Hey awesome family. How are you all? I absolutely loved the division in Castelar, even though it was tough to visit some of my converts and see them struggling with their testimonies. Raul is doing great though and was very happy to see me again. A lot of the others weren't home so we couldn't visit them. I tried to visit Azucena, Haydee, and Florencia, but could only leave post-its on the doors. Rolando is in Cordoba and there is a tiny tiny chance that I will get to attend his sealing in the temple in September. That would be a mission dream of mine come true.
Hermana Pruner and I are going to rock the house when we sing in our last transfer meeting, and yes, I will find a way to record it! I´m going to put it on my mission video as a background track.
When we were in divisions I went with her to their district meeting and it was cool to be in the Castelar Zone again. They did something in their district meeting that made me laugh. They set goals-- each companionship for how many lessons they would teach that day with and without a member present and as each said their goal I chuckled to myself as it seemed like they were playing poker. “I´ll see your two “with a member,” and I´ll raise you 3 “others.”(other lessons means without a member present). I laughed.
It was a joy to work with my dear Hermana Pruner – she is like walking charity, but isn´t as bold as me. Somewhere in between she and I is the PERFECT missionary. I would love to be able to serve with her because we would balance each other out so well, but the chances of that are like one in a thousand now.
I was talking to Hermana Di Stéfano the other day and she said that Paula – a woman in Haedo 1 that I worked like crazy with to get her to quit smoking has a baptismal date! She also said that Silvia – the woman that had a baptismal date when I left that later fell through – has another one. So if those 2 get baptized the fruits of my labors will be harvested! It made me really happy to hear it.
Have ya’ll heard of “the plan of destruction” google it. It´s like a little poem about how Satan just tells us there is no hurry. I think I already wrote home about it once, either way, I love it.
I learned to never let Argentine mud dry on your shoes. It will take you about 15 minutes to scrape it all off in the shower afterwards. The mud reminded me of that time when I was helping Daddy put in the sprinkler system at Salinas and I was convinced that if we added a little bit of water it would make it easier to dig the trenches-- then I learned that it just makes things worse. Mud is just a mess no matter what you do.
I was super, super sad when I returned home from living in the mission mansion to find that my companion had lost my awesome giant umbrella. It´s one of the few things I was actually going to bring back to the states with me because it is so awesome. She feels bad, but I feel worse. I had taken such good care of it and it had served me so well. I need it for these last 3 months. Ugh.
Speaking of that time when I lived with the Benton´s… I told the President that I wanted so badly to baptize a family and he said, “You will baptize a family, you just don´t know it yet.” What do you think that means? Sometimes I think the only family I will baptize will be the one I form myself. It´s not that I lack faith, it´s just that it isn´t something that comes easily. I´m going to work as hard as I can to baptize a family, but if it doesn´t happen, I will accept that at least I have been a tool in His hands to bring many individuals and incomplete families to the waters of baptism. I figure I would rather baptize some twenty odd individuals than just one complete family of 4 or 6. Because as I have seen with Dora and Gerardo that followed in Gera´s footsteps and were baptized after him… where an individual is baptized, a door is opened for further missionary work as we work to complete the family.
It was so cold and then it was so hot that I was walking around in my socks and my short dresses and then it was so cold and raining that I froze to death and now it´s just cold in the morning and night, but hot in the afternoon. You cannot win. You have to either carry a jacket and it's heavy and be hot all day, or be super cold at night and have everyone get mad at you for not dressing warmly.
We are so low on mission money this transfer… we don´t know what happened or where it went, but we had like 100 pesos and we were waiting for reimbursements from my blood tests and a heater we bought when my companion prayed for us to be able to make do with the money situation. That very day we got an envelope with 100 pesos from Hermana Pruner that we had left over with her from the division. It was so cool to see how the Lord answers our prayers. The worst of it is that when she prayed for that I thought to myself, “why pray for that?… what can He do to get us more Money?” Oh how wrong I was. The thing is that we shouldn´t have received that envelope for another week, but the office elders were super on top of things and got it to us the day they sent it in. What a miracle!
I finished finding all the footnotes to my patriarchal blessing and it was one of the best activities I have ever done in my personal study. You should all do it. It is amazing to see how our personal scripture is supported by the Standard Works and the examples of those from the scriptures. Do it!
What is going to happen this transfer? Will I train the only new sister missionary we are going to receive or will someone else? Her name is Hermana Godfrey… we saw her picture in the estandarte – along with Elder Thompson´s! He looks more grown up than I imagined he would and I have faith that he will be an asset to the mission. I think I will start to pray for his trainer – whoever it will be.
Speaking of that do you receive the estandarte? Or did you ever? I bet you didn´t for a while because I stopped being an overachiever, but I´m in this one because we were in the top 20. If you get a copy will you let me know? Just curious if the mission is still sending them out to the parents.
Nata – I don´t remember what you were asking about but we use pollera instead of falda. Were we talking about polleras? I´m lost. But I´m super excited to see the present you bought me. Thanks a bunch. I loved the pix you sent me… you are so dang skinny it kills me!
Where do we need your prayers? I will tell you. Santiago is going to be baptized this Sunday, but he is super nervous. He´s totally prepared and all, but he would do it in like 3 months if he had the choice. But we are helping him go forward with faith to reach this date. Please pray for him to not let anything stop him.
Also Brian finally warmed up to us again and he comes to listen to parts of the lessons and says hi to us in the streets again! We want so badly to baptize him on the 30th. He even came to church this past Sunday with Liliana his mom. It was her first time and a true miracle for us. We did have to bring them ourselves, but that is to be expected. Almost nobody comes their first time on their own. Just Raul in Castelar! Anyways… Liliana needs prayers too because she is going to a doctor tomorrow and she has more health problems than we do. That is all the more reason that she needs the gospel – and besides that… we need her to be a support to get her kids in the routine of coming every week to church.
Our motto this week is “all that shines isn´t necessarily gold” – I don´t know if that is translated perfectly, but you get the idea. We have had that happen to us so much this past week. We have people who want blessing...and they shine, but they have no desire whatsoever to be baptized. They just want their child to be healed and don't care about joining the church. _____ – we lost contact with her because she stood us up 3 times. She sincerely wants to know if the church is true, but doesn´t want to make commitments or come to church. We have others that have so much potential, but the trial that I am facing a ton lately is that these need to be 3 week baptisms. Every missionary wants to find, teach, and baptize them--- the 3 weekers. They´re already married, they quit smoking one day to the next, they come to church 3 weeks in a row and you baptize them like that. It's just not the way it seems to fall for me. I have to accept that I may have to work and work with someone for 4 months (or years) and then they will get baptize. It´s still a soul saved, but it requires a ton more time… and when you measure your life in 6 week periods – it´s harder to have the drive to work and work and work for the long term baptisms. The patience that I thought I had mastered is still a struggle of mine. Why can´t everyone be a 3week convert? Oh yeah, 2 Nephi 2 says that there´s just gotta be opposition in all things!
Pray for President Benton – I think he´s still sick. Poor shing.
We went to the temple today and it was lovely, but p-day is gone!
Mom – way to go on girls camp. I am so proud of you.
Dad – I am so excited to hug you again too!
Nata – Are you reading the Liahona in Spanish – if not, I hope you will start.
Jason – I´m really struggling to put my thoughts into lyrics for the song I want you to write. I´ve got writer's block. Any suggestions?
Grandparents - Thanks for all your love, support and prayers.
Gotta run.
I love you more than words can express.
Tell everyone I love them.
