Week 16 - 1st Transfer, Staying in Federal

Hello everyone!

Well my first transfer is now complete and looking back on it it has zoomed right past! I am staying here in Federal with Elder Black. I like it because we have a chance to keep teaching our same investigators. This week we have had a bunch of cool experiences! On Sunday we had 12 investigators at church, which was the most in the whole mission. It was really cool to see all these great people experiencing church for the first time.

We went over to one of our less active members house to see how she was doing because she was pregnant. We had helped make a crib for her. When we got there we found out that she had her baby boy just 5 days before! His name is Gabriel and he is so cute. Babies truly are miracles that have just come from the presence of our Father in Heaven. Next time I go over I will get a picture of him and the crib.

We went to one of my favorite members house and we taught Salidad who is progressing. When it came time to leave they told us to watch out for obison! Well obison is a myth in Argentina and he is basically a werewolf. People here actually believe in him. It is crazy and kind of creepy. One of our neighbors who we bought alparagatas (Toms) from has an animal called a carpincho. That is me holding it in the picture. They are funny little things. The man said they grow to be like 400 lbs. That one is only 2 months old though.

Everyone says the first transfer is the the hardest and there is a poem that I really like that I would like you to look up if you get the chance! It is called "The Oak Tree" by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr. I hope you like it :)

Thanx for the support!

Love, Elder Smart

Carpincho (Capybara in English)

The Oak Tree

by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr.

A mighty wind blew night and day.

It stole the Oak Tree's leaves away.

Then snapped its boughs

and pulled its bark

until the Oak was tired and stark.

But still the Oak Tree held its ground

while other trees fell all around.

The weary wind gave up and spoke,

"How can you still be standing Oak?"

The Oak Tree said, I know that you

can break each branch of mine in two,

carry every leaf away,

shake my limbs and make me sway.

But I have roots stretched in the earth,

growing stronger since my birth.

You'll never touch them, for you see

they are the deepest part of me.

Until today, I wasn't sure

of just how much I could endure.

But now I've found with thanks to you,

I'm stronger than I ever knew.