Happy Halloween

Wow-lots of love this week! Many thanks to gee, pa, jen w, sis. pierce, jacob, ma, sis. cole, betsy/carrie/maresa, rachel and samfor the emails! so good to hear from everyone!

this week has been good because....

-i´m starting to figure out my way around. most streets don´t have street signs, and the numbering system of the homes is pretty random, so that hasn´t helped me very much. but i´m starting to figure out how the barrios are connected and can identify where i am by landmarks (buildings, water towers, shops, etc). this is a blessing, folks.

-i made my first empanadas yesterday! we went to a member´s house for lunch (like we do everyday) and i got to help stuff the empanadas. so yummy. i like empanadas. we´ve eaten them only twice. our usual meal is milanesa--a thin-ish cut of chicken or carne that has been breaded and seasoned, then fried or cooked in the oven. very similar to something you might eat in the states. it´s usually accompanied with potatoes of some variety, usually mashed. we eat it a lot. other meals have included pasta (ravioli and spaghetti) and some soup stuff that was alright. fruit or jello is the typical dessert. we never eat veggies. and i miss them waaaaaaaay bad. i´m a little scared to buy them at the store--if ican peel it, i think it´s pretty safe, but you can´t peel lettuce. and you don´t really see any canned veggies here. ah well. it´s just another 16 months, eh?

-last night i felt like a real missionary. i normally don´t contribute much to lessons. i can give part of the lesson we have prepared, but answering questions and elaborating on doctrine are way beyond my language abilities right now. so my comp does most of the speaking. but last night we contacted a lady that we found in our area book--the elders had tracted her out once. she was not very nice to us--her countenance was very hard and she basically just wanted to argue. she believes in god (everyone does--they´re all catholic or evangelical) but didn´t believe He or our message could help her with her life. my poor comp was going in circles with her. after some time, i interupted and bore my testimony. she ended up breaking down and began sobbing--her mom died some time ago and her depression has led her to drinking. she basically has no purpose or hope. i shared a scripture with her from the book of mormon, and she bagan to soften. my comp invited her to the weekly relief society activity, and i think she may attend. at first she was smirking at my sad attempts at spanish,but later askedabout my family and my home and how long i had been here, etc.

being a missionary is a lot like doing visits as relief society president, except we visit people all day, every day. we invite people to church, and call them beforehand, and stop by on our way to pick them up, and still they don´t show up. it´s a little discouraging. but two of our investigators committed to a baptismal date this week, so that makes up for any disappointing times. one of them, leslie, lives next door to us. her family runs a little shop out of their apartment. you see that a lot around here--people will convert one of the rooms in their apartment that faces the street into a little shop. leslie´s family´s shop is basically a little convience store (drinks, eggs, cheese, toilet paper, etc). she is a student and is studying english. i was able to help her a bit with her homework and that was fun.

other random things: most streets are paved, but in a few of the more humble barrios in our area, they are hard packed dirt. we walk a lot. got my first set of missionary blisters. i´m officially official. our area includes the airport that is in salta (hope that helps identify where it is on maps). we knock on the door if we can get to it, or ring the bell. we clap if the porch/yard is inclosed with a gate. (many are.) the weather was cool (80s), but heated up this week. it will be long, hot summer folks. thank goodness it will cool down at night. i have a few photos, but no time to attach this week.

Salta Airport

love you all, the church is true!

hermana magnusson