Pray for My Health

HOLA  

UGLY PANTS / FAT or SICK? 

UGH...I had to buy pants.  Presidente sent out a letter saying that it is now REQUIRED to wear pants because of the mosquitoes. Can't find any that fit well here so it's uncomfortable.  Also, regarding the food....it is so hard not to gain weight here eating bread and greasy soups and sweets, but it's hard to eat healthy because the vegetables here are dangerous and not safe to eat - only bananas.  3 Hermanas got sent home this last transfer for health problems. I know of one Hermana  who got a gastro intestinal disease.. and she threw up like 15 times in one night, and had to go to the doctor to get all these shots.. and she just got sent to Resistencia to do more tests... and might have to get sent home. Basically... please pray for my health.

HOW MUCH TIME I WASTED 

I love hearing the updates about home.  Funny, my experience here has caused me to realize how silly it is to set your heart on having fashionable clothes, cool car, and social media and cell phones. Man I sound like such a Grandma right now hahaha... but phones are so stupid!! I have had such a realization of how much time I wasted on that thing. That I could have spent learning, experiencing, reading, or spending time with people... and also how Instagram and Pinterst aren't bad, but in retrospect I can see how they damaged my self confidence because it was a constant stream of looking at things and admiring stuff you don't have, and thinking you´ll be happy if you did have them. Coveting.  Hmmmm. 

DRINKING AND ABUSE 

So this week we had a noche de hogar (family night)  with the Rivas family. And the husband left for a bit to buy us cookies... and the wife confided in me.. started crying and said that her husband started drinking again (used to have a drinking problem).. and that when he's drunk hes very rude and abusive to the family. She showed me scars of how he used to hurt her.. before they knew the church. And how he burned her with an iron, and crashed bottles on her head, etc. It broke my heart. So sad. And it took me by surprise because I thought he was faithful.  We taught the lesson like normal, and it was just interesting. I'm hoping he will continue to be receptive to the good influences and stop drinking again.  A few days later we visited them again, and I hugged her and she just held me soooo tight, and kissed my cheek a lot.. and said she never wanted me to leave, and that she felt like she was getting a hug from god. It breaks my heart! 

THE LITTLE THINGS WE DO
Elder packer (oldest son of Boyd K Packer) came and spoke to our mission this week. He talked a lot about the spirit and how essential it is, and the little things we´re doing that prevent us from having the spirit constantly. I really liked the conference.. and his Spanish wasn't perfect that's for sure.. but we were able to understand and feel the spirit still.. which was reassuring to me that people still understand me even when I don't speak the language that well.  

IT WASN'T JUST MUD
OK...gross...I accidentally slipped and fell this week right into the  mud, but it wasn't just mud.  It was sewage overflow...zanja (the sewege ditches)... it was disgusting and terrifying. Luckily we were close to the Rivas family and so she helped me clean off. I should have taken a photo.. but my first thought wasn't to record it, it was to clean the poop off my hands  oh well.. at least it made my companion and the member laugh haha

We have an investigator named Elda.. and shes great! she says she has a lot of fear of death, so we´re working with her on that. But I think she is going to progress! I also tried harder to invite people to get baptized this week, and I got 3 people to accept a fecha! not sure if they will progress, but at least they know our purpose now! 

***We had a crazzzzzzzzzzzzy storm this week! Hail was shooting out of the sky the size of golf balls!   and yeah......BUGGGGS!!!! 

Dying of Heat But Still Happy...

T´was a great week out here in Formosa!

We had a lot of heat and humidity, that's for sure! But luckily, we were able to meet a few really great people.  There's one lady named Zulema, and she actually talked to missionaries 20 years ago, and even had a baptismal date, but the people she was living with, didn't let her join the church. So I"m hoping she can progress.  

We have a lesson tomorrow morning again with the lady who speaks English it's actually super hard for me to teach in English now, because I've only ever done it in Spanish... so it feels so unnatural, and I always accidentally start speaking in Spanish to her.. so I"m gonna let my comp take the reigns with that one haha. But 

we´re hoping that she´s read part of the Book of Mormon! she told us last time that she was trying to teach her boyfriend the story of Joseph Smith. 

Elders Pendelton and Ashby are leaving....

It happens everywhere I guess. The family of the Bishop hasn't been coming to church for like 5 or 6 weeks.. so we visited the wife and 2 girls.. and brought them facturas.. and they opened up and told us that they've been offended by a few people in the ward...because some of the young women have said to her daughters -  stuff about them wearing the same shoes every week, or their clothes. We talked with them a while, especially about how the members aren't perfect, but the Gospel is. They loved our visit, and invited us to eat with them on Sunday and to have a Noche de Hogar next week.

Transfers are in 2 weeks, and I've been in Formosa for my whole mission so far... so ill most likely get transferred! I'm a little excited for change, but also nervous because I just know my area so well, and I'll be starting over again and feel lost for while.  

I read in Helaman this week, and it's crazy to see how every time the people fall into wickedness, it's because of pride. Its such a stumbling block. I thought it was interesting that it said the pride did not enter into the church of God (because the Lord and his teachings are perfect).. but rather, into the hearts of the people who professed to be of His church. Its so important to watch ourselves and always be humble.. that's something i think we are all constantly working on. 

I promise I'll try to send more pics this week. I just didn't have batteries this week...my camera uses up batteries sooooo fast! Seriously.  

Thanks for your prayers and words of support, I need them!

I love you all....

Hermana Hall 

I Held Her and Started to Cry...

What a week it has been! 

A lot of our appointments fell through this week.. or the investigators we have didn't do their commitments.. so that was a bit disappointing.. but nothing we can do but keep working and praying, right? I also had to teach the district meeting this week... I think it went pretty well. Yesterday was mothers day in Argentina! Too bad we couldn't skype

I have really been striving to know all the Book of Mormon stories. I find myself wanting to know all of it right now. But I know I need to study things in detail and just have patience. I've still got a lot of time. But this week I've been reading the war chapters in Alma, and I get so stoked about them haha. My comp thinks I"m weird, but I just get so excited, they´re better than action movies haha. 

I also read a bit in Jesus The Christ, about the life of Jesus.  I read about when he was a child, his baptism, and when Satan tempted him with turning the stones into bread. And how the temptation wasn't just about the bread, to satisfy his hunger, but rather that Satan said ÏF thou be the son of God¨... that  he tried to make him doubt his divine relationship with Heavenly Father. And I  learned so much cool stuff, that I just don't even have time to write out. But basically that Christ gradually came to realize his divine mission, and what he was going to carry out.. That he may not have known as a child that he would pay for all the sins of the world or what kind of ultimate sacrifice that would entail.  But Christ received revelation little by little. And I guess all growing up I just thought that he came into the world knowing from the beginning what would happen. Its cool to learn about. 

The best moment of my week was this one night.. we went to visit a girl named luz. Shes 20 yrs old, and we had 1 charla with her the week before, and gave a BOM. I started asking her some questions about her family life... and she started to open up and tell us about how her parents are divorced, and her dad remarried. And the new wife is awful to her.. so she hates living there.. but that living with her real mom would be worse.. cuz she lived with her for 18 years.. and then she started crying. And said her mom hurt her, abused her.. and never said I love you... and she was crying so I had no idea what to do... so I got up and sat next to her (we were on chairs and she was sitting on the ground).. so i sat down and just hugged her.. then she fell apart, and collapsed in my lap and was just bawling. So i just sat there and held her and started to cry too.. and told her she was strong. Then after a while, she looked up and was like"gracias chicas".. said she was so grateful for us. And how good we were to sit and cry with those that cry. and it made me think of my baptismal covenant... to mourn with those that mourn. It was honestly the most beautiful moment in my mission so far. She was so grateful for us, and when we left she kept kissing our cheeks (very Argentine). I left her with part of 3 Nephi to read. 

On Tuesday, they told us that I would be with a Latina for 3 days, because her companion had to have 3 days of rest for her back... and so my comp went and stayed with her, while I worked with the Latina. But it turned out only being 1 day, because her comp had to get sent home for back problems! Then another girl got sent home for gall bladder issues! Ahh.. I'm so grateful for my health. 

(I AM A CHILD OF GOD)
We went to the elders area to work and get references for them.. and I had a weird experience. We talked to this one lady.. and we were discussing church stuff.. she was a little stubborn. But she kept staring at me. She was like "You are so hermosa. Seriously.. i have never had anyone look at me with the look you have." And i was hoping it was the spirit, so i just kept looking at her.. and I testified of something. Then she came closer and said that I was different. She looked at my comp and said "not you.. you have a hard face. But this girll.... shes different. She is what God is"....Then we went to leave, and my comp shook her hand. Then i shook it, and she pulled me closer and said "you are so so special", then with her thumb, made a cross on my forehead hahaha. We laughed so hard afterward. 

Transfers are on November 5th. I'm kind of excited to go to a new area. I like my area and know it well. But its been almost 6 months, so I"m ready for a change. Also my comp is doing alright. Training has taught me a lot of patience and I"m learning charity for sure, but we have a good time together, and laugh a lot. She struggles with the language and had to give a talk on Sunday, so I helped her translate it. She's great, and has a lot of good ideas. 

Have a great week everyone! 

Found this Lizard..now he's a bookmark

Love you all... the church is oh so true! 

The Gospel is My Reason...

Hello friends and family! 

This was a good week, but we didn´t have a lot of days of work because we traveled to Resistencia to do my tramites (legal stuff). But on the bright side... they bought us subway there. It took me back to utah for a minute... it was glorious.

We had a lesson IN ENGLISH. No lie. It was the weirdest experience to teach the restoration in English... I"m just not used to it. So it was a little rough for me, but Hermana Coleman killed it! haha.. no but really we were so grateful for that lesson. It was with a lady who actually grew up in Boston.. and she really has interest in reading the BOM! That was the highlight of our week... and a testimony that me and my comp are in this area for a reason.. Because we both speak and understand English perfectly 

We have a few other people that we were teaching, but its hard because their families wont let them come to church :/ There are 2 different people who have interest, but say their families are really against our church, and wont let them go to our meetings. So that's rough. We had a good lesson with Claudia, and i thought she was really gonna come to sacrament meeting. (she would have had to not work on Sunday, and make a sacrifice).. but I thought she was going to do it.. and she didn't come. A little disappointing, but we aren't losing faith! 

We had a meeting with our mission president and he just was really straight up, and said that we need to focus more energy on the work. I loved it, and I've been trying to use every minute we have to work effectively. I love having meetings with the president because it always gives me extra fire and motivation! 

Im doing good out here, and am so grateful for the mission, for the people I've met, the knowledge I've gained, and the relationship I have with my heavenly father! 

This gospel isn't just the most important thing in my life - it is the reason FOR my life!  It is the motivation for how I live. 

Love you all

Tengan una buena semana! 

  

AT SUBWAY

Conference Weekend and a Package!!

Hola! 

This was the best weekend ever, aka... .CONFERENCE WEEKEND!!!! 

Seriously conference was amazing! We invited a lot of people to the general conference, and no investigators came.. BUT.. on a happier note.. I LOVED CONFERENCE. Conference on the mission is the best thing in the entire world. its like Christmas. All the gringo missionaries get to watch conference in English in a separate room.. and its so fun. Every single talk was amazing.

I definitely found answers to some questions I had written down beforehand, but I think my favorite talk may have been the one by Russell M. Nelson, about the Book of Mormon. During the whole thing I was just feeling a fire inside! I loved that he said that to be able to say  "I know this book is true" is not enough!!! We need to study it and pray about it, till we get to the point that its the cornerstone of our testimony. That we wouldn't want to live one day without it.  Then I was eager to get home that night to write in my journal, and have time to read the BOM. 

The next day Tad R Callister gave a talk about Joseph Smith, and how the BOM literally couldn't have been written by him, or thought up in his mind. And I just wished I could share it with every single investigator ever. Every missionary in the room was just freaking out, cuz we were all so amped on the spirit haha. Missionaries are weird. But last night when I got home I decided to do what Brother Nelson said... I have lists of things the Book of Mormon 1) reveals 2) clarifies 3) doctrines 4) warns us of.  etc. And I read Alma 34... just picking up where I am right now in my reading, and in that one chapter I found lots of things to add to the lists. So I'm excited to keep that up. 

We got a lot of rain this week! Which is a little inconvenient because noooo oooone talks to us.. .but 

Me & my new dress, Nadia, H. Coleman 

está bien...we keep working anyways. We had a couple good charlas, and have an investigator, Erika, who is great! She actually has a real desire to know if the church is true. We taught this other guy Juan Carlos, who is old and Catholic, and has no teeth. One of the days this week was day of San Miguel (one of their saints), and so they had a parade for that... and it was a litttttle hard to teach because of that holiday. 

I got a package!! by courier from my parents on Saturday, and it was the best thing everrrrr! It had powdered drink packets, tiny pendant necklaces, peanut butter, nutella, a dress, probiotics, mentos, mints, and other goodies.  Also my wonderful trainer went home last week, and called me on pday  shout out to her! 

Love you all! 

Write to me what you liked from conference! 

Hermana Hall in Formosa