Oct. 28

Family, friends!

How are you? Things, good? I hope you all enjoy Halloween this coming week! Here in Argentina, it appears that they don´t celebrate halloween much. There is a little pizza shop near our house called Brujas or Witch´s Pizza with a big pumpkin painted on the side, but aside from that, I´m pretty sure nobody is going to go Trick or Treating or anything like it. They know the word Halloween, but they don´t know what it is, I think. Maybe I´ll buy myself a few of the many centavo candies that they have here and have a 10 minute celebration of... whatever it is we celebrate in Halloween... Candy? The dead? Hallows (whatever that is)?

Anyway! It was good to hear of all the happenings at home! I agree, President Theurer is going to be an awesome Patriarch, and tell Cody that he needs to be the best hometeaching companion ever! Hometeaching was seriously one of the best preparations I had for missonary work.

Things here are hard, I´m not going to lie, but you can´t make me complain (to you at least). This week has followed the pattern of some of the other weeks, and I´ve not been as diligent in somethings as I should, but we finally have an investigator! We´ll call her Marisol. She lives near our Bishop´s family, who are awesome and, she noticed how well behaved and nice their kids are and said that there had to be something that worked with the mormons if that family was the way they are. We got in for the first lesson and I´ll tell you what she just talked our ears off with how she´s always stressed and doing things for her family and her boys but never gets anything in return and she just wanted respect. It was really hard to finish an idea, before she would comment and ramble on and on. at the end of the ¨lesson¨ she said that she liked it. a few days later we invited her to a ward activity for mother´s day, which is in october here, and she said flat out, Ïll be there. And she was! And she liked it! And she talked with the ward! It was excellent! Tender mercy central!

 I´m out of time, but I love you all and am so grateful for your love and the emails I get from you!

Elder Turek

Oct 21

Family and Friends!

How are you? Are you doing well? Have you taken a deep breath today? No? Okay, do it with me. Big breath in. (I´m waiting for you to do it with me)...hold it...hold it a little more....and breathe out. Ahh, doesn´t that feel better. Look at that right through the internet.

This week! Oh, what fun being a missionary is; it´s hard. This week it seemed that no one was in their house when we showed up and when we rescheduled with them, something came up. We walked and walked. Our lunches canceled on us two days of the week, so we were left to cook our own meals, but that turned out better than expected, so all is well.

It´s been more difficult to have two companions again, but I´ve learned from my experience with my two companions earlier and so I´m trying to include my new companion in everything I wasn´t included, explain things, translate things, help him get to know the area, introduce him, things like that. Funny thing: I gave up my desk to him before I even met him and pulled the door off the hinges to make myself a new desk. I´m trying to make him feel good and welcome even if he´s sick and shy right now. Hes doing well.

Argentina, it just so happens, is on the opposite side of the world than most of you, and so instead of approaching the drizzle, wind, and cold of autumn and winter, we`re blossoming into an increasingly hot spring and eventually summer. The mosquitos have started to come. I hear less than wonderful things about summer here. Haha, it´s gonna be a good time. But I bought myself a flower to remind us that it´s spring and she´s doing well.

Yesterday, was Mother´s Day here in Argentina. Yeah, I know, weird, but they´re seemingly the only country in the world that decided to have their mother´s day in october. So Happy Argentinian Mother´s Day all you moms!

Mom, you asked if I´m walking through any dangerous neighborhoods. Um, define dangerous, haha, I haven´t been shot at or threatened or robbed yet, so no. There might be one neighborhood that we avoid at night, but the others are relatively safe. I really hope that I don´t ever get robbed, because if I do it will suck; I´ve gathered the name marry poppins on some fronts because I believe in the scout motto and therefore seem to have everything I and others need when we need it--first aid kit, water, camera, headlamp, etc. I may have sore shoulders every once in a while--having a single strap messenger bag doesn´t help--but it´s worth it.

Like I said, things are good here in Argentina! I love you all, and keep being excellent.

Love, 

Elder Bradley Turek

A few other things.

Photos. I really would like photos of things, please.

I need to know how to lock a Cosmo Black Diamond headlamp. I had the instructions at home, but google should be able to tell you. Let me know, thanks.

Tell Tyler to put dates on his Dear Elder Letters so that I can know when they are, don´t have dates inherintly. I get one every week or two. Thanks for your letters T. I´ll write you back I promise.

Oct. 14

Como le va! How´s it going family and friends! Man, I love all of you guys!

Things here in Argentina are going just grand. Like I told you last week we had a baptism and a wedding and guess what! This week we had the baptism for their son, too! It was.... an adventure, haha.

Long story, short: The baptismal font takes a long, long time to fill.

Also, we just got hot water because before it was broken. We filled it for like 2 hours and then my companion turned off the cold and just ran the hot to make it a little bit warmer for him. Do you remember how I said the hot water here is really, really hot? Well, when we were all ready to baptize him, we opened up the doors to the font and steam came flowing out. I thought that was a little weird, and then when they tried to get in, it was was way too hot, like "burn you"

hot. So we started adding all the cold water we could find and stirred it around for a little bit, and eventually they could get in without scalding themselves. Then, when he baptized his son, the first time, he said the prayer wrong, and the following times, his son, Fernando kind of freaked out each time he got dunked and kicked his foot up or put his hand up, so we baptized him like 5 times, I kid you not.

Eventually we had them both kneel in the water and finally he went all the way down. The congregation applauded. It all turned out great.

I have a new companion this week! We're in a trio with a Elder Farnsworth from SLC. I asked, he's not related to our farnsworths as far as he can tell. He's been in Georgia waiting his Visa for like 7 months. He can speak pretty good spanish, but was serving in an english ward, so I can still speak better than he, but he'll do awesome. I'm excited to work with him.

We're going into spring here and so it's getting warmer and it's rained a little bit. Also, yes  mom the people here are much shorter I hit my head on the trees often.

Don't have lots of time today, but I'll write you more later,

Love you all so much,

Stay excellent.

Elder Bradley Turek

Oct. 7th

Family, friends!

Thanks for your emails this week, Mom and Dad. You're wonderful. It was really nice to hear about "the property" (we should give that place a name, something with a nice ring), with nutmeg, and the trees, and the colors, and the dirt, and the smells of the mountain--dang I miss that.

Also, it was good to hear about the birthdays; did you guys receive my short videos I sent? I should've known that that rascal Skylar would pull off something... fantastic for that spoiled kid. :) Pictures! It would be nice to see pictures of the things you guys do, every once in a while. Maybe send me a picture of the "swag storm" and his new clothes and kicks and such, too. Mom, I know you don't like to use your nice, new, camera, but... use it! ;) (Hint: If you lower the resolution [size] of the pictures you take, you can send a lot more in one email, but if you want to print them they won't be as clear.)

Conference! Yes, we did see conference--it was even live! We took the bus to the stake center a few cities over where they were broadcasting it. The first sessions of each day, I had to watch in Spanish, it was actually kind of frustrating because the speakers start and you can hear the english, but then the translator drowns them out, but anyway, eventually someone with a key to the family history center would come and we packed about 10 or 11 gringos (white people) into this small room to watch and listen in english. It was good to just hear english and just speak english for a few hours. Thanks, dad, for that Zephyr speaker, it comes in handy all the time.

Guess what! We had a baptism this week! Guess what more!! We had their wedding the same day! It was excellent! We got up early the day before and spent a few hours draining and cleaning the baptismal font (you'll notice that I was the one standing in the cold water, cleaning, and my companion--from Peru, that's his excuse--waited until it was fully drained before setting toe in the font. They were civily married the next day early in the morning with their hair full of rice, and we had the baptism later that day.

The baptism should've started at 5:30, but no one was there, not even he who was to be baptised, then. Before the baptism, we called basically the entire ward, but no one gave us a sure answer.

Eventually our guy showed up, but just him and like 3 members of his family. It was kind of sad, but I didn't care. Around 6:30 we were about to start, when none other than the president of the mission showed up! So we started with a nearly empty chapel, consisting of the

6 missionaries and 2 sisters of our district, 4 members of family, the ward mission leader, and the mission president.

All, eventually worked out and right before he was baptized, 5 or so ward members showed up. We had a small little fiesta to celebrate their matrimony after; we started with nothing but soda and chips which we bought, but ended up with not one but two cakes, one of which was ginormous, and a platter of fruit which the sisters helped me put together quickly. So, all was well that ended well.

Okay, I have to finish, but this week is Transfers! We got the news of who is going to leave to other areas, and who is going to stay and whos getting new missionaries. There were a few missionaries that kept telling me that I was going to train, and that scared me because I only have  one transfer (6 weeks) under my belt, but turns out that...

we're going to have a trio again! My companion and I are staying and we're getting a new guy! How exciting! Anyway, gotta go.

Love you all, stay excellent,

Elder Bradley Turek

Mom, I have heard about people getting packages successfully, but each package when it arrives, is opened, and the missionary who recieves the package has to pay 50% of the value of the contents, so keep that in mind when you send things. I think it takes 3 or so weeks for packages and letters to arrive here.

On another note about pictures, I need them; seemingly everyone here has photos of things, except me and it's difficult to explain things without pictures! A photo of the car, photos of you guys, photos of me doing things (climbing, with friends, at camp, half-marathon, etc.), a photo of nutmeg, a photo of the house, photos of places that I/we frequented, photos of anything that I might bring up in conversation.

Check dad's computer for pictures (\Brad) and check my facebook to; if there's not one of something, give mom her camera and let her rip. I know that there is a Walmart in Neuquén. Maybe, just maybe, they have a photoshop, that you can upload photos to; I don't know be creative.

Sep 29. Answers to your questions!

Familia, amigos!
And so another week passes here in Argentina! I cannot believe that I've been in this foreign country for almost 6 weeks! What?! That's crazy! I know, I know, you're all surprised that I haven't had a mental breakdown or been stolen by some Argentine people, but really so far, everything is excellent.

So! I hear all is well at home with Brett and Skylar and the kids and such! Brett, don't you go breaking that car that we worked so dang hard on! I'm hoping that it's coincidence, but it seems that everytime you go on a date (specifically with Skylar), it seems to magically break. ;) But seriously, you take good care of that thing, you hear? Also, how's the underglow? Still functioning? I'm hoping that the law hasn't stopped you yet--in my hours of searching I didn't find a rule against it in Utah. Anyway!

Questions! Answers!

1. So are you in a city or town or a rural area?    I would love to hear more details about the area which you are in.
I'm in a city, called Plottier. It's relatively small and calm. The routa (freeway) goes right through it. In the central part, sadly also the area of the Sister Missionaries, there is some some sidewalk, and the roads are mostly asphalt, but in my area, in the outskirts of Plottier, there is...significantly less of that. We have dirt roads and rocks and plently of other interesting things in the streets. People just dump trucks of garbage on street corners in the less developed parts of the city, and it ends up everywhere with the wind and such. There's often the smell of burning garbage, too, as they often light them on fire. The anti-litter instincts that I developed working at scout camp can't deal with this much garbage--you can't pick it all up! But besides all of the dirt roads and brick houses, the people here are more accepting of our message and believing than I expected! The houses here are exponentially smaller than in the states--sometimes everything is all in the same small room: beds, kitchen, bathroom, shower.
2.   Also, are you getting enough to eat?
Yes! I am getting plenty to eat! The members feed us really well! There are things called milanesas (like thin steaks of chicken or beef covered in breadcrumbs and fried), and lots of pasta, and bread and ocasionally pizza, but not american pizza, this pizza has green olives and tomatoes and chesse and nothing more. Also, there are these wonderful things called facturas! They're like 50 cent pastries! They have bakeries everywhere here, and so every once in a while, we stop in for those. Also, dulce de leche. They have lots of that, but get this: no peanut butter! None!
3.  Do you eat with the members or buy lunch or fix food at your apartment?
Every day, we have lunch at the house of one of the members. We have to make breakfast and dinner for ourselves. I finally found avena (oatmeal) here and so each day I make myself a bowl of oatmeal and then sometimes I have a banana or an apple with it to. Also, they have this crazy thing here, they have yogurt but it's for drinking rather than eating. I like it, and I think it's got probiotics in it!
4.  Also, where are your companions from?
I had 2 companions originally, but one got emergency transfered to a different area. The one that left, Elder Lubomirsky, was from the north of Argentina in Buenos Aires. My companion I have now, Elder Rojas, is from Lima, Peru.
5.  How are your shoes fitting and your feet feeling?  How much walking do you do in an average day and week?

My feet! My feet are good. The shoes that we bought at foot locker or whatever it was, have worked the best! They're light and more breathable and flexible than the others. When I step directly on a rock with my right, scarred, foot, it hurts, but I can walk (and run) just fine. I actually went running for the first time this morning, and it was glorious!

We walk a lot. Everywhere we go, practically; to get to the chapel from our apartment it takes about 25 minutes walking about the same time to get to most of our area. There is one area that would take about 1 1/2 hours walking, but normally we take the colectivo (bus) and so it's more like 30. I don't know exactly how much, because they don't use miles here, and I don't know kilometers yet, but we walk all day from appointment to appointment.

Well, I hope all is well for all of you! I love you and am grateful for all of your prayers and well-wishes!

These pictures are of a member's house who we helped paint (we did service all day!) and of my companion on a street named after his country.

Stay excellent!

Elder Turek