Matt's email 11/8/2010

Oh buddy you fellows don´t even know how hot and dusty it was yesterday up here in Albardón. I seriously felt like I was walking into the furnace with Shadrac Meshac and Abed Nego. I don´t know if I have ever told you what Viento Zonda is here, but basically it is when the temperatures all sky rocket and then the wind comes. The thing is that the wind isn´t your normal, refreshing wind. No. The wind is even hotter than the air is. And to make things worse, it contains all the gross Argentine garbage ashes and dead dogs and half eaten diapers... All the things that you don´t want to breathe in, but you do anyway. We luckily found refuge in the house of some recent converts. We started teaching them how to have efficient family home evenings, but right in the middle the lights, water and phone lines all got cut. We were basically stranded up there until like 10 40. Then to make things worse, all the fake taxis were out. We thought we were toast, but then came the miracle. Just as we started to make the 2 and a half hour walk back to the apartment, a member passed by, saw us suffering in the elements, and drove us back to the pench. It was definitely an answer to our prayers. Other than that the week went pretty well. On Tuesday we met yet another family that is just golden. We had talked to the mom about a week earlier while I was offering to water peoples dirt and she told us to come back later. We decided to pass by on Tuesday night to see how she was doing, and she just couldn´t stop telling us how intelligent we were. She was impressed that we walk around all day in the heat, cold, wind, rain and everything else mother nature can throw at us, knocking doors and talking to the people. She has a lot of respect for us and loves the Book of Mormon. She remembered at 2 in the morning on Wednesday that she still had to read it and she said she received her answer right there. It was incredible. It is a family of 4 and we are hoping for the best. As for Lourdes and Patricia, the others we found last sunday. They are doing awesome. Lourdes loves the lessons and seems to have a good time listening to my accent. She says that it sounds like here friend´s accent from Spain, so that is pretty cool. Apparently I have a Spaniard accent... awesome ha ha. Life here is still going just great though. Elder Orduña and I are doing work up here. He is a way funny kid. His dad is 72 and his mom is 51... Yeah. He has a lot of cool stories from New York and says I can go over and chill with him in the big city whenever I want. I have received so many hook ups here on the mission, it isn´t even funny. I am loving it out here though. The time is going by way too fast. It seems like the days here are way less than 24 hours, but man when I hit that pillow I can definitely feel it. We do more walking than an Arab in the desert, but I love it. Kicking rocks gets more and more fun every day. The Gospel is true. The church has been restored. Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration. I love my mission.
Love
Elder Burr