Hermana Bermudez from El Salvador, and it's starting to get really cold and wet here!

Ping Pong activity.

So first off, my companion is named Hermana Bermudez and is from El Salvador.  I have no been companions with each one of the hermanas from El Salvador.  So anyway, my companion was visa waiting in El Salvador for 6 months so I am not really training, but there are SO MANY things that are so different in this mission.  But we have been doing really well together so far.

This week was super great, my companion actually arrived friday in the morning.  Everyday they told us, "Your companion will be here tomorrow.."  Then the next day passed and they said the same thing.. until Friday.  So I was still companions with Hermana Ortiz and Hermana Llave for another week.  

Hermana Ortiz is really short!

Hermana Llave eating a pomegranate.

We saw a lot of miracles this week.  We were talking to one of our investigators named Estér.  She is super great, we were talking to her and everything and then she says, "yeah, my son sent me a book of Mormon from Spain."  And that´s why she had let us int he house.. because she had recognized that we were from the same church.  We talked to her and resolved a lot of her doubts about everything that was going on in her life.  We were so happy when she came to church!  Everyone says they´re going to go, but usually they don´t go.  But no, she actually came to church!

Another miracle was through the member here in Balcarce.  One of our investigators that was a referral went to church last week.  It happened to be the same day of Oscar´s confirmation.  He said that during the confirmation, he felt something really powerful.  The members were so nice to him and accepted him.  But the real miracles was how willing the members were to embrace him.  We traveled to Mar del Plata sunday and so we couldn´t be there for Family Home Evening, but the members invited him to participate with him and he said that he wanted to do everything he could and that he feels a lot different now that he´s listening to the missionaries.  Seriously, the members here are what do the mircales.

We have giant slugs everywhere!

Apart from all that.  It´s starting to get really really cold here.  Really cold.  We actually used the heaters.  The other day, it rained so much!  We didn´t even have the keys to the apartment so we could´t put on another coat or anything.  We were so wet and cold all day.  But on the bright side, it´s now the season of the pomegranates.  In the street we find Pomegranates and eat them.  It´s super delish.  

As for the slugs... they are multiplying!

Oscar's baptism, Juan Paulo, NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT SCHOOL, and Hermana LLave's birthday!

Making Orange Juice in the street!

Alright, it has been another interesting week because well a lot of things happened.  I am still companions with Hermana Ortiz and Hermana Llave, but the zone leaders called almost a week ago that I will have my new companion tomorrow.  And I will be training again, so I am pretty nervous about that.  My time with my companions was really fun.  They really want to learn english, so I am trying my best to help them.  It´s funny because the things they remember are phrases like, "come at me bro", "wazzzup", y "freaking blonde."  It´s pretty funny because they have their accents while saying these things.

Baptism of Oscar y soaking wet.

Anyway, as far as the work goes, it went really well.  It´s a little bit hard because we have investigators from each companionship, but only one companionship to work.  Oh also, we had a baptism this week because the other hermanas were teaching a grandpa named Oscar, and he was going to be baptized last week, but he got really sick.  So... the week he actually got baptized was the only week that they were my companions.  So that was a really cool experience.  He is 70 years old, but acts like a little kid.  His baptism was really sprititual and afterwards, he just wanted to play in the water.  Seriously, he´s like a little kid, but is absolutely awesome.  We were friends before because he had been going to church, but it was good to get to know him better.

Also, Juan Paulo is progressing a lot.  He came to church this week and realized that he already had a lot of friends in the church, but didn´t know that they were members.  It was really good for him to have a good experience his first time because if they have a bad experience in the church the first time they go, it´s really hard to have desires to go again.

Other than that, there were some other things that happened.

Lesson for the kids:  The other day I was talking to some member kids and they started to ask me questions about how school is for us in the United States.  They asked me, "I saw in the movies that you guys have trays and you can choose what you want to eat?... and you guys have lockers where you can put all your books and school stuff?... and you guys can where whatever you want to school?"  When I said yes, they started to freak out because they thought it was just movie stuff.  SO NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT SCHOOL.  Because we have it the best.

Cumple de la hermana Llave.

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Also, Yesterday was Hermana Llave´s birthday.  She came up to me and said, Will you give me a birthday favor.  Bueno.  She wanted me to take some "chicken fat" from the kitchen sink that was halfway in the drain.  I was a little bit confused because I didn´t remember having any chicken in the house.  Anyway,  I started to pull out the "chicken fat" and then I realized that it was moving.  Long story short, we had a giant slug in our kitchen sink and I totally threw it when I realized what he was.  Hermana Llave already knew what it was, but didn´t want to handle it so she told me that it was meat.

Also, the birds are dying here like crazy.  The other day we had found a lot of dead birds.  Hermana Ortiz was explaining how sad she was because there were so many.  As she was saying this, a bird with a broken wing tried to fly, but couldn´t quite make it to the branch and started to fall.  A giant dog ran as the bird was falling and caught it in it´s mouth like a frisbee.  I think Hermana Ortiz almost started to cry.

That´s pretty much all, thanks for your support.

This is why I am here in the mission: To help people get through their problems.

My last day with Hermana Rozsa.

I think during the mission this has been the craziest week of all of my mission.  First off, I am no longer companions with Hermana Rozsa.  Yesterday at 4:00, the zone leaders called to tell us that she needed to be on a bus at 8:00 to get to Bahía so it was a quick leave and I am really sad.  But now I am with Hermana Ortiz and Hermana Llave as a trio so we are pretty excited to do some great things.  It was really sad for me to say goodbye to Hermana Rozsa because she is so awesome, but it will all be okay.

We worked Monday, but then Tuesday we had to leave because we had a meeting with all of the zone leaders in the mission home.  So we traveled during the night 7 hours to get to Bahía.  We had an awesome conference with President that was mind blowing.  It´s so awesome to be a missionary during such big changes in the mission.  After that, we traveled back to Mar del Plata and the zone leaders wanted us to do divisions with the sisters there.  So for Thursday and Friday we were in Mar del Plata.  We got back to our area Saturday and started to work. It has all been really really interesting and now I have like no time to write, but we had some pretty cool experiences and funny experiences.

When I was in the conference in Bahía, one of the zone leaders gave me a note that Teresa had written me from my old area.  It was so great to hear from her and know that she was okay.  She told me that she has been really sick with her cancer treatments, but that she is so grateful to have met us and the church.  She has never been happier even though she is suffering more than she ever has before.  This is why I am here in the mission, to help people through their problems.  And apparently baptize all the grandparents.

Also, we were in Alicias house the other day and her memory is going pretty bad.  Nothing really sticks, but she loves to read all of the books of the church.  The other sunday, we talked about the missionary work and how as members we need to share.  They gave each person a Book of Mormon to give to somebody else.  She didn´t understand and thought it was a book she didn´t have.  We went to her house the other day and she said, "I have read up to page 200 in this mormon and in the other mormon I read up to page 140."  She doesn´t realize that they are the same book, but we don´t want to tell her because it´s cute and we don´t want to discourage her from reading it.

Also, it is so humid here.  All of our papers, clothes, and everything is always damp.  It´s super fun.  It´s pretty much water damage always.  

Well, that´s pretty much all for now. 

Random holidays.

A member gave us a lot of corn to husk!

So there´s a funny thing about Argentina.  Sometimes there are random holidays for reasons that we have no idea why.  Luckily for us, one of those Holidays is today!  We still don´t know why they are celebrating, but there are carnivals and stuff and everything is closed.  

Anyway, this week was really great.  We were a little bit sad because Zulma had left to Mar del Plata this week to buy some stuff for her Kiosco or something, and we didn{t have her number or anything.  It was pretty sad, but God loves us a lot.  We said to ourselves... "Hey we need to buy some food." (It´s interesting how many times God puts us where he wants us according to our hunger.)  So anyway, we went and entered the store.  The moment that we entered, we saw Zulma.  It was awesome because we could get her number and talk to her for a bit.  When we asked her, "Are you reading the scriptures?" She said, "Yeah, I read all of 1 Nephi and some of 2 Nephi, I don´t understand much, but I feel really good when I am reading."  Yeah, she´s super golden so we are content. 

Other than that, the weather here switched to cold.  It´s still summer so I don´t know what´s going on, but we realized.... we are already in March!  I can´t even believe it!  

Well that´s pretty much my week.  All in all it was pretty great.

Divisions with the Hermanas in Necochea.

My district.

 

This week was another week of Miracles.. seriously, I still can´t believe how much God loves us so much.

My year mark!

So I am going to start with everything that happened this week.  We didn´t get to work in our area too much this week because we were doing divisions with the Hermanas in Necochea and having reinforcements in other areas, but it was super great.  We did divisions in Necochea, which is a city along the beach.  It is so beautiful, seriously.  A lot of tourists, but that´s okay, it was worth the ocean beach smell.  And the work was super great, I got to work with an awesome Hermana that taught me a lot.  She has been in the mission 3 weeks, but still taught me a lot of things.  We found a lady who told us, "Yeah, the Elders used to always come to my house, but could never enter and so they stopped coming, but I was going to church and everything.  I needed a reminder that I need to go to church.. yeah, I am going to go this sunday."  My mind was blown.  My companion didn´t understand all of what was going on, but doesn´t matter.  We were in the moment when we needed to be there.  Also, when we traveled back to Balcarce, we were in a taxi to go to the bus station and we started talking to the driver.  She started to cry and tell us all about how she needed a visit really bad and how she, too, used to go to our church, but the timing wasn´t right when she was investigating before.  She started to cry a lot more (while driving... I don´t know if it caused blurred vision), but it´s interesting because we were calling for about a half hour for a taxi (which is very uncommon), but it´s because we needed to talk to her and God provided the way.  It was awesome.

Soaking wet after divisions in Necochea.

I tripped . . . my fat ankle.

Also, we found a super awesome woman named zulma.  I kind of explained her already, but she is even more awesome.  We arrived at her house and she said, "sorry chicas, I don´t have time (very common)... but, no wait, there´s always time for God.  We can talk for about a half hour."  We ended up staying in her house for over an hour because she had so many questions.  One of her friends askes us if we pay tithing and then Zulma started to explain to him the importance of tithing.  Mind blowing.  Anyway, I really have no time.  I wish I could explain everything.

Also, the other night we were eating meat.  "What kind of meat is this?"... "I will tell you when you are finished."  Long story short, we ate an armadillo.  It was actually pretty good.  The only thing that I haven´t liked so far is cow tongue.  But that´s my life.  Love you all!

We ate this armadillo!

I can't believe that I've been in the mission for a year now!

We are in Mar del Plata again because we have a zone activity today.  First time ever, yeah, we are pretty psyched. 

Anyway, I can´t believe that I have been in the mission for a year now.  It´s crazy how fast time flies.  Exactly a year ago, I was in the MTC learning all about what the mission was going to be.  hahaha It´s so much different.  But it´s the best, honestly. 

This week we had some pretty awesome experiences.  First off, Zulma.  She is super great.  She is the lady that always wanted to know about our church but didn´t know when the meetings were.  We were talking with her the other day and she said, "I want to be a part of this because I have a lot of family that is mormon now and there were some huge changes.  It´s not just a baptism, it´s a way to live."  Yeah, I would pretty much say that she is prepared.  She is super great, so we are really excited to keep teaching her!

Also, crazy story.  We knocked a door the other day and we started talking to a lady about the church and all, then she interrupts us and says, "I was baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints, but I went inactive 15 years ago.  I know that the church is true, but it is hard for me to return.  God told me that he would tell me when it was the right time."  I think that two missionaries knocking on a door is a pretty big sign.  Especially because she isn´t from Balcarce, she lives in a city 20 minutes out of town, but was visiting for 5 minutes in the house of a friend because she was going to go to a wedding.  Coincidence?  No way.  None of her family is a member.  Her husband and 6 kids.  It was pretty amazing to be honest. 

That´s pretty much my week... well all that I have time for.  I love you all!  And the mission is the best thing ever!

God answers prayers, even when they are super simple and small!

 

Everything is great here in Balcarce.  We went to Bahía because we had meeting there.  Yeah, 7 more hours of traveling each way. It´s actually pretty fun so don´t feel too bad for me.  

Anyway, the work and miracles.  God answers our prayers that are super simple and small.  The other day we were praying because we were so hungry.  Then we said, well let´s go to tal lady´s house.  Bueno.  We went and it turns out that it was her birthday!  She made so many cakes and all.  Seriously, be careful what you pray for because you never know if it´s going to be too much. No it was great!  And then she came to church the next day so it was a super good day.

Every night we made goals of what we want to do for the next day.  Last night we had all of our goals reached.. we were only lacking one lesson.  It was 8:45, but we said, okay, we are going to run and find someone who wants to listen to us.  We saw a man on the side of the street, and so we started to talk to him.  He was super atheist, but we felt like we needed to talk to him more.  10 minutes later, his friend came out of the house and asked, "what church are you guys from?"..."The church that´s in 7 y 20"..."I always wanted to go to that church, but I never knew if I could just show up, can I go to your meetings?"  Yeah, it´s all about the little miracles that we do that depend on everything.

That´s pretty much all.. oh and to explain the picture of the ROUS (rat of unusual size), we were in a lesson outside the house and all of a sudden this child starts dragging this rat and then gave it to the investigator.... So obviously we took pictures of it.  

That´s all, no time.  Loves to all!

 

With a random HUGE animal!