Hey Guys!

     First off, apology for not writing last week. So wednesday, Elder Cancino and I head out of our area at about 9:00am to go to Buenos Aires. We showed up in Buenos Aires at about 1:00pm to go to our transfer meeting. The transfer meeting starts and I get a new companion. I´m still in Chacabuco. My new companion´s name is Elder Walker from Arizona. Finally an American companion! Anyway, we leave our area at about 6:30pm. But, on the way, the bus breaks down in Moreno and we´re there for about an hour, waiting for the next bus. We leave from there and head to our area, which is about another three hours of travel. We get to our area at about midnight. We go to sleep and had to leave on another bus at 8:30 in the morning to go do a baptismal interview in another area three hours away. We get there at about noon and spend the day with the elders there. But, we had to work in our area on friday, so we had to wake up at 2:00am on friday morning to catch the bus at 2:50 heading back to our area. It stopped in Chivilcoy and we slept in the zone leader´s apartment until 6:30 and we leave on another bus at about 9 to go back to our area. So, my week was really interesting. Sorry for not writing but thats why I didn´t write. Its not because I didn´t want to, because I did, but we just didn´t have any time whatsoever. But, you´ll be getting a nice long letter today.

     Anyway, how are you guys this week? It sounds to me that you´ve had a good week. Thanks for being patient with me with me not writing you and everything. But, anyway lets cut to the chase. 

     Send my congratulations to Kiera for her performance in Junior Miss. Junior Miss was always fun to go to. I miss High School a lot. Anyway, moving on...

     That´s really too bad about Brother Porter. Makes me sad. But, at least he´s in a better place. You just never know when your number is going to be called I guess.

     Hey I saw the prom pictures. Michael Buffaloe looks like a Wachiturro. Look it up on the internet and you´ll see what I mean. They´re really retarded.

     Well, I am happy about the class in Florida. But, I will be still studying in BYU because I feel that I need to go there. I hope you guys like humidity. I´ve heard its worse than here, and I almost died last year. 

      

     Well, now with whats going on here. So, we´ve been having some really difficult things going on in my branch. There are major problems with the leadership here and there may be some releases going on soon. We´ll know more next week about whats going on. I´ll let you know what´s going on when we call each other on the 13th.

     My new companion is a stud. He´s got 13 months in the mission and we have a lot of fun together. My last companion was really sad to leave this area. But, he´ll like his next area. I started right next to where he is now. 

     It finally starting to get cold here. Today isn´t so cold but its been quite chilly the last week or so. I´ve been having to use my jacket now. Yay! Its supposed to rain all week this week which will make it hard for proselyting. Yay...

     So, on the 13th, I´ll be calling you guys for Mothers Day. I´m so excited! Although, it seems I just barely got off the phone with you guys! Time is passing so fast! I can´t believe it.

     I´m afraid that I don´t have much to write this week. Given that we´re going to be talking to each other in a little under two weeks, I don´t have much to express, given that if I express everything, we won´t have much to talk about. But, I will keep you posted on the branch and how its going when more inormation is made availabe to give. The Mission President has asked me to keep the majority of this on the down low for right now, so sensitive information isn´t out in the air.

     I love you guys and I always look forward to your letters every week. Hve a great week and I´ll talk to you soon!

Chau! 

Weekly Letter April 17, 2012

Hola otra vez...

     Well, sorry guys but false alarm. I thought I wasn´t going to write you this week, but I got permission from the Assistants to write you for a half an hour. First off, I did send the letter to everyone last week and its interesting that it only arrived to Gav. I truly don´t know what to say to that, but I did send it to all this week too, so hopefully all will get it. 

     Sorry for the day wait, but yesterday we went to a zone activity an hour and a half away in bus so we didn´t get back to our area until around 7:30 in the evening. We were able to write President during the activity, but that´s all we had time for. But, the assistants gave us permission to write our families today. 

     It has been quite a week this week. First off, our little branch is having major problems. The leardership is tearing itself apart because of gossip and backbiting. Now, the Mission President, his councelors, and the District Presidency are getting involved. Until something else happens, President has asked me to keep it on the down low. So, more information will be on its way as it is made available. 

     Thank you so much for the pictures Gavin. You know, you are almost as handsome as I was at that age...haha. Nah, you´re more handsome than I was. But, I think I´m catching up now. Glad you had fun at prom. Sounds like its getting worse every year. It wasn´t too bad when I went, but that was a while ago. Pictures look great!

     Congrats Paige on your tests. I´m glad that you scored so high! But, I am afraid that I´m going to BYU Provo. I just feel that that´s where I need to go. I don´t know, I don´t have any specific reasoning, but I have prayed and fasted about it, and I just feel that, if I get accepted, that´s where I need to go. But, we´ll still be really close. Rexburg isn´t that far from Provo. That´s awesome that you´re going to the gym everyday. When I get back, everyone´s going to be skinny! 

     No Mom, I didn´t buy the pants yet and that money is burning a hole in my pocket! I haven´t been to Buenos Aires in three months, but if I get changed, I´ll be going in a week or so. As soon as I see a good pair of pants, I´ll buy it. It´s just so incredibly expensive where I am. Buenos Aires is ten times cheaper. My headaches are okay, same ol´ same ol´. Nothing worse about them at least. Don´t worry about the call, I´ll just pay for it with my monthly allowance. They´ll allow us to do that.   

     Nothing much else to report. But, next week...I won´t be able to write until Wednesday because there is changes. Even if I don´t get changed, I still won´t be able to write until wednesday with the rest of the mission. So, don´t be dissapointed when you don´t get my letter until Wednesday. I love you guys and I think about you everyday (not in a trunky way). Thank you so much for all that you do for me and I look forward to giving you all a big hug in a few months (not in a trunky way)

Chau!

Weekly Letter April 9, 2012

Hola, ¿qué tal?

Well, another week absolutely rockets by in the mission. I can´t believe that I am now officially an old missionary. I don´t feel old. To be honest, I think I just started my mission a few months ago. I just got done being with my trainer. I just left my first area. But, as I come to the end of my time in my third area, I become sad to think that my next transfer will be from the country. But, six months is a long time...so I´ll make them the best six months of my mission

On Wednesday, Buenos Aires suffered heavy storms with hail the size of Golf balls, heavy rain, and high winds. We got some of it here as well. Many vehicles, houses, and other stuctures were heavily damaged, and ten people in Buenos Aires were killed by the storm. As a result, water and electricty stations were heavily damaged so the majority of the Greater Buenos Aires area is still without water and electricty. Because of the great need for nesecities such as water and electricity, reports of robbing, civil unrest, and murders have been reported in the last few days. As a result, President Carter decided to remove 54 missionaries from their respective areas to keep them safe. Pretty crazy stuff right? I sent you a document that´s called the "Sol" or Sun in Spanish. Its the weekly newsletter that we get from the offices with a weekly message from the Mission President. I am sending this to you because its really interesting to see how the church responded in a disaster situation such as this. Look at page three for English.

Hey Mom, I saw that you are friends with Zeneida on Facebook. Thats pretty funny that you´re talking with my investigators. She is so cool and she takes good care of us. Just give her a few words of encouragement about getting married. Her pareja (partner) is a little iffy with the whole thing, but I think he´ll do it if we just give him a little push. She just needs to build her faith a little bit and she´ll be an amazing member. We´re hoping that they get married on the 20th of this month so she can get baptized before I leave. The guy she´s taking care of is kind of negative so she just needs somebody helping her out all the time. She has a true desire to be baptized and be a member of the church. She told me that she knows the church is true and that she wants to be a part of it. Its just this little obstacle that´s keeping her from doing it. Encourage her and make her feel good.

I sent you guys some pictures this week! I hope you guys like them! The picture of the building is the Catholic church in Chivilcoy, the Zone Leaders Area. Its gigantic. Really pretty too.

Another congratulations to Paige for deciding to go on a mission. I´m so happy for you and I am grateful to know that you have this great desire to serve the Lord. You´re going to have the experience of a lifetime. Also congrats on your BofM Class! 92% is an amazing score! Keep it up with everything else too!

Have fun, Gavin, at Prom dude! I´m still waiting for the letter that says that you had your first kiss, so...I´m hoping I get that letter next monday...haha! Be safe and have fun. Yeah, its kind of nasty at Prom, but I had a lot of fun. Its really not too terrible, it depends on who you´re hanging around.

Dad, just keeping swimming with the subject of finding a job. You´ll find something soon, I hope its up there. Something brought us up there, and God doesn´t do anything without a pretty good reason. I don´t remember my SAT score. I know I took the SAT and not the ACT. But, I took it during Junior year so I don´t remember my score. I think it was something like 1192. Actually I´m pretty sure it was that. But, the High School should have that score as well. I´ll call my Mission President today to ask for an interview.

Well, really nothing else this week. It was kind of slow other than the storm. But, read President´s Message, it was really good. I love you guys so much and I look forward to your letter tomorrow, sorry next week, but it´ll feel like tomorrow.

The church is true!

Élder Garrett Brighton Rook

Misión Argentina Buenos Aires Oeste

"La mejor misión de todo el mundo...."

Weekly Letter April 2, 2012

Hola!!!!

Well, another week comes to an end in the mission. Conference was amazing and I enjoyed it immensly. I especially liked Elder Hollands talk on the 11th hour. Awesome guy.

First, to comment on you guys:

Gavin, your tux is bomb bro. That is the store I went to when I went to prom. The guy there is really cool. Umm, things we did besides the dance...we went to dinner at this place in Couer d´Alene, some Italian restaurant...I forgot what its called. Then we went to the dance and I think we got Gooies afterward. No, I remember my date went to the hopsital half-way through the dance. We got gooies my first prom. To tell you the truth, my two proms weren´t really that exciting. But, you could probably find some ideas online of what to do during prom activities. You could always just go to park in Couer d´Alene and make out...hahaha just kidding, sorry Mom. Gav, keep the Gears of War two music coming. If you could send the whole album in seperate emails this week, that would be sweet, then I just transfer all to my flash drive and listen to it when I want. If you can, awesome, if not, its okay. I´ll just look forward to a new song every week.

Paige...YEAH!!!!!!!!!! You´re going on a mission!!!! That is seriously the best news I´ve heard for the last year and a half. I am so glad! You are in for the experience of a lifetime. Pray that you go Spanish Speaking, so we can speak spanish together (Hermana Rook). You will come back a completely different person and your spirituality will grow beyond what you can imagine. The Lord has great things in mind for you, prepare yourself well and make sure that you are ready when that time comes.

I am having major problems with the ´e´ key on the keyboard right now. I didn´t realize how much the ´e´ is used when writing an email until I have to go back and put the ´e´ into words where is wasn´t placed.

Sorry about your foot Mom. I hope you feel better soon so you can get back to your things. Congratulations on the amazing weight loss Mom! Thats so awesome! I think I´ve pretty much plateued. Yeah, I excersize every morning, but the members just give us so much food that the amount of excersize with the amount of food intake has just about equalized. I can´t lose anymore without putting a good hour of excersize in everyday, which is what I´m going to do when I get home. Now with winter coming, I need to really hit it hard in the morning, so I don´t gain weight. I´m not broke, when talking about money; its just that I use the monthly funds every month to buy other things I need; food, internet, bike repairs, ibuprofen, travel, stuff like that. So, when a new expense comes along, such as new pants or shirts or whatever, I don´t have quite enough funds. Which is normal in the mission. Everybody uses personal funds to replace clothing, its actually a rule. But, thank you so much for the money you sent me. I haven´t found a good pair yet for a decent price, but when I go to Buenos Aires in the near future, I´ll buy one there. Everything is more expensive where I am.

Thats interesting Mom about the sister missionaries. Against the rules to see another site? I could imagine if they were using it themselves, but if you show them, its not against the rules. I say interesting, because its against the rules to visit any site beside MyLDSMail.net, even if its Mormon.org. It says it in the rulebook that every missionary carries around. Did they navigate Mormon.org or did you guys do it? Give them references!

How is my application going for BYU by the way? Is it almost done? I hope so because i´m getting really excited to start school. Now, I am not truky AT ALL. I am just a little excited to start schooling again. Thats all... Can you believe it? On the 6th of this month...I hit 18 months as a missionary! So crazy! Where did the time go?

The pìctures I sent you are all from today. We had another asado with my favorite family here in my area. Maggie is the girl that I baptized on Christmas and Zeneida is her Mom. We are still waiting for Zeneida to get married so she can get baptized. They bought all the meat and I cooked. We all went for ice cream aftrwards and took pictures in the central park of the city. Fun day. That asado was sooooo good. There was another brother that went with us too. We just don´t have a picture with him.

Nothing much has happened this week. We had six investigators go to conference this week, which was really good. We are going to have a baptism on the 14th of this month if all goes well, and I hope it does. The kids want to get baptized so we just need to hope that that excitement survives until the baptism. They´re good kids and they´ll make awesome members of the branch.

Bueno, creo que no tengo mucho para decir esta semana. Pero, yo tengo un testimonio de este Evangelio. Yo sé que José Smith es el profeta de la restauración y que, por medio de él, todas las llaves del sacerdocio fueron restauradas para poner el Evangelio de Jesucristo en la tierra otra vez, en su plenitud. Sé que el Libro de Mormón es verdadero, y que no hay otro libro más correcto sobre la faz de la tierra que este. Sé que tenemos un amoroso Padre Celestial que siempre es conciente de lo que nos pasa en cada momento. Hay que confiar en él, y él nos guiará. "Confía en Jehová tu Dios con todo tu corazón y no te apoyes en tu propia prudencia." Proverbios 3:5. Yo digo estas cosas humildemente en el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

I´m afraid that I don´t have much to say for this letter. But, I do have a testimony of this Gospel. I know that Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration and that through him, all the priesthood keys were restored to place the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth once again, in its fulness. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that there is no other book, upon the face of the earth, that is more correct. I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father who is always aware of what we go through. We must trust him and he will guild us in every moment. "Trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not unto thine own understanding" Proverbs 3:5. I say these things humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Chau!