The streets are soooo wild here after the Argentina games that every time they play, we have to head to the pension and study because nobody will even consider letting us in. After they win, the city sounds like it´s in a war zone. Haha super loud explosions, screaming women and children, engines roaring, and flags soaring. Kinda reminds me of the 4th of July that I didn´t have. I still celebrated in my heart though! I´m so grateful for the freedoms that we enjoy in the U.S.A. and especially the luxuries that everyone takes for granted. Anyways, Argentina still beats the U.S. in a few things. The donuts and pastries are beyond celestial, and also really cheap. We have a hard time resisting the temptation to head to the small donut stand and buying huge donuts for only 4 pesos. The foods here are very homestyle and never spicy (Que Lastima), but still super rico.
My area is actually really small. Maybe 2-3 square miles and it´s like the suburbs of the city. The weather is a lot like California and there are orange trees everywhere! Still a little cold but it´s getting hotter every day. The people are super nice and the kids always come up to us and scream, Hallo! Then they ask us how to say their name in English. Haha they still don´t understand that every name in Spanish is basically the same in English. Haha I´m in the stake Tucumán Oeste and the ward that we´re in is pretty small-maybe 50 people in the chapel on a good sunday. But we´re working hard to increase that number every week! I´m beginning to understand almost everything and really starting to participate more in the lessons. Give me a couple more weeks and I´ll be a key player in every lesson. Everyone tells me that my accent is great... Todavia falto the vocabulary. But that will come with time!
Anyways, I´ve been reading a lot from the Missionary Reference Library and even finished Our Search for Happiness. I´m just really bummed that when I finish the books in the collection I´m not going to have deeper doctrine to read... But that´s what the scriptures are for! Haha the deeper books will be waiting for me when I get home from my 2 years. I´ve also been reading from the Liahona´s a lot. One story that I read yesterday has not only really hit me, it´s something that drives me to choose the right continually for the rest of my life. The story starts with a Cherokee telling a story to his son. There are two wolves inside of me, fighting to overcome the other. One is everything evil. Pain, regret, hate, sorrow, suspicion, lying. The other is everything good. Love, charity, kindness, rejoicing, honest, virtue. The father told the boy that the same battle was being fought inside of him, and every other person on the earth. The son then asked his father,¨Which one will win?¨ To which the father answered... Whichever one you feed.
I think that this story cuts life down to two decisions, feeding the evil inside of oneself, or feeding the good. We must feed the good! As a result of choosing the good we are promised an infinite amount of joy. No person deserves to succumb to the evil one inside of him. Thanks to my little brother Elijah, I know that every person (including me) has that great potential as a missionary to choose to feed, not only the good wolf inside of me, but the good wolf in every person that I pass by in Argentina. As we all feed the good in our lives, the quality thereof will increase as well. I know it, I live it, I love it!
P.S. Still can´t find a spot with wi-fi and I will lose all my pictures if I format the camera here so be patient with me.
Much love,
Much love,
Elder Philpot
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