Hey family! How is everybody doing? I am great. I had my first bautismo this week. His name is Raúl Umiri and he is a pretty solid convert. He had been coming to church for like a year, and the previous missionaries here like hadn´t done anything and so when Elder Fackrell and Benitez washed the area they found him and he like didn´t even know he could get baptized or anything. So he had been prepared a long time. It was awesome to baptize someone for the first time ever. I have been able to help out with vicarious baptisms, but this is really cool because I got to see someone take that step of faith in THIS life. Anyways, our font was awesome. it reminds me of the transportable tabernacle in the OT just because it took us about 10 minutes to put up and to take down. Now filling it up took like 4 hours. We started the night before and then finished on Saturday during the Siesta. I HATE the Siesta. just by the way... um.... lets see. What else happened. Not much this week. we actually had low numbers everyday and it is somewhat frustrating because I know the people are here that want to hear what we have to say, or more importantly what the Spirit has to say, but so many people CAN NOT get baptized because they are unwilling or unable to change their circumstances. Believe it or not, the most common problem is the law of chastity. Lots of people get married here because the government just GIVES them a house and so they say why not.... and then when they realize that was stupid, they just move out and move in with someone else. so there is a TON of married people here, they just dont live with their spouses. So we mostly teach kids and teenagers that aren´t married yet haha... We have one really solid family in our ward, the Diaz´s. They have 4 little girls and Hermana Diaz cooks lunch for us on sundays after church, which is the big meal here. mostly people just drink Mate and snack on stuff for the rest of the day. But it was funny because she cooked this thing yesterday that she claimed was arabic food haha. it reminded me of the weird grainy kind of think that mom and dad eat sometimes. its like quipu or something like that... i dont remember haha. anyway i thought it was funny to see another culture´s food in another culture than my own....

Um... lets see. I sent pictures of this week and i will send a few more. Last p'day, after email, we went to this thing called Cristo Redentor, which is like Argentina´s pathetic excuse for the Big Jesus statue in Rio de Janiero.... but anyways that was pretty cool. I don´t know why people like to focus on a super sad Jesus. I think He is probably more happy than sad.... but anyways. also there is a great store at the top that sells beer and cigarillos haha which is just what you need after a 30 minute hike to worship Jesus right??? man. they know business down here. Um I dont really have a lot more to say, other than I am really enjoying the people here. And i think that i´m pretty much satisfied for the rest of my life with rice, noodles of any kind, potatoes and bread.... which is all that the argentines eat basically haha. I am way excited to be in a 4 man pensión because then the odds are better that one of the elders will want to go running.

But anyway I have been having a great time and I learned from other elders that we pretty much get packages in 2-3 or 4 weeks, and letters are pretty quick. Dear elders are instantly... to the office in mendoza, so i will get those any time someone from our zone goes in. but thats like once a month or less. anyway.... I love you all and I will send a few pictures in a second email. Love ya!

Elder Daybell