We Skyped with Elder Bridge!

Christal said:
It was so great talking to Elder Bridge on Christmas!  I just want to say that I love Skype.  It's the greatest invention ever!!  Elder Bridge seems to be doing really well and his Spanish is sounding great!  At least that's what I think, from a non-Spanish speaker's perspective.  Daniel and Elder Bridge were having fun speaking Spanish with each other.  Connor finally got the SD card I sent him with all the videos on it from this summer.  He says thank you to all the Bridge fam for the awesome video messages. :)

Wow, big week. December 19, 2011

So anyway, ill be brief. The Christmas conferance we had wednesday was
awsome! We had like some training, and then we had an asado, then we
got presents from santa! i got 2 packages from brandon, which have
been opened, and two from mom, one of which has been opened, thank you
for the carmel apple suckers and the socks and Gs! well needed. the
other is marked CHRISTMAS so i am saving it until then. then we played
soccer, and basketball and it was a really fun time. we were there the
whole day. The big news though, is what happened saturday night. i got
transfered GAH!
    but its fine. its been done now. i was so sad to leave and it was
so hard to say goodbye to everyone yesterday, but i really think
theyre gonna be fine without the bridge, and im way excited about this
next transfer!
              My new comps name is Elder Asplund, hes from utah and
he dies in six months, so im killing my first comp. Im back in zona
rio cuarto, but im in a little pueblo thats 2 and a half hours away,
so ill never see any of my old people. Its crazy cause it was two
towns, one called rio tercero, and one called almafuerte. rio tercero
had eldr asplund and another guy, and almafuerte had hermanas. well
now, the hermanas left, so elder asplund and i are going to take over
both areas. we will be moving back and forth between the two im pretty
sure, and right now we live in alma fuerte, thats like home base, but
i think sometimes well be staying in rio tercero too cause its like a
half hour away and the apartment is on contract still. so weve got two
phones, two penchants, and i guess rio tercero has bikes! WHOOO! plus
our penchant is like a palace compared to my last one, the bedet even
works, so alot of firsts. Elder Asplund is the District leader, but
there is nobody else in our district now that the hermanas are gone,
so im going to be having pretty much zero contact with other
missionaries for awhile, its crazy. its a beautiful little town
though, and were just gonna tear into it, im way stoked. so yeah,
passing christmas with elder asplund in the middle of noplace, should
be interesting eh? wish me luck!
               Love, Elder Bridge

It's raining small and clear. December 12, 2011

Hey family!
     Weve had one heck of a tough week, but thats okay, its almost christmas!
    NOthing much new on the homefront. i ordered a French Book of
Mormon today so that i can start reading it it learn a little french
while im here, so if someone who speaks french wants to write to me
explaining the pronunciations, that would be great. I got the worst
haircut of my life the other day, not really, yall know ive had some
doozies, but its pretty ugly, it was Elder Harkers first time cutting
hair, im not too bugged about, but its really short, and saturday i
got one heck of a sunburn on my sensitive cranium so that saddened me
considerably. my head doesnt ache anymore at least.
 So im a little frustrated with computers right now. I got my memory
card from Christal and i can see that its full of videos from you
guys! but this dumb machine wont let me watch them. instead of braking
it with my fist of justice, im going to try to get a dvd made so i can
use a dvd player to watch them during the week, thats really the only
hope ive got.
    So this wednesday is our christmas party, were gonna play
football with presidant, were gonna talk about some spiritual things,
and hopefully there will be one or two letters waiting for me in the
bolsa (i can hope right?)
     Sounds like everything is good with the fam, here were just
praying for a Christmas miracle and keeping our eyes open for it, so
keep us in your prayers eh? you know youre in mine. I love you guys
and i hope everyone is keeping it real.
    Love, Elder Bridge.

 p.s. I was feelin lower than a bow legged caterpillar yesterday, and
we went to this old ladies apartment in a retirement home to visit her
since she cant come to church we brought her the sacrament. Anyway,
this lady always has lots to say, and she goes into some type of
sermon and i love it cause she just sits and thinks all day and then
dumps it all on us in one floom of speech you know? anyway, she said
"if my leg hurts, I can ask god "why does my leg hurt?" but if i do,
the next thing ill have to ask is "Why shouldnt my leg hurt? who am i
that i deserve two perfect legs?" suffice it to say, she put me to
thinking. last week is over, bring on this one eh? love you guys

NO TIME AT ALL. December 5, 2011

Not your fault, but shoot. working hard. lovin life. send me letters!
     Love, Elder Bridge

Space Jam! November 28, 2011

So someone told me they found an Aliens skull in Machu Piccu the other
day. Id sure love to be kept in the loop about that.
    In other news, were still just workin real hard. This week will
start December, and ill start letting my companion play christmas
music, and we might get a little fake tree. Im gonna try to learn some
hymns on my harmonica so that we can make caroling a little easier.
Our Christmas party thing is gonna be like next wednesday, the 13th or
something, and were getting together with 2 other zones and presidant
and stuff. I hear that last year he played football with the Elders so
that should be cool. Were hoping to have some good baptisms this
month, and that i get to stay here for christmas, its pretty up in the
air but im hopeful. WE havent gotten letters or anything in forever
but we should be getting them this week or next, so im hoping to have
some nice things waiting for me. yes mom, i wont open the christmas
ones till christmas. also hoping for letters from alot of people hint
hint. like everyone reading this.
        Well, gotta go play some football. love you all!
                        elder Bridge
                                         p.s Someone tell Ellen that
i bought a pink or orange sobe like every day at the mtc bookstore,
they got me through the tough times. and also that i love her and im
praying for her.

The world better hold its breath. November 21, 2011

I just realized that Joel and Bonny, and Jay-Z and Beyonce are having
their baby in the same year!!!
     Thats got to be some kind of  record for awsome babies in one
year, and thats all i have to say about that.
   So this week was really good. We had some dang hot weather to
start the week, and then passed the weekend with many thunderings and
lightnings, and with many wet socks, and we did preach mightily.
 Were looking forward to a big week, we keep getting a little better
as a team as the days go by, and were working with some really cool
people, i feel really lucky to be in this area at this time, and im
really hoping presidant will keep me here for one more, so i dont have
to leave right before Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, I wrote a huge
letter to every member of each family and put them in a big envelope
to send, and on my way to the post office, this crazy guy jumped out
from behind a bush, yanked the envelope out of my hand, and tried to
light it on fire! so i grab this type by his collar, and i start
shaking him around, but it turns our he has studied white crane
shoalin, so we began to battle, right their in the plaze lavalle, and
all these people started like cheering and stuff, and he throws this
MAD stabbing beak attack, but i saw it coming, and i was ready with a
rising sun double knee strike, which pinned him against the trunk of a
mighty oak. as i went in for the finishing blow, i stopped, and
realized that a missionary must forgive, so i dropped into a sitting
position, and poured some mate, inviting him to have a seat. He took
his place across the cloth that i had neatly laid out, and we began to
converse, amiably.
    Turns out that some punk kids had pulled a prank on him, telling
him that my envelope was full of poisonous serpents, and he was only
trying to save my life. This led us to share in great laughter, an in
the end we realized that we werent so different after all. problem is,
in all the commotion, my envelope blew away in the fridged southern
winds, never to be seen again. so dont expect anything grand for
christmas. cant say i didnt try though right?
     Life is great, were working hard, i love you well. Where ever
youre at, represent.
               Love, Elder Bridge

Hey yall! November 14, 2011

Gonna be ticked again, dont have alot of time, but i have a couple
funny things to say.
            First being that a couple nights ago my comp was in the
bathroom, and he shrieked and ran out yelling "theres something in
there, its a scorpion its a scorpion!"
    So i grab the plunger and a stick and head in looking for the
dang thing, but i cant find it anywhere. so the bishop knocks the door
and asks whats going on and we tell him so he goes and gets a spray
can and starts spraying it all over the place, and we go back into the
room and talk about how it could have gotten in, and how hes going to
help us plug up the holes and stuff, and i walk into the bathroom and
its up on the wall! like 8 feet up, and it fell to the ground and i
grabbed the plunger and i plunged him good, then the bishop hosed him
down with like a pound of spray. then i took a picture and we threw
him away haha. it was like as big as 2 thirds of my pointer finger,
and yellow. so that was pretty funny. i was all in battle mode
searching everywhere for this thing cause my comp cant sleep if he
thinks theres something dangerous in the pench.
      bringing me to last night, were laying in our bunk bed, lights
are off, and hes like ah! theres something on my hand! and jumps out
of bed and turns on the light, and theres this HUGE spider just
sitting on his bed hahahahahaha it was so funny. so he kills it and
gets back into bed and keeps asking me if he can have the top bunk and
asking me if i think their are any more hahaha. it was so funny i wish
it was being filmed. were still alive though, but summer is just
getting started, so those two visitors are the first of many im sure.
My comp is a super cool guy and we get along great and we want the
same things in the work, so keep us in your prayers and we´ll have a
great week!
          Love, elder Bridge

Letter for the family. November 7, 2011

Well first things first. Im sure everyone has been wondering how my
freestyle rapping skills are improving. the answer is, noticeably.
       Other than that, things are normally great. My new comp is a
super cool kid, hes got 9 months in the mission and is really excited
about the work. We get along great, and hes super willing for any new
idea, were gonna work our heads of. Ive never had to like be the
responsible one, and thats tough because now its like if something
goes wrong its pretty much because im not doing good enough, so like
this week im really just trying to learn organization. if anyone has
tips, id love them. I find that its really easy for me to have lots of
ideas, but let some of the little things slip through the cracks. im
sure anyone who knows me is totally suprised by that fact.
 Im optimistic though. we´re doing great.
       So as far as stories go, nothing really comes to mind. friday
night we had a ward activity and we brought an investigator. it went
really well. we played soccer with a bunch of the old guys, who are
crazy good for old guys. and many of them are on the gordito side. But
it was really fun and our investigator had a blizast. The people here
sometimes really do cool things. so yeah, its all good down here. im
ready to start writing in spanish, if there are any RM cousins that
are itchin to have a go at it, hit me.
      Not much else. Im lovin life down here. You wouldnt believe how
hot it is. my shirt is always soaked and my head is always soaked and
my eyes sting from the dripping sweat, and its hard to sleep and our
apartment doesnt have a fan, and they say that the real summer hasnt
even started yet. well there you go, im gonna melt. Bring it.
    Love yall!
                 Elder Bridge


 p.s. On the slim chance that there is someone out there that is
like "hmm, what are we sending elder bridge for christmas?" my
official answer is nah, dont worry about it, i dont want anything.
that said, mom, the cool kids down here have official soccer jerseys,
and my favorite team is the New York RedBulls. or the Celtics, not the
basketball team. its a soccer team in scottland.  just sayin haha.
     Enserio, si ay alguien que quiere practicar su castillano,
hagalo no mas. estoy aqui y tengo que practicar en cualquier
opertunidad. Te Kiero Mucho!

You're gonna want to kill me. November 3, 2011

i have 10 seconds! im doing great. here for one more transfer, new
comp that is super chill, were gonna do great. love ya. Elder BRidge

The rain keeps fallin, rain keeps fallin down. Oct 24, 2011

Here we are, havin a real good time.
     This morning, we went to the church with the usual group of
elders, played some made soccer (4 goals, 2 of which were with my
head) and just hung out, beatboxing and rapping and playing piano, it
was pretty fun. Starting out a real good week. Weve got a few
investigators that could really progress alot this week, and our last
week was really productive too. Im figuring out how to get along with
the comp, we havent had a big argument all week, and i feel like im
figuring out a little better how to make this not happen anymore. Our
ward is full of really cool people, a few of them are examples that i
am never going to forget. Last friday was killer hot, but since then
its been cloudy and rainy constantly, which is so much better in every
way for me, i missed the cold.
         I am thinkin about the fam all the time, always with a
smile. People absolutly love the pictures mom and christal sent me,
especially of the kids, and the one of all the cousins at the civic
center. they always say " whoa, look, theyre all white!" thats kind of
a big deal down here, even though the people here would be the last
ones to admit it haha, its kind of funny how different things are.
People are always so fast to explain that theyre usually not this tan,
or that their grandpa is from spain, and its like haha, alright,
whatever. I wonder for how much more time those things will matter in
the world. i can only hope not much longer, but its whatever. I am
really gonna have a rude awakening when we leave this area, we get fed
every day, and not just fed, but stuffed usually. always two heaping
plates and its always hard to walk afterwards, but that is so much
better than hunger. were lucky.
       Theres been a change in plans in the schedule, aparently, the
transfers will not be this coming thursday but the next, so like 4 or
5 days early. that might mean that i miss a p-day in the craziness, if
i dont write next monday it will mean im going to thursday. im sort of
positive im not going anywhere, thankfully. Elder casas has been here
for quite a while, so ive got at least one transfer left, and i really
love it here. the second hes gone, im going to completly rearange
everything in our apartment, while there isnt anyone to tell me no,
and it will be so much better. more effective, more comfortable, just
an all around higher level of chi. Big boss doesnt want to do it, so i
just gotta wait a week and a half. We are getting along, but i cant
pretend that im not going to be throwing my head back and howling at
the moon like a gleeful maniac when i get a new comp. Everything is
great here. the work is good, i feel good, its been a while since ive
gotten any paper letters... always welcome.
         Sounds like things are pretty good up north, im prayin for
all of you, and i love all of you.
                Elder Bridge

They call me, MISTER PIG. October 17, 2011

 So yeah, yesterday, we walk into our lunch appointment, and
outside the front door, is the grill, upon which is roasting something
that i thought could only be a dog. yeah. so i was like hey, whats
that? and they said a word i didnt understand, so i was like huh? and
they said its like ----- which was another word i didnt understand.
then they explained that its like a sheep, but smaller. i want to
believe them, but i think the sheep guy sold them a dog. it was pretty
much all fat and grease and bone, but the "meat" was the best part. it
was like slimy, slippery, wet meat. and they watch like hawks while
you try to eat it, and you dont want to eat it, cause your stomach
hurts and youre pretty sure youre eating scooby doo. but you put the
bone down on the plate and they instantly say hey! theres way more
meat on that bone, you gotta break it like this and then gnaw it like
this and on and on and hey dont you want more? dont you want more? i
almost died. but i ended up just eating alot of the wet dog thing, and
feeling sick afterwards. While it was cooking, they slammed a pig on
the table in front of us, sliced out all the guts, threw them on the
grill, sliced off the head, threw it in the freezer, salted up the
rest of the pig, and threw it on the grill. sadly, we couldnt eat it,
cause its like 3 hours to cook, but it sure was an appetizing show. so
that was lunch yesterday haha.
           The week has been good. were working really hard, and im
trying really hard to get along with my companion. 3 weeks left. today
we are in centro, which is fun because its rare, this is only my
second p day here but theres alot to look at , for sure, hopefully we
can sack some photos.
        I got my pictures so well put together by mom and christal,
and the carmel apple pops, and the itchy ban, and the seasonings, all
very well recieved. Miss you guys, but im doing awsome. i hope
everyone is doing good and all that stuff. someone should let me know
how the mariners did. im sure i asked 10 people but i still have no
idea. okay, love you. chou-Elder Bridge

For the family. October 11, 2011

MAn this will be the fastest email ive ever written. This week was
great. Saturday about 1000 mormons mobbed on this old fokes home and
we painted in the pouring rain and gave them like a mountain of
clothes and food and it was really great. WE have an investigator
waiting for us at his front door before church sunday, and he drove us
there, was planning to go to the first hour but stayed for all three,
that was awsome. today im on an exchange (YES) and its going well. im
finding alot of ways i can improve and be a better missionary. in case
anyone is wondering, i give top marks to Elder Packers talk, and i
hope everyone, especially the teenagers, reads it and highlights it as
soon as it comes into print. but so many were great. the one by that
one 70 that i dont remember his name, about the book of mormon, was
just the tops, and its changed the way i teach with the book of
mormon, for the better. The weather hasnt been too hot, rainy and
cloudy, at least in the mornings, and for that im very thankful. i
just dont function well when its dang hot, and this summer is going to
be very hard in that respect.
         Im glad to hear that mom is taking care of my friends, and i
would love seans adress if she can get ahold of it. im in the middle
of a letter to isaiah.
       I miss all you guys a ton, and im heading into a big week of
work, wish me luck! youre all in my prayers.
                        Love, elder Bridge
 p.s. i do get mail here, if anyone wants to send me a paper letter
and be my best friend when i get home. just sayin.

Oh, that I were an Angel. October 3, 2011

 Hello Fam.
      Another week in Argentina. The guy on the computer next to me
is having some quality father and son time, playing grand theft auto
with his 5 year old son. hes moving the mouse while his son does the
murdering with the keyboard. its adorable.
     Today we had a zone meeting, we studied some cool stuff, and
then we played soccer and made tacos. I am learning a new song on the
piano. I can already play it on guitar but its tricky on the piano, i
just need some more practice, it should be good.  Soccer, wasnt
playing so hot. kind of took my back to my playground days where i
felt like if i got the ball i could do something with it, but i had
already established in the first 5 minutes that i was on the "dont
pass to that guy" list. its cool, ill bounce back.
       In other news, i loved conferance, i wrote down alot that i
needed to hear, and i have plenty to study this week. Im really hoping
that i can do a good job of teaching this week. We need to find more
people to teach.
     You are all in my prayers, and i really hope that this can just
be a really good, positive, eventful, and uplifting week for all of
us. As a missionary, when i talk to people on the street or in the
store, its always really easy to make them smile and lift their
spirits, help them see a little more light, but its really hard to get
there adress and go teach them later. You guys dont need the second
part, and it doesnt take a nametag to just help lift the arms that
hang down. I hope we will all see our many oppertunities to do it this
week, and i have no doubt that when we see them, we´ll know what to
do.
      Have a really good week okay? im looking forward to hearing all
about it.
 I love you all.
                Elder Bridge

6 more weeks in Müller with Elder Casas. GO! September 26, 2011

Dear Family,
       It has been a long, but good week. We are working our butts
off and sweating buckets, everything is good.
 We are teaching someone named Katya who has a baptismal date for
october the 15th. in order for that to happen, she needs to come to
conferance this weekend. we are focusing everything on conferance,
trying to bring so many investigators. please have them in your
prayers so that they can come and feel the spirit at conferance eh?
      I hope everyone is doing really well, it sounds like thats the
case. Kass should be home safe by now, Dan an Christal are in
paradise, as is Sara, and Jean Marcell is trying to get in shape for
the when i get home and challenge him to a game of soccer.
 speaking of soccer, weve been playing it every monday, and we played
it last saturday too, with 2 of the youth, ( the youth in our ward and
freaking awsome) the young mens presidant, two kids whos parents are
members, one of which brought two friends. it was really fun, but my
companion and i, with the kid and his 2 friends, gave them quite the
beating. its impossible ive decided, to play soccer with latins,
without someone getting ticked off. it was still really fun, and they
are all stoked to do it again next weeik. coincidentally, so am i
haha.
       Our days are filled with studying, working, eating, and
learning things we thought we already knew. i feel so thankful for
every single one of you. you are in my thoughts, and my prayers. ill
try to think of a good story for next week.
           Love, Elder Bridge
       p.s. one fun little detail. remember me telling you about
morsilla? its the tripe filled with blood and some onion? yesterday
after we got done eating some (cold this time, they love it cold and
hot) i found out that it is also filled with brains. brains of pigs,
and cows, and nothing else i hope. but yeah. i have yet to say no to
anything.

Like lightning. September 19, 2011

Zero time. I have had an amazing week. Brandon, you were right about
morning study. Ive been trying t get more out of it and i have been.
We are working hard, experiencing miracles, we dont have anyone to
baptize right now but we are finding new people every day and weve got
investigators coming to church and we are being led by the spirit, as
we constantly realize. Today will be a fun p-day, i think i have a
package finally, and were going to play some soccer, which of course i
love. This week, I am going to fast for Uncle Phil from Lunch
Wednesday to Thursday. He will be in our prayers, and everything will
be fine. I would love it if the family can join me. im going to start
at 2 my time, not sure what that is your time.
        I love you all, please enjoy every single day together and
know that im loving life.
                          Elder Bridge

Representamos. September 12, 2011

HEY!
     Its me, another good week. Pablo was baptized and he is very
happy. It was saturday at 6 and it was just us, pablo, his friend
Ariel, who introduced him to the church and was there for every
lesson, and two of the bishops councilers. Pablo loved it, and it was
very peaceful. He was in church the next day, all done up in the
shirt, pants and tie that we gave him, and he had a new haircut. Very
cool.
      Saturday morning we had a family home morning, with an inactive
family that hasnt been coming to church for years, but theyre cool and
i think they can come back. I made omelettes and french toast, and we
played pretty bird in my cup, which has been a huge success with every
family i have taught it to. We had to change the name to " Pajaro en
mi baso", and its a hit.
     Its very hot out, the sun is very hot, and very very bright so
the headaches arent a rare occurance. im trying to drink alot of
water. it is still technically winter. in the summer, the humidity
will set it, and it will be about 105 degrees. kind of like texas,
been there done that, bought the t-shirt.
         So yeah, not scared of nothin. Were 2 weeks from the
transfer and im starting to get that dread feeling. i really dont want
to leave, so im hoping ill get to stay, even if we are in the smallest
and worst apartment in the mission (and we are, by far). its good that
i started in the two worst, now everything will be nice. and im sure
Daniel had it just as bad if not worse, so im not complaining.
   my spanish is still coming, its tough when i feel like im
explaining something well but they dont really understand, but its
happening less and less. learning little things, but its totally like
the rough cut version. i can speak it, but i cant explain why i say
the things i do. i still dont really know what a past participle is,
or why we say "es lo que hai" instead of "esso es como es" but im glad
we do. Ill get it figured out.
      This week, we are going to be trying alot of things
differently. Tomorrow we have a big service project in our area i
guess. cleaning at some center for viajos, and 2 zones are going to be
there, so it should be alot of fun. its from 9 to 2, and lunch will be
included, so thats good too. Im starting to gain weight. my comp has
decided he doesnt really want to run, so once again im stuck. i do a
little workout in the apartment but its just not the same, hopefully i
can change his mind. I cant wait till im a training. i dont care what
my kid says, were hitting the calle every morning whether he likes it
or not. if i do train. not sure if it will happen but its a cool
though.
       Apart from that, just still waiting on my ipod, or my photos,
or some form of package. at the zone conferance i got one letter,
which was a wedding invitation from will, without a letter. thanks ya
cheapskate. nah but seriously, thats sick that hes got himself a wife,
and a good one too i hear. no longer a lonesome hound dog. now im
going to have 7 brides for 7 brothers quotes in my head all day.  but
also seriously, someone better write me a dang paper letter if they
expect to be in the will when im old and rich.
        So yeah, love all you guys, dont be expecting pictures. these
computers frustrate me too much. im taking alot though, christal wont
know what to do with them once shes gets my memory card, which i will
send as soon as i get my other card.
                                      Love, Elder Bridge
 p.s while Kass and the kids are still in town give them all a big hug for me

Brandon! September 5, 2011

Brandon, I am as I type, breathing a huge sigh of relief, as i have
been holding my breath for the past 7 days. I love you, and im proud
of you.
As for everything else, not much to report here on the home
front. Were putting in everything weve got. Weve made some really good
progress in getting the members involved in the missionary work this
week, and are going to continue with that plan this week. I walk alot,
and my spanish is slowly getting better.
It seems like the family is in a constant flow of jumping
from awsome thing to awsome thing. Now Kassidi is on the move, heading
for the Eternal Marriage of good cousin Will, and that is way
exciting. Ive been thinking about the Temple alot this week. It means
so much to the people down here. Cordoba wont have a temple till 2013,
so our ward is going on a trip to Uruguay this december, and its all
everyone is talking about. at least 2 couples that i know are going to
be sealed on that trip. I really wish we could go on the trip, it will
be a long wait until i can go to the temple again, but im looking
forward to it. Hopefully by then things will be stable enough for us
to all go together.
Well, not much else. Glad everything is awsome for you guys.
Imma keep pluggin away.
Love, Elder Bridge

Family! August 29, 2011

Its gonna be fast this week. Sorry again.
Man things are really goood. We had 2 baptisms that we werent
expecting this Saturday, we have 1 this saturday, and 1 the next. We
walk really far, we teach tons of people, and its really hot out. My
zone is awsome, my district is awsome, i look forward to every day and
my companion and i are working really well together. The big news this
week is a milestone in my mission and my life. Thanks solely to my big
brother Brandon, this friday i completed my first Journal of my life,
which includes something from every single day in my mission. Luckily
I already had a second one, which i began filling saturday. It might
not seem like a big deal, but anyone who knows me knows i dont really
finish things. at least i didnt. well whats up now eh?
so that was definatly a high point. but i mean so was the
baptism. So is everything. Next Monday were planning on going to
centro, theres like a big museum with dinosaurs i guess, and also
other neat things, so ill be taking a bunch of pictures.
man i dont really know what to say. my companion made crepes last
night and taught me how, and today we made this bomb dish of rice.
things are good. Im trying to stay healthy, trying to learn spanish,
and trying to find more people to teach. in your prayers this week,
please include ronald, alexandra, and us, so that we can find more
people to teach. that is very important.
I like knowing that my mp3 player is on the way, i really hope it gets
here soon. mom, im gonna mail you a thing of letters tomorrow. one of
jack merril, one for a kid named ethan that you can give to johnny,
one for ellen, one for jordan weishaar, and one for aaron and
christals family. i think thats all. oh yeah there will be a little
one for you.
Sara, i hope everything is great in raymond. get involved with the
crazy cousins and let me know how it goes eh? hows jean marcell eh?
Hace mucho que no escuchaba de mi cuñada, y le extraño muxo, ojala
todo bien pero no puedo saber sin the palabra de ustedes no? entonces,
estoy aqui para escuchar, no me olvide. te amo hermana.
Daniel, you missed a week, guess thats find since youre
just KICKIN SOME BUTT over in Hawaii, thats what im talkin about
clancy. such a boss. well have a little footrace once i get home. or
meybe just a fight, in which ill dominate cause right now im like
really really buff. its crazy. jokes, but imma still own you.
Kass and fam, HELLO! i hope the visit of daniel and christal
and mom was good, i hope the weather is good, i hope ole is as healthy
as a horse, and that Hazel is having some good rounds of 1 player hide
and seak, or whatever 4 year olds do. tell them both i love them and
give them a hug for me. and kass, tell me whats been up eh? how has
your summer been?
Christal, thank you for helping with the photo album, i
think my mom is gonna send it soon. it will be awsome to have. how is
being back in hawaii? jeez the summer went so fast. do you have your
old job back? do you have a calling yet? Hows your bro Johnny? alright
well let me know everything.
Were gonna have a good week fam! Love, Elder Bridge

¡Que Rico la Papa! August 22, 2011

Hey fam, alls well i hope?
were just kickin some butt down here in case you were wondering.
I spent way to long freaking out about my new companion. hes a great
example for me, way cool dude, super enthusiastic about the work,
super obediant, way chill, likes thinking of ideas we could implement
to speed up the work, and likes learning English. hes been helping my
spanish a ton, its awsome. We get fed every day for lunch, usually
noodles or rice with chicken, but sometimes its mixed up, and its
always tasty (even if the houses are a little gross) youd be suprised
what you get used to.
Last night we had a meeting with the leaders of 5 stakes, and all
the missionaries of those 5 stakes. Elder Hospital of the 70 came and
we had a meeting on how to improve the missionary work, it was awsome.
also, elders thorup, holtby, and frazier were there, so we got to
catch up which was pretty sweet. turns out elder peyton (my buddy from
rio cuarto) and elder frazier are both in my zone. we had a zone
meeting this morning and they were both there, and then we played some
mad soccer. after this were gonna go eat, and get back to work!
I love it.
we got our letters and packages today, and i got one from a
friend in raymond. it was short but good. hopefully that means theres
a package in the works shortly? ill cross my fingers for next week. i
know youre busy with great things, and im proud of you. theres a girl
in our ward that wants to serve a mission in a few years (shes 17) but
shes afraid of being away from her mom for more than a couple days. it
was easy for me to tell her that the Lord would take extra special
care of her family when she was gone. you guys are just havin a time
eh? ive been thinking about Brandon all week, i really hope to hear as
soon as we know how it went eh?
well anyway fam, got things to do. i miss you all. dont forget
to be awsome home teachers, the job is as important as you make it.
 Love, Elder Bridge

Familia Mia. August 15, 2011

Alright, wow. i have zero time and so much to say. ill be concise.
transfered today! spent yesterday being very sad and saying
goodbye to so many people that i love. Elder Moeller and i both left,
because the zone leaders are splitting, and one is going to train in
our area. so hes off in the boonies now, and im smack dab in the
middle of Cordoba Capital, a 25 minute walk from downtown. everything
is huge here, except my new apartment, which is funny its so small. i
guess ill get used to that, cause ive now lived in i think the two
smallest in the mission. my comp seems really cool, i think we´ll get
along great. hes a short man from peru that loves his mission and says
this area is great. weve been talking all morning and he doesnt know a
word of english, so im excited to start learning faster. he also says
hes down to run in the mornings so thats good.
cant tell you much about the area except its got tons of
people and aparently a really good ward so im ready to tear things up.
my best buddy from the mtc is headed to rio cuarto this transfer, so i
got to see him in th bus terminal and we talked for a bit, hes doing
real good. everything is great and also, the elders in capital recieve
the bolsa every wednesday! so if anyone is gonna mail me stuff, this
transfer is the time to do it, ill be getting stuff once a week
instead of every month or month and a half, so all good news. brandon,
youre in my prayers, hope you nail the test. everyone else, you too,
but lets focus on bran this week eh? ont be selfish haha.
I love you all so much and will write the
group letter first next week.
Love Elder Bridge
p.s. mom expect a call from someone in washington. an elders
mom came to get him when he finished s mission and i talked to her for
a bit and asked her to call you and gave her your number, so that
should be fun, she was really nice.
p.p.s im gonna do whatever i can to get that referance to the
right elders for the temple square sister, so if she calls im making
it happen.

¡Que Barbaro! August 8, 2011

FAM!
Imma keep it short, because i dont want to waste your time. i
mean you must be soooo busy right? right. (daniel, thats a cane drop).

For reals though i am just all talked out. I heard about the amazing
weekend you all had and i am so happy that it went the way it did. things like that dont just happen you know? I am doing really well, my
second transfer is this coming weekend, and were all pretty sure Elder
Moeller is out of here, which means ill be getting a new companion
here in old Rio Cuarto, and theres no place id rather be. i am getting
really attached to the people here, so ive decided im not gonna get
transferred for at least 6 months. simple. if anyone has specific
questions about the work or anything, hit me up. also, id love to hear
about how everyone is doing. to drop names, Kassidi, i miss ya. how is
albaquerque? i bet things are crazy with brandon doing all that
studying. you guys are in my prayers. Also, Christal, are you glad to
be a bridge yet? if youre not after this weekend, i dont know if you
ever will be, that sounds about exactly like what we bridges are all
about. Jean Marcell, my brother, how is work? Do you ever go hang out
with Jordan? Im sure hed love to take you guys out shooting while
youre still in shelby. how much longer will you be there? let me know
how the Domguias are doing yeah?

...Sara. 3 of my siblings have served
missions. 1 of them is studying 24 hours a day and cant write. one of
them... wrote me. and one didnt. guess which is which?
that said, i miss you like crazy and i want to hear from you.
Love, ELDER BRIDGE!

The Life of Condor, the Missionary. August 1, 2011

FAMILY!

This week has been a really good one, but as always, as soon as i

start to write the big email, my mind goes blank. I will do my best.This week started off wierd, cause last monday i was reallyfrustrated with my Spanish. then i did what connor bridge never does,and i started working harder on learning Spanish, and i actually haveseen some pretty good results in a weeks time, and i mean yeah, withevery bad thing is more good it seems like. for example, Wednesdaynight i did not sleep. Not at all. I have wierd cold at i had a sharpand severe pain every time i swallowed, and one perpetually stuffednostril, so i didnt sleep. I had a bad headache and sore throat forthe next 3 days, and still have a sore throat, but back to my account.So thursday, not feeling great, but, ive been reading the ConferanceEnsign like every day, which not only gets me way excited for nextconferance, but teaches me a thing or too as well. The talks that havebeen sticking out to me are the ones that relate to ether 12, in thatwe have many trials of our faith, many challenges, and every singleone is an oppertunity to be stronger or weaker. I have been able tosee things in that light before they are a problem, and thusfar thathas been all it takes. So i just told myself, im sick,im not going tofeel good. thats it. i can still work, and i wont be sick forever.that gave me all the help i needed, but then we had interviews withpresidant thursday night, and that gave me more than i needed, sosince then i have just been stoked. I love talking to him cause itsjust like he reafirms everything i have been thinking and doing, heslike an encouragement machine, and it makes me just like so happy tobe doing what im doing, and i once again set some real goals to dobetter and its been awsome so far. I feel so lucky to have him for apresidant.         On the subject of pictures. im sorry, i know it sucks thatyou didnt get them. i sent them and recieved an email today that saidthey didnt send for some reason or another. yall will just have to bepatient and get the card in the mail when i get my other one, becausei cant afford to pay for the computer that i will no doubt smash inhalf trying to send pictures again.on that cheerful note, i think youll like the pictures, when youeventually get them. gotta wrap it up. mom, love you, wish i couldhave heard more from you. dad, christal and dan, thanks for theletters, because every week is an opportunity to help a missionarythat you will never get back. you guys took that opportunity, and forthat i am greatful ;)       Im full of excitment, and nothing can stop us this week. itsfreezing out and raining, but it isnt windy, so i dont really feel thecold. im a machine!Love you.              Elder Bridge   p.s. fyi the next transfer is in like 3 weeks and one of us willbe leaving. cross your fingers that ill get to stay here! im not doneyet.  

It's Windy Out Today. July 25, 2011

HEY FAM!
 its been a while. i am making a serious attempt to send a bunch of  pictures today. i dont have time to describe them or anything but if you have questions about any of them of course just hit me up. So good to hear that everyone is just kicking butt over in the real world. i had a bunch of great letters saying a bunch of great things. and i HEAR that sara and jean marcell are doing good too! by "hear" i mean i "heared" that from people other than them... but yeah ;)  This week was actually really awsome. Wednesday,  Elder Peterson (one of my buds from the mtc) and i went on a two day intercambio, because both of our companions were in Villa Dolores with the zone leaders for a splash, which means we worked together, and it was sweet. wednesday we were in centro in petersons hood and we got a bunch of good lessons taught. that night we stayed at my apartment,  and in the morning i made amazing omelettes that were amazing. i would win a prize with the food ive been making a swear. then we worked in my hood, and we were both just full of excitment, we walked fast, we had fun, and we got some important lessons taught, not to mention we put a baptismal fecha with a kids we have been teaching forever. lets hope it sticks eh? so yeah, i hope we get to be companions sometime.  there was zero "should we go here? idk, lets plan, or idk, i wanted to go here" or anything like that. it was like alright next? next? next?  bam bam bam we were on fire. that is how i want it to be every day, so thats what im going for. but i know that since i cant always be companions with elder peterson, i need to learn to work with everyone.  i know.  So moving on, friday Elder Moeller went over to Silvias  house, cause i told her i would make dinner for her family. silvia really wants to be baptized, but she isnt married, and her man doesnt want to get married, and he never listens when we go over to teach.  this is where food comes in. and it went well. i made hecka breakfast burritos, and it turns out they love hot sauce. we had tons of fun, it was delicious, and her husband was talking and laughing and asking us questions the whole night. tomorrow we are going over to help him cut block, and hes gonna cook us an asado. lets pray he listens to a lesson eh?  Speaking of asados, we had one saturday, and i ate intestine.  it was chewy on the outside and mushy on the inside. mmm.  Sunday, a slight variation. we had another asado, but this time the wierd thing was intestine, filled with some onion, and alot of cows blood, and then cooked. (theres always a bunch of good stuff and usually one wierd thing) but yeah, it had a bit of a funny texture as well. and then last night we had a dinner, and one of my favorite sisters cooked us armadillo, which tasted like really greasy rabbit, but with more bones, fat, and hair. yumm!  On the bright side, i took pictures, and shes gonna clean out the shell and give it to me later, because people make armadillo shells into banjos. so yeah, im going to have a banjo that i made out of an armadillo that i ate. thats pretty cool. and i guess they sound awsome. meybe brandon is the only one who understands.  Today im not sure what else we are going to do, but ill try to get some serious relaxing done if at all possible.   I love you guys and i miss you and i hope everything is awsome.  please send me music. 

Love, Elder Bridge

Salutations! July 18, 2011

okay well geez, i can only send like five pictures at a time i guess. this is a problem because i have like so many. so i guess 5 a week will have to be fine, and then when i send christal the card there will still be alot more, since i take at least 5 a week. 

  These ones are old. the first one is my first night, right when i walked into my apartment. the second is elder lagos and crespo, who were the zone leaders. now lagos is home and its elder crespo and nitta, and we all live together, but yeah, thats them. theyre chilanos. then i think i attached a picture of our old nasty pan, and the new pan i bought, the next of me using it. there are so many pictures i wish i could send. i guess with time you will get to see them.

       So fam, sounds like youre all having a great time, and thats what i like to hear. daniel asked me to go over a typical day, so thats what i will do for this weeks letter. Today, i woke up, read some talks from the conferance ensign i have, which is one of my most valuable things. i love it, and its all marked up cause i keep finding stuff i love. this was an awsome conferance eh? its wierd to think were closer to the next one. then i read scriptures, right now im reading the acts, and jesus the christ, and i love both, even though alot of the time i read stuff that i dont quite under stand, i just take it as a grain of salt and say ill ask daniel about it, and then dont have the ganas to when im actually writing because its really not that important. then i have a shower, followed by a freezing shower, which i do every day because i love it. then i cook breakfast, this morning was a fried egg sandwich with two eggs, and tons of cheese and tobasco sauce. cheese here is so expensive but i need it. i think i should recieve a weekly cheese allowance for how much i use it. then i talked to elder moeller about what we both read, and relax a bit, before heading to the computer place, where i am now. after this, were going to this place like a block away from our apartment for lunch. its owned by a guy that doesnt want to hear our message at all but he still loves missionaries and always waves and tells us that if we have any problems "on the streets" to come to him. its easier to find people like that than people who want to listen and help themselves, but hes still pretty cool. his place is like a kiosko but you can buy like chickens that he cooks in this giant open stove that has a wood fire under the grate and a big chimni. and the chicken is really good, but the location is bad so he doesnt get much business. for like 3 weeks hes been saying "anytime you guys have a monday where your not busy, come here and ill teach you how to make chimichurri and well cook chicken and pizzas and all that" so yesterday i was like lets do it, went and talked to him, and its on for today at 1, with the 4 of us. chimichurri is like a sauce here, with garlic and spices and its delicious. i will make it for you. i dont think the lunch is gonna be free but i actually hope its not. the poor dude words his butt off, he just doesnt know how to advertize. i think were some of his only costumers. yesterday when we walked by he had change the sign from "pollo, 40 pesos" to " super pollo, 40 pesos" it was the same chicken, hes just getting desperate. and who knows, meybe hell have so much fun he wants to come to church. his dads wife is a member but theyre seperated now and both of them love us but dont want to hear anything except chit chat, so whatever. 

      Then i think were gonna go to roque to play some football, and the 4 of us have a family home eveneing with a new member tonight.

               other days are similar schedule wise. study till 10.30, work till 1, lunch, work till 9, with usually 3 good solid appointments and the rest just follow ups or contacting. the zone is having a bit of a rough time but well pull out of it. 

   One cool thing is that Elder Petersons companion is going with Elder Moeller and the zone leaders to villa dolores (where im pretty sure sean served for quite a while if i remember right) for tuesday and wednesday, so tuesday will be me and peterson in my area, and us in his wednesday. he and i still have that excitment that everyone seems to be losing, and we push each other and get along great. we had an exchange friday and worked together for the day and we got tons done so i think it will be a really good few days. with Elder Peterson its like wanna go there? yeah, okay lets do it. which is awsome because im so used to having to wait and sit for my companion to make a decision. with peterson, there is no senior companion, and we both just want to go, so we waste far less time. and i like that.

               Well fam, youre just great. i look forward to hearing from you next week. love you!

      p.s. no answer about the running shoes? we were gonna start tomorrow but it will be much harder in my soccer shoes with their souls that are oh so flat. i saw a store here that has the reebok zig... just sayin.   

Hurray for me! July 11, 2011

 Hey family, how are you all doing? 
 I havent read any of your emails yet because i didnt want to be writing this when im totally out of time at the end, so this is my first besides my letter to presidant. Ive had a really good week, except for this morning, in which i was in the state of rage that anyone who knows me, knows i reach when i wait for 20 minutes in western union line, to be told i dont have the right form, to fill it out, wait in line some more, to be told that since my middle name isnt on the transfer, i cant have my money. even if i have my passport AND the pin number that only i would have. i came the closest i have to losing my temper in a long time. no worries though, i kept it. but dang. yall can picture it im sure.
         other than that. we had a great zone meeting. its always fun to get with the whole zone and get excited and play some mad football (only two goals today) and the like. I also learned how to do a rubix cuve and completed it for the first time. which reinforced my newish belief that its not the best idea to give up on things right away. i actually kept at it and i can do it now, just like the yo yo tricks, and hopefully soon the language of castillano.
     so yeah, i actually wrote down a list of things i wanted to say so here goes. 
number 1- friday we went on splits with the zone leaders since we have a new one whos way cool in our area so he wanted to know it better, so thursday and friday were splits. anyway, friday both teams got lunch appointments for the four of us, so saturday we had two lunches, since it was important for both of the families to have that contact with us. saturday was their independance day, where they make the national delecacy...dont know how to spell that anymore. its called locro, and it has just about anything in it., from intestines to eyeballs sometimes, but we were pretty lucky, no eyeballs. but yeah, at 1 we went and ate tons of locro, and then at 230 did it again, and wanted to die. hopefully they only have one independance day. 
number 2- we went into the house of an old lady that lived alone and was  blasting rhianna on her stereo. that was pretty funny
number 3-i want to start jogging, we should talk about me getting some runners
number 4- in case someone was gonna send a package, people here love good american church music. like cds of orchestras playing hymns, and meybe tab choir singing some of my favorite hymns (consider the lillies, be still my soul, and come thou fount, none of which are in spanish) i also would love the conferance dvd of when elder holland gave the talk "safety for the soul" since ive heard so much about it and skipped that conferance. and he is just so much better in person (that said, if someone emailed it to me in english so i could print it that would be nice too.
        Okay, these are my demands. i love and miss you all, and now im going to go read all your emails because you wrote me this week! and that makes me feel so good! 
      Love, Elder Bridge

Well hey. July 4, 2011

Family! 

ive got two missionaries breathing down my neck telling me to get off the computer, but you know how well i react to pressure. It was good to hear from yall! love hearing about everyone in shelby having the fun time they deserve, everyone in washington, and of course canada on the 1st of july. a great time indeed, but i can honestly say that i didnt even think about it till today when i read it. i miss yall, but im hear, and im busy. WE have some fat goals this month and its gonna be awsome. Presidant called the other day and asked me about how my morning study was going and stuff, and they might have me go up and talk about planning with investigators in mind this wednesday so i hope its fine if i do it in English. every thing i learn, i find three other things i need to improve on, so it keeps me more than busy, but i love it. 

    To reply to something daniel said, the food here actually isnt that good. it isnt that bad, when its cooked, but in a word, its just kind of bland. But theres always lots of it so its cool. our zone leaders changed today, cause one of them got home, and he was way trunky so good riddance, our new guy is gonna help us alot, since hes in our area. im just really excited about the coming week. i think about you all a ton, and miss you. i promise next week ill write this first so its longer and more fun. promise.

 chou, elder bridge