Packages & Puppies

Bueno, Hola Todos!                                                    May 31, 2014

Thanks for the Pictures. That is a really cute puppy, and honestly from what you tell me, I already know that “Chips” is going to be my new best friend when I get home--especially if he likes to snuggle sometimes and run into walls at other.  I’m sure I’ll enjoy playing fetch with him!

I’m super happy for Eric’s (cousin) mission call! LA will be a fun mission, especially with Spanish! We’ll be able to have a Spanish party.  I’m just surprised he didn’t go to Brazil like the rest of his family, but I guess he’s always done things his own style. It is nice that he only has 2 months to prepare, which makes the call ideal. The worst part for me was just waiting so long to go. So I’m disappointed that he’s not coming to Argentina with me, but he’s at least is speaking Spanish with me!

It’s been a good week in the offices!

This week we went to Capital to pick up packages at the big International post office. After we waited about 2-3 hours, we were finally able to get our 8 packages and then we took the train back to the offices. After a long morning, we finally put down the packages and ate a little for lunch.  Before we were able to get started with a new task, one of the Senior Missionaries asked us to accompany her to the small post office near the mission office to pick up another package. Both I and my companion had scary flashbacks of what we had just gone through that morning with lines, passports, and all sorts of paper work. I got out of it by pulling the “I’m still new to the office” trick, so my companion was stuck.

So about an hour after they left, I began to wonder what was taking them so long--I mean it only was one package. Then one of the Senior Missionaries in the office answers the phone. After listening for a little bit, in awe he exclaims ¨You’ve got to be kidding me.¨ By this point I thought that my companion had just been sent to prison or something. After he hung up the phone he then told us that instead of receiving one package, they had received 56 packages!  Some of them have been waiting in the post office for 7 months and we did not even knowing about them. When they finally came back, they had 2 giant mail bags full of packages! Let’s just say, we spent the rest of the day sorting packages for the mission.

While office life isn’t super interesting at times, it gives me a chance to strengthen my own testimony a little bit. We don’t have investigators to prepare for, but I can take study times to build myself up a little bit, which needs a little bit of strengthening. I have learned a lot this week, and hope to continue to learn a lot as I continue to study the scriptures, fast and pray. 

I had a dream last night that it was my last day in the mission, and I was crying because I was sad to see it go. I have a feeling that is what it is going to be like to leave, and I see myself loving this country and calling a little more everyday. It is weird to think that a year from this Thursday I began my mission, but that’s how time goes sometimes. Our Mission President wrote in his letter this week that our missions and lives go by as if it were dreams, and I’m starting to see that. While I wouldn’t say time is running by me, I think its just that two years really isn’t that long.

Dad I’m hoping that you can make it through this difficult time of when all the other  fun sports are ending, and only baseball is waiting for you at the end of this month. Remember, that it is through the bitter  that we enjoy the sweet!

I’ll talk to you next week! Don’t kill the Puppy until I get home!

Elder Chipman