There are always funny things that happen with motorcycles because everyone has one!

 

Argentina in the World Cup.

 

The Sisters in the Zone.

 

 

The Zone.

So Argentina is still going crazy here with the world cup!  The kids are in the street with their jersies pretending to be Messi (a player that everyone adores here).  And they scream a lot.  But it´s really fun for us because it´s just everywhere and it´s what everyone likes to talk about to.  So yeah, that´s what´s happening.  We had some pretty cool experiences.  It´s starting to get really cold and the other day we were walking around to see if we could talk to people in the street.  There was NOBODY!  We saw a motorcycle coming our way, and I say in my head, "maybe we can talk to them" (really sarcastically) and then the motorcyle falls apart in front of our eyes and pulls to a stop.  Turns out there was a just a little part that came off and so they couldn´t drive anymore.  It´s funny because we ended up talking to them for a good while while they were waiting for their friends to come help them.  God answers our prayers in really funny ways sometimes.  But we found two awesome people from that experience.  But there are always funny things that happen with motorcycles because everyone has one.  Sometimes you just see a family of six (yes, I have seen that) on one motor scooter running to the store to get some groceries.  It´s really ridiculous and really dangerous!  But we always see some funny things with them.  

Oh, the other day, we were eating some meat with some people and they ask us, "Do you like it?"  "Yeah, what is it?"  "Horse." So it turns out that yesterday we ate some good horse meat.  So now, I have eaten the neighbor´s pony.

This week has some ups and downs.  On Monday we traveled to Necochea to stay there until wednesday for a zone meeting.  We got there and Hermana Rodriquez was there!  She got transferred to our zone and it was great because we lived together when I was in Bahía Blanca.  She updated me with some news about my previous area.  Turns out that Teresa, one of my converts, passed away in March.  She had cancer and was suffering a lot, so when she told me I was a bit relieved, but it´s still really sad. 

But that was my week, thanks so much for the emails!  Love you all!

 

Mario Graffiti.

Flag Day.

My companion playing with a dog in the street.

 

Yamila's Baptism!

Yamila's Baptism!

The whole family Serra.

Yamila and her mom.

First off, here in Argentina everyone is going crazy in the streets with the world cup!  People are just in the streets screaming or honking their horns.  It´s actually pretty awesome!  But we aren´t going to let it affect our work.

So we had a Yamila´s baptism this Saturday.  It was so amazing, really, she´s just the best girl ever.  She is always so willing to go to church and participate even though she is the only one in her family.  Her whole family was baptized, but for a lot of different reasons, they are not attending.  The was the best part of the whole baptism.  

We had planned everything in advance so that it would be smooth sailing before the baptism at 6:00.  At 5:30 we got a lot of calls saying that people couldn´t give their talks or lead the music.  To make a long story short, the missionaries ended up doing everything, prayers, talks, and leading the music.  We were worried, too, that Yamila wouldn´t get there, but she showed up with her family!  Her whole family!  It was absolutely wonderful.  My favorite part about being a missionary is seeing others see and recognize when they are feeling something.  Lorena, Yamila´s mom, really didn´t want too much with the church, but she went and she felt the spirit so strongly!  Yamila was really nervous, but she got in the water and her mom felt it.  I really wasn´t watching Yamila as much as I was watching her family.  They started crying and absolutely felt something so special!  The next day Lorena was at church and the confirmation was so beautiful!  Seriously!  

I have so much to write, but never any time.  Sorry!  

Just know that we are safe and having fun!  The mission is the best!

I love you all!

The plaza at night.

Rain!!

Augustin - he got baptized in April.

In the plaza . . . awkward companionship.

The World Cup is starting, and people are CRAZY here in Argentina!

Hermana Marple and I.

Reinforcements in Quequen with Hermana Marple and the zone.

Messing around in a tire.

So first of all. The world cup is starting and it́s starting to get pretty crazy here in Argentina! But when I mean crazy, I mean CRAZY! There are count downs everywhere of when the games start and when Messi plays, all the doors are closed and everyone drinks.. So I feel like this week is going to be a little interesante. Wéll just knock doors in an area where nobody has TV́s. Anyway, this week was fantastic!

We had a few experiences that were awesome. The other day, we were walking in an area that we dońt go to a lot because it́s really far away, but we felt like we needed to go. We were walking and we saw a family. I felt like we needed to talk to a lady that was standing outside. We went to a different house first to see if one of the members still lived there, but afterwards we decided to go to her house to talk to her. It was so interesting. She is absolutely fantastic and muy amable. We were talking to her for a good while and then her husband got home. When he talks like an Evangelic priest, but hés really awesome. But he says to us, "Okay, it́s just really weird because last night I was praying to God with all of my heart and now you guys are in my house. My brother is a member of your church and always invites me. Maybe God is telling me that I need to go." Obviously that́s what happened because we are never that far away. So that́s a family of three that we are now working with.
Also, we are preparing a Yamila (sha mee la) for her baptism this Saturday. Shés like 13 years old and goes to church by herself. All of her family are members, but they are all less active. But with all of our visits we are helping all of them to get back there. It́s absolutely awesome to see the progression of all of them. So yeah, it́s been an interesting week. and Now, I dońt have anymore time.

Love you all!

Also, not only the world cup, but the people are obsessed with One Direction here. I dońt know how it is back in the states, but here it́s absolutely awful!

We made roast beef.

Home made churros.

This Pretty much describes our companionship!

Homemade marshmallows  to eat S'mores.

There's a reason why Jesus always told us to be like children.

The beautiful Arroyo.

Eating delicious panchos!

This week I learned a lot from children.  We are currently teaching some children to help the whole family come to church.  The testimonies of the lil´chillens are really really powerful.  There´s a reason why Jesus always told us to be like children.  They are willing to learn everything and anything.  There is a 9 year old boy here with many difficulties in the family.  And despite all of that, he got baptized by himself and he goes to church every sunday by himself.  He shares his testimony every fast sunday and has so many desires to help everyone around him.  Seriously, he shows me up by a long shot.  The example that he has set has changed his whole family.  His mom is now listening to us and wants to be baptized.  It´s interesting that it all started with a little kid that helped his whole family.  

Apart from that, we are also teaching a family of 9 people.  Everyone has been baptized besides the three youngest, Nicolas, Melodi, and Kevin.  We have helped them all to come to church and now we have a young men and women`s programs at church. :)  Na, solo un joke, but it makes a huge difference when they are there.  

I really love Tres Arroyos because we are helping families that have once learned about the church or are learning from the start, but as a family!  Because that`s pretty much the whole gospel right there.  

Hermana Boyce and I are really enjoying our time together.  We are pretty sure that it will be the only transfer that we have together because we get a long so well, but we are really happy here.  Anyway, that`s about all for now.  

Thanks so much for your support, I love you all!

I'm crocheting a scarf for my companion.

Messing around with some chairs!

We splurged and bought Pringles!