Elder Russell Allphin: The Dust Bowl

Hey Hey!

‘Sup guys! Good to hear from all of you and that you all had a great week. It’s always good to hear all´s good.

Yeah, it was a bummer that I got transferred but it’s all good. The Millians and all my good buddies from Chijra all have Facebook so we´ll keep in touch. Yeah, as you can tell from the letter, Salta hasn’t eaten me alive...yet. Nah, this place is really cool; its got a very Salt Lake-ish vibe to it. The food is really good (so much better than Jujuy) and everybody is European! It’s such a heavy Italian influence here that everyone is just like, European. Its really weird to see this but it’s a tight place!

The ward is really cool, everyone is very nice. We have a recent convert named Oscar and he is a spitting image of Morgan Freeman—I’m f’reals, he looks JUST like Mr. Freeman. The secretary of the ward is Hermano Reales. He is way, way cool. He served his mission in Los Angeles. He spoke English, Spanish, and Korean. I told him “An-nyung-ha-se-yo" and he spoke Korean back to me.....Of course, that and yoboseyo are the only words I know in Korean soooo....I had no clue what he said back to me...but still. Cool! Good guy. It was very "shingihada".

The first full day I got here we had a massive dust/wind storm. Dust was blowing everywhere that you couldn’t walk or see and at the end of the day when you showered you had about a kilo of top soil fall out of your hair—very nice! We had to be careful a lot that day because everyone makes their roofs out of corrugated tin and a bunch of them were destroyed or twisted up. The next day we helped a member disassemble his roof and then put it back up. It was nutz man!

The members are really nice here, very chillaxed. They are always willing to help us. We are starting English and family history classes in hopes some cool investigators will show. Our English class is tomorrow so we´ll see how it goes. We won’t try to teach anyone TOO many swear words.

My Spanish is coming along fine. One guy thought I was from Buenos Aries (which was much flattering) but heaven knows it’s not even close. We also have a city in our area named San Lorenzo that is really close to being a branch so we are working with the members there a lot to make that happen. How tight would that be? The area is really cool. No manzana neighborhoods, just streets they name after countries like Cuba, Panama, Columbia, and a street named Maipu (pronounced "My-poo") it’s good, endless fun.

The pench is very nice! We live in a giant loft and have a ghetto shower. You have to fill it up with a bucket of water and then heat it by a switch and you can only take a tiny, very short shower. I don’t mind it. It’s just so high on the ridiculous factor that I actually really like it. We also have a new fridge and comfy mattresses so what more could you ask for? Larsen is a cool kid. He´s like a combo of Brian and Zach—just a really good guy: Hard worker and just chill. We make a good team. So it’s all good. Love my area, pench, ward, people, food, drunks, and all that.

Other than that ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡QQQQQQQUUUUUUUUEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do you like best about your new area?

Like I said, everything really. The food is awesome (we have the McDonald’s nearby, but in the next zone...perhaps for general conference.....)?

Who else is in your pench?

Nobodyz...just me and Señor Larsen.

Are your beds any better there?

Yeeeesssssssssss!!!! So much better. So much better on my back.

Is the pench clean?

Super clean. We have a new fridge that is spotless. It’s the cleanest pench I’ve seen in the mish.

How are the members there?

Again they’re great. Really, they are way cool—very Argie friendly (they want to talk with you for hours) but great.

Are you getting your letters from Grandma Molly?

Yes. Thanks so much Grandma for the letters. I really do appreciate them. They are so detailed so it’s really fun to read them and know what’s up. The mail is interesting here. There are some weeks I just get dearelders and other times I just get Grandma Molly letters. It’s all awesome! I love the letters, the love, everything. Thank you so so very much.

You don’t have a microwave do you?

Nope.

Anything in particular you want for Christmas?

Not really, just Christmassy candy such as Cadbury, Reese's, Dove, chocolaty stuffs. I like the idea of you sending money so I can buy toys to give to the kids in the neighborhood. That sounds like a cool idea!

Do you have access to a CD player?

Yes I do.

Well famz, that’s about it. I’m so thankful you guys write me and are praying for me. Life right now is really great: Working, finding people, and just being stoked. Thanks for everything. I hope you all have a great week and that it’s all good. Thanks so much for the letters and the love. I love you, it´s all good!

Con Amor,

Russ

P.S. could you get me the addresses of some of my friends again so I can write them down in a place where I can remember them? The addresses of Jeff Otterstrom, Zach Hulsey (when he gets to Paraguay), Spencer Donaldson, and Nick Wimmer would greatly be appreciated. Thanks.