Weekly letter July 25, 2011. He Bought More Ties?

Hola familia mia,

Well, I am sitting in front of the computer genuinly pooped. We just got back from playing soccer with the rest of our district and I am ready to go to bed. Too bad we still have to work tonight...

First of all, thank you for the money that you gave me. I don´t know if you knew, but when I got into my account, I found 125.00 there (which came out to about 500.00 ARG). I took it all out and put it to good use. I was able to get a new pair of pants and a few new ties...completely awesome. Dad, you would be proud of your oldest boy. Oh Mom, a Sister in our ward fixes pants, so she´s redoing all of my pants right now. She had to make them smaller... And, I think i´m going to have money left over for a awesome Argentina soccer jersey. Also, a question for Gavin, do you want Argentina or would you prefer Brasil? Please let me know...

Gavin, dude. Bien ahí with the selling of the wall tent. A future business man right there. Where did I go right to have such an awesome brother?

Dad, congrats on the Baretta. I always thought you were a Glock fan, but Baretta´s cool too. Hopefully you won´t have to use it. The right to bear arms here is a dream. Nobody has a gun except for the bad guys that buy on the black market. Too bad there are hardly any police to enforce that law. I tell people that we have guns in the house to protect us and they look at me like I´m crazy. There is definitely an anti-American attitude that resides here. Not terrible but it´s there. I get weird looks wherever I walk and people tell me how cold of a people we are. Sorry if we open doors for people and yield to pedestrians on the street, didn´t know that was a cold attitude. Oh, and we work, and we don´t sit on the street corner all day doing drugs and yelling at passers by. I should really stop being a cold person. We visited an inactive member the other day, and she asked what I was considering to do when I get back. I said that I wanted to teach in music, but was also considering the option of joining the military to help me with school. When I said that, her eyes went wide, and started to lecture me on how being a soldier wasn´t not a christian attitude. She openly stated that she doesn´t believe in the modern-day prophets, so using their military experience was not an option. Instead, I shared the story of David in 2 Samuel, how he slew Goliath to conquer the Philistines who were opposing the Children of Israel, and how God sometimes uses war and bloodshed to bring about the greater good. Then she started mouthing off at President Bush and how the invasion of Iraq wasn´t necesary. I didn´t open my mouth and we left. Her and Uncle Sam would not be good friends. Being here sure makes a person more patriotic. The people here are very prideful to be Argentines. I use the word "prideful" in place of the word "proud". In the 80´s, Argentina and England had a conflict over a group of islands off the coast of Argentina called the Malvinas, or on our maps, the Faulkland Islands. The Argentines lost terribly in that war, but still hold on to the idea that the Malvinas (or Faulkland Islands), are theirs. Even though the Grand Britania is flown there, and the dominant language is English. But, whatever, I´m not going to say anything. Anyway, my little tidbit about Argentina.

That´s too bad about Brandi Marty. Bummer that didn´t work out. Maybe her facination with me is still alive. It has to be, given that I´ve dropped thirty pounds, I´m tan, and look fantastic and I speak a second language. Hahaha...you can leave that out of the blog. (Mom says that she will leave it in! lol)

Bummer about Ann, Mom. Too bad that Ann does not realize is that, if she keeps pushing people away; by the time George passes, she´s going to look around and nobody´s going to be there. You did a nice thing. It´s not your fault and don´t begin to think that. She digging her own hole.

I don´t know about the bike. I love it but I don´t see myself using it when I return. Plus, I can always buy another one when I get back.

This is not trunky at all, but I was thinking. If all of you want me to start getting you things, you can start putting money on my card so I can. Tell me how much you put on and I´ll get something really Argentine for you. Plus it´s better to start getting stuff now then later. My last companion, Elder Unker, didn´t get anything for his family throughout his entire mission. So, his family put a bunch of money on his card to buy things, but he had no idea what to buy. We spent our P-Days looking for things to buy for his family. Needless to say, he went home with the majority of the money he received. But, I see things almost everyday that everyone of you would love to have. So, I don´t know...tell me what you wanna do.

Paige, get out of the house and start doing stuff. Are you not exploring the new area you´re in? I am kind of bummed out some days because I can´t go anywhere and explore. But I´ll have time for that later. Go to the activities and go to institute. Your life is passing you by and you need to go with it, or else it´ll be gone. You do realize that, if you do not serve a mission (which I really think you should), you are at the beginning of your life as an adult NOW. In a few years, you will be worrying about a family, work, and other related things. Jump on the wagon and get moving! Because if you don´t, you will look back and say "I should´ve...". Don´t put yourself in the position to say that. I´ve said it and I don´t like to say it to myself. But anyway, I love ya y no me quiero quejar más...haha

Oh also, and little snipit. Mom, when you guys eventually make it to Florida, make sure to move my member records over to Florida. Because it will be easier to get into BYU.

Tambien, see if you can send me some pictures from my facebook account of pictures with my friends and you guys as well. I love the pictures you sent me by the way. My brother is such a capo. And Michael Hardy hasn´t grown an inch haha (You can cut that out too). I´ll send pictures to you guys next week.

I love you all, and I thank God everyday for the amazing family I have. Thank you for writing me everyweek and for always being there for me. I look forward to the day when we will all be reunited again with a sound understanding in Christ (Alma 17:2).

Su hijo, hermano, y amigo en Cristo,

Weekly Letter July 18, 2011 (Same picture as last week)

¿Que tal familia mia?

Well, an end to yet another week. The time is flying by so fast I can´t believe it. In the blink of an eye, I´ll be home. Haha just joking...

Housekeeping....

Well Mom, I have some bad news and some good news as well. I was kind of an idiot and didn´t do what you asked me to do. I still have my debit card and I totally spaced cutting it up. So, in a way, it´s good news as well. Haha So, feel free to put money on that bad boy.

About Becca Pingel. If she´s going to Paraguay, then she´ll be hanging around my neck of the woods for about three weeks here in Buenos Aires at the MTC. All american missionaries going to either Paraguay or Uruguay spend three weeks in the MTCBA. So, when that time comes, I´ll be sure to wave in that direction. By the way, the MTC is in my mission. So, she´ll be a resident of the best mission in the world until she heads off to Paraguay. Which mission is she going to? Asuncion North or South? Because I know a sister missionary going home next transfer that lives in Asuncion North. When does she take off? I would love to go to Paraguay, but it´s more than 100 degrees most of the time and they speak two languages, Spanish and a Native Indian language called Guarani. It´s so incredibly difficult. Some Paraguayos have taught me certain things to say in Guarani. It´s full of like noises with the mouth rather than words. Even though all of the population speaks Spanish, the national language is Guarani. Their money is called Guarani as well. Guarani is pronounced (Gwa-da-nee). Oh wow, the internet place that I´m in is playing Paraguyao music right now. Midopariko!

I am staying warm. I was able to order two pairs of thermal garms through the mission. Every week, the mission asks us what we need. We´re not out in the middle of nowhere, we´re taken care of. Although, I haven´t used them in about two weeks, the weather is being weird. It´s raining outside right now by the way.

The letter...

Well, we are at the end of kind of a dissapointing week. We taught over 30 lessons this week and only two people came to church. It´s tough, not going to lie. We were a little discouraged yesterday, because all of our current investigators fell through and they´re not progressing. We had to drop all of them. So, here we are, in week 3 of transfer, and we have absolutely nobody. Kind of stinks to tell you the truth. In the mission, you really start to love the people you teach. It devestates me when somebody says that they work all week and they don´t want to come to church on sunday, because they want to sleep in. It´s like they´re putting God on the back burner (to be frank). And we sit there and just cry inside. I can´t even imagine the sadness our Heavenly Father feels when his servants reach out to his children and they don´t even blink an eye. They just move on with their lives like nothing happened.

But, we keep working and trudging along. We are completely obedient and we work diligently. So, we´re bound to see some blessings here pretty soon.

My companion is pretty cool. He´s from here in Capital and he´s waiting on his VISA to go to Mexico. Although, he´s been here for about 5 months. Hopefully, it will come throught soon.

Gavin, congrats on the date bro. Although, you told me that you slacked off a little bit. Did I teach you for nothing? Haha Congrats on the drivers permit. Keep practicing!

Paige, I hope that you´re settling in just fine in Alabama. I hear it´s really hot right now. Now, you know how i felt about 3 months ago. Keep going, don´t get homesick.

Not much more going on right now. Sorry for the short letter but I´ve gotta go. I will be looking forward to you package soon. I´ll write you again next week with more stuff. Right now, I´m running a little late.

I love you all and I´ll write you next week!

Élder Garrett Brighton Rook

Laferrere 2

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

P.S. I attached a photo of me and my companion. Hope you enjoy.

Weekly Letter July 11, 2011

Toda piola?

Writing again on yet another P Day in la Bella del Sur (The Beauty of the South). This week has just crawled, although usually the first week of every transfer is super slow. We got a lot of work done and I went to bed totally beat every night. I'm loving it though. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here.

Housekeeping...

Bummer to hear about the shingles Gav. Like I said in your letter, my last companion Elder Unker got shingles here in the field about a year ago. The doctor put him on some meds and he hasn't had it since. So, it's definitely controlable. You just need to relax bro, and allow other people to take that weight of worry off you chest.

Thanks for letting me know about what was going on with our close friends. I'll get a letter off to them shortly. Keep praying for them. Maybe you could put their names on the list in the Temple. I'll continue to pray for them.

Paige, just keep busy. That's what I do when I feel homesick. Just get out of your little comfort zone and work. Maybe you need to go on a mission. It would help you so much, you don't even know. The sisters here in the mission are awesome. Oh yeah, just stay the whole year. If you're going to be making money like that, just stay. Why wouldn't you want to?

Mom, a VISA Card would be nice. Given that the trip to Walmart is kind of a pain. So, VISA would be awesome!

On with the letter...

Okay, I am writing at the end of a very long week. My first week as senior companion was really good. We taught almost thirty lessons and got about fourteen new investigators. We clapped one hundred and eleven doors in a desperate attempt to find new people. Although only one person showd up to church, we are making plans with the members to help us out. The field is definitely white down here. Our baptism goal is seven for this transfer. We are keeping as obedient as possible to receive all the blessings we can. This is going to be a great transfer.

We had interviews with the new President this week. He is an amazing man to say the least. We talked for about 15 minutes. He is an Eagle Scout and he got his Duty to God as well. I told him that I did the same things, and he told me that I would have a lot of potential coming my way later in life. He told a story of three executives that were hired at a fortune 500 company out of a hiring pool of over 300 applicants. He said that they were hired because they had earned their Eagle Scout, and they all had served missions for the church. He said that I would probably be training next transfer as well. We talked about my schooling in the future. Mom, please don't cry when I tell you this. I asked about the possibility of leaving a transfer early to start school in September at BYU. He looked at me and said, Well, Elder, that doesn't sound to attractive to me. We have three options here. One, you can go home early and spend two weeks with your family until you go to school, you can go home on time and have three months until you go to school and that isn't good either, or...you can extend your mission thirty days, come home during the holidays and spend a good two months with your family until you go to school in January. I looked at him and said that I liked the third option a lot better. So, we'll see what happens. I'll give him the yes or no when I hit the year mark in October. He also asked what city you guys are moving to in Florida, because he is from Florida and he wants to know where you're moving to so he can call the Stake President ahead and let them know that you guys are coming.

Also, some sad news. You guys remember my companion from the MTC, Elder Jones? I went to the change meeting on Monday and Elder Bush, a friend of mine from Moreno, told me that he had gone home. Sister Cox, one of the couple missionaries in the offices told me that he was really sad because he wasn't having the success that me and Elder Alkema were having in our missions. So, he went home about two weeks ago. That ruined my day when I heard it. Elder Alkema was there at the meeting too and he gave me a big hug when he heard it. We were so sad because we loved him so much. Never compare yourself to others. The Lord knows who each person is and their struggles. Even though we baptize for the mission overall, we are all here on our personal missions and our personal progress. At the end, if we worked hard and did our best, then we are successful missionaries.

That is pretty much the highlight of the week. Week one is really boring, so the letter will be longer next week.

I love you all and I will see you soon!

Élder Garrett Brighton Rook

Laferrere, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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

P.S. Here is the link for the mission that the President's Wife made. You can read about what's going on in the mission. Also, my picture is under Gonzalez Catan. www.buenosaireswest.blogspot.com

P.S.S. Send me some pictures from my Facebook account so I can print them here.

Weekly Letter 7/4/2011 Happy 4th of July! Happy Birthday Garrett!

¡Hola familia mia!

Well, a sad day to report. My companion, Elder Unker, has gone home. We became great friends and i´m going to miss him a ton. Although, when I go to BYU; we´re totally hanging out. I did get a new companion. His name is...are you ready?...Elder Mielnikowicz. He´s from Argentina and has been in the mission for five months. By the way, I´m starting my first transfer as senior companion! I am so excited, and we´re going to baptize a ton!

Housekeeping...

To answer your question Mom: Yes, I was taken care of on my birthday. I had a great birthday. It was strange, because it was my comp´s last day in Argentina and my birthday. So it was sad and happy at the same time. We went to two member´s houses. A sister named Hermana Dorilda and our Branch President´s house. I included pictures from both.

I hope that the Florida thing works out. Although I would much rather stay in Idaho; if the Lord has different plans, they will make themselves manifest.

Not much is happening on the home front me parece, so I´ll move on to my letter...

We did not have a good week this week. Our numbers were super low, because we had to go the mission office multiple times to help send my companion off. He wasn´t trunky, but it was just things with the government and flight stuff. So, we didn´t work much. I was really sad to say goodbye to Elder Unker. We had such a good time together and I´ll miss him terribly. I talked with one of the Assistants today at the mission office and he told me that we all have our favorite companions in the mission, but we´ve just got to keep working. So, I guess I´ll just keep working. :-)

I am now senior companion with Elder Mielnikowicz. Its an interesting feeling. We were walking to the city center today and I swore I could see the area change. This is now my area. This area and what happens in it is my responsibility. Its so crazy. But, I think I´m ready for a little responsibility now.

It has been a super dry week this week, so as a result, my skin is acting up yet again. I just wish that this would go away. I really don´t want to be battling this my whole life. But, I´m going to call the area Doctor tomorrow and get this solved.

It...is...cold...here. I remember when I got my call and it said Argentina. I thought "Dang it, it´s going to be hot all the time". That´s a lie. The cold here is incredible. No matter what I put on, it just cuts right through my clothing. But, we are staying warm the best we can.

Well, I have decided to be more obedient. Its a rule that we can´t email friends. So I have stopped emailing all of my friends. If I want to comunicate with them I have to send a physical letter. I sent a letter to Stewie this week so It will arrive soon. I know it will be hard, but I know the blessings will be that more rewarding. I need to get Adam´s mission address so I can send him a letter. If you could give it to me, that would be great.

One question. Am I getting another card or what´s going to happen? Did you guys figure out what´s going to happen to my CD account? Given that all of my CD sales are connected with that account. It would be nice to know so I don´t start worrying about it.

Well, I think we´re going back to the apartment to get some well deserved rest before we get back to work. I love you all and I´ll write you again next week. Keep the letters coming, I love reading them.

¡Hasta luego!

Élder Garrett Brighton Rook

Misión Argentina Buenos Aires Oeste

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

Weekly Letter 6/27/2011

¡Buen día a todos!

Okay, sorry again for the super short letter last week, but this week will be better.

I´m glad that Paige arrived in alabama okay. Mom, don´t worry. Paige needs to learn to grow on her own. Having bad experiences and trials are the only way that one grows in life. I can say, from experience, that I am not the person that you guys said goodbye to on the curb in Provo. Over this short period of time; I was able to experience trial and heartache with bad companions, sickness, and dissapointment. Because of that, I have grown and will continue to grow in the coming months. Paige will be fine. She needs an experience such as this. By the way, most people move out at around that age, right after High School.

If you are planning on leaving in the middle of July; shouldn´t you already know by now? That seems a little fishy to me. But, then again; I´m not there. I hope everything come through okay. Although, I would rather stay in Idaho, I hope everything works out. By the way, way to go Gavin! That´s my little bro!

On with my letter...

Well, we had quite a busy week. First of all, we had the President´s Farewell on Tuesday. President Benton is finishing a three year mission on Thursday and the new President comes tomorrow. I attached a photo of my last picture with President Benton. It was really sad. I played my rendition of God Be With You ´Til We Meet Again for the mission and had everyone crying. Sad day. I´m going to miss him a ton. He has helped me so much since I came out into the field.

On Wednesday, we had the worst rain storm I have ever seen in Argentina so far. It started to rain at about 5:00pm and it didn´t stop until Thursday at 2:00pm. We were working when it started and I didn´t have my rain gear. Oops. It started to sprinkle a little bit and then it started to downpour. Elder Unker and I came back to the apartment soaking wet and dripping everywhere. I attached a photo of our experience.

On Friday, we had to go to Capital again for the third time. Not too fun, but now my documents are done, so I am an official Porteño (a person from Buenos Aires). In the immigration office, we saw President Benton and his wife. They were verifying their VISA so they could leave the country. They had a handler from the Area Offices named Sabrina with them. She helped us with everything as well since we were there. And, I´m sorry, but she was a very beautiful person to say the least. Haha

On Sunday, my companion had his exit interview with President. He was in there for almost an hour. During this time, the Branch President in Laferrere II (my branch) showed up! Of all people in all places! He and President Benton are really good friends. Oh, by the way, his name is President Golinowski (I think its a Jewish name). He is such a stud. We go over to his house every week to eat pizza and empanadas. He is a convert of three years and he´s our Branch President! Crazy! He absolutely loves the missionaries and he wants to feed us all the time. haha

And here we are on Monday. My comp´s last monday in Argentina (not counting his travel day next monday). We are going shopping today for him and his family. The one day that I don´t have my card or money... :-( Oh, by the way. What is going to happen with my CD account? Given that CDBaby is connected with my STCU account. I was kind of worried the other day and I don´t know how that would be figured out. But, I know that you´ll figure it out.

Oh, one more thing before I go. You need to ask Liz this pronto! Me and my comp were talking the other day and he was saying that all of his friends kind of bailed on him during his mission and that he wasn´t going to have a bunch of friends when he gets back. I said, "Well, I have a friend for you. This guy is going to go to University of Utah (where my comp is going). His name is Adam Thurgood." My comp looked at me and said "Are you serious? Adam Thurgood? I lived two houses away from them in South Jordan! I know him and Zac really well!" Holy Cow! That is so crazy! Here we are in Laferrere, Argentina and we both know the same person. Adam and his family moved from South Jordan up to Post Falls, where I live, we become best friends and me and Elder Unker serve in the same mission. That is so crazy to me. I couldn´t believe it when I heard it. You need to ask Liz if she knows who Andrew Unker is. I guess Adam, Zac and Andrew used to play Basketball like everyday on their driveway. I can´t email Adam direcly because its against the rules, so you need to ask Liz that.

Anyway, I´ve got to go. I love you all so much and I will write you next week. Keep up the faith and I look forward to hearing from you next week.

Love you!

Élder Garrett Brighton Rook

Misión Argentina Buenos Aires Oeste

Weekly Letter 6/20/11 Short!

Hey everybody!

Thank you for the letter, I always enjoy hearing from you guys! First of all...some housekeeping...

I´m pretty sure my grades are good enough to go to BYU, Mom. My GPA average is over 3.7. I´ve only gotten one C in my entire life. But, you could always find out. Call and ask about return missionaries.

Paige, I do something to say...

Que te vayas bien en tu viaje. Voy a pensar en vos siempre y orar por vos. Espero que encuentras mucho gozo en Alabama y que estés segura. Que los peligros del mundo no tengan poder sobre vos. Que el Espíritu del Señor vaya contigo y que te proteja. Escribíme a mi cuando vos llegues en Alabama. (Thought I would testyouon your spanish. If you don´t understand Google Translate does a pretty good job).

Translation:You go well on your journey. I'll always think of you and praying for you. I hope you find much joy in Alabama and you're safe. The dangers of the world does not have power over you. May the Spirit of the Lord go with you and protect you. Write to me when you get in Alabama.

Gavin, always be doing missionary work. I do know Ryan, he´s a good man. Let him knowI said hi, and to keep going. Always bear your testimony to everybody. You are a missionary now, you don´t need the black nametag to be a missionary.

I am so sorry, but it is almost 9:00 and I have to go. I am here on special permission from the Assistants, because my companion and I went to visit converts in another area, since he´s leaving in 2 weeks. They told me to write a little snippet and send it. I´ll write more on thursday when we do Progressing Investigator Form. Know that I am all well and fine and healthy. If I don´t write on thursday for some reason, I´ll write again next monday.

I love you all!

Élder Garrett Brighton Rook

Misión Argentina Buenos Aires Oeste

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

Pictures from Argentina!

Garrett's weekly letter is in an earlier post. He looks really good and is happy. Skinny as a rail! He has lost 30 lbs. I'm so grateful that he is doing well, and that he loves being a missionary. I'm grateful that he is worthy enough to serve a mission! What an awesome adventure he is having. So proud of him! It's hard to have him gone, but I wouldn't change anything. It has been an awesome adventure for us as a family to see his growth in the gospel.