Hey!!

Phew! Glad that you guys got the package! I have been worried that it would have gotten lost. Glad that you liked the little regalitos! :) I thought that they were pretty cool and I´ll definitely be getting more stuff to send/bring back in the future! Sorry Mom and Dad, I was in the middle of writing your guys letters, but Aubrie and Gustavo came a little early and wouldn´t be coming back so I had to give what I had. I promise a couple letters for you guys too! Perdón. (P.S Skyler... Argentine Cotton ;) so ya know it´s good!) I hope scarfs are in style for you guys... if not you can be a couple maricones that support your brother! haha.

What a week! Wow, time is flying by and it´s hard to believe that we´re coming up on Christmas again, after receiving the fall/halloween/thanksgiving package, I´m so grateful for everything that you have already sent to me. I got a kick outta the shirt and am glad to be supporting Riser from down here! We are all enjoying in our Pinch the great treats and all the food that you have sent our way.  I´ll do my best to think of any NEEDS that I have this week and will email you back with greater details next week! :) This week we have been busy trying to keep things progressing in Villa Elvira, I think finishing up everyday doesn´t really show the greatness of the week that we are able to see Sunday. Yesterday was a needed day and gave us a lot of happiness to actually see what we accomplished throughout the week, how we changed and what the Lord was busy doing along side us. Thank Heaven for Sundays and for the great perspective that they give in our lives, for everyone. We were busy trying to find, open up new ways to help the ward and to manage the Zone. I feel like I´m starting to get a hang of things now.. in the beginning it felt a little bit like I was running blindfolded, but now I´m able to understand my responsibilities and can begin to "magnify" them. Slowly we´re progressing and I personally can see the Lord teaching us what the right thing to be doing is! Our Zone right now has been progressing greatly, the missionaries are seeing their true potential as they continue to work hard. I´m very grateful for their efforts and it is great to see the excitement as the work of the Lord moves along.

This Tuesday I went on an intercambio with one of our Disrict Leaders, Elder Pender from Canada (good roots there). It was such a fun experience! In their area they work on bikes so I had my fun that day with the pants tucked into the socks, the sweet helmet and a beach-cruiser. :) Argentines have great style with their bikes and I hope you can imagine the added Missionary touch to it all! Haha I enjoyed learning from Elder Pender and was impressed by his ways of teaching and the peace that he brings into an appointment. He´s a great kid! That day we were able to get a lot of things done and were able to invite 2 of their investigators to be baptized who before had been pretty closed to the idea of the church! They have some pretty difficult family problems and what better than to apply and come closer to the Savior's teachings to change the circumstances. We saw their hearts soften and feel the hope that the Restored Gospel provides. I LOVE being a teacher of this Gospel and helping people to understand the things that have been understood in my life! We are excited that that area in our zone continues to progress and work hard! Wednesday and Thursday were pretty normal days for us. We met with Gonzalo and Lenn a couple times and they continue to do well. We figured out a better way to plan- there has been a lot of evaluation on our part- to help all those that we can talk to progress. Especially we were focuesed this week on the experiences that our investigators would have in the Church. We prayed a lot and asked for the Lord's help, when we did something that He could fill in the spaces where we weren´t able to! We wanted to help Gonzalo this week be able to feel "at home" in the ward and to look and feel like a member of the church. After praying we decided to focus on putting everything in order so that he would have friends, people to help him and messages to uplift him this Sunday... what MIRACLES the Lord does in our lives. We provided the shirt and the tie and the Lord provided a Primary Program!! Ha you can always count on the niños! :) In their program they talked about making the right choices, being baptized and being eternally happy!... I love that the Lord knows exactly what say and how to say it! It was the best Sunday that we've had in Villa Elvira and we left feeling so grateful and convinced that Gonzalo also felt a lot closer to our Heavenly Father. Successful plan!

Elder Mines and Elder Jolley with Gonzalo at the church on Sunday

Great part of the week was the interviews that we had with President. He is such a great man and I am so thankful to be able to learn from him. What he had to say was just right for me and for the next steps that I need to take in my mission to be able to keep serving. I want to run and most of all that my heart be overjoyed when I am in the service of God! This couldn´t be a more needed event in any young man's life, but especially in mine! I am thankful for our Savior, I want to be like Him and find peace knowing that by always falling back on Faith, Repentance, being worthy of our covenants, searching for the still small voice in our lives and just enduring to the end we WILL become like Him. That is my greatest joy! :)

I love you and hope that you have a successful and fun week! Please keep this work in your prayers! :) Thanks for all that have been offered!

Con Amor
Elder Jolley

Elder Jolley with a child in his neighborhood

(He's my best buddy!)

A ride on the train with the Elders

The Elders enjoying food at their pinch