Week 042 - Look, It’s A Chinito Negrito

Hi Guys! 

I’m loving it. That is a car. Too fresh! I’m sure it will be a car full of a lifetime of good memories! 

And man Katie did you show them what’s up at homecoming! Katie you were looking pretty fresh and I bet your running man was pretty fresh as well … all night. That’s the only way to kill the dance floor. 

You guys and your American music … I’ve slowly developed to like Spanish music, I hear it too much. There’s very few moments on my mission where I’m not listening to Latino music. For reals, people here keep these huge sound systems in their house, and at every block someone is blasting something. It’s pretty sweet. Parties every day. What more can you ask for. But it’s annoying sometime when you’re teaching lessons (because we usually teach lessons outside). 

It has been a great week here. The sun is coming out, and so is the HEAT! It’s pretty good though. I’ll have the dankest farmers tan by next winter! I’ve needed some of that vitamin D. 

Check this, I’ve been learning some serious brick work lately. Lalo has been needing some help on his house, so we’ve been helping him out. So if you didn’t know, pretty much every house here is made of brick and cement. No one is too worried about a natural disaster coming. But yeah, we went to work, and slabbed down like a hundred bricks on his new asador and his roof. This is how they get the bricks on the roof - you get someone on the roof and you chuck three bricks up at a time. So hopefully the person up top can catch bricks. It’s awesome. 

After we worked. Lalo made us some fish pizza. I’ve never heard of this before, but its grilled fish, and then you put some dang good pizza sauce and cheese on top. You should try it sometime. FISH PIZZA IS LIFE. 

We were also able to eat with family Chavez again. We are working with them on having a family home evening. So this week we should have a good one with family Chavez, and the husband should prepare something nice, and with dinner. Their kid Joaquin is so funny - he was at the super market and he saw a little black Asian, and he was going nutz about the "Chinito Negrito" all day. "Mama, look, it’s a Chinito Negrito!" He was so pumped. 

We’ve been traveling a lot, because there are supposed to be two other Elders in Recreo but they had to leave for an emergency. So we’ve been taking the bus almost every day to get to the other side of Recreo and visit the investigators of the other missionaries. Including the Gonzalez family kids; we are just teaching the kids of this family because the parents don’t really care about anything. But there are like 7 kids and they are all totally nutz. They love going to church and to all the activities, but man, to have a lesson with them is totally nutz. Especially with the youngest girl; she’ll just randomly show up and scream in my face during a lesson. But not only the lessons with her family; we were a couple houses down in another lesson with Horacio, when randomly the same girl shows up, stands in front of us, and just yells nonsense and leaves. It happens. 

But Horacio is just the nicest guy, and loves showing us his flowers all the time.

We brought this guy Manuel to church. He’s actually a less active guy that we just found knocking doors. We’ve only talked to him, and taught him, and while in class he shares with us, “I should probably bring my 13 kids to church as well, they are all baptized too." Good idea Manuel. 13 kids! They don’t own a car, but they own a horse carriage. So maybe they will show up in a horse carriage next Sunday with 15 people! 

Horse carriages are so common in Santa Fe, that in the actually city there are horse carriage traffic signs. I love it. 

We had to make a trip to Santa Fe today, and we thought, "Hey, why not stop at the old McDonald’s?" So we went and each got a Big Mac Grande. It gave us a bit of home for p-day. So that was fun and awesome. 

People lately have been asking me what kind of food Americans eat, and I realize there is not a lot of specialty food that America has, because it’s just food from other countries. The only thing I can think of is barbeque. So you have to let me know if there is anything else. But we made some barbeque chicken empanadas the other day with a family and they said it was some of the best empanadas they have ever had. So I guess America does it well with the barbeque. 

I love you guys. It was another great week on the mission! It really is super great. I miss you guys. Have another great week, and thumbs up Dad (the big kahuna) for just doing great at ExxonMobil. People ask me what my dad does for work and I tell them the truth. My day sells the best oil around!

P.S.  In the future, if you guys are ever sending packages to me - we are not allowed to receive packages, and the church will not take them. But cards are totally cool.

Elder Greene!

Week 041 - A Fantastic Foursome Of Investigators

Coolest chaps around - how are you guys? 

What a trip Katie had. One on one time with grandma and grandpa Greene, thats pretty neat! 

And I’m sorry that the search for a car is not going at its best, but mom, you can’t just ditch out on the search when dad gets fired up on all the car salesmen. You guys want to know how people sell cars here? They just put a water bottle on top of the car. It’s a sign that they are selling the car. My comp taught me that, and I thought it was a lie, until I past an actual car dealership and there were water bottles on top of all the cars that were being sold. And when I was walking with Hermano Pujol, when we saw a car with the bottle, he said “Oh... they are selling their car.” Awesome. 

It's been a fantastic week in Recreo. The weather is getting hot, but not too hot. But that just means everyone gets out their mate and chills all day in front of their house with huge stereo systems. 

So I’ve noticed my diet has increased from good to spectacular, which includes empanadas, french fries, hamburgers, pizza, and fried breaded chicken (milanesas). Fried foods are usually the meal with the missionaries, especially milanesas! 

On Saturday we put on an activity with the ward, and it was awesome. Apparently it was the best turnout this ward has ever had. It was pizza night with a little bit of volleyball and pingpong. So we were down to play some good volleyball, but we ended up having no time, because we spent the whole time making pizzas. About 60 people showed up, and 20 of them were investigators of the church. Awesome! We planned it so the members would each bring a pizza, including us. We brought stuff to make pizza, and in the end, one other person brought pizza. So, within like 2 hours, me and Elder Andrew, with the help of another member, made 20 pizzas. It was awesome!  Everyone had some good times, and at the end we brought out the pizzas. We had an activity planned for after pizza, but more came then we thought would come, so we decided to do something where I was blindfolded and  everyone had placed a bunch of chairs and tables in a path from one door to the other, and Elder Andrew was guiding me with his voice while everyone else was yelling and telling me different direction. It was a blast for the ward, and we were able to share a good message, and our testimony on the guidance of the spirit. 

I was asked to give a talk the next day, and I told a story about an old lady. But instead of saying señorita or señora, which would of been the right word to say “old lady”, i was saying vieja, which is kind of like saying "oldy". So everyone got a kick out of that, and it got brought up to me after at least 20 times by different people. 

So when people ask me where I’m from, I usually say that I’m from Texas. But I think the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie has shown up recently on tv, because everyone that I tell I’m from Texas say, "Like the Texas chainsaw massacre." I think the movie says that it is based off a true story, so everyone here thinks its real. Now when people tell you, "Remember the Alamo!” You say, no, "Remember the Texas chainsaw massacre!” 

I’ve eaten so many churros this week, because the ward is trying to go to the temple, and every family is raising money for the trip. But everyone has the same stinkin idea to sell churros, and the first people they go to are the missionaries. So we’ve been helping out and buying churros, about 50 in fact. 

This week was a fantastic foursome of investigators. 

Especially Kevin. He is an 11 year old that wants to be baptized, and is going to be baptized this Saturday. His mom has a girlfriend, so we are giving some good talks. But they are awesome because kevin´s mom is leaning towards ending the relationship, with the understanding of the plan of salvation, and the importance of Jesus Christ in her life, and her family's. 

Another good man, Horacio, who has been working with the missionaries for quite some time, would like to be baptized as well. At first he didn’t want to, because his family was not going to join as well. But we shared the importance of the role the father has in the family, and he liked that, and wants to be that role model. He’s got quite the garden, and he loves showing us all his flowers. He especially likes the Bonsai! He’s great. 

There is also a family that would like to be baptized. The parents are great and share cousins of a family of members. But they are not the brightest. They are a bit difficult to teach because of it. But they are really trying to learn. We spent 3 separate hours on the restoration. But we think that when they start to read on their own from the Book of Mormon, they will start to grasp a greater knowledge of the gospel, and the wisdom of the church. I saw that as a definite effect in the life of Donato Rodriguez. 

We were invited to the house of the Carbones for a family home evening. This is their first ever family home evening, and just about a month ago, the mom, dad, and son and daughter-in-law were reactivated into the church. And the father is working on his other sons and daughter-in-law. They all live in Carbone cit (a house with 4 other married couples), but brother Carbone has been trying for weeks to have this activity with his family all together, and he was able to do it on Thursday. We all sat down at the table, sang a hymn, said a prayer, and brother Carbone shared a great message of the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. He had prepared it all week, and at times it got a little loud with the kids, but when he shared his story and testimony that he had received through prayer and scripture reading, there was a great power in the room that no one could deny. It was really great, and I was happy to be there, because it reminded me of the FHEs our family would have, and the heart felt testimony Dad would give to us in these meetings as a family. So it was a good time and most of the family went to church that next Sunday. 

We recently moved apartments (like today) because originally the Hermanas received a really nice new apartment. But apparently it’s a little dangerous in that location of the neighborhood. So they had us move into it. But it turns out there is only one neighbor, and he´s gay, so yeah, we´ll watch out. 

I love you guys, miss you, and I’m glad that all is good in Houston Texas. 

It was Mother’s Day in Argentina yesterday. So happy Mothers Day Mom. Apparently Animal Day is coming up too, and we´ll have to prepare for that!

Elder Greene

Week 040 - We Are Putting The Puzzle Back Together

Hey Capos!

How goes it! Man you guys are awesome! Super spiritualized with fasting and temple work, I’m super glad to hear that Marlowe and the rest of the family are doing alright! And that you guys are doing great!

Recreo is the bees of knees. I almost forgot what normal was while I was in Galvez, for reals. I love Galvez but there are so many weird people there, and in Recreo I’ve met a ton of super cool families.

I met Olga and her family. Her daughter was visiting from Rosario and we were able to teach them about faith. Olga was recently baptized and she was very excited when we came over. Now when her daughter is in Rosario she can have the confidence to talk to the missionaries there.

Later I met the family Brito (burrito) and we were able to talk to them about the plan of salvation, especially after this last conference. And the father expressed some super cool feeling about the fact that this is the only church with all of this plan, and is the only path where he can have the most happiness with all of his family forever. That seems like what really is god’s plan for him and his family. 

Later we met Monica and her super funny kids that are totally down to do our laundry. So my clothes finally got a full wash in a washing machine! This family is totally sassy but they were recently converted and have plans for going to the temple and we were able to show them the Mormon message on temples. If you haven’t seen this video, it is super cool and called “Temples Are A Beacon," and President Monson talks about how there is no sacrifice too big to receive the blessings of the temple.

We have a family of investigators, mostly the son Kevin is interested in the church, and he has come a few times. But we’ve been teaching them all. The other son has a huge drug problem, and he is totally fried, and not there, and can’t sit still or anything. So we gave him a blessing, later we came back and taught the plan of salvation, and they knew this plan was true, because since that blessing, her son has not taken any kind of drug since. And for the first time in a long time, he has been able to sit down and have a conversation with his mom. That was a huge testimony builder on this family, of the reality of priesthood power.

Check it… we have been getting lunches and dinners all over the place. And they are way good. The family Villagrez invited us over for lunch, and this family is nutz at lunch time. Once 12PM hits, everyone gets back from work, and everyone is about 20 years old or more with wives and babies, and they eat lunch together every day. So we show up at this house for lunch and we are waiting to eat with the parents, when… boom! This huge crowd of Villagrez comes in just going nutz with the Millanessas! It’s totally fun, because one is a cop, another is an artist. One loves twilight, another loves making fun of everyone, and they are totally cool.

Also the family Chavez feeds us too, they are not members, but they kind of feel like they are, except for the fact they are not baptized and never come to church. But they make good food. They made us some kind of crepe enchilada. It was crepes filed with spinach, covered in some kind of chicken sauce. They are super cool with a bunch of younger kids that love scary movies, especially Chucky. They think Chucky is a great movie. Especially Joaquin. He´s like 6 years old. Elder Andrew tried bringing up Lord of the Rings and they made fun of him hard core. Saying, “What, do you like Harry Potter too?" Then we just had a long conversation on the crazy fanatics of Lord of the Rings and such.

I had some really legit asado the other day. Our lunch fell through on Friday so we just put out a mass group text to the ward saying whoever can answer first can eat asado with the missionaries, we´ll bring the meat and they’ll cook it. That gets the old Argentinian guys every time! So we ate with Lalo. He’s a champ and kills it with the asado. And he made us some salad and bread also. It was so much meat though, because we showed up and he was like "no way that’s not enough!" And he went and bought another kilo and a half more of meat. Son we had already bought a kilo. It was good times with Lalo.

Church was awesome because there were like 89 people there. Apparently there is only like 50 most Sundays, but a huge combination of menos activos and investigators showed up. So church was pretty cool. It’s totally a legit chapel. And it was a great testimony meeting, and I really appreciated Lalo´s testimony when he said that this could only be the church of Jesus Christ because it is the only church that can clean us from sin, because it is the lord’s church. It reminded me of that talk that Elder Ballard gave at conference that I really like, where he explains, "Where will you go?" If you leave the church of Jesus Christ. It’s only through the Church of Jesus Christ that you can completely be healed of all pains and receive all the blessings he´s laid before us. It’s true though, where would you go if you left the Church of Jesus Christ?

After church the bishop invited us over for lunch with all of his family and extended family. It was a crazy lunch also because at the end of every lunch they have mandarins. And apparently it’s a thing for the family members to save up their mandarin peels, then randomly at the table the bishop will start throwing mandarin peels, and it turns into a giant mandarin peel fight. I had no idea and I totally had a disadvantage. Elder Andrew says they do it every time they have lunch with them. It’s just a thing they do.

The bishop is hilarious. He knows a little English, and you know that the missionaries taught him, because he says some things he probably shouldn’t say. But he loves it.

So far Recreo is awesome, it’s another campo town, and campo towns are awesome because you still get those crazy people and good times.

I love you guys. The work is too awesome. We are putting the puzzle back together. It’s fantastic!

Elder Greene

Week 039 - They Fired Me And Sent Me To Recreo

Hey you kids!

Wow, that’s a fantastic trip with the Bronco! It has already lasted a lot longer with you so far than with me. I don’t remember taking any kind of part out of the car.  All the parts, including suspension springs, were left in the Bronco. Those crazy car shop fellas are always taking our stuff. But great road trip. Sorry you had to do it alone. And I’m also loving the big truck hat in the bronco pic. Vamos!

You can tell Christian Linford, I wish I was there to see the great jump. That kid is too cool.

Check this! I’m totally not in Galves. They fired me, and sent me to Recreo, another farmer town. President said, “Dog, you’re going to love this place, because it’s just like Galvez, but with a ward." Yesss! It was sad to say goodbyes to the old Galvezese! And I received little notice. We were told Friday afternoon, and we had to leave that night for Santa Fe, to watch general conference the next day. So I was not able to find Donato. But I did leave him note. I was able to say goodbye to Mirta, Ebelia, Hermano Pujol, Dario, and Brian the mechanic, The "MI CASA" Lady, she owns the hamburger pizza restaurant called "Mi Casa". I’ll have to take you there sometime.

But now I’m in Recreo. And there is a ward here, with like 50 members… Awesome! My companion is Elder Andrew. He’s from Tustin California. Such a capo! And so far it’s been great. We showed up last night with three hours left in the day, and we had two lesson, without any planning, and one was with a member. Awesome.

And apparently we get fed every day. Whattttt! And the feasting has already started. We went to the parents of the stake president’s home. They feed the missionaries every Tuesday, and they don’t even eat with us. They just make a ton of food for us and eat in the other room. I think they have the missionaries over so much and they know the missionaries just run out of talking about a lo of things. So anyway, Recreo is awesome.

The place we are staying is like a house, with a garage, but we don’t have a car, so it’s just a giant shoe room. Cool.

Man, wasn’t conference awesome. I totally agree mom. And I really appreciated Elder Nelson's talk, as well as the others. There was a great theme in the plan of salvation, as well as getting your testimony of Jesus in check, and looking beyond the mark. The testimony of Jesus is essential for exaltation, and that testimony needs to be on point. We can find that testimony through our testimony of the Book of Mormon, which is the truest of all books, and a testament of Jesus Christ in itself. I did really appreciate the talks given, and I am excited to look back upon them later, once I can. But man how great the knowledge is that we have of the plan of salvation. There’s a lot of joy in that, and a lot of joy when we share it. Because that’s big news that a lot of people don’t know about. And once they know it, it totally changes their perspective on everything.

Man things are good right now. For you guys it’s cooling down, but here it’s heating up. It’s already started, but it’s all good. I’m in a new cyber right now and they have Phil Collins playing, so we’ll see, it should be a good week.

One lame thing about Recreo is that there is no Pablo, and now who’s going to go around asking me for change or see if he can get some gum (smokes).

I love you guys, for reals. No jokes around here. And I’m glad Katie is still killing the cello! It was a great weekend in the Church of Jesus Christ!

Elder Greene

Also Dario and Family Romero are doing awesome and are on their war to being baptized! We’ll here more on that in the future! You guys are great!

In front of the Galvez chapel

Donato's garden (we found it!!)

Mi Casa

Familia Pujol

Hermano Pujol (aka future missionary) Elder Robles…Capo

Train tracks

Shoe room