Note from Argentina

***** NOTE: HERMANA CASTILLO'S P-DAYS HAVE CHANGED TO MONDAYS!!! *****

So it rained for the first part of the week. It just poured and poured! It was funny b/c we were up to our ankles is water in some areas, and in others, my comp and I both lost our shoes in mud. They broke, so we took them in this week to get fixed. lol It was funny! Then, when it stopped raining it was scorching hot!!! It has almost been unbareable, but we make it. My clothes are drenched at the end of the day and we look really gross. lol Oh, our New Years was amazing! Wow, I have never seen fireworks like this before! We went on our roof at 11.45 and the fireworks were all over the city. You know all the fireworks that are illegal in every state beacuse they sound like a war is going on and make a lot of messes? Well, they are allowed here. lol It was amazing! For a full hour, we had the whole cities for miles around doing fireworks and all sorts of things. The had little floating hot air balloon looking things all over for wishes. It was awesome!

Ok, next, pray for Damian and Andres. They are the kids I told you about that just became members a week before I got here. Damian is 10 and Andres is 15. Their father is a good for nothing bumb. Andres works all the time filling up tires and cleaning windows on people's houses. I want to help them but I don´t know what to do. We bring them food about every other day and members invite them over for lunchs sometimes, but pray for them that they can get out of their bad living situation. The bishop wants to adopt them, but the dad of the kids said no. We think it is beacuse then he would have to work to feed himself. See, his kids wouldn´t be there anymore to take care of him and so forth. Bum. I am sooo angry with him. I really want to punch him, but i won´t. But if he ever gave me the chance, well man I sound like a mean missionary. I'm not, I'm just passionate. lol

So next, I have come to terms with my illness. I am just going to be sick my whole mission, I know it. I drink a half of a bottle of Creme de Bismol a day and it helps, so its not soo bad, but all the food is not good for me and the ONIONS! Oh the onions! I have been having some serious issues with that, but you can't say no so i have lost 6lbs. I think from all the heat here and the walking it's great b/c then I can eat more lunch.

OH so here's a really random story. My comp and I were contacting people and we came across two people making out under the tree. We figure ha why not?! lol So we aproach them and start talking and end up teaching them lesson 1 and lesson 2. In the middle of lesson two when we were talking about the Atonement, the guy starts crying. UMMM?? It was a little random. His name is Dani and he is 25. We stopped and asked what was wrong. Then, he sobbed harder and told us this story. When he was 16, he and two of his friends broke into our church (the church my comp and I are at). He waited outside as a watch while his friends went and stole a ton of things. Afterwards, his two friends were arguing about who gets what and he started to wonder if robbing a church was right. Then all of a sudden, his friend pulls out a gun and shoots his other friend and kills him. He watched the whole thing and didn´t know what to do. Well, the guy that shot his friend was caught and sent to jail and is still there. Dani said that he knew that God had punished them for stealing from Him and he was going to live with it for the rest of his life. He never stole from a church again, but he steals from other people. (I don´t know the logic, but there you have it) So anyway, he was crying because when we were talking about the Atonement and how you can be forgiven, he said that he knew that God had sent us to him at that moment to teach him these things and to forgive him. That after all this time, he can now be forgiven. (wow...) So he invited us to his house and we met his family and set up a time to meet with him tomorrow. He is really excited. I am really excited. So anyway, that is a way cool story I thought I would share with you.

The people here have gone through so much than we ever dream of and have seen so many horrible things with their government, in their homes and just everyday living. I admire them for their courage to live and their effort to make this world and this life better for everyone.

So another cool story. This Sunday was Fast & Testimony meeting. Well it was Damian's first time in this type of a meeting and he came over and grabed me and said, "Will you help me bare my testimony?" Well, I was nervous as all get out b/c of my Spanish!!! So anyway, I walked up there with him with him pulling me all the way up there by my hand wanting to sprint to the speaker. lol It was cute! Everyone had a good chuckle out of it. It was a great experience for me to help him give his very first testimony and then afterwards I bore mine. I was already up there so why not?!

Man, I love it here! Even with all of the humidity, crazy men, GIANT SPIDERS and crazy dogs, I love it and I wouldn´t change it for the world. Dear elder me and I will keep in touch. I am sorry I wasn´t able to reply to anyone this week, but I love all of your letters and I love all the stories.
Love
Amanda


Haley and Ammon,
I love you guys so much and miss you like crazy. I hope you are happy and doing well. Make sure you guys pray for me and play nice with each other. Oh, and tell Daddy he is a weenie tadepole. Give your mom and dad big hugs and big kisses for me. I love you very much and think about you all the time.
Love
Aunt Amanda

***** NOTE: HERMANA CASTILLO'S P-DAYS HAVE CHANGED TO MONDAYS!!! *****