Not the usual letter

Everyone,

My family sent me some questions to answer and this will be my letter for the week.  

Does it rain a lot in your area?

Not too often. When it does rain it rains a bunch like as hard as it
does when it does hard in Ohio, and there is not very good drainage.
There's a lake outside our apartment in the street every time. And
the people here don't have to worry about driving in snow. Just mud.

What do the people do for work in your area?

Construction a lot, or working in farms,  also selling things. There
are tons of houses with windows to the street (kiosk) that just sell
random food or drinks or kids toys or laundry detergent...

How many people are there in your branch/ward?

About 60 show up every week to sacrament. I have no idea what the
actual membership is.

Are there a lot of dogs where you are now?  Do people have dog's for
pets or are there just homeless dogs?

There are a ton of dogs, and people do have them for pets and there
are a lot of homeless dogs too. the pets usually are cleaner and the
homeless ones never get washed.

Do you have a complete bishopric? RS, Primary and Young women's
presidencies in your branch/ward?

We have a branch president with at least 1 counselor and a secretary. RS president with again at least 1 counselor.  primary president,  I believe there is a counselor.  Young Men pres. called yesterday.  Young women's  pres.---YM president's wife also called yesterday. There for now isn't an elders quorum pres.

Do you have grocery stores like ours?

Not as big as ours. There are more of them and they are smaller. There
are some that are bigger and the sad part is that there is only 1 open
between 12:30 and 4. they also don't sell as many things I don't
think. There are a lot of super markets that sell food and other
random household items. I did find Nutella today though! I was
excited.

Do many people have cars?  How do they get around?

Tons of people have motorcycles. Very few have cars. They walk or take
a motorcycle. There is always a kiosk close to their house so you can
get milk and hotdogs within 2 blocks of anywhere.

Do they eat a lot of ice cream?  Do you get yourself a treat once in
awhile/what?

Ice cream not a ton. They have these little things like hostess treats
called alfajores. They are just a cake with dulce de leche and then
another cake thing. You can get them for anywhere from 2 to 9 pesos. I
buy those every once in a while.

What did you get yourself for Christmas?

I bought a few little treats. I also bought a wallet that says
Argentina. I'm also thinking of buying a tie.

Do people always comment on your height?  What do they say?

Yes.  They will sometimes say 2 meters or they will ask how tall I am
or things like that. They often will just say you're so tall and your
companion's not. 

Do they have milk like we have?

Nope. You can only buy by the liter and it is in cartons or bags. There
isn't skim milk either only whole and partly de-creamed. The cartons
don't need to be cooled before you open it and the bags do. It also
doesn't quite taste right.

Have you talked to President Franco much?

Nope. Just 1 interview and one more this Saturday. I just said hey in
passing in our multi zone conference. He has 250 or so missionaries.

Do you ever get to go to the temple on your mission?  Or no because
there isn't one in your area?

Nope. they used to send the finishing missionaries to the temple in
Buenos Aires but they changed and now they aren't

How big of an area does your district cover?  Your zone?  How many
missionaries in each?

Our district I'm not sure. We have 2 districts in Clorinda. My zone is
Clorinda and 2 other little cities outside. I think they are called
Laguna Blanca and Primavera. There are 2 missionaries, 1 companionship
in each of those 2 cities. and there are 6 companionships in Clorinda
alone. 1 of them is a trio of sisters.

Will you tell us more about your new companion?

He has red hair, (Go Kate) and is a very good missionary. He is focused on the people. We have really good lessons---The spirit is there and we follow it.  And, when the people listen they can feel it. I think it helps that we are very obedient and focused on the
people.

Has he been on his mission a longer or shorter time than you have?  Is
he tall or short or average?

He has been here a year and a half. He is shorter than I am. I think he's on the
shorter end but not super super short.

Thanks for the questions.  Sorry I didn't have time to write another letter this week. 

Elder Dallin Skouson