September 5, 2011

Dear everyone,

So in the mission we have transfers every six weeks. Transfers start on Monday and end six weeks later on Sunday. The Friday before, the Assistants of the Mission President call the Zone Leaders who then call the District Leaders who then call the individual companionships in their districts. So I'm obviously explaining this because...I got transferred! After finding out I was leaving, we did our best to say goodbye to everyone for me and still have lessons at the same time.

It was super hard to say goodbye to Balcarce. I had grown really attached to the city, the members and all they did for us, the people I had taught so many times, and especially the people that were baptized in my time there. I lived there for four whole months! So saying goodbye to Martin and his cousins Franco, Leonardo, and Matias was incredibly hard. It basically sucked. Because maybe it's not goodbye forever, but I won't be seeing them every little while like I have been. Martin was super sad so he and Natalia, his "girlfriend," made us this awesome lunch on Saturday and it was freaking awesome. They made these things called Cantelones that are kind of like lasagna ravioli things. And on Sunday he showed up to church in a suit!! It was legit. I am confident that he will be a very faithful member of the church in the future. He has never missed a Sunday. My hope is that he and Natalia can get married in the temple some day!!

But anyway, last night I said goodbye to Elder Davidson and left Balcarce with Elder Guzman (the Chilean missionary that had lived with me for 3 months) because he as well was transferred. And now I am in Bahia Blanca, the capital of the mission (which isn't as pretty as the Mar del Plata area but I'll live). AND I am the new Secretary of Materials in the Office of the Mission!! Which was a big surprise for me. I had been joking with Elder Guzman for a week or so saying he was headed there (we basically knew we'd be leaving because of how things work out with timing, etc.) but it turns out that I am the one here now! So what happens is I spend my day from 10 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon working in the office and then at 5 o clock I leave the office and go work in my area until 9 at night. I am getting trained by Elder Whipple from California who has been the Materials Elder since I arrived until 3 weeks from now when he'll be transferred away. My companion, however, is Elder Araya, a Chilean elder that arrived in the mission with me (he is going to be the Pensionero which is the office elder that deals with all the missionaries housing contracts and rent, etc.). He is super legit, wants to work really hard, and speaks 

only Spanish!! So finally I am going to be able to learn a ton more of Spanish!!

What I do as the Materials Elder is take orders from the missionaries in the mission, order the materials, receive them, send packages all over the mission, take care of cell phones, pick up and distribute mail to the missionaries, order and stock the materials of the office itself, etc.

So I am not exactly sure how I feel about spending my day in doors all day every day for the next 4 to 6 months (or even more) instead of being outside working in the mission field but I know that the Lord called me to the office for a reason and that there are things here that I need to learn. So it's all good!

Thanks for the letters and news about what's going on at home! I love you all!

Chau!

-Elder Ryan David Garrison