We Are Afull

Estamos Afulllllll (We are Afull)

No en serio, cada día en la semana pasada y tambien en la semana que viene tenemos mil lecciones! No tenemos tiempo para hablar con todos de nuestros amigos porque siempre estamos encontrando nuevas personas! Tambien tenemos muchos amigos progresando y estamos muy emocionadas a ayudar estas personas! 

English: No seriously, every day last week and also next week we have a thousand lessons! We don't have time to talk to all of our friends because we are always meeting new people! We also have many friends progressing and we are very excited to help these people!

Tambien... el domigo pasado tuvimos 10 amigos en la capilla! No sabemos que este pasó, porque nunca en nuestro 2 meses acá tuvimos un amigo en la capilla. Pero tuvimos 10!!! Fue muy loco! Pero fue buenísimo! Estamos muy emocionadas y no posemos esperar a ayudar estas personas. Yo sé que este fue un milagro, y estoy agradecida para la oportunidad de ver este milagro en mi vida. Yo sé que hay tiempos cuando pensamos no tenemos bendiciones, o no vimos las frutas de nuestro labor, pero yo sé que siempre hay bendiciones, y Dios siempre ayudanos por nuestro trabajo. 

English: Also...last Sunday we had 10 friends in the chapel! We don't know what happened, because never in our 2 months here did we have a friend in the chapel. But we had 10!!! It was very crazy! But it was great! We are very excited and can't wait to help these people. I know this was a miracle, and I am grateful for the opportunity to see this miracle in my life. I know that there are times when we think we have no blessings, or we did not see the fruits of our labor, but I know that there are always blessings, and God always helps us through our work.

Si ahora usted se siente no hay milagros en su vida, mira otra vez. Porque usted va a encontrar no solo uno, pero millones de bendiciones. 

English: If now you feel there are no miracles in your life, look again. Because you are going to find not just one, but millions of blessings.

Question of the Week

English Class

Okay our english class is getting really popular! Every Thursday we teach English and the first two weeks it was totally dead and no one came, but then it gradually started growing a little bit, and last week we had a whole family of 5, a mom and her daughter, a 21 year old aspiring English teacher, and a 37 year old breakdancer show up to class. Plus we have a bunch of people interested so now we have a big group chat of all our English friends! 

I think it's been a great help for my Spanish too, and its really shown me how far I've come! I can't wait to see what my Spanish will look like in just a couple months, let alone in a year! I've served about 25% of my mission and the time is flying way too fast! I feel like I just finally got my feet fully under me with the language, and I've still got so much room to grow! 

Spiritual thought

A talk I really liked this week was "Forgiveness" by President Gordon B. Hinkley in the October 2005 Conference. He shares a story of a woman who suffers surgery, disfigurement, and years of physical therapy after a 19 year old boy tossed a frozen turkey out of his car window onto her car. Yet this woman does everything she can to make sure this young man who might have killed her, can live a good life. In the courtroom she hugged the young man as he crying begging for her forgiveness and just told him she wants him to live the best life he can. 

I wish we could all strive to be like this woman. Not seeking revenge, maybe not even justice, but just seeking to be merciful. To give more than we are given. To love others more. The scriptures say, 

“I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men”

Even if we are not holding grudges, even if we have no one in our lives to forgive, are we still forgiving all men? Are we doing all we can to not just love those we know, but to love those who we don't, perhaps those we see as faceless villains, those who fight for a cause we don't support or have beliefs we don't share? 

Let us all try to love a little more selflessly, pray for those who despitefully use us, and serve those who stand in need of service, no matter who they are. 

I guess I'm pretty boring this week, cause that's all I've got to say. Chau chau!

Pray, He is There!

First things first I have to shoutout the big man. God works in our lives and that's a fact. We had a Conference Monday (which is why our p-day got switched to Tuesday this week) and we had to catch the bus to mar del plata. These buses leave ON TIME! I have never had a bus in the USA leave as on the dot as these buses run. The morning of the Conference it was raining HARD! Like the rain hurt to walk in hard. So we thought, let's maybe call a taxi, but we call the taxi and they're like, it'll be an hour wait, so we scrap the taxi idea and decide to walk. 

We leave, but I'm kind of slow because my companion has no shoes she can walk in the rain in and so I gave her mine and decided to wear my boots which are a bit of a high heel, but I cant walk very fast in those. So we leave, but then she goes, I forgot my phone. So we go back to the house she grabs her phone and as we're still like 10 blocks away from the terminal she goes it's 4 minutes until the bus leaves. So we start running, but it's really hard to run in higher heeled shoes and I gave her my good shoes so I'm having a really hard time. 

Finally as she's running in front of me I yell that I can't run anymore and so we start speed walking and I just shout, 

"Dear heavenly father help us catch this stupid bus, in the name of Jesus Christ amen" 

And all of the sudden a conviction, literally a heart burning warm feeling, stirs in my chest and I said out loud, "I know we are going to make this bus." So we walk to the terminal and she checks her watch and sees our bus still in the terminal and then when we reach the cement of the terminal we book it, my shoes unzipped got both he socks I was wearing drenched, my feet were cold and wet, but at least the shoes stayed on my feet, and we got to the bus 2 minutes after the bus was supposed to leave. 

The last person was getting on the bus, and the bus driver let us pay for our tickets on the bus so we got on and successfully went to the Conference. 

Pray, he is there! Speak, he is listening! You are his child, his love now surrounds you! He hears your prayers! - A Childs Prayer

Conferncia

A member of the Seventy came to speak to us (A church leader responsible for a large area). Since we aren't in Bahía we only got to watch a zoom but it was all good. There were a lot of technical difficulties, but it was fun nevertheless! 

Halloween

No one cares about Halloween here in Argentina, it was really a bummer. We did see like 4 kids dressed up though and we gave them candy so that was fun. At church some kids also gave us candy, bit of a reverse trick or treating. We also made these treat bags for all the members on our half of the branch, a bunch of them really liked it, one member asked us like, "Oh I didn't know members of the church were allowed to celebrate Halloween"

So everyone here kind of thinks Halloween is satanic, but we still dressed up. Points if you can identify what me and Hermana Ellison dressed up as! 

Transaldos

Miramar is a branch (a super small church congregation), we are not even a Ward (a normal size church congregation), and there are 6 missionaries in Miramar! We got elders in the transfers! We have a native speaker teaching a brand new "yankie". (Give it that the Argentinian accent, "shankie")

They're so nice! It's exciting to have a district in Miramar. We went to the beach for our p-day together and played beach volleyball then ate lunch together and got ice cream! 

Volleyball Crew

The elders did end up taking half our area which means 2 of our friends with a baptism date are their friends. But it's all good! I cant wait to see all the baptisms they're gonna have here! 

I'm really worried one of our friends with a baptism date, Martin, doesn't know we're still in Miramar. Last time the missionaries teaching him switched he stopped progressing, so I'm hoping he does okay with the change this time. 

Peaks

Found 15 new people to fellowship this week!

Y... nan más! 😁 Chau Chau!!

A Letter made it through. It's a miracle!

4 Fechas and a Dog...

If you wanna learn how to set 4 fechas (fecha = date) in one week keep reading 😎

Our Favorite Missionary!

La confianza 

My confidence with the Spanish grows every single day. Last week on Wednesday we had a lesson with a friend Mirta, and she is the most charlaton (english equivalent is chatterbox) person maybe in the whole world. Lessons are only supposed to be 30 minutes and we stayed at her house for 2 hours without even saying one word. 

There were so many times we tried to interupt her, but it was literally imposible, she would just keep talking even if you tried to speak over her. Usually my companion is the one who interupts these kind of people since she understands more than me and knows the right time to cut in. But this lesson even she was without words. 

Finally I felt so prompted by the spirit to just say her name, so mid-sentence I just say, "Mirta." And she stops. Then I say something like, "Mirta we're here to prepare you for baptism so we'd like to talk about how we can help you prepare." And then for like 15 minutes she lets us talk and I led the whole lesson. 

Ever since that lesson I started taking charge in lessons, talking more, starting conversations and more. The next week we went back and this time I took charge again and we were only there for 45 minutes. 

There's so much I miss, but there's so much I know! I testify that the gift of tongues is so real! I feel it everyday! 

Bulk then Cut

Sometimes you have to bulk, but then you don't see the results until you cut. And I'm not just talking about how I lost 4 pounds last week while I was sick and now I have sick guns. 

No, I'm talking about the refining fire God has in store for each one of us. In the 2022 April General Conference, Elder Christofferson taught, 

"The process of God-directed purging and purifying will, of necessity, be wrenching and painful at times. Recalling Paul’s expression, we are “joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” So, in the midst of this refiner’s fire, rather than get angry with God, get close to God. Call upon the Father in the name of the Son. Walk with Them in the Spirit, day by day. Allow Them over time to manifest their fidelity to you. Come truly to know Them and truly to know yourself. Let God prevail."

Last week I found myself suffering with Christ a little bit. I was sick and finding the work a challenge, I was quicker to be annoyed, and I was finding the trials was in too much to bear. Yet rather than complaining to God about my trials I found it within myself to pray more. Try harder, pray for more charity, beg for more help, serve others harder. 

It has not fixed everything, I still find myself struggling with many of the same trials, but I have felt the burdens lightened, and the afflictions eased as I have sought to help others more and make myself a more Christlike person. 

The refiners fire hurts, but I have seen how much it has changed me, I am growing, and I am being prepared. So don't be scared when you have to cut after bulking. Because the cut just shows how far you've made it. 

I set 2 fechas all by myself! (Plus God)

Every Thursday we do the pizarrón (chalkboard) activity where we ask people to answer the question on the whiteboard. This week I found myself asking 2 strangers who I just met that day and shared a pamphlet and a testimony with them, to get baptized. I asked these two random men if they'd like to get baptized then put them both on date to get baptized next year.

The question which made an impact on 2 to be baptized

Anyways now we know I speak enough Spanish so that when I'm on my own without my companion next to me I can invite strangers to get baptized. And God can invite the spirit into their hearts enough to allow them to accept! 

Pray for these men! Let's get Roman and Gustavo baptized! 

Peaks

Had some guy tell us if he didn't smoke a cigarette every 30 minutes he would rip our heads off and use them as soccer balls. I think I'll save the word of wisdom for our next lesson... 

Hermanas West and Robbins had a new convert in church today. He doesn't have a name yet, but I think we might just call him Good Boy

"Good Boy"

The president of our rama (branch) came and just literally taught all the members what ministering was because I guess no one here in Argentina really does it. 

Yo y hermana Ellison vamos a quedarnos juntas en Miramar! Vamos! Voy a tener 4 meses con ella! Vamos a bautizar afull!!!

(Afull probably isn't translatable, it literally just means what it says (a full), to be full like busy, I think I explained it in a past post) 

Valleys

Thinking about how I won't be able to use the planning function of carpeta when I get home from my mission. I don't know how I'll function. 

An 8 year girl in our ward got baptized in this kiddy pool the other hermanas bought (because we don't have a pila) and it took literally an hour and a half to fill up. Also she choked so bad on the water cause the guy baptizing her dunked her like crazy she flailed so hard out of the water, it was the most traumatizing baptism I've ever seen. Don't baptize people in kiddy pools... lesson learned. 

 

The Dream Team!

Under the Weather

By: Guest blogger Hermano Voss

Hi all, this week's update will be a bit shorter as our favorite missionary was a bit down and out this week with what appears to be a stomach bug... Yuck.

Highlights

Well, our missionary had some physical adversity to deal with this week, but she was a champ and mostly worked through the discomfort. It involved some strategic bathroom planning, but she was able to persevere.

Delicious burrito or sick missionary? You decide. 

"Get well" muffins to help Hermana V feel better.

Feliz Dia de la Madre!

Turns out that Oct 20th was Mother's Day in Argentina, so Maren got a surprise Mother's Day call! It was a super fun surprise to get in an extra visit with her and Audrey even followed it up with a lovely email that still leaves Maren misty eyed at random times...

Guns a Blazing

The district activity this week was paintball. Audrey had not played before, but she only ended up with a few welts to remember the activity by. She says it was hard to hit her because she is small and shifty...

 

Never Been Gladder to be German

Tramites

I'm legal!!!! Or at least I will be soon. I went to Bahía to get some legal paperwork done that will allow me to stay in the country. Which meant I got to see Hermana Merlo (one of my old companions) again! It was great to see her and it was so fun to kind of strike it out on my own. 

I went to do the tramites (legal paperwork process) with one of the Hermanas that came at the same time as me Hermana Robbins, and we had a good time using the limited Spanish we know to try and make our way to a city thats an 8 hour bus drive away from us. 

It make me feel a little more confident in my abilities. I didn't understand everything, but I made my way. 

Paintball

Played paintball for the first time as a Zone pday activity. It was awesome! I got some wicked bruises and the mask they gave to protect my eyes kept falling down my face, but I loved getting to play! Plus my team won all 5 rounds so I guess I didn't do too bad my first try.

Whiteboard

We're actually having a lot of success with this one activity. Last week I called it the Que Te Hace Feliz (What Makes You Happy?) board, but really it's just a board that you write a question on and then ask strangers to answer. We have gotten a lot of people's contact information, handed out a lot of Book of Mormons, pamphlets, cards, and gotten out a lot of good press.

We even had a woman who said she wanted to get baptized! Please pray for Paula, because we are gonna do everything we can to help her achieve her goal! 

Our Very Successful Whiteboard Campaign! 

Un bezo de una Inglesa  (A Kiss From an English Woman)

You may be wondering about the title. Well we've gotten there. A Bezo is a kiss, and here in Argentina usually the culture is that you bezo everyone you meet, which just constitutes touching your cheeks together, sometimes people will actually kiss your cheek, but usually you just press them together and give the person a hug or a half hug. Everyone does it to everyone, men or women as I think I've explained in a past post. 

That's been a cultural adjustment, but that's beside the point. One day as me and my companion were walking, a man came up to us and asked if we were from the church. We were, so we told him as much, and then he started asking if we had money. Lots of people ask us for money since we're from the church, but all we ever have on us is like 3 mil for an emergency so unless he wants to buy like a gatorade our money wouldn't be very helpful. 

So we tell him that we can give him Book of Mormons or pamphlets, but we're really not gonna be helpful in the pursuit of worldly goods. So then he starts begging and he's like, how about a bezo, un bezo, and he starts like gesturing putting his fingers to his lips and moving them towards my companion Hermana Ellisons lips. 

Then he says, "Siempre, siempre quiero un bezo de una inglesa" Saying he's always wanted a kiss from an English woman. Then like 2 seconds later as I'm still contemplating how I can use anything on me to beat this man away from Hermana Ellison if he tries to move in for the kiss he slaps her arm and goes like, "Un chiste" (meaning "a joke" in Spanish) and walks away. 

Moral of the story, sometimes public harassment is just a joke as long as you say "un chiste" after it.