Week 59: My New Companion- Hermana Zerate

So I had written a nice long letter before and somehow it all got deleted before I could send it! :( Now I am out of time but I will try to sum up the week quickly!

Transfers: I am staying in Temperley and received Hermana Zarate from Peru as my new companion! She just left her first area and has 3 months in the mission. She was with Hermana Manner and didn´t move far- she is in the same zone! In the photo of the zone she is sitting to my right. She got baptized two years ago and is super sweet! It is going to be an awesome transfer! I feel so blessed for my companions! It was so hard to say goodbye to Hermana Rivarola! We are such great friends and the scary thing in the mission is that you never know if you will see them again. Hermana Roman has finished her mission and will be flying to Ecuador today- we were able to see her on Saturday for the last time! It is cool having all of my companions from other countries, but it will be difficult to see them again after the mission!  :(  At least there is Skype!

Other highlight: We have been teaching Marcela after all and even though she says she still isn´t ready to be baptized, she knows the church is true! Before she struggled with the idea of no coffee and tea, but this week she told us that for a few weeks now she had decided that she wasn´t going to drink them more! On the last night with Hna Rivarola she made us empanadas and told us she wanted us at her baptism! She still doesn´t accept a date, but her heart is softening and she is progressing! (the photo is of Marcela and her mom Kika- the people we found on my first day here in Temperley that I talked about in Skype)

We are teaching Mariela and her hijas Azul and Alma (ages 9 and 10). They are so fun to teach and we hope the daughters can be baptized this transfer, we will see!

I'm Going to Miss Hermana Rivarola Dearly!

 My Zone. My new companion Hma Zerate (from Peru) is just to my right

 Marcela and her mom Kika

Marcela made us Empanadas

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Mom, I wrote Dean the first week and he didn´t respond my questions, so I have just been forwarding my weekly message to him. This week I will add something for him. sounds like it was a rough week for him.

Week 58: Great Reunion with my MTC Companion

This week was so awesome! On Wednesday July 12 we had exchanges and Hna. Manner, my companion from the MTC, is a sister training leader now and she came to my area to work with me for a day! We realized that it was exactly one year since we left the MTC and entered the mission field! How cool that we were able to be companions for a day after one year! We talked about the good old times and marveled at how much we have learned and all that has happened. It is amazing how fast time flies. Remember the Elder that scared us and told the joke about the shoes on the telephone wires? Well now he is my district leader and has to call us every night. It was funny because he called when Hna. Manner and I were together again and the three of were laughing about that day. Hna. Manner is still upset haha. This Elder served in Cañuelas the same time as me and now is in the same ward as me again so I have already forgiven him, but Hna. Manner no!

Then on Saturday there was a Capilla Abierta in Claypole and it was great! In the morning we worked in a part super poor with dirt roads and with all the rain we´ve been having that means lots of mud. Luckilly we had our rain boots but I have never been so grateful for cement! In the afternoon it started raining but miraculously we were still able to give 6 or 7 tours of the capilla. The best part was when an investigator that got baptized this weekend came and wanted to hear us sing hymns so as we we waiting for more people to come, I sang with a couple other hermanas and the spirit was so strong! It was great to see a lot of other missionaries all together and to see friends from my other areas again.

The rest of the week Hna, Rivarola and I enjoyed our time together! We know that this upcoming week is our last week as companions because this is our 2nd transfer together. It rained a few days and these last couple days have been super super cold. Enjoy the heat of summer for me! We spoke with many people and invited them to come unto Christ and even though many didn´t accept our invitation- at least we opened our mouths! We are doing a lot of planting seeds here and the missionaries in the future are going to have a ton of baptisms I am sure! Even though our investigators aren´t progressing as we would like them too, we know we are doing our best and fulfilling our part. By small and simple things, great things come to pass! D&C 64:33-34

This is Week 6 of the transfer... on Saturday we will hear about transfers! It has been a great 3 months with Hna. Rivarola and I love her so much! If you remember from the Mother´s Day Skype, she is a bit crazy but it has been so great! She is really loving and funny and I am going to miss her! We are anxious to hear what will happen the next transfer!

Also, Hna. Dias is flying home to Brazil tomorrow and has finished her mission! Hna. Roman will go home the next Monday and I am grateful that I could see her at the Capilla Abierta before she leaves!As more and more of my companions are finishing their missions, I am realizing that my time is running short too! I only have 3 more transfers left and I am trying to make the best of the time I have in Argentina!

Mom:  Wow that kayaking trip sounds so cool! I would love to go on the next trip! The photos are so pretty. Wow Happy anniversary to grandma and grandpa!

Week 57: Great Week with the Sister Training Leaders (ETM's) 7/10

This week was so great with the Etms Hna. Davis and Hna. Lopez. It was so great to be reunited as a trio with Hna. Lopez. And Hna. Davis is super fun so we enjoyed our time together. It rained almost every day and was super cold but I am noticing that the weeks that the weather is bad are the best because there are always more miracles. God blesses us for our sacrifices! We walked so so so much and talked to nearly everybody that crossed our path.

 Every day we come home just exhausted- I have never walked so much in my life until I came to this area. We found a lot of new investigators. One of them, named Mariela is super interested and has two daughters ages 9 and 10 and they all agreed to be baptized! They came to church this week too even though it was raining! Woo hoo!

 On Saturday we had a Tormenta Blanca in our area where 16 other missionaries in our zone came and worked in our area for 2 hours and helped us find a lot of new people! Also, remember that I said we don´t have very many lunches with members? Well this past week almost every day members offered to feed us and this week too! One member in particular named Alba Rodriguez fed us 4 for two days in a row and gave us a bag full of the necesities shampoo, toothpaste, and handsoap- super sweet!

We felt loved by the members this week!   Also on Sunday we had a Ward Family Activity and even when it was pouring, 12 members came and we had a great lesson and activity! A sister from the ward who was serving the mission in Paraguay finished her mission this week and she taught the lesson for us. It is great to talk with her because she understands how it is in the mission! She is excited to help and I think she will be able to accompany us this week.  Today we had an district activity that was really fun. We ate pizza and ice cream and played Signs and ping pong. The friends I have made in the mission is a great plus!

Great Week with Hermana Davis and Hermana Lopez

Great relationships are one of the wonderful blesssings of our missions

Week 56: The Strength of a Companionship during Hard Times

 My District

In this area the members are not very supportive of us. :( Maybe 3 times a week we have lunch from the members, but they just give us something to go and we eat it in the pension. This past week we ate ravioles, milanaisas (like a chicken patty), eggs with squash, rice, and chicken. If we have to cook, we eat lots of eggs with guacamole, rice, salads, or tortillas. For breakfast I am eating granola, oatmeal, eggs, or yogurt, and we just eat an mandarin orange with a cup of herbal tea for dinner. We have a cook book in every pension in the mission so this week we planned to make empanadas, sub sandwiches, homemade mac and cheese, and hamburgers to change up the menu a little bit because only one member is going to give us lunch this week. More ideas would be helpful! It doesn´t bother me too much that we don´t have lunch- it is the hardest on Sunday. At times I wish we had better relationships with the ward- missionary work always works better when the members work with us. But I like that I can choose the food I eat so I can maintain my weight more easily. I am trying to limit how much sugar and wheat I eat.

And yeah we give out Libros de Mormon in the street in our contacts- Hna. Rivarola and I with the ETMs gave out 40 this week. We offer them a pass along card first and if they show a little interest we give them a book too. President Calquin wants us to flood our areas with El Libro de Mormon. 

This week with Hna. Chaffin and Hna. Ochoa was a bit hard- we worked a ton talking with the people in the streets but we only found one new investigator. Our other investigators aren´t progressing either- it is hard find them in their houses to have lessons with them. It was a bit frustrating but I have the peace of mind that we did everything in our power and that no effort is lost. God sees all of our work and sometimes the blessings come in different ways than we expect.

I am super grateful for my sweet companion, Hna. Rivarola. Without support from the members and rejection from the people everyday, she is the friend that makes me laugh and together we can make it through the hard times.

 Romina (one of our wonderful investigators) and her family!

The next week will be better! We have the other ETMs with us- Hna. Lopez and Hna Davis!

 My Zone

Sister Training Leaders with me and my companion Hermana Rivarola

The Elders that serve in our ward with us

To answer your question Mom: Okay the fulfilment Center pays well at least! I was thinking about whether or not I should work or not- I don´t know if the amount of money I would earn would be worth more than the time I could spend with the family. Maybe I should just be at home to help around the house, organize everything for college, and spend time the family. It depends on how much you and dad are able to help pay for college too. Maybe it´s better that I work part time to make connections for the summer and gain a little cash. I am willing but I just don´t want to lose time with the family or make things more complicated with transportation. Just my thoughts...indecisive as ever. :)