Corner of the Willows

Disclaimer...neither of these pictures are mine.  Tyler isn't a very good picture taker.

I thought I taught him better than that....

This is a picture of the ALFAJORES that Tyler LOVES.  

Almost more than Oreo's, which is big.

(photo by a Mendoza, Argentina Missionary Mom)

This is a picture taken from the Rincon de los Sauces branch Facebook page.

They are singing, which is why their mouths are open, at Karina's baptism. :)

Fun fact of the day. Rincon de los Sauces means Corner of the Willows. There aren`t really any Willow trees here though. 

This week. Well it has been 6 weeks so we had transfers. Elder Adcock left. He got sent to Bariloche. So i am getting a new companion today. Elder Diaz. Elder Mena told me he is from Ecuador. so that`s exciting! I can`t wait! It will help with my Spanish more! 

Also this week i tried tongue. I think it was cow tongue. It was actually pretty delicious. Muy rico.

Also a dog bit me Friday... We were out knocking doors and contacting references and a dog bit my shoe and turned and ran cause i turned around mad. So that was exciting. The dog then just sat back and barked. 

We had 2 days where we didn`t do anything cause Elder Adcock was sick. It was Saturday and Sunday. Saturday the hermanas had a baptism. It was the first baptism for their area! it was great! And Sunday We didn`t go to church because my comp was throwing up all night. It was Mother`s Day down here in Argentina. Yes Mothers day here is in October. All us missionaries were going to sing Madre Te Amo in church. I don't know if they did it since we weren't there. But so we just rested all day. And now we have a start of a new week!

We had a little more success this week. Gained a couple new investigators. And we have a few people who we are visiting later this week who are potential investigators. It should be a great week coming up! I am excited for what this next week has to bring.

Con Amor,

Elder Tyler Opfar 

And...my questions:

We got transfer calls Saturday night. Elder Adcock left. He had been here for 3 transfers and thats how long President likes to keep people in areas. So I get a new comp. It is Elder Diaz. He comes tonight. And he i think is from Ecuador

1.  Do you have a water heater?  Or do you have wires in your shower like Rob?  (If you have wires, please don't touch them.)

We have a water tank. but our showers are typically lukewarm or cold but bearable. Not hot. We share a water tank between 2 pensions.

2.  Has it been cold at night?  Do you sleep in your sleeping bag?  Does your pension stay warm, or get cold?  (It looks like you've got some hot days coming up this week!!)  How is the sheet/sleeping bag liner working out?

Night is windy and kind of chilly. I usually start out of sleeping bag and then get in during the night. Our pensions gets cold. unless we have the heater on. but we don't turn it on much now because it`s starting to be hotter. I use that liner as a mat on the floor to do excercises...

3.  Where do you grocery shop?  What is the store like?  Is the food expensive?  Is it easy to find fresh fruit?  Please eat well.  :)

We shop at the Anonima. It is like a grocery store. smaller than Walmart. Food is fairly expensive. We are in a more expensive area of the mission because a lot of the jobs up here are petroleum. Fruit. We buy bananas each week. other than that we get fruit at lunches sometimes with members.

4.  The Alforjones sound DIVINE.  Any other favorites?

Alfajores. Muy rico. I also sometimes buy Oreos. They come in little sleeves. it`s 11 pesos for a sleeve so i don't get them super often.

5.  Any new food experiences this week?

I tried tongue. not sure what from. I think cow. But it was actually pretty good.

6.  How was the baptism?  Was she someone you taught or the sisters?  It looked like she was taught by the sisters.

It was the sisters investigator. They are also teaching the lady`s husband. The baptism went well!

7.  What is one thing you have learned or thought about this week?

Well Elder Adcock was sick all day yesterday so I had lots of free time so I read in Jesus the Christ. It is great so far. Also I read a talk by President Uchtdorf called Fear not for I am with thee, or something along those lines. It was given to mission presidents. it was a great talk. Talked a lot about Peter and being converted.

***Here is a link to info on the talk Tyler referred to:  https://www.lds.org/church/news/president-uchtdorf-tells-new-mission-leaders-to-fear-not?lang=eng

"Peter fearlessly spoke in public places—even the temple itself, President Uchtdorf said.

“From that Easter Sunday morning on, Peter was a new man. He had been born again. For the rest of his life, Peter faced threats, ridicule, hatred, and humiliation. But he did not back down. He feared no man. Nothing kept him from fulfilling his mission to raise his voice as a witness of his Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Then President Uchtdorf asked the mission presidents: “What does this have to do with your sacred callings to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ? What does this have to do with your responsibilities to lead [missions]?

“My dear brothers and sisters, it has everything to do with you. This is at the core of your calling. Each day you put on your name tag, your badge of honor, you declare to the world that you are disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Like Peter, you have taken upon yourselves the name of the Lord and the great responsibility to spread the happy and glorious news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

He told the mission leaders that every day of their mission they will be faced with choices similar to what Peter had to make.

“Among the 86,000 missionaries serving today there are many who, like Peter, are fearless in proclaiming the truth. They approach each day with renewed vigor. Even in the face of ridicule, apathy, and hatred they raise their pure and joyful voices to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Of course, there are also some who are afraid, as Peter once was.

“But in a sense, we are all like Peter. We each can see the fruits of Christ’s life, Atonement, and Resurrection in our discipleship.”"