It was an eye opening experience to return to the “mission field” alter almost 10 days in the mission mansion. I literally felt the mantle fall on me for a second time. All of the sudden I felt the weight, the pressure, and the stress realizing that the salvation of the people in Padua is
directly related to what we do there. I felt it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was kind of like those first few days in Heritage Halls – Rogers 97 when I moved to BYU as a scared 17 year old freshman. Except this time I knew EXACTLY what I was getting back in to and how to handle it all. Sure, the first few days were kind of like, “wow, I forgot how heavy this load can be.” But after that, I got right back into my bold “repent, ye, repent ye” preaching missionary self. I have been able to maintain and even expand the new vision I developed for the work and yesterday was one of the best days I have ever had in the mission.It started in district meeting. The APs randomly showed up to talk to all of us in Merlo and they taught us about how we need to really believe that our area (whatever it is) is the BEST area in the mission and in the whole world. I didn´t know quite how to do that at first, but luckily the Lord had a wonderful plan for the rest of our day. I learned yesterday that San Antonio de Padua really is the best area in the world.
We taught a new investigator they found last week (with her next door neighbor member) and it was an incredible lesson. ______ has 3 kids, is MARRIED and her oldest son turned 8 on Thursday WAHOO! Her husband is nice. We haven´t taught him yet, but when he answered the door he treated us so well. He was leaving for work, but was very, very welcoming. She is Catholic, but doesn´t agree with baptizing babies and her eyes are opened to see that she needs to find the true church. She sincerely wants to know if this is it and it was an incredible lesson. She committed to come to church with us this Sunday.
Before that lesson we were knocking doors and found a Bolivian woman who is also MARRIED and was short on time, but listened for a quick lesson and also agreed to come to church on Sunday… we´ll see, but it was awesome.
Later in the afternoon we sat down in the front yard with a family and taught them. They are great parents and have 4 children and they are sincerely looking for a way to keep them from falling into utter destruction with the wickedness of the world. They aren´t married and may have Word of Wisdom issues but I was super bold with them and challenged them to come to church with us this Sunday and see how it will change their lives and bless their family-- and they accepted! It wouldn´t be a 3 week baptism (because marriage takes at least a month), but it is a family with a ton of potential and they sincerely want to find security.
If those 3 lessons weren´t enough, then we went to _____ (the investigator who was going to be baptized from 2 months ago) and set another date for her. She accepted August 23. Attendance and tithing will be the struggles, please pray for her – she is super poor and too ill to work for now.
Then we went to ______ and he accepted the same date! He had come to church with us this past Sunday and we finally got him to accept the date. We tried a few days ago and he just wouldn´t say yes, but this time we got him to say yes.
Talk about a good day. We caught the bus, did our last contacts and prepared for p-day!
Oh, and I forgot to tell you that ______ also accepted that date. We will have 3 baptisms! (provided that all make it, but that is why we have faith… they will make it). He hasn´t smoked in 4 days and even though it is super hard for him, I know that the Lord can help him quit. I was dumbfounded when he smoked again after drinking the nicotine tea because according to Elder folklore it is fool proof.
Now that I´ve told you about the best day I´ve had in the mission, allow me to tell you some random funny things. The other day we passed 2 teenage boys sitting on a ledge in the street and one of them crossed himself as he saw us. He must have been a little confused… we are not Catholic, nor are we the Virgin Mary, but I got a kick out of it. And then a man in the street said I sounded Ukrainian (I get that a lot) and asked how long I´d been here. When I told him 14 months he was all disappointed and said I should speak better – especially being American. I can´t lie I was pretty insulted. Fortunately I have been told by many that I speak better than most non-natives--but to make the insult worse, just as we left he said with a chuckle “que le salga mejor el Castellano.” Which means “hope Castellano leaves your mouth better.” In the famous words of Stephanie from Full House “HOW RUDE!”
So I got a letter the other day and Petree´s wife is due in November and Dewey´s wife had a baby in June. Crazy!
Today we took a train to Merlo for p-day and went shopping. I bought the most beautiful hand- made scarf that you have ever seen. Literally. It is like 3 different blues and too gorgeous to wear. It was $30 pesos – like 7 dollars US and I am so in love with it. I also bought Jason a souvenir it took 15 months to find something PERFECT for him, but I´ve got it now! I´m not telling, so quit trying to get it out of me!
Nata – I hope you had a great time in Spain. I can´t believe you ran into Aaron McBride… what a small world! Literally. How cool was it to do a temple session in Madrid! I know how you feel… it´s hard to get it all right. Did you buy me something nice?
Mom- enjoy girls camp… you are so lucky to have such a great calling!
Daddy – sleep in a wet t-shirt. It won´t ruin the bed and it will change your life--it did ours without air conditioning in sweltering heat--you will love it!
Oh – and there is no job working in the mission home as a secretary or anything… I was inventing that because I thought– how cool would it be to be able to stay on the staff, but with more privileges and less rules? It doesn´t exist, but it would be really fun.
Mom-
they did open my package, but Sister Pollock put everything back in. How do I take the natural sleeping tablets… it doesn´t say how many? I´m super excited to eat the Reeses Pieces… I´m saving them for a special occasion.We had a Gira Misional meeting – I don´t know what it is in English, but my companion and I volunteered (because Pres. Really wanted us to – he told me beforehand) to commit a pretend investigator (Hermana Johns) to come to church in front of 4 zones (approx. 70 missionaries) and a General Authority, Elder Zivic from the Seventy. It went well and President was content with our volunteering to do it. I had a heads up, because he told me the day before what the topic would be, but my companion and I had been separated for 10 days and couldn´t practice at all before going up to do it. Luckily we taught with great unity and fluidity because we are such a great, close companionship to begin with! I missed Hermana Carrasco so much and we are so happy to be together again.
Three days before returning to the field the cough and muscle pain came back and the doctor put me on nebulization for a week. I finished and sent the machine back. The cough is gone, but the muscle pain remains. It´s just life. My loose floating ribs stab me and ache. That is my current battle. Not to mention the raging athletes foot I got from all the antibiotics they put me on. A few of my toes are totally purple with problems. They burned and itched and didn't respond well to any medicine – even prescriptions. It´s just about healed, but that was a hassle that only added to my discomfort for almost 2 weeks.
On Sunday in testimony meeting nobody went up for a couple of minutes and I was contemplating getting up to break the silence, but a part of me wanted to see how long silence would fill the room. I was about to let the experiment continue when this thought came to my mind. “Can you imagine if the Savior walked in right now and saw that nobody was testifying?” He might say, “is there no one here who can bear testimony of me?” and of course we would all jump to our feet and run to the pulpit and say “I can, I can!” So what did I do? I jumped up faster than you can imagine and went straight to the pulpit to testify of my Savior. I couldn´t bear the thought of Him walking in and seeing NOBODY standing there.
I love the mission. I not only love the work… now I am living for it! Please pray for our investigators – the adversary tries so hard to get in the way and stop their progress. We go to the temple on the 18th and I am super excited!
If my intuition is right, I´m staying in Padua until I finish the mission and I´m training a new missionary next transfer.
How is the family? I found an awesome puzzle of the waterfalls at Iguazu, but it was 58 pesos and I just couldn´t do it. I´ll try to find another less-expensive one before November. I want to write Cameron and Tyler if I can just find the time, but I am behind on letters because I spent ALL last p-day finishing the Book of Mormon (I read it in one week!) and all the p-day before getting the mini from Catan so that I could go back to the mission home.....so I haven´t written and I owe letters to Megan, Kristen, Jecca… I´ve got work to do.
I pray for you so much and hope that the states can withstand the corruption. Oh, another random story… you have got to see the way people give directions here. It´s a trip. They use their hands and make funny across the street motions and never, ever use north, east, south, or west. They just use one hand and say “on this side of the street.” Hello – that doesn´t help if you are facing one way and go to that side of the street or if you are facing the other way it´s the other way. It kills me. The worst part is that now I am doing it too!
I can´t even believe how many plans and goals I have for my life. I want to do so many things it´s almost funny. I´ve never been so happy, even though I´m still in pain and it´s cold and hot in the same day so you have to take off your coat and carry it around. This is the Lord´s work and there is nothing better in the whole world.
Once last week I accidentally let my eyes wander in the home and saw a clip of a
basketball game and this guy went for the 3 and swished it and I confess… my heart skipped a beat. For a second I was back in the Marriott Center dressed in blue and screaming for the cougs. I felt bad afterwards, but for a second I remembered all that fun!Gotta go. I love you so much and hope that you all have a splendid week.
Take care, take luck, HAVE JOY!
