Letter from Mission President

Today, we received the following letter from Amanda's Mission President in Salta, Argentina:

LA IGLESIA DE

JESUCRISTO

DE LOS SANTOS

DE LOS ULTIMOS DIA

To the Family of Sister Amanda Castillo

Dear Missionary Family,

We are excited to have Sister Castillo in the Mission Argentina Salta! She has just arrived and is in the process of recovering from a long trip. We wanted to let you know she arrived safe and sound and has been assigned to her new area in the mission. It was such a pleasure to spend some time with her and we look forward to working together for the rest of her mission! What a blessing this is to us!

Thank you for your love and sacrifice that has gone into getting this special missionary to our mission. She left here today excited and with one of our very best missionaries. We only assign our best as trainers for our new missionaries!

Thank you again for sending this wonderful missionary to us.

Our best wishes,

Pres. Dan Northcutt Sister Cynda Northcutt

Adios MTC

I leave Monday morning at 5am from the MTC to head off to
the Salta, Argentina Mission.  I fly for 24 hrs. and I have a bus
ride for 13 hours.  That's a long time, but I have a lot of
layovers.  Excited to get to talk to my family with my calling
card during those.

Don't forget that if you're going to write or send me something
(which I LOVE), you'll have to send it to my new Argentina
mailing address.  (NOTE:  Dear Elder has their pouch letters
to Amanda free.  You can donate to them if you'd like.)

Sister Amanda Micaella Castillo
Argentina Salta Mission
Los Eucaliptus 75
4400 Salta
Salta
Argentina

Getting Close

**NOTE: Amanda is expected to leave Dec. 14th for Argentina.**

So this is getting down to the wire of my stay...so a few updates
on what is going on here. 1. I found the coolest girl here about 4
weeks ago and I am positive she was sent into my life! She is
amazing, like the Carissa away from home! 2. I am going to meet
with the Consul from Argentina this coming Wednesday.  YA! So
let's pray that my visa went through and he is going to sign it.. 3. I
will be sending things home very soon. 4. I went to the doctor
today for my update. The fracture is still there but my pain went
away, so he is clearing me to go as long as I don't mess it up.  I
have another check up before I leave. 5. The Dear Elder printer
was broken this week so if you sent letters this past thanksgiving
and this week I  never got them so I'm sorry.  Send more!  LOL
6.  I almost punched my companion but I just smiled and said
that's great Sister and I'm so excited for you.  LOL  Long story,
but just so you know I could take her!!! ( BIG SMILE) So anyway,
that's not really Christlike love but the second part was so I
consider myself a good person. LOL

So I am getting really excited to go, I am really antzy to leave yet I
am nervous about the language. I can't believe how much we learn
here in two months! It is more that what people have learned in
Spanish classes for 6 years.  It blows my mind!

For Haley and Ammon:
Hey guys!  Hows it going?  Man, I miss you soo much! I can't believe
it's been two months since I have seen you. ONLY 16 more and I will
be home. Don't worry it will go by really fast. So, I am sorry I have not
written as much as you wanted, but I will work on it. When i get to
Argentina it will take a long time for mail to get to you. Ask Mommy
and Daddy why!  But anyway, how is it going?   How is school? Have
you guys done anything crazy fun? I miss you sooo much and am
doing my best to be a great missionary for you!!!!  Write me and
send me pictures of you guys playing and having fun. Remember to
always be nice to each other or I will be very sad. Pray for me that I
will be safe and that I will be a good missionary. And tell Daddy to
write me...tell him he is a weenie tadpole!

Well everyone i have to go ... I love you so much and think about you
all the time.

Love amanda

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone!!!
Well I just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving!  So Thanksgiving was
fun!  We had a full day of relaxing and devotionals. Elder Holland came
and spoke to us and so did Elder Oaks.  It was amazing!!!! I loved
every bit of it and we got to do humanitarian projects.  I loved it!  So I
have been doing great! I am getting a little nervous now because we
should get our travel plans this week!!!! I can't wait! I am soooo
excited!  Pray that my visa went through!!! Hopefully I will be in
Argentina for X-mas! Life is great!  I have not been sick and that is a
miracle since everyone is getting the swine flu and other random things
that cause you to be in the bano for ever.  So I took off my boot today
to see how I would be and I feel like I could fly! I hate the thing with a
firey passion of a thousand suns...lol..that's a lot!!! It slows me down in
sports and is really obnoxious, but I am doing great! The doc should
get the X-ray scan thing back this week and tell me what is going on,
but I am very certain he will say I am fully healed....lol....I'm just a
fighter!

SO thanksgiving was really weird without my family. I was wanting to
eat all day long, watch fun movies, play cards and sing with everyone,
but I know you guys were having a blast and I wish I was there with you
to celebrate it. But I was there in spirit!  Te agradecido por mi familia!!!
Mi familia es muy importante em mi vida!!! I love you all so much and
hope you know that you are in my prayers always and I talk about you
to everyone all the time.  Well, I have to go.  Thanks Josh and Lindsay
for the X-mas gift.  It is awesome!  I love the snowflakes!  Why is it that
the woman always write more than the boys!!!! My own blood only writes
a few lines. lol Sisters teach my brothers how to write meaningful letters!
lol  Well, I have to go. I love you all!

love amanda

Phone Call from MTC

Yesterday, Mom received a surprising phone call from the MTC informing the family that Hermana Castillo has a stress fracture in her foot. She will be wearing a boot for 6 weeks, so no gaming people on the court during gym time for her anytime soon!

This will probably be hard on her since she is not one to sit still very long so please send your prayers and letters her way. Mom got to speak with Hermana Castillo for 15 mins. and one of the main things she said was to write. She loves receiving letters, especially from dearelder.com b/c she gets those on the days that they are sent.

Letter to Haley & Ammon

How are you guys! I love getting your letters! This is my second letter to you. I hope you got the 1st one. I sent it to G-ma Mable, but I think I have your address now! :) I read your letters to all my companions and they love them. You two should send me pictures of the last time we were together! Ask Mommy to help w/ that one! So Happy Birthday Ammon! I was so sad I couldn't be there! But I was so excited that you got so many cool Star Wars stuff! Did you save me any Birthday Cake? But it might not be good in two years!! :) So Soccer is almost done, are you guys sad about that? Soccer is so much fun! I loved watching you guys play and playing w/ you! When I get back I bet you guys are going to be professionals! But make sure that you practice all the time! Have Uncle Michael practice w/ you an dtell him if he doesn't, that he is a weenie-tadpole! :) So Ammon you got a medal! Awesome! You should send me a picture of you wearing it! So Haley are you still doing gymnastics? How is it going? How is 1st grade? Are your teachers nice? How are the kids in your class? Are they fun? (Denise ... Does any kid pick on my niece? Cuz being a missionary I get what I pray for immediately! So I will pray for that kid to get sand thrown in his face! :) Just a side note .. yes, I love my niece & nephew and no its not mean to pray for that, I'm simply asking God to protect the righteous! hehe :)

So Haley & Ammon, how is Reina doing? Are you still training her? So what new movies have you seen? How is Primary? Do you like having Mom in ther w/ you! Daddy used to teach primary before you were born! Wouldn't it be fun to have them both in there! YA! Pray for it! So I am working hard to be a good missionary! I want you guys to be proud of me, so I am studying Spanish hard and my church lessons. I love being a missionary! Its so much fun and they give me ice cream 2 times a week! (FYI I only eat it once a week cut I'm a health nut!) :) And I get to play in the gym 5 times a week & play "almost" anything I want! And your Aunt Amanda still beats the boys in all the sports! :) Well I have to go, but send me pictures of all your fun stuff. (I don't get it on the computer) :(

I love you guys so much! I think about you everyday & wish I could be at home w/ you giving you hugs & kisses and playing soccer & Star Wars w/ you! Pray for me that I will be a good missionary & that I will be safe!

With all the love in my heart,
Aunt Amanda
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

To Amanda's friends

Amanda has asked me to forward her emails on to you virtually unedited excepting the assigned lists of errands... (I thought when she left that I'd get my life back....hmmmm)

Regardless - you'll soon find two things in these missives:

1. Amanda refuses to spell check AND
2. I make liberal use of run on sentences sprinkled with generous quantities of ( ) parenthesis.

Be forgiving here....it is a by-product of raising selectively deaf children...one learns to compensate with audible Narrations to oneself..... translated to paper it looks like a ( ) parenthesis. So, skip through the bad spelling (she claims the Friday 1/2 hour email window is too limiting). But the truth is -

   Alphabetic dyslexia: is the resulting after effects of strenuous & frequent texting
                *(see - snopes.com: Urban Legends Reference Pages)*.

Anyway, you are now on the Argintina family 'forwards' whether you wanted to be or not :)

Until next time, Happy Thanksgiving!
Janina (Amanda's mom)

Homework for CARISSA - send me your mother's email address when you read this por favor.
On a more personal note: I wanted to compliment you on your attn. to detail when you sent me Amanda's unpaid $148.00 Verizon wireless phone bill, her empty bank statements & a Power of Attorney to act in her behalf. *grin* The more things change, the more things stay the same...

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i love your letters and everyone in the families....it really helps me a lot ...oh and write me (dearelder.com) before 12.30 your time on sat cuz i only get mail once a day on sat...its wierd but thats that....

Ok so that is the list now for my week....MTC life is great...its interesting, they have a nack for digging in you to pull out all of your talents and abilities......to make you the best missionary every....my comps are great...we are learning to work well together and by now we know eachothers stengths and weaknesses....so the work is moving along.....spanish is hard!!!! im getting it but dang it there is soooo much to learn!! i have already been here for 5 weeks...they counted my first 3days here as a week!!!! so i only have 4 left....so as for my visa. i went and signed a paper as my last step for it before i meet the council so that is a good sign. but apparently he is coming tomorrow and is only going to sign 30!!!!!! and the next time he is coming is in DEc to sign another 30...i hope that i can meet with him in Dec. if not then i will be reasigned like everyone else for a few weeks!!!! it stinks...but i am really ahead of everyone..most people have not had the paper signing like i did. That means that he looked at my paperwork and is in the prosses of signing it..So ya pray extra ahrd for me.!!!!!SO tell me what is going on with everyone...i hardly ever hear form Josh and Hemo( only once) and Don and mike are non exhistant!!! YOu ahve to tell me everything i am dying for some real news fro the out side world...lol...anyway i sent ammon and haley a letter a week ago did they get it...and i wrote to them 2 weeks ago are they not getting them!!! i spent a long time writting them... i am sending another one off today to them and should get it on tuesda or wed!!!so let them know that i think of them everyday and that i pray for them. I love them sooo much and love theri letters and hope they keep sending me some and some pictures...forward that to them and read it to them so they know i have been writting them and i do miss them sooo mcuh....So next thing...when do i get some picutes ....it s a little sad i have to dream about you guys to see you...ilike tangable things also....lol......just kidding...but seriously..lol....so i love all the packages thatyou guys have been sending!!! and the nylons are great...but the thigh highs don't really stay up....i tape them...so if you feel so inclined or inspired to send others that would be great full tights and knee highs...if you feel inspired.....i am writting everyone back that wrote me from the ward....and i love the package...lol....well i have to get going my time is up...but remind everyone to dear elder me and that i will be sending out letters on monday to them so they should be there by wed or thurs...thanks...and tell everyone that i love them so much

...loveyou bye amanda