Sorry for the delay in writing! We´ve been doing p'day stuff all day and have only now been able to email. and i had to first send a letter to my president -in spanish- and that took FOREVER. but i´m here in salta and doing good. thanks to jmag (loved the photos!), ma, gee, bishop w, sis mangum and hna nelson for the emails! and i got dear elders from rachel and sam. thanks to you all! i think emails will be most convenient. dearelders take a while to get to me because they sit in the office for a few days before i get them at our weekly district meetings.
so much to say. not sure how much more time i have. we were delayed in getting here a day. oh man, what a story. we arrived in dallas ok, but then sat on the tarmac waiting to take off (for buenos aires) for TWO HOURS because of one problem after another- the pilot needed to change the flight plan due to the volcano. then we were overweight, so they asked for volunteers to take a different flight. then there were mechanical problems. then a sudden attack of severe lightening storms, and finally, part of the plane was struck by lightening so that´s when we had to deboard. we were waiting around for instructions and a man in a uniform (the pilot of the plane?) came up to me and my comp and said, "sisters, heavenly father didn´t want us on that plane. there were too many problems. you be sure to write that in your journals tonight." interesting, eh? not sure if he was a member, but he sure talked like one.
by then it was late (10ish?) so the airline gave everyone vouchers for a hotel. we left the next morning and arrived in B.A. way late, so we stayed in a best western downtown. didn´t realize they had those in other countries. then, the next morning, we got up way early and went to a different airport and flew to salta, where we were picked up by the pres., his wife and the assistants. because we arrived late to the hotels each night and had to get up WAY early to get to the airports, i was running on 6 hours of sleep in 2 days. no good. but i was glad we were safe.
pres. levrino is very nice. speaks almost ZERO english. his wife is fantastic, very enthusiastic and warm and speaks a little more english (i think she´s had missionaries tutor her). they had us over for lunch at their house: yummy empanadas and potatoes and chicken. they were impressed that i´d had empanadas before.
we were assigned trainers after lunch. my new comp is hermana rojas. she is from cordova, argentina, and also speaks just about zero english. i´m glad, because it´s forcing me to speak spanish all the time. she is a convert of about 5 years, and is the only member in her family. she´s 23 and was studying to be a kindergarten teacher before the mish. she is good and speaks slowly for me and i can understand her most of the time. i´m so grateful for that. but, i am discovering how much spanish i don´t know (ie: in the mtc they don´t teach you vocab necessary for cleaning your apartment). i am able to communicate well enough, i guess, but there are still too many long chunks of silence. i need to remember that that will come with time.
we whitewashed an area here in salta. i think we´re in the southwest part of the city? our area is called tribuno, if that helps find in on any maps. my comp is a little stressed because she is a pretty new herself (only on the mish for 4 months), she´s training, and in an area that she doesn´t know. we have inherited quite a few investigators, and even had "our first" baptism this last saturday. we just taught her the last lesson that she needed, but hey, she´s still ours. :) the mission goal is for each companionship to have a baptism each week. not sure if we´ll have one this week, but it´s something to work towards. our area is composed of "barrios" or neighborhoods. it´s not part of the big, central part of salta, but is a little more humble, with some dirt roads and small homes and businesses. we live in an apartment building on the 4th floor. it´s fairly big (according to my comp) and not in bad shape (ie: we have a fridge, a stove, a working shower, toilet and hot water). yay. it kinda reminds me of gee´s canal house. or at least, our kitchen does.
i´m running out of time, so i´ll need to revert to bullet points.
-the people here "sing" their spanish. they all sound like sis. patiño´s mom. and they talk fast. and sometimes the argentine "sh" (for double l´s and y´s) is so strong i can´t understand anything. but i am able to contribute a little to lessons, so i´m grateful for that.
-we walk everywhere, or ride the colectivo (bus). our chapel is about a 15-20 minute walk away.
-there are a lot of plants here that i recognize from home, like the trees with the purple flowers that line the driveway to northview.
-dogs are everywhere. they lazily walk around or are just laying in the sidewalks. and they´re all pretty nasty.
-the ward meets in a new chapel. there is another ward that meets in the same building. not sure how many people were at church on sunday, not enough to fill the chapel, but enough. we arrived at gospel principles for sunday school, and when my comp stood at the front of the class, i realized it was our job to teach! thank goodness my comp is a native and taught because i wouldn´t have been able to do it.
wish i could right more, but i don´t have any more time. i love you all! thanks for your prayers and support! being a missionary is not for the faint of heart, but i know i can do it with heavenly father´s help.
Love, hermana magnusson.
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