Sunday 3 January 2016

A Memorable Christmas

December 27, 2015

Hey guys!!
It was fun to talk with you guys for Christmas! I sure lost track of time! I think I went a little bit over!! Haha - it's alright though!! It was really fun! Those minutes go by very fast! It made me excited for when I can talk to you guys face to face when I get home! Everyone looks good! It seems like bita forgot a little bit of English! Hahaha - but I must say it was very cool to talk with Bita because it was almost as if I could see another side of her that I have never seen! I am excited to share some good stories with her when I return! I will be able to get to know her alot better since we do not have the language barrier!

As I mentioned on our phone call, we were invited for Christmas Eve dinner by some me,bears who live in a little town, about 30 minutes away (by bus).  This town is very very small. You could probably walk from one end to the other in under 15 minutes. If you blink while riding in a car, you might miss the town completely.  Due to the fact that so little people live there, the buses do not run very often. We thought that there was a bus that came at 5:50, but ended up waiting until 7:00 pm to catch it. I was just happy that we made it!! The Hermana really put a lot of time and effort into this dinner! I was very grateful for her efforts and it will be a Christmas that I will remember for the rest of my life because of all the sacrifice that went into that Christmas Eve meal.

By the time we got there, she had put up decorations outside and everything! For Christmas, Argentines put their dinner tables outside and eats outside since it is so hot inside. There is often music along with it.  Anyways she showed us what she had been making all day - and it was a small pig!! With the head and legs and everything!!  It was pretty sweet,  I thought! I had never eaten one of those!! I am not sure, but it looked like she just took the guts out and then put the whole entire pig on the grill! She had been cooking it since 3 o clock in the afternoon in order for it to be ready at 8 or 9 when we ate. They also ate a little bit earlier for us since we had to be back at 11:00 pm. They would normally eat at around 10:00 or 10:30! I was very greatful! She had also spent hours the day before making tons of appetizers and desserts! There was enough food there to feed 25 people!! Hahaha!  I ate as much as I could and then more!! I felt like there was food in my throat! It was all so good though! I had never eaten pig like that before and I really enjoyed it!! Then she even gave us some presents which was awesome!

 She gave us some deodorant. Hahahaha -at first I thought she was trying to send us a message, but then I realized that she wasn't when she followed the same pattern and gave her kids perfumes and stuff! Hahahaha -but it was pretty fun! We just enjoyed the night and then she drove us home at the end which was pretty nice of her! We stayed up until 12 to see all the fireworks! There are tons which is pretty cool! The dogs go crazy though! We finally got to bed at around 1:00 am and slept in until like 9:00 am since we could not leave the pension all day! All in all it was a fun night and I am very greatful for this family who sacraficed lots of money, time and efforts just so that we could have a Christmas that we remembered after the mission!!
 
The week was good! It was a little hard getting back into the swing of things! Yesterday was very very hot! They had a warning out that the people shouldn't leave their houses between 2 and 4 because it was so hot! Haha -it was like 37 degrees and the humidity was crazy bad!! We went early in the morning to walk with some investigators to church and after walking for 5 mins my forehead was dripping with sweat! I got to church and it took me 25 mins to stop sweating,since there is not AC. But the heat was definitely worth it, because our investigators came to church! I don't even bother bringing my suit coat to church anymore. It's just way too hot. Nobody wears it in the summer. It was a good Sunday! Hot but good!
 
One thing I have really realized out here serving the people of Argentina is that I have it made. I have everything and a lot more than what I need! I am very grateful for that and often feel bad for the peopleIi visit cause they really are just getting by, just barely! Yet, here I am complaining that it's too hot, when they are happy with their ripped clothes, and little food that they have! They sure teach me a lot!
 
Anyways, it was a good week! I love you guys!

Elder Carter

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