Parque Leloir- Week #99

Don't get trunky...

Hey Mom and Dad,

I got your package! Thank-you, and I already ate all the mango licorice…don’t send more…or the addiction might get worse. Well, today I am pretty trunky…we made the mistake of going to Jumbo today and there is a movie theater inside, where I saw the posters for all the cool movies coming out…next month…when I will be home…anyway, I also went to a sweet store and dropped some major cash on souvenirs. Elder Mackay wrote me and said he is engaged. I think he gets married in Newport in July. He wanted me to go, but we will see what is going on. Dad, my jersey has Messi on the back, and everyone is very displeased with “Diego”. They say he should go back to playing and give up the coaching bit. Elder Hinton and I had a great week. He is a pretty relaxed guy, and a big Beatles and Bob Dylan fan, which kind of sums him up in a nutshell. We are going to have a great transfer. I don’t see anything that will be a problem as far as getting along goes. Also, my grandson is Elder Shepherd from Las Vegas, who is from the same ward as Elder Gneiting (in my group), which is a ward Elder Naylor served in during Christmas of 2008…small world…also “Shepherd” is “Pastor” in Spanish…which is what we call all the missionaries going home, but with Brett, I’ll digest.

We had the zone leader’s conference on Friday, which was interesting, and my last one. Everything this transfer is going to be “my last one”. Sometimes that is exciting, but most times I don’t like it. Everything in the area is going well. I was honored to confirm Beatrice on Sunday, which she really enjoyed. It is really so amazing to have converts. Well, they are the Lord’s converts, but you know what I mean. After her baptism last week as she was walking out of the chapel she turned around just before leaving and said thank you again to Elder Hinckley and I, and said, “You two really are my angels sent from God.” No better feeling!!!! So we went by this week from Elder Hinton, and she was telling him about her conversion, and she said, “I didn’t want anything to do with religion a few months ago, and then he (points at me) just started to talk to me one day about religion in the street, and it all started making sense. So many times I wanted to argue or prove them wrong, but he is more convincing than a Nike salesman!” (That is an Argentine thing. Everyone sells fake nike socks here and they just keep bugging you until you buy them, so they say that like you can sell anything if you are better than the nike guys. Also I bought the nike socks once, they are nice.) I was just laughing the whole time, thinking of her weird random doubts she always had that we always answered with the Book of Mormon. So she got confirmed, and I felt really good after the confirmation, like I had really said what the Lord wanted me to say.

The Rojas family came as well, and they are still trying to get their papers together for their marriage. It is coming down to the wire. However, drumroll….their daughter Leticia is going to be baptized this Sunday!!! We walked in this week, and the first thing she said was, “This is going to be my third Sunday, so I am getting baptized, right?” RIGHT! I have a theory that the Lord makes it easier for the missionaries going home, or else we might say that this is too hard and we are going home soon anyway so we will just give up now. So my fear of not having a baptism my last transfer could be soothed by next week. It would be like a birthday baptism. My last day of being 20, I could be down in the water performing a saving ordinance, or Elder Hinton could. Alicia was completely fine, and she gets better every time we go see them. I think the influence of the Spirit is really chipping away at the bad influences in that family. Also, they feel really bad because we went by last week and while we were clapping at the gate, someone threw a huge rock at my head, and it whizzed past my ear…close one. I guess the neighbors make fun of them and stuff for going to church, but they are intent on staying in the Church. So a few more rocks to the head shouldn’t do too much damage in the long run. Well, that is it for this week. Elder Hinton and I are making some great birthday plans for next week, besides the baptism. I love you all!

Elder Gilmore