TACOS

It´s crazy to believe that one percent of my mission has come and gone since I last wrote you.  It was a good one percent, at that.  A few of the highlights include; buying 10 packs of Skittles for $20 pesos. (They are normally $9 pesos a piece.  I saved $70 pesos.  Lets see your Food City Value Card do that.)  Cooking Tacos with members while using imported Taco Seasoning from the States.  And participating in the Buenos Aires Temple Re-Dedication.

I´ll start with the Tacos...

If you´ve ever known an Argentine, you know that I´m not exaggerating when I say that they have a zero tolerance towards foods that are hot.  If it´s hotter than salt, then it´s too hot.  We often find ourselves on this topic with people, here.  A few claim to be a fan of the Hot, but when push comes to shove, they flake out.  Marcelo Sanabria, a returned missionary, has been wanting to do Tacos with his family for some time, now.  On his mission, he grew to love Tacos.  So we brought along a ¨mild¨ package of seasoning.  Not even close to hot, right?  Well... long story short, Marcelo loved them.  His wife?  Not so much.  She was downing a full glass of juice BEFORE and AFTER every taco.  And these we small tacos (in terms of the wrap).  You would have thought that was eating a jalapeno pepper while drinking Tabasco sauce, by the looks of it.  Needless to say, the tacos were successfully tasty.  It kind of does the same effect as the Children´s Book, ¨If you give a Mouse a Cookie.¨ ¨If you give an Argentine Something Hot.¨ ...You´ll have to give them a glass of milk.

The Buenos Aires Temple Re-dedication was nothing short of inspiring.  Elder Christofferson, who served his mission in Argentina, directed the service.  Elder Ballard, spoke of his grandfather, Marvin J. Ballard.  In 1925, Elder Marvin J. Ballard dedicated South America to the peaching of the Gospel.  He did that, ironically, in Buenos Aires.  The first Church meeting held in South America was with several German immigrants.  It was held in German.  (Who ever knew!)  When the former Elder Ballard dedicated South America, he said that it would start as an acorn and grow into an Oak Tree.  More than 80 years later, there are now more than 3 million members of the Church and a temple in every South American country.  Elder Henry B. Erying was the final speaker.  He talked about the blessings of the temple.  He said that the pathway to Eternal Life begins with repentance. (That reminded me of a talk given by Elder Richard Heaten in the MTC... ¨I want to be in the Repentance Hall of Fame.¨)  Overall, the Dedication was amazing.  It makes me have an ever increasing desire to have my life centered on that goal: The Temple.  I´m so grateful for the blessing of temples in my life.  The temple blesses the family.  Fortunately, my family kind of rocks.

*For those of you interested, the Temple President is from Resistencia and his second counselor is from... Posadas!  Way to represent.

I really can´t say anything more spiritual than the temple.  Do everything you can to be eligible to partake of the blessings of the temple.  This is eternal life in the balance, after all.

I love you all,

Elder McMurray