I would like to start off with giving a big, Argentine shout out to my dear mother. Yesterday was el Día de la Madre, here. That I´m aware of, Argentina is the only country in South America that celebrates Mother´s Day in October. The rest celebrate it in May, like the United States. It went well. We gave an elderly member, who lives across the street from us, a flower. She liked it. Church was also very nice. Right now, Elder Larson,(senior couple missionary) is the branch president. He had the young men and young women had out a flower and a slip of paper to all of the mothers in the congregation. It felt like home. Something a little out of the ordinary did happen, though. When Elder Larson was announcing the remainder of the program, he asked that when the meeting concluded, all mothers would stand. Somehow, that got lost in translation.(maybe quite literally..) Because when it came time for the concluding hymn, all of the mothers stood up. They thought he meant during the final song! It was definitely a sight to behold, all of the mothers standing, singing. I wonder what the investigators were thinking! (we hold the mothers in our church very ¨highly¨, I guess...) :)
I´m reading regularly that the weather is turning to cold, back in the states. If only it were so, here. October weather is equivalent to April weather back home (6 month conversion, there). It has begun to regularly start hot this days. Luckily, we´ve had a little rain lately, which has done a good job cooling things off. I´m kind of looking forward to the warm weather, though. I need to start working off this extra winter baggage. I love having lunch appointments everyday, but my belt doesn´t feel the same. High carb diets aren´t always your best friend, trust me. Speaking of which, my burning passion for bread is still an all systems ¨GO¨. I made bread this week, even. Thanks for the Artisan bread recipe, Aunt Dawn. Three other elders thank you as well. I think I just found a new way to ¨butter up¨ to the members here, so to speak.
This week might be crazy. Wednesday is transfers. My companion has been here for 4 and half months now. He could go at any time. I promised him bread for the road if he goes. Elder Robinson has been a lot of fun to work with; I´d be very content if he were to stay here for another transfer. I´ll let you know how this week pans out. Other exciting news... Not this Sunday, but next, we are having district conference in the branch. We will be blessed to hear from the Mission President as well as an Area Seventy. And it only gets better... The following week Elder Christofferson, of the Quorum of the Twelve, along with Elder Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy, will be coming to the mission. Along with them will be two other members of the 70. This is a great opportunity for the entire mission, all at once, to hear a prophet speak. (He even speaks Spanish, too!) The Super Bowl doesn´t even come close to what is going to happen over the next few weeks.
This week, I may have hit my favorite part of the book of Alma (yes, I know, that´s a bold statement.) The Army of Helaman. Every future missionary´s goal. If you want a quick read, read Alma 53:16-22 (20 is way good), and chapters 56 and 57. I get chills when I read. Why were they so awesome? They listened to their parents. It made me think of how blessed I am to have such great parents. Like the Army of Helaman said, ¨we doubt not our mothers knew it.¨ Be a mama´s boy (or girl); it will benefit you greatly.
I love you all,
Elder McMurray
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