Does he speak??
Before I start, this email is going to be an absolute yapfest. So much happened in this past week is crazy, but I am in my mission so yayayayayay!!!!
Sunday/Monday
I’ll just kinda summarize Sunday and Monday. Sunday, I had to give a talk in full Spanish, which I had prepped beforehand so it wasn’t that bad. I was the last person to talk and at the end I gave my full testimony in English, not Spanish cause no one in the MTC really knows what the talks are ever about. Later we got the most mid devotional ever. It was gonna be a prerecorded one from Renlund but the 15 year olds they have hired at the MTC couldn’t figure out the audio so we got a devotional about reverence :/ . Monday was full of leaving meetings and packing to leave Tuesday but it was fun yet bittersweet hanging out with the district and house while watching the hours count down, but it was also Mexican Independence Day and I got a pick w President Ruis and I haven’t washed my right hand since. JOKING!!! Our district all went and said one final goodbye to our goated teachers Hmo Morales and Hma Martinez. They were genuinely the best teachers I could’ve asked for and am gonna miss them greatly. And I don’t know if or when I will see them again but hopefully soon. Then all of the guys in our house minus a few stayed up all night because we left the house at 2:30 in the morning.
Tuesday
We went and grabbed our bags at 2:30am and left the CCM at 3:30am to the airport. We got to the airport, checked our bags, and were gonna go to Chili’s but they were CLOSED. So we went to this bummy pizza place. Then E. Nickle. E. Blackner, E. Coates, and I had the earliest flight out of the District so we had to leave. We said a prayer of safety for our flights and then it was an extremely hard goodbye to the 8 of them plus Elder Arnold. And to those guys:
I love and miss you all a ton. I know you guys are doing and are gonna do amazing in your respective missions. I have the picture of all of us above my desk and pray for you guys daily.
Us 4 Salta boys were off and got on our plane with the last group but also we like 20 other missionaries going to Buenos Aires. Then we had a 9 hour flight where I slept and was a little bit naughty and watched Dunkirk and the Minecraft Movie. We landed at 7:30pm Argentina time (3:30pm AZ) and then waited for like 2 hours for some missionaries from the Brazil mission. After we got them we booked it to the hotel for the night, and by night I mean 3 hours cause we left at 3:30am for our next flight to Salta. Also I / Elder Nickle took some pics and I’ll put them at the bottom.
Wednesday
We headed to the airport and this random lady met us there to pay for our luggage cause I guess Argentina Airlines allows 5 pounds maximum on their flights or sum. Then we went through security and waited for our flight. The sunrise was really pretty and I’ll put a picture of it at the bottom. I slept literally all 2 1/2 hours until 10 seconds before we landed in Salta. We got off our plane and met our Mission President and his wife, The Jenzens. We went to the temple and took a pic with all of us nuevitos missionaros which I’ll put at the bottom. We got to the mission office, met our trainers, had some BOMB empanadas and then had pur introduction meeting. Btw my trainer is Elder Bigelow, he’s the GOAT but I’ll get to him. As soon as we got done with our meetings we had to book it cause we had to go to the bus terminal to get a bus to my area which I’ll also talk about. I didn’t even get to say goodbye really to my day ones so to those three:
I love you. And I miss you hooooooouh.
But we got to the bus terminal via the APs truck which btw they are both from QC. Lowkey forgot their names though. We checked the bus that was about to leave and there were only 2 seats, which we gave to the 2 Hermanas that were w us. Then we learned we had to wait for 5 HOURS AT THE BUS TERMINAL😭😭😭😭💔💔🥀🥀🥀 Bigelow broke a chair and we talked a bunch, then we had a 3 hour bus ride to our area, got to our “pension” (house) at 11 and immediately went to bed to start my first real day of the mission in the morning.
Background
So to start, my comp is goated. He’s been a trainer a few times I think and he’s from la fabrica (Utah). He’s been out for 15 months and he’s a really good trainer. Ive already learned a ton from him and want to continue to learn more. Now my area, Joaquin V Gonzales. Let me tell you a bit about that. It is this old town that is like if old Yuma and those houses on the outskirts of San Tan had a baby. It is just a bunch of small houses close to each other and either the house is pretty nice, or its bricks and concrete with lights and wifi. But it’s weird because it’s like, bro we’ve got a rushed base. Let’s upgrade our walls before we upgrade our inferno towers bud. The people are really nice and understanding, but they are also really lazy. Like they want to hear about the Gospel, but not do anything about it. Also, they all take Coca, yes the soda but right now I’m talking about the drug cocaine. They all stuff the leaves in their cheeks and sometimes with baking soda to make it more potent. Also, it all comes from Bolivia, so screw Bolivia. And Argentines, or at least the ones here, do not like Chileans at all because of some history stuff. Another thing is that it is not culturally regular to get married. Like ppl will have a gf for 30 years w kids but not wanna get married, so that is a bit of a roadblock sometimes for baptisms. Also, it’s only a branch here in JVG and the building is this 3 story building and they have the first floor. It’s actually not that horrible, but the font is an above ground pool.
Thursday
So we woke up, got ready, and headed to our/my first lesson. It is these 2 little girls Ludmila, Guillermina, and their mom, Ramona. The 2 girls are only like 11 and 9 and they are getting baptized this Saturday. Then we taught this dad and his 2 kids and idk if the little girl is baptized, but we are trying to make progress with the dad. Then we taught this kid who just got the Aaronic Priesthood, Santiago, and his grandma, Estela. They are really nice and the grandma talks a lot. Then we got lunch with this member family, the Bracamonte’s. They are honestly similar to my family back home, with one of them, Mauricio, being similar to my brothers. He’s like 27 and served his mission in Tucson! They fed us some BOMB empanadas and gave me a lot of crap for my Spanish. And then, we had to drain the “font” of our church. We had to siphon the water out using a hose. And we did this because they were supposed to have a baptism like 2 weeks ago but the girl, her name is Dalila, flaked, and they kept the water, but it got kinda gross so we had to drain it. After we went and talked to some more ppl, one main one being Braian. He is about 14 with a horrible family situation I won’t go into. Also, it was my big bro, Bryant’s 25th birthday today and I hope his present wasn’t helping my family with their house.
Friday
We went to the church to finish cleaning the font and to let it dry. Then we went to the 2 girls house again and taught them about temples. Then we taught these investigators, Lionel and his gf, Guadalupe. We got a new washer today cause I guess the last one was broken. Then we went back to the church to start filling the font cause Dalila was supposedly gonna be baptized the next day at about 5pm. Then we went around a bit more and returned to the church for branch council, where we learned that the font had a leak in it or we just didn’t close it all the way, so we had to clean that while doing branch council. Today was my grandpa’s birthday. I wish I was there to celebrate it and if you are reading this, Happy Birthday Grandpa! I love and miss you dearly and hope you are doing well!
Saturday/ MY FIRST BAPTISM/ We flooded the church
As soon as we woke up we booked it to the church. We cleaned up all the water and did what we could to not flood the church again. Then we went back to the house to get ready for the day. Then we went and taught the first lesson to this lady, Griselda, who lives by the train tracks in this town. Then the 2 girls, and then to that dad and his kids. Then we went to Santiago and his grandma again. Then we booked it to the Branch President’s house for lunch with his family, which was really good. Also, he kind of looks like Carson Buehler’s dad. They gave me some crap about my Spanish. Then we went back to the church to get ready for the baptism and realized it was more flooded than before because the font was overflowing. We cleaned that for an hour and then headed to the house to get everything for the baptism and then came immediately back. We had the baptism! I’ll put the picture with this email. Then to drain the font, I had the good idea to use buckets to drain it faster, which we did and it didn’t take that long. Then we talked to some of this family, the Orieta’s, who are kinda interested in the church but won’t come on Sundays or really anything.
Sunday
We had church and the branch is really nice. We confirmed Dalila, and then I had to bear my “first testimony.” I talked a bit about how everyone gives me crap for not talking that much and how it is because I’ve been trying to listen a lot. I can understand Gringo Spanish and Mexican Spanish really well, but Argentine Spanish is a completely different beast and I’m just trying to learn more Spanish and the accent better. I can talk pretty well, at least for someone who has just started their mission, but understanding people is pretty difficult. Then I bore my testimony in Spanish, which everyone said was really good and to not worry. Then my comp had a bunch of Leader meetings cause he is the DL, and I just did Spanish study. Then we talked to a few people and headed home.
PDay
We woke up, bought some groceries, and then went and had a BBQ with Mauricio. He does this all the time with missionaries and has been for years, but of course he is leaving this Friday to go get married and live with his wife in I think, Santa Fe, Argentina. Then we got some IMMACULATE cuts from this kid my age, Lazaro. He’s a member and has been cutting hair for about 4 years. Then we called our families and then taught Ludmila, Guillermina, and their mom about the 10 Commandments and the 2 Great Commandments, and then we went back to the house to call some references and so my comp could have some more meetings.
Spiritual Thought
So on Sunday I technically had to give 2 testimonies. Every night the entire mission (like 150 missionaries) get on a call and someone just shares a Spiritual thought and then someone prays, but they always have the newbies give their “first testimony”. I had to go and I shared one of my favorite scriptures, Romans 8:28
“28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.”
I talked about how as missionaries, we are literally called to the Lord’s purpose and that because of that, and if we love God with all of our heart and have faith in Him, everything will work together for our good. The same thing goes for us as disciples of Jesus Christ. We are called to live a “higher, holier way” and follow Christ’s teachings and Commandments. If we do so with full purpose of heart and have faith, yes, all things will work together for our good, to build our character, testimony, or conversion. Trials will still come, but they won’t just tear us down and leave us there. They will be used as building blocks for our lives.
Also, I do not have Messenger anymore as per this mission’s rules, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send me emails. I love and miss you all and hope everything is going well back home. Hopefully you all read the yapfest.
– Élder Curtis
