Parque Leloir- Week #95

The Traffic Wolf !!!!!!!!

Hey mom and dad and lacey and grandma and grandma,

No I did not know that the 18th of April was such a significant date in family history, but I did know that it was my 22 month mark! I only have one MTC stay left…heavy stuff dude. Just kidding I don’t say things like “dude” anymore…just sometimes. Haha, actually I was thinking the other day, after being with Elder Sabey for so long in the office, I now have the habit of saying “Elder” after every sentence. I will probably be calling all of you elder when I get home. Also, Mom that was a pretty awesome story you told me in the email, and I vaguely remembered it from when Grandma Sherry would tell us all about “Big Mama”, but it was a great refresher for the memory. That is a great family story we should write down or something. Glad to hear that things aren’t as rocky at home. I’m sure things will be fine.

Well, this week started kind of shaky, but ended on SUCH A HIGH NOTE!!!!!! First off, we had zone conference and our presentation of the Book of Mormon went well. Then I had divisions with Elder Heims from Reno, NV in his area, Ituzaingó 1. He is going to be such a good missionary. He is in his second transfer and already speaks really well. That reminds me that one time in divisions with Elder Gneiting from Las Vegas I was looking at his pictures and saw one of his family at Christmas time with the missionaries at their home, and wouldn’t you know it, Elder Naylor was smiling up at me in the picture. I think it was Christmas 2008, though. So anyway, another great moment this week was the 15th birthday party of the bishop’s daughter at the church. Here in Argentina, a girl’s 15th birthday is like sweet 16 in the States, so it was a pretty big deal. They invited us, but we had to leave almost right when it started because it was late. However, we did get to see a little bit of the culture and traditions of Argentina. So I guess it is like the girl’s social “coming out”/”becoming a woman” event. It was interesting. All the young men formed a line at the door, and each had a white rose in their hand…or teeth…haha but only the jokesters…and were waiting for her. Then the lights went dim when she arrived and a song she previously selected started to play. I was loving it. She picked “My Heart Will Go On.” PERFECT!!!! I love Celine. So Celine is just belting it and the girl walks into the room in her formal dress, escorted by her father. He lets go of her hand (symbolic?) and she walks down the line, accepts the rose from each muchacho and gives him a kiss…on the cheek. Then one of the boys dances her “First Waltz” with her, and then we had to leave so I don’t know any more of the traditions. I was just loving the titanic song though. Some of the young women made fun of me for knowing the words. They were just jealous they don’t understand Canadian.

So that was kind of fun. However, the best experiences of the week are always BAPTISMS!!!! Raquel del Transito Lobo entered into the healing waters of baptism and had her sins washed away. First off, her name is Rachel of the Traffic Wolf…I am not sure how someone gets so lucky to have such a sweet name, but she has the character to go with the name. She is awesome. I had the privilege of baptizing her. It was as always a great experience. We had practiced a few times before in her house, showing her how her hands should go, and practicing plugging her nose and everything. Haha, so we get into the water, and I say the prayer, and start to lower her down in the water. She plugged her nose like a champ, but then got really tense, and kind of resisted. She was fine though and went under, then I pulled her up and she kind of choked a little bit. She was laughing though, and said, “I was so focused on plugging my nose; I forgot to close my mouth.” HAHAHA it was so funny. Everybody laughed. She is going to make a great addition to the ward. She is really social, and makes everybody laugh. We have dinner with her on Wednesday, too. She is going to invite a friend as well, so she has already got the fever for the work! Elder Hinckley confirmed her the next day in Sacrament meeting, and she officially became a member of the Church. For the closing hymn we sang, “Called to Serve”, and she loved it! She couldn’t read it fast enough, but she got the chorus down by the fourth verse (there are four in Spanish) and was singing at the top of her lungs, which still wasn’t very loud haha. She is great! I love these people. I love that we connect so well regardless of language or nationality. I love my converts!

Well, that is all for this week. Also, for my birthday I think it would be best if you don’t send me anything and just save the money for when I get home. What would you send anyway that I would use for three weeks? Also, now that you don’t have other large expenses to pay for during the summer, I guess you can come pick me up, or have a Porsche waiting for me at the airport. Also, I have learned here on my mission that the material things aren’t what matter MOST in life. Haha ok just kidding. But I am serious about the birthday thing. I don’t really see a reason in sending me something three weeks before I get home. Love you all, have a great week, don’t buy stuff on Sunday.
Elder Gilmore