My Dearest Family:
I write to you today on this
beautiful day – September 27th. It’s an overcast day here in Salta,
Argentina 17°C – just perfect for a cup of Mate y una hora to write my family. I have been transferred to the Office in Salta
to be the Secretary for the Mission. Along with that I have also
1.
Lost 2
hours of sleep each day
2.
Run twice
as much in the morning
3.
Drink 3
times as much Mate
4.
Watch
mormon messages and play the piano to break up the day
5.
Live in a
town very simmilarly looking to Westwood/Beaverly Hills.
Along with my life
being changed (and it feels at times like I am living in the suburbs of Los
Angeles) my resposibilities have also changed. As a secretary I am the sole
provider of legality for the entire Mission. Of the almost 300 missionaries in our mission,
over half are illegal. But don´t worry. Argentina doesn’t “ship out”. It is
written in their constitution that they will not deport any good willed man who
abides within its borders. As
much as the US stresses about illegal immigration, Argentina really doesn't
care. If your leaving the country and they see you were here illigealy, you pay
$30 bucks at the airport and then your on your flight home. My goal in the
offices is to have every group of new missionaries legal with Visa and DNI
(Argentine Documentation) with in their first 2 transfers. That way as the time
goes on, our new legal missionaries will push out all of the old illegal
missionaries. My focus is on what can be done next not what needs to be fixed.
In 1 year all missionaries in our mission will be 100 percent legal and with
proper documentation.
As a missionary, I’ve really
learned to look at the end results and then work backwards - Faith. It is so
easy to see a person smoking or a lot of illegal missionaries and think “How
will this ever change” or “Where do I even start”… Faith has taught me to see
the end and then work
backwards. What do I need to teach to touch the heart of this person to get him
to stop smoking, How can I most effectivally start today with all of the
missionaries to get them legal. Faith is hope now for the future. It
places the worry in the hands of the Lord and allows you to work through
things… I used to get very overwhelemed when loaded up with a lot of
resposibilities. I used to put much more of my trust in my own abilities, only
trusting in my way of doing things… People often have a difficult time seeing
the need for Faith. They precieve Faith as something needed by those who are
weak; however, only through Faith may we receive the strength we need to
overcome the trials and obsticales of this world.
I bear my personal testimony of
the power of Faith that it is Power. I cannot begin to express the power and
abilities I have received when I have put my faith in Jesus Christ and His
attonement. I have been freed from the blinding power of stress and the
crippling insecurrities. Knowing that Crist’s atonement can make me whole
motivates me to use it every day. My Faith has changed me and I’ll preach this
change to all that will hear it. This I know to be true. In the name of Jesus
Christ, amen
I hope you are
readding your scriptures every day. I
hope you are having personal and family prayers every day. I pray you’re doing
this daily.
I love you I love you
I love you.
Elder Devin G. Hampton
Elder Hampton's
Secretary Schedule
Time Description Place With
Whom
06:30 Wake Up! Casa E’ Purser to run up “el cerro”
07:30 Breakfast Offices The
Illegal's
08:00 Residence
Certificates Police Station Illegal's
and The neighbors
08:30 Take Pictures Kiosko Shady
Cheap Photographer
09:00 Take a number Migrations The
Illegals and a bunch of Bolivians
11:30 Pay for legal
work National Bank Take
a random poor missionary
13:00 Finish legal
work Migrations Me
and Migrations workers
13:30 Prep
missionaries to return Semi-legals and
Taxi Drivers
14:00 LUNCH! Offices Every Freaking Elder in the
zone b/c I pay…
15:00 Office Work Offices alone…
por fin
16:00 Take
Shipments Bus Terminal us
and nice chubby workers
17:00 Buy Groceries
Super
Market my
companion and I
17:30 Do missionary
work South of Capital my
companion and some member
21:30 Get other
illegals Bus Terminal Me
and the not-so-legal missionaries
22:30 PLANNING Apartment Every
One Snuggling Together
23:30 Cook Popcorn
for the Illegal's Kitchen Alone, with a bottle of oil and a jar of corn
Interesting Things
That Have Happened in the past 2 weeks:
·
Have
deleted over 40G of memory on this computer.
· Taught
myself how to make popcorn with out a fancy popcorn popper – 2 Gallons of
popcorn latter every
Elder in our house is addicted to sugar and cinnamon
kettlecorn.
·
Was asked
if I was from Buenos Aries… Language Study and Prayers from family/friends
work!
·
Spend
about $5,000 pesos a week… that’s like $600 USD
·
Have
fallen in love… with Buenos Aires accents and the smell of burring trash (Very
Argentinan)
·
Don’t like
calling parents on the phone. It is near impossible to carry a conversation in
complete Engligh
·
Listened
to Elder Tafur from Perú play “Let the Holy Spirit Guide” at least 130 times on
the piano in the offices. I think he’s got it down.
·
Organized 4 years of filing and paperwork.
·
Slept on
average 5 hours every night.
·
Seriously
contemplated living here after my mission.
·
Spent
$8600 Pesos in Ink.
·
Got my own
personalized “sello” or stamp for being secretary
·
Loved
being in the offices: I get my packages and mail same day it arrives in the
mission!
Thank you Mary and Karen and Cambria and Mom and Natalie and Savannah for my packages J
Thank you Mary and Karen and Cambria and Mom and Natalie and Savannah for my packages J
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