Well I have no idea if my blood work was normal, but I´ll give Sister Benton a call tonight.
I´m thinking I´d prefer speaking on the 13th so Nata can be there. I´m glad you liked the photos... I have been taking a bunch!
So Las Heras is a handful, and training to boot. It´s a branch that is centered in Las Heras, but then we are also in charge of three little villages: Navarro which is 30 km away, Villars which is 18 km away, and Hornos which is like 10 km away. The bus that gets us to each of those is way expensive for our poor budget and it only passes like once every 3 hours, so you have to plan things really carefully and sometimes sacrifice lunch to make it all work (we eat something, but it´s not like a sit-down and enjoy it meal). There is church in Las Heras in a house that is like a mini church. In Navarro they have Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School in someone´s home and the same thing in Villars in the garage of a member. We cannot possibly be in all 3 each Sunday because 2 take place at the same time (about 52 km apart from each other). This week we went to Las Heras which is 3 blocks from the apartment and it was the most spiritual Sacrament Meeting I have ever attended in my entire life. I´m not one to cry much, but the tears just kept falling down my face every time someone shared their testimony. It was so strong and powerful that I looked over my shoulder absolutely certain that I would see my Savior standing in the back of the room.
Lara - a 10 year old girl that was a referral of the branch president whom we challenged to be baptized in the first lesson (and she more than accepted) was there with her mom. We are hoping to baptize both of them on the 19th of September. It was great they were both there and Lara shared her testimony about how she had prayed and felt a fire in her heart and knew the church is true. Her mom just let the tears fall and fall the whole meeting long and I know that we can help her too, her challenge will be Sabbath Day, because she usually works. But we will win.
We also had the neighbor of the branch president (His name is Lionel Miguez) in church. She was also a referral and she also loved church and stood to share her testimony saying that when she walked in she felt like she had been there before.
My comp and I sing a lovely harmony and we are converting through music. Lara and her mom Liliana love it when we sing them hymns and I think it´s the trick to touch a lot of country folk here in campo.
We bravely took a bus and went to Navarro, but accidentally got off 8 km early. OUCH. We took a remis the rest of the way and started teaching. We went around trying to find the investigators and discovered that in campo most of the houses don´t have numbers. They just say I live on the 24 in between the 31 and the 33 (that leaves you with about 8 houses on each side of the street that it could be. You just ask the neighbors and usually it´s not too tough to find them, but it´s just a bother and you can´t help but think "there´s gotta be a better system... oh yeah, there is!"
When we got off 8 km early we were in the middle of NOWHERE. It was incredible. Just farms and mills and a house every km or so. We laughed instead of freaking out. And hey, it all worked out fine.
In Villars the next day we were careful not to get off early and found the members waiting for us with open arms to receive us and share their table so that we could eat the picnic lunch we packed in a rush to catch the only bus for 4 hours. There are 3 active families and 1 less active family in all of Villars. It´s like walking into Smallville or something.
In campo my rain boots come in very handy. After a rain storm I keep wearing them and get them all muddied up. Hermana Godfrey was surprisingly well prepared (reminded me of myself) and she also has a wonderful huge umbrella much like the one I once had. (sigh...)
What´s tough about having such a huge area and all is the inability to be in 4 places at once. The bus schedule we cannot control and the work is spread out. It´s hard to progress someone to baptism when you can only visit them once (a big maybe twice) a week. You just have to have more frequent contact with them. How do you pick where to invest your time? Obviously you follow the Spirit and the counsel of your leaders. President told us to spend the bulk of the time in Las Heras and Navarro, but the members are big on us working in Villars. I am going to try and not worry about Hornos right now. I wish I could divide myself in half or something... especially for Sundays.
So I hit 16 months today and we rearranged the furniture in the apartment and it´s much more homey now. I´m remarkably not that tired physically, but I´m exhausted mentally and at times emotionally (I know, I know what you´re going to say, but hey... you raised someone that doesn´t accept the status quo... I´m going and working for something better). I am not supposed to talk to my comp in Castellano, but when I don't she doesn't understand me. If I break rules and talk to her in English I get dumber and she doesn´t get any better. So I´m doing the first one and quite impressed with my patience. It´s only been 6 days, but I´m very willing to repeat things a billion times until she gets it. She works very hard to learn new words and is progressing a ton.
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Yeah, I forgot to mention that p-day is Monday now. Same deal as before, read and write in an hour.
Family Miguez is basically the branch. They are so incredible and welcomed us with more love and happiness than I thought was humanly possible. They take super good care of us and are willing to help us in anything. It makes me want to have a big family out in the country and have my own branch. hehe
President Miguez looks like John Travolta. Trust me. But they don´t believe me, so I need you to send me some pictures as attachments of John Travolta - preferably the "Look Who´s Talking" era so that I can show them that he IS John Travolta. It´s uncanny.
Hermana Godfrey is very diligent, eager to obey, well-prepared and just overall a pure spirited person. We get along great. I wish I could talk fast Castellano with her, because even after 6 days I feel like my Castellano is slipping a little bit.
The assistants made another mission CD and it has some of the coolest songs EVER! I actually feel guilty for liking it so much. Big surprise. You are going to die when you hear the soul that comes out in this Evangelist girl singing I know my Redeemer lives. It´s actually quite inspiring. We´ll get her baptized and then it´s all good.
All in all this should come as no shock to you that I get nervous and tense when it dawns on me that the mission will actually end someday. I was sitting in the Branch Sacrament Meeting and about died thinking that I would go back to some family ward and sit and listen without a name tag and investigators at my side.
The other day I was sitting down studying or something and I about started crying as I thought of how much I am going to miss this. I´m just certain in my last interview that I will bawl and tell President Benton that he should let me stay on as Sister Benton´s assistant. (After flying home and sharing the holidays with my family of course. :)
The mission is a whole new ball game in campo... you have to work things in a new way. Timing, planning, contacting... everything. And if you don´t wave at someone they just might get a little upset. This happened to us the other day, and the lady was not amused that we hadn´t waved at her. Beware!
I love you all so much and hope that you can sense that even though at times I´m all nervous and tense and a psycho perfectionist... that it´s because my spirit knows how important this life is. There is not a moment to waste. There is not a day that we should let go by without making a difference.
I think that my big challenge of coming home will be having to take off the name tag and let that part go. I´m already practicing to think "don´t cry because it´s over, smile because it happened." It will be ok. I will be in good hands.
I really like this area. People almost always stop to let you contact them, they all say, "sure come by some other day and I´ll listen to you." but that actually just makes you have to really be able to perceive if it´s worth it to write down their name and address, because 85% of the town says, "sure, some other day." Where are the elect? Unfortunately there are probably a bunch of them in one of the far away towns that I´m still a little afraid of. In some small house on some farm... waiting for us.
Mom - do you want to investigate Buscapina Compuesta it´s supposedly a pill you can take to avoid kidney stones. I don´t know if it´s necessary, but I thought you might enjoy a research project. :) But most important is sending me pictures of John Travolta.
I´m glad it wasn´t Nata´s leg. I would have died. I almost did. Poor Brock.
I´m almost sleeping till 6:30 again. It´s helpful personally. I love the mission so much and feel really blessed and privileged to be able to finish the mission in Las Heras because the members are just such good people. They would literally give you the coat off their backs. It´s the exact opposite of my last area.
I´m doing my very best to let my missionary fly and grow. I don´t know how often I should correct her Castellano because I don´t want her to get discouraged, but at the same time I don´t want her to form habits saying things that are wrong. I was ticked when at 1 year I found out I was saying "me recuerdo" when it´s either "me acuerdo" or "recuerdo" so I don´t want her to resent me down the road for letting her same things wrong.
The new apartment is great. It´s huge and has a shower that is way better than Padua. I´m quite content. I have almost no time at night because I have to do all the calls, help her a ton with the area book and plan - which is great because the only few minutes free I have I grab to write in my journal and I haven´t eaten at night for a while.
We might be able to use bikes in Villars! I´m super excited. I´m going to take an AWESOME photo of something and send you a surprise soon. Just wait!
I´m glad to hear the cougs won their game. Hope they keep doing it.
Pray for Lara and her mom Liliana and the other neighbor who is also called Liliana.
There are so many prepared people here. The Lord really does send His missionaries where there is work to be done.
I know the Church is true with all of my heart. I know my Redeemer lives. I know the BOM is the word of God and that Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet.
I have never felt such joy as I have felt here in the last 6 days. The first chance I get I´m catching a red-eye flight back to visit the wonderful people of Las Heras! The Miguez Family is already my family.
Don´t worry about me. This is the Lord´s work! And we´re winning!
----Sweet 16!
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