Argentina Christmas

Merry Christmas from Snowflake 4th Ward Beehives!!

This week I am SUPER grateful. And not just FOR everything that my Heavenly Father has given me, because that is too much to count no matter how many times the hymn tells me to count my blessings. But this week I really worked hard to apply Dieter F. Uchdorfs talk from 2 conferences ago, in where he says in stead of being grateful FOR things, we can strive to be grateful in any circumstance that we are in, including the hard ones. So this is pretty funny haha but like 3 days ago my eye started to swell up real bad. I just tried to wash it and ignore it but Sunday morning I woke up with it completely swollen shut haha! No one wants to go to church looking like Quasimodo! But that was when I decided to be grateful in my troll-like circumstance and be happy that day. Even though I felt like Tommy Boy when everyone, the whole day, was asking me, "Whoa what happened to your face!?"

Hahaha I just smiled and told them that Hna Diaz has been beating me in the night. Haha so today we went to the Argentina doctor (quite the experience) and he told me to go buy some medicine and we're all good now. 

NEWS: Mayra and Emanuel got their transmit for their marriage! We're all super happy. They will be gettin hitched the 16 of January and want to be baptised the very next day. I admire their faith so much.

Lucy and Manuel accepted a baustismal date for the 10th of January! I can't tell you how much I love them old folks! 75 years and humble as can be. I love watching their testimonies grow. Manuel says he feels like Jose Smith is already his close friend, and Lucy just always says how cute he looks in the pamphlet haha. They're so cute! 

Today we had the FUNNEST Pday! After Bishop and his family took us to the doctor, we all drove to this giant famous park called Parque Pareira. It's HUGE and covered with giant trees SO stinking beautiful! I can't even tell you how much I love our Bishop. He is full of jokes, stories, and love for all people.

When we were driving back we found a family with their car stuck in the mud. We stopped and helped push while he revved the engine only to suddenly be completely sprayed with mud haha! We were a sight to see- a bunch of Mormons, Hermanas in skirts pushing that car. The family was super grateful and we ended up sharing a short message with them haha I'm never going to forget that. 

This Christmas has been my happiest one yet because I've never been so close to my Savior Jesus Christ. Perhaps I'm not fortunate enough to particiate in mom's rad TOY Christmas this year haha :) But I hope you all know how extremely happy I am. I am growing and learning in ways I never could have imagined for myself. This Christmas I am grateful. Grateful for the plan of Happiness. Grateful for being on the Earth in the times of the fulness of the gospel. Grateful for having a family like you guys :) Grateful for knowing my Savior Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father in the way that I know them. Remember who the real gift is. Èl es la Dádiva. 

I'llllllll beeeee seeingg youuuuuu 

HASTA VERNOS ESTA NAVIDAD! 

  

This just shows how bipolar the weather is in Argentina haha. same sky. 

I LOVE HNA DIAZ! 

Hey Hudson Jacks! This one's for you. You could basically put me on your next T Shirt seller..... Peace out (Kip voice) 

A glimpse of the awesome rainstorms here in Argentina. Dad and Payton, I thought you would like this picture :) 

View from creeky tower Espeleta 

 

Laura's Baptism

Laura got baptized this week! I couldn't be there but I'm so happy for her.

Well it's beginning to look a ...... little bit ? Like Christmas? Hahaha in spite of the blistering heat these past few weeks and the lack of Michael Buble's Christmas CD Argentina finally put off the Scrooge and pulled out a little bit of Christmas Spirit this week. Here, everyone puts up there little trees and lights the 8th of December, so it makes me happy to see that. Also the weather decided to pull some tricks this week and I witnessed the craziest rain storm of my life I think! The Lord really blessed us because we seriously entered the pension and then it started to pour, with lightning bolts and thunder not far behind every couple seconds and SUPER close! Haha our electricity went out but not before we were able to warm up a couple leftover hamburgers so that was a blessing.

One of my lifelong dreams came true this week and I held a firefly in my very own hands! There are a ton here especially when it rains and it makes me so happy to be walking in the street and see them blinking everywhere. I caught one and he did not want to leave me. He stayed on my hand blinking the whole rest of the night haha until we arrived at the pension and Hna Diaz made me let him go cause she's got a thing with bugs. 

I can't even tell you how good I'm getting along with Hna Diaz haha. She is so stinking hilarious! We have so much fun together always. I can't wait till you all meet her through Skype. She knows good English so she's excited to talk to you. Oh yeah, and I am too :) Haha I just hope you don't all make fun of me cause I don't know how my English is gonna turn out.

This week we had our Zone Conference and we did a Christmas skit of the first Christmas, but we turned it into Argentina style. It turned out so stinking hilarious and everyone was laughing except President Thurgood haha.... but we asked him if he liked it afterwards and he said yes so thats good haha. After the conference a whole group of us missionaries were traveling in train, and we decided to sing Christmas hymns in the train! It was super cool because we actually got some good results. We would sing a couple hymns and then talk to everyone and give out cards and then do it all again. The people were very willing to listen. Everyone wanted me to sing my solo of Silent Night in English so I did haha and everyone clapped afterwards it was weird. But something I'll never forget! 

I went to Ezpeleta this week for intercambios and the Hermanas there live on the 11th floor of a creeekky old tower overlooking the entire city. It was so beautiful and i'll send a picture next week cause I forgot my camera! :) I had a good time getting to know Hna Villareal, her name is super funny cause it literally means "Real ghetto" in English. 

So this Saturday we had our very own Capilla Abierta here in Gutierrez! we focused the whole week in inviting everyone to come and then right when it started on Saturday the rain came pouring down! Thanks Satan! But it was still a great turnout and we ended up with 37 refferals so we've got some great work to do :) My favorite part of the night was when Hno Fernandez (whom you are all going to meet through Skype) bore his testimony in front of everyone. He has been less active for a while but is coming back now and they are such a great family. 



I love my ward. I love my area. Love my comp. Love my zone. Just when I think the mission can't get better it always does. And I really can't believe that I hit 6 months this week. I feel like I just left! 

 

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas with Michael Buble

What a week for me! I am in a little piece of mission heaven here in Gutiérrez! There must be something in the water here or something because we are having great success! Hna. Diaz and I both agree that this week was one filled with miracles. We have 8 investigadors with a baptismal date. 2 of those are a pair of grandparents named Lucy and Manuel, who are in their 70's and still hip, humble, and ready to recieve the gospel. They love coming to church and reading the Book of Mormon. Manuel asked me something yesterday in church after Testimony meeting that made me laugh, he said, " I don't get why everybody is so SURE of themselves! Everyone says, 'I know this, I testify of that, I dont have any doubt about it' ... It's good that you all are so sure of yourselves" Haha I told him that we are only sure of what we testify because of the way we FEEL. Once the Spirit has testified to our hearts of an eternal truth, it's pretty hard to deny it afterwards. They are so cute and want to be baptised as soon as they're ready.  We're also teaching a young couple and their family named Maira and Emanuel. They are so wonderful and go to church every sunday, rain or shine. They want to be baptised but need to get married first. (Just like the whole rest of Argentina) So they're working on that. This week we taught them a lot about the family and how our children are blessings in our lives. Their two little kids were making ruckus the whole lesson, and by the end of the lesson we came to the conclusion that they were "bendiciones escondidas" or "hidden blessings". 

 

There is this group of wild Argentinan children who always chase us in the street when we pass by their house haha. They're barefoot and crazy haired and love to follow me touching my hair saying, "Rubia rubia que bonita!" Blondes are rare here. We always try to avoid their house cause they seriously wait for us like Dingo dogs haha. 

Investigador Alfonso: An elderly who we are teaching and never wants to say a prayer, he makes up an excuse every time to not say one until we ask him "Alfonso, we really need your help because we are walking in the street all the time and we would love it if you could pray for our safety" And then he always says one immediately afterwards haha. He's so cute and innocent. 

Evelyn and Estelita: two teenagers who love learning about the gospel. They told us they were struggling remembering things, so we told them to keep a journal and write down notes of what they were studying. The next time we came they had a whole list of all the reasons why Jesus Christ got baptised. I was so proud! Haha they were waiting for us at the door. 

My new zone is pretty hilarious. We are putting together a skit for the Zone Conference, acting out the first Christmas but Argentinan style. So Mary is impatient and always wants dulce de leche, there are people selling Alfajores everywhere you go, and the wisemen travel on motorcycle and the shepards drink mate and cook Asado haha. Its pretty funny. I'm finding myself having a lot of fun with the language lately. Hna  Diaz is teaching me how they talk in Chile so I can be up to date with Caitlin when we get back haha. Hna Diaz also loves to learn English and she already knows all the Taylor Swift songs and also Bohemian Raphsody so we have fun with that. 

Lately I have been missing the temple very much. It's super hard to go without it for so long. I'm realizing how much we really do need the temple in our lives. It gives such a spiritual strength that is not found anywhere else. I've been thinking a lot about the faithful people in the Book of Mormon who never had the chance to receive the blessings of the temple. And then I think of the people in our day, with whom a trip to the temple is a once in a lifetime experience. I realized how sincerely blessed I have been all my life to have one so close to me. Immediate peace, a 5 minute car ride away. My companion made me feel better by telling me that the home is the closest place to the temple. We can make our home like a mini temple by treating it like one and filling it with the Spirit and with love. Today we are going to deep clean our pension, put pictures of the temple on the walls, and do everything we can this week to make it feel more like the temple. I want to invite you all to make time for the temple this week. I know that it is the House of God and that we need it in our lives regularly. God will always provide the time for the things most important. 

 

1st Transfer! :(

So I've been transferred from Burzaco! I was NOT expecting it OR hoping for it to be honest haha because I was having such a stinkin blast with my Tongan compa Hermana Toala. I really think we had too much fun together haha Team Timon and Pumba will never be forgotten!

 

I'm going to miss this clan!

 

We walked in the rain all the way home! It was pouring and we were soaked!

 I was in the middle of my prayer Friday morning when the cell phone rang and Hna. Toala literally shook me, screaming "IT`S THE PRESIDENT" (President Thurgood doesn't call unless there is a change) Haha and that was when he told us that he knew we got along good but that the Lord wants other things for us right now haha! I can't argue with revelation! It was super weird saying goodbye to everyone and it felt a little bit like I was leaving home again (no offense) but now I am feeling SO much better. I can tell you right now that I didnt think I needed this change but now I`m starting to see that it`s going to be so good for me! My new compa is the sweetest little dot from CHILE Hermana Diaz, and this is her last transfer in the mission, which means I gotta learn the area pretty quick.

Oh yeah, by the way I´m in Quilmes... Gutierrez A is my area and I can`t tell you how many great things I`ve heard about it! First off,  my new ward is the biggest in the entire mission. Its a little bit more ghetto here haha I love it! I'm going to have to be a little bit more careful in the streets though. (love you mom) All the missionaries say that my area is the best in the mission haha and so I am so super pumped to get started with something new and meet the people here. Hna Diaz says we have quite a few investigators so that makes me happy. I cant wait to meet them. It does make me a little sad to leave Laura and Yonathan just before Laura's baptism, but I might get a chance to go to the temple with them in one year! And I'm going to mantain contact with them throughout the mission. 

My new pension is so cute and nice! And a lot bigger than my last. Hna Diaz is a cute little button who loves everyone haha. 

I cant really remember everything else that happened this week haha other than I got sick on Wednesday, and was trying to refrain from puking the whole bus ride home.. and right when we got home I threw up haha! It was pretty funny. I was sick all of Thursday too, and it wasnt until the night that we realized that it was Thanksgiving! Haha Hna Toala bought me a snickers and we ate some ramennoodles to celebrate. What a feast, eh? :) Haha! 

I'm so grateful that God is in charge of our lives. He knows so much better than us. We cannot see the design he's making right now. We don't recognize the reasons for all the dark moments, or even all the good ones. Someday, He is going to unroll the canvas and explain all the reasons why, and I am sure that we are going to fall on our knees, thanking Him for EVERY part. It gives me peace to know that He is working right now. He is preparing a place for us. He's not resting from everything He already has done, but He's at work. Our lives are in His hands and everything that happens in our lives is to bless us, whether those blessings come now or later. I know that He lives and loves us. I know that there's purpose to this life. I know we are all part of His divine plan. 

 

Thats not charm, its called charity :)

It is a rainy day in Argentina and its pouring with lightning thunder, the whole real deal! I LOVE IT! It makes me miss camping with the fam! The whole sky is dark but nonetheless this week has been one of bright miracles!  

Hermana POWER 

 Story numero uno: Theres this less active, almost blind grandma in our ward named Dora. She wants nothing to do with the church now because she got offended by the members when they didn't come to help her fix her humble home like they promised they would. She rejects the Elders when they try to visit her and the members and everyone. But in Ward Council they decided that since we're Hermanas bonitas they might try sending us haha. So we went and sure enough she answered the door and found out who we were she was yelling things like, "I dont want anything to do with you Mormons, they are all words...etc." With lots of sweet talk, she let us in, intending to tell us all about how the Mormons treated her wrong. But we had another idea haha. We started to serve her. Cleaning her kitchen and giving her compliments. We listened to her story, said a prayer, and then read Helaman 5:12 and talked about how our only sure foundation is Jesucristo. If we build our trust in something else, even if it is something good, like the members or the service of the church, we are going to fail. Jesus Christ has promised us that He will NEVER fail us. He ALWAYS holds his side of the promise, and we can count on that. We testified that we knew she is una hija de Dios, and that Jesus Christ has sent us as his representatives to tell her that He loves her and has not forgotten about her. She started to cry, told us that she knows she needs to come back to the church, and she has scheduled a date to ask forgiveness from the members that she has ignored. I testify that only the true love of Christ can change the hearts of the people we teach. Dora is now offering to feed us lunch haha umm so thats a plus ;) The Elderes in our ward are a little dumbfounded that us Hermanas "charm" really worked haha. Thats not charm, its called charity :)



That same day we came in to check on Hna. Lily, the grandma that lives with us, and she was really downhearted and weak. This cancer is just eating at her, but she always has a smile and the strength to continue on. That night she was so disheartened that she couldn't find the strength to go the Stake Conference. But we sang to her "Abide with me tis Eventide" and got her ready for bed and said a prayer for her that she would be able to make it to Stake Conference the next day. The next morning she tapped on our window in her blue dress, all ready to go thanks to the power of prayer. She is such an example to me. 

 

So new born cats and we got  name them Copo for Hna Flake and Koala for Hna Toala bwahahah . What can I say we FAMOUS ! ;) 

We brought two investigators with us to S.C. on Saturday: Maria del Carmen and her son, Claudio, who are so funny haha and both want to get baptised on Christmas day! Claudio was giving us all a ride to the church after our lesson and suddenly he STOPPED the car and screamed, "I found Jesus! Why would anyone throw away Jesus?"....

.....he saw a painting of Jesus that someone had thrown away, and without even parking the car he ran out heroically to retrieve it! Hahaha the car was like moving backwards and Hna Toala and I were laughing our heads off! Claudio says that this is a sign that he's following Jesucristo. Hahaha they are just too much but we love them.

Elder and hermana Dance, they are serving in the offices! Theyre from idaho. I love these guys! 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone this week! Kinda funny, we had intercambios and I went to AlejandroKorn with Hermana Barrett, and we both thought  that this last Thursday was Thanksgiving...

....so we made a HUGE meal together and celebrated and everything and then found out that its this next week haha.... hashtag missionprobs. I spell hashtag cause I cant find the hashtag on this Argentina computer haha.... 

 

Who's that walking down the street? Are they shovels or are they feet?

Burzaco's got swag!

Stake Conference was great and our Missionary choir turned out really good! I kinda like being director:) Everyone calls me Hermana Squidward or Directora Squidward now haha.

Well I love ya'll SO MUCH! EAT LOTS OF PUMPKIN PIE FOR ME CAUSE IT DOESNT EXIST HERE! 

 

 

Is Mayonaise an Instrument???

What a week! Whfewww! I´m wiped out! (Sid the Sloth voice) It's been such a good one and passed by RAPIDO.

Okay, the highlight was definitely getting to meet Elder Russel M. Nelson! When he entered the chapel filled with 330 missionaries, everything was completely silent and he brought such a spirit with him! I was sitting on the third row, super close. He walked in and told us he wanted to meet everyone. When I shook his hand he looked me in the eyes and said  "Good morning Sister Flake" haha "He said my NAME HE SAID ME NAME!" Haha and I also had the pleasure of meeting his sweet new wife, and Jorge Zaballos and his wife. They all gave such amazing talks. They gave me so much excitement to be a missionary.

 

Hermana Nelson talked about the perspective of it all, and one of the things that I loved what she said is that if we could see just a glimpse of our Premortal DVDs, we would see ourselves standing by Christ, standing WITH Christ, and standing UP for Christ. She also said that if we could get a glimpse of the other side of the veil during our lessons with Gods children, we would see the room FILLED with angels, their ancestors and ours, cheering for us, praying for us, and hoping the Spirit can touch their hearts. She quoted, "The souls joining the church of Jesus Christ in our day are joining because their ancestors are pleading and praying for them in the Spirit world, so that their heritage on the Earth may perform their sacred ordanances for them" I loved it! They had a translator for Los Hermanos Nelson and one of them  was pregnant and almost passed out during the talk of Hermana Nelson. Elder Nelson accompanied her and held her head in his hands. It was really sweet. All in all,  it was an experience I'll never forget. 


At the conference: Elder Tyler Davis from St. David ARIZONA!

GOOD NEWS! We finally have a Ward Mission Leader! haha Hermano Garcia just recieved his calling and we have been working with him. I cant tell you the difference it makes to have at least one member of the ward helping out the missionaries. It makes me think about the missionaries in our ward at home haha you guys should give them a lift. The smallest offering makes a big difference.

Well our missionary choir is almost ready to sing next week. I say almost ready meaning its the best we're gonna get hahaha This weeks practice before we started I could tell they were all a little down so I told them I had a theory. And I related them to the Squidwards band in the Bubble Bowl and that all they needed to do was believe that they sounded good and then they would! Hahaha Payton, I was waiting for SOMEONE to raise their hand and ask, "Is Mayonaise an instrument?" But no one did. But I just imagined you doing it. :) 

 

FOOD UPDATE this week I ate fried frog legs and I actually really liked it! Next week we're going to eat rabbit stew.. and I´m not even scared! The mission does things to ya. I am no longer a picky girl :)


The spiders continue to dominate our pension but WE WILL NOT SURRENDER!!!! 

                  The cucarachas continue but Hermana Toala and I prevail. 

I don't think I told you last week, but our ride home from the wedding was a buzzkill... Everyone left and we were stuck with the bride and groom with a car that wouldn`t start haha. Classic Argentinian wedding. ;) 

Laura & Yonathon at their wedding

Noche de Hogar- "The importance of covenants" game 



Noche de Hogar con los niños 



So now that I've got a Tongan companion all the Tongans in the mission are immediately my friends now. The call me Kolipoki and all tell me that they've got my back haha.