Rafael Castillo- Week #30

I turned 7!

¡Regocijad! ¡Mi e-mail vino ya!

First thing is first, if you are about to send that package, please add the following items: My gold tie that I wore on the day I went through the temple the first time...I love that tie and want it...and a washcloth...that is all...i have looked around for washcloths all over the place but there aren't any good ones, here they are all thin and feel like they are going to fall to pieces in your hands...I can't remember if I came with wash clothes, but as of now I don't have any, haha so please send some. Go Cardinals! Suerte a Obama. I love Lacey. Your trip to Utah sounded pretty sweet! Not going to lie, Mom's description of the Utah winter day, Music and the Spoken Word, visitor's center and Christus statue all kind of made me trunky...but not in a bad way...in the way that all things gospel remind me of home, just because in the US and especially Temple Square it is basically "sanctuary" but here, even with the gospel, we are on the front lines of the battle ground fighting tooth and nail to establish the gospel. There are so many great members here in Argentina, but still, the church is weak compared to in the States, but it is really satisfying to help fortify and stabilize it. So yeah, I loved hearing about your trip. Also, President Eyring's article in this months Ensign was BOSS about warning your neighbors...everyone read it...and then live it...

Well, Daniel and Roxana are on vacation, so it is kind of like we are on vacation from them, but we still plan what we want to do with them every day, because it is going to take some planning and skill to get them in the water by the 31st. They come back on Friday, and so we will have a week to teach them the rest of the lessons. I'm confident that the Lord is working with them while they are away. They were going to be gone for 15 days, and we were praying a whole bunch that they would come back, and even Elder González one time said, Please don't let their vacation be more than one week, well we went by the day before they left and Roxana said she thinks we put a curse on them because something came up and they can only go for 7 days...answers to prayer people, answers to prayer. Plus, I look at it as more of a blessing than a curse.

Well, I have to tell you this story because it pretty much made the whole week for me. Let's just say, the houses in Castillo aren't that big, or nice, or even completely constructed for that matter, but there are a few places in the area where there are some nice houses...like big...but the people never let us in...like never...until this week...ROLANDO!!!! Rolando is just some old man that is loaded, and I have come to find out he only lives to spend money. His house is about the size of Grandma Sherry's, which is pretty big for here in Castillo...lets just say too that he is a collector of art, like real art, classic stuff that I was afraid to walk by in fear of damaging it with the air that my drift left. He took us on a tour of his house and it had 14 beds in it...not counting the numerous hammocks throughout the yard and balcony. I was loving it! If there were two words to describe him it would be : Michael Caine... but seriously he was great. The story goes that one day he was walking in the street about 30 years ago, and a boy tried to sell him a lottery ticket, but Rolando had never played the lottery and didn't want to buy it at all, but the boy insisted to the point that the boy followed Rolando around for FOUR HOURS wherever he went, insisting that Rolando buy the ticket, so Rolando finally caved in and bought it, which was the Jackpot Grand Prize ticket worth who knows how much, but enough to live off of the rest of his life. He also has photos of almost every country in the world because he has been there before, but his favorite was when he went and spent a month on the beaches of Greece, where he had a passionate affair with a black woman he said was "divine"...he then went on the describe some of the intimate experiences he had with her...luckily I haven't studied that vocabulary yet so I was lost most of the time, but Elder Gonzalez looked a little uncomfortable. Anyway, so Rolando is just my favorite oldman Argentine. He loves wine and champagne but also our message of the restored gospel haha. The second time we went by he said, I was just reading that pamphlet you gave me and I want a Book of Mormon. How much do they cost, and when can you get it to me. I pulled one out and said it was free, and he just threw his arms into the air and said "¡Fantatisca! ¡Me ENCANTA los Mormones! (Fantastic, I love the Mormons) I was sitting here thinking that I wanted it, and like magic you show up to give it to me!" He is quite the character. He likes the Book of Mormon because he has done a lot of research on the Mayans and Aztecs and couldn't figure out why they were already waiting for a bearded white God when Cortez came. They were already waiting, they knew someone like that would come, so we were like YEAH BECAUSE SOMEONE LIKE THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN THERE! se llama Jesucristo...

That went by way fast, I don't know why it takes me so long to write, but I sit and think for like 10 minutes after every paragraph. Love you all, and am keeping you in my prayers.

Love, Sean