HURLINGHAM: HERE SHE COMES!

February 15
So I got transferred. I’m sad. I miss my comp and my area. My last day in my area I went to see my recent converts. The oldest girl, Diana, told me she had something for me. She had written me a letter of gratitude and a poem. The mom gave me a ring that’s really cute! As I left my last area I got more of a vision of the work. I saw how much I really loved the people and how much they love the missionaries.

I want to tell you about Michel, a recent convert. He’s twelve and is amazing. He asked us for a missionary bag because every day he tries to go around handing out pamphlets and copies of the Book of Mormon and he invites all of his friends to church. He was giving us references and setting up appointments for us. He was at every mutual activity and a half hour early to church every week. He went to all of our baptisms after his and even the baptism in the other ward with the hermanas that we live with. He talks about serving his mission every time he sees us and everyone in the ward talks about how he is such an example.

Gisell, the other girl who was baptized, is almost half way through the Book of Mormon. She reads and prays every night. She has been to every activity since her baptism and walks twenty minutes to church every Sunday by herself. She has started bringing her mom. The hermanas are going to start working with her. The other three baptisms are all brothers and sisters and when we showed up at church yesterday, they were all there early with their mom, who has been less active for years. So you know what, family?? I am happy.

I am in a new area called Hurlingham. It’s a big city. There’s a McDonald’s close to the pench. My companion is Hermana Carrasco. She’s Argentine and from Nao Kin. I dunno how to spell it—but not the same place as my trainer. I really loved my last companion. We had so much success. It was insane today at transfers. I really got to see just how hard we worked.

February 22
So I am in Hurlingham with Hermana Carrasco and I love Hurlingham. The ward is huge—almost one hundred active members and it’s beautiful here. During the week we were walking along a dirt road and there was a huge field to the right of us—just country and trees at the other side. It reminded me of the movie Pride and Prejudice. It was so pretty. It’s been raining here this week like crazy. One day it was insane. The water was up to our thighs when we had to cross the street in one part and when we got back to the pench, it was full of water. We had to sweep it all out. But it’s a nice break from all the heat. I’m scared when the heat comes back because the pench here is more of an oven than my last. I love my campanion. She’s from Nao Kin, too. She a little thing like five feet tall and she goes home in five weeks.

Hermana Lewis and Hermana Daniels

Today we were with the sisters from Ramos, Hermana Lewis and her companion, and we made vegetable soup and talked in the pench for a few hours. It was really nice cuz it was raining all day. As far as the investigators, there are golden ones here—two couples that are getting married so they can get baptized. They’re both getting married the same day.

March 1

Well, family, I have a story: When I first got to Hurlingham I felt stress because well….anyway, so we were contacting like normal at the train station close to where we live. We got a few appointments to visit those people during the week, but we couldn’t get to all of them. Anyway Friday we did a contact in the street of a nice little couple. We were working Saturday and decided to go see them…just so you know, sometimes we don’t make it to all our appointments because we make a ton. We had a good feeling about this one so we made it a priority. It had been a long mental day because we had amazing lessons that day with people who were insanely accepting. I was emotionally drained. Anyway, I started teaching and I don’t know why I was thinking to myself, “Oh, boy, here we go with a disaster lesson.” We picked it up after a bit and used some visuals and I had a huge feeling to invite them to be baptized. So you know we’re supposed to be inviting everyone to be baptized the first lesson. The thought came to me super strong so at the end of the lesson I did it. This is a family with three kids and the parents are MARRIED. Legitimately married. Adriana, the wife, answered my invitation and said she already received an answer. It turns out the day we were contacting at the train station, they were one of the contacts and one that we didn’t pass by for. We found them again on Friday and that same week she had been crying and struggling because her husband hasn’t had work for two months. She had four pesos to buy food for her whole family and found herself praying for help. She said when we talked to her for the second time she said to herself—these girls are the answer to my prayer. She and her husband had been talking about us coming and Friday she had been waiting outside for us to come all day. She said she already received an answer and they both accepted to pray to be baptized and agreed to come to church. So on Sunday we pulled up in the taxi and the whole family was waiting outside ready for church and everything--dressed in church clothes. I can’t express to you the joy that I felt in that moment. My comp and I could hardly talk we were so incredibly happy. They loved church and tonight we have a family home evening planned with another couple who are waiting to get married to get baptized. We have two wedding this month, so it’s more of a family thing, which is really exciting for me because I haven’t seen a family baptism yet. There’s also a little kid who is eleven and has been to church over twelve times and has read almost the whole Book of Mormon, but his dad says he’s not old enough to make his own decisions so he can’t get baptized. If you have any advice on what we could do to help the father, let us know.

March 15
Well, hello everyone. We had four baptisms yesterday. I love seeing people get baptized. There were over seventy people there. It was insane. My comp goes home in two weeks. I love her. We have fun. Right now I’m sitting next to Hermana Lewis from Arizona. She was with me in the MTC. I love her. We had divisions this week and had a nice little time.

March 22, 2010

Dear Family,

Hermana Lewis’s first name is Koria and Hermana Carrasco’s first name is Giselle. Mom, just so you know, you get a lot of compliments from the people here in the photos I have of you and dad does as well. They all tell me I have very attractive parents. Well, usually the men tell me my mother is beautiful and the women tell me my father is very attractive—so I just put the two together. And the rest of the family, too. They all say that Beth and I look very similar especially now that I have brown hair. I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but anyway…

On Friday I had probably the hardest day yet in the mission as far as the work goes. I’ve never had so much rejection in my life and I used to be a telemarketer for Allstate. Remember that? I do. Anyway, the golden family that we found was just not having it. He found work and so now they have no interest cuz they have what they want. Our other couple that we found disappeared. Well, the wife did. We think they had a fight and she took off with the baby. And everybody and their dog was arguing with us and had no idea what they were talking about. Anyway, the next day was fifty/fifty, but Sunday we showed up to church and a kid we were teaching forever, but stopped cuz he couldn’t stop drinking and smoking was at the church when we showed up there. That was good!

Also, another woman that’s an ancient investigator is getting married so she can get baptized. Right now we’re just teaching like young guys, two brothers fifteen and seventeen and then this 21-year old kid and then couples that need to get married.

I’m sitting in the cyber right now and it’s not really a cyber. It’s like a private room with a bunch of computers where a guy teaches lessons on how to use computers. There’s like an eighty year old lady sitting next to me, my comp, the guy teaching her on a white board and me. It reminds me of Mom a little bit trying to learn all the ins and outs, but I’m sure Mom, you know more than this lady.