Refining Week

Dear Family,

I'm still surprised about your response to my last letter. I had written a very long one about how I received my personal testimony but then felt to not send it, so I wrote that about President Eyring. I guess that's what you needed to hear then. Well, a quick response to Dad, my mission president had commented to me that he had received word that maybe Elder Bednar would be coming to visit our mission in November to do a big conference for us. Maybe it's actually going to happen! It'd be nice if I could talk to him about his meeting with you! I've always wanted to meet him because he reminds me of you so much. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if you were called to be a general authority someday. 

So I have a few names that I would like to be put into the prayer roll at the temple, if possible: Camila Sives, Adrian Rivarola, Juan Cruz Riveiro, Paola Manrique, Flavio Borja Tejero, and Gustavo Ribeiro. They all need help from above. If you could bring them to the temple, I'd be very grateful along with them too! I know the power of the temple and the ordinances done there and now we are allowed to go to the temple once a year! :) I'm so excited to go to another session! When I leave Chascomús, I'm going to go as soon as possible.

Alright, this week was very difficult. The members wasted a lot of our time and tended to use us as babysitters and personal chefs. I was kind of frustrated by that, but I got over it. My companion blamed me for not having had more success this week. He called me arrogant, proud, and impatient. I guess I still have some more changing to do. I stayed up to about one a clock last night writing him a letter of gratitude and of why he's a great person and missionary. I went through three, front and back sheets of paper. He hasn't said anything to me yet. I have learned a lot of humility and patience in this time of my life and I think the Lord needs me to work on it just a little bit more! So be it.

I had the opportunity to work with Elder Brown this week in an exchange. I had to do another baptism interview for them. This time the brother of their last baptisms wanted to join the family. Great! So during that time I was able to rethink about the old times with him in the MTC and how we had so much fun with our district. I miss the MTC. I would love to go back for a few more weeks now. It was absolutely a blast now that I look back on it! I remember how badly I wanted to leave there, though. I felt like I was in a prison, but a happy prison. I hope all missionaries can learn to love the MTC while there because it really is a once in a life time experience. It's probably one of the most sacred places on earth especially since it is protected by the Lord's angels.

This week has had a theme of the language. My companion has never felt so confident before with the language and he is starting to join in on lessons more and trying to learn new ways to say things. It's a great moment in the mission when that happens. It's a gateway that allows you to start organizing a plan to improve the language. Luckily that happened very quickly in my mission. I was reminded several times this week of my great accent. Several people didn't believe that I wasn't from Argentina. I love that compliment but it makes whatever missionary next to me feel bad because they don't get that comment. I never know how to respond except by saying thank you.

So with the work in Chascomús we were able to have a tender mercy of the Lord this past week. So when we were on our way to stake conference in a bus, Elder Haynie had been talking to the bus driver's daughter and all the other kids in the bus and it he said he didn't have the guts to ask the bus driver to listen to us. Anyway, as we were looking for an old investigator the other day, we clapped a house and asked if Adrian was there. They said that he had moved away a few years ago. But then I recognized the man as the bus driver from Sunday! We were allowed in and we shared a message about the Plan of Salvation with them and it was really great!. We were able to have a second chance with the impression that my companion had received on the bus. It was great! We had a great time with them! We have another meeting set up with them when President Stapley is in Chascomús. He's coming this next Wednesday and we're hoping to have a lot of success with him! 

On Sunday we had a few new people show up at church. One being Rosa Cabrera! I've been working with her since my first week in Chascomús. We're having president talk to her too about actually getting her divorce done and getting married with the man she's been living with and has had seven kids with! Then she can finally be baptized! She's already way smart and knows a lot! She has been a "partial member" for a few years now. We're praying for a miracle with president's visit to help inspire her to get everything done to get baptized. Another person that came to church was Pedro Andrade. I talked about him a few weeks ago. He's a very smart, young member that just doesn't want to marry his girlfriend. If he could do that, he would totally be an amazing member! He still pays tithing and everything! He is actually more actively involved in the area than the active members! ha ha! The last of the new people was Hermana Adriana Guzman and her daughter that she wants to get baptized. We're getting blessed a lot by that. The hermana is a little strange and has had a sketchy past, but I'm looking onto the future with hope based on what she has been doing lately. As my best friend RJ wrote to me today, "The past is history, and the future is a mystery, but today is a gift, and that's why it's called the present." We'll do the best we can to help her stay active and to baptize her daughter.

So the reason I wrote so late this week is because I am in Dolores again to spend the day with the sister missionaries here. They haven't been having too much success here and I am hoping to help them out a bit with the members here. They're great girls! I don't understand why they haven't received as much help from their branch like the elders do. Anyway, it's also one of their birthdays and we had a little party earlier because it's P-Day. It was pretty fun! Anyway, I'm out of things to say.

Thank you for all that you do for me! I know I have been such a pain in the neck at times. I am trying my best to give my heart to the Lord and let Him mold me into the man He wants me to be. I've been studying a lot from the talk entitled "Beware of Pride" by Ezra Taft Benson. He spoke of many things that I need to fix in order to become more like my Savior. I have been extremely blessed by my Heavenly Father and have received blessings I don't deserve. I will dedicate my last ten months of my mission even more so to Him! This really is a great cause as Joseph Smith stated. I love it and can't believe that I only have ten more months left! I can count that on two hands now! I don't want it to end ever. I love being out here. I love the people. I love the missionary lifestyle. I love the Lord and I love my Savior. Charity truly is the most cherished gift our Father has to give. Let's try to be worthy of such a gift. I love each of you, especially my family. I've never been so far away from my family in my life, but never have I felt so close to them. I am grateful that my parents have raised me up within the gospel and that that knowledge was able to change my life when I was at the lowest point of my life. There is no greater work than that of our Father. Elder Holland said the hour is getting late and we better prepare and fight for our salvation. I know whom I've chosen and I'll serve Him till the end.

Love,

Elder Cowan

Revelation

Dear Family,

Well, this week was pretty good! We had some great lessons and experiences. So with the changes of the house, I'm going to ask that you don't show me and I'll just be surprised when I get home! :) I do have to admit something, though, with college, if I extend the mission, I may not be able to do the first fall semester. I think that's honestly what I'd prefer to do because I would LOVE to extend my mission. We'll see what happens though!

So I'll start with the bad news. Mirtha is not going to be baptized in Chascomús. She moved last Friday to Varela and I'm passing the reference today. She's so desirous to do it though! I hope she'll find her way to the waters of baptism soon. So it's a bitter sweet week for that reason, but we have been finding other people, too, which is great!

Alright, this week was basically normal. We visited a lot of the same people and just prepared the group of girls better for baptism and we got many to be progressing better. We haven't been able to take out any baptism dates, though. We had one experience that was pretty great with Rosa Cabrera. She is the mom of many young less active members and she never was baptized for a complicated situation of divorce and marriage. But she used to be an active eternal investigator for a long time! So on Wednesday, Cecilio and Rebeca, the first counselor and his wife, left to go do some visits and stopped by her house. As they shared a message from the first presidency, there was a moment where they began to talk of the problems of Rosa. She shared that her oldest son was recently put in jail in Dolores. As they kept reading from the talk, there was a part that says when visiting teachers go to a house, the family is blessed as well as those faithful teachers. Then, at that moment, that oldest son called the phone saying they let him out of jail. Rosa knew right then that the blessing was brought through the faithfulness of Cecilio and Rebeca and for letting them come into her house and share that message. The lesson ended in tears and hugs. They both described that moment as definitely feeling the spirit and not being able to deny it. We passed by on Saturday and had a great lesson with her from the Sermon on the Mount and talked a lot about our relationship with God, an attitude of gratitude, and being willing to show our gratitude. She committed herself to go to church this next week because she was going to have visits yesterday. She told us that every time that she reads, listens to us, or thinks of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that it calls to her. I shared Rev. 3:20 that talked about the Lord standing at the door and knocking. It fit perfectly and she is deciding to go back to church and to help her children find their way back to church. So that was one of the highlights of the week for us! :) 

I had a leadership meeting this past week and I did it by skype this time. It was terrible! I couldn't hear or see anything. I won't do that ever again! It's worth the waste of time traveling to Buenos Aires. Anyway, I called someone and they filled me in on the details of what I need to do.

We did another sports activity and only two kids showed up. We played a bit of sports and then we left to go work again. The activities we plan always seem to back fire. ha ha!

So funny/scary story. After a long lesson and dinner with Paola, we were heading back to the pench late and we were going pretty fast on the bikes. Well, there was this scooter coming from the side street and this drunk/drugged kid came zipping around the corner and nailed right into my companion!!! Luckily he didn't get seriously hurt! The bike was destroyed, but besides that, my comp just has a bruised leg. I felt terrible, but it was one of those out of body experiences just watching it happen was so weird! Well, for now we don't have bikes. Luckily, the mission is going to buy us new ones soon! Oh, and the kid that hit him, which was totally his fault for driving on the wrong side of the road and speeding around a corner, just cussed my comp out and kept on riding. . . jerk.

Well, Mom, you were asking for experiences about personal revelation. Well, in our fireside with President Eyring a week ago, he was talking about a personal experience about calling the missionaries to their mission fields. He said it comes in a strange way. It's not very loud. He hears no whisper. He said that one mission just seems to appear a little brighter, a little different, a little more correct. But just barely! And that's how he knows. It is so slight that if we aren't prepared for it, we won't be able to do it. He made an interesting comment, though. He said that it is a very humbling experience knowing that such a decision can cause a young man's life to change drastically and he'll never know the outcome of that decision made within a few seconds! He said that we are either helping in this great work or we are in God's way. There is no in between. To receive personal revelation, we have to prepare, pray, study, and wait to let the spirit brighten something a little more. Revelation usually comes in the form of yes and no. We need to come up with the question, specify it, and propose our plans to God. In the words of President Eyring, one will just seem to appear a little brighter, just barely. Then we need to have the faith like a trusting child and just go with it even though the answer, or revelation was nothing extraordinary. That was something very interesting to me. It reminds me of how I received my testimony of this Church and this great work! The decision I made when I was 17 years old was like that. It just appeared a little brighter, a little bit better. The results show the truthfulness of that revelation.

Well, I know this isn't the most amazing letter. My mind is very blank this week. I'm grateful for your letters this week! I enjoyed them a lot, especially Dad's spiritual thought. I love you all! I am glad to be a member of this amazing Church, the Church of our Lord, Jesus Christ. 

Hope all is well! 

Elder Blake W. Cowan

Best Week of Mission!

Dear Family,

W.O.W. . .This past week was definitely the best week of my entire mission!!! It was amazing! I haven't ever been filled with so much love in my being before and I have never had such a desire to do the work of my Savior and Redeemer. I don't even know how I'm going to be able to describe this week in words, but I will try my best. First things first, I'll answer a few questions. One, no I was not allowed to take pictures at the firesides and cultural event because of security reasons and because the mission presidents wanted us to be a perfect example of being disciples of the Lord. So we avoided looking like tourists. Two, my foot hurts constantly. If I run it does tend to be more sore at night. It throbs from time to time, but it doesn't halt the work. Nobody would ever know it hurts me by the way I keep working and how happy I am! Three, yes please get me signed up for BYU Provo. If for some reason I don't make it in, I would not like to go to BYU Idaho. Not interested. I'd rather go to ASU, I think, or go run at some smaller medical based school. BYU Provo is my first choice, though. Four, I think I want Kevin to come to Argentina more than anyone else so he can have a sneak peak at the mission life and help in his preparation. Five, My companion would LOVE to get some pictures. He really wants some. Please send the package soon because we get packages and letters at big events and we will have interviews in a few weeks. It'd be nice to already have the package for that. Any more questions? If not, I'll attempt to describe my wonderful experiences from this past week. . .

On Monday, we had a great P-Day and afterward we went and taught two lessons to the group of girls (Zoe, Marisa, Jona, and Agustina) and to Mirtha. They are our five baptism dates right now. Mirtha is progressing so well! She's so desirous to learn more and to get into the water! The girls are still very excited for everything as well. We reviewed the Plan of Salvation and with Mirtha we read more from the Book of Mormon. We ended the day perfectly!

The next day, Tuesday, was the beginning of our crazy traveling this week. We went for our weekly visit to Dolores for the district meeting and it was great! We talked a lot about goals and our areas. We reviewed the plan for the weekend and then we talked a about a few other things and afterward we ate lunch and headed on our way back. It looks as if this month every companionship in our district will baptize! That's our goal. I hope it really comes to pass. We're a little worried about the Hermanas Widerburg and Rodriguez. After sleeping on the bus back to Chascomús, :) we went to the same two families as yesterday and taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it changes us to not have desires to do evil. It was great! We invited all to go to our baptism on Thursday.

Wednesday was a great day! We taught six of seven discussions and it was packed full! We found a few new members with desires to reactivate themselves. One being Silvia. She's a thin, tall, librarian type looking lady. Very smart. We had talked for a bit with her the other week and we decided to talk to her about the scripture passage about faith and works in James. It worked out really well! We talked about the saving power of the Atonement and how we can all be saved through the merits of Christ and our own merits, meaning our deeds and works. She loved it! She put her own goals to get activated and is determined to do what's right.

We also had the opportunity to talk to some other families but most importantly, we began to plan the baptism in depth and make arrangements for that. We called everyone and their mom to go and to bring snacks and food for a mini celebration afterward. Everyone was so excited to have a baptism!!

Thursday came along and the preparation for the baptism started. We had to figure out how the hot water works, how to get the font to plug up, how to keep the water warm, make the programs, iron the clothing, and get the church clean, oh and buy some facturas (doughnut type things). We finally got everything done and we had about twenty minutes to just get our breath after having run around all day. It was all ready. A few members showed up early and then we left in a taxi to go find the group of girls who want to get baptized! They all came except Marisa because her parents wouldn't let her. We got back to the church and we started the baptism. It went along fine with the exception of crazy and irreverent kids. There were more investigators at the baptism than members! It was perfect! ha ha! All the girls that live with Ludmila in the house came to see the baptism! They all loved it and wanted to get baptized too!! We are hoping we can get permission from the parents and government to teach them all! We could have about ten more girls coming to church! Awesome! Well, anyway, at the baptism, my companion gave a mini talk about the Holy Ghost. I did my first confirmation in my life! It was pretty cool! I have passed on the gift of the Holy Ghost now! It felt so good to help someone else receive such a wonderful gift. 

 

After the baptism, we had a mini party and talked with as many as possible about the church and we wanted to get everyone involved. After a bit, we had to kick everyone out because we had to hurry and clean before the taxi came to take us to the plata.We BARELY made it in time! ha ha! That night we spent the night with the elders of Villa elvira A and we took all the mattresses and slept all in the same room!

On Friday we got up, studied, and then headed out to Banfield to get prepared for the fireside with Presidente Eyring, Elder Christofferson, Elder Ballard, and the Area Presidency. In Banfield, we had an entire mission meeting! Never done before. And we took a picture as an entire group! It was legit! I had so much fun being able to see everyone! It was pretty rowdy except for during the meeting. We finally were organized, got into our buses and headed off toward the West mission to get seated for the fireside. We sat and studied for about forty minutes and then President Eyring and his party arrived. We all stood up, of course, and it was amazing to see him! He was so tall and just full of love. Later on in his talk he shared with us a portion of his patriarchal blessing, paraphrasing that his gift is to transmit love. It was way cool! Anyway, Elder Christofferson spoke first. He speaks Spanish, so he went ahead and did it all in Spanish. He talked about our calling and the sacredness of this work and a few other topics. Afterward, Elder Ballard got up and addressed us with an amazing talk about his grandfather who is the general authority who over 80 years ago dedicated the lands of South America to the Lord and missionary work. He shared about how the first sacrament meeting was only about 10 or 11 people and there were only 4 members there and they spoke German. He then shared the prophecy that his grandfather shared about South America. He stated that this land would not sprout fast like a sunflower and then quickly die. He said, rather, it will start slowly and small like a great oak tree. And after years of hard work, South America would become one of the leading lands for the Lord's purposes. Then he explained that we are still in that small growing phase. It gave me a hope and vision of Chascomus and the rest of this beloved country, Argentina. I imagined in my mind thousands of saints and the power of a nation with the gospel truth. It was very comforting and I felt more love for my mission land. 

Afterward, we had the privilege to hear from President Eyring and it was just inexplicable. I have the hardest time coming up with words to describe this moment. It's something my soul will never forget for having felt the spirit so strong. He spoke to us about love, how he received his testimony and how we have such a sacred responsibility. He was so desirous to help us and to give us a portion of the spirit he felt. He also explained the way the spirit touches his heart as he calls missionaries to their missions. It is truly an inspired process! He finished talking about being happy. My motto in life has always been just to be happy and enjoy every moment! He hit right to my core. He helped me realize some things that are of most importance to me. 

 

That night, we spent it with the elders of El Triangulo and Don Orione. I was able to reunite with Elder Herrall from the MTC and to be with Elder Castillo again! We were a total of 8 missionaries in the immensive pench! They own an entire building and yard! It's a cool pench. That's were my daddy, Elder Vergara "died" [left from] on his mission. It was cool to be there! Anyway, we stayed up late talking and wrestling over all the mattresses in the same room. Ha ha! It was really fun! 

On Saturday we got up early and headed to Banfield for a zone meeting. We talked about the importance of the sacrament and that our investigators can feel it to be able to go to church. It was great to grow together and be as a zone again. Afterward, we went out to eat at McDonalds!! Americanness!! Yes!! ha ha! Then we headed back to the chapel to get ready for the cultural event that night. We basically did a mini mission meeting like the day before and we all got on the buses and headed off for the Independiente Soccer stadium. We got there and got into a big line waiting to enter in. So apparently, we showed up in time for the practices and we didn't know anything that was going on! So they told us to run onto the field through the tunnel and everything and we ran out to the middle of the field and all the youth there just went wild!!! ha ha! Everyone was clapping and cheering for the missionaries! ha ha! Then the announcer told them to stop and got order again. ha ha! It was a blood pumping adrenaline type moment, though! It was funny! So we got organized on the stands and they got us all ready for a practice. After the practice, we just had to wait for the real deal! As the sun went down, more and more people showed up at the stadium from all over! The stadium was filling up fast! I saw members from all over! Most importantly, I saw the members of Tomás Flores and I was so happy to see them! Some came and gave me gifts and to other missionaries! I got to talk to a few for a little while! With so many members coming and saying hi it was funny to watch when someone yelled, "Elder!!" and then six hundred missionaries turned to see who it was! Ha ha! It was cool though because we were like celebrities! 

Anyway, the event started and it was SOO cool! SO many youth dancing and singing and all the cultural dances were amazing! There was this one part where these two guys did this super cool boot dance! They were doing some amazing things and I hope I can get a video of that someday! Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to use our cameras, let alone bring them! But when we went down to get onto the field, I found myself with Elder Tanner Lebaron! It was way cool! He just got to the North mission a bit ago and it was cool to hear from him. Then we entered onto the field singing "Called to Serve" which in English has only two verses but in Spanish it has four! SO we sang a lot and it was amazing! I looked around and I saw thousands of saints and it was just amazing! I couldn't hold back my tears and I cried because of joy. I was so happy for Argentina that so many people were there to see such an event and that so many more members were all around the country. I saw a glimpse of that vision that Elder Ballard's grandfather had. It was beautiful. Afterward, we had to wait in the stands for a while and we saw even more members and missionaries from all over. I ended up being with a hermana who actually finished her mission today, Hermana Flores. She was just standing a little off from other people and she was just tearing up watching over all the saints thinking of leaving the mission. I wanted to give her a big hug, but obviously I can't, so I grabbed Hermana Widerburg and told her to go give her a big hug for me. It gave me a glimpse of what the end of my mission would be like. I don't want it to end and I'm only going to have 10 months left here in just a few weeks. . .

Anyway, after getting lost trying to find the buses and waiting for the last one to show up, we finally made it back to Banfield and then headed on back to the same pench for another sleepover. This night we were more tired, but still didn't get to bed on time because we were talking and telling jokes all night!

Sunday, we got up extra early to make it to Avellaneda for the re-dedication of the temple. We finally got there after taking three trains and dragging our luggage around the mission, ha ha! It was an amazing ceremony! I was glad to see it happen again! Then, afterward, my ward from Tomás Flores came up and just tackled me with a big group hug! I miss them all so much! It was wonderful to see them! I took a picture with most of them. They called me Uncle Cowan! ha ha! It was such an honor to be called a part of their family. They still want me to move into their ward some day, ha ha! It was so great to see them again! We finally headed off to the bus station in Avellaneda and then took off for Chascomús. We are back here and we were so tired yesterday that we slept like babies last night! 

We are now SOO excited to be back in our area and to work with our all!!! I know we will have more success now. President called me and told me that he will be coming for a day or two to work in Chascomús in a week. I'm really excited!! Anyway, we are on a spiritual high and it's amazing. We want to be the best missionaries possible and I'm just so happy!!! :) I love the gospel and I love being a missionary! I just want to spread this joy to everyone! Thanks for your letters. I hope you're all doing fine! I love you all!! I have to go because I went over the time to write such a long letter. Chow chow! 

Love,

Elder Blake W. Cowan

 

So Excited!!

Dear Family,

Well, I can't believe how fast that was for Jake to get engaged. . . I don't think I want to come home. I'm scared for marriage! ha ha! I like being a simple missionary. Anyway, this past week was actually really great! I enjoyed it a lot! It turned out a lot different than I expected, but it was great! If you are planning a package, I would enjoy a jar of peanut butter, I'm having cravings for it more and more. What I really want though is beef jerky!! Oh man!!! The members always say that was one of the best things that the missionaries have brought from back home and I am having some serious cravings for some of that! The contacts can wait. I won't need more for a long time. Maybe I'll go through the rest of the mission with the ones I already have! Who knows? 

Mother, get your foot fixed!! I understand your pain. My foot has been bothering me lately because I've been walking a lot with the broken bike. We also had to run to a lesson because we were really late and it was far away! My poor shoes are starting to look pretty old now. I've been trying to take care of them a lot but since I now wear them everyday, they're starting to break down more. I bought some new shoes and they hurt my feet worse and I can't return them . . .so I just stick with my one pair.

So I had some exciting news this morning. . . I, Blake Cowan, am actually gaining upper body muscles. Yeah, I know, a miracle, right? Well, I officially did 80 push-ups this morning without stopping! I just about died, but I'm getting a lot stronger from doing bits everyday! I also have been running in the mornings at six, waking up half an hour earlier. It's great to work out again! I have probably missed that more than just about anything besides people. So I feel better about myself.

Well, now to the missionary work. So throughout the week we have been teaching the group of girls everyday except for the weekend. Unfortunately. they didn't attend church, but they are progressing very well! They have been always so excited for everything! My companion, Elder Haynie, likes to teach them because he feels like he can talk to them better. The poor guy makes no sense in Spanish, though, sometimes. I am always reminded at how much the Lord blessed me to let me speak the language so quickly. Anyway, Elder Haynie is speaking better, now he understands a lot, almost everything. I hope he gets it down and is able to train next transfer. That'd be way cool!! :) Then I could be a grandpa for almost a year and maybe be a great-grandfather! ha ha! I'd be the first.

Well, Jefferson has been very odd this past week. He has a way of making people hate him. The poor kid left everything and to make things worse, everyone hates him! I'm not sure if he's quite telling the truth all of the time. But he has decided to move to Brazil with his Grandpa so that he can have support there. He just has to earn the money for the plane tickets. He said he'll have it in a few weeks, though. I hope he'll be of some use here in Chascomús and that he'll also be able to go on a mission someday.

We found Mirtha this week. I've been praying for a person to come along that is very prepared to hear the gospel and she is that person! She is the grandma of Ludmila, or mother of Yolanda Ferreyra. We met her the other day and took out a baptism fecha without any delay! She came to church yesterday and loves learning about Christ and how to improve her life. The previous week she was kicked out of her house and was sleeping in parks on the benches and whatnot. She's a very shy woman and wants to do what's right and just listens intently to everything we tell her. She is a great lady and she'll be baptized as soon as the temple dedication and stake conference is over. I'm very grateful that the Lord has prepared her and put her in our path.

On Tuesday, the zone leaders came and did the baptism interview for Ludmila. She passed!!! We are actually going to baptize her on Thursday because her family couldn't come on Saturday and we have permission to baptize and confirm on the same day on Thursday. Her dad, Javier came to church yesterday to be able to baptize her and he bore such a sweet testimony and he was very grateful for my comp and me. He kept calling us amazing and angels and was in tears thanking our Heavenly Father for the opportunity to baptize his daughter and now his mother-in-law who wants to get baptized. It was a great moment that made the trials worth it!

So, the zone leaders, Elder Beltran and Elder Espinoza, were a great help to our area! We were able to teach a lot of lessons and to be able to receive some great counsel. Elder Beltran and I were together for the day. He told me how President was planning on calling me as a zone leader and then they asked him to let me stay one more transfer in Chascomús because they wanted a good district leader because these areas in my district are very difficult. SO I stayed! That's why I felt like I was leaving and then at the end of the week I knew that I was going to stay. It was cool hearing about that, though. Elder Beltran was giving me all types of advice and everything to become a zone leader and to be a great missionary/leader. He helped me out a lot! And to top it all off, they both cooked some amazing chaufa! That's a Peruvian dish that's SOSOOO good! It's basically a tastier form of fried rice! I loved it! 

At sacrament meeting we were a total of 35! That's my second best number! I'm so glad! The members are having more desires to come to church and to help out more. They're starting to see that we work hard and are trying all we can to help them! I had to teach the Sunday school class again. It wasn't the best lesson I've given. I tried my best, though, with a 5 minute preparation! After church, I had to stay for a HUGE, LONG meeting with Presidente Martinez and Hermano Ariel Tartaglia, They came to review all of the finances of the past six months in Chascomús and I, being the secretary, had to be there. It. took. forever!!! And I was SOOO hungry! Ha ha! So to sum things up, I have to go fix a ton of the sheets and get a bunch of signatures and such. Yay for more work!!! :) 

Ok so this week we are going to travel a ton!!! I am so excited though! We have district meeting on Tuesday in Dolores and the hermanas are going to cook some American chicken alfredo! Yeah!!! ha ha! :) On Thursday we have a baptism!! YEAHHH!!!! On Friday I get to visit my old area, Tomás Flores and I get to go to a fireside with President Eyring, Elder Ballard, Elder Christofferson, and the area presidency. Talk about being treated right!!! YEAHH!!!!!! And then on Saturday we have the Cultural event. Maybe it'll be on the BYU channel or on internet and you might see me and 600 other missionaries entering into the soccer stadium of Independiente singing! Yeah!!!! On Sunday we have the re-dedication of the temple! :) YEAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm excited?

Anyway, I'm so pumped for this week, month, and transfer. We're also going to have stake conference, president interviews, and general conference coming up! This is amazing! After general conference, things should calm down, though. SOO pumped!!! :)

Well, I got to go. Thanks for the letters and stories! I always love getting notices from home! I miss you all, but the mission is way too fun and amazing to give up for you. Sorry! :) Mom, these blue eyes are just going to have to torment you a bit longer. You'll see them within a year though! I love you all! Good luck with everything this coming week! Chow chow!!

Love,

Elder Blake W. Cowan