Mid-quality products from Argentina & my dear friend Angelo

This transfer has flown by (not surprised). That is literally what everyone has told me about the mission since the day I arrived. That it gets faster the closer you get to coming back. It's like a roller coaster. The first half is slow, it's all uphill, it gives you anxiety, etc. What kind of scares me now is actually going back. I was pretty comfortable saying I had 4 transfers (around 6 months) left. But I recently surprised myself by saying yeah I have about 4 months left. 4 months. That's it.

When I arrived here again in Encarnacion I sort of felt as if I was returning to my High School after graduating. Even though I'm in a different area it was all so familiar, yet so much had changed. I knew the "halls." I was recognized by the "teachers" here. I often heard, "Hey didn't you serve in the first branch a while ago?" All of the spiritual experiences I had here, the lessons I learned, the people I met. I consider it my Holy Land.

It's always good to be remembered.

Encarnacion Rama 3 is an interesting area geographically. We live in this place called the "circuito" or the circuit. Everything that has wheels in this city passes through the circuit. It makes it really easy to know where you are and how to get back home. It's where there are a lot of huge buildings and tech stores. Encarnacion really used to be a boom town. In the 80s at least from the pictures I've seen, it was beautiful. It was one of the first cities that had a train that passed through from Asuncion all the way to Buenos Aires. The only thing that remains from that era is a small museum and now the whole city looks like Chernobyl. A once modern beauty that is now overgrown with trees and vines--almost as if the jungle that the city is built on is acting as a parasite, sticking its paws in every crack and corner in the city. Also the river would run right up to the neighborhoods and people would have a beach as their front yards if it wasn't for the thin metal bar and walkway that runs along the river, separating it from the road. The whole city feels like its sinking. The closest thing I've ever seen to it is New Orleans.

It seems even more post-apocalyptic when you consider the endless line of cars that is constantly fighting for a spot to get onto the bridge to Posadas, Argentina. At first glance you would probably think that they are just trying to escape Encarnacion, but it's actually quite funny (and a little ridiculous) why they go to Posadas. It's a business.

Right now for whatever reason the Paraguayan guarani is worth a ton compared to the Argentine peso. Even with the drive or the bus ticket cost you would still save a ton of money buying groceries there. Not to mention the products are sooo much better. Fresh bread, cheese that actually doesn't taste like vomit, real peanut butter (even though they call it peanut paste), the rice and pasta are just better quality, eggs that don't spoil after a week. And a lot of people just flip what they buy in little corner stores. So I've actually been eating pretty good for cheap lately. I had a redbull for the first time in my mission since Reno. But that's not even half of it. What people really go for out in Posadas is gasoline.

When iI arrived here I noticed that it was a little strange how many people I saw on the side of the road selling cleaning products in reused two liter bottles. This may sound like a joke but that's a pretty normal and actually accepted thing here. But I kid you not, every street, every  corner, every house, there's a guy sitting outside selling two liter bottles of a mysterious blue liquid. And then I realized it wasn't soap or detergent. It was Gasoline.

Granted, you're pretty well-off if you have a car here. If you have a little moped you at least have a means of getting to a job so you could probably afford it too. But the gas here is expensive. The conversion rate is like 5 dollars a gallon in Paraguay. That"s expensive. And a lot of these cars are gas guzzlers. But gas right now is dirt cheap in Argentina. So what these people do is they spend all day going to Posadas (because waiting in line is an all day/night trip) buy a ton of gas, put it in old two liter bottles, somehow get that through "customs" and come back and sell it on the street for a quick buck. I have to say... I respect a good resell profit. It's a pretty good hustle, and everyone's all over it. It's like if Supreme and Bape did a collab. Easy money.

The big problem with this whole Posadas frenzy (other than the fact that selling gas in old plastic bottles and transporting through country borders is not only explicitly illegal but also extremely dangerous) is that it's the excuse for EVERYTHING!

It used to be "my mom's sick I cant make it to church" or "my family is coming in from out of town I can't meet today" now it's "sorry man, I'm heading out to Posadas."

But the work goes on. I at least hope the reader has a better understanding of where I'm serving right now.

There have been so many cool things that have happened these past weeks. My first Sunday here I said "hola" to a European looking guy in church and didn't really get an answer. That's when I found out that he's a German dude who is on a year long vacation with his family. My good friend Angelo. (I think dad's gonna like his name)

Angelo is middle aged, has two kids, married to his wife of 10 years or so and is technically one of the most active members in the ward. After he drops his wife and daughter off at the catholic church (yeah, the wife is a devout catholic) he comes to church early with his son. The only problem is he doesn't speak Spanish. Like at all. He said he would try learning it if he was going to stay here longer but he is planning on moving again in a few months (which might change depending on what is going on close to his homeland). Good thing they teach English in Germany.

The guy is actually a stud once you get to know him. His family has a ridiculous conversion story and the reason he is so faithful in the church is because he promised his mom that he would go to church every Sunday while he was away. And that's what he has done. Every Sunday.

He says that he knew that the church was true from an experience he had when he was little. A family member of his was diagnosed with lung cancer. The test showed that there were numerous tumeros and the prognosis probably a short trip to the grave. There were very few priesthood holders in his city but they gave her a blessing. The next time she visited the doctor she was completely cancer free. The tumors had just vanished. The doctors had no idea how to explain it. But Angelo did.

He shared all of this with me when I visited him with my companion and a member that learned english on his mission. There you have it folks. Miracles do happen. 

I have had the opportunity to go on a lot of exchanges this past week. It's been really fun to get to know the missionaries in our zone. A lot of them were really happy to see us because they don't very often get to see other missionaries. Kind of like my situation in Ayolas. I know exactly how they feel. I was there too. I love working with younger missionaries now that I have a little bit more time in the mission. I find it crazy how white their shirts are compared to mine. The red soil here has just utterly destroyed many of my clothes. Most of my once fancy &collar shirts are just stained. Some of them with multiple colors. I would say that they are all more yellow than white. Just imagine what Dwight would wear in the office.

One of the cities I visited is Pilar. I used to be in Pilar's district while I was serving in Ayolas but I never went there. It's huge! And beautiful. White sand beaches along the huge river. Flat beautiful streets paved with concrete hexagons making the whole city look like a beehive. Beautiful views. Fresh air.

and 5 hours away from any other city in Paragay (by collectivo)

The ride down was so horrible we almost just got off in San Ignacio. I've never been in a collectivo so full. I was about to quit when I saw a lady dispose of her chipa/puke baggie out the window and it spilled every where. Somewhere down the line a dog got on and was walking around tripping everyone. I would have laughed if it wasn't so ridiculous. It didn't even seem real. It seemed like a nightmare. The whole time I was questioning if I actually was there. But this is my life now. I really do feel sometimes as if I live in a zoo. I was exhausted from standing the whole time with no ac. But when we got there it was all worth it. The closest thing to Wilmington I've seen since I went to Surf Camp. Dang I miss those days. 

We stayed for their "noche de rama" that night in Pilar and played basketball on their full outdoor court. The branch president their is like 6'6 500 pounds so it was a little hard to score in the paint but I was on fire. It felt soo good to hoop again. It had been so long since I had really played a game of basketball. I may have even slammed a couple of windmills (the hoop was a little short). But yeah I had a good day that day.

I've had a lot of good days lately.

That reminds me of a song by a band called "Surfaces" that I used to listen to. I went on exchanges with an Elder who is a little bit younger than me but was my Zone Leader back in Carapegua. We talked a lot about the things we both learned there. I shared a lot about how I felt and how I really sort of lost sight of who I was. He told me that he also was really stressed out back then too. His companion(s) wouldn't get up on time and he felt bad trying to be "an example" for everyone else in the zone even though he couldn't keep his own house together. We had to walk a long way to this lunch appointment and the sun was so freaking hot we had to stop like 10 times to ask for water (gave out like ten lesson 1 pamphlets too). Out of nowhere we just started singing this one song that we both knew by Surfaces. It goes something like:

Yeah it was a good day

Not much to do but just stay

around

yeah it was a good day

I'm so glad the sun stayed

around

He got almost all of the words wrong but we eventually did make it out to that house. We've had a lot of good days lately.

Thinking about going home has gotten more and more real to me. My mission president told me that being focused on the work was important but I needed to start to make a plan for when I go home. I used to think going home would be soo easy. But that's because it takes so long to fully adjust to living not only in the mission but on another "planet." Going home would take an even bigger adjustment. It really is quite crazy how "used to it" I've gotten here. When I get back I have to worry about more stressful things like what am I gonna do with my life, what am I gonna study, jobs, bills, cars, clothes, girls. It's more than just a "new area". It's like a new calling. I used to think it would never come and I still have got plenty of time to go. But my mom just signed the contract on the apartment I'm gonna be living in at BYU. Pretty soon I'll register for classes. The wheels are in motion ladies and gentlemen. (note to mom: "but there was no motion" lol sienfeld)

Still have no clue what I want to do with my life. Lately I have been thinking about dermatology, also thinking about marketing, also thinking about going to film school. Such an interesting time in my life where I have to make decisiones that will affect where I live, how much I make, what my kids will think of me. I'll figure it out though. I still got time. 

I've heard a lot about the conflict going on in Ukraine and Russia but nobody has really explained why or what really is happening. Keep in mind Disney plus was a brand new thing when I was home. I'm still on an island and have little access to real information sources. But I imagine that just like any big event you have all been flooded with a ton of information about it and I imagine a lot of it is false. I hope if anything you felt good reading this and just like what Moroni says "and i know the account I have written is true."  A lot of us joke around and say our next area will be us getting drafted. Literally have no clue. I need to do a lot better at responding to those who have written to me in the past few months but just know I read all of your emails and I feel the love. It's what is carrying me back home.

stay gold ponyboy