Letter Dated September 19, 2011

Dear Mom & Dad;

Alright so I am sending lots of pictures this week. Hope you enjoy them. Sound like you guys had a not so exciting week. Which is good. Sometimes I wish I new what it was like to be bored ha ha.

Mike's new companion, Elder Arriaga

Yea, so things in my new area got shaken up pretty good. With Elder Howard out. I only had one week in my new area, and I am training Elder Arriaga. He is from Mexico, Which is good he only speaks Spanish so he is helping me a lot. I have a picture of him somewhere. and I'll send it. He is pretty cool. We get along just fine so no problems. But he is new, so he is learning (along with me), ha ha, how to teach and such. Its pretty fun. He was frustrated this week though cause he thought Argentina was more like Mexico where everyone baptizes tons. But its not. Apparently the people in Mexico are more receptive, ha ha. But he likes it. And he has a good attitude so he will do fine. Anyway, my comp was a member all his life, he is the first in his family to serve a mission, and he has a good desire to obey the rules and find and teach. So he is a good kid.

This last week was crazy though. Since we don't know the members super well (it's better now, ha ha, then when the week started).  We pretty much had to start from scratch. We were¨given¨ 3 good investigator families that the other missionaries started the teaching.  Flia Marcelo y Cecilia, they have testimonies and know all the lessons, but he (Marcelo) needs to get divorced first  then they can get married, but its like a year long process. But they've started.

10 year old that was baptized

Flia Monica y Alejando. Monica is the mom and Alejandro is the 17 year old kid. They are nice, but I really don't know where they are at, ha ha, since my comp didn't tell me to much and I have only been in the house twice and only for a short time. We had citas this last week but they fell.

And Carlos, he is getting baptized next year after he retires, ha ha.

And we are actually going to have a baptism. We reactivated a family that has been going with a ten year old son who is going to be baptized on Saturday at 5. So that's cool, and really good for my kid (my kid is the Elder I am training).

But anyway the last week we knocked lots of doors and such trying to get more investigators but its difficult. We didn't really find anybody who was super ready. But we have several people that we will pass by and see if they are going to progress or not.

Mike and his companion and the 10 year old who was baptized

My Spanish is better now by the way. Far from perfect. But they can understand and I can for sure get my point across.

The pictures I sent, are from my last area Punta Magotes. Flia Zendroni with the kids. They are a really good menos activo family we reactivated.  And Hermano Quiroz. Tambien is a menos activo family we reactivated. Then just some pictures of the forest. Oh and Elder Stewart is in all those pictures.

Alright I don't think I'll be able to send all the photos I want, this computer is ssllloooowwww. But you'll just live with what you get huh?

OK mission stuff.

For my first week in Quequen we got

0 Baptized
0 Confirmed

1 Con fecha

2 at church

2 lesson with member

8 other lessons(without member)

0 progressing investigators(attend church with baptism fecha)

0 Received References

0 Contacted References

2 New investigators

3 lessons with menos activo o recent converts

Mike's new apartment

My second with with my Kid

0 Baptized

0 Confirmed

1 Con fecha

2 at church

3 lesson with member

11 other lessons(without member)

1 progressing investigators(attend church with baptism fecha)

6 Received References

3 Contacted References

6 New investigators

4 lesson with menos activo o recent converts

(I don't have my agenda for my old area with me so I only have the data for the new area)  And I would say that those are pretty normal. I have no idea what the mission average is, but the Meta is

1 Baptized

1 Confirmed

15 Con fecha

Mike's new apartment

5 at church

10 lesson with member

15 other lessons(without member)

5 progressing investigators(attend church with baptism fecha)

10 Received References

10 Contacted References

15 New investigators

6 lessons with menos activo o recent converts

But if you get that your a Zone leader or Assistant for sure, cause you have to be really good. It hard, but possible. Eventually me and my kid will get there.

And the data is for one week.

My schedule since I'm training is different as well. We study till lunch.

Mike's apartment

1 hr personal at 8

9 to 11 comp study

11 to 12 language study

Lunch 12:30 to 1:30 (but usually 2)

then work till 9 with citas and all that fun stuff 

Then finally get to sleep yawn.

Thanks for your letters and everything. I must say the mission is a lot better leading then following, ha ha.  A lots more fun and more entertaining. I like it a lot.

Anyway I'll talk to you again next week. With more pictures. The green church is a Russian church. I ran into some Russians in my last area that can't speak much Spanish or English, ha ha.

Picture 6119 is me and my kid Elder Arriaga. The Mexicano.

Anyway love ya.

Elder Obray