Another exciting week has come and passed. Thanks for all of the emails this week, it´s always good to hear from those of you that write to me by way of email. I hope all is going well on the home front. Sounds like Thanksgiving is going to be a fun one.
A quick follow-up from last week´s email... The cemetery was definitely worth the hype. Cemeteries are extremely different here, in Argentina, than they are back in the states. When we first walked in, there were houses on every side. At first, I thought maybe we had just gone into another neighborhood. Then I realized. These large houses are home to the burial sites of entire families. You can walk up to each of the front doors and, as you look in, see caskets on shelves. Talk about up close and personal... And if your family doesn´t have a house, you are laid to rest in the walls surrounding the perimeter. If I can figure out this computer, I´ll make sure to send photos.
I spent a few days of this past week in the other elder´s area. Doing divisions with our Zone Leader, Elder Montanares, is always a real treat. I learn so much from him every time. One of my personal favorite scenes in their area was a pet carpincho (excuse me...carpincha...it´s a girl.) There it was, just chillin´ in the yard with a chain around it´s neck. This rat was actually bigger than a lot of dogs, but rather (surprisingly) calm around humans. One can buy carpincho skin products, here. They also eat it: I have yet to experience this cuisine.
Friday afternoon we left for Resistencia, our conference with Elder Christofferson. (Also: Elder Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy, Elder Foster of the Seventy, and another Area Seventy) We spent the night in Corrientes, the capital of the province Corrientes. It was quite a sight to behold; around 20-something missionaries sleeping on the floor of three different rooms of an apartment. Sleeping on the floor was actually really nice. It´s more firm than my regular mattress. The only downside was that it was really hot, and a bunch of human bodies that are generating heat don´t help. So all of the windows were opened. Enter Stage Left: Mosquitoes. Well... I think I was the winner for number of bites. I stopped counting after 60 something....and that´s only from my ankle down. I´m just glad that they didn´t start itching until after the meeting with Elder Christofferson -- that was a blessing in and of itself.
The meeting started off with a real treat... Elder Christofferson and company asked if they could shake every missionary´s hand. Even better yet, when he shook my hand, he said my name. My name! All of the speakers spoke in Spanish. I was impressed. Sister Christofferson is fluent. Elder Christofferson served in the Argentina North Mission. One of his areas was Corrientes. He knows our area well. His Spanish is flawless. He spoke of so many good things, I wouldn't be able to name them all. It reiterated the importance of why I am here and what I am doing. He, like Elder Bednar once said, called us his fellow servants in the work. One thing that I really like from Elder Jensen was when he talked to us about obedience. He said for those that don´t understand, they are rules. For those that do, they are covenants with the Lord. Makes you think, huh?
OOXXoxOXooXXo,
Elder McMurray
No comments:
Post a Comment