Elder Matthew McCollum: Fifteen Weeks

Well, the luck with the bike wasn't going to last...

The other day my companion and I were looking for a house and ended up in an area with a lot of different farms and lots of what were dirt roads. I say were because it had rained hard for the previous two days and so they were really all about 4 inches deep of mud (without exaggeration). Needless to say, it wasn't easy on the bikes though they only sunk down about 2 inches deep as we were riding along and my headstem broke again (the part that holds the handlebar in place) and so I had to make do with a handlebar leaning to the left at about a 20 degree angle for the next couple hours until we could get to the bike shop. And I say again because it is a part that I already had to replace once, but what can you do? At least my BMX handlebar is still holding up just fine. :)

As for the work this week, it was fairly interesting haha. We tried teaching somebody that said she wanted to see a change in her life for the better but she wasn't willing to change herself. That lesson lasted for about 45 minutes before we left haha but it was like somebody complaining that a door won't open because it only opens outwards (and you have told tem so) but they only want to keep trying to open it inwards. So yeah. We have been a lot friendlier with people in general though instead of just trying to teach them the gospel and nothing else and it has been working out for us extremely well. People are starting to be super friendly back and one way they are doing so is via food (which is perfectly okay with me). One investigator gave us a bunch of fresh fish we caught to take home to cook and eat, another investigator family wants us to come to their place one night to eat homemade pizza, and the lady that works at the laundry place where I take my clothes to get washed every couple weeks wants us to come over and eat some traditional Argentine dishes with her family and friends so not too shabby haha. Really though, people are a lot warmer, friendlier, and more open with you if you do the same with them and it's awesome.

Also, we are finally going to move! The Hermanas' new pension is getting a couple last minute repairs done and then they will move in, and we will then move in to their old pension. Within two weeks all should be said and done. As part of that too though, we had to get copies of the keys to their apartment but the place we got them done at was on one side of Chivilcoy (we stopped in after an appointment one day thinking no big deal) but then we went to try them the next day at their new apartment to make sure they worked (on the other side of Chivilcoy) and they didn't. So, we had to go back and forth trying to get them to fix them (for free) and then testing them three times (the third time they finally got one copy working) before we finally just got the other two copies done at a place just aruond the corner from the new apartment. It was pretty entertaining to be honest, but the whole process took about three hours of us just riding from one end of Chivilcoy to the other.

Nothing else really new, but a couple fun tidbits:

We were riding through the middle of the Plaza one day when there was a police standing there and he acknowledged us by saying: "Ciao, Hasta Luego, Buenos Tardes" in that order, which translated (in order) is: "Bye, See you later, Good Afternoon" so essentially bye, bye, hello. It was mildly amusing.

Also, there was a guy that said we could pass by later that we went to visit and he was drunk and high at the same time, on cocaine and weed. We didn't stay long (for obvious reasons) but one funny thing that he did say is that girls on the street refer to him as Macho instead of Andre which is his name. He then explained they call him Macho Menos (mas o menos, translated being more or less). Just the mindless ramblings of someone not is his own mind but again kind of amusing.

I think that is all for this week though other than I get to go to Capital this week to get my Argentine documentation on Wednesday and Thursday and on Tuesday we have interviews with President in Bragado (about an hour away) so the work this week will also be kind of slow but it will be fun.

Oh, and also we had to start wearing sweaters because of the cold: