Dear Family,
So I just got back from going to the federal capital of Buenos Aires. It was the first time I've gone there in my whole mission because it's actually in the north mission's area. It was crazy seeing big buildings again and taking subways to get places. I went to see the doctor of the area. His name is Doctor Brent. He's from Idaho, I think, and he's a great guy. I went there with Elder Gubler who lives in my pench to get his toe checked out. He had the beginning of a nasty ingrown toenail, but we treated it fine enough so he didn't need to get it cut out. I also brought my xrays from a year ago and asked him to look at my foot. He said that the only things I could do to avoid surgery is to use some type of inserts, or take anti-inflammatories. So there isn't much I can do. But he said that my xray looks fairly normal, but it has a few weird spots in my bone. So I'll just have to get it checked out back home with Dr. C.
So yesterday we didn't have any investigators come to church. We did activate an 18-year-old kid named Sergio. He's a great kid and he expressed his desire to serve a mission once he finishes his studies. We had about 40 people at church. It's so sad to see this little ward struggling so badly. I just don't know how to keep them strong on their own. They depend way too much on the missionaries here.
This past week we found Victoria, or Vicky. She is one of the grand daughters of one of the women in our ward. She's 21 and is very smart! She has amazing questions and really understands everything we are teaching. She's been reading and praying, but she needs to try a little bit harder on that. She didn't come to church because she had a birthday party to go to. We've been teaching her with her cousin, Nair, who has been inactive since she had a fist fight with another girl in the church. She never really had a testimony, but she is now beginning to understand everything. She's being a good support for Vicky. Tonight we're going to cook tacos for them and their families and we're hoping to gain their confidence so that they come to church on Sunday.
Antonella is still progressing really well. We talked with our bishop on what we could do to get her moved out of the house of her boyfriend and he asked why not get them married!! ha ha! We told him that she's only 15 years old but he said it doesn't matter and he thinks they should just get married! We'll see. . . She's really beginning to trust us a lot more and she asked more questions and participates a lot more in our discussions.
We finally found Cintia and Eduardo again!! They are a great couple. Cintia had asked us a question the last time about why our church is different than the Catholic church and we could never come by again to teach them the Restoration. Finally, we were able to teach them and she understood very well! Eduardo isn't very smart and he has a hard time paying attention. He does say that our visits bring him peace. We invited them to be baptized on the 29th of June and at first they said "no." Eduardo didn't really understand the invitation and Cintia is scared of making a change. We explained to them that what we would like them to do is to pray, read, and come to church and have the date at a goal. They accepted to work toward the goal. Cintia seems very interested. We need to work with Eduardo a little more.
Vicky, a less-active that we've been visiting who's going to name her baby after me, had the beginning of a miscarriage. The pregnancy is still fine, but she needs to take care of herself. I really like this lady. She's got a desire to do what's right, but it's hard for her to go to church because she gets really bored in the classes. Her sister just barely got back from a mission, though, and is helping her out quite a bit.
We did a lot of walking and contacting this week. We contacted several blocks of our area without much results. I've been a little frustrated lately since I've been working so hard and not seeing much results. For example, 51 people here in this area have accepted a baptismal goal and only two have made it to the waters. It's just hard to get people to put these principles into practice in their lives.
Alright so today while coming back from capital, I was on the train with my good friend Elder Gubler. We were only two or three stations from getting back to our area and all of the sudden this guy came up to us and started asking about where we are from. We told him we were from the states and why we have come to Argentina (to preach the gospel). He asked us what we do as a living and we told him that we don't work to get money. I already knew that he wanted to know if we had money or not, but after a while of talking to us he started telling us that he has a daughter and wife (it was a total lie) that were needing to eat. I could easily discern what he wanted since he had a terrible smell of alcohol and marijuana. I told him that I didn't have any money and he started to get mad at us. He started to say things about how well dressed we were and that all Americans have tons of money and he was getting really mad. After ignoring him for a while, he went and sat down. Then he came back and yelled at us again. He said that he would never listen to missionaries ever because they are all stuck up and what not. Then he went and sat down again. And right before we were getting off, he came back asking when we were getting off and started to threaten us that he was going to come after us once we get off the train and he was going to take everything that we have. I pushed him away from the door as it opened and we got off the train. He didn't follow us, though. I was really trying to keep my cool while he insulted us. Good thing I have my plaque on because if I didn't have the name of Christ on my chest, I would have done something really dumb. But it was all fine.- I just had to accept it and keep my head up.
So we are desperate to find a golden family. So pray for us that we can find a golden family that we can teach and will progress easily. I love the work of the Lord, but boy is it work! ha ha! Last night I hit the pillow and I was just knocked out! I am really tired when I get to bed at night lately. I think it's a good sign that I'm working hard. I love you all and I'm excited to see you in a few weeks, but I love this work and I am so glad to be a missionary of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's nothing better I could be doing.
Love,
Elder Blake W. Cowan
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