Weekly Letter 4/25/11

¡Hola a todos!

¡Felices Pascuas! Happy Easter! I hope this letter finds everybody in good health and in good spirits. I hope that Easter passed well and that you all know that I did have a good Easter here in La Bella del Sur (The Beauty of the South).

I just want to let you know, that I love getting your letters every week. I love to read about what´s happening in your lives because it makes me feel good that I have a family that loves and cares for me. My companion is from Mendoza and his Mom left when he was 9 months old. He doesn´t know who she is, and he´s been living with his grandmother since that time. He hasn´t received a letter from his family for the past 3 almost 4 months. I can´t help but feel terrible for him. I give the Lord thanks for the family I have every day.

Okay, first a little housekeeping. Don´t worry about the CDs. Some of them would be really nice right now. I don´t think I requested too much, but just do the ones I requested for now (with the exception of the Mormon Tabernacle CDs, I don´t need those right now). Congrats to Gavin on the big fat paycheck. He´s gonna have pretty chubby pockets in no time. I remember when Matt Connery worked for Dockside in Coeur d´Alene and he got payed 5 dollars an hour, but he made it all up in tips, and more todavia. I did write Daniel this week. I told him to shake it off and keep going. He wrote me back today and said that it´s all good. I finally got a letter from Kim! Sounds like the fam is doing good. I´ll write them a little later this week. Oh, by the way, if anyone asks to be friends with me on my Facebook and their name sounds really funny, its likely that they are from around here. Just accept them, I´m making a ton of friends down here, and they all want to be friends on facebook. Are you keeping my facebook up by the way? It´s interesting, I was reading Dad´s letter and the heading says "Otra semana en Post Falls". But the funny thing is, I didn´t realize that it was in Spanish. It didn´t even register in my mind, I just read it without even skipping a beat. It´s so incredibly weird. I can read, write, speak, and understand Spanish. I never thought I would ever do that in my entire life. Something else, I received Mom´s email about Southern Virginia University and I looked on the website. Bad idea. The University looks incredibly awesome, and I would probably consider going there, but the other things is...when I looked on the site, I became incredibly trunky. Not that I want to go home or anything, its just that I am so devulged in the work that when I see something from the outside world, I don´t know how to take it. So, we will talk about school in about a year from now haha kind of funny huh? That is so awesome about Paige! Thats going to be such an awesome opportunity! I will make sure to take other pictures from now on. Seattle or Florida would both be re piola (ray-peeola) (super awesome). Either one would work, but Southern Virginia University would be pretty cool too, in the midst of all of that History! I would die there! But, you know, that when the family moves and I come home, we´re going to visit Post Falls before we head to Florida. I have way too many friends in Post Falls. They´re like my family. just thought you should know. :-)

Okay, now from Argentina. We have set a date for Steven to finally get baptized! He turns 18 on the 5th of May and he is going to get baptized on the 7th. He doesn´t want to waste anytime to finally get baptized. He is a super stud! He wants to serve a mission and everything! Him and Jorgelina (hor-hey-leena), his girlfriend, are going to be awesome members of the church. And Jorgelina asked me to baptize her! It´s going to be a great day on the 7th of May.

The weather is getting a little better now. It´s not so incredibely hot but the humidity is still here. I hope you like humidity if you guys are going to Florida. Humid, hot, and wet. That´s how it is here. But, the weather here now is a little chilly with humidity. So it feels a little colder. I love it.

We are planning to have about 2 other baptisms on the same day as Steven and Jorgelina. They are family members of a recent convert and they are getting super excited for their baptism as well.

Bueno, I don´t have a ton to write this week. We are going to have Zone Conference on Thursday and I´m pretty stoked for that. I love Zone Conference, but that´s about the highlight of my week so far. I love you all, and I wish all the best. I ask the Lord to bless you everyday, and I know it´s happening, and for that, I give the Lord thanks everyday. Stay firm in the faith and never give up.

I love you all!

Elder Garrett Brighton Rook

Misión Argentina Buenos Aires Oeste

La mejor misión de todo el mundo

P.S. Will send more pictures next week.

Weekly Letter 4/18/11

¡Hola!

Its so great to hear from you guys this week. My week went by so incredibly slow. I don´t know why, probably because it was first week of transfers. Yes, I have lost of weight, I have dropped about 15 kilos since I´ve been here in Argentina, 4 of those in 4 days when I got food poisoning. I am eating right. We have fruit fo breakfast like every morning and we excersize every day. Congrats on the new wheels! Hondas rock and it will last you a while. So, you´re going to be driving to Florida? Talk about a long drive. Hope the new car is a comfy ride. Thats a bummer about Daniel. Things like that happen. That happened not too long ago in one of the wards in our stake, except it was a whitewash, which means both of the elders got transfered out. Talk about a bummer day. I´ll write him when I get a chance. But, alas, it happens. And yes, there are a ton of members in Florida. Maybe if you make enough money in Florida, you can come to pick me up when the mish is over.

Another great week in Argentina to report this week. Although the week was really slow, it was good anyway. The weather now is a little bit more bearable. The temperature yesterday was about 65 degrees, with humidity, so it felt a little cooler. I´m loving it. On Wednesday, I got the opportunity to go into Capital to get my DNI, which is like a VISA. Capital is asolutley enormous. The city is so incredibly packed tight and I don´t know how people find there way around. If you´re standing in the city, it feels like its going to cave in because if feels so tight. The air in Buenos Aires is unusually fresh, because the air is constantly moving in from the sea. With all the pollution that a city puts out, you don´t notice it with all the fresh ocean air. I get to go back in June to finalize my DNI. Anyway, the highlight of my week.

We are set to have two baptisms on the 7th of May. The investigators are so golden! They are boyfriend and girfriend, and they moved apart so they could get baptized. The boy turns 18 on the 5th of May, and he asked me a question the other day. He asked, "Elder Rook, when I go to the temple in a year, do you want to come with me?", and, "How much time do I need to wait before I can turn in my papers for my mission?". His name is Steven and he absolutely loves the gospel. When we talked with his Dad to try to get his signature to be baptized (we didn´t get it, that´s why we had to wait until the 7th of May), he started to cry when he bore his testimony to his Dad. His Dad´s face didn´t change one bit. Totally stern. His Dad is a hardcore Catholic and wants nothing to do with our church. Really sad, because Catholics would make really good Mormons.

I miss driving so much. It´s killing me. But, I kinda had my fix today. Today, we went to go shopping, and we saw some other elders in our Zone. Before we went shopping, we stopped in at McDonald´s and all got Big Macs. They are actually pretty good. Then afterwards, we all went walking around in the mini mall, and found a little place that had bumper cars, and there was just enough for all 6 of us. So, we played on the bumper cars for about 4 minutes. The most fun 4 minutes of my entire week. It was nice to just let loose for a little while, even for 4 minutes. I sent you the pictures seperately.

Congrats to Gavin on the Seattle Trip. When we went to Seattle, we didn´t do so well on Lux. But, we took first in the Division, so I guess we didn´t do too bad. Gavin, welcome to the joys of working, dealing with other people. But, it´s okay, you´re learning a ton, that you´ll be able to learn on your mission later.

Oh yeah, next time you talk to Kim. Tell her to send me a letter! Haha, I haven´t heard from them in months! She´s like my second Mom! I need to hear from her!

But anyway, I´ve got to go. My time is almost up on the computer. I love you all and I will see you soon. Keep your letters coming. I pray for you all daily and I know the Lord is blessing you for your faithful service in his Gospel (even if that means Nursery) :-)

Con amor,

Elder Garrett Brighton Rook

Moreno, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Letter 4/11/11

Hello,

Kind of a bummer week to report this week. We were supposed to have 4 baptisms, but one by one, they all fell within two days of the baptism. We were kind of sad. But, we´re going to have a great transfer coming up. Oh yes, I am staying in my first area still. By the end of this transfer, which starts today, I will have had 6 months in Moreno. Whew! Long time. But, it´s going to be awesome. We have the possibility of having at least 5 baptisms this transfer. I´m so excited! My comp from the MTC, Elder Alkema, is moving into our Zone! He´s such a stud! We´ll have to do a special exchange this transfer. Haha

I prayed for Paige on the day of the ACT, and I´m sure she did well. If not, it´s not a big deal. You can always head to a community college for a year and then go to a University afterward. But, I pray for you everyday, Paige, that this gig in Alabama goes well.

I know, the time here is flying by! It´s so weird that it´s already been 6 months! But yes, we are definitely working hard and losing ourselves in the work.

We were pretty bummed to find out that none of our baptismal candidates were going to get baptized. One of them called us two days before the baptism and told us that she didn´t want us to pass by anymore because she felt pressured into being baptized, we only talked about baptism one time, and that´s when we challened her to be baptized. The other two were having problems with one of the three-headed dragons, of which are: The Law of Tithing, The Word of Wisdom, and the Law of Chastity. I won´t say which one of the laws they are having traouble with, but I will say that they are boyfriend and girfriend... And the other baptismal candidate didn´t want to get baptized right now because she said she didn´t feel it was necesary. Uhhh... ¿Por qué? (Why?). But, we´re hoping that the three of the four will get baptized this transfer. So, we´re pretty stoked.

Not much to write this week, I´m afraid. But as transfer goes on, we´ll have a lot more to write. I love you all so much and I will talk to you later!

Love you!

Elder Garrett Brighton Rook

Moreno, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Gaucho (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɡautʃo]) is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil. In Brazil, Gaúcho (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɡaˈuʃu]) is also used to designate people from the state of Rio Grande do Sul in general.

The word gaucho could be described as a loose equivalent to the North American "cowboy" (vaquero, in Spanish). Like the North American word cowboy, Venezuelan or Colombian llanero, or Chilean huaso, or the Mexican charro, the term often connotes the 19th century more than the present day; then gauchos made up the majority of the rural population, herding cattle on the vast estancias, and practising hunting as their main economic activities. The word "gaucho" is sometimes used to refer to chimichurri, a steak sauce common to Argentina.^[1]

There are several conflicting hypotheses concerning the origin of the term. It may derive from the Mapuche cauchu ("vagabond") ^[2] or from the Quechua huachu ("orphan"), which gives also a different word in Spanish "guacho". The first recorded uses of the term date from around the time of Argentine independence in 1816.

Weekly letter 4/4/11

Everybody!

Well, I´m writing after a great Conference weekend. And to answer your question, yes I did watch conference...in English! They always set it up in English in another room for the elders from the states or other places. Turns out, there were like 10 elders who watched it in our stake. It was fun, we all bought pop and cookies and stuff on Saturday. I especially liked Priesthood session. I definitely learned a lot and will apply it to my daily life as a missionary.

Well, I think a congratulations is in order. Paige! Congratulations on the new gig in Alabama! That´s so exciting! I hope all the best and will pray for you daily. This will give you an opportunity to grow and get out of the house! Save your money, although I don´t need to tell you that. But, most of all, have fun!

No, I did not receive my visa card yet, but you didn´t send it too long ago, and it should get here in the next couple of weeks. Don´t worry about me spending money, I don´t have anything to spend it on right now. I´m pretty much set for a while on what I need. If I need anything urgently, I´ll let you know.

I wouldn´t worry about Gavin getting his eagle. He´ll get it. Just wait ´til schools over and he´ll get it knocked out. He still has two summers until he´s 18. But still Gavin, you need to get it done dude. That car is waiting for ya.

Last night, we had the storm that would beat any storm that you´ve ever seen. I wish I could post the video somewhere, but I can´t. We stood on our roof and filmed the beginnings of the storm. We had to go inside within like five minutes because if was flat out dangerous to be outside. The storm started out as completely electrical. The lightning was jumping the clouds. It wasn´t touching the ground and the hail was the size of marbles with rain afterward. It was absolutely incredible. I will keep the video on my camera until I get home. Totally sick...

Well, the kid I told you about two letters ago who we had the super spiritual experience with; we visited him again and he told us that the story of Joseph Smith was just a lie. I was super sad, and I hope that he can find his way back someday. But, on a happier note, we have the possibility to have 4 baptisms this Saturday, and we´re totally excited! It´s so incredibly rewarding to see your work with investigators come to the end with a baptism.

Not much to write this week I´m afraid. Transfers are on Monday, so I will write you to let you know where I got transfered to. I pretty sure I´m being transfered, because I´ve been in Moreno for 4 1/2 months and I kind of want to leave haha. But I´m super excited to be going to a new area with new people, if in fact it does happen. But, who knows, I could stay here for another 6 weeks. The time here in the mission is just flying by! On the 6th, I hit 6 months in the mission! Crazy! My comp are making flan, dulce de leche flavor of course, and we´re going to eat alfajores that day to celebrate our 6 month anniversary. Haha

I´ll write you next week from a new area, I hope, and I hope that this letter finds everybody in good health. I love you all and I´ll see you soon...

Con amor,

Elder Garrett Brighton Rook

Misión Argentina Buenos Aires Oeste

La mejor misión de todo el mundo

P.S. The pictures are of me, Elder George (the Elder with the Trump Tie), and Elder Jackson (my brother in the mission, we had the same trainer)

Weekly Letter

Hola!

Bueno, tuvimos una buena semana. ¿Que esta diciendo? ¡Esta semana pasó muy rapido! Trabajamos duro en el calor y la lluvia también. ¡Vamos a tener traslados en dos semanas ya! Estoy muy amimados para traslados, porque hace mucho tiempo que estoy acá en Moreno, y quiero salir jaja. Gracias por sus cartas cada semana. Les aprecio y me encanta leerlas. Manden mis saludos y mis felicitaciones a Hermano DeSousa. Pero, yo quiero saber si el asado de Hermano DeSousa es tan bueno como acá en Argentina. Pero, estoy seguro que el asado es bueno igual. Bueno, voy a escribir en Inglés...

Okay, we had a great week this week. What are you talking about? This week passed by so fast! We worked hard in the hot sun and the rain as well. We´re going to have transfers in two weeks! I am so excited for transfers, because I´ve been here in Moreno for a long time, and I kinda wanna leave haha. Thank you for your letters every week, I appreciate them and I love to read them. Send my salutations to Brother DeSousa and my congratulations. But, I want to know if his asado is as good as the asado here in Argentina. But, I´m sure it´s good.

Housekeeping first. Are you logging into my Facebook once in a while? Because I don´t want it to expire if it´s not used. And they do expire. Dad, I don´t know if my website is going to expire here pretty soon, I hope not. You can log into my google account to check the status of the website. The sign-in information is on the google docs document. If there is room in the box, you can send some quick meals, like soups, noodles, or other things, like pouch meals. You know what I mean. I feel the urge for something made in the States.

On the 9th of April...WE¨RE GOING TO HAVE TWO MORE BAPTISMS!!! With the possibility of two more on the same day! Wow 4 Baptisms on the same day!! And they´re all from different families. And these are all investigators that I started teaching. It is truly rewarding to see a person grow and progress in el Evangelio de Jesucristo. So, we´re pretty busy down here. :-)

I am truly feeling better this week. I just about died on Monday and Tuesday, but I´m doing okay now. It just didn´t want to let go of me. I called the President´s Wife and she told me to buy some medication. In about 5 days, I was feeling 100% better. Mom, you might know the medication: Ciprofloxacina.

Well, I´m happy that you guys got moved in okay. But, if you guys move to Florida, that´s going to be quite the move. We have an Elder here from Florida and he said that the weather in Florida and in Argentina are almost exactly equal, minus the tropical rainstorms in Argentina. So, if you end up moving down there, learn to love the heat, humidity and super long summers. Plus Dad, you can kiss your excima goodbye.

Oh my gosh, I just had to note, that the guy playing music in the internet café over the intercom put on a jazz song with a guitar solo of the star spangled banner. I don´t know if they know that it´s the national anthem of the United States haha.

This transfer in the mission is the transfer of interviews. Last transfer was Zone Conference. And next transfer will be Zone Conference. ¿Comprenden? Haha. Anyway, the President in going to be in our zone tomorrow and I am so excited to sit down and talk with President! I truly love interviews, he is such a great man. Although he finishes his mission in July, so we´re going to have a new President here pretty soon. Sad.

But, I´m afraid that´s it for my letter this week. I will write and let you know how interviews went next week.

Les amo mucho. Gracias por toda su ayuda. Yo doy al Señor gracias por la tan buena familia que tengo. Gracias por todo su apoyo y ayuda que me han dado us. Sigan en la fe y ¡nunca se den por vencido!

Con amor,

Elder Garrett Brighton Rook

Misión Argentina Buenos Aires Oeste

La mejor misión de todo el mundoThe translation of the first paragraph is right after, and I thought I put the second one afterwards but I guess I didn´t. Ooops! Sorry! It says this:

I love you so much. Thank you for all of your help. I give the Lord thanks everyday for the family I have. Thank you for all of the support and help you have given me. Follow in the faith and never give up!

Okay that´s what it says.

Until Monday!

¡Ciao

Elder Rook

Hey Mom,

I thought you might like this. Share it with the family.

Elder Rook

http://radio.lds.org/joseph?lang=eng