is in the world but not of the world,
> its simply the church of God, no questions asked. The story of the 70
> and fish and maddy is way sweet! I wish i couldve seen it live and
> felt that power. Have a good week old man. Love you dad, peace out!

Now we are 4.....

Yeah im am over my days of crappiness, thank goodness. But now i am in
the position of not being able to eat as much as i used to. It is
really great for me! But for the families that we eat with they think
i just dont like their food because i dont ask for more haha, oh the
things to be dealt with on the mission :) My comp is being transfered
to another part and i get another gringo who has little time on the
mission. It should be wonderfully great to have a change here. We are
now 4 tall gringos in the pench and in our part of the earth here, as
if they didnt stare at us enough with just three tall guys, now we are
4 :) We had a couple people in church and it was a good day yesterday
indeed. I´m feeling fine, the weather is cooling down, the work is
tough and i love it. If it was too easy it wouldnt be right for me.
That story about the 70 is way cool! If that really came to pass it
would be fantastic :) I love baptisms no matter where they come from,
well as long as they are in our church haha obviously. Its a few weeks
from mothers day and im pumped to see and talk to you! Love you mom :)

I'm Going To Win....

Hey mom,
             i did get a package from you and from the Lawrences!

 That made me happy. I didnt even know that
chocolate marshmallows existed, it blew my mind! All the candy from
everyone is very warmly welcomed here too so thanks to all of you :)
My week has been alright. Me and another elder in the pench got sick
and it has been since Thursday  night and its barely starting to calm
down. We will both be way happy when it passes by us someday. It has
been a rollercoaster week and it is really hard to find new people
that are good. I gotta deal with what i got though and make the best
of it so its just a continuous battle that im going to win :) Thanks
for all your support mom, it really helps me alot. Love you lots!

Hey dad,
>             Not much to report from over here. I was sick for the
> most part of the week and didnt leave the pench until today since last
> thursday. Im much better now but not all the way good. Tell fischer to
> not go crazy and to look around for different girls. There are a
> million of them out there and to plaster yourself with one for a long
> time before the mission is just trouble and super hard. Tell him to
> trust me and to not just throw my words out the window like he does
> yours ;) nah just kiddin but really he needs to be cool and calm and
> in 7 months im going to beat him up. Love ya dad stay strong and keep
> it real

He Felt the Most Weirdest....

Hey dad,
             I think that i rival Anchorages snow inch mark with the
amount of sweat inches ive sweated, but they still beat me by a few
centimeters. Oh so something happened the other day. I was looking at
this brochure that they gave to the missionaries to be able to buy a
cover made of leather and with pictures drawn into the leather. I
looked at the prices and they were in American dollars. My mind didnt
know how to compute that so it turned the dollars into pesos in my
head and then i understood how much it would cost me. I need
help..hah. But really that incident made me think about a lot of the
things that i do and live through each day. My life here isnt really
that bad at all, its just really different than anywhere else. I
prayed alot to the Lord to help me become accustomed to the people,
the culture, the weather, the language, the everything really, and I
know that he has helped me out abundantly. In some ways almost so much
that i consider Argentina as normal and everything about what happens
here as perfectly right. Its hard to explain but alls i know is that
the Lord just poured out a million blessings to me and they are still
raining down, I wish that kind of wonderfullness on every person that i
meet here. It is difficult to help someone out when they dont want to
change or even want the help at all. I see it in members,
investigators, and missionaries and also in myself sometimes haha. Its
a real bother but when the people are ready to accept the help or  want
to change we are here on the spot to help them out and show them how
they can make their lives directed into an eternal perspective. Thanks
for everything dad! Love ya old guy.

Hi momma,
                 This week was supurb! We got a referal the other day for a
family that lives in the middle of a neighborhood that is supposedly
´dangerous´ according to my comp. We went there and he was walking
around with his scriptures in his hands just tight as a rat at a cats
concert.. I knew that we would be protected if we just did the Lords
bidding and contacted this family. We went there and i saw the danger
level rise as we got into more slummy slums, we turned a corner, and
saw... nothing.. There was no danger, only the thoughts that my comp
had, well has. I had to practically drag him there and i have to drag
him to our appointments because he just doesnt care or something.
Frustrating.. Easter was okay though. The people here just make
chocolat eggs and watch all the movies that have ever been made about
Jesus on television. I never once heard anything about an Easter
Bunny. Oh and i learned that the tooth fairy doesnt come here because
they have someone else. His name is Ratón Perez, translation,  Perez
the Rat haha. He sneaks in and takes the teeth and leaves a peso for
the lucky loser of a tooth. Anyways, yesterday evening we had the most
spiritual lesson that i have ever had in my entire mission!! It was
sooo cool!! Garsh it was perfect. In the middle of the lesson we asked
the investigator how he felt, he said he felt weird. Then he pointed
at me and said when i talked he felt the most weirdest. Aka the spirit
was just shouting at him haha it was really the thing that has made
this whole time worth it. I just love this time so much! Love you too
mom! Ttyl

I Stood Up Tall and Got In a Battle Stance....

Hi mom,
              The week was long. My comp got sick on wednesday and i
got to experience the long day of nothing to do but read the
scriptures and try not to get cabin fever hah. General Conference was
obviously the super bowl of March and April. I loved how in the
saturday session Elder Holland said, ¨do not wait, it is getting
late.¨ then just ended his talk!! Can you even do that!? Well i guess
he can do whatever he wants, it was amazing. We were able to watch it
in english in a seperate room in the small stake center we have here.
I really loved all the talks and its really amazing how the talks can
give advice and comfort to whatever kind of person you are, member or
not, tall or short, skinny or less skinny, bald or foggy hair, its all
the same :) We are just trying out best out here to keep both the ward
and the branch alive and its definately some good work. I love you
guys so much, the sunday sessions were alot to do with family and it
really hit me good that i know i´ll have you forever as my mom and
that one day we will all see Amanda and be together. Its simply the
best. Love you mom! Happy Easter!

Hey dad,
              So i am definately glad that people in the promised land
of America are learning more about the church through you. Im doing my
best here to stay afloat. The other day we went to a plaza and this
crazy guy started yelling drunken nonsence at us. He was saying how he
is sick of white people trying to show him God. He started coming
towards us and i stood up tall and got in a battle stance. He stopped
and continued yelling and spat at us and condemned us to the opposite
place as heaven haha. We walked away saying thanks to him and his
buddy. Super bowl was sweet! We went to walmart to get supplies and
munched. I have not eaten so unhealthy in a very long time haha. I try
to keep it to the basics, cereal, tomatoes, and peanut butter. Of
course whenever i feel like getting some ice cream i try not to
hesitate but besides that, that is how i eat here. Without the walmart
it was just the same diet but not any peanut butter in sight.
Sandwiches every now and then help and noodles... ive had about enough
of noodles for a lifetime. The work moves on more slowly here than in
other places, but it is always moving forward. General conference was
the ¨bomb.com¨ and i pulled a lot out of it that i am going to put
into practice as soon as i can. Love you dad, stay safe. Bye.

Tiny Baptism....

Hey dad,
               Sorry that i am out of time right now but happy 45th
birthday, sorry i missed it again. You were always so cool my whole
life and i remember being petrified of when you had to come home
sometimes because i had done something wrong and i knew you were going
to find out. But really most of the best memories that i have of our
family is fishing and football, and we were able to have those times
because of you. Thanks for being a good example in this last part of
your life for me and my brothers and especially mom. I know that she
has prayed alot for you and right now you are becoming all that God
wants you to be. I love you dad and happy birthday.

:) We had a tiny baptism on saturday!!!!!! It was a cool 8 day miracle
where we asked the kid to be baptized straight up the first time that
i met him and him and his mom said yes, bada bing bada boom saturday
arrives and he gets dunked and enters through the door that leads to
the kingdom of God :) The area i am in is more civilized right now and
i dont really like it to be honest. Too noisy and bustly and busy for
my taste but there is fruit here just the same as in other parts of
the country so we push along. Love you lots mom!! Toodles!

Physical and Spiritual nourishment.....

It seems like you picked up some good spanish down there, and i saw a
picture of you on the playa, are you balding? :) You dont have to
answer that question, we all know its just disappearing like the
morning fog.. If i ever bald there will be a lovely scar right in the
middle of my head and people will call me harry potter the rest of my
life. Just one of those precious gifts that dear old Argentina has
given me. The week was well and fast. Just getting to know people all
over again and starting a new in a new place. Saying goodbye to the
people back in my old area was tough and tears were shed but we
continue on and keep fighting for the Lord. My new comp is an english
and spanish speaking Chileno, he is 25 years old and has done 5 years
of law school. He likes talking about food, alot... So when we dont
talk about food or the Gospel we dont talk at all but its all good,
thats all one needs to survive right? Physical and Spiritual
nurishment.. My area is spelled Guaymallén, i would love to see how
you would try pronouncing the names of the places ive been haha. Stay
safe and keep up the good work in AK. Love ya dad.

Im happy the letter got to you, the little times that ive sent things
out into the mail world they have never gotten to where i intended..
So i got my new comp, he is from Chile, speaks good english, and the
area is pretty cool. My first day in this area i set foot in a flippin
Walmart! It was the first time i had stepped in one for 16 months.. I
had a reverse culture shock there of a great taste of America :) it
was just so great i was loving every second. The area is cool we are
trying our best to keep these places alive and bring more people to
the kingdom of God. Love ya mom!