January 10, 2011--?me entendes?

Greetings here from South America.  We are doing very wonderful here, just sweating away.  I just looked over my shoulder and saw a rain cloud out the window so my hopes are high.

This week in the mission field was interesting.  We had plans to have a large number of investigators at church, but a large number fell through so we will have to keep working with the members to help us.  There are two sisters who want to get baptized, but their mom won’t let them and we have gone by every single day of the week to find the mom.  We even made her a cake cuz it was her birthday and she is never there.  We’ll keep trying.  I dunno if I told you guys that President Benton gave the whole mission a challenge to read the Book of Mormon so I have been doing that, but the Ensign came out in English with the conference talks, so I have been a little distracted.  That is something I will really like to do is to go to conference. 

We have transfers next week.  I guess there are four new sisters coming from the states.  I dunno if you guys understand, but it’s a little exciting for us when we receive new females just because we are so few here. 

Argentina news updates:  The whole country is out of money.  We had to pay rent this week and we had to travel yet again an hour by train to wait in line for about an hour to get money.

I had an epiphany this week when I was walking in the street.  I was thinking about my relationship with God the Father and how I really don’t think about him all too often with the hecticness of all the goals, appointments, deadlines and things of the mission.  But I thought if I think about Him always I will have such a happy desire to do all that is asked of me.  It was a nice little thought I had.  Family, it’s been a while since I have shared any spiritual thoughts, but I want you to know that I have felt the love of Jesus Christ in my life and am extremely grateful for the life he has blessed me with and for all of you.  This is the only true church and I have a testimony of its truthfulness.  I want you all to know that. 

I hope you have a good week and enjoy the warmth of an inside heater.  I’ll just use the sun! 

January 3, 2011--Limbo

It was so good to talk to you all on Christmas.  I just thought I would repeat that again cuz I loved it so much. 

There have been mass bank robbing here in Argentina and none of the banks have money.  We have to travel two hours in a train today to go to a bank in a large city and still waited an hour.  It’s nuts!  How can the country function if nobody can get cash.  It’s weird.  And here they don’t really take credit cards in too many places.

We had a lot of people in church this week and it made me so incredibly happy because I have been a little stressed for the progress of the area.  For sacrament meeting Hermana Claros and I had to sit outside of the chapel looking through a window cuz it was so packed.  They passed us the sacrament through the window.

I was thinking how I have never taken a picture of the church.  Well, it’s not a church, it’s a meeting house cuz it’s literally a house. We found a new family—the only downside is that they tell us they are moving on the 20^th of this month, but they loved church. Hopefully, they stay to get baptized or if no, we can send the reference I don’t want them to get lost in the move, 

December 28, 2010--The Call Aftermath

The Christmas call made me so incredibly happy—you have no idea! I didn’t realize you guys missed me. Well, let me explain…I figured you did, but you never mention things in your emails so I just figured it was casual. It made me feel real loved that you are all excited for my return.

Big News: Vanesa was called to be the first counselor in the Young Womens this Sunday. I thought that was cool. And yesterday we went and did a visit with the new Young Womens presidency to our other recent convert families house and Vanesa shared her testimony and it made me really emotional because I actually feel somewhat included in the process of her gaining a testimony. They will stay active and they will get married in the temple. That makes everything worth it.

Let me explain to you about the heat here….remember at Lake Powell during the middle of the afternoon if we have the air conditioner off on the houseboat and everyone is so incredibly hot we just lay around like zombies?  Well, that is what happens here in Argentina.  Lots of people don’t have air conditioning so they just sit outside in the shade in their lawn chairs and shirts off trying to not overheat.  It’s incredible how hot it is.  Today when I was doing my exercises, I couldn’t do them like I did in the winter cuz my body get completely overheated.

December 13, 2010--Small Town

My new comps name is Hermana Claros. We just got done waiting at the bank for about an hour at the atm. All week we have been trying to get money out, but there has always been a huge line in the morning and we never have time and by nighttime, there is no money. There was no money all weekend either. You are probably thinking, “Jill, why don’t you use your credit cards?” Well, here in a small town, there aren’t too many places that take credit cards. The only place is a chino. That’s a grocery store run by Argentines because the Argentine government said all immigrants don’t have to be taxed on their businesses so there was a massive immigration from the Chinese and they put supermarkets all over the country. I remember when I first got here I was so confused. And they don’t really speak Spanish. I thought maybe English, but no luck there either. Anyway, that’s a chino.

Hector baptized his wife and his daughter yesterday. It was…how can I describe it?  It was one of the most fulfilling baptisms I’ve had on the mission. The last two families we have baptized are super strong. When I got here, the ward was about 40 in active existence. Now we have about 46.

President came here during the week last week to have an interview with Vanessa and he talked to me about finding a new place to have church. He found this place on a corner behind the huge Catholic church. I got the number. I just gotta call them. Maybe we’ll get some real estate practice in, too.That would be funny, though, when we invite people to church to say, “We’re just right behind the Catholic church.”

December 9, 2010--Tardy

So a LOT has happened.  Sorry I didn’t write on Monday, but we had transfers and it was a holiday so when I got back to my area, all the internet places were closed.  I HAVE A NEW COMPANION.  The zone leaders called me and Hermana Hobbs on Saturday night and told us that she was leaving.  I didn’t believe them and neither did she. We were really sad. I was so happy with her!

My new companion is from Jujuy. It’s in northern Argentina. She was just recently companions with Hermana Hulen, my MTC comp. We are having a lot of problems with Hector’s baptismal records. We had it all planned out that he was going to baptize his wife and daughter, but the register that came through from the MLS doesn’t have a baptismal date. I have been on the phone with the office elders and they have been communicating with Salt Lake and it looks like he is going to have to get baptized again. We are pushing for this Sunday that the whole Velazquez family can get baptized.

Yesterday we had a ward activity for the end of the year party in the part of the area that is in the middle of nowhere. It’s like Circleville—Argentina style. Instead of walking around in cowboy hats and cowboy bots and tight jeans, they walk around in beret hats, aparagatas, and these linen pants. That’s the style. Anyway, we had an activity where we had a rope that we threaded through the whole yard of this members’ house. They have a huge yard. We blindfolded all the members. We had different obstacles and stations. They had to hold on to the rope, a.k.a. the iron rod, to get to the end. It worked super well and everyone was just having a good old time. My comp and I were at the end of the obstacle course with a Book of Mormon for each family. Our new converts were there and the Velazquez family, too. It was fun because we had been fasting with Hector and Vanessa for 24 hours before the activity so when we finally got to eat, they were pretty excited.

Hector and Vanessa pray with their whole family every morning kneeling down. They are amazing. They both have to have interviews with the mission president today, so I am hoping all goes well. Helpfully, we can work out all the paper stuff about Hector. That would be super cool if he got rebaptized cuz he doesn’t even remember his baptism.

November 29, 2010--Buen Dia

So how are you guys all doing in the deep dark depression of winter?  Suckers!

Today we have a zone activity so we have to take a train at eleven, which is why we are here early cuz we have to travel far to get together with the other Elders.  We re basically isolated out here.

OH!!  I almost forgot!  Veronica, Laura, and Noelia got baptized on Saturday!  It was one of the most gratifying experiences I have had on the mission.  Veronica was so extremely grateful for Hermana Hobbs and me.  It was nice to be appreciated

Something funny that happened:  We had the baptism in the Elders area in a real church because we thought it would be a nicer experience for them.  We had to take a 40-minute train ride.  When we got to the train station we found out it was cancelled!  I was a little stressed, as you can imagine.  So we called our Branch President cuz they all have cars.  We ended up traveling in a caravan about a half hour to the baptism.  We were about five or six cars full of people.  That is not common in Argentina.  Hermana Hobbs and I felt like we were in Utah just going to church or something.

This next week is stake conference and a general authority is coming.  Hector's family is SOOOOO ready to get baptized.  It's insane!  Yesterday after church we were on the phones with the elders from the south mission, Gavin's mission, where Hector was baptized 25 years ago.  We were finding his records.  We are trying to push so that he can baptize his wife and his daughter.  You have no idea how incredibly wonderful this family is!

November 23, 2010--We Meet Hector

Sorry I did not write yesterday.  It was a holiday here in Argentina and considering we have only two small options of cybers, they were both closed.  Good news though.....We are having three baptisms on Saturday--Veronica, the woman we found on the street and her two daughters.

I dunno if I already told you this story, hopefully not.  BUT, we were found--not we found--but we were found by a man named Hector, who asked us for a Bible when he was pulling out of his house in his car with his two daughters.  I thought to myself, "Well, there is a reason this man is in need of a Bible."  He told us that he used to go to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  So he got out of his car and said, "Look, I have to go drop off my girls, but come with me."  Then he went and got his wife and introduced us and told us to stay there until he got back.  We started chatting with the wife and she told us the story.  Five months ago Hector was stabbed by his brother-in-law.  We do not know many details, but just the fact that they are having a real hard time because the family of his wife basically wants to kill him.  Later we found out that Hector was baptized in the church along with his mother and his whole family, but has been less active for about 25 years.  He even received the Aaronic priesthood.  Well, we got to know them about two weeks ago.  They have already come to church and a bunch of activities that our ward has had and they LOVE everything.  He loves us and he calls us Hermanas and everything and respects us. It might sound confusing for you as to why I like that, but I guess it would be hard to understand.  Usually the investigators refer to us as las chicas and not hermanas or missionaries.  It's funny.