Okay, so I'm just going to start talking and hopefully I'll get it all. So, my new companion is Elder Rodriguez, and he's a Latino from Texas. He's a stud! We get along super well and we are already basically best friends, haha. He's been on his mission for almost a year now, and has been in this area, Vergara, for the last two changes, so its good that he can fill me in on this crazy area. Okay, so Vergara is a good five hours from Montevieo. And the closest city from Vergara is called 33, which is an hour bus ride away. That's also where the zone leaders live and where the big stake center is and stuff.
So, on Tuesday for change day, all the missionaries that were going out into the "interior", which is 33 and its surrounding cities, (Vergara) got on a huge charter bus that the church has and we chugged along on a little road trip for a few hours, haha. I have never seen so much of nothing in my entire life. Its crazy how many fields and cows there are here. Its like a whole different country! I'm sending a few pics to try and help you understand what its like here. So, there aren't enough members to be a ward, so its a branch, and Elder Rodriguez and I are the secretaries of the branch because there's nobody else to do it. So, every Wednesday we go to the "church" which is really just a house, I'm sending a pic, and we go put tithing and stuff into the computer and work as the ward clerks.
There are about 30 people that come to church, but we're baptizing here, so its getting better! We have a baptism this Saturday, his name is Jesus and he's awesome. To baptize here we either have to travel to 33 to get to the font, or we have special permission to baptize in the river, because we're so far away from anywhere. Sweet, huh!! We have a cell phone, too, which isn't normal. There is a cyber here, which is good, but that's about all. But, we have to travel to 33 a lot, for district meetings and interchanges and whatnot, so its not bad. This week on Thursday, there is a Leader Meeting in Monteviedo, and the mission president invited me to come! So we have to go to 33 Wednesday night, sleep there, then get on the charter bus in the morning and drive 5 hours to Montevideo for the meeting, and then drive clear back, sleep in 33 again, then the next morning take a bus to Vergara, haha.
This is going to be a crazy change! I love it already though! The people here are super friendly and everyone says "hi". It is an extremely small town, and everyone calls us Elders, even though they're not members. It actually reminds me a TON of Escalante, a lot of cows and dirt roads and wood fences and stuff. I love it. The hard thing is, we have to pay for all of these bus tickets that we use, and get reimbursed, which takes a couple weeks, and we usually never get lunch from the members, cause...there really aren't any, haha...so we have to be careful with money, because this area is famous for running out. But we'll be okay. I like it here so far, I love my companion, and my house and the members, and we've got a baptism coming up! Life is good. I have no idea what's going to happen with the box that brings the letters, I think we have to go to 33 to get it but we go often so is okay.
I'm sending a pic of Elder Brassfield and me at changes, he's Hayley's cousin and he's a stud. He is in the area I was just in! Ha, this world is so small! Anyway, all is well here in the sticks of Uruguay. I love it. Love and miss you all!
Elder Griffin
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