September 10th

Hey family,
So just so you all know, this week is transfers and…I am staying! I know big surprise no? There are some changes however. Elder Walker is leaving for Chaco, Puerto Tirol and I am gong to Resistencia to pick up my nuevito! So I get to train again! I loved it last time around and am really looking forward to it again. I am wondering a bit about who it will be, gringo or latino, but I don’t feel nervous or anything this time around. I already know the Lord qualifies who he calls and that I will be given all that I need to do the work and help my companion do the same and adjust to missionary life. I am a little sad that me and Elder Walker never really got along well, but we have a respect for each other I think and we learned a lot (hopefully). I just hope he gives it all he has for the last year of his mission. I hope I had a positive influence on him.

So as you were asking, interviews with the mission president are in Spanish. As far as I know he doesn’t even speak English. No problem for me because Spanish almost comes more naturally than English a lot of the time. He travels around the mission to the capitals and does interviews in the zones of the missionaries, one zone at a time. He doesn’t seem to be quite as willing to lug missionaries’ packages around or anything for them because they didn’t bring any packages with them. So I am hoping to get my package in Resistencia when I am there to pick up my nuevito.

I hope Ashton recognizes me when I get home. Keep up on the picture thing. I can’t wait to see the little guy! Of course he will probably be hitting his terrible twos but we shall see. I suppose that is only terrible for the parents. :)

So we were walking along the other day and a girl shouted to us, “Elder.” I almost didn’t hear because we were walking along the Ruta. Plus a lot of times we think someone is yelling at us and they really aren’t. This time though, I felt to look and to my surprise I saw Rosa Pro! She was a convert we were teaching along with her non-member family in Jardín America. I knew she was in Miguel Lanús during my time in Jardín America because that is when she moved, but I didn’t know where she was. We tried to pass a reference to the missionaries at the time, but they never found her either. So now we are going to pass by. Turns out that their dad just died a week ago about. I think that may be a good chance of getting the family baptized because the dad was the problem in the first place (we suspected that he was a drug dealer or something). The family is really great and the hna. had even cried when the Elders left. We almost baptized a couple more of the kids when I was there, but they never quite made it. We shall see what happens. So maybe I can still have an influence on the people of Jardín America. I wonder if presidente del Castillo would let me do divisions there for one day. That would be awesome! I am excited to write the Benitez family as well. I hope they accept the invitation to come to general conference. I want to see them again way bad!

I did get Elder Vega’s address and number, but I don’t have it with me at the moment. I will send it next week. If not he said he was coming to my homecoming so we shall see.

As far as school goes, I will try to get you the driver’s license number by next week. Unfortunately I don’t have my drivers’ license on me anymore because the office told us to leave things like that when we first got to Argentina. So it is in the office. I am going to go and try to look for it when I pick up my nuevito. If not I will call and have them tell me the number.

Tell Grandma McDonald thanks for the extra help with our investigators and the other stuff too. I am glad she is receiving many of the blessings of the gospel right now. I know she will continue to progress as she receives help and continues doing what is right.

I don’t remember it I told you or not about the Custodio family, but they are passing through some trials at this time. Seferino (the dad) drinks we found out and so we have had to postpone his baptism. Honestly, it seemed too good to be true. I felt that something wasn’t right yet a number of times during the lessons, but wasn’t sure at the time what I was feeling. Now we know. We are going to continue helping them though. They are still seeing the blessings that they have already seen. Seferino has decreased his consumption by 50 percent they told us. Sylvio is quiting smoking. We just need to give it time I think.

We have had a couple of great meetings with the members here and have tried to plan a ward mission plan. We have got a lot of great ideas already and we just need to finalize everything and send it out to all the members. It is proving more difficult than I would like to unite the ward. Everyone is in their own world thinking of their own ideas and what needs to be done, but there isn’t unity. So we are trying to create this unity now. Little by little. It is hard! We are going to try and pass by members and train them and have a special missionary class to teach some basic principles found in Preach My Gospel so the members understand how to share the gospel and the importance of it. The bishop gave us a Sunday to speak in church too and we are doing to see how things go. Little by little.

Well, I love you all a bunch and hope you have a great and exciting week.

Elder Aaron McDonald