25 February 2016

The following are excerpts from conversations with Kate. Mom is writing in blue.  Kate answers in black.


Hi! Oh hey. How are you? Sitting. That's a typical argentine joke.

Gosh I enjoy writing you. Have the packets or letters arrived yet? No. Let me know, Ok? Will do. You gotta watch from your end and find out when they get here so you I can call and bother the elders until it gets here.

(About photos)

... I would like to remind you that 1) i have to buy an adaptor for my camera to send you pictures. 2) The internet is supppper sketchy here, so i cant send a lot of pictures. Do you realize that you have not sent any pictures since DECEMBER 7?!?!?! Do you realize that i am in a developing country with a budget and schedule of a missionary? Sometimes i don't even take enough time to go to the bathroom. There are a lot of factors that have nothing to do with me at play. 1- the lack of a cable. 2- the lack of adaptor 3- the difficulty of finding and buying one of those two things 4- I'm living in a developing country that's about 25 years behind the US. Everyone is just starting with screen phones. I have not seen one iphone. There is very little technology. I pay 20 pesos an hour to use a máquina that frequently stops working. THAT'S ALMOST THREE MONTHS!!! I am a visual person! I need to seeeeeeeeee you and your life. Buy what you need- you have $$$$$!!! Money can't buy everything! It can't buy time and it can't make Argentina more technologically advanced. 


(About reading the Book of Mormon)

I'm okay. Still reading the Book of Mormon everyday. Yay, go mom!!!!! I was kind of blown away when you said the scriptures looked weird in English. You had been telling me about your Book of Mormon reading challenge, but I didn't realize it was in Spanish. Well, yeah, I do everything in Spanish- my agenda, my studies, usually my notes in church... sometimes I get trunky for English and write in English, but it's rare. I think I even talk in my sleep in Spanish. Wow. So are you just used to reading scriptures in Spanish? Well, yeah, I've been reading in Spanish since my first area, that was more than a year ago. I can't imagine doing my studies in English. How cool is that? I never did personal scripture reading in the language in my mission. Just a bit of language study. I struggle so much with language study. Secret weaknesses from Hna Long- sometimes I feel prideful about my Spanish and don't want to do language study. I have to make a huge effort to do my language study. Sometimes I read the dictionary. Lately I've been reading the himnos and looking up words I dont know. There's usually 1 in every himno, but they're super weird words that even the latinos don't use, like super formal and all that. But I have to keep learning. Most of my scripture study was in English. I even had my mom send me new scriptures (English) partway through, because mine were getting worn out. My triple broke a couple weeks ago, and I fixed it with tape (Hna. Taborda called me a redneck) and then the other side broke, so I fixed it with "wood glue" that's really just modge-podge. I'm so impressed. No wonder you English so badly. Hey! Anyway, back to the point- I really wanted Jacob and I to finish the Book of Mormon Pres Craig's style before he goes on his mission, but we just started Enos, so we have a way to go. Jacob basically is willing to do three pages a day. Tell him that I read 2 chapters a day. 3 pages is nothing. How's he gonna study for an hour alone and an hour with his comp like that? I really want to do more!!!




Well, that's our news. I hope you're healthy and happy! For the first time in a long time I'm healthy. I even went to Bahia 2 and didn't get sick. I did get sick two days ago, but it was my fault, cause we had a taco fiesta right after a fast, and we ate a boat load of super spicy stuff and it made us all sick. And I hope you're figuring out the senior companion thing. It's been going super well. We work super well together. Hang in there- I'm proud of you, and love you more than I can explain. Send photos! See previous notes about picture expectations

Love,

Mom