CALLED TO SERVE

CALLED TO SERVE
CALLED TO SERVE

Monday, October 01, 2012

" MY OWN MAMMA & MIA" 10/1/2012


Hello Friends and Family,
 
Oh surprise, I am  once again on  with Mission President so set tight, just letting you know I am here, well obviously right!!
 
I hope that you are all having a wonderful week.  This week has been kind of so-so for me. It has been a slow week, but I did some interesting things.
 
The  weather has been really odd. In the mornings it is really nice or really bad, then it just flip flops in the afternoon which I find odd.
 
Oh well I want to update on this... so I weighed myself this morning, converted kilos into pounds and the result are.... 211!!!!! I weigh 211 pounds! I cannot tell if that is healthy or not but hey I am happy with it!  HAHA
 
So I guess you could say I have a little family here in the Altos de Merlo 2 barrio.  My mom is Romina. She is 26 years old, she isn’t a member but her entire family is.  The only thing holding her back from being baptized is her "husband".  I mean they live together and have a daughter but he is not legally divorced from his 1st wife.  It is weird here like no one gets married and when they do it is very hard and exspensive to divorce, even when the circumstances warrant it. I cannot go into that so it will be hard for you to see why I so want them to be an eternal family as he is a good man and wants the best for his family, I pray for them daily! They have the cuteset little daughter, Mia and she makes my heart melt with her little smile!  They come to church in spite of their circumstances and Mia rushes in to set by me with that little sunny smile that just warms my heart every time! Romina is so funny and nice! We go to her house allot for lunches and when we are having a slow day, she helps me allot with my Spanish.  I have been teaching her and her sister Joana (a member who is 18), English! They are just a great family!
 
 
Statistics for Mia
 
  Mia appears in 2007`s top-1000 name list at rank 15. The name reached the top-100 8 times. 2006 was a `top year` for the name Mia. (Based on 128 years of name history) In that year it ranked #13. The last time Mia appeared among the most common names was in 1970. Our records go back to 1880.

MEANINGS AND HISTORY OF THE NAME "MIA"
In Italian, Mia translates to 'mine' or 'my own'.

FAMOUS MIA'S
Mia Hamm - American soccer player
Mia Farrow - American actress
Mia Michaels - American dancer and choreographer
Mia Wasikowska - Australian actress
Mia Talerico - American child actres
Mia Rose Frampton - American actress
Mia Stallard - American child actress
 
I also have an abuela here! Hermana MontoƱa! She is a very old lady who loves the Missionaries! We have lunch with her once a week and it is the best lunch ever.  She always makes the best food! This past week we had this thing called lentajes (I think that is how you spell it) but it’s kind of like chili, with chorizo and beef, so good! Then she always makes us desert. We had jello and cremitas, I think that is what they are called.  They are like fried bread with some cream in the middle and are equally as good! She thinks and tells me I am too skinny so she is bound determined for me to gain weight! HAHA
 
The following are just some things that I have observed about the Argentine People this past week:
1. The teenagers love anime

2. They don’t really like Americans yet they want to be just like us

3. Argentine Teenage girls, love American Boys

4. The "B" word is not a bad word here (what??)

5. The President is a woman, she always wears black extravagant outfits to show mourning for

    her husband who was the former president

6. Allot of people don’t like her
 
But yes this has been my week.   I think I am coming down with an illness again, I have a runny nose and cough! I am good on meds and the other stuff mom, but thanks
 
I don’t think I will get transferred October 8th because 1)  I am still being trained 2)  Who would do that to someone on their Bday unless they requested it (just kidding), but we will see!!
 
I will probably not get my Birthday package tell next Weds after my birthday cause that is when they go into the office to get the mail! Well needless to say no Snooki party here this year, more like Mother Teresa, but hey is she not  Great or what!!!  I cannot wait to hear from you all FAMILY and FRIENDS next Monday on my Birthday that will be the best present ever!!!   
 
I hope everyone has a great week and a Great Conference week! I am so excited for Conference!!!! I hope I understand it all!
 
Mehh gotta run now.  I love you all and cannot wait to share Conference with you! I miss you even more!  LOVE YALL  AGAIN!
 
Love,
Elder Draper
 
PS ( Mom,  be careful when you send the CD, and once again THANKS Shelbie for the CD! Make sure it looks like it’s a CD otherwise it will get broken, like I ‘ve said before the mail service here is horrible, they check everything and they are not careful with things, they really don’t care if it gets broken or not if it is arriving from the US.)