LAST PHOTO WITH PRESIDENT and SISTER DEL CASTILLA

President del Castilla and his wife were released from their mission in July. This the last photo of Jordan with them and the last photo I will be publishing in this blog. Jordan will be returning home at the end of July. Jordan has expressed in his most recent emails that it will be very hard to leave the people and the country of Argentina. He has made many friends and had many wonderful experiences that will last him a lifetime. The best way I know to end this blog would be to have Jordan write something. So when he gets home I will have him do that. Stay tuned.

A CHANGE IN COMPANIONS

In June Jordan and Elder Moore found out they were both getting new companions. They would each be training a new Elder. As happens sometimes with the South American countries, the American Elders were delayed because of Visas, but the Elders from South America and Mexico would be coming as scheduled. Jordan's new companion is Elder Ruiz from Mexico. He is only 18 and received permission to start his mission early.

HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN WE FIT IN A TRUCK

This picture was taken outside the church. A member had a truck and Jordan and Elder Moore asked him if he could take some people home. Jordan is on the left and Elder Moore is on the bottom right.

DON'T SHOOT A SLINGSHOT IN THE HOUSE!

In May Elder Posadas was transferred and Jordan's new companion was his neighbor Elder Moore, from South Carolina. They get along great and are having much success in teaching and serving the people of Corrientes. They are also having some fun times. One of which is making slingshots with one of the members. The super powerful kind. Well, one day Jordan and Elder Moore were in their apartment and one of them, (any quesses as to who?), says, "Check this out." and he shot the plastic bottle which threw it out of the way and then it keep right on going and took out the window in the oven. Fortunately, it was not the good oven, they have two. The good oven is attached to the propane tank!!!! What were they thinking---"Well, I guess we know its powerful." quote, Elder Moore.

Jordan, President del Castilla and Elder Posadas

A New Companion

In March Jordan greeted another new missionary. Elder Posadas from El Salvador. Jordan says it has been quite different training an Elder who already knows Spanish from training one that is struggling with the language. He did say that Elder Kennedy was coming along well with the language and adapting to Argentina.
Preparations have started for Jordan's returning home. We are not sure what day he will be arriving, but he has notified the school that he would be returning and has permission to register for classes.
His primary focus, however, is his calling as a missionary and helping his District meet their goals.

On Top of The Church

Jordan with the missionaries in his District. Elder Kennedy, his companion, is on the far right. They are on top of a Catholic church which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

OUR NEW CONVERT

FROM MARCH

A Chance to Serve-(In Jordan's words) We were walking and I saw an old lady, which looked to me well over 80, it could just be that she aged really fast but she was super old and she was hoeing out grass to make dirt beds around new trees her family and her had planted. There were already 2 finished. I asked her if I could help. She was hard to understand at first, she spoke really soft and had few teeth. But she finally gave me the hoe and I finished the last one for her, then someone brought out a bucket of water for me to wash my hands and then we left.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

Well, I know I am once more late in adding to this Blog. I better bring it up to date before Jordan gets home. Which by the way should be in 4 months or less. This post goes back to news from January so bare with me. In January Jordan was asked by his mission president to write, in Spanish, a history of the mission for 2010. Jordan had been keeping notes on things that had been happening, in Resistencia, where he served. He felt it an honor that he was asked.
During the week of January 17th Jordan was made District Leader again as well as a Trainer. I explained what a District Leader was in a previous posting but for those of you who do not want to go back, Jordan basically is over a group of missionaries in a specific area. He makes sure everyone is working together and making goals that they can work to achieve. As a trainer, Jordan is companions with a brand new missionary. One that has just arrived in Argentina. Jordan is their first companion and he helps them get acclimated to the work and country. The new missionary companion is Elder Kennedy from Southern California.

This fish is called a SURUBI. People in Argentina want to catch them as they are very big and have very few bones. This one in the picture is about 4 feet long. When you cut into them it is pure meat which they fry up to eat. Quoting Jordan, "It is sooooo good!"

Brother Leyes and Jordan with the finished clay oven. (see slide show)

TRANSFERRED

SAYING GOOD BYE TO RESISTENCIA
Well, I no sooner get the blog up to date and Jordan informs us that he was transferred on Dec. 29th. He was hoping to stay one more transfer in Resistencia but it was not to be. As you can read on the left sidebar he is now across the Parana River in Corrientes.
Jordan said that , Gauchito Gil (see sidebar), is lengendary there, and was made a saint by the Catholic church. There is a celebration in honor of him every Jan. 8th (the date of his death)and along the roadsides you can find small shrines created in his honor. If you want more info on Gauchito Gil just Google him. Jordan also mentioned that the Virgin Mary has a visible presence and is highly worshiped, the area being predominately Catholic. From the info the mission sent out, there are many cathedrals in the area as well as many universities, and specialty schools.
Jordan sent us a couple of interesting pictures and as soon as his Dad gets them in the computer folder I will post them. One is of the clay oven, finished, that Jordan and Brother Leyes were working on, as seen in the slideshow. And another is of a very large fish. It almost looks like a catfish. I will ask Jordan what it is before I post it.

MORE PICTURES FROM JORDAN

Pictures are of:
-Jordan with children at church
-Jordan with the group of missionaries he met in the Mission Training Center and who all came to Argentina at the same time.
-Standing near a clay oven. They put a pig in the inner circle and build a fire underneath. They do not turn the meat at all and it cooks evenly.
-The owner of the clay oven, Brother Leyes, and Jordan. He asked Jordan to help him get it ready to roast the Christmas pig.
-A repeat of Jordan, dogs and fabric store
-A picture of a humble home.
-Repeat of Jordan with monkey
-Getting smoke in the eyes
-What's for dinner?

A Jordan Update

Well as promised last summer here are some more pictures of Jordan. If some are a repeat I apologize. I really need to take a computer class! It took me 2 hours to figure out how to get the slide show up and running. But enough of that. Jordan, as of this writing, is still in Northern Resistencia. He really enjoys the area and the people. We had a nice chat with him on Christmas day and he said the weather has been hot. We asked him how cold it gets in the winter and he said it can get pretty cold. I don't think as cold as the Northeast but once your body adjusts to over 100 degree summers anything below 40 could be cold!!
One of the things he treated himself too was a pair of custom made leather shoes! There are a lot of leather goods in Argentina due to all the cattle that are raised there. When Jordan's brother heard this he requested a pair too!
If you have been wondering about the worth of a peso to the dollar. Jordan said that 40 pesos is equal to $10.00 US dollars. Another words 1 peso = 1 quarter.