Preaching In Patagonia...: Tolhuin, Zona Rio Grande

Alright so we'll get the big news out of the way right off the bat, Tolhuin. Got. WHITEWASHED. I was livid, didn't sleep a wink Friday night. I straight up told Presidente that if he was gonna whitewash Tolhuin, to leave me. Really though, I trust Presidente. I trust that he receives revelation from a real and living God, who knows better that I do, so I'll go where He wants me to go.

Where He wants me to go is justamente RIO GALLEGOS A. Just across the arroyo. So not too bad, I've heard good things. I'll be going from Tolhuin to Centro, so that will be a big change (meaning from the boonies to a city). Rio Gallegos is the first city when you cross onto the mainland from Isla Tierra del Fuego. (It's about 300 miles north of Tolhuin and he crosses through Chili to get there. He didn't say how long the bus ride was or will be - I think he is still in Rio Grande today, but google maps says a 7 hour drive, so the bus would be longer.)

I did 6-7 hours of paperwork to leave the new Tolhuin boys with everything they'll need to continue having success (literally hand drew a map of Tolhuin with all of the investigator's houses labeled) so I've washed my hands of that. (When I read whitewashed, I took it to mean that President was closing the area, but later Alex told me that his new companion's old companion went to Tolhuin, so he meant that both he and Elder H were pulled and two new elders went in.)

As far as Gallegos, I'm excited, but a bit apprehensive as well. I was talking with one of the APs, Elder Soto, and he told me "Gallegos is awesome, I baptized 7 people there. However, your area has declined a lot lately because your new companion is a bit of a vago, so we needed an elder who's strict in his obedience and dedicated to go fix the area and the elder. So we chose you!" I'm totally flattered by the sugar coat, but that doesn't mean that I didn't notice the GIANT TURD INSIDE!!!! I'm not gonna go in with too many preconceived notions though, I'm just gonna go, make the best of it, and not take any of the trucho crap if it actually exists out there. So VAMOS.

Anyways, with that out of the way, I can't believe that Utah won, I'm so sick and tired of them. CMON BYU! It's alright though, they can win the first time with Tanner Mangum when I'm back in the states, sitting in the stadium!

As far as food goes... (I'm talking to the youth this week about missionary food, so I thought I'd get Alex's experiences too.) lots of cereal, there was a time where I ate a ton of rice, homemade popcorn is good, bread not so much ahora, but before yeah... it's pretty much what you make of it. Down here, you can get almost anything food wise, so if you want something, you can almost always make it. Lots of eggs for breakfast, fruit is good too. Also, lots of almuerzos con miembros (lunches with members), so you never know that way.

Alright, now on to other things that happened this week... my journal was packed away, so I won't be able to use it... alright so, Monday was a joke. Elder Hernandez said that we needed to go to Rio to go to the medico (doctor). So I enjoyed a PDay, H played futbol for like 3 hours (those knees though) then, get this, HE NEVER EVEN TOOK OUT A TURN (I think "took out a turn" means make an appointment...) WITH THE DOCTOR! And it turns out the doctor wasn't in that day, so we essentially wasted a lot of the church's money. None of the missionaries out here respect that the funds we have are the Lord's funds, not ours, and there's a lot of waste for a lot of dinking around. I wasn't happy, but I can't say I was surprised. Anyway, Tuesday was pretty dope. We found some good new people, so that was good. Miercoles (Wednesday) was pretty much the same as Tuesday, tranqy no mas. And now that I think about it, Jueves (Thursday) was really good too. It's hard to remember the specifics without my journal, but the days were good. Viernes was a porqueria (Friday was a waste). We had a Zone Conference, and it was a total joke. I love Tolhuin to death, but Zona Rio Grande is a sinking ship that I'm glad I'm leaving. I hope Gallegos is a lot better. We were also going to go to the medico, and that sucked too, because Elder H was pouting the whole time cause he had a headache like always, and he once again didn't take out a turn, so we had to go and wait. Latinos man, theyre great, but soooooo hard headed sometimes. LOOKIN' AT YOU TOO DAD! You're my hero though, so it makes the bad times okay.

The one good part of Friday's trip to Rio was that I RECEIVED MY PACKAGE!!!! Holy crap, I love you Mom and Dad. Dad, I totally know the part that's from you, I'm gonna save it, to build it together in 2 years! (I didn't have the heart to tell Alex that I forgot to put Jose's addition into the package, and the Legos were really from me and Sofia! Jose's is in package #2 that he is going to be totally surprised by because he doesn't know that it is in the mail!!!)

Anyways, we found out traslados (transfers) that night, and I didn't sleep after because I was so worried for Tolhuin. Saturday was spent saying goodbyes, which was really sad (especially Charly). Hno Amarilla took us to the lake, which was cool. Then I stayed up till one in the morning doing paperwork, and I was dead yesterday. Yesterday (Sunday) was great, we said a lot of goodbyes. The best part was the despedida (farewell) that we had right before we left. Lots of the miembros (members) came, and we ate some good food. They started clapping after our testimonies. It's dope to know that the people of Tolhuin are gonna remember me. I MISS THOSE GUYS ALREADY!!!! After the despedida, we took a late night combi to Rio, and arrived at 1am otra vez (again). So I'm very sleep deprived right now. Had to do tramites this morning which was boring, but now were good to go for mañana (tomorrow), so I'm happy now.

BTW, my new comps name is Elder Bobadilla. He's from Chile. And his previous companion went to Tolhuin!

That's all for this week, lots of action, a roller coaster of emotions. Its gonna be weird to be in another area, but I'm pumped to go and baptize.

I love you guys with all my heart! Especially you Mom!!!
VAMOS FAMILIA JIMENEZ!!! - Elder Son

Charly (lagrima)