The minute his head is in view, hit it with the rock! February 13, 2012

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAZEL!!!!
 I MISS YOU SO MUCH AND I HOPE YOU CAN WRITE ME A LETTER SOON; BE A
GOOD GIRL! Love, Elder Bridge.
          So hey fam, Elder here. Its been a good week, me and Elder
Hruska are getting into a good flow of things, and he´s been a little
sick but im hoping he´s on the upswing, weve got lots to do. So i made
root beer  using the concentrate mom sent me for the district and it
was a huge hit. even that latinos who had never tried it liked it
alot. it was a very good idea.I got a letter from ryan and the reply
is gonna be sent as soon as im done doing emails, and other than that
its been a pretty normal week.
    Our fastest progressing investigator, graciella, is doing really
well. shes been apart from her husband for a really long time and when
we got there she always prays that he´ll come back, and saturday night
he did, so it was an answer to her prayers and she has been feeling
alot better lately. im hoping that she´ll see the connection to her
faithfullness and her blessings, because quitting smoking has been
hard for her and shes gonna need all the help she can get. shes a very
special person and im sure it will all work out for the best.
       I havent been sleeping very well, there some dog that lives on
our block, havent figured out which one yet, but he barks all night
these last few nights. literally without ceasing. last night at like 3
i got out of bed and went out looking for him, so that i could kill
him, and as soon as i left  the apartment the barking stopped, only to
start up again the second my head hit the pillow, quite literally. my
plan is to make a cake with some anti freeze in it and feed it to him.
if anyone knows a more non-violent way to take care of business im all
ears. speaking of ears, im gonna try to find ear plugs today, but if i
cant find them...desperate times... but yall dont need to worry about
that. Im hoping everyone at home is doing really well, and im excited
to hear about all the new weddings and babies and stuff. keep it up!
Also, id like to publically ask will to write me for once! jeez.
             anyway. love you all,
                        Elder Bridge

I'm baking like a toasted cheeser here! February 6, 2012

Hey Fam!
     Its been a good one, the pictures are from last week, forgot to
send them, but thats embalse. super cool place. if you can see the
tower in the back ground of the one, one of these weeks were gonna get
the other elders from the district and go to embalse to go up that
tower and take pictures, im excited.
    So this week we had another cool thing there. just this big hill
we hiked up, through the thick south american jungles, and met a man
on top, who was cutting weeds. he said we can come back and teach him
sometime, so you know we will be. even if he doesnt let us in, the
view was worth it.
      Speaking of jungles, meybe i havent told you, but its hot out,
and way humid. Today we went to Rio Tercero and the 4 of us played
basketball, and within 5 minutes we were absolutly drenched in sweat,
just drenched, in the eyes, pouring down the face, dripping off the
nose and chin. it was like a gatorade commercial but without the
subliminal messages. We had alot of fun though, and were ready to go
kick some butt this week.
       As far as things go, not much new. i tried figs for the first
time, we ate them right off a tree, pretty dang tasty if i do say so
myself. This saturdays movie night was 17 miracles, and none of our
investigators came, but a bunch of members did, and i think these
activities are finally starting to take effect, cause sunday the first
counciler stood up and said like "everyone should be going to these
activities, theyre awsome and the Elders are working hard on them, and
it makes us way more ready to come to church the next day" so that was
pretty cool, that was the first time they ever announced it a week
before. sad thing is, were out of movies! haha, im gonna try to get
permission for us to watch the work in the glory if i cant get ahold
of anything else, i guess we´ll see eh? also, Argentine cinema is
terrible, so they really have no problem watching the same thing
multiple times. the church movies are like oscar winners to them jaja,
seriously. Ill be like yeah, its like legacy, but not as corny, and
they good this look on there face like "you didnt LOVE legacy?" so its
funny. and i guess, speaking for legacy, the girls voice isnt as
annoying in spanish, and thats at least half of what drove me crazy.
          So i hope everyone is doing good, love you all and hope to
hear from you soon. im sure youre just about done with those huge
letters youve been writing me and thats why its been a while, but
thats fine, im nothing if not patient.
     Love, Elder Bridge

AND ALL FREE TODAY. January 30, 2012

hello family,
    So this week we went to a little pueblo outside of town, called
Embalse. we actually go there every week to work and eat with our ward
mission leader, but this week i brought my camera, so im sending a few
photos. it was BEAUTIFUL there. very cool. little towns like embalse
for me are really what make argentina. the citys... well they are kind
of just a bunch of other cities crammed together, and almost
everything is in english, its wierd. its not argentina like i like it.
embalse, its small, green, full of super chill people that live on
high steep hills with steep rocky steps that seem 100 years old, and
just sit around and drink mate. there are streams for fishing, there
are restaurants to buy authentic argentine food, thats dang good. its
just a great little place. very wealthy because its so beautiful, so
they people dont want much gospel, but who knows, we might find one
there.
      Its been a great week, i just got my new companion, elder
hruska, from texas, and were gonna work like mad. this week will keep
us real busy, we{ll be into something different every day, im excited.
we got to watch 17 miracles last monday. i hope you have all seen it,
if not, see it, because seriously, that movie was powerful. i bawled
like the time me and meg and peter watched the christmas shoes. very
good movie, hope you watch it and feel the same way i did afterwards.
   Life is great, were just right in the business, and i really feel
that something is about to happen, something good. in other good news,
we got new mattresses and pillows, which is great since i have been
using a pair of sweatpants as a pillow this transfer. also, i got a
late christmas package from mom and dad that i didnt even know was
coming. we took my coca cola boat on its maiden voyage in the public
fountain, and shes real smooth. we named her the S.S Eternal
Companion.
         Also, the beef jerky is amazing to just look at, and i had a
piece last night. sent me into shock just about. so good. im very
excited to try making the root bear, and i just think the whole things
was great. thank you very much. sad thing about the ranch packet,
pretty sure you cant get sour cream here. ill keep looking though.
      Christal, i never got your christmas card, so im excited to get
it. I love you all and miss you like crazy, send me stuff all you
want, i promise i wont get sick of it, and ill send you stuff too!
thats a promise.
        Anyway, love yalls.
                   Elder Bridge

mamma, wheres pappa going with that axe? January 23, 2012

Another letter from the runt.
       Im doin good, we worked really hard this week, and i almost
died of jealosy when mom told me that the pipes froze again. it is
hotter than it should ever be down here. just hot, i dont even bother
checking how hot. just not fun hot, and its every day. sometimes it
looks like its about to rain and we get all excited but then it
doesnt. then sometimes it rains, and we have one cool day, and the
next day its back to the oven. i miss winter.
    other than the weather, my other enemies are at least something i
can fight against. things like apathy, pride, lethargy. i cant destroy
them, but i can fight them, so i do, and i do it by dropping lots of
cane...sometimes.
      Todays gonna be a real good day, were going to play some
futball, and then heading back to almafuerte tonight to WORK. Weve
been busy, did i mention that? last night i made an foreign delicacy
for a family and some of there relatives, about 10 people. a little
something i like to call Breakfast Burritos. bridge style, lots of
cheese, and the only bottle of hot sauce they sell in the whole town,
i bought it. merry christmas familia perez, from alan and colleen
bridge! it was really fun, and tasty, and theyre a cool family. they
cook for us every other sunday night so it was my turn, and i think i
did it justice if i do say so.
        Not too much to report. hopefully things keep going at the
pace they are, and that Elder Asplund enjoys his last week.
              Love, Elder Bridge

Under the January Sun. January 16, 2012.

ITS HOT!
     The weather here is nuts. last tuesday we had this huge storm
and i got all excited and we went out and worked but it was like
crazy! howling rain, and huge hail the size of a large marble, like
really big, and the streets were flooded. there was this huge puddle,
and i tried to jump it, and i didnt quite make it, so my leg went into
like 2 feet of water and i fell, and my arm and hip got a cut up and
bloody and my shirt got dirty, but i was already soaked, and it made
us look tougher so i didnt mind.
      ITs been a great week, full of good studies and some great
lessons. Elder Asplund and i have been trying to put together this
ward movie night for three weeks, but the first week nobody showed up,
and the second i was sick. this saturday though was a hit! we brought
an investigator, and hermana perez brought an investigator, and we had
like 15 members and we watched the Joseph Smith movie, and it went
really well. Were starting to win the trust of these small town
bumpkins and they will soon fall into our trap! and by that i mean
help us find people to teach, mwahahahaha!
      We are meeting all kinds of people with some of the saddest
stories, you woudnt believe, but were also able to see how their lives
can be changed and turned to good, so im really loving the good times.
today im in rio cuarto for the dayu, were about to head over to the
church and meet up with the other elders to play soccer and eat
together, so all in all it should be a pretty good day.
   Anyone who has written me and not recieved a response should be
expecting one in about 3 weeks, cause i sent off a bunch this week, so
heres hoping.
         Anyway, not much else.
              Love, Elder Bridge

One for the Fam, Let's Keep it Together. January 9, 2012

Wierdest week of my mission. Ill try to explain fast cause i dont have
a ton of time but jeez.
        So Wednesday i went into Cordoba to do my DNI which will make
it so im pretty much a citizen here for a few years after the mish in
case i want to come back and visit, so thats cool. Then Thursday i
felt wayy sick, so we went back to the apartment, and i layed in pain
for the night. Friday much of the same, sooo bored and all that.
Finally at like 10:30 we took my temp and it was 103.2 so we called
the HErmana and she was like go to the hospital. and heres where it
gets wierd.
       So we finally get to the hospital after so much time waiting
on a taxi that didnt come and calling an hermano to drive us there. So
the doctor was a crazy person. less active member of the church that
apparently doesnt live anywhere as far as i could discern. Also,
wouldnt be suprised if he wasnt a doctor. Gave me like a 10 minute hug
and kept saying how happy he was to see a missionary, then sat
andchatted about his personal finance problems at midnight where i
cant even think straight and just want to go back to bed. he comes to
give me another hug, then sits next to me and does like a wierd
sideways hug and rests his head against my chest and says how tired he
is. i had no idea what to do but i  realized the humor in the
situation. i just like patted his head and said it would be okay and
he just sat there for a while. then he calls the nurse, she brings a
shot that they put in my hind quarters, sending unexplainable pain all
the way up and down my left leg, that lasted for about 5 minutes that
seemed like an eternity. then he chats for about anothre 40 minutes,
asks us to offer a prayer, and we finally go back the the apartment to
sleep at 1:00. Super wierd right?
        YEsterday was good though,. I had a talk, then stumbled back
to the apartment to try and rest my head, and studied alot, adn today
were going to interviews with presidant and a zone meeting so this
week should be a little more normal im hoping.
        Love yall, Elder BRidge.
   p.s. mom and dad... missed ya

His midicloreans are off the scale! January 2, 2012

Dear Family,
  I hear good things, that is good. Much better than the alternative
i would say. Anyway, how is everyone?
      I have had a decent week. New Years was cool, they do
fireworks, like everyone in town spends all their money on fireworks,
so it was pretty cool. We were up on our roof, and i was dancing
around and playing the star spangled banner on my harmonica and
basking in the bombs, just bursting in the air. Loved it.
    Work wise, weve got a few very special people that weve found,
and were thinking that January will be a great month. Its my comps
last, so were doing everything we can to get rid of distractions, and
work hard you know? Were getting used to the flow of things, and
hopefully the work will become more regular once everyone gets home
from their vacations. we only had loike 12 people in church the last
two weeks, and thats in the two different towns we take care of. Our
bikes are in the shop now too so we walked a ton yesterday and
saturday, but it was good. And i mean you can imagine how sweet it was
to walk into a real bike shop. the smell almost knocked me out with
glee.
     So yeah, working hard, hope everyones good. Love you and hope to
hear good things.
                 Love, Elder Bridge