It's amazing all that goes on in one week on the mission :) so let's begin...

(I did not edit this letter, but just wanted to get it posted)

Haha where to begin, just the pics tell alot, so i´ll start with those.

So we did have the baptism :) that was a struggle and we dedicated the week to her baptism, which was awesome in itself but we were also part of mission history!! So here´s the story, so we would have baptized her last week but she was in Santa Fe, the provincia just above BsAs, and then she didnt get home until Wed. The ZL´s called us during district meeting saying that we were only 8 confirmations away, as a Zone, from breaking the mission zone record of 33 conf in one month. And that we had 4 planned up and 4 possibilities so we just had enough to break it, and it being the last week of the transfer we were really pushing for the bapt and conf, but i want everyone to realize that we werent just baptizing for the record we are baptizing that fast because we are hear to baptize and when we have the chance we are going to take it and especially the added push of the record, that just helps. So we go Thurs night to talk with her and she is in charge of a mini store and she´s always super busy, and also we found out that they were having family problems also. So we were standing there for like 30-45 min to try and talk with her, i think she was trying to ignore us and so i was thinking, oh man she doesnt want to be baptized, and so we just stuck with the faith and waited until we could talk. Turns out that over her trip somebody stole her personal cash savings that she had been keeping somewhere in her house in the back of the store. So her husband wasnt too happy because it was a lot of his hard work and sacrifice for that money, they had left the 20 yr old son to tend the store and so the dad was mad at him for letting the money get stolen so it was a huge family prob and so Liduvina was mad at God for letting this pass. So we just had pacience and waited until we could talk with her. So we were finally able to talk with her and hear her story, then we shared that God was still loving and that everything was going to be alright and then we asked her if she wanted to be baptized this weekend and she surprised me and said yes!! she had a change of heart, an answer to my silent prayers. So we originally set up to have her baptism on Sat, so she told us that she couldnt Sat night, so we were still wanting to do it on sat we set it up for 8AM on Sat, haha we were willing to do that. Then we started talking to the Ward Mission leader and then when the bishop heard, he said no to a sat morning bapt, so we thought about it and then we were like, well why not tomorrow, so we called her up and set up for the bapt on Fri, so it turned out even better. So Fri morning we had the interview set up and everything with the ZL´s to come, so the ZL´s come to our place and then we go with them to her place, and we get there and they had left, people are like that down here, we set up a time and then they arent there when they said last night that they were going to be there, then we heard that they were only over on the other side of the villa doing documents, so E Rickert and E Fernandez went to look for them and me and E McElwee (Mack-el-wee) stayed, so again i was worried that she didnt want to once again but we werent going to move, until we had had the interview. So they found them and rode back in their truck/car to there house and E Fernandez was able to do the interview and she passed!! so then we got everything ready in the church and we were there at 7 pm liked we had planned and nobody was there haha but thats normal here, when we say 7 we actually mean 7:30 so we werent worried, its just the latin culture. So finally some families showed up, Liduvina showed up and we were only missing the baptizer, Dani Ruiz Diaz. haha he finally showed up and the bishopbric member told us that he had to do some other things so we were left to direct the meeting by ourselves, but thats nothing, so i was able to play the piano, give a talk on the Holy Ghost and then be a witness for the baptism. It was funny, there was a little girl that was harrasing me while i was playing the first song, so it was coming off bad and its just the latin culture that the moms dont worry too much about the behavior of their kids, they do, but to an extent, its hard to explain, but anyways the first song, i played bad haha but the baptism was great and we were able to celebrate that night with a hawaiian pizza!! Then sunday morning we went and looked for her and waited for her and then took a car-to-hire and made it to church and she was confirmed so that was a succesful week :) so then we heard and saw other miracles happen in our zone and we arrived and all of the possibilities came to pass and we broke the mission record, i dont know if that means anything, probably just a pat on the back and a well keeping on doing what youve been called to do haha but i was glad because shes such a sweet old lady and has such a big heart.

Well you can also see that my hair is relatively much shorter, i bought a hair cutting thing from an elder that was going home for 50 pesos, which a brand new one around here is like 300-400 pesos and its in good condition and as you can see it works ;) haha so i have really short hair right now which is fine for me because now i dont have to worry about it too much :) though i did mess up cutting around the ears, its a mess back there, but i dont really care haha.

Then the other pic, yes i was able to go to the farewell and i was able to hear E Johnson bear testimony and have a few words with him, it was weird to see him because i really didnt know what to say, i mean the only time i get to talk to him in person is at his farewell the last night in the mission. But it was at least fun to see him and he´s a respected missionary down here and he gave a super awesome testimony too, so good luck to him and he was a great missionary, every oppurtunity that i let people knew that he was my deacons quormn pres in TN haha, i was weird sitting there in the crowd, seeing some people from Palermo and saying hi to them and seeing other missionaries, it was weird sitting there thinking, wow thats going to be me one day and then it hit me that i had already been out here for 8 months, and to see how fast its passing and how many people that im meeting and helping. So it will come soon enough, but for now im in the service of the Lord.

Alright, so now to response to your letter, wow what another great week, thanks for sending me such great letters!! it makes me want to share lots of stuff with you when i can read about everything thats passing up there. Where to start, hmm... Heat, well, the next bulls i think, we will see. Also the LA Kings that was a random team this year, thanks for reminding Alex :) sorry about the sunburns, you always get those, but it sounds like work is going good and you too Tanner. Im glad that you were able to have a good week too. sorry Braden that you were sick, but you'll be back up on your feet soon enough! Camryn oh sweetie how´s it going!!!? Mom told me that you gave her a flower and that youre playing with your friends this last week, you are such a sweetie!! yesterday we ate a soup yesterday with a whole hard boiled egg floating in the middle, so thats what we ate for lunch :) I love you Rachel, youre sooooo smart, but stay humble now hey ;) haha Jason, cricket...cricket...frog...cricket... ;) love you too

Mom and Dad!! thanks for all of your hard work!! wow thanks for the spiritual experience that was fun to hear. Wow its already trek!? wow i can remember that really well!! i remember the long drive up and all of the bill boards saying stop in this one place 125 miles that way, then the next one the same thing just a different mileage number and then we stopped there for a break haha, then we got a trekking and we were going really fast and we were racing the carts, then setting up the tents and then going and learning how to square dance, then having the girl pull, that was difficult to watch and then the snack trailer full of food, we ate good :) Then the long drive home, we were the last to arrive. haha good times, oh and i wasnt old enough to carry anyone across the river, and the priests didnt sing that well, i remember that, but just some random thoughts, cant wait to hear all about it in the week to come.

So now to the transfers. I´m staying and E Rickert went south to take E Johnson´s spot as ZL, and then my comp E Carlson is coming up from the south and so im in divisions tonight with Parque Brown, a neighboring area, until tommorrow when he comes so that was interesting not having a comp for such a long time, so im sleeping on the floor on a mattress tonight haha, oh well. nobody knows him and so ill let you all know next week :) he´s from america and so that should mean a cool cat haha ;) So i also found out that E Giannini is coming to Tonelero to be my DL so as fate would have it... Well its already late in the day, 5:30 PM arg time and its almost time to go to work, speaking of work, i worked out in a gym this morning with Elder Larson, he´s from AZ and has one less transfer then me so that was cool haha. He´s struggling with his comp right now so i was able to give him some advice haha, then i sent some letters today, i waited in line for like 45 min just to send the letters but i wrote the primary, and answered as many questions as i could haha, so it should get there soon :)

Well I love you all and thanks for all of your support and letters!!!

Love,
Elder Ryan Pittard

so that was a Father's Day experience for me

Hey there :)

Wow, what a fast week, the weeks are flying down here in Good Air. :) (BsAs) haha

So first of all, hopefully this doesn't take forever to get there haha, and to explain the pics. The first one is us with Elder Kelly, what a stud and his parents are mission pres in Rome Italy right now so he's going back to Italy to live there until school starts.

Then the next picture is me (I'm standing next to Hermano Pitarch, with Hermano and Hermana Pitarch, and Vero and Cacho (Ward mission leader, the one with the beard and Vero his wife is in the middle of us all.) Hmo and Hma Pitarch are leaving soon to be mission pres in Colombia so I was able to get a picture with him at his farewell party last Friday.

The name is really close and it turns out that his son is the bishop so everyone is like, hey Elder Pitarch haha, but I was wanting to ask Dad to see if there is any connection between the names, to see if back then something changed. They are from Spain and I told them that we are from France, so that's interesting.

Well well, another week has started, and what a week you all had last week! Congrats on the success in bball at UVU and then congrats to the girls for their dancing. haha I loved the translation the computer does for Braden and Jason's letters, haha. I can understand it because I know both of the languages haha, but a Latin speaker probably wouldn't get it right away. haha They use the words that what they mean in English but the Spanish word but they don't use it the way it translates. :) But thanks because it was fun to read in Spanish, and maybe one day we will be communicating in Spanish. :) I love the practice. :) Thanks Camryn for the letter, and I figured the other was Rachel. :) I could tell by all the flowers and hearts. ;) I hope Braden has fun at scout camp without the parents. ;) haha I remember those days, what a blast they were. Congrats to Jason on the swimming, he should be in pretty good shape by now and that's awesome that he's winning and getting better!! Oh man, I wish I could watch videos from the UVU camp. You're going to have to film all of the games from the season that's coming so I can watch all of the fun action. Wow, Tennessee! that was a long time ago. I can remember the first night driving by our new house and then staying the night in a hotel. I can remember the first song on the radio was Mr Mom and that I faked sick for 3 days so I didn't have to go to school, that was hard on me changing like that after 7 years of the same kids and school. Sorry about that, haha but I got over that and I guess that I turned out alright. :) And yes, I'm still playing that song even to today, whenever I get a chance to play I play and at least play those songs that will stick with me forever. :) Oh, and we are having the despidida, the farewell for all the elders and sisters that are leaving this transfer so I don't know if I'll get to see Elder Johnson but I at least have the chance, but it might be difficult because he's coming up from the south. What an experience to be in the South, the work is a lot more harder but to say that you've been on the end of the world, the most southern place in all the world, that's a cool experience. So we will see. :)

So as you can tell we didn't have the baptism yesterday, we had to move it back a week to Saturday the 23rd because she was in Santa Fe over the weekend for Father's Day. Oh, and Happy Father's Day Dad. :) I totally forgot about the ice cream game but I'm glad that someone else can have a chance to win while I am gone. ;) So we should have one this Saturday, she's ready and is willing, and is married, which is a hard combination to find down here. It's sad how many people are living together for like 15 years but don't want to get married. The primary, yah, I really have been meaning to write them, we just don't go to the post office that much, but thanks for the reminder. With President Carter, we spoke in English, haha, lots of people think that we would speak in Spanish all of the time, we should, but when you're with another American and in a group of English speakers it's just so much more easier and a lot more fun because honestly, Spanish is kind of boring haha, they don't have sayings or lots of synonyms for different words, I'm glad that I can learn it but I'm glad that I'm an American English speaker.  It's a lot more fun to speak English. :) Yes, my companion was the photographer. Oh, and I haven't received the letter from Grandpa yet and if one of us gets transferred next Sunday I can pick it up next week. :) For now tell the primary hi. :)

Well to start the weekly report :)

So after I emailed you, we went back home and we made pizza for lunch. We have a ton of fruit that an investigator gives to us for free every time we pass by, so we had some extra bananas and so we decided to try banana as a pizza topping. haha :) It actually wasn't that bad, :) or it's just that we are missionaries and have the blessing of liking almost all of what we eat. Then I took a 2 hour nap, it was good. :) Then we were able to teach a referral from Dani RD and his name is Dani haha lots of Danis here. More on that later...

Tuesday, so I found out that we would be going on divisions, and that I would be staying in the area and Elder Armandi from Rosario Argentina would spend the night. He's really deceptive, he's super quiet and doesn't talk, ever. Haha, when I would ask him a question I would get a short response and then in the lessons it was left to me to do the talking. haha He's super nice but after a year and some in the mission, he has to learn how to talk. Oh well, all different types of missionaries here. :) So we had a good day. That's when we learned that Liduvina was leaving and so I set the date for the following Saturday, oh well it should all work out. :) And so I was able to lead around in the area alright and so I'm expecting to be senior companion either this transfer to come or the next one. I should be staying in Lugano for this next transfer, it's a good area and so I don't have complaints.

Wednesday, yes I'm using the wonderful new kitchen and I made pancakes, they were good and sweet. I'm still using the peanut butter that you sent in March, thanks again. :) So we had another lesson with Dani and he brought his little brother Dylan who is 8 years old and we taught them. Then that night we had a meeting with all of the ward missionaries at the church, but we had Cristian show up to play soccer with everyone else and so I went with a member and taught him in another room. He basically told me that he didn't want to give up the sins in his life, which is sad, but the decision of lots of people.

Thursday, we are just prone to having AP's stop by our apartment. haha We were in the middle of weekly planning and we get a call that the AP's were down stairs, and that Elder Pabon, from Colombia, was to be staying with us for the time being. So he just sat there and helped us plan for an hour and then they were right back to pick him up, so interesting. I don't really know why they did it, but oh well, maybe it had something to do with what we found out later that day... we received a call from the ZL's saying that President was in the hospital with a blood clot in his leg and that we were going to be fasting for him. Turns out, so that you don't have to wait, that he's alright and just has to rest more, he's always on the move doing something and helping the mission to baptize. I'm sure Grandpa Hilbig can relate. So we had an unplanned fast happen, but I'm glad that he's alright. Oh, and the bottom of my right shoe was starting to peel off so I bought some heavy duty glue and glued it back on and so we are all good there. I will only need those orange inserts and I can wear these shoes for a long time. :) Oh, funny thing happened, we were in this one lesson with some investigators that are super evangelical, the singing and dancing kind, but when we invited them to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, they said they would, but that they would have to ask their pastor for permission first, haha, so we will see with them.

Friday, what a full day. First of all it was cold and windy and rainy and it was humid so even more cold!! Then we helped Sandra, the fruit lady, unload a shipment of fruit and then organize it and then she gave us lunch. We had the opportunity to watch the Joseph Smith movie with her and she really liked it. She's not baptized yet because she's not married and they don't want to get married, which is sad because she's ready to be baptized. Anyways we had our last lesson with Cristian and he told us the same thing that he told me the other night, so we are going to drop him for sure, and then we had a rough lesson with Dario. After talking for like 30 minutes and he wouldn't commit to a date, we told him straight up that we wouldn't be stopping by anymore and we would be looking for people to be baptized and not to just hang out with the missionaries. He got the message. I hope that one day he decides to get baptized, fun guy but just not progressing. Then that night I got the migraine headache thing again and so luckily I was able to sleep it off before I threw up.

Saturday morning we did service again and I wasn't feeling 100% but I made it through the day just fine. We helped bring up bricks to the 4th floor, Bro Cuentas was on the ground and we were up on the 4th floor and he would pulley up a bucket of bricks and I would take the bucket off and dump it out and Elder Rickert would organize them. We did that for 2 hours and we had his 2 crazy dogs to play around with. Then we had lunch at Nemecia's house and then taught Sonia, a recent convert, about the plan of salvation. Then we went with them around the villa and did contacts and invited less actives to church. Then we ended up at Sandra's house again, interesting experience there. So we were first planning on showing her the John Tanner movie, then we wanted to invite her husband and her brother to watch with us, they refused but we persisted for a long time until we brought the DVD upstairs to watch with them in their little room. We watched it and I loved it. When we asked if they liked it, the brother started going off about how he didn't like the part when John Tanner's daughter dies en route to Missouri, he said that this guy had wasted all of his money and hadn't thought of his own family, that blow me off guard. Then we discussed the mercy of God and His plan for us but he would have none of it, he just wanted to argue with us, so finally we just said, well, we can't seem to answer your question, and he should pray to God and He'll let you know, but still frustrating to hear all of that. It's just all of the sin in the world and that's frustrating.

Sunday, so we went looking for people to come to church with us. We first passed by Dani and Dylan's house and Dylan was right there ready to go, his brother was still sleeping. That's the huge challenge that we have here, there are parties all night long and hardly anybody goes to bed in time to wake up by 8 in the morning, but Dylan was there and ready, so we went and took the bus. And then, haha, perfect timing to mention Primary Mom, so we go to take him to primary, I felt like his dad for the day, his dad didn't want to come to church. So he first didn't want to go into primary, so we just went and stood at the door, and watched as they practiced their song for Father's Day, same day down here. And then they were making cards and decorating a cupcake for their dads, so once they started coloring and doing all of that Dylan finally did it and got involved. But we spent a long time up there in the Primary, the first time on the mission. They are crazy. I don't remember being that crazy as a kid, and the Lehi 26th primary is way better. :) They were screaming and all over the place, haha. It's just a different culture down here, there's a different level of tolerance, but they make it somehow. :)  I was able to help color and I held the cupcake that Dylan made. He then sat next to us in church, so that was a father's day experience for me. haha So later that day we taught Dylan a little bit more about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation and then he accepted a soft date for July 1st. :) I don't think he really understands what the baptism is. We tried really hard to explain it to him as simply as possible, he even got to see the other elders' baptism that day, so we should be good with him. :) The next thing is to get his parents involved, at least for now, helping him get to church. Then we had a chance to learn some Guarani, I don't know…haha, the native language of Paraguay. There are lots of people from Paraguay here so we were trying to learn but it is so so difficult. It made me grateful for Spanish and already knowing English.

Then this morning we had to go to Retiro again to do the documents for Elder Rickert, so we got up as normal and headed off, took the 1 and a half hour bus trip. It's not that far but just a lot of traffic and bends and turns to get there. Then we came back straight to emailing. :) So wow, I hope you all enjoy the letter and I can't wait to hear all about this week to come. :)  And don't forget to tell me who wins the NBA Finals, haha oh and I'm just curious who won the NHL finals, just to know. :)

I love you all so so much and thanks again for the pictures. I wish I could see more, :) but I just want to share my brief testimony that I know this church is true and that we have the restored gospel of Jesucristo today. I know that Jose Smith was a prophet and that Thomas S Monson is our prophet today. I know the Book of Mormon is true and it was written for our day. I know there is nothing better that I could be doing with my life than serving a mission right now. :) Blessings to you all and a good week too. :)

Love,
Elder Ryan Pittard

The mission is a blast and I'm learning a ton!

Well what a great week. haha :) What a busy week too and a couple surprises here and there.

So the pics that I'm sending today were both taken this morning. We got a call on Friday from the offices that Elder Rickert was going to go do tramites (Argentine documents) Monday morning, so we got up super early, like 5:45 to be able to be in the plaza de mayo at 7:45 am. So we get there and while my comp is doing that the rest of us go and start taking pictures around the square. The one is in front of the pink house, I think it's kind of the same thing as the White House, but I don't think that their president lives there. Anyways, kinda cool.

Then the biggest surprise is when we went back to the place, I ran into President Carter. haha What a coincidence! haha So I got a picture with him and the family. He was renewing his documents so that he could remain legal. Elder Rickert had been illegal for 5 months. haha So now it's all good, but that was fun to chat with him for a second and he complimented that he can remember Dad and what a great man he was, so just so you know. :) Then we traveled all the way back home, taking the subte in line A and it was so old and the train cars inside looked like an olden time train, haha, rickety, rickety haha but we made it safely.

Wow, what a week, so much happened. So Tuesday, umm we made pizza in the pension for lunch, that was delicious. We have a chino just one block from the house so we were able to buy all of the ingredients, cheap and then make two really delicious pizzas. :) Interesting thought on the chinos that I learned, there were people sent from China to make mini supermarkets, I guess this was a way to get people out of the country, so they are everywhere, all over, hundreds, could be thousands. But just an interesting thought and I'm glad that the US government isn't doing that to us. Then we contacted a ton of people that day! We were just trying to find one referral in the villa and that's super tough because not all of the places are marked and so we have to go villa diving and talking to a lot of people just asking for the directions, like what block is this and do you know where this one house could be? Stuff like that. So there is also the "White Elephant" in our area, in our villa and so we were walking on the back side of it. We still haven't entered but I've been right next to it. I don't know if I told you anything about it, but supposedly it would have been the biggest hospital in all of South America, but they ran out of funds and so they built it while leaving it unfinished, so people started moving in and people live like on the first 4 levels of the building. I don't know if you can look up pictures, but it's like a football or 2 fields long and 20 or 30 or so stories high, so really massive and it's impressive in real life, though it's a little dangerous at times, so for that we stay away from it mostly. We had the fecha with Dario but he really fell on us this last week, the last day that we could find him before last night was Tuesday. We talked about the armor of God and how if we can do those certain things we can protect ourselves especially from the drugs and cigarettes which are holding him back right now. I think he's scared to make this decision in this life and so we are going to drop him and have faith that the Lord is putting new people in our paths.

Wednesday, Rachel's birthday was sunny at first but then just cold the rest of the day. haha I need to tell you that I feel like I'm getting dressed to go play turkey bowl football in the snow while getting dressed for bed. :) haha I have the two blankets from the mission that they gave me and then whatever I can put on. haha Don't worry, I'm fine and I am plenty warm at night, :) it's just the humidity that makes the cold just seep through all of the clothes. :)  I've been layering up really good everyday and we are good. :) We finally finished the map on that day, we have a tiny little map that I carry around in my pocket and we had to make a big one for our wall so we had enlarged it and finally finished coloring it in and adding and updating all of the little details. Then Luis was sick that night and we couldn't find Dario, and this lady named Nelly, asked who it was through the door and then didn't open it upon hearing Los Elderes. haha We have some medio medio (so-so) investigators right now and so we are trying to find new ones. :) The members here are super nice and especially the few that are in the villa, they live in the worst of conditions, well that Argentina can provide, and they make the best of it and yet are super super humble. They are always feeding us. I'm super grateful for all of the blessings and love that the missionaries get down here. :) So basically in the villa there are two active families and so we are always using them in the work, the family Ruiz Diaz, all recent converts within the last 6 months, except the dad, we are working on him. :) And then the family Fuentes, recent converts from Paraguay and are all awesome, and the Family Fuentes is from Bolivia and have solid testimonies. The Ruiz Diaz have younger kids, from 23 to 16 and are always giving us referrals, then the F. Fuentes is a little older with kids from 32 to 18 and the mom is a rock solid member. She moved from Bolivia to here in 1995 and she only spoke quechua, which is the native tongue from Bolivia and before she really learned castellano she was converted and her family as well--everyone, except the dad who is living in Bolivia right now. So we are blessed with hot chocolate and bread sometimes and drinks and chorripans, so we have many blessings from the wonderful people from South America. Oh, and they live super close to each other and so they are good friends as well.

Thursday, the start of the different week. :) We had a zone conference in Parque Chacabuco and so there was like 40-50 elders and sisters there and we learned a lot from President. I'm learning more and more from every meeting that President is an intense guy, he's loving the mission and because he is so intense we are baptizing a lot in this mission. He was a lawyer before, so you can imagine that he gets pretty fired up sometimes, but he's a great teacher and really understands the missionary work. He's heading into his last year on the mission so the mission is in full swing. :)  Afterwards, while we were cleaning up, Elder Kelly, from Cottonwood, UT, one of President's assistants, came up to us and told us that he would be spending the next day and a half with us, haha Wow, what a fun experience. We were able to receive counsel in all aspects of the mission and enjoy the presence from another awesome elder. I guess he will be Elder Johnson's roommate at BYU this upcoming year, so it's cool to know people in the mission. Sounds like there will be a despida (I'm guessing this means a devotional) this transfer so hopefully I can finally see Elder Johnson and say hi. :) So as soon as we got home we got to work and we had success. We were able to talk with Dario's older brother and his older sister, then we met with Luis and he basically told us that right now he doesn't feel like he will be baptized so we are going to drop him, which is sad because he was progressing but then just leveled off and now we have to keep searching. :) Then we were able to go on splits, I went with Elder Kelly and Elder Rickert went with Dani Ruiz Diaz, who is 19 and filling in his papers for his mission. So we were able to teach Julio and then give blessings of health to his two kids and his wife Brenda. Then we were able to get a mattress from Liniers just in time for the night and Elder Kelly got bundled up in all of his clothes that he had and was able to borrow my extra towel for a blanket and sheet for a cover. We don't have any other blankets in the pension because it's brand new. It's alright, he finishes this transfer so he was fine. haha

Friday, so we made pizzas again. haha We did a lot of walking that day, everyone was falling through on us and we met lots of new people. Then the cool part of the day, Elder Kelly really wanted to go to a lesson with Elder Rickert to see how he teaches by himself and so I was given the wonderful opportunity to teach on my own another investigator that we had. :) Senior Comp stuff now, haha, wow that's getting close. So I went with Julio to the Flia Lazarte with Daniela who is an old investigator and has been struggling getting to church for a long time. Oh and I wasn't planning on doing this until right before, so while we were walking over there I was frantically thinking what are we going to teach? haha I still didn't have a clue when we got in there but I was able to figure out something immediately when she told me that she hasn't been reading, so I was able to go to the scriptures and we talked about the importance of reading. Julio is a stud and is really being blessed from the gospel. He passed the sacrament two weeks ago and then he gave the closing prayer in sacrament meeting. A quick note about this ward, I feel like we are back in Utah but with a Latin-Argentine twist and feel haha. There are lots of kids and they sometimes get really crazy during the sacrament meeting and it just goes to show that kids are crazy where ever in the world. The only thing is that the church, especially the sacrament hall after the meetings is dirty and trashed up, so that's the Latin-Argentine twist to it, but the members are awesome and they are made up of mainly converts and new members so the church is growing and one day will be like it is in Utah haha. So I did good in the lesson and my Spanish passed the test and then we were able to take a remis or a taxi like car to get home on time. Elder Kelly had to leave and so we took a quick pic and so you'll see that one day. haha Oh, and you should be receiving your dvd this week, :) hopefully. :) There are some surprises and a gift for mom, :) Happy Mother's Day and birthday... a month late. haha :)

I hit the 7 month mark on Saturday so that was a fast month. I can remember sitting there in Palermo thinking wow, 6 months, and now I'm already at 7! So that morning we helped Hermano Cuentas, a member that also lives in the villa. We did some service for him. We were helping him build a 4th story on top of his house in the villa, so we were working with iron and making frames for columns that he would later pour cement down to help form the columns for the house. I had never done anything like that in construction, so now I know. :) The big news from that night was that we had a wonderful spiritual lesson with Liduvina, an investigator that we have had for a long time. Her doubt is that she's not ready for baptism knowledge-wise and we have always been telling her that she knows enough. So we decided to do the interview questions without telling her to see where she stands. She passed with flying colors and then we told her, and she was like, wow, I guess I don't have to know everything, and we committed her to be baptized next Sunday the 17th!! Yay, that was exciting, We just have to teach her the laws and she should be good with that, so that will be our work for this week to come. :) And that night we had some tacos with the ward mission leader and there was some green peppers there and I was feeling brave and so I put 4 little slices on the taco and started eating it! It was so so hot and I started crying, haha Everyone started to laugh at me and then they started crying because they started to eat it too and it was so hot. haha Funny experience.

Sunday, I realized that these mornings are long and usually disappointing for missionaries, we have to get used to people telling us no when we are there to take them to church, I've heard so many lies, but it's alright because I was there, but the only problem was that Liduvina didn't come, urgh. We called and she told us she was coming and then we couldn't find her later in the afternoon, but we still have faith that she'll be baptized this next Sunday. Oh, I had some good cake yesterday for a birthday party in the villa, oh, and lunch was really good, a BBQ. :) We were finally able to find Dario but he's still not showing any progress. So that was the week and then getting up early and having a fun little time in downtown Buenos Aires again, but I'm glad to be in Lugano and I'm having fun here. It could be that I stay here a while and be made a senior companion here or even scarier, train here. The mission is a blast and I'm learning a ton!!

I love you all so so much and thanks for your prayers and support. Have a great week and go Lehi!!! haha Have fun and be safe. I can't wait to read the weekly report next Monday. :)

With all the love of my heart, :)

Elder Ryan Pittard

Saturday we were blessed with two new investigators

¡¡Hey there!! ¿como estan? I hope everyone is just doing great! Wow, what a great long week! haha :)

Wow, you guys also had a great week it sounded like, camping, work, school ending, parties and church. I hope everyone is remembering to read their scriptures ;) haha I´ve been going strong reading the Book of Mormon and now I'm in Alma 26 about half way done and right on schedule, I was just reading this morning about the anti Nephi Lehis and all the faith that they had. :) Oh and I found a Book of Mormon study guide, a really big one, in the Juncal pension and it's like for a college student and it has lots of great stuff and extra insights that I've learned a lot just from reading that. Cool historical facts and comments about gospel principles from apostles and prophets from then and now. :) So cool and helps me focus on the main points of the Book of Mormon, and it's in English, so I got really lucky. :) I was reading about the testimony that the Lamanites had received and how they were burying their weapons to show to God that they were not going to shed anymore blood. I started to get emotional, like what great converts, I want converts to abhor sin and rather die than sin, what great faith!! But then again as soon as they died they were saved and even more than the people that died were converted to the Lord, so I like that story, just how it all builds up from Lamoni and his dad's conversion and how they just acted on the spirit within them and were converted. Wow and what great first lessons that Ammon and Aaron did in chapters 18 and 22, likened it all back to Christ and used the Bible and BofM in converting them through pure testimony and the power of the Spirit.

Oh and I made a card for Rachel and Camryn for their birthdays this week!! Happy birthday and I'm sure it will be so sunny on their birthdays, but it's going to be freezing, haha, so cold and humid down here. You can print out the card and have them open it at their party :) Sorry I didn't do that for you, Mom, you'll see the picture I took because I sent a package with a dvd in it just this morning so you'll see. :) I hope it gets there in a week again. :) Then the other picture was taken this afternoon, the lunch that we had. It was fried chicken, homemade, not like in the states but just chicken with all the bones and everything put into the oil and deep fried and then we ate with potatoes and with a super hot sauce, they like it hot down here, or at least the Peruvians, the Argentines not so much. haha Their spicy is like the queso that we use to dip chips in. haha So it's me, E Rickert, E Quintaña and E Reber, the Lugano elders and then the hermana and her daughter. It was the hermana's birthday also so it was nice for her to sacrifice for us like that. Oh and just so you know the pictures I sent, there is a lot, montanaso de fotos!! So today we finished writing the letters and other stuff in the pension and then we went and bought a toilet seat real quick, waited forever in line to send the letters and then we came back to the new pension and went to the chino a block away to go grocery shopping and then returned to the other side of Lugano to have lunch, then we got reimbursed from the ZL's at the church and then we came to the internet place to email home. :) So here's the week… :)

Last Monday, so emailing was the first thing that we did last week :) then we got everything packed up, everything basically was packed up already and so we just had to put the last little things into the suitcases and the bishop from Savio came with his moving car/van. It's a different model of car made here in Argentina, it has the front half of a car or a small truck and then a huge tall back that can fit lots of stuff. So we stuffed the back with all of our things and I got to ride in the back of the car as we went to the other side of Lugano where our new apartment is just 3 blocks away from where we spend most of our days. :) It was just us two moving and after two trips we were left to finish unpacking. So the new place is so awesome!! It's brand new and so all of the appliances are brand new and work great! The only problem was that the light bulbs are hanging from the wires from the ceiling and we didn't have a fridge, microwave or a mirror. haha Also, we were missing the basic necessities like a shower curtain, plunger, frying pan and toilet seat and a couple of other things. haha So we were given the go ahead to go out shopping. The mission took care of the fridge and microwave, which we got the next day but we had to buy everything else. I thought that it was good prep for when I have to buy stuff for my house in the future. haha But we were able to go to a couple of different places and get all the stuff that we need to get a brand new apartment going. haha Sometimes I felt like we were a couple when we were in the store deciding which shower curtain we wanted, haha, it was a funny thought. We also had to make copies of the keys and pick up the contract from the real estate place. So we are really growing up fast and learning basic adult stuff haha or at least what I know, like paying the bills and furnishing the home haha, but it is a lot easier when all we have to do is preach the gospel and we are given the money to survive. :) Oh and I also did my first sewing job this last Monday. haha The light blue tie that I have, the back part the skinny part of the tie, the seam came loose and so I stitched it back up and its all good now. :) Oh and another mission first, I threw up Tuesday morning at like 4am. We had ordered a pizza from a nearby pizza place, and we ordered a pizza that somehow didn't come with cheese, it was just onions and bread, but I was hungry and quickly ate 4 slices, bad idea haha. So I woke up and I wasn't feeling good and then I was able to walk over to the toilet and the rest is history, but it was just that.

Tuesday we had another training for the leaders, but this time we had to be there at 9 in the morning so we got up early and we were out the door at 7:15am and then on the crowded and hot bus we took the hour and 15 min trip. I was still feeling a little woozy, haha, but luckily I was able to get a seat and sit down for most of the trip. Then we learned a lot of the importance of the Book of Mormon in the conversion and also the importance in our part of making the commitments and then following up with them. Then the most important of all was getting them to church and that if we don't do everything that we possibly can that it's our fault that they don't go to church. So we learned a lot and then finally got back home around 6pm, so another long day. :) Then we visited a less active named Wilfredo and we told him about the rededication of the Buenos Aires Temple on September 9th. Then we answered a gospel question from him, we think that he is studying with another religion because he was thinking that it's not necessary to repent because of the grace of Jesus, only the study of the wrong bible would lead to that. And then I was able to find a great scripture in Helaman 5:10-11, right before the scripture mastery one in 12. It is great and touched all the points of his question. The Book of Mormon is just so amazing and everyone should be daily personally studying it!! Then we went to an awesome ward council meeting. :) This ward is so awesome and is so much farther down the line then the developing Palermo ward. They are focused on the missionary work and that's why one of us companionships from Lugano has been baptizing weekly. :) The only thing different thing from a ward council meeting in Utah from this one is that they were passing around the maté cup. haha It's not Argentina if there is no maté. :) The whole meeting was on preparing for the rededication of the temple here on Sept 9th. Everyone is getting so excited for that to happen, they are counting down the weeks until the event, 14 to be exact, that's like in 2 transfers. Wow, the time flies!! So the open house will be August 4th until August 25th and then there will be the cultural celebration on the 8th of September and I heard that the missionaries might be a part of that so that will be exciting. :) It's going to be held in a huge futbol stadium and then the big event of the dedication. So I'm lucky to be here in Buenos Aires while it is happening, and it turns out Lugano is just like 20 or so minutes from the temple and we are on the border of the west mission and sometimes the bus that we take to get home from San Fernando goes through the west mission. It made me think of President and Sister Carter. :)  We are really lucky to be here in Lugano because we don't have to travel a ton to get there. I'm thinking that maybe if we are with an investigator we can go through the open house, we will see, we don't know anything yet about that, but it's exciting, especially for the saints in Buenos Aires.

So I made pancakes and eggs for breakfast this last week twice, using the new stuff, haha, and it was a good treat. :) So we had our weekly planning, and then we went to lunch and then we decided to walk home through the villa to see if the Ocampos were there or not and then if we could contact a referral real fast. So just the quick walk through the villa took a like 2 hours. We talked with the Ocampos, and they don't want anything... as soon as she, the mom, saw us she immediately told us that they don't want anything. It's funny, we come in and invite them to be baptized and they start going to their own church, so I guess that's just what happens. Then we found a service opportunity when we helped some people move a lot of book shelves into a tiny school house when we went looking for a less active. Then we finally made it out and made the short 3 block walk to our house. Yah, we are close, and yes we have bars on our windows. We are the second story of a two story building facing the street and so we have been really good at locking everything up, but we blessed the house and nothing bad has happened. :) As long as we can do everything that we can to lock up and everything, the Lord will do everything else. :) Then that night we had a really great spiritual lesson with Dario and Luis, two long investigators and we finally put a soft date with Dario for this next Sunday the 10th. He really has to show that he has stopped smoking but we got the date!! and I think that we are close with Luis, so we will see. :)

Friday I went on Divisions and I went with Elder Hall from Napa, ID and this is his last transfer and he was in the same MTC group as Elder Johnson. I bet he's excited to be coming home. He is famous here on the mission, being an assistant, and zone leader in the south for so long. If we have a farewell this transfer, then I might be able to finally see him, so we will see. So anyways, I was walking the streets where the first church building, a rented pizza store, was organized in all of South America, so some huge history. We went to a bunch of different families and I got lots of compliments on my Spanish and the accent more than anything, which surprised me, haha, but it is coming and I'm speaking with more and more confidence. I think that the point hit and passed, I think that point hit with the start of this last transfer, I'm not perfect but I'm not struggling to find words as much and the accent I have been working on and then just talking with confidence without the fear of making mistakes is the key and also understanding 99.95% of what is being said also helps. So thanks for the prayers and keep them coming. haha I still have a long way to go. :)

So Saturday we were blessed with two new investigators and we honestly didn't really do anything for that. haha First we received a lunch from a recent convert and she said that a friend wanted to stop by and talk with us, so Roberto came over and had a good lesson and then we were contacting a referral and the neighbor told us that he wasn't there and then we asked that if he wanted to hear a message and he said sure, so he just let us in and somehow he already had a restoration pamphlet in his house and had been reading it. We didn't put a date yet but we should have another cita with him soon in the future. Then that night, E Rickert received the Doctrine and Covenants videos and multipurpose dvds and so we watched the Jose Smith movie with Luis and he thought that it was interesting. I told E Rickert that they made a new one of Jose Smith and he hadn't seen it, then I realized that it came out last year. haha

Then yesterday was a frustrating day, Roberto didn't come and we luckily had 3 come to church. Luis was there and then we left to go look for Dario and so we persisted with him and got him to go but when we got there right before the sacrament meeting Luis had left while we were gone, haha Frustrating. And then the other Lugano elders had another baptism and so we helped them out and then had tons of pizza. We then did an interview in Liniers for Tonelero for a guy that is finally getting baptized after 10 years of investigating. So that's good news. Then we got to eat some fresh fish, using its skin as the plate. I think that it was swimming Saturday morning, haha. So a new experience. And then today… so thanks for all of your love and support. Know that all is well down here and the work of the Lord continues! I love you all and thanks for the sports updates. ;) haha  I also received the other package with the beef jerky and all of that. :) Thanks so, so much. Oh, and send more pictures soon, I want to see all that you take. :)

The Church is true!!! :)

Love,
Elder Ryan Pittard

Well, goodbye NYC ;) haha

Dang it, no pics again. haha Oh, and the space bar sticks too, haha. What's wrong with public computers in Argentina?

Wow I feel like we just talked. Yes, that was really fun and I'm really glad that everything worked out in the end! Yeah we first got there and Elder Giannini went straight to calling and I got on the computer. The first one said that the camera wasn't working and so I switched over and I could see you all but couldn't hear a thing. Then I turned up the volume on the speakers and I could hear you but the mic wasn't working, so dang it. Then I told you that I was going to call. I tried the phone and the guy said that I could call the states but as soon as I started putting in the numbers it said that I couldn't and this number wasn't good, so I knew of another one close by and so we ran over there and I thought that I would try skype again. I was worried that you guys had put it all away and were just sitting there for my call, so I got on and tried calling the phone, but then I realized that you guys were still on and so we got connected but the camera was bad and then finally after the 4th computer I was able to talk to you all. That was so nice and I had fun just seeing your faces and hearing your voices again. You all looked great and I'm glad that everyone could participate. Sorry about not talking more in Spanish for you all but I do know it and I'll talk to you all in Spanish for Christmas. Wow, that's still 7 months away. Oh well the time will fly. So yeah Elder Giannini talked for like 20 minutes, it was a little expensive, like 20 pesos. I only spent 5 so a steal, haha. So yeah he was nice enough to let me sit there and talk, but I wished that we could've talked longer, but he was sitting there with his watch and all, but oh well we got what we got and all good there.