Hey there little red ridding hood

You sure are looking good.

This has been quite a week here in Los Hornos. I´m not sure where to begin.

We´ll start with the basics. My companion, Elder Mortensen is from St. George. He hit 16 months in the mission last week. He is our District Leader, and is an awesome missionary, and person. We get along really well. That´s something that didn´t quite happen with Elder Pepito or Elder Atwood. They were both great, but Elder Mortensen is already like a friend. He plays guitar, and loves sports. We have played basketball the last two P-days in a row. He has his own band, called Wide-eyed Wildlife. He plays and sings his songs in the pench, which is pretty cool. Dad and Grandpa Stobbe, something that might interest you is that he worked at St. George Golf Club for 3 years. He was one of the maintenance workers. He got free golf at all the city courses in St. George. He used his knowledge of pipes and water systems to help an inactive member fix his water at his house yesterday. He said he has been wanting to use his skills since he got here, but yesterday was the first time he could.

So when I got here, we put a goal of getting 5 baptisms this transfer. We knew that in order to do that, we would both have to do things we have never done before. Every prayer we say, we ask for help and support for this goal, so that we can help more of God´s children be saved. We pray very specifically for miracles, and full expect them to happen. We asked on Tuesday morning to be led to someone who was ready. Later that day, we were riding along and a drunk guy called at us. We weren´t going to stop, because it rarely is a good idea to try and teach drunk people. But Elder Mortensen decided to go back, so we did. We talked to him, and he gave his address and we set an appointment for Friday afternoon. Then we rode away, hoping that it would turn into something. So that was the beginning of one miracle, which you´ll see in a minute. On Wednesday morning, we again prayed that someone would be put in our path, or that we would be able to find someone who was ready, but more of something out of the ordinary than just finding someone through a contact or reference. So after our first appointment at 10:30 that morning, we left and headed to the right. But Elder Mortensen had to use the bathroom, so we turned around after about half a block to head to a member that lived near by. At the next corner, there was a bunch of garbage in the street, and some wire got stuck in Elder Mortensen´s tire. So we stopped, and he was trying to pull it out, but it was way too twisted in there. So we looked up, and there was a lady out hanging up clothes to dry, with her son outside too. We went over and asked if they had some wire cutters to help us get the wire off. The son ran and got some, and fixed up the bike real quick. I was having problems with my seat, so I asked if he had a wrench or some pliers to tighten it up. While he was gone getting them, my companion looked at me and said ´´This is it. Let´s teach them.´´ So while Juaquin, the son was fixing my bike, Elder Mortensen washed his hands in the hose, and talked to the mom. He asked her if she would like to listen to the message we had. She accepted, and we went in the shade with some chairs to talk. Just then, her husband got home. He too was interested and we sat down with the 3 of them and taught them about the Book of Mormon and how the gospel can bless the lives of families. Both the parents agreed to read the Book and pray (the son left in the middle to take care of his niece). They were both very interested and we could tell they were feeling the Spirit. We closed with the mom, Asunción, saying the prayer, and she asked Heavenly Father to tell her the Book is true! When we left, they were all smiling, and we set an appointment for Saturday. I didn´t go to that one, because we were on splits with some young men, but Elder Mortensen said it went wonderful. We know that that was a miracle, but what we didn´t know is that an even bigger one was waiting for us....

On Friday, it was time to go to the appointment with the drunk guy we talked to. He lived way out at the edge of our area, and when we got there, we coudn´t find his house. Where he said it was, no one was there, and we weren´t sure it was his anyway. So, a little bummed we had just come all that way, we turned around and saw a really old man smoking in his patio. We went over and saw that his daughter (about 50) was with him, drinking mate (pronounced mah-te). We asked her if we could share our message, and she said she wasn´t really interested. So we asked if we could pass in anyway just to talk. She agreed. Then she said, ´´I don´t really want to talk to you, but I bet my son does. He´s sleeping. Let me go wake him up.´´ That was weird already, because people rarely wake up family members to listen to us. People love to sleep here. So we went back to the house that was behind the main one, and waited a few minutes for the son (Hernan) to come out. He came, and we started talking, and found out some crazy things. One, he is the son-in-law of the second counselor in the bishopric. Two, he has been investigating the Church for 3 years, and three, for the first time in 4 months he started reading the Book of Mormon again the day before we came. He already has a testimony of Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the Church. He has had a few baptismal dates already, but over a year ago. We talked a little more, then invited him to be baptized on Christmas. He accepted, and said he would prepare himself for the 25th. When we finally left, we both just looked at eachother and laughed for about 5 minutes straight. We stopped on the side of the road and offered a prayer of gratitude to the Lord for the miracle we had just witnessed.

I have been thinking about the difference between what I am doing now, and what I was doing in Plátanos, and I think it is this: I and we pray very specifically in every prayer, giving names, dates, goals, thoughts and expectations. We have no doubts that the Lord can help us in every part of the work, and we tell Him so. We express our gratitude for the help already received, and then we go out and do everything we can do reach our potential. We no longer are suprised by the little miracles every day, but we are humbly grateful to be having these experiences.

Last Wednesday night, two of the Sister Missionaries in our Zone called everyone and challenged them to re-read the Book of Mormon in 3 weeks, which would be about New Year´s Eve. She said it would take reading 11 chapters a day. That seemed a little low, so I changed that challenge for myself to a week and half. This is different than the MTC, becuase we don´t have very much free time. But I knew I could do it, so I started while my companion was still on the phone talking about the challenge. I am currently in Alma 28, and fully expect to finish on Saturday night. Like that last time I read it fast, it is an awesome experience to see how all the stories relate, and who is visiting who, and who is fighting who. I feel like a blockbuster movie could be made with some of the drama and intrigue in the Book. And, I get to see all the teachings of great prophets and missionaries. Alma and Amulek especially are great examples of missionaries working faithfully in spite of the worse kind of adversity. Overall, it is just wonderful to read it like this. I have decided that I am going to do it every 6 months from now on, seeing as it takes less than two weeks.

I have a bunch of photos to send, but the computer is not letting me hook up my camera. I will try and do it next time.

Speaking of next time, I won´t be emailing again for a while. Our next P-day is Christmas, and I will be calling instead of emailing. And after that, it will be new years, or around there. I´m not exactly sure, but I should be calling inbetween 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM your time. I will call Dad´s cell phone. If you could put about $5 in the account so I can buy a phone card, that would be great. I will probably be sending a short email in the next week or so to finalize the time. The rule is direct family only, and only 45 minutes. So be prepared to comply with that.

I can´t believe that you guys are moving again! How crazy! You are moving as often as I am. haha.

The package from Sister Montes and her friends had cookies, brownies, M&M´s, Skittles, gummy candies, and Mantecol, and Argentine type of candy bar. The closest thing to mantecol in the states would be the middle of a Butter Finger, but kind of chewy. Also there was some bread, cheese, and meat. The bread was moldy, but the meat and cheese were perfectly fine. Almost everything in the package has now been happily consumed!

Hunter and Jessie! Happy Birthday. I mean, Feliz Cumpleaños. Que los cumplan felices. I can´t believe how big and old all the kids are. Crazy.

Summer, I am praying for you and for little Kate. I hope everything goes well and that you feel comforted knowing that you are participating in one of the greatest miracles in this life. That is, Life itself! Like most miracles, it takes faith and hard work to bring about. You have already shown your great faith, and now you just have a little bit more of the hard work. Then, you will enjoy the blessing of holding one of God´s most prized posessions in your arms. I have come to appreciate the importance of parenthood, and even more, motherhood here on my mission. I have seen the influence one good mom can have on generations of children. All of you moms and dads have the privilege of raising potential Gods! How amazing that fact is.

Elder Mortensen and I are looking forward to many more great miracles, especially in December, the month of miracles in the mission field. We have another baptism date for Christmas Eve, a lady named Gabriela. We are thinking of joining the two, both for Christmas Eve.

Yes mom, everything went great with the baptism of Lucas last Saturday. I have a picture, but like I said, I can´t get it connected. He was both baptized and confirmed by his grandpa, Mario.


I think that is all. If anyone has things they want to know, email me the questions, and I´ll do my best to answer them.

--
Elder Scot Daniel Stobbe Jr
Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

Hello, from "the ovens"

Hey everyone!

These last 48 hours have been a little crazy. We had transfers today, and we always find out the Saturday before, so just this last Saturday, the 4th. We found out that we both were going to stay in Plátanos. I was very pleased, because we have a number of invitations to Christmas get-togethers from some awesome members. And, there are two investigators there that are on the brink of getting baptized, that I have come to really love. So, on Sunday, we told everyone that we were both staying, and that we would be able to spend Christmas in what I consider my Home Ward now. On Sunday night at about 9:45, we were in the pension making plans for the wonderful things we were going to accomplish this transfer when we got a call from the Assistants to the President. They told us that there was a last minute change, and that I was leaving to go to an area called Los Hornos, or, being translated, The Ovens. It is a suburb of a main city, La Plata. My new companion is Elder Mortenson, from St. George, Utah. It seems I´m meant to be with St. Georgians. It is an interesting area, because it is one of the only areas in the mission that uses bikes. The bikes just stay with the area. They are pretty old-school. I will send you a picture next week. I will also include one with Elder Mortenson, seeing as we didn´t have time today. This area is about 45 minutes by train and bus from Plátanos. After getting the call, I had to pack in a few hours what we normally have a day and a half for. I finally went to sleep all packed at about 3 in the morning. Right now, I am very tired, but very excited for this transfer. Even though I had to leave my beloved Plátanos, I think that this transfer is going to be great. We already have a goal of 5 baptisms, and we both realize that we are going to have to do things we have never done before to reach that.

Now, I have a few HUGE thank-you´s to give. The first is to Hermana Montes. Cuando yo recibí su paquete, yo casi grité por emoción. jaja. Yo no pude resister la tentación a abrirlo, aun que estabamos en las oficinas, y tuvimos que irnos. Al abrirlo, yo pude sentir el amor derramando de adentro mixlado con el olor divino de las postres dulces. Yo todavía no estoy completamente seguro quien de aquellas Hermanas hizo cual cosa, y tampoco dónde viven, ni quienes son exactamente, pero ellas son ángeles y ya las amo. También a usted, Hermana Montes. Es un ángel y una amiga muy buena. Yo siento muy bendecido a tenerle y su familia como amigos, como ya he dicho. Les amo muchísimo, y muchísimas gracias.

The second is to the Young Women and Young Men of the Summit Ward. I got your package today (with a little extra from Aunt Julie, I think) that was full of the best little Christmas presents. I actually just ran out of razors, and they sent me about 5 new ones! Plus candy, and lotion, and chapstick, and a bunch of other awesome things. Like a shirt, and a tie! It was awesome. And the stocking is priceless. I will send a picture of that next week to, because it is so cool! It looks like a shirt and tie with a suit coat, but it´s a stocking. You´ll see when I send it. I want to thank you all so much. It´s not very long ago that I was a Youth too, and most of you are my good friends. The others probably would be too, but I haven´t met you! It doesn´t matter, you´re all my friends anyway. I want you to know that your gift was tremendously appreciated, and I will savor each part! Thank you as well to all the wonderful members of the Summit Ward. There are so many of you that are examples to me. So many of you helped me on my way to being a missionary. I was never without example, counsel or a helping hand in all my years in that ward. Thank you all so much, and keep up the good work!

If, as I suspect, the vitamins were added from Aunt Julie and Uncle Tom, thank you guys so much. If not, thank you anyway, and I love you both!

Right now I am hungry and tired, and I know I am forgetting a lot of things I wanted to write about. I´ll just finish by repeating what I have said many times. I love you all and am grateful for each and every one of you. Each of you has had your own impact on my life, be it small or large. I value each relationship with each of you in it´s own uniqueness. Just think, in the eternities, we are going to be able to spend as much time with each one of our friends and family that we could ever want! And more! I love you, y ahora me voy.

--Elder Stobbe

Hola from the A.B.A.S.M. Awesome Boys Always Serving Mightily

Hey everyone!

Have you ever noticed how fast time goes by when you are having fun? Of course you have! But I am noticing it more than ever right now. This week I will hit 6 months on my Mission! Crazy! For me, it seems like I was just eating at Winger’s before going to the MTC. And now here I am, in the heart of Argentina, speaking a different language, talking to complete strangers all day long! I love it.

This last week was interesting. Dad, I too got really sick. The kind where your body just hurts and you feel sick to your stomach. I think it’s what they refer to in the NBA as ´´flu-like symptoms´´. We had district meeting Tuesday morning, and about half-way through that I started feeling horrible. I hadn’t eaten breakfast, and when we went to lunch after the meeting, I still didn’t have an appetite. So Elder Atwood and I went back to the pench to rest for a while. We tried leaving in the evening, but I couldn’t even think straight, so we went back. Wednesday was similar. We left a few times, but kept having to go back. Fortunately, I woke up Thursday morning pain free, but I also didn’t have any energy. But we did get to leave for the whole day! And that day, we had an awesome lesson with one of our investigators, Lucas Gonzales. He is 15, and his grandpa is a member in our ward. He has been going to Church, and asks his Grandpa questions every day about the Scriptures and the Church. We had planned to set a baptismal date with him for later in December, but during the lesson, we both felt prompted to move it up. As such, we invited him to be baptized this Saturday, the 4th. And he accepted! We are going to have the service at 5:00 PM our time on Saturday. Please pray for him, and his family. He does not have is parents, and has been raised by his grandparents. He is a great kid, and the Church is going to save his life!

A few questions. Dad, did we end up being for sure that President Asay, the last mission president here was the doctor assigned to your heart while you had cancer. I couldn’t remember for sure.

Have any of the Summit Ward young men submitted papers or received mission calls since I left? Or anyone else we know?

How is Martha doing? She gets to read this, right. I miss you a lot. I miss showing up to family activities where you and I were the only ones on time, every time. haha Let me know somehow how you are doing, and what’s going on in your life.

Shalet, how is your school work coming? Hanging on to those straight A´s? All of your classes sound so fun, it almost makes me want to go back to middle school. But not really. haha. How are you doing with your Young Women Personal Progress? The young women in our ward gave a presentation yesterday in Church all about the virtues, and goals, and blessings of the Young Women Organization. I was thinking about you the whole time, and how you have the chance at this point in your life to learn and grow so much. That program is inspired by our Heavenly Father to help you grow into the best woman you can be. If you are doing it already, nice work. If not, get on it! A huge part of it is help from parents, so Mom and Dad, get involved if you aren’t already. When I get back, you will already be in High School, and you are going to need to be strong to get through all the junk in this world. If there is anything I can do to help you, let me know. I love you!

Random side note, can someone show Mom how to remove the ´´sent from my iPhone´´ signature when she sends emails from her phone? haha

So, I actually didn’t remember it was Thanksgiving until Wednesday night. Obviously, it’s not celebrated here. We wanted to have some turkey, but it’s hard to find here. And we didn’t want to have to cook it. So we went and bough a couple of facturas (pastrie type things) and stood in the shade for about 5 minutes eating them. Apart from expressing gratitude in our hearts and prayers extra that day, that’s all the celebrating we did for Thanksgiving. Who all went to the new house to celebrate? Is it big enough to fit everyone?

Another question off the subject. Dad, can you write and send me the words to those Italian songs you always sing? I remember the tunes, but not the words to all of them. I have the hunchback one almost down, but I’m missing a few words. For some reason, the people here love it when I sing in Italian. My companion found out I know Italian songs, and now he tells everyone. But I like singing, so it’s fine. Yesterday we were eating with a family named Frol. They are all in different stages of learning English, but they can all understand when we talk clear and slow. We were talking about America’s Indepence Day because they are going to the States this summer, right during the 4th of July. We were talking about the national anthem and I told her all about Francis Scott Key, and how he came to right that poem. They like music so they asked me to sing the National Anthem. They have the English Hymn Book, so I tried to sing all the verses, but it was strange trying to sing the other two. Anyway, it made be feel very patriotic and proud of our country, and I was happy to share part of our history with them. They all are very patriotic here, but they love other countries too. They wanted to learn more and more about the United States. I feel very blessed to be among these amazing people.

It is time to, again. I love you all so much, and I think about you all the time. Yes, you.

Hasta la próxima vez.

--

Elder Scot Daniel Stobbe Jr

Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

Elder Stobbes letter from November 22nd

Hey!

I don´t have much time today, sorry. We are actually in our Bishop´s

almacen (a little shop that they have here) and he has one computer.

So my companion and I have to take turns. We can´t go to a normal

cyber to use the computers because today is a holiday here.

This last week was interesting. We had very few lessons, but the one´s

we had were awesome! We watched a whole grip of movies this week. On

monday, for a noche de hogar (family night), we watched finding faith

in Christ. Then we watched the Restoration movie twice with different

investigators. Then we had an activity on Saturday night where we

watched the Testaments. Every time we finish a movie, at least one

person is all teared up, and we always have little testimony meetings

right after. With one of the times we watched the Restoration, we had

to do it in the Church because they don´t have a DVD player. So we

gave them a tour first, and when we showed them the Baptismal Font,

Ezequiel (9 yrs old) says, it would be very nice to get baptized here

(his mom is an inactive member, so he knows about baptism. It was

awesome! We don´t want to put a date yet for his baptism because he

learns really slow, so we have to take our time with him.

Can someone tell Matthew that I never said I was born in Lanai. I

always said Lihue. Is it true that he is serving in Lihue right now?

What are the chances that one of my best friends would serve his

mission in my birthplace!

I want everyone to know that I have a testimony of this Gospel.

Especially Stacia and Shered. I am not perfect, and none of us are,

but this Gospel is. It is true, and the only way we can really have

true joy in this life and in the world to come. What I am doing right

now is difficult. Some days, when no one wants to listen, and our

appointments aren´t there, and we get home at night only having taught

one person, it is hard to keep your passion for this work. That is,

until I remember why I chose to come over 5,000 miles and give 2 years

of my life to try and share this message. Because it is TRUE. Christ

restored his church on the earth, and is the Living Head of that

church at this very moment. Through his atonement and teachings, we

can have eternal life with those we love most, our family. I know that

with all of my mind and heart.

I love you all so much! I love to hear from you all.

One more quick question. I was thinking the other day and I am not

sure where everyone is living, specifically Sheyene and Shered. Maybe

someone could answer that!

I am out of time now, like all the missionaries always say. But I

really do have to go.

Que tengan fe en Cristo siempre es mi deseo mas grande. Les amo muchísimo.

Elder Scot Daniel Stobbe Jr

Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

Elder Stobbes letter from November 15th

You can use Google Translate to read this. Even though I don´t know how good of a job it does.

¡Hola a todas!

Voy a hacer algo diferente hoy, y voy a escriber todo en Castellano. Para que todas sepan, pueden usar ´´Google Translate´´ para leer este, o pueden tratar a entender sin traducción. Quiero preguntar que este se muestra sin traducciòn en el blog también, para tener mas diversión.

Esta semana pasada fue una otra como los demás. Estamos trabajando acá en Plátanos, pero no estamos encontrando a muchas personas nuevos. Los que ya tenemos son buenísimos, y vamos a seguir con ellos, obvio.

Papá - No, no he hecho mis zapatos todavía. Estoy esperando hasta que puedo ir a Quilmes para hacerlo.

Creo que si me manda esa folleto a cerca de la Fe, estaría bien. Debe hacerlo por PDF, en un e-mail.

Yo leí todo el libro de Jesús el Cristo, y no està equivocado, me ayuda mucha cuando leo en el Nuevo Testamento ahora. Es como las historias tienen mas significado ahora. Ya he leído todos los Libros de la Biblioteca Misional. Me falta solo las Escrituras. Yo he leido todo el Libro de Mormón, y hasta Sección 95 en La Doctrina y Convenios. También he leído Matías, Marcos, Lucas, y Juan.

Recibé unas cartas de Sierra y Mamá tambièn. Aparentemente estan jugando en Las Vegas, o algo asì. Parece muy divertido. Recuerdo los días cuando fuimos a Las Vegas como una familia. Estoy contento que pueden hacer eso otra vez. Saquen fotos, y duespues pueden mandarme un email con los fotos.

Y, hablando de divertido, ¿por que nadie me dijo que casi todos tienen iPhones ahora? Jaja. Estoy contento por eso igual. Yo empezè una tendencia en la familia. Cuando llego a casa a fin de me misión, espero que hay un iPhone esperandome.

¿Como está Shered? ¿Como está vivir con los padres otra vez? jaja Estoy feliz que está con ellos. Es mejor estar con familia.

Gracias a todos por sus cartas y oraciones. Siempre estoy feliz cuando recibo algo de un pariente o amigo. Yo he recibido dos cartas de la Hermana Montes, uno de Alex Ramsay, y también de Marylin, Lane y Vay, y otros.

No mucho nuevo ha pasado acá. Hoy mi compañero sufrío un esguince en su torbillo cuando estuvimos jugando fútbol. Entonces, él no puede caminar muy bien. Ojalá que vamos a poder trabajar esté noche, y mañana.

No sé si ustedes escucharon a lo que pasó a Mark, pero tuvo un accidente con so moto. Quizás alguien puede visitarlo, o algo.

Yo los amo a todos de ustedes. Yo espero que todo esté bien, y que siempre recuerden la Iglesia es sus vidas.

Hasta la próxima vez...

November 8th 2010

Hey Everyone!

I have loved hearing from everyone. Thanks for always sending your
hellos and prayers my way.

I am so glad to hear you guys found a house! It looks pretty nice,
with all sorts of cool add-ons like trampolines and playrooms! I am
not exactly sure where Fox Hollow is, but Highland is Highland.

I don´t have very much time today, it is already passed P-day time,
but we got stuck waiting for a train after playing soccer with our
Zone Leaders. So this won´t be very long. I am just going to share a
little lesson from my study this week.

On Saturday morning, I was looking for something new to study, having
only been reading in Doctrine and Covenants the last few days. So I
did the old ´´open-up-the-Book-of-Mormon-and-read-whatever-it-says´´
trick. I ended up opening to Alma 31. This is where Alma hears about
some sketchy things that are going on with the Zoramites, like
´´worshiping dumb idols´´. He was sad, or as it says, ´´sickened´´ by
the thought that a part of his people had separated from the Nephites
and were ´´perverting the ways of the Lord´´. So he takes some of his
friends, the sons of Mosiah, a few brethren from the Church, and two
of his sons, and they all head down to Antionum to try and help the
Zoramites with the good word of God.

´´And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead
the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful
effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else,
which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient
that they should try the virtue of the word of God.´´
-verse 5

That was the first scripture that jumped out at me. I love the thought
that the preaching of the word of God has a more powerful effect upon
the minds of the people than the sword. Imagine if instead of police,
and armies, we just sent missionaries to resolve world conflicts.
´´This country is stealing your oil and you want to send your tanks
and guns to stop them? Great, let´s go teach them how the Gospel has
been restored and we can live together forever with our familes if we
don´t break commandments by stealing!´´ or something like that. The
Doctrine of Christ has the power to change even the hardest heart, and
redeem even the vilest sinner. And when threats with the sword could
possibly just make things worse, every single person can benefit from
the word of God.

I just realized that I am almost out of time. I can´t finish, so I
invite each of you to read this chapter when you have some time.
Especially look for the difference between the prayers of the
Zoramites from the Rameumtom, and the prayer Alma offers from the
pained depths of his heart. And then look for what Alma does to try
and fix the situation! I love the Book of Mormon. Every word of it is
true, and can help us in our life. I know without a doubt that this
Church is the only true Church of Jesus Christ on the earth. I know
that what I am doing as a missionary is the Lord´s work, and hopefully
I can help many more people receive the blessings of the Restored
Gospel.

I love everyone and I send my love and hello to everyone who is
reading this, and even some who aren´t!

¡Hasta la próxima semana!

Hola from Argentina!

Hey everyone! Happy Halloween! To answer your question, Mom, they kind of celebrate Halloween here. There were a few kids on Saturday and Sunday out with costumes. I dressed up as a missionary for halloween! My costume was so good that I fooled everyone in our ward! It sounds like you guys had a blast with all your activites ´´Hay rides, Haunted Cruises, lots of ghosts, bats, witches, graveyards and spiders to eat! 3 trunk-or-treats, 3 chili cook-offs and Shalet was in a wax museum´´ What exactly does that mean that Shalet was ´´in´´ a wax museum. It sounds fun, whatever it is.

I haven´t fixed my shoe yet because some members told me that the place we have in our area doesn´t do a very good job, and it will probably just break in a few weeks. Especially with our walking. So I am looking for a better one. They told me there are some in Quilmes, which is the ´´big city´´ close to us, so I´ll have to look there the next time we go.

Thanks for the shirt ´´fix´´, too.

That party with the Knapps sounded fun. Tell them hi for me.

As far as what is happening with Manuel, our recent convert... heartbreak and struggle. He hasn´t been to church since he got confirmed. His member friend that had us teach him in her house moved out of the ward about the same time as his baptism, so he lost that connection. Then he started getting more work, which is difficult to turn down. All in all, Satan is working against him. We have an appointment with him tomorrow. Hopefully we can see what´s going on and how we can help him. Prayers on his behalf would be greatly appreciated.

Alejandro, the brother of my favorite family in our ward (los Arocha), no se encuentra nunca. That is to say, he is never around. He is busy with his work, (police) and just got married too. We are trying to teach him again, though.

Here is a list of names for you. Some of them you already have, I think. Ana Maria di Rosa, Hector Ilardo, Marta Alvarez, Emanuel and Elizabeth, Eliana and Ezequiel, Carlos and Margarita, Juan Juarez, Leo and Celina, José Retamoso, Mario, Vanessa Lopez, Mario, Eduardo la Sarte, Ricardo Coki, Maria del Lourdes Nassiff, Maria Lujan, Eduardo Serventi, Clotilde, Beto, Lucia and Victor, and Jessica Pros.

They all have struggles. Some we haven´t taught in a while. But these are all the people we are currently working with.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. Next time I´ll do better. This is our ´´pension´´. Ours is the one with the door open.

That´s too bad about the Lehr´s house. I imagine that the house you eventually find will be where you are supposed to be. God works in mysterious ways.

DEREK- Welcome Home. Or however you say that when I am all the way down here. I heard you are already back and with a job and everything. Good for you. Thanks for the example you set for me as a missionary. I love you, and I´ll see you when I get back, and we can swap missionary stories.

We have been a little lacking in the lessons area. We only taught a few this last week. It seems like Heavenly Father blessed us with 3 baptisms, and now it´s time to be tested. We are staying positive, and we know that things will get better, so for right now, we are just going to keep working, regardless of how many times we show up to lessons and nobody is there. We find ways to keep happy during the day. I refuse to show that I´m tired at door contacts, and even though no one wants to listen, the people are fun to talk to. The men always say, Hola Muchachos, que hacen? For some reason, I like that. Almost no one is mean, so it´s easier to keep our spirits up.

I have been learning a lot from the scriptures. I read the story of Joseph of Egypt, and of Moses (up until the 40 years in the wilderness). It is cool to re-read these bible stories, and like Mom does, look for the application in missionary work.

Hopefully we will be getting the Conference Ensign this week. I am excited to get to hear those talks again.

Today, we are going to La Plata. We are going to eat at SubWay. As far as I know, there are only two in Buenos Aires. One in Capital, where we can´t go, and one in La Plata. So we are going there, and then to the Salvation Army so my companion can buy some socks or something. After, I think we might go play some Volleyball, también.

Well, that´s all for now. I have to get off now, but I will talk to you all next time.

Also, I would love some pictures of the kids at Halloween!

Love, Elder Scot Daniel Stobbe Jr a.k.a. Scoty (haha Rob)

From last Monday...

Hello Everyone!

Happy Birthday Stacia! Sorry I kind of forgot last week! I hope you had a wonderful time. That rootbeer cauldron looked awesome! We hadn´t done that for a long time!

Dad, what did you mean ´´That seems ideal to have your first transfer be your companion´´? That seemed a little confusing.

We had a fun experience this Saturday with the baptism of Maria Luisa. Like we should, we went to the church early to fill the font. Everything was going well until there was about a foot of water in the font. At this point, the water quit working! We tried all sorts of things, but we couldn´t fix it. Bishop Pintos came and tried to help us, but his key didn´t work in the maintenence door. So, finally he had to go buy a hose, and hook it up to a spigot out by the street so we could fill it. And we heated up a huge pan (about 10 gallons) of water on the stove, so that it wouldn´t be too cold. The baptism was supposed to start at 6:30, but ended up being at 7:30. But we had it, and everything went good after that. Maria was confirmed in Sacrament Meeting yesterday, and is now a Member! We went to her house after and had homemade pizzas, which were delicious. Except for the one with anchovies. That was gross.

Elder Atwood is very different from Elder Pepito. He is more laid back and relaxed. You´ll notice in the picture he looks unhappy, or tired, or something, but that´s just what he looks like.

---Ok, while I have been writing this the power has gone out 3 times, and the internet quit working for about 15 minutes. So I keep losing track of what I want to write. Anyway...

I am glad to hear everyone is doing well.

I will write more and include pictures of the area next time.

I love you all!
--
Elder Scot Daniel Stobbe Jr
Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

Transfers, news and more...

Hello everyone!

First off, we had transfers today. Elder Pepito left and my new
companion is Elder Atwood, from Idaho. (See pictures) He is very nice.
I am looking forward to this transfer! It's a little weird to have
Elder Pepito gone, because I have known him the whole time I have been
in Argentina. And now I'm the one who knows our area, instead of being
the new trainee!

We are going to have another baptism this Saturday, with a lady named
Maria Luisa Ilardo. (That's ILARDO in case the letters look the same.)
She is 78 years old, and the mother of a family in our ward. Her
husband is being stubborn. He too is 78 and believes in God, and has
faith in Christ, but thinks he is "all set" with religion. He is a
wonderful person, and does good in his life. All he lacks is the
fulness of the Gospel. Please pray for him. His name is Hector. The
baptismal service is this Saturday at 6:30 PM our time. I'm not sure
what that will be there, with daylight savings and all. We didn't
change.

Here are a few answers to some questions I have been asked.

There are only 2 of us in our
pension/departmento/apartment/no-one-knows-what-it-is-really-called.
About a year and a half ago this area shared a pension with the
neighboring area, but not any more.

We have Zone Conference once every other transfer. And in the
transfers in between, we have personal interviews with the President.
Elder Pepito explained the reason a while ago, but I have forgotten
it.

As far as my self evaluation of the language, it would be this. I can
talk/communicate with everyone. I sometimes have to ask them to repeat
something once or twice to fully understand, but I eventually get it.
At times I feel like I should be able to do better with the time I
have. And at other times I find myself wondering how I just had a
conversation with someone in a foreign language. Right now if someone
asked me if I speak Spanish/Castellano, I would say "I'm learning."
or "Estoy aprendiendo." I am definitely not where I want to and can
be. I am learning new things every day. Sometimes I get a little lazy,
and my accent turns horrible. I struggle to remember how to conjugate
a word, and end up pronouncing it like a yankee. (Speaking of that,
here they don't call us gringos, but yankees, or in Castellano, Yanqui
(pronounced shaun-kee)) So instead of speaking Spanglish we speak
Castellanqui. So all in all, it is coming, and I can communicate. When
I read, the members say I sound like a native. But that's easy because
the words are already there. I can read the scripures (to myself) and
understand almost everything. It's mostly vocabulary that I lack.

I try to serve the people every way I and We can. We carry bags for
old ladies, help push-start cars, help clean the ditches that they
have in place of gutters, and we have organized servie projects with
our zone, and here in our area with just us. We have cleaned the
Church, painted a patio of a member, gotten rid of crab-grass from a
Sister's yard, painted two schools, and helped a few people move.
Other than that, I do my best to serve them as a missionary, which is
more valuable than all other temporal service I could render. I would
say that I have grown to love the people here, Members or not. That was
something I always remember learning, that you must love the people.
It actually isn't that hard, because they are an amazing people. I
love their culture and their personalities. Every time I meet someone
new, I am amazed that SO MANY PEOPLE can be SO COOL! And they make
awesome food, especially the homemade pizzas, which are nothing like
American pizzas.

We have been seeing a little bit of success here in Pl'anos. We have
several new investigators from the past few weeks. It seems like we
have many, but none of them progress very fast. But I guess thats ok.
Manuel and Olga both took about 2 months before they were baptized.
And Maria Luisa has been investigating for about a month and a half.
Mom, I will prepare a list of names for you for next time.

A couple more quick tidbits. Dad - do you remember those twins that
are the sons of one of the Tue-Thurs basketball guys? I don't remember
his name. The twins that served in Argentina? Anyway, one was Elder
Pepito's Zone Leader for a while. If you could pass a Hello from Elder
Pepito, to me, to you, to him, to his son, that would be great.

Could someone send instructions on how to fix a hole in my dress
shirt. It is about the size of nickel. It got caught on a fence the
other day. I have a needle and thread on hand.

Dad and Mom, can that white tie you gave me get wet? I think so, but
I'm not sure. It's from the Distribution Center and has temples on it.

Any quick updates on Sports would be appreciated. Also, is there a new
Back to the Future coming out? I thought I heard something about that.

I love everyone! Congratulations Summer and Will!

Until next week...


Pictures:

001 - My new companion, Elder Atwood. He's from Idaho, and has about
as much time left in his mission as I have completed in mine.
002 - Some sandwhiches I made, played with, and then ate. And not
specifically in that order.
003 - One of the young Elders in my ward had one of those big
"tagging" pens at a service project, and I asked him to write my
name on my shirt. This is how it turned out! Pretty cool.
004 - This is how one of my socks came back from the Sister in our
ward that does our laundry. At least it was one of the lesser quality
ones.
005 - Let's see if you can spot the difference. Gross.

--
Elder Scot Daniel Stobbe Jr
Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

10/11/2010

Hello, everyone.

This will be a little short today. Sorry.

First off, Summer, I am sorry I couldn´t wait to write, so I could find out what you´re having. We have a Zone Activity today, and I if I didn´t write right now, I wasn´t going to be able write. I guess I can wait a week to find out :(

Second, have there been bad storms or anything in Utah? A lady in our ward told us that, but it seems a little unlikely, especially since she said there were tornados! But I thought I´d ask just in case.

Next week, I won´t be writing until Wednesday (the 20th). Transfers got moved up, and our P-day got moved back. So don´t expect anything until then!

I will share one quick experience from this week.

Yesterday, we were teaching our investigators that have a baptismal date for the 23rd of this month. We were talking about the restoration of the Gospel, and about the Book of Mormon. They are both in their 70´s and the wife, Maria Luisa, is pretty much ready to be baptized. The husband, Hector, is having a harder time. He told us that he beleives in God, and he thinks that is sufficient. We were talking to him, and he was kind of arguing with us, and we weren´t getting anywhere. We all kind of stopped, and I could tell he wasn´t even going to try and find out if this Church is true. Right then, I had the strongest impression to bear my testimony to him. He is a little hard of hearing, so I turned directly toward him, and speaking loudly, bore my testimony of the restored gospel, and the only way to know if it is true, which is to pray to God, and receive your answer through the Holy Ghost. I could feel the Spirit so strongly, and when I finished, I challenged him to pray specifically about this Church and for this answer, and he said he would! We are always told to testify often, but I have never had a prompting that strong.

I love this work, and I am so happy to be here. The people of Argentina are amazing! ·Every time we meet a new family, we can´t believe that every new person we find is just as great as the last!

I want you all to know that I know that this is the true Church, that the Book of Mormon is true, and the God speaks with his children in the present day. I know that through the Holy Ghost, and no one can make me think differently.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

--
Elder Scot Daniel Stobbe Jr
Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

Endure to the end, we must!

Hey everyone!

Answers first.

Dad, I´m not sure exactly how much of the vitamin supply I have left, but I´ll put it this way. I have enough to last, but it wouldn´t be a bad idea to send more. I have been taking them semi-regularly, more like twice a day than 3. I am trying to do better.

Tom and Julie- thank you so much for all your help!

I have not actually bought anything with my birthday money, I got it out of the ATM so that I have it when I have time to go get something! I´ll let you know what I get!

Mom, we have lunch with members 5 days out of the week, and the rest of the meals, we are on our own. We eat pasta mostly, and cereal. They have amazing frosted corn flakes here, and not much else by the way of cereal. I also have toast made in the frying pan occasionally.

I was able to see most of Conference, and what I saw was in real time (by satellite). We were late to the first session because we took the wrong bus to the stake center, and ended up in a completely wrong area. We got there right as President Uchtdorf was starting. And we didn´t get to watch the Priesthood session because it started at 9:00 PM for us, and seeing as we have to be home by 9:30 at the latest, we couldn´t watch it. (There are no exceptions to this rule, not even for conference. Sad.) But what I saw, I loved. I can´t wait for the Ensign, which yes, Mom, we will get.

Speaking of conference, I want to share some of my favorite quotes:

´´Trees slow down their growth when conditions are less than ideal. Now you are probably saying: That´s all nice and good, but... what does it have to do with airplanes?´´ -Dieter F. Uchtdorf (the best part being that it actually could be connected to airplanes)

´´There comes a time when milestones can become millstones.´´ -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

´´Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.´´ -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

´´Satan is voting against me, the Lord is voting for me. It´s my vote that counts.´´ -Boyd K. Packer

´´Every person bound in prison by sin has the key to get out. It is labeled: ´Repentance´ ´´ -Boyd K. Packer

´´Joseph Smith could not translate when he was angry or upset. He could do nothing save he was humble and faithful.´´ -Dallin H. Oaks

´´Before the Savior fed the 4,000 with 7 loaves and a few fishes, He gave thanks for having those 7 fishes.´´ -Thomas S. Monson (See Matthew 15:36)

´´We never know how soon it will be too late.´´ -Thomas S. Monson

´´Beware of things that can destroy from the inside out.´´ -Per G. Malm

´´You stupid cow!´´ -Mervyn B. Arnold (from his wife)

´´Fly-fisherman are like Lucifer!´´ -M. Russell Ballard

´´Endure to the end, we must.´´ -Thomas S. Monson (though I think he stole that from Yoda!)

That line from President Monson´s closing address is good council. It seems like all the other counsel we received this conference and in every conference is focused on how to do just that. Endure to the End. The 3rd missionary lesson has 6 steps. We can be clean through Christ and His atonement. Faith in Him. Repentance. Baptism. Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Endure to the End. Generally the first 5 are learned and put in to practice by an investigator in a matter of weeks. They can be completely converted in a single lesson, even by one single witness from the Holy Ghost. Their baptism and confirmation happen soon after. That process is soon complete, and they are left with one main objective that they will work at, struggle with, and continue to learn how to do for the rest of their lives. Almost every thing we do in the Church is to help us endure to the end. There are two key things that will in truth, help us the most out of any other thing. What are they? Think, what two things we have been COMMANDED to do every single day.... Read the Scriptures, and Pray. Everything else will become a joy, rather than a drudgery if we but do these two things every day. Problems will be faced with knowledge, tasks with confidence, decisions with inspiration. As Elder Bednar said, I challenge each and every person who reads this to start reading from the Scriptures (including conference talks), and praying every day, if they are not already doing that. I promise that if you do, you will receive more of the Spirit in your life, and have more desire and ability conquer your problems and enjoy your blessings. How well timed, and well said is the counsel from our wonderful prophet. Let us all hearken to his voice, for indeed, at this time, ´´Endure to the end, we must!´´

I almost forgot! This was the first conference I can remember without waffles! It was sad. The saddest part though, is that Elder Pepito and I had to leave inbetween Sunday sessions to go to an appointment, and THE OTHER MISSIONARIES MADE WAFFLES WHILE WE WERE GONE! Can you beleive that! haha. I guess I will survive, and enjoy them all the more when I come home.

As always, I am out of time again. I love you all so much! Thank you for every thing each of you do for me!

--
Elder Scot Daniel Stobbe Jr
Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

pictures!!

Olga, Elder Pepito, and I before the baptism.

My ´´Symphony Bar Birthday Cake´´

20 years old!!!

A cake I got from a family in our ward. (that guy is the 2nd counselor in our bishopric.)

Manuel, Elder Pepito, and I before the baptism.

09/27/2010

Hello!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUMMER! I hope your´s was as good as mine!

Second off, Thank You to Summer, Stacia, Chuck, Sierra, Shered, Hunter, and Kyler, as well as everyone else who contributed to my birthday package! It was AWESOME! Luckily, we had Zone Conference last week, and I was able to get the package on Thursday, so I had it for my birthday. I waited until Sunday morning to open it (you were probably all sleeping) I could feel the love spill out as soon as I opened the top. The pictures are wonderful, and the letters too. I love, love, love hearing about your precious little families and all the fun things you do. Tell all the kids, including ´´the bun in the oven´´ that I love them, and not to be too naughty (Jessie and the product made me laugh and cry) Of course, the presents from the kids are priceless! And the treats! I am so excited to slowly enjoy them! I spent about 20 minutes eating the Symphony bar last night and just enjoying it thoroughly. And I got a 3-pack of Ferrero Rocher from Olga at church! She is the nicest little abuela!

Mom, you were right. I was taken care of for my birthday. After church, we had lunch with a member family. After, we went to another family, the Mendoza´s (See the picture of the white cake with strawberries) to have cake! Then we went and worked for about an hour, contacting some referrals, and visiting an inactive member. Then we went and had cake with the Galarza´s, and taught their parents, who are investigating the Church right now. Then we went and had cake with Olga, our recent convert at her friend´s (Hermana Inchiostro) house. We taught her every time at this house. Then, finally, we went to the Arocha´s, who are a recent convert family that was baptized in May, and had homemade pizza, soda, and yes, cake. It was a very nice day, even though we didn´t accomplish too much in the way of work.

Speaking of nice days, Saturday was one of the best in my life! We had a double baptism for Manuel Alejandro Araneda Miranbio, and Margarita Olga Gonzalez Blanco. (See the pictures) They are both amazing! Olga was a little afraid of the water, but Elder Pepito, who baptized them both, helped her out, and she made it! She is roughly 70, and Manuel is 28. They both have the strongest testimonies of this Gospel, and are now started on the Strait and narrow path. On Sunday, I received yet another present, in that they both asked me to do the Confirmations. (Speaking of which, Dad, how did you know I had done that?) I practiced all morning in Castellano, to be able to say everything right, and when the time came, the Spirit picked me up and said it for me. I really didn´t have to think of the words. You could see in both of their eyes afterward that they, in reality, have the Holy Ghost with them. I am so excited for them to start their adventure into the eternities.

Speaking of the eternities, I have been thinking about them a lot lately. We have almost no time on this little earth, and if we don´t make the right decisions, we could end up with less than everlasting joy in the life to come. How important is it then, that we do all we can to be worthy before God, and share this message with the world? (See 2 Nephi 2) There is one way only by which we can be clean, in order to live with Heavenly Father, Jesus, and eachother after this life. And that is by faith in, and obedience to, Jesus Christ. He performed the Atonement for Every Single Person Who Ever Lived (Again, see 2 Nephi 2). All we have to do is accept it, and live by the commandments that he has given us. And these commandments are all there so that we can be happy, and so that God can bless us. Because as we know, every blessing we receive is dependent upon the commandments we keep (D&C 130:20-21). Therefore, let us all have a renewed desire to keep the commandments. Only good will come of it! Pretty soon, all that will matter is our family, and if we were obedient, bringing more people the truths that we have, so that they can live with their familes as well. I already told Dad this, but I am so excited to live for eternity with each and every one of you. All of our friends really are family, so I´m talking to you too. It´s going to be glorious beyond our comprehension when that day comes. I am trying to do my part right now to bring this marvelous message to the world, and I hope you are all doing the same!

I love you all so much, and I hope you are all doing great!

It´s too bad BYU isn´t doing to well, we´ll just have to wait a year or two.

Today we went to ´´Capital´´, the actual city of Buenos Aires, to do documents for our visas. I rode a subway for the first time. It was fun!

Thank you everyone for you prayers, support love, birthday presents, thoughts, and testimonies. I think about everyone, including ward members, frequently. Every one of you has made in impact on my life for the better, and I draw from those experience to help me in this ´´marvelous work and a wonder´´.

I miss you all, and I love you soooooooo much. (ask Kyler about that, he knows.)

Until next week...

--
Elder Scot Daniel Stobbe Jr
Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

*(make sure to read the post below from last week)...

09/20/2010

(Sorry this letter is being posted so late, I was out of town)...

Hello Everyone!

I have been out of the MTC for the perfect amount of time. 7 is the perfect number, and I have been here 7 weeks of 7 days.

How is everyone doing? I´m doing great. I have received emails and letters from a bunch of people, including a package from Rob, so thank you all! Thank you, Marylin, for you letter. I miss you and David so much! Keep working hard (but not too hard haha)

Shalet, thanks for the birthday wish! I love you! It sounds like you are having a lot of fun in school. Keep that up, and don´t end up like me.

Sierra, thanks for the pictures. I didn´t have time for all of them, but the ones I saw were SOOO cute! Those kids never fail to get cuter every time you see them.

Speaking of which, Happy Birthday to Kyler and Ellie, my favorite Prina niece and nephew! Tell them I love them and sorry I forgot last week. I can´t beleive how old all the kids are getting!

Lets see if I can´t answer some questions, intermixed with commentary.

Dad, I have heard from Grandma and Grandpa Stobbe a couple times. To all my grandparents, I love you and thank you for everything!

Dad, I´m so excited you guys are moving on Halloween. We´ll say our little move to Summer´s didn´t count in the books, since we didn´t choose the date. Keep letting me know how the business is doing. I love hearing about that stuff. (Also, if you woudn´t mind throwing in a line or two about how the BYU games go, that would be great!) I would like it if you continued to send Matt and Rob´s letters through DearElder. I can read them at different times, and it makes it so I get mail every week! Thanks.

Mom, Manuel and Olga are nowhere near a couple. Haha. Manuel is a 28 year old single guy, and Olga is a 70+ year old widow. They are about to become united in the Faith, though. This week you can add these names: Carlitos, Mario, Ashelyn Tártalo, Jessica Contrera, and Carlos Ramos. Not all of the names I give you are necessarily investigators. Some are members who need prayers. For example, Ashelyn is an 8-year old girl who´s family are already members who is going to be baptized this Saturday with Manuel and Olga. And others are In-Active and Less-Active members who need help.

Speaking of Manuel, we had an awesome experience this week when we were giving him his ´´practice´´ baptismal interview. We were going through the questions, and he was able to bear is testimony on every one. He is so ready and willing to make this commitment and follow these commandments to change his life. We could feel the Spirit so strong, and every time we talk to him, he is so excited about the Church and his baptism. The one thing he asked us though, is if he would have to serve a mission. But he is past the age limit, so he was relieved on that one. Haha. If everyone could keep him in your prayers, as well as Olga, it would be greatly appreciated. Their ´´Servicio Bautismal´´ is going to be at 5:00 PM our time on Saturday, which I am pretty sure is 2:00 for you guys in Utah. Maybe you can remember them during this time!

Can you guys tell me how much you put on my card for birthday money? Then I won´t spend more than I have. Thanks. I will probably buy myself a nice pillow, since I am using a $15 Peso one right now (yes, less than $4.00 US.) And some Ferrero Rocher! I can´t afford those usually. I am going to get a 3-pack and savor them!

A few random things about Argentina. I hear the song ``Hey, Soul Sister`` by Train at least 2 or 3 times a day. The Argentines love it. (Those youth will know what I´m talking about, and Sheyene, but she´s and Adult now. haha) And it is in English. They listen to a lot of English music here. There is a radio station that only plays English.

Y ahora por aquellos quien pueden entender, un parte en Castellano. Estoy aprendiendo la idioma, y yo puedo hablar con muchas personas, pero hay otros quien habla muy rapido, y es mas dificil para mi entenderle. Pero, yo se que con El Espíritu, puedo cominucar con ellos, y ellos pueden entender la mensaje que tenemos. Es muy divertido aprender Castellano. Estoy feliz que tengo este oportunidad servir, hablando Castellano. Va ayudarme mucho en mi vida, la idioma, y los principios del evangelio que estoy aprendiendo tambien. A los Montes, ¡Hola! Estoy muy animado hablar consigo cuando vuelvo. Hay muchas familias acá que me recuerda de ustedes. Me encanta todo de Argentina, especialmente la gente, y los alfajores! jaja. Hasta luego...

Those parts may not make too much sense, because I don´t have very much time, and I´m still learning.

I love everyone. Thanks for everything you do and the lives you live. I know that as you continue following Christ in your lives that the Lord will ``pour out his blessings upon you, so that there will not be room enough to receive them``

Next time I write, I will be 20 years old! Not a teenager anymore. You´re going to be all alone in that realm, Shalet! haha

Take care, all!

--Elder Scot Daniel Stobbe Jr

9/13/2010

Hello Everyone-

First off, answers.

Our monthly asignation of funds is sufficient for all of my needs. We receive our money on the card the 1st of the month, and take it all out of the ATM at the first, because ATMs are hard to find, and in my current area, nobody accepts cards.
I slept with my sleeping bag as an actual bag with the insert for the first few weeks, but now I just use it as a blanket.
As far as money on my card, if we could just keep a balance of about $20, that would be great. I will let you know if I use any. For example, I used about $10 or maybe a little less last week to buy a backpack, because I had no cash on me. (Sometimes my shoulder bag isn´t as convenient as a backpack). $20 is about $80 Pesos, so that should be sufficient.
Mom, if you are going to send a package for my birthday, I like your idea of pictures, letters, and notes from the nephews, and Ellie. haha Also, in order for me to use the Pouch Mail, I need American stamps. So, if you could send me a supply of those too, that would be awesome.
------
We had transfers today, but Elder Pepito and I are staying together. I´m glad, because I love him, and I love my area.

And now, a random list of information, greetings and other miscellaneous items.

I received a recipe for Elder Stobbe Ice Cream. First off, how cool is it that I have an ice cream flavor named after me? I feel so special! Gracias, Hermana Montes. Estoy muy agradecido. Secondly, can someone take that recipe and write it with me in mind. And by that I mean, think of what I would need to do to make it here. Because I really want some! Also, along those same lines, Mom, can you send me the Cookie Kid´s Cookie recipe? But maybe talk with Sister Montes and make sure I could actually make it here? Thanks.

Summer, your garden sounds so fun. Talk about being self-sufficient. I was talking to a member the other day about how you have grown your own pumpkins, and that time we made pumpkin pie with sweetened condensed milk. Yum!

Prices here are cheaper than the U.S. Sometimes. At other times they are a little more. For example, today after transfer meeting we went to Burger King (the whole mission goes. It´s a huge one with 2 levels.) Between me and my companion we got 3 Burgers, 2 Large Fries, 2 Large Drinks, and 2 big ice cream desserts for about $21 US dollars. So, whatever that means to those of you who are still in the states, there you go.

Sister Lee, they do have the special Spanish keyboards. They are a little different, but it´s easy to make the spanish accent marks and other things. Thanks for the codes! Now I will be set if I ever need to use them! I hope Brother Lee´s arm is doing ok, and Richard. I pray for them. Thanks for everything you do, I love you and your family!

So, I heard that the Summit ward was the victim of a boating accident. I hope everyone is ok, and for those who owned the boats, I´m very sorry. Sometimes bad things happen.

Mom, here are some more names for you: Leonel y Eduardo Serventi, Marcos, Elsa Castillo, y la Familia Ibarro. Our current baptismal dates are Manuel and Olga on the 25th, and Alejandro in mid-October. I don´t remember the date exactly, maybe 16.

Elder Pepito is from St. George. He was baptized in 2006. He met the missionarys one day when they came to his apartment looking for his friend. His friend wasn´t there, so the missionaries asked if he would like to hear their message. He said yes, and the rest is history.

You may have noticed this letter was dated. If everyone could do that for me as well, that would be great!

Summer, do you have that paper you wrote on during my Setting Apart? If so, could you send it to me somehow? Thanks

Ok, sisters, you know how we all like baby food? (Everyone will think we are weird now) Well, there is this brand of juice here that tastes exactly like the kind that comes in the little jars. It is fruity, I´m not sure of the flavor, but the juice is AMAZING. It´s called Baggio Multifrutal. I thought you guys would all like it.

On another food note, I have been making toast in a frying pan, becuase we don´t have a toaster, and it is way good. I put butter in first, then fry normal bread slices, then add raspberry jam. Its almost like a dessert!

Thanks for the pictures, Dad. If you send them like that, that is perfect. I can look at them just fine.

This next week is Ward Conference, and we have a little choir and we´re going to sing ´´Abide with Me´´ but not "Abide with me tis eventide". It´s the other shorter one. We had to learn the bass part, and we practice after church. I´m really excited to sing it! Summer, I don´t know if I´m going to hear that new primary song. I haven´t heard any thing about a Primary Program, and we only have like 10 primary kids, so I´m not sure what´s going to happen.

I have letters written for a few people, and I´m writing more. Expect letters in the next few weeks. Or month.

We are struggling to find new people to teach right now, but we are going strong with those we do have. Hopefully we will be able to find more soon. I love when we get to teach people. It makes all the walking and clapping worth it. My feet hurt the first few weeks, but now I´m good. I can walk all day, and I get tired, but it´s not painful. It´s just tired. (Aaaah, it´s really tired in here.)

By the way, Dad, I have asked a few questions in my emails, that I haven´t gotten responses to. I know I do the same thing, but if you could look through the emails, and answer all the questions, and just send me an email with all the answers, that would be great.

And now, the ever-present ending to missionary emails: I´m out of time, again.

I love everyone so much, and am so grateful for all the support and love I get.

I will try to share more Spiritual stuff next week. This was more of a ´´worldly´´ email. Just know that I have spiritual experiences each day, and I am strengthened each day by my study of the scriptures and the Doctrine of Christ. I know this Church is true and that I need to be here at this time and in this place to share this message.

Abrazos.

-Elder Stobbe