Hey familia! Wow the family looks awesome. I love that last picture with everybody. Man i have some pictures to send too, but i forgot my little cord so i cant send any today.... but i do have a few. i guess there will just be more next week! that is crazy about the earthquake!!!! holy cow! and we were walking by some store here and heard something about a hurricane in north carolina, but it was argentine news so we didnt really know how reliable that was... so i hope everyone is okay. wonder how Sophie´s family faired... this week was good. we had a baptism scheduled for last saturday but Raúl was just super nervous about it so we put it for this next saturday.... and then his girlfriend was like (she is a member by the way... and not positive if they are like an item but they are always super awk around each other when we come haha...) it would be so cool to get baptized in a river! and so now thats probably whats going to happen. good thing winter is just getting over haha... and this is definitely not tropical weather haha... which i just mention because i think most people are under that impression... because i was haha...

anyway... oh yea! something really funny happened last week. a few things actually. first. the custom of greeting people here, regardless of gender, is the little peck on each cheek, and missionaries aren´t supposed to do that... haha i remember Hno. Hernandez in the mtc saying that we basically need to stiff arm people when they come in for kisses haha... anyway, we were at a pretty solid investigator´s house and during the lesson, a few people came in and this girl came in and kinda put her hand out in a really awkward way and i thought she was going for a high five so i just high-fived her and smiled like an idiot... i guess she was expecting a kiss on the cheek too because she like....stuck her head out toward me, and when i high fived her she looked really confused and then just moved on to Elder Fackrell haha.... okay second story..... last tuesday, we cleaned our pensión a little bit and when we were done our bathroom flooded. remember that hole i was talking about that would just fill up with poop-water every time to much water was being used? well that flooded like crazy... and we couldn´t shower or use any water.... basically this past week we have been living in a tent. because our heladera is broken too haha.... oh my lanta.. anyway we called the dueñó and she called this guy who came over and poured some acid down one of the drains which is argentine drano i guess... and then went out back to check our septic tank. its just a hole covered by a brick and so he moved the brick, and dropped a big rock down the hole. when he heard the splash, he said, "yep, its full." haha... anyway they came and got that taken care of a few days later.... but i love how they test stuff here haha. so efficient.

so anyway it was a pretty good week. we play settlers of catan on pday with our zone leaders and i came so close to winning today.... and then the last second elder frost (one of the ZLs) pulled a tricky move and won. but its funny because everytime he wins, he has a little ipod shufle and ihome, and finds the main theme from pirates and the carribean and just relishes in his victory haha...

Thats awesome about the batteries. just send them to the mission home. and i´m serious, if you put catholic pictures of the Virgin all over the package, it will have a better chance of getting to me. also make sure you write my name on the package somewhere too. but if you can, try using one of those big cushioned envelopes. it will get here faster and no one will open it.

umm... thats way exciting. i love that the vegas trip was great. i love the picture of dad too haha... reminds me of one i saw another time. and i can get pictures so keep´em coming!

I love you all!

Hope you have a really great week!
Elder Daybell

that is the doorway of one of the members houses here. it was a pretty nice place. notice the axe? i think it could be the cover to a book one day...

that is our bathroom. its pretty nice but not really... there´s a little hole on the ground where a bidet would be but we dont have one so its just a little whole where some really colorful water occasionally spurts out. Also the shower is warm but its super low pressure. but its awesomeee!!!! i sure wish i had my sandals that i forgot at the Broadbents house though haha.... i just use my tennis shoes....

view in front of our chapel...apples or peaches.... not sure, but some kind of vineyard and then the mountains.

hey family! wow this week has been crazy. I still dont feel like im in a different country though its wierd. also i will not really focus on good grammar and spelling, capitalization etc because the keyboard is different here and i dont know where the shift button is haha.... anyway. lets start with last monday. got at 6, airport by 8, plane at 10, georgia in the afternoon, and then leaving for arg. at about 9? dont remember, anyway. didnt stay up too long on the plane. woke up and we were about three hours or so away, and then we got there, finally met our contact, who is named alberto, about 2-3 hours later, got some pesos, and then went to a smaller airport and flew to mendoza. by that time i had flown about 20+ hours already so i slept on that plane ride and i was mad that i did because they handed out fracturas, which are these super tasty pastries, (instead of peanuts... argentina is so much better) and i missed them.... but then we finally got to mendoza, met the pres. and his wife, and went to his really nice apartment in mendoza and had a good dinner and i talked to santiago, his son, the whole time and he mostly made fun of my spanish but we ended up having a good conversation haha....

The next day we had a big lunch, meeting, and then we met our comps. mine is elder Facrell and he is pretty legit. Total capo. but we have been doing a lot of work since then. I am way out in the boonies though. we live in a pretty big pensión or apartment and we have a few neighbors, but for the most part its open vineyard and farmland. but we have a lot of people to talk to and meet here. i have already met some really cool families and its awesome because they speak spanish and its like... wow i can understand you kinda... but this one family- the diaz´s- are really cool. they have 4 daughters that are all under like 8 or 9 and they all remind me of emma haha. it is SO funny to hear little kids rattle out spanish. and they love elder Fackrell and me because we are easily the two biggest people in like 800 miles and our spanish is still pretty gringo-y. oh and all the people here, in cordon del plata, are bolivian so i have only talked to a few argentines so far...

man next letter will be a little better organized so.... sorry about this one.

Also about the gps thing, it died on me as soon as i got here, to cordon del plata, and i can´t find lithium batteries anywhere so.... i dont know what to do about that. packages take about 5 ish weeks to get here by the way. and they said anything i send probably wont make it so..... i dont know. someone said the envelopes that you ship stuff in are more reliable so keep that in mind.

anyway my spanish is getting pretty decent and i cant wait to talk to you all at Christmas haha..... I love it here. I will send a few pictures every week too.

Oh yea the license plates looks like oreos only opposite. white on the top and bottom and black in the middle. and that is for EVERY license plate.

They play a lot of american music here. and bolivian music which is the MOST annoying thing in the world. also holidays stink because EVERYONE is completely plastered..... and so kinda hard to talk to... but everyone is really friendly. okay. gotta go! love ya bye!

Elder Daybell. prounounced dievull.

montañas otra vez

4- view in front of our chapel...apples or peaches.... not sure, but some kind of vineyard and then the mountains.
3-this is the view from directly behind our chapel. Vineyards forever. incidently i forgot to take a picture of the chapel haha....ç

5- montañas otra vez

those are the mountains here. no big deal, but I believe that is oncacogua (spelled phonetically) and its either the 2nd tallest in the world or the tallest in the western hemisphere or something like that.... anyway

the first one is my view outside my window. so beautiful.

my desk which is pretty nice. i made a nice shelf out of the cardboard

my bed. the other guy there before me took the pillow (pillow or pellow? i never know) i guess?

That is Elder Fackrell. he is pretty awesome and he reminds me alot of R, and Jim Gaffigan at the same time. He´s pretty cool though and a good elder.

Dear Family:

We are happy to report that your Elder has arrived safely in Mendoza Argentina! Everybody is happy and healthy.

And might I add that all of our new missionaries are already speaking great Spanish!

There is no need to worry about your Missionary, he is well taken care of here!

We love you and thank you for your faith. Contact me with any questions or concerns.

Elder Ostler

Secretario

Misión Mendoza Argentina

0261-424-4165

Hey Family! Ok the craziest thing happened this week. At least I think so...

I was coming out of Priesthood meeting here in the central building and its really a madhouse at that time because you're fighting the crowd going to lunch and the crowd trying to get in/out of sacrament or priesthood or whatever and so its really shoulder to shoulder... this one elder was kind walking in a perpendicular way towards me and when we finally ran in to each other he says, "Elder Daybell!" and I look at him and I quickly do the scan in my head for this guy... nothing came up. But I guess he and I had the same book of Mormon teacher at the Y last year.... oh yea forgot to mention that his name is Elder DAYBELL AND HE'S GOING TO THE MENDOZA ARGENTINA MISSION??!?!?!?!?!? whaaaaaaat??? crazy. He said that his family stayed with us back in 1997 and so I guess we are related some super far-back way. But anyway that is like the craziest thing that has happened to me this week.

Anyway we have been having a really good time. The whole last week thing is like so silly because its like....the last week of your MTC time... some elders treat it like those missionaries that have a week left of their whole mission and just stop trying period. But they forget that this is really just the beginning of the mission... It is weird to say that i have less than 2 years left now because thats all you hear about as a pre-mish... "Oh its the best two years!"..."These two years are given to the Lord"...etc.

Anyway, I think that the whole "best two years" thing is really lacking hope... Like are the next 60+ years a letdown? I get that this will be a remarkable experience for me and certainly a catalyst of growth, spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally, and I have the opportunity to literally work the same work and glory that is God's, but Dad, have you been disappointed ever since your mission? Don't get me wrong- I love the mission and there is nothin in the world more important than this for me right now, but when you get back aren't you only supposed to improve? Anyway that is just something that has been kinda getting on my nerves.... But I'm cool.

I'm glad the Spot is working because I look at it after I press the button and it doesn't say, "yea, I'm working, don't worry about it!" it just blinks green or red and its not like I can check the website haha... But its awesome. I just let my Dwight-like friend here believe that I'm like a gov't agent or something haha...

Anyway I am stoked to get to Argentina. My address will change though.... soo here is the mailing pouch address:

Elder William Henderson Daybell

Argentina Mendoza Mission

POB 30150

Salt Lake City UT 84130-0150

I don't really understand how the pouch works other than its the same thing as regular, enveloped letters, just without the envelope... entonces just trifold a single piece of paper and tape it closed, put the stamp on in where it would go on an envelope, address where it would go on an envelope and the return address, just as it would appear on the envelope.... Also dearelder works great and it IS free so...

The package address is different. And my mission pres said that the mail and packaging there is safe so... maybe just slap on some pictures of the Virgin Mary or something and nobody will touch it... Im serious that is what the teachers have told me...

Here is the Address:

Elder William Henderson Daybell

Argentina Mendoza Mission

Casilla de Correo 631

5500 Mendoza

Mendoza

Argentina

*Phone Number: 54 261-424-4165

*You need to include the phone number if you use a private carrier group like UPS, DHL, etc...

Okay well I love you all to bits and I hope you have a good time in Vegas. Thanks for you camera Hannah! I love your guts.

Umm... Oh yea.. I will call you on Monday! Sometime around 9-10 AM. And if that doesn't work, then I will call you in my 5 HOUR layover in ATL sometime later that night. Okay!

Love you

Elder Daybell

Hey Family! I am doing really well. I am kinda getting a stir crazy being here now but we leave in 2 weeks and so that will be exciting. We get our travel plans on Thursday so then I can see what day I actually leave...which should be the 16th of August actually.

Spanish is going really well but I feel like I'm at that point where I just need to be out in the field learning the real Spanish so I am excited to get there. Argentina is going to be AWESOME.

Yesterday was really cool. My teacher, Hno. Corbridge is the son of Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge who is a member of the first quorum of the 70 and so he came in and gave us a really great presentation of how to teach the MIT - most important thing. It was really cool and usually the only time you get to see a GA is during a fireside or if they happen to be in the main building for some reason and they obviously like don't announce that.... but anyway it was cool meeting him and hearing what he had to say and it was specifically to our district so we are really lucky. I guess he spoke in OCT. of 08 about "The Way" and so I will have to check that out.... Anyway I am really glad that yall are going to Vegas and get to spend some time together.

Tell Ty that you don't have any commitment to the military for the first two years you take ROTC. If he's going Army... i don't know about Air Force but....who wants to do that anyway riiiiiiiiight?

Speaking of Army, I have pretty much ruled out enlisting and all that junk just because I know how it is important to get an education and provide for family etc.... but I honestly haven't been thinking about it too much haha.... anyway.

I sent my camera back as well as my scriptures so I hope you have that.... also I forgot to send the charger soo....I don't know if you can do anything about that? Let me know in a dear elder today or tomorrow so i can get it in the mail?

Also I got my second HEP A shot and the hep b record was taken care off... they really have some hoops for me to jump through here and so that was kinda stupid but its cool. I am now Hepatitus resistant.... looks good on a resume right?

I am sorry that you are having the hot weather right now but it could be worse right? like... everything literally on fire? or you could be in Antarctica right? I cannot complain because the weather here is pretty good unless you have to wear a shirt and tie like everyday hahaha.

I have been able to go to the temple like 5 times here because it closed down for a while... most of july actually. I have not been a host yet but i will tomorrow!!!!! crazy. I am excited to give the new elders like encouragement and stuff because my host did a really good job and some hosts are like "you should get back in your car you will hate it here etc..." and so its like that is absolutely not what new elders need to hear... But anyways I do love being a missionary and its awesome to be able to feel the spirit teaching someone else the simple truths of the gospel.

I really love you all and I can't believe how lucky I am to have you all in my life. Love ya!

Elder Daybell... oh yea I got the GPS thing but I wont really use it until I leave because I will remember that I have been in the MTC haha.... have you seen it work yet? I tried it the first day i got it and it seems pretty cool. Can i have it on on the airplane? Love you Bye!!!