¡Hola familia!
Estoy en Argentina ahora, en mi primer area--Villa Dolores. Mi compañero es Elder Melerio, de Buenos Aires, y tenemos cautro elderes en la area, entonces, nuestro compañerismo, y tambien los Elderes Lopez (de Chile) y Castillo (de El Salvador). Soy el solo gringo, y estoy tratando de entender y hablar y soy misionero para ayudar a la gente aquí.
[I am in Argentina now, in my first area--Villa Dolores (Village of Sorrows). My companion is Elder Melerio from Buenos Aires and we have four Elders in our area, our companionship and also Elders Lopez (from Chile) and Castillo (from El Salvador). I am the only gringo, and I am trying to understand and speak because as a missionary I am here to help the people.]
Tenemos una rama con acasi de 50 miembros que asisten la iglesia cada semana. Cuando mi compañero llegó, había solo once miembros asistiendo.
[We have a branch with about 50 members that come to church each week. When my companion arrived, there were only eleven members coming.]
(I'll write in English to practise--I've not been getting the opportunity to use it much!) We still have many inactive members to work with, and many investigators. Right now our typical contact goes something like this: "Excuse me sir, how are you? We're missionaries, and we're visiting homes to present a song and a little prayer, to invite the Spirit into the home." Once we're inside, we proceed to do so, and, if they seem receptive, we've been proceeding like this: "Pray tell us—how did you feel while we sang? Would you like to feel like that all the time? That's the Holy Ghost—how about being baptised in order to feel it always? Here's Moroni's promise—we invite you to read and pray to confirm that this is the right thing to do. Until then, we'll put you down for… the 29th of February." We're working on being bold, and teaching to needs.
As for me, I think I'm in a bit of culture shock, but working hard to adjust and to love my companions. I'm trying to find ways to serve them, though so far the most frequent is to polish their shoes, and wash dishes.
The last few days at the MTC went quite well. Elder Gallecci and I had been having appointments with other missionaries, working to teach to their needs, and also looking for more referrals. We had a particularly good lesson where an Elder asked a question that Elder Gallecci had been pondering for some time, and thus the latter was able to help the former. We had a new MTC presidency sustained the Sunday we left, so they presented the departure devotional, and one in the evening on Sunday night. I'm really grateful for the help that our MTC teachers and district were to me.
Also, I've sent you some photos electronically—if you open Picasa, they should appear. I can't provide much for captions, however. Today I'm sending a letter in the post as well, so that in a month or so you can receive a letter and an email each week, though, with some delay in the paper letters.
I love you all, and I am grateful for your love, support, and prayers. I know that Jesus Christ is real, that He lives—His promises are effectual, and the words of the prophets concerning Him are true. This is His church, with the authority and power to lead you and me to Him. I know that all people will be helped now by living the gospel, and infinitely so in the eternities. I seek to be the Lord's servant, to invite the people of Villa Dolores to come to Him.
Otherwise, the heat here is quite tolerable—I think it's warmer some days in the Ottawa summer because of this humidity. It doesn't feel like it's January and ought to be cold—mostly, it feels like Argentina! I hope that Matthew's MTC audition goes well! Good luck to all in exams, and to Levi in school generally.
In response to Mom's questions, we're living in a pretty nice place, with our four Elders, and also a Senior missionary couple (the familia Dos Santos). We're on the second storey of a duplex, and we also have the roof. The windows are open all day, every day, so we do have a nice breeze, but also quite a bit of dust. The water filter isn't working, so we've been boiling water, and we've been a little haphazard in our food arrangements and bedtimes (though working to improve)—I'm counting a bit on my vitamin pills to help balance my diet! We have had a few dinner appointments, and the food has been good—nothing very peculiar, e.g. potato-y pasta with sauce and bread, or barbequed beef with a corn and cheese sort of casserole. Also, in our mission we have an hour and fifteen minutes to write emails, and P-Day (preparation day) is Monday.
Please do let me know if you have more questions. I'll send more photos to you this coming week.
Love,
Elder Schlachter Photos
