Hey Family! That super fun. I am glad that everyone was in Nampa for a little bit. I love Nampa. Thats cool that Ben Nelson is headed to Dallans mission. I hope some random kid from Nampa area gets sent to Mendoza and I can send stuff to my converts and stuff.

1) No news yet about the mothers day call. I will probably get some wednesday when I go to Consejo.

2)She couldnt take the leap of faith! Her work called her in and she had a ton of complications and had to travel to San Rafael (like four hours away) and then she stayed out there for work this weekend....yeah, it was a bummer. We tried our best...i don´t feel to bad about it.

3) I went with the Cabrera family. probably my favorite family from the mission, they are getting sealed this month I believe in Chile. They are going to go to the airport when I leave to say goodbye to me. Hahaha. Love them.

4) We were only together one transfer. We get along good, but we werent baptizing and there werent alot of results. So, they changed us. It was fun to train him because I could do what I want, but he changed soo much after 14 months.

5) I don´t miss him. Great guy...just different styles of teaching.

6) My new companion is almost done with the mission 12 weeks left. I might be his last comp. He is great...he like Joseph Smith a little too much and i might buy him deodorant, but other than that we get a long good. I am kind of the more domanant one the companionship. I like it though.

7) I thought i did send you them. I will try again.

8) The dental work wasn´t that big a of a deal. I already got it done. they basically gave me new tooth and had to drill out a bunch. it was easy. my mouth feels great now!

9) We painted a childrens school. it was way old and it looked like it was super old...which it was. anyways, we just painted the school.

10) Before I was co comps(equal comps) with elder rios, just because it was my first transfer being zone leader and he was younger than me...so it was a little weird.

11) We got five baptisms his months. The mission is on a big low right now. the manner of baptizing has been changed and yeah...its all different the mission now. we have consejo this week...so we will see what changes they make. we are not baptizing as much as i would like to, but i did all i could. our goal was eight (uggg). so yeah...got fet the downs to get the ups.

I am feeling really good and the only thing i miss is people. So, I am doing great. This week was kinda uneventdul because we had transfers and yeah, everything is new. I live in a pench of all gringos....so it will be super fun. they built the first burger king in our whole mission last week...so me and the other elders went to check it out today. i had onion rings! can you believe that? it was kinda weird. it wasnt like i was in argentina. anyways. we had a good week. i hope you guys have great week. keep claudia and yamila in your prayers .people thatreally deserve the gospel in their lives (: love you guys!

Elder valle

4-23-12

I will try to write every thing that happened this week and still make the time limit. I gotta go visit converts in mendoza. they are making me an asado. so i will try to write short stuff. I havent even been in my area much this week, a lot of the missionaries are young and don´t know how to talk to the bishops or arrange a baptismal service...i was running around the zone like a chicken trying to talk to bishops and making sure people were getting baptized. ug. it was just crazy. anyways, it worked because we baptized 2 people but know i need five more milagros this week. i will send you guys photos. I almost got a root canal this week. I went to lunch and started feeling super sharp in the mouth and it was my left molar on the bottom on the very back. about a quarter of my tooth had been missing and chipped(apparently i just swallowed it!) and so , i went to the dentist and had to get it all fixed. long story short, they girnded it down and i got it refilled. i gotta go take out money to pay for it. just fifty dollars...not a lot. and then we had a service project this week of which i will send photos. i am getting a new companion named Elder Treadway here in guaymallen. shall be good (: Sorry i can´t talk lots. i have to go out super fast to mendoza to get stuff done and then tonight to rosa to see if she wants to get baptized this week! (eeek!). if you ahve questions write me them, i can respond better that way (: we need lots of miracles this week. btw, president called, me, i am senior comp in our zone leader copmanionship (: should be fun. Love you guys, Elder Valle

4-16-12

Last week Jay asked me to write some questions for him to answer. These were the questions:
*How much does it cost to mail a letter from Argentina to the states? (I want one-hehe)
*Does the beef there really taste so much better?
*Where do you buy your groceries and shampoo and stuff? Little tiendas and bodegas or a supermarket?
*What is your favorite Argentine dish?
*Any new fruits you have tried?
*Why don't you have bed frames for your beds?
*Do you live with 4 elders or just the 2 of you?
*What is the hardest thing about being ZL?
*Have you grown taller? I think you have
*Is it getting colder there yet?
*Do you still get to play piano ever?
*Are your shoes lasting?
*Are you in a metropolitan more place now?
*Are your shirts getting gross? need new ones?

And here are his answers/this week's letter:

Love the questions (:
It cost about 20 pesos to send a a letter down here. Not too much....it´s just dedicating my self to find time and write the letter (:
The beef...like ground bef doesnt taste tooo different. But when we have asados...yeah, i think the beef does. It´s not yummier....the texture is just way good...and very natural. It´s like natrual cooked meat..but it´s good. idk...hard to explain. It taste fresher sometimes tooo.

I buy groceries at a super market called super vea....it´s close to our pench. But fruit and carrots and stuff I buy at a little fruit stand. It´s kind of the same....not a huge difference. But, sometimes i also go to a kiosco to get stuff....its like a little stand thing....and they sell whatever thing.
My favorite argentine dish is Milanesas...yellow rice...pastel de papa...asado. yup...oh yeah...and empanadas de carne....MMM.

No new fruits...maracuya is a new flavor (: thats good. Pomogranites are more common. >That´s all though I think.

We do have bed frames...but they take up lots of room...and it´s more comfortable on the ground.

I live with 4 elders.

ZL is hard because you want yoru zone to do stuff....like being obedient and teaching seriously and even caring about the mission work the way they should. It´s hard to motivate them and get them to do the stuff you want them to do...with out offending them and making them think you don´t like them. people pleasing and pressuring. though balance.

Idk if i have grown taller. My pants all still fall the same...but...i hope i have (: haha

it is not getting too cold to be honest..just slight winds. its still hot somtimes

i can only play piano for like ten minutes after church on sunday....it´s not much...but i have written a ton of new songs. i loooove piano. made a new one on sunday...and a good trying to be like jesus. my comps don´t get how i can do it...but...whatev.

my new shoes i bought in san luis...yes, they are lasting. they wore down fast...but i think they will last the six months i have left. i hope so! they have too! hahaha. the first ones i bought...from kohls....yeah, they are destroyed (:

yeah, i am closer to the city...but they is still some very very poor places to go and proselite. so....it´s not too bad...it´s a good mix.

my shirts are actually doing good. if you want to send me shirts (size 14 and a half) you can...but only two or three. I will probably buy a new one down here from my plan ride home.

We had pretty good week. We are struggling with the baptism part and getting people to church. Our zone is super young....lots of missionaries with 6 to 8 months. Not the ideal...but we are trying to manage the zone and help them baptize. there is only one missionary in the zone older than me....feeling old! And we are looking for pure miracles. Our goal is 8...in the zone. Thats one of the smaller goals of the mission. and we are having a hard time getting it. I don´t know how baptizing was in Peru...but i know they baptized a lot more in those missions....like bolivia and brazil. Mendoza is just a little tougher. hahaha. We are doing good. this week we had zone conference and me and elder rios had to direct it. it was amazing. we did examples of selling chocolate (its a long explanation) and president really liked it. it was super fun. we also did good and bad examples of the missionary work. it was funny but effective. please pray for rosa!! she came to church...but is super indecisive. anyways, thanks for everything guys. i love you! pray hard and i will work hard! haha.

Love,
Elder Valle

Good week out here in Santa Ana (Saint Ana). Haha, I thought Ana would get a kick out of that. How is everyone? Man, we had a good week and are still trying super hard to find the kind of family and people we want. Sometimes I can get greedy because I just want a gold family to be easy, and that is not how the mission work is. Pray for us, to find the family that we need. Me and Rios are both machines in the mission and together we should baptize "a full", (as they say here in Argentina), but nothing is happening. So we will see what happens. Mom, the hopstial joke was an April Fools joke. Hahaha.
Everyone took the Semana Santa this week. Uggg....so annoying.

1) Everything is closed.

2) No meat eating (yes...fish empanadas and fish salads....gross)

3) People don´t even know what Easter is all about...so it was interesting. We were having a hard time.

Other than that is was great. We found two good families...not amazing, but they were cool. The mom in the end of her prayer asked God to help her understand what we were explaing....it was so sweet and sincere but at the same time it was super funny. Ha! My spanish is getting kinda funky lately because elder rios talks like a colombian and uses super weird weirds. hahaha. but its fun.

My zone is doing alright...we kinds freak out when there are no people to baptize to meet the monthly goals. We MUST meet the goal. I want to be a zone leader who meets goals...so me and my comp are thinking of lots of ideas to make things happen. This week one lady thought i was 17 years old. Crap....I only have six months left. better get my excerces going (:

i took of bunch of pictures of our house this week and thought you guys might enjoy them. it was BEFORE we cleaned it...i promise...so don´t judge. haha. I love you guys. Every week seems to keep being the same. email me interesting questions. Thanks for everything. Love you guys, enjoy the pictures when i get them sent (if i can). haha (: Love,

Elder Jay Valle

April 2, 2012

yes everyone... i did see david archuleta on the tv. haha. no one in argentina recognizes him...haha, but i did. conference was sick! i was so excited. i felt like there was quite a big focus on families and raising kids and all that sorts of stuff. haha. it was good. we had a great week. we are still struggling to findf lots of people to teach and we need people to batpize. it´s tough but me and my comp are super positive and we get along great. my favorite talks were, holland and larry wilsons and...yeah, they were all good. i loved dallin h. oaks. i thought it was funny that richard g. scott talked about how much he missed his wife again. hahaha. funny yeah? we had a good time watching it in english and i have ten pages of ntoes...i was just writing pure revelation. haha. anyways...we had a good week.
i had consejo in mnedoza this week and we learned a ton. we were the only zone to meet our baptism goal this month, so we had special recognition...which was nice (: haha. we have to do it again...but we are having a hard time finding people now for april! ah! crazy stuff. anyways....they told us how being a zone leader was like being a quarter back. i didnt understand a lot...but all the football players did...so thats cool. hahaha. we then went to presidents house and had a taco bar. MMMMMM. big treats. presdients house is super nice. anyways...that was fun. other than that, me and my comp are trying to balance out the time we spend in our area, and in the other areas trying to help out the zone. life is getting a little crazy.

i loved general confence and i loved the pictures you guys all sent me! i didnt see you, but thats great that you guys went. the members down here would die to see at least one apostle live. good stuff. i have been eating a TON of the ranch you sent me with carrots and broccoli lately. so thanks so much! i love you guys. pray for my area....we need more people! thanks for everything. haha (: chow! six months left......crazy yeah?

love elder valle