Flight to Argentina

Sunset in USA, Sunrise in Argentina, Airport

First Letter From Argentina - 8/22

Argentina is great!! this is a lot of hard work but i love actually teaching real people. The last couple days in the MTC i worked as hard as i could to prepare for the field. On friday we had an in-field orientation to prepare us and give us ideas to use while out in the field. It was very helpful. I took a lot of notes and have already started to implement them. My last sunday i took lots of pictures with my zone, they all were great elders. Oh i forgot. Thursday was my last day to go to the temple for 2 years (or until they dedicate the Córdoba temple, but i don't think they will have the temple finished by then) Having a temple so close is definitely a huge blessing. I hope you will go often.
Ok lets see monday. travel day!!! So i didn't have to report to the travel office until 1130. I got to talk to you over the phone!!! I assume you arrived home safely. Well lets see after the 2 hour flight to dallas i had a long 10-11 hour flight to Buenos Aires!! They served dinner and breakfast, and i attempted to get sleep. A couple of the pictures i will be sending will be my last sunset in america and my first sunrise in argentina!! (poetic? ya i know!) Well we arrived in argentina and well we had to get through customs and passport people, the only problem was.... none of us knew how to speak spanish fluently. A couple of us went first to try and figure out what we were supposed to do... the good news is we all made it through. i don't know how, but we did. after walking through security there was the buenos aires mission president waiting for the elders, but our president was not there. So we kinda just stood around, an odd bunch of Americans not knowing what to do. hahaha oh well. Then a guy with longer hair came up, and was talking in spanish.My companion and i figured out that he needed our passports. he said he was from the church so we gave them to him, and he left for a little bit into a shop. (good news, he was from the church) we then put all our luggage in a car that left and then we got on a bus (we thought we would be taking this bus all the way to Córdoba (it was way small and uncomfortable) the driver didn’t speak much and drove CRAZY!!! Everyone here drives crazy. we arrived at a smaller airport and she told us to get off. We got off and then another person found us. and took us to a check in place and we got plane tickets to Cordoba. we then had about 2 hours (so we thought) until the plane, the guy bought us some empenadas. they were way yummy and we were happy to have some substantial food. We got through security and found out our plane would be another 1 or so before it got there. so we waited/slept. we didn’t know how to use the telephones (and someone said it charged their parents) so i didn’t call. We then got on the plane and had an 1 flight to Córdoba. where... we met our mission president!!! yay finally. We took some pictures and then headed to the mission office.
My companion and i were put in a taxi by ourselves (sound familiar dad?? haha except this time the taxi knew where to go) we tried to talk to him but it was very difficult. We got to the mission office (very nice) and had a training session thing (capatación). we ate more empenadas, and then we got to sleep in a bed!!! they rented a nice hotel for us with warm showers!! (it had been awhile since we had had a shower and a bed) we got to bed pretty late due to the walk. In the morning we ate breakfast and went into the city to do some police thingy. We first took a bus into the down town (i had the bus experience) hahaha. Basically there were tons of people packed into a bus, and the bus driver drove crazy, accelerating fast and braking fast, piling more people into the bus and then taking off again. It was interesting, yet fun! Definitely different! We accidentally took the wrong bus, so we got off and took a taxi to the police station. Same thing happened again, my companion and i were in the taxi by ourselves while the assistants went with other elders. once again i tried to talk to him but it was very difficult. once we got to the police station we sat.... well that was exciting hahaha after the police station we went to a church to meet our new companion and trainer.
My new companion is Elder Gallacci, and my new/first area is........ Chilecito, La Rioja. (oh i forgot to mention, I told my mission president that my dad served in argentina and had actually opened La Rioja and Catamarca, this is true right?) Cool fact about Chilecito - its a little chilly hahaha (get it?) Actually right now it is super cold, there is snow on the mountains around.
So dad i have a question, did you serve in La Rioja, and do you have any names of investigators or members you baptized? if so, i would love to get their names. So back to were i was at the church building. I got my new companion and we were going to take a bus around 12 at night, but we found out that there was a bus leaving right then, so we quickly ate lunch and then the AP´s drove SUPER SUPER fast to the terminal (we did make it!). We then took a 6 hour bus (yes, more traveling... oh well, good opportunity to sleep and have my companion tell me about the area and what was being done). the six hour bus actually took 7 hours so we missed our bus from the capital La Rioja to Chilecito, so we staved with the elders there in the city. I slept on the floor, with dogs barking all night, and we had previously killed a spider on the ground :) Needless to say, i did make it, and i´m glad i had that fun experience. We woke up at 5 and quickly got to the terminal to take another 3 hour bus to chilecito and then the travel would finally be over!!!!!! we made it!!! I had a warm welcome with silly string and signs with the other two elders that live in the apartment.
Chilecito is so far from the mission home we have two pairs of elders for the whole city, and also because the city is rather big. There is not a ward, only a branch, there are around 250 members but 200 of them are inactive. So we spend our time, meeting inactives and teaching their family and also teaching new investigators.
I absolutely love doing actual missionary work, even if it is super difficult to understand them all. I do get complemented a lot that my Castilian is very well and they ask me where I learned it. I tell them that my dad served here in Argentina and he taught me (they always like that, and then usually ask me another question that I don’t really understand, sometimes hahaha). oh!!! Another cool thing. The branch has not had anyone who could play the piano for a very long time. WELL!! guess who can play the piano :) I can! It was super fun to see the faces of the members as they walked into church and heard prelude music. Thanks mom for keeping me playing the piano.
Since we cover the whole city we walk A TON!!! On friday I must have walked 20 miles, maybe a little exaggerating, but close to that. I am going to work as hard as i can, serve the people as much as i can and let the Lord give me strength and support me. So please keep that in your prayers, I have also been getting a cold and it is no fun. But same thing,I will work as hard as I can and let the Lord take care of the rest. I love you all so very much family!! The work is going good. I love teaching people and seeing the gospel change their lives!!!!! I hope all is well, if there is anything i can do please let me know!!! les quiero muchísimo!!!!
Elder Rowse