Weekly Letter September 26th 2011

Hola, ¿comó andán?

Well, I´ve got quite a week to share with you, but first some housekeeping:

Okay, concerning the cds. If you want to send the cds in the original boxes, then yes that will be heavy. But, if you can send three cds in there original boxes with another cd inside, that won´t be so heavy. For example, you put avatar in the original box, but you put band of brothers in there with it. So, there are two cds per box. I think that would be better if you could do it. Plus, if you are sending it in a flat rate box, you don´t have to worry about weight. Tape the cds boxes together if you do what I told you. If you can send 6 cds with three boxes, I would like:

-Andrea Bocceli: My Christmas

-Avatar

-Band of Brothers

-Jim Brickman

-Green Mile

-Titanic (if you want, if not its cool, just send 5)

But, if I only have to choose three, they would be:

-Avatar

-Band of Brothers

-Andrea Bocceli: My Chrsitmas

It´s really hard to choose, so just send the six (or five)! C´mon Gavin...you can do it! I already have EFY and Rachmaninoff so don´t worry about those.

Okay, a word to Paige...GO TO BSU!!! If I had the choice between University of Idaho and BSU, that would be a hands down on BSU´s side. Its a way better school, a lot more members, and the education is ten times better than U of I. U of I is good, don´t get me wrong, but its between a Grand Prix or a Mustang, they´re both cars but...c´mon...its a Mustang

Mom, next time that happens with the ladies in Ute´s house, just show her who´s boss and give her a light slap on the face. If you don´t leave a mark, the lady can´t sue you.

Gavin, dude...I still cannot believe how much of a stud you are. First off, when did you learn to play Bob Seger and when did you learn to sing it too? I mean it, we need to get together after the mission and jam again. You are going to play on my next CD, you know that right? Nice photo you sent me, but I have another project for you. I want you to send me pictures of the landacape of Post Falls. I tell people that I live in an area with lush green trees and lakes and rivers, but it would be so cool to have pictures on hand of all of that. If you want to do it, it would be awesome, plus it would help you with your photography.

Okay, that´s about it for housekeeping...on with the letter.

Well, an interesting week to report this week. First, on Tuesday we had exchanges with my District leader, and I went with his companion. We were called in to have interviews with President so we went to the offices together. President wanted to interview me because of the hard time I was having. Great interview, great man. On the way home; we stopped in the center in our area to print some photos. On the way, a black guy from Africa (there are a lot here selling watches and cheap crap all over) called us into his little business on the side of the street. We said no because we thought he was going to try to sell us something. As were walking away we heard: "Yo! The man is talkin´ to you! You get over here and talk to him!" In English mind you. We turned around, after soiling our pants, and saw a, no joke, seven foot black man with wide eyes. We couldn´t run, so we went inside. As soon as we entered, his countanence changed and said, "My name is Ramond Beucanon and I´m from Alabama, where are you guys from?", in a heavy southern accent. Feeling a little relieved we responded and started to talk. Ramond has been in Buenos Aires for 20 years. He plays basketball and he came here to do so, but met an Argentine, and here he stayed. We taught him the first lesson, but I don´t know if he´ll go to church. We taught him in English, so that was cool. He shook my hand and his hand completely engulfed mine. Super scary experience haha

We are going to have a baptism on the 8th of October, so we´re pretty excited for that. We had a stake youth activity in our chapel so we went to help with that. Our baptism brought her friend and the rest of her sisters who aren´t members, so we´re going to be working with that too.

Okay, I´m going to ask you, Mom and Dad, to try to remembr something. In Salt Lake, we went to Temple Square before going to the MTC. During that visit, we met an Argentine sister missionary. Remember? Okay, so there is a young lady in our ward who got back from the mission in Temple Square and we had a family home evening with her family and her last night. I asked if she knew this sister missionary from temple square from Argentina. She asked what here name was and I said that I didn´t remember. I said that she lived in Buenos Aires North and that her grandma lived in Buenos Aires west remember? And that her Grandma fed the missionaries? She went wide eyed and said that she was the only sister missionary from Buenos Aires in all of Temple Square. She asked when this happened and said back in october of 2010, she smiled and said that it was her. She said she remembered a young man coming in with his two parents, who was getting ready to go on the mission. She had been living in the Buenos Aires North mission until just recently and that she was moving back to our ward in Laferrere 2. Super small world! We took a picture, but she hasn´t sent it to me yet. Crazy.

Anyway, that´s about it for my week. Hope you enjoyed it and I look forward to reading your letters next week! Have a great conference and listen hard!

Con todo el amor que poseo en mi corazón,

Hola familia mia!

 

     Por su puesto que sí, estos son los mejores dos años. Of course, these are the best two years.

 

     We had a great week this week, but I´ll take care of some housekeeping first.

 

     Mom, go ahead and give the painting to Brandi´s mom. Tell Brandi no hard feelings and that I loved it. If she´s mad, she can write me.

     Oh and also....FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS MAMÁ!!!! QUE LOS CUMPLAS FELIZ!!!! Happy Birthday!!! I hope you have a great 26th birthday! 

     I hope Paige comes home safely. I don´t know if I´ll have time to write her this week, but we´ll see. It happens, don´t get down about losing a job, y seguí nadando (just keep swimming).

     Concerning the CDs. Mom, just send me the original copies. I don´t care. I can buy new ones when I get home. Don´t send me Prince of Egypt, I may get it from another elder that I know. But, the others ones (from the list two weeks ago), just send me the originals.

     Thanks Gavin for the video that you sent me. It was awesome. I don´t know If i´ll write you today or next week. I don´t think I have time today. Keep praying and keep studying.

 

     Okay, well we had a week of miracles. That young lady that we taught last week is reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. We had an appointment with her tomorrow in the chapel. We are going to take her on a tour of the chapel and challenge her to be baptized. Its going to be awesome. Also, we´re going to have a baptism on the 8th of October. My companion and I felt impressed to visit a house of a part-member family the other day. When we arrived, we started talking about Baptism with one of the girls who isn´t a member and she wants to get baptized. I don´t know what changed, but our area went from nothing to baptisms all of a sudden it seems like. God is a God of miracles, I know that because he has showed me. 

     So, on monday I got a pain in my left foot that just wouldn´t go away. I thought it was nothing and just kept walking. After about 3 days, I couldn´t stand it any longer and I noticed that the bottom of my big toe had little holes on it and those holes were bleeding. So, I sent some pictures to the area doctor and he told me that I had a bad case of Athlete´s Foot. Bummer. But, he gave me some suggestions and I am feeling a lot better. I sent you the pictures, along with a picture of Elder George and I. We are thinking of being roomies in BYU after the mission. He´s a marine by the way. Super cool, he has the same time as me in the mission.

     Argentina is getting hot now. Can you belive it? It feels like I just left my last summer, and now its getting warmer again. Winter was too short. I don´t know what I´m going to do on my year mark. Maybe have a party and invite some girls over to the apartment haha  I think we´re going to dinner at a members house, hopefully.

     So, we just keep working and the Lord keeps blessing us. God always follows up with his promises, but it´s our responsability to follow up on the promises we make to him. I hope that this letter found everybody in good spirits and in good health. I look forward to hearing from you next week. I love you!

 

Les amo a todos! 

 

Élder Garrett Brighton Rook

 

"Yo soy el maestro de mi destino, yo soy el capitan de mi alma" 

 

 P.S. Mom, could you get the address to Adam´s mission? I need to send him a letter.

 

Hola de vuelta,

 

     Bueno, después de una semana, podemos decir que me siento mucho mejor que la semana pasada. Digamos que una persona me escribío y me dío el animo que nesecitaba. Gracias por todo.

 

     Okay, I am now writing after a much better week. But, I´ll talk about it after la limpieza de la casa (housekeeping),

 

     First off, sorry about the loss of job that Paige experienced this week. That happens unforunately. Just keep going and go to school! You need to get started on that pronto. Go to school, stay busy, and look for a job. Welcome to the big kid´s court. By the way, the U of I campus is really cool. I´ve been there a few times when I was in choir. It´s really nice.

     Gav, dude, that picture you sent me was sick. Needless to say, I am starting to look just as hot as you, but slowly. One day, I will be that skinny. Maybe the Argentine summer coming up will do it for me.

     I´m praying for you Dad about this job. I would really like to come home to the same ward that I left. I love Idaho and after all is said and done, I want to return to live there for the rest of my life. In the northern part anyway.

    

     We had a great week this week. First, we went to a new missionary conference and were there all day. They really emphazised the task of talking to everybody. We ended this week with 150 contacts, which means, we talked with 150 people right our of the blue and ask them if they want us to pass by and teach them. I´m going to be such a more personable person when I get home. My fear or embarassment of talking to people is now gone.

     Last night, we taught a young lady in our branch president´s house with his family. The girl knew the family and wanted to know more about the church. So, we called her and invited her to come to our branch president´s house to hear a lesson. So, she came and we started to teach her. By the time we got to Joseph Smith, there wasn´t a dry eye in the room. She told us that this was the answer she was looking for in her grand search of religions. Amazing lesson. Our branch president was bawling like a baby, and so was I. 

     We are definitely seeing the blessings of the lord in our area. We were doing contacts the other day and we found a lady who was walking with her little girl. We talked to her and she told us that she always wanted to know about our church. But, she said it to me in English! She speaks and understands fluently. So, we taught her in English. First time in a year that I have spoken in english with somebody I didn´t know. Wild. She is going to come to church on sunday.  

     This week, we have a conference on friday with elder aidukitis (sp) of the area presidency of South American South (Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay). Last time he came he bajó la caña (dropped the cane) on the mission. So, we´ll see what happens.

     Soccer was fun on Monday, even though the cheap ball popped 20 minutes into the game. I almost cried. But, the meat we ate was really good. And, I cooked. Dad, you will enjoy the picture I sent of my little asado. Now, I know how to do it, so, we´re going to have a giant asado for my homecoming with everybody we know.

     ¿Saben? I totally forgot that it was September 11th yesterday. Now, I´m sad. That was 10 years ago? ¡No puede ser! The time flies by so fast. I´m almost at a year in the mission! I´m almost home! Just kidding...

     Well, I´ve gotta go now. Thanks for the letters and thanks for all the words of support that you have given me. I love you all and I´ll see you soon!

 

Con todo el amor que poseo en mi corazón,

Élder Garrett Brighton Rook

 

"Mi proposito es invitar a lodas las personas a venir a Cristo..."

 

 P.S. The pictures I sent are, first: Singuera (the name of the lady´s dog that feeds us all the time), other missionaries on monday in soccer get-up, my companion, and creo que my companion in a tree pero no me acuerd

Weekly Letter September 5, 2011

Hey everybody!

 

     Hope you all had a great week. Sorry in advance for the short letter, but I only have about 30 minutes to write and my keyboard is going heywire, so I´ll be sure to put the best information in this letter.

     Thanks for all of the updates on everybody. I love hearing from you and I love to hear what´s going on with everyone back home.

 

     Congrats to Gavin. As always, a mega stud that doesn´t stop being studly. He learned from the best haha

     Good luck with Dad. I pray for you guys everyday and I know that everything will turn out okay eventually. I was reading Doctrine and Covenants the other day and found a awesome scripture that I know you guys will like. (D&C 24:8) 

     Paige, be safe. Don´t get mad at Mom when she tells you to do so. She is still your mother after all.

     Mom, I will include a list of my hump day package at the end of this letter.

     This week has been kind of tough. We are still experiencing our dry spell in the work and nobody seems to want to talk to us, nor do our investigators want to progress or come to church. But, I guess thats missionary work right? I still love my time here, and I wouldn´t want to be anywhere else.   

     Argentina is getting gradually warmer. Darn it. Winter was too short. Tomorrow marks 11 months in the mission. It hardly feels like it. I feel like I´ve been in Argentina forever, but at the same time, I feel like I arrived at the MTC only about 3 months ago. Time surely does fly.

     My companion is a super stud. He is so ready for the work and he is really cut out to be a missionary and we are getting a lot of work done.

     Okay, my package. The following is a short list of what would be nice:

 

     -Music: (Copies please, or you can just send the original disks, whichever is easiest)

       -Andrea Bocceli "My Christmas" (I have it in my CD collection)

       -Avatar: The Motion Picture Soundtrack (I have that too)

       -Band of Brothers: The Soundtrack (Got it too)

       -Prince of Egypt. The entire CD because I only have a few select songs (If its not too much trouble of course)

       -The Green Mile: The Soundtrack (I have it in my library)

       -Jim Brickman (I have it in my library)

       -Other instrumental music that is in my library that I forgot about.

       -Other music that I would like on a mix CD. i.e. movie soundtracks, classical. Gavin can help you with that.

     -Peanut Butter (an elder got a little jar of JIFF the other day and I was really jealous haha)

     -Maple Syrup (if it´s possible, if not its okay. It doesn´t exist here)

     -Jello (Gelatin and pudding mix)

     -Surprise me (I know that you know what I like) 

     -ALSO, I know for a fact that a FedEx flat rate box is just 40.00 international, no matter what you put in it. All of the elders here get

      flat rate boxes, and it prevents the things inside from being crushed. Plus, you don´t have to worry about weight. 

 

     Well, I´m afraid that´s it. I have to go. We´re going to have an asado with the other elders in my district today and play soccer. Oh yeah! I love you all and have a great week! Keep praying for me!  I´ll send pictures next week from our activity today. Send me more pictures so I can print them and show them to people, like from my facebook and such.

 

Con amor sincero,

Weekly Letter August 29th 2011

¡Hola!

Bueno, otra semana pasa en Argentina. ¡Que rapido que pasó! Ni puedo creer que voy a tener un año en la misión ya. Me parece que recién llegué acá y que recién me despedí de ustedes hace poquito. Ya me voy a llegar en el otro lado del cerro muy pronto...que triste

Well, writing after another week in La bella del Sur. This week was awesome to say the least. I don´t know if you read the blog yet, but I´ll tell a little bit about what happened afterward. But first, some housekeeping:

So, you never told me when Becca Pingel leaves for the mission. I would really like to know, given that she´ll be in my mission for a few weeks in the MTC. There is a return missionary in my area that teaches there. So, i´ll tell her to send my regards.

Wow, decided to skip out on Stake Conference huh? Those are the kind of members that make me really angry here. They go to church every week, but when there is a special conference, they decide that their time at home is more important than the time at Stake Conference...just kidding haha! That´s what you get when you write your missionary son about not going to church.

It´s an interesting task here, getting the members to talk to there non-member friends about the Gospel. Really, it´s not that difficult. I think that sometimes if we share the Gospel with other people not of our faith, we think that somehow we will lose that friendship or aquaintance with that person. But, like the admonition of Paul, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ...", so we shouldn´t be ashamed either. Which relationship is more important, the relationship with your friends, or with Jesus Christ? And how joyful would it be if, in the celestial kingdom, you reunited with one of your friends because they, through you, learned about the restored gospel? Anyway, I am stepping down from my soapbox...

I am so jealous that Gavin and Dad went shooting. My companion and I were talking the other day about how gun crazy me and my family are (namely Dad and Gavin). I think I´ve been up to that shooting range before but I´m not sure. I am starting to forget the life before the mission.

Okay, so this week was pretty crazy. First, we had to go to Capital so my companion could start his immigration papers. Then, on Wednesday, we had Zone Conference. It was so amazing! We got there at 8:30 in the morning and didn´t leave until 8:00 at night! Such a good zone conference. You can read about it on the Mission President´s wife´s blog. My picture is under González Catán if there is any.

On Saturday, the Mission President invited us to go to his home that evening so I could play the piano in the Dinner for the Stake Presidents. The piano was good, it is really old and needs a lot of work. But, a beautiful Steinway & Sons Grand anyway. The food was really good, a nice break from what we eat out in the boonies, and we were there until about 10:00 at night. We weren´t breaking rules because the President and his Assistants were there.

We are definitely seeing a lot of blessings here in Laferrere. We taught the family of 6 this week and we also obtained a reference from the Mom to go and visit her sister from here. We went and found her sister, and her family as well. So, they all want to come to church this sunday. Hopefull we can baptize all of them. Nothing would make me more happy than to baptize an entire family. Oh yeah! Turns out that my convert from Moreno, Estiven, is a ward missionary and is working a ton with the work over there. And, his girlfriend, Joregelina, is working really hard with the Relief Society. My converts rock!

Well, got to go. Not much to write this week, but you can go on the blog and see whats going on in the mission. Pretty sure our transfer video is on there as well. I love you all and I will write you next week with what´s going on. Also, when do you need the list of what to send in my package? Just wondering...

Su hijo y misionero preferido,
--

Élder Garrett Brighton Rook

Letter from the Mission Presidents Wife

Dear Elder Rook,

You can't know how much Presidente and I appreciated your service tonight! Again and again, thank you so very much. I posted a few pictures on the blog, but here are a couple of others that your mommy might enjoy :)

Hermana Carter

Weekly Letter August 22nd 2011

Hola de vuelta,

Okay, writing after a busy week and a busy P-Day. I don´t have a ton of time to write, but I´ll fit in as much as possible.

It´s so nice to hear from you guys every week. I love getting your letters. Please send me some of the pictures from the mission president´s wife´s blog. We can´t go to other websites, cause its against the rules. So, I haven´t seen those pictures. Thanks for the pictures of Manito. I always loved going there. Hey, I have an idea. You guys can save for a car for me and give me the money so I can buy one in Utah after the mission haha. Don´t worry Mom, you don´t make me trunky. By the way, my shoes are just fine. I need to take them in to a zapatero to get the inside fixed, but the outside is holding up really nicely. I won´t be surprised if they last me my entire mission.

Congrats to Gavin on the apporval of his eagle project. I remember when I was doing my Eagle. Just get it done and don´t wait! By the way, check the spark plugs on the car. Maybe that´s the problem. And congrats on the job.

Sorry Paige that you can´t get out of the house to go to the institute activities. Just keep plugging along and it will work out. You look good by the way with your new hat.

So, on Tuesday, we had to go to Ramos Mejía (the mission offices) to pick up our kids. We showed up at about 4:45pm, because we were told to. The new missionaries didn´t show up until almost 7:00. So, we weren´t able to work that day, because we got back so late. In the meeting, they put all of the trainers on one side of the room and all the newbies on the other side. President got in front of everybody and started naming off trainers and their kids. I was hoping to get an american companion, because I remember how I felt as a new missionary in another country. They called my name and then my new missionary. His name is Elder Abarca, from Santiago Chile. But, the cool thing is is that he speaks fluent English. So, I don´t have to teach anybody how to speak english or spanish as a trainer. Which is nicer. He is super cool and super excited to get to work. He is a convert of a year and a half also. Before we got our kids, we had a training seminar on how to train. We are the first group of trainers in the world to implemant the church´s new missionary program for the first 12 weeks. Now, every group of new missionaries will be using this program to get up and running on their missions. It´s like he´s running my area and I´m just there to help. It´s awesome. President Carter is an amazing man. He is seriously the most spiritual being I have ever met in my life. I guess that comes with a new, fresh mission president. I was really nervous about training a new missionary for the reason that Dad brought up. That he will always remember his first companion more than the others. I remember my first companion in the field, he messed up big time, but I remember the experiences I had with him more than the others. What advice can you give me as a trainer, given that both of my parents served missions?

Me and my companion worked really hard this week and found some really good people. We are excited to finally get to work, and I´m excited to have a fresh missionary to help me in the work. We have not been able to contact the family of 6 for about 2 weeks now, but we keep trying I guess.

Sorry for the short letter, but I really have to go. So, I hope you enjoy the pictures I sent and I look forward to hearing from you next week.

Su misionero favorito,

--

Élder Garrett Brighton Rook