I'm not playing games. It's cold out here.

Dear everyone,
 

This week was another week of hard work and I am learning even more and more just how merciful the Lord is to His children.  Especially me.  Elder Gila is an amazing companion and he is super humble.  He has the funniest stories to tell from his homeland.  "We would plant crops.  Like... how do you say... sweet potatoes.  But the pigs would come in and destroy them.  So we have an idea.  Maybe we could kill the pigs.  And then we eat them!"  Maybe it doesn't sound as funny coming through a computer, but his accent while he speaks in English is priceless.  And that's just a lil' story.  He has much, much more amazing hunting stories.  Like hunting sharks and pigs.  And He does the hand motions and the sound effects.  His pig squeals are the best thing I have ever heard.  Apart from his crazy stories about Vanuatu, he is a very diligent and hardworking missionary.  And I love him a lot.
 

Our area is the middle of the city, as I might have said last week, so it's difficult to find people that really aren't super busy and want to hear what we have to say.  We're trying to focus on listening to the Spirit more because we only really have about twenty seconds to gain their trust and catch their attention.  And honestly, I have no idea what to say in just twenty seconds that will make them want to keep listening or to agree to meet sometime.  But the SPIRIT knows!  The Spirit knows all things.  So if we learn to only focus on what the Spirit is telling us to say, and then say it, then it will be our best chance to help them come to the light and understanding of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We're doing what we can to involve the members more in the work and I know that the fastest way to help someone want to help you is by finding ways to serve them.  So we're gonna start serving away!  Uruguayans are pretty difficult to accept help, but I think that's the case for everyone, so we're gonna try nonetheless.
 

There is a recent convert in our ward named Artigas and he is around sixty-five years old.  He didn't complete more than three years of schooling when he was younger because he had to start working to provide for his family and thus, never learned how to read.  Two months after he got baptized, he finished reading the Book of Mormon and can read.  That is such a miracle.  That literally couldn't have been possible without God.  Today is very special for my city Florida because it celebrates some Saint named San Cono who is huge for Catholics down here.  And my city of a few thousand people becomes filled with twenty thousand or more people.  Why?  Just to be at San Cono.  It's a huge party outside right now and hundreds of little mini shops have been set up on the streets to benefit from the lucrative aspect of this holiday.  It's a madhouse out there.  Nonetheless, we are going to go out and find those prepared souls who need to speak to us.  I love being a missionary!  I must now go and serve the beloved children of God.
 

LOVE,
Elder Plautz

The Pictures:

 

The first is me with Elder Gila.

The second: after a long time of being apart, a few weeks ago when we went to sign our visas and became residents of Uruguay, I found my trio again! And it was a spectacular reunion. No sabía qué hacer porque estaba demasiado animado por encontarme con ellos de nuevo! Que coso, che! Pero sacamos una foto por lo menos! Los amo, en serio. Viva Uruguay!