Old Lady Lovin'

Jordan is in Argentina and loving it.  The food coma spell of the MTC has worn off and he has stopped gaining weight and has already lost 10 pounds.  He says he is eating more than ever but he walks so much that it all melts off.  Lunch is the biggest meal of the day there and for the rest of the day everyone just snacks.  Two lunch appointments a day three times a week = a lot of food.  He is in a large branch so the members always fight over who gets to feed the elders.  "This week there was a bunch of drama in between a bunch of the ladies because ALL of them wanted to feed us ALL of the time. And when you eat at their houses they won't stop feeding you, and if you don't eat very much, they feel really sad and say"tan flacco tan flacco" which means "too skinny too skinny". And then they give you way too much food anyways. Luckily we walk pretty much all day from appointment to appointment to work off all the force fed food."

The people in Argentina really love Jordy's light hair.  "I am sitting in a public computer lab right now and this old, crazy guy has come up to me three different times to feel my hair. Apparently my hair is like nothing they have ever seen. Especially my arm hair. Whenever I teach or play with a little kid, they will never stop touching and smelling my arm hair. They always say "¡que rubio!" or "How blonde!" as I walk by."  Haha!  Not an experience he would have in the USA.

He loves the people of Argentina.  "They are so funny and candid about everything and totally different than Americans. They love to touch and kiss and hug. Everyone gives each other a little kiss called a beso when they first see each other. We are not allowed to give women or girls besos or hugs and no one can understand why. It blows their minds. And then they give us hugs and kisses anyways. We are teaching this awesome, totally loving, but crazy old lady.  The other night when we went over to her shack to see how she was doing. She always gets scared of evil spirits, so we said a prayer with her for comfort. During the prayer she knelt down on the ground with her head touching the ground and her arms all the way outstretched. When we finished the prayer she was bawling, reached for the heavens, and started shouting (more like screaming) "GRACIAS A DIOS GRACIAS A DIOS" We did our best not to laugh or crack a smile. She then got up and gave us huge hugs and started kissing us all over our faces. My face was real real wet afterwards."


Jordan loves the work and is excited for the next two years to help and love others.  He does his best every day to be more Christlike.