The Weekly Update ( :) )

Tyler's Zone

Maybe I will eventually come up with a clever title for these emails.

But this week was pretty good. We got our numbers up from last week. Making progress. We traveled down to Cutral Co last pday night for zone capacitación on Tuesday. When that finished we then had to make the 3 hour bus ride back to Rincon that day. It was long. 

But this week we also did some service. We helped one of our less actives and investigators pull weeds. (thank you mom for making me pull weeds on Saturdays) And we also helped someone put up a fence in front of their house. That was exciting. 

We also ate something this week that didn't settle well in our stomachs. I was fine the next day but Elder Adcock still felt sick. So we stayed in all day so he could rest. I got all my laundry done. So that was good because I really needed to do it. Hand washing clothes just takes time.

We are working a lot with Pedro and Angela.They are 2 of our investigators Who Elder Adcock has been teaching for like 4 months now. They both have baptismal dates. So hopefully we wont have to push them back more. But this week was pretty great! 

I cant believe we are coming up onto the last week of this transfer. Crazy that i have already been in Argentina for 5 weeks. 

Con Amor,

Elder Tyler Opfar

My questions:

1.  What is your daily schedule like?

My daily schedule. We wake up at 7. It changed on Oct 1 because summer we get more light at night. so we go to bed at 11. and in March it will change back to the 6:30 and 10:30. But we exercise and get ready. and by 8:30 we have personal study. Then we do comp study for 2 hours since i am still being trained. then we go out for an hour before lunch. After lunch we go to the pension and do language study then go out to work some more.

2.  What has been your favorite meal so far?  What has been your least favorite?  Has any of the food made you not feel well?  Are you adjusting to the food ok?

I have adjusted to the food just fine. We had this lunch with rice and chicken and carrots and potatoes. That was pretty dang delicious. we had it like 2 weeks ago. Least favorite food was the blood sausage stuff. This week we actually had some food that was just really greasy and it didn't really settle well in our stomachs. so we were in the pension the next day cause Elder Adcock didn't feel super well. I felt fine the next day

3.  Are there any families who are especially kind to you and you have a good relationship with?

all the families are all super kind to us. We have a family that is part member. the mom was a member and her 2 daughters and 1 son were baptized not long ago. She has another daughter who is investigating and getting the lessons. I think she will be baptized. and she has another son and her husband who arent members. but they are still awesome with us. The husband said his first prayer with us a few weeks ago. They are just a great family. But everyone is really nice to us. They all love the missionaries

4.  Do you and the other missionaries in Rincon see each other on days other than P-day?  Do you all get along well?

We live next to the other elders. so we see them all the time. and we usually see the hermanas at the ciber when we email. Yeah we get along great. We sometimes go to the church and do stuff as a district on pday.

The other missionaries are Elder Mena, Elder Rodriguez. Hermana Reid and Hermana Scofield.

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

One thing i thought was cool was in 1 Nephi 17 i think. but it talks like early in the chapter Nephi gives thanks to God for helping their wives be strong in the wilderness while they were living off of raw meat. and later in the chapter Laman and Lemual are complaining about that.Its just awesome to see the attitude of them both.

6.  Where will you baptize people?  A font or a river?

We have a pool in the chapel. It is just a pool that we can easily fill up and take down later

Interesting fact:  In Argentina they have Mothers Day in October. It is next Sunday. 

(How I wish he could call me for their Mother's Day, too!!)

The Weekly

This Cristo statue is located in Rincon.  I think if I lived there, I would visit this every day.  I think it is so beautiful and one of the pictures I requested that Tyler take.  :)

Rincon at night.

A little flooding after the rain.

In front of the pension Elder Opfar lives in.

They were able to watch conference on Saturday in a member's garage, in ENGLISH.  

He was so happy.

On Sunday, they had chicken...

Well this past week was crazy. We had our pday on Tuesday. And from Tuesday until Friday we were in a trio because Elder Mena went down to Chile for visa. We didnt have a whole lot go on in our area this week. The whole entrevistas and Then General Conference took some time away.

But on Wednesday night we did a talent show in our branch. And thta went really well. We gained a lot more trust with the members. And us Elders did a little magic show. that went pretty great!

On Friday night it rained and poured. So we woke up Saturday and in front of our Pension there was water just sitting there. And it made a huge stream by the road. It was a little chilly Saturday but it quickly warmed up Sunday.

We didn´t have a whole lot of success this week being in a trio and just withthe craziness that happened. but we have goals for the next week to get our area back up. Even with traveling back to Cutral Co tonight for training tomorrow. 

On Saturday we got to watch Both sessions of General Conference in English. We watched in someones garage. THen on Sunday we watched it in a members home and had a lot of chicken before for lunch. I loved Conference! All the talks were absolutely amazing

But this was a pretty great week! Cant wait for the next one

Con Amor

Elder Tyler Opfar

In order for me to get the info I want, I ask questions and he answers...I thought y'all might like the Q&A this week:

1.  Where did you watch Conference?

Saturday we watched them in a garage of a member and We got to watch 2 sessions in english! both Saturday sessions. So that was great! I loved all those talks. On sunday we went to a members house and had lunch and watched both sessions in spanish. I didnt get much out of them. But during all the talks the spirit testified to me the truthfulness of what they were saying and also that they are called of God.

2.  Do the members feed you lunch or dinner?  Is there a siesta time there?

We have lunch with the members. Yes there is a siesta

3.  Do you use your water filter? 

no. I havent used it. Water fromtap has like chlorine in it so it wont really filter that. Basically everyone here buys clean water to drink, as do we in our pensions. 

4.  Do you meet at church with the other missionaries in Rincon or do you each hold your own services?  

We have one service. 9|30 in the morning. We only have 2 hours. About 55 people on average. So it is just all 6 of us missionaries

5.  Is there a post office near you?  Is it better to send letters to the mission office or directly to you?

There is a post office. but just send them to the mission home. We get the bolsa once a week which has letters in it and other things if we get them. And i sent you a letter last week. 

6.  What do you do on Pday?  Do you play soccer?  Who with?

On pday we email, buy/cook lunch and then play soccer(rule here we can only play with missionaries so the games dont get super rough) or we also play ping pong or just wash clothes

7.  Do you have a washer in your pension and do you do your own laundry?

no we dont have a washer. we are hand washing everything. Which is soaking clothes in soapy water and rubbing them with your hands. and then rinsing them out under the water and hanging them up tp dry

Churros and Dulce de Leche

Tyler's pension (it's what they call their apartment there.)

Well this week was pretty good. I am emailing today instead of yesterday because we went down to Cutral Co yesterday to our zone for interviews with president. that was exciting. It is a 3 hour bus ride. So Sunday night we left at 11 pm and got there at 2 am. and we left there last night at 10 and got back to Rincon at 1 am. We went on exchanges after the interviews. I was with Elder Wesel who has only been out for 4 months. that was exciting because i dont speak much spanish and he is also still learning. He told me that usually by like the end of the 2nd transfer you can almost completely understand and talk decently. also down there i got a churro. The churros here are filled with dulce de leche. let me tell you, it was delicious. muy rico.

But this past week was pretty good. We got a few new investigators. and put a new baptismal date with 2 of our older investigators. 2 of our investigators came to church with us on Sunday so that was great! there have been a few days this week where we have done a lot of walking. Like when we get back to the pension my legs and body just feel exhausted. But thats good. I like feeling like that. Makes me feel like we had a good day.

My spanish is coming along well. I am starting to understand more of what people say. Speaking it is harder. but that is what I was told. that understanding will be easier than speaking. 

It was a pretty good week. I am looking forward to another good week. But this Friday was have to go back down to Cutral Co for zone training. 

Con amor,

Elder Tyler Opfar

No pictures...but Blood Sausage.

Well this week was pretty good. It was my first full week out here in Argentina doing Missionary work. So this week for one of our lunches we had sandwiches with sausage. One of the sausages they had was called something like Morchilla. It was coagulated blood. Yeah it was weird. The texture of it was really weird. I didn´t like it that much. But the other fod we ate was all really good. Lots of meat, and bread. Dulce de Leche is delicious. They put it on bread and it is so good. 

We got a new investigator. He is really interested in the church. But he is not in our area. He is in the Hermanas so we have to give him to them. He is such a great investigator. We didn´t have as much success this week as what we wanted. But We are determined to make our goals for this up coming week. 

The days are long. It is tiring being out walking everywhere every day. But I am loving it so far. There are random dogs on the streets. And a lot of people have dogs. There have been a few times where i feel like if there wasn´t a fence between me and some dogs that they would attack. Haven´t been attacked yet. 

My spanish is coming along decently. I am understanding a little more of what people say. I still don´t understand a lot but it is getting better. 

Con Amor, Elder Opfar

Training in Neuquen and First Area (Rincon de los Sauces)

Well this week was exciting. Monday Morning we woke up early and went to get on the bus to leave the MTC. We took the train to the airport and waited there until our flight. Then had a long layover in Atlanta. The flight was there to Buenos Aires was long. I didnt sleep much. but when we got there we then had to wait 4 hours before we finally got our luggage. We then went to the buenos aires mtc and temple. Walked around the temple and had lunch at the mtc. After that we went down to the other airport in Buenos aires to get on our flight to go to Neuquen. Our flight left there at 10. so we had to wait a few hours before we made the flight. Landed in Neuquen at almost midnight. 

The next couple days we did some paperwork and stuff at the mission home. and then finally met our trainers on Thursday. My new companion/trainer is Elder Adcock. He is from SOuthern California. He has been out for about 15 months. Our area is Rincon de los Sauces. We had to take a 4 hour bus ride up here on thursday night at 9. so we got back to the pension around like 1 am. And these past couple days have been great. Its all dirt roads here. except in the middle of the town. but our area doesnt have the center. Since being here we have just met with some members and some recent converts. We got 2 new investigators this past week though. and we met the mission standard of excellence. It´s so great so far. i love it here already. i love this area. I cant wait to see what else the Lord has for this area.

con amor

Elder Tyler Opfar

The Lovells have posted pictures of the first two days of the new missionaries time in Argentina, where they were trained, and then received their new companions.  You can read more on the mission blog by clicking here.

At the mission home.

Arrival at the Neuquen Airport.

Paperwork...

...and food.

All the new missionaries and their companions with President and Sister Lovell.

The new missionaries.

Tyler with his mission president and wife,

Elder Opfar and Elder Adcock.  Can't wait to hear more about him tomorrow.

Tyler's first area??

And...they're off!

Arrival in Argentina

Hi mom.

Well I am in Neuquen. We got here last night at like midnight. We had a really long day yesterday. And so we slept and came over to the mission home this morning. Just filled out a little paperwork. And so Sister Lovell said to email our parents and tell them that we are safely in Neuquen. So yeah I am here. It's great so far. It's a different experience. A little different site than what i am used to. It is also a little chilly here but it feels pretty good. We meet our trainers tomorrow. And i'm getting off now. I just wanted you to know that I am here. I love you. 

Love, Elder Tyler Opfar

Last week in the MTC

 

A couple of pictures of Tyler's district and their teachers.

 

Aug 30, 2014

Today was good but long. IT was pday so it went by fast. We got up and did service this morning and did our laundry. THen we went to the temple. After that we went to main campus to eat lunch. THen we went out to wait for the bus. We waited for about an hour and decided to walk. after we got back we went and emailed. THen had Burger Supreme and Jamba Juice for dinner. THen we had spanish class that night.

Aug 31

Today was great. We started with studying and then sacrament meeting. THen had more study time. After lunch we had even more time to study. We had district meeting before dinner. The devotional was good! the speaker was Richard N. Holzapfel. He spoke on the importance of keeping a study journal. It was a great talk. THen we went and watched a video about Thomas S. Monson. 

Sept 1

Today was like any other day. Except it was our last day with our teachers. They switched them up because BYU started and so teachers got their class schedules. So we get new ones for the next couple days. Today was literally spanish lunch spanish dinner and study. Just like any other regular day. 

Sept 2

Today was great. We started with studying. Then we had spanish. We met one of the new teachers. She doesn't speak much english. After class we went up to main campus for dinner and for devotional. The speaker was Don R. Clarke of the Seventy. HE gave a great talk about missionary work. IT also was about helping reactivate inactive members because they are just as important. It got me more excited to get to Argentina.

Sept 3

Today was good. We started with class today. Then after lunch it was more class then studying. We met our other teacher today. He served his mission in Neuquen. So hes been telling us all about it. And im getting more excited. He has an Italian Spanish accent so thats cool.

Sept 4

Today was good. We started with class again. THen went to gym for our last time. AFter lunch we had more class. And learned more about my mission. AFter dinner we had more study time. 

Sept 5

Today was really long. We had In-Field Orientation like all day and then spanish class. Today felt like forever. But during class we talked about the Joseph Smith story. When we were reading it the spirit really testified to me of the truthfulness of it. IT strengthened my testimony of Joseph Smith. I can't wait to get to Argentina and share it with others.