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

Weekly Letter

¡Hola!

Well, I hope this letter finds all in good health. Thank you for sending the card. I will let you know as soon as I receive it. My password to my bank account should be found on the Google Docs Document that I sent to you and Dad before I left, because, I can´t remember my bank account password now, cause I never use it. Don´t worry about not getting me the package as soon as you wanted to. Ahkunamatata. You can get it off to me when you find everything. Copies of the CD´s or no, it doesn´t matter. I would prefer copies because I want to keep the discs when I get home. Don´t fret if you can´t put a lot into my personal account, because at this point, I´m not doing a lot of purchasing. If I do make a purchase, it´s just something else I have to haul around when I get transfered.

Oh, have I got a story for you. On Wednesday, I thought I would be nice and take my companion out for dinner. We got something called "churipan". It´s a sausage on bread with a seasoning called "chimichurri". It´s absolutely delicious. Well, we ate and went back to the apartment to sleep. In the middle of the night, I am sick as a dog, throwing up and diahrrea, at the same time. The trashcan on the lap technique. I was confined to my bed for 3 days with a case of food poisoning. Bad case I might add. I am still on medications for it. But, I am feeling a lot better now, and we´re going to get back to work this week. That´s what I get for being nice haha.

I really hope that you didn´t get rid of anything of mine haha. I know you didn´t...

Ah well. The language. The language is actually going very well. At this point, I can understand the majority of what it said. I never thought that in my life, I would ever understand a different language. Now, the challenge I face is being able to speak better. I can speak, but it´s very...slow. I just need to practice more, and it really depends on the conversation. Every subject, like English, has it´s own set of vocabulary. So, if I want to talk about how to fix a car, or about piano and musical terms, that´s all different vocab. Good thing I get a half an hour to study the language everyday.

I know a great way to lose weight. Walk about 12 miles per day in the boiling hot weather with a humidity level of at least 80%, don´t eat food that contains high fructose corn syrup (that doesn´t exist here, even the soda contains pure sugar that is still more healthy than corn syrup), and when you eat, only eat rice and hamburger patties. It works. It´s worked for me so far haha. I´m down to 100 kilos now, whoo!

Gavin, get...your...project...done. Just do it. I know you´re busy, but when you have the smallest amount of free time, work on it. I know it´s tough, but I delayed my project for like 9 months. Worst mistake ever. Just get it done buddy. That car is waiting for you... By the way I love Cheers, because everybody knows your name. Hey Gav, if you could, could you put "My name is Lincoln" on the mix CD as well? I love that song.

Paige, just dress really classy when you go to the job fair. You will be asked questions about your profession by people who actually do your profession. Don´t be afraid to talk to people. You´ll be answering questions all day to professionals, representatives from colleges, and passers by who are interested to see what´s going on. My adviceis just don´t hold anything back. Be assertive (SP?) and don´t have any fear to talk. Get to know people and be open to those who want to get to know you. BE FUN AND INTERESTING!!!! Haha

I´m going to end with a story. My companion and I were going to visit this teenager who we talked with on the street about the Book of Mormon. We went to his house and clapped outside the gate. He came out and as soon as he saw us, he had a look on his face that he really didn´t want to talk to us. He opened the gate and we started to talk. He informed us that he took the flyer about the Book of Mormon and researched it on the internet. He found a lot of history vs. the Book of Mormon evidence that states that: historically, the Book of Mormon can´t be true. The people that Christopher Colombus found weren´t of the nature of the people talked about in the Book of Mormon. He said it just didn´t fit together and there wasn´t any logical way to believe that the Book of Mormon is, in fact, genuine scripture. At that moment, a little voice inside of me urged me to open my mouth. I opened my mouth and started to speak. I spoke about that gifts of the Spirit. "Cristian" I said, "do you believe that God can answer your prayers if you ask in faith?". He told me of course he could. I continued, "Is it logical that Jesus Christ turned water into wine at the marriage in Cana, or that he fed 5000 people with a few fishes and a few loaves of bread? That he made the blind to see and the deaf to hear? And took upon him all the sins of the world that we could live with him again?". He answered no. "The why do you believe it?" I asked. He said, "Because I have faith that it happened." At that moment, I could almost literally see then light bulb flash on in his mind. I said "That´s why I know that this book is the word of God". He told us, "I don´t know what to think. I´m really confused as to what it going through my mind right now." I knew that the Holy Ghost was testifying of the truthfulness of what we shared. We´ll see if he does anything with what he felt, but he knows what was there, and we were fortunate enough to experience that marvelous event. I know this Gospel is true. I will be honest. When I left for the Mission, I did not have a testimony of this Gospel. I went to Church because you went to church. I had never received that witness of the Spirit. When I entered the MTC, I had serious thoughts of turning back, because I was surrounded by missionaries who had burning testimonies and unwaivering witnesses that this church was true. And I had nothing. I was reading in the Book of Mormon one day and I started to cry. My teacher, Brother Puterbaugh, asked what was wrong and I asked to talk to him. He pulled me aside in a room and we talked. I started to tell him that I was afraid to go out into the field and preach the Book of Mormon, Faith, and the Holy Ghost because I would be preaching doctrine that I didn´t actually know was true. He asked me, have you ever read the Book of Mormon? Cover to cover, every page, every word, every article of grammar. I told him no. I had read a lot of the Book of Mormon in my life, probably enough to say that I had read it, but cover to cover, I had not. He said the only way to gain faith is to take that first step in the lessons. To read and pray. At that moment, I was the investigator. We spoke for about an hour and a half. We both left the room crying. After that, I started the Book of Mormon, finished it, and prayed afterward. I received nothing. I read the promise of Moroni in Moroni 10:3-5 and prayed with ´sincere heart and real intent, having faith in Christ´. The feeling I received in my heart was a feeling I had never felt before. It felt as if something was being poured into my body and I didn´t have room to hold it all. But it was a good feeling. I will always be grateful for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And especially for Brother Puterbaugh, who made me see what I needed to do. I know that we are all priveleged to feel the Holy Ghost´s influence when we follow the path of Christ in our lives. I close this message with an expression of love. I love you all so much and I look forward to that day when we will again be reunited. I say these things humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Garrett Brighton Rook

Misión Argentina Buenos Aires Oeste

La mejor misión de todo el mundo

March 14, weekly letter

Hey Everybody!

Glad to have gotten your letter last week. I always enjoy them. I´m glad to hear about the move, and that it went well.

I have heard about the disaster in Japan. I did see some of the footage on TV here. Although we aren´t supposed to watch TV, we catch glimpses of it in the member´s homes. Terrible. I saw the footage Dad was talking about. A 30 foot wave, swallowing the cars as they tried to drive away to safety. I think it is truly the signs of the times. Disasters in divers places. Turns out the tidal wave hit parts of Mexico and Chile as well.

I don´t remember Sister Skogen, but I read the short little article on Spokesman Review about the case. It´s really sad. I couldn´t live with myself if I did something like that. But, at the same time, who does that? A little boy wets his pants and you push him up against a wall? Poor kid. I couldn´t imagine. But, he is now enjoying all the blessings of Celestial Glory with Our Father in Heaven.

Just send the card in the box with my other stuff. Or, you can send it in an envelope to the address that I provided a few letters back. Even if the card doesn´t show up to me, nobody will be able to use it. Just send the card and a short note, tri-folded, so nobody will notice that there is a card inside the envelope.

Well, we end another week in Argentina, and I am getting over a herendous cold. We did divisions on Tuesday, and we were out working all day, in the sun. We returned to the apartment and I didn´t feel so good. I woke up the next morning and I was as sick as a dog! So, we spent about two days in the apartment while I rested. But now, I feel a lot better.

We´ve had a lot of rain this week, and because of that, the temperature is about in the 65-70 degree range. I am loving it! The days are perfect right now!

On Saturday, in an effort to find new investigators and get to know the members, I am going to be teaching English as a Second Language to the members of our ward. We got the authorization from the Mission President the other day.

I was reading in the Ensign and I found an article that you guys would like to read. It´s from 2007, a talk by President Monson while he was in the First Presidency. It´s called "The Gift of Compassion" and it´s so good. It definitely makes somebody want to serve somebody else. The other is especially for Gavin. Both of the links follow:

The Gift of Compassion

Missionary Health Preparation

I´m afraid I don´t have any pictures this week, because the battery died on my camera as I hooked it up to the computer in the Internet Café today. I forgot to charge the battery last night. So, next week.

Sorry this letter is a little short, but I´m afraid I don´t have much to talk about this week, given that I was in the apartment for 2 and a half days. Send everybody my love in the ward. I love you so much and I look forward to the day when we will be reunited again.

¡Hasta semana que viene!

(Until next week)

Elder Garrett Brighton Rook

Misión Argentina Buenos Aires Oeste

La mejor misión de todo el mundo

P.S. Some other things you might want to include in the box:

Concerning the CD´s: Just send the actual CDs. It doesn´t matter. If you want to send copies you can, but I can always buy new ones when I get back. But, the mix CD that Gavin is making I do want, because it contains music from other CD´s that I do not have. And make that three copies of my CD. One for me, another for the president, and the other for the offices. I want the box ASAP because I´m getting tired of the CDs that the mission has. Haha, but seriously there is no rush. :-)

New Polish from Bass: Two sponges, one of oil and the other of black polish. If it´s possible of course. Mine are dried up.

Letter 3/7/11

¡Hola!

Well, another week passes in Argentina. Please, don´t cry for me...haha. I´m glad to hear that the move is going well. I do wish I could be home with you helping, but I don´t miss hauling that piano around for sure. Some houskeeping first...

Yes Mom, I do have a card from the mission that I use to buy food and other miscellaneous things that are necesary for my survival. I get about $550.00 ARG every month (about $136.60 US). So, I´m doing okay, although things are a little tight this month, because we had to pay a little bit for travel back and forth to the main mission office, because it was transfer week this week. And, by the way, I didn´t get transfered. I´m still in my first area. After this transfer, I will have been in Moreno for a total of 4 1/2 months. Whew! Long time. And there is still a possibility that I will be here for another transfer afterwards, making it a total of 6 months in the same area.

To answer Dad´s question; my comp and I are doing great. He´s a little annoying sometimes, but he´s pretty cool. He´s from a city called Mendoza, here in Argentina. We´re working hard and we reel in about 10-15 new investigators every week. That´s the norm in this mission. If you´re bored, then you need to get out of the apartment and look for people, because there are people to be found. My daily schedule follows (with the exception of sundays and days when we have district meeting or weekly planning):

6:30AM - Rise and excersize

7:00AM - Eat breakfast and shower

8:00AM - Personal Study

9:00AM - Companionship Study

10:00AM - Language Study

10:30AM - Leave the apartment to begin proselyting

1:00PM - Lunch (usually with a member)

2:00PM - Resume proselyting

9:00PM - Return to the apartment and plan for the next day (and other miscellaneous things such as journal, a little something to eat etc.)

10:30PM - Go to sleep to start it all over again the next day

I did hear from Daniel the other day, and he is doing well. I wrote him last P-Day, because before my email had problems sending to his address.

Argentina is definitely a place to keep on your toes. The other day, it was political compaign day, and we had to go to a meeting in the Stake Center, about 2-3 miles away. And we had to walk, of course. We had to walk through the main square in Moreno, where all the speeches were going to take place. There was a crowd of a couple thousand people, all super buzzed to cheer for their favorite political nominee. There was some fights going on and a little bit of minor rioting. And we had to walk right through it. Plus there were all kinds of teenage girls that were whispering to me as I passed all kinds of sexual euphimisms in Argentine Spanish. The girls here all hope to go to the United States with a nice american husband. I am reminded everyday that I am living in a completely different world. To add to that, the next day; we were walking down the main street in Moreno, and a bus clipped the back of car, but stopped immediately. There was about 4 teenagers in the car. The driver (a female) got out of the car and started screaming at the bus driver, using certain choice words. The other 3 (all males) grabbed an item from the car and started banging on the bus. Then, one of the teenagers went back into the car and grabbed a tire iron and started banging on the windsheild. The bus driver left his seat and bolted to the back of the bus. The window exploded all over the street. As soon as the teens found out that they had done some damage, they all got back into the car and drove off. The bus driver got back in his seat and drove away in the bus (which was full of passangers by the way) and left a pile of glass in the middle of the street. And the world kept turnin´. No police report, no lawsuit, no nothin´. There is little police in the city of Moreno, and the police that are here are grossly underequipped.

Paige, that´s pretty cool about Mr. Wood. He´s a total stud and he was one of my favorite teachers in High School, along with Mr. Kracht. Send them both my salutations and tell them that I say hi. It would be cool to take the car to the scool next week, but I´m sure the family could use your help as well. But, it´s your decision.

Gavin, you look like a total stud! Glasses seriously make you look older. You´re going to be kissing all kinds of girls in no time with those bad boys! Haha, when it happens let me know. How´s the funding for Seattle going? If you are short at all, please feel free to use some of my CD funds to make up the difference, and when you start working, you can replace them over time. Because you need to go Seattle, it will be an experience that you´ll remember for a long time. But, it would be cool if you could raise the funds yourself too, haha.

Bueno, necesito irme ahora. Pero, me encantó recebiendo su carta esta semana. Por favor, envieme otra carta en la semana que viene. Más, hay otras notas que siguen.

Su hermano y hijo en Cristo,

Elder Garrett Brighton Rook

Misión Argentina Buenos Aires Oeste

La mejor misión en todo del mundo

P.S. The photos I sent are the zone after transfers with all of our "200" shirts on, since we accomplished the mission goal. The second is just me in my shirt in the apartment. As you can see, I´ve lost quite a bit.