October 10, 2008

Come What May-- And Love It!

An Argentina soccer shirt for Davy!


Davy wearing his soccer shirt from his mission serving Aunt Stacey!

An Argentine mailing label

and paper money


along with favorite treats!

Oct. 7, 2008

YEA! Ím so glad you already got my package… I thought it would arrive around Thanksgiving, but gee… lots sooner. Did you like the tretas? The package only cost me around 15 dollars to fill and about 20 to send to you. I thought it would be a fun surprise for you all. Glad you liked it.
Ím trying to take pictures of lots of stuff, I think Ím going to bite the bullet and send off some cds with all the pix soon, but Ím still thinking about it, yeah, Íll probably send them off next p day or the one after that. I want you to have pictures, and it really takes so much time to attach them with the emails, so yeah, Ím going to get on that.
What is going on in Utah? People keep stopping me and telling me "how sad…" or something and Ím totally like "what, what is going on there?" The other day someone told me that there had been a shooting in a university and I didńt know if the story was legit or totally bogus. I assume that yoúd tell me about anything that crazy, but you never know…
Did you all know that I turned 5 months old in the mission today? Yep, Ím 5 months old! Ím navigating the area and accidentally had us get off the colective a stop or two early once so we had to walk like 6 blocks more, but I learned a lesson and didńt repeat the mistake the next time!
Daddy – I totally hear you about "you cańt get any wetter." I haveńt quite been totally soaked yet, but definitely my feet… oh, it was super cold and I was caught without my cool boots. I hope we get to go to a BCS bowl, even though that would mean wéd probably lose it, right? Maybe not. Too bad the cougs areńt playing that well, but it does my heart good to hear that at least they are winning. Yes, we were able to stay for the second session of Sunday conference because Rolando Destito, one of my first baptisms (he got baptized August 9th with Azucena Rodríguez) stayed and so yeah… It was INCREDIBLE! You are right… Tears fell from my eyes when that seventy said that we often think we need to have this incredible experience to have a testimony, but that it is not true. I TOTALLY needed to hear it and it was really an answer to my prayers… for 5 months... I had been needing to hear it, and it was truly a special experience.
We watched the 2 morning sessions sitting next to Raul (so in Castellano) and the 2 afternoon sessions in the special English room for the missionaries who have less than a year. I got more out of the sessions in English, but was still quite edified by the sessions in a foreign language. It was really interesting because I realized that everyone sitting next to us in the stake center (which was our chapel… and SUPER convenient for us because we were able to go out and work between sessions) didńt understand the hymns that were being sung because they were in English.
I just loved conference… it was definitely the best general conference of my life! "come what may and love it" (venga lo que venga, y disfrútelo) and Elder Holland's talk about angels. I decided that I will dedicate the rest of my life to becoming an angel! I also got a kick out of the sister that talked about missionary work and reminded people to write the missionaries! When she said that, I hoped that I would be getting a ton of mail in the next few weeks. Hehe!
Interesting thing about Argentina… yes, there is a WalMart, but not in any of the sister areas. We have a big mall just outside our area and we go there once or twice a transfer, but mostly we do all our shopping in the little stores in the streets. There isńt really one-stop shopping here. In stead, every thing has it's own little store. Therés a fruit and vegetable store, therés a shoe repair store, the dry-cleaners, the laundromat, the toy shop, the costume shop, the little school supply store, a place where you buy cleaning supplies, the Internet shops, the locutorios… where we make calls and pay for them… (we have been out of minutes on our cell phone for 10 days and it makes things INCREDIBLY complicated… mainly because when we try to call certain people, their phones dońt accept calls from locutorios… for example… Gabriela, the mom with the 7 kids that we are desperately trying to have daily contact with her, but it's practically impossible. But luckily, next month we will get our minutes doubled and we will have 500, which I think should not run out if we are careful. But yeah, 250 ran out in about 2 weeks. LAME!
Speaking of her… shés still just afraid to commit to a baptismal date because she might be getting back together with the father of her kids… Pray for her to just accept what she already knows she needs to do, and GET BAPTIZED this transfer… Íll just die if I have to leave the area with this family unbaptzied… I just cańt bear to leave without seeing the fruits our labors…
Luckily… Ím becoming the missionary 24/7. It's good because Ïm really losing myself in the work, but it's bad because it's starting to cost me my sleep because I think about the people and how to help them until I fall asleep and when I wake up in the middle of the night, I think about them again, all morning and all through study I rack my brain for ways to help them see and progress… I confess it's kind of stressful and Ím trying to not let it affect my physically. But it's really like more than I can explain… it's the missionary life. Luckily there is also a lot of happiness like planning Rauĺs baptismal service. He will be baptized this Saturday and I am so excited! Íll send pictures. He is incredible…He made my whole mission worth it. Even if I dońt baptize one single more person, it was worth if for Raul Antonio Cappanna.
Guess what… on the 13th of October Russell M. Nelson is coming to speak to the Buenos Aires West and North Missions and I am singing in a choir of 8 missionaries in this meeting! Wish me luck, we only have the chance to practice once altogether right before the meeting. Pray for me to have a good voice and know my part! (Tell me which part is mine and which part is yours)... remember that song? Íll let you know how it goes.
Wow, another hour gone. Thanks for your letters, your love, your advice, your updates, your support, your prayers, all you do!
Thanks for the new shirts… I trust that you found the best of the best. I look forward to it and thank you all for your efforts, your sacrifices, and your dedication to take care of me.
I pray for you all daily, especially little Davy!
I miss you, but in like 13 months wéll be together again!
Wubba,
Hermana Stacey Jensen

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