Miramar is not "A full"

Miramar

It's official, we are at the playa (beach). We spent our first p-day at the beach and it was so nice. In the morning it was a little cloudy, but around noon it got sunny and the sand got warm. We collected shells and then stopped by a cafe for lunch which had the best chocolate mousse cake ever. 

Enjoying the beach!

Everyone here is so nice too. At the cafe we ate at for lunch. We wanted a table in the sun, but they didn't have any, so when the server noticed we were looking around outside he asked if we'd like a table in the sun, then moved a random table and some chairs to put us in the sun! Then we ate the best lunch ever! I got grilled chicken and fries and my companion got milanesa with fries and it was so good. Plus the cake came with a slice of strawberry which I swear was the best strawberry I've ever tasted, I miss strawberries so much.

No but seriously, the people in Miramar are so much nicer in comparison to some of the people in Independencia. You could say the people in Independencia were "A full" (pronounced awful) which means that they are "full" like busy and their schedules are packed. Everyone there brushes you off and is always in a rush because they are a full, they have tons of things to do everyday.

Here, everyone is so tranquilo, people just invite us into their houses and it's like no one is in a rush to do anything or go anywhere. It's so different, and it's making me really optimistic! Pretty soon I'm going to be "a full" of lessons! 

Life Lessons

Okay guys, this is the biggest piece of advice I can give you (other than joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). It turns out that your life will be majorly improved by living a healthier lifestyle. It turns out that if you wake up early, go to bed early, do exercise every morning, drink at least 3 bottles of water, devote at least an hour a day to some form of study and self improvement, and eat fruits and vegtables at every meal, your quality of life improves. 

Okay, go out into the sun every day, have a routine every night to make it easier to sleep, and keep a clean living enviornment. I'm sure you all have already learned this, but I'm just having the revelation now after being put in this apartment in Miramar with an ant and fruit fly problem. Turns out if you buy a trashcan and a drying rack for dishes a lot of problems can be solved very quickly. 

A lot of problems have simple solutions that feel hard. Getting started is the key to motivation. Change one thing and the rest will follow. If you've been thinking about making a small change to improve your life I encourage you to just try, go for it, and you'll start to see the vast improvements that follow. 

Life's what you make of it! Choosing to be happy is the best decision you can make for yourself! I love you all so much! If you ever need anything, or you just need someone to listen email me! I've got ears to hear and eyes to read which fulfills pretty much all the requirements to be a good listener. 

Chau! 

Funnies

Ellison and Voos are going to Miramar, someone should change my name tag

Pipi 3? 

Pipi 3??

Ores, chocolatada, and Helaman 5

The hail storms here are crazy!

A Short "Transfer Week" Update

Short update this week because I'm boring... 

Double Fecha

My last week in Independencia and I placed two fechas (dates for us English speakers)!!! My companionship managed to get two people on date to get baptized. This is crazy considering how we hadn't even been close to getting anyone baptized just the week before, but right before I leave we manage to get two people ready to be baptized. Also we set both these baptism dates in the first lesson with them! Please pray for Juan and Giuliano!

Transfered 

Oh did I say it was my last week in Independencia... My first transfer and I'm already being moved to a new area, Miramar in Mar Del Plata. Guys... I'm not there yet, but I'm telling you Mar Del Plata looks rico. I don't see a single dirt road in Mar Del Plata on google maps! If I get mugged I'll let you guys know, but it'll be nice to go spend my p-days on the beach. At least until summer hits when the missionaries are not allowed to go to the beach. It gets hot here in the summer, so many locals decide to spend extensive time in their birthday suits when at the beach... Yikes.

Christmas

Okay fine, I admit it, we did celebrate Christmas last Monday. We couldn't help it! It was the last week it was going to be cold before winter next year in Argentina. It's so hot here now, and I can't celebrate a warm Christmas, it's inhumane! 

Nevertheless, our early celebration was a ton of fun! We made and ate delicious food and listened to Christmas music, gave gifts, and decorated a tree! Truly it was a great Christmas and I won't be shamed for celebrating Christmas early. 

Pulled Pork, Mashed Taters, and Banana Bread!

Funnies

 

Slugs and snails abound here...

An Exciting Development

Español

Vamos a Bautismo!!! Oscar tenía su bautismo este sábado. Este no es mi bautismo, pero Oscar me pedió que hablar en su bautismo. Este es mi discurso!

""4 Porque somos sepultados juntamente con él para muerte por medio del bautismo, a fin de que como Cristo resucitó de los muertos por la gloria del Padre, así también nosotros andemos en vida nueva" 

Este versiculo en Romanos nos habla sobre el símbolo de bautismo. El bautismo es un renacimiento. Es una nueva vida. Cuando Alma hijo despertó después de recibir la visita de un ángel, dijo:

"25 Y el Señor me dijo: No te maravilles de que todo el género humano, sí, hombres y mujeres, toda nación, tribu, lengua y pueblo, deban nacer otra vez; sí, nacer de Dios, ser cambiados de su estado carnal y caído, a un estado de rectitud, siendo redimidos por Dios, convirtiéndose en sus hijos e hijas; 26 y así llegan a ser nuevas criaturas;"

Cuando nosotros decidimos hacer el convenio del bautismo, tenemos una oportunidad para vivir una vida nueva con más bendiciones. Tenemos un padre perfecto con un plan perfecto y un amor perfecto para nosotros. 

El bautismo permite que Dios se acerque a nosotros y nos bendiga más. Podemos confiar en él más, oír de el más, y sentir su amor más. Y también tenemos más acceso a su poder. Cuando nosotros llegamos a ser nuevas criaturas, llegamos a ser criaturas más perfectas, y más cercanas a Dios. Este proceso nos da poder para cambiar. En Mosíah el rey Benjamín dice el mismo a su pueblo. 

"7 Ahora pues, a causa del convenio que habéis hecho, seréis llamados progenie de Cristo, hijos e hijas de él, porque he aquí, hoy él os ha engendrado espiritualmente; pues decís que vuestros corazones han cambiado por medio de la fe en su nombre; por tanto, habéis nacido de él y habéis llegado a ser sus hijos y sus hijas."

Porque nosotros entramos en este convenio, llegamos a ser sus hijos y sus hijas. Dios es nuestro padre. Él es nuestro padre y podemos confiar en el, podemos darle a él nuestras cargas y preocupaciones. Él está con nosotros en todos los momentos. 

En el bautismo es necesaria una inmersión total, y esto es verdad en nuestras almas también. Necesitamos una inmersión total en el evangelio, y el bautismo es el primer paso para hacerlo. 

Felicitaciones Oscar, continúe sumergiéndose en el Evangelio, y Cristo estará allí con usted en cada paso del camino. 

En el nombre de Jesucristo Amen."

También nosotras y los misioneros que enseñar Oscar cantamos una cancion, "Andare con Cristo." Fue muy bueno!

And now the English version of that (according to Google)

Let's go to a Baptism!!! Oscar had his baptism this Saturday. This is not my baptism, but Oscar asked me to speak at his baptism. This is my speech!

 

"4 For we were buried with him into death through baptism, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."

 

This verse in Romans tells us about the symbolism of baptism. Baptism is a rebirth. It's a new life. When Alma the younger woke up after receiving a visit from an angel, he said:

 

"25 And the Lord said to me: Do not marvel that all mankind, yes, men and women, every nation, tribe, language and people, must be born again; yes, be born of God, be changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed by God, becoming his sons and daughters; 26 and thus they become new creatures;"

 

When we decide to make the covenant of baptism, we have an opportunity to live a new life with more blessings. We have a perfect father with a perfect plan and a perfect love for us.

 

Baptism allows God to draw closer to us and bless us more abundantly. We can trust him more, hear from him more, and feel his love more. And we also have more access to its power. When we become new creatures, we become more perfect creatures, and closer to God. This process gives us power to change. In Mosiah King Benjamin says the same thing to his people.

 

"7 Now therefore, because of the covenant which you have made, you will be called Christ's offspring, his sons and daughters, for, behold, today he has begotten you spiritually; for you say that your hearts have been changed through faith in his name; therefore you were born of him and became his sons and his daughters."

 

Because we enter into this covenant, we become his sons and daughters. God is our father. He is our father and we can trust him, we can give him our burdens and worries. He is with us in all moments.

 

In baptism, total immersion is necessary, and this is true of our souls as well. We need total immersion in the gospel, and baptism is the first step to do that.

 

Congratulations Oscar, continue to immerse yourself in the Gospel, and Christ will be there with you every step of the way.

 

In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Milagro!!!

Guys... I think we might finally have a person here who wants to learn about the Gospel! We had a reference a week ago who asked us if we could teach him about baptism so we invited him to come to the baptism of Oscar and he accepted and actually showed up!!! 

When he went to the baptism he said it was so peaceful. We invited him to church as well and he came to church too! He told us that he had been looking for different churches his whole life and he hadn't ever found the one that felt right, but when he came to our church he felt more peace than he'd ever felt anywhere else! We haven't even had one lesson with him yet and he already came to a baptism, church, and we gave him a Book of Mormon! 

He also found out that he knew some of the members when he came to church! He already has friends in church and we're really optimistic that he's ready to be baptized, he's just so prepared. Please pray for Juan Manuel! 

Harassment in Bahía

This is a weird about turn, but I have once again been asked if I'm single. I have been in Bahía Blanca for one transfer and I have already been sent messages by 5 different old men on different occasions all asking if we the missionaries are single, or about how young and pretty we are and how badly they want to be married to girls like us and asking to meet up.

On Sunday (the holiest of days) we had a man lean out a bus as we walked past and yell, "Te puedo sacar la dignidad?" For those of you that don't speak Spanish, "Can I take away your dignity?" Yeah... Bahía is full of comments like that for us, and even the dogs are in on it.

I had a dog fully pull my skirt so he could dip under it and stick his head up my skirt. Then he tried to bite me until Hermana Ellison managed to scare him away with a rock.

It's all good though because now I have a bunch of really funny pictures of messages we've received. I might make a collage at the end of my mission! 

Funnies

POV: You're a baptismal fecha

Had to stop to take a quick seesaw break