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First Week in Tandil Argentina

 September 5, 2022

Dang, it's been forever since I  last emailed all of you! It's been a crazy ride. There is so much to say, but we will see if I have enough time to say everything. Honestly, I don't know where to start, but I guess I'll start from inside the MTC.

When I last emailed all of you, I was, I think, on my second to last week at the MTC. So I guess I started my last week with a bunch of classes. But after these classes, I would usually be able to go to the tienda and shop and get snacks and things, but apparently, this week was different because when I used my card, the cashier told me basically that I was broke. Which I was. I only had like Ocho pesos left which is nothing here in Mexico. So after that, I asked my companion, haha, and he helped me get some food. So after that crazy experience, nothing happened that week except that we were told how everything would go down when we flew out that next Monday. So after we said goodbye to everyone, we went to sleep that Sunday because Monday morning, I had to get up at four to catch a bus to an airport so I could go to Argentina. So anyways, I got up at four and headed to the airport; we had tons of time before our flight, so a couple of buddies and I decided to get some food for breakfast. While on the hunt for food, we found caffeine, and as many of you know, I love caffeine. So what did I do? I stopped and got a monster and a Redbull, and no, I did not drink them the same day; they were separate days. Anyways after finding the jackpot, I went and got a doughnut  for breakfast. And then, I headed to my terminal for my flight.
Again we waited and waited because our flight wasn't until later. During this waiting time, a bunch of elders gathered around a piano and sang church songs for people to hear, and yes, I was a part of that. The cool thing was it helped us talk to tons of people, and we were able to hand out books of Mormon, so that was super cool because the missionary work felt so real. I love missionary work. It isn't easy, yes, but it's so worth it. After that, we got on the plane and went to Argentina. When we got to Argentina, we stayed at this nice hotel. I don't know if it was that nice, but it was nice enough because it had a bed and a bathroom with a shower, so I consider that super nice. Anyways i was knocked out after i took a warm hot shower. The next day I got up and dressed and decided to look around outside and see where I was currently in Buenos aires. It looked like the states but rundown, but that's ok because I loved it anyways. As I was looking out, I noticed people had nice shoes, or at least people had shoes, and I wasn't expecting that at all because I thought I was going to a place that was so poor but boy, was I wrong. After looking at people for like ten minutes, I decided that I would try out the culture and use a bidet. It's like a thing you use after you go number 2 anyways, so i do it.
I went in, and I did my business, and then I got on the bidet, and here in Argentina, it's all flipped. The cold is hot, and the hot is the cold, so I turn on the cold in America. At first, it felt amazing but then, all of a sudden, I had scorching hot water spraying my behind, and it hurt so bad I can't even describe it, so I sprang off the bidet and quickly turned it off. That day I learned never to use a bidet again. Afterward, I hopped on a bus to my flight to Bahia Blanca! It took about two hours, but I got here, and it's amazing. I love the culture, and I love the food. I currently live like six hours out of the main part of my mission in a city called Tandil, and it's super-rich here because people come here to retire from Buenos aires.
Anyway, I got here the first day and went shopping with my new companion Elder Dixson. By the way, he's amazing. He's a great Trainor and a really funny guy. ok, back to my first day, so elder Dixson and I walk into our look-alike Walmart and pick up food and a drink they have here called Matte always as we are checking out, the cashier notices that we are from the USA. Hence, he asked us if we could help him get married in the USA so he could get a green card. We tell him we can't but that we will have an English class soon that could help him differently. So I guess we will see what happens there, but ya. Well, I have to get going, but I will try to share many more crazy stories next week!



mucho amor
Elder Mergenthaler

BTW the video is me trying Matte for the first time.

Ps: remember the lord is watching out for you and that he loves and cares for you and i will try to get more photos we shall see tho!








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