A Fast Week!

Hello!!!
Another week just as fast as the other one! We just ended this transfer with 3 baptisms! One was the little old guy and the other was these two ladies that we were teaching back with Hermana Roy!
We fasted this week just to end it off to achieve our goals and to have miracles. That next day is when we invited the mother and daughter to baptism this Sunday. Before we did they were even talking about how the elders before us had been pressuring them and they didn’t like that at all! Then probably five minutes later we asked them to be baptized on Sunday! hahaha. Just the perfect moment! The spirit was really strong and we could feel that they were ready. The mother was Evangelist and the daughter Catholic! It was a very special Sunday! The president came and everything!

That day as well we were looking for this little lady that Hermana Lopez and another Hermana found when we were on divisions. We went down this street thinking it was where she lived and stopped to ask these guys that were sitting out sipping their mate. One of them got up and was talking with us and we introduced who we were and made an appointment for later on in the week.... well later that night we were on the bus coming home and one of the guys that had been there on the bus with us came and sat behind us and was talking with us for a little bit. Then once we were getting closer to the stop he started to ask us a little more about the church and he was talking about his children. He said he had one in particular that was born premature and couldn’t walk really well. The father had taken him to all these other churches for help to see if they could do something but none of the things they did worked. Then he asked us if we had something or someone that could it was a perfect window to tell him about the priesthood and the power of it! Later on once we got his information he was telling us that the elders had always passed by his house and he never thought much of it... always having some excuse. He said today when we were there talking to his friend at his friend’s house he felt something different! ahhhh! He lives out of our area but we are definitely going to look around for those elders that are over there!

Here are some pictures from the baptism and Hermana Lopez and I are together another transfer woo hoo!!!!! I’m so happy here! I love that scripture in 2 nephi 11:4-7! This is such pure joy to see these people make these decisions that are going to change their lives for now and eternity and everyone else’s around them! I love the rippling affect the gospel brings. Ilove you all and have a wonderful week! TE AMO!!!!

More this week!

Sorry i didn’t write too much to you all last week. We had a little Hermanas conference/party in moron.
But this week started off rainy and ended rainy, the middle of the day was nice and sunny. Today was freezing in the morning. So I would say its starting to feel more towards the fall then the spring.. ahha we will have a cold easter! I used my raincoat yesterday so it was perfect. We were anxious to get in our warm beds last night. This week we had a couple of days of divisions with the Hermanas in our zone! Hermana Hulen was with me in Castelar. she made homemade popcorn for us on the first night. It made me think of dad and our movie nights with popcorn and mom making the orange julius... I need to search to see if they have the frozen juice to make that here! This morning I attempted to make chocolate pancakes with nesquik! haha they weren’t too bad! I’ve come to love making pancakes.

This week was pretty good with our investigators! We are working with this cute little old man named Juan. I’m sure Hermana Lopez has written a lot about him. She and Hna di Stefano found him when we were in divisions awhile ago. He laughs a lot... its like teaching a little kid. We are simple with our lessons, but you can always tell when the spirit is strong cause he gets a little teary eyed. Especially when we sing, pray, or his daughter bears her testimony.

We are also working with this mother and daughter who are great! The mom is like in her 70s and the daughter is in her 50s. They came to stake conference yesterday. Which was great as well! I I love the people here and the language.. its beautiful! haha. They gave some great talks and the choir sang. Our president came and gave a talk with his wife... he announced that they were moving their location to here in Castelar!! Afterwards he gave us a ride cause it was pouring outside and showed us their new house.
He also said that he thinks Hermana Lopez and I are going to be together one more traslado! We have three new sisters coming in and hopefully a mini one cause we have 4 sisters that are leaving. The mini is when the local young kids from like 18 to 25 can come serve for 1 traslado. It’s a good idea cause then they get an idea of what the mission is like!

I love being here not only in my area but just in Agentina and experiencing everything... its been a big eye opener to get to know others and to push all my fears out and truly trust in the lord! I pray I can do all of that I’m able to do for Him. Cause He has done so much for us! Just like in doctrine and covenants 14:7! The greatest gifts of god is eternal life! Happiness does not come from making short cuts and skipping something... no. it’s from fulfilling what we promised our Heavenly Father when we all accepted The Plan before this life on earth! This life is to reach true and pure happiness. Our heavenly father doesn’t set us up to be failing but to reach the highest.
well i love you all and have a great week!

TOO SHORT!

This did not make Saren's mother very happy to get such a short e-mail. The photos are borrowed from Hermana Lopez' site. Thanks to Bro. Zimmerman!


sHola familia! Sorry but I dont have time to write you that much! This week was great and we had a lot of divisions with two other companionships. During one of their times Hermana Lopez and Hermana di Stefano found this little old man that was ready to be baptized! It was exciting! So now we have 5 people that we are focusing on! 2 are these cute old men... one of them is an old famous boxer! But love you all and have a great week! the president says hi and thats he is proud of you mom for getting your masters! LES AMO!!!

The weeks are flying by!!!

March 8
Today is womens appreciation day!!!! ( like off of the office but its furREAL in Argentina!) What another crazy fast week that has gone by already! Yes mom I received the package finally!! I was able to make brownies for the members that have been helping us a bunch! So thank you thank you thank you!!!! We worked off with a great week of finding new people and just work work work! We had divisions with the sisters in our zone on Friday! It was fun to have a day with Hermana Di Stefano that is from Argentina but more south of here.

We´ve been having little miracles each day. I forgot to tell you all not this last week the week before we found this man in the park that was sitting alone. He looked pretty rough with tattoos and scars. We went up to him and started talking and getting to know him. He was telling us how alone he felt every night and just thought sometimes it would be nice to end this life. We were able to explain to him that he was never alone. Our savior is with him every step of the way and knew what he had gone through in his life. I was talking to him while Hermana Lopez was writing down a message for him in the book of mormon. Towards the end he seemed much better. He ran off to catch the bus but was telling us he was going to read the book every night! We might never see him again but I knew we were meant to meet him and I don’t know what will happen but I know we were there for a reason to help him along the way.

Last Monday we had gone to Moron... its a bigger city next to ours with tons of stores and restaurants. We were looking around after lunch at all the little booths out. There’s a couple booths that these black guys were selling big rings and jewelry. We stopped and talked with one of them ( Hermana Lopez, the two sisters in our zone and I) and were chatting with them trying on the rings. One of the guys was named Cessi and he has been here for about 2 years. He was telling about his rough life and that he came here alone from Africa and didn’t know any Castillano! He told us he could speak french so we told him we would get a book of mormon in french. Then by the end he had all given us free rings because we were out serving god.

We are coming along good with our baptisms. We´ve had some challenges come up with the family that has a date. But we are working hard for them to get there. We also are working with another to get married... I had talked about them awhile back in Feb and we´ve started to work with them more. Hermana Lopez is amazing that way! She just has a way to get these people to listen and work with what we have - to perform miracles! We haven’t put any dates yet with others but this week we´re hoping to!
Every Sunday I feel like a chicken with its head off running in circles! That’s really the day of miracles trying to search for all those who want to come to church.

It will almost be 6months that I’ve been on the missioN!!!! Hermana Lopez and I are definitely going to do something for our 6 month mark! Ahaha maybe a kilo of icecream. I’m so happy for Sam and how he´s getting ready for his missioN! ahhh tampico!
But everything is coming along great! I’m going to be sad when I leave this area cause I truly have grown to love the people. This Sunday one of the girls that we first baptized in this ward got up and gave a beautiful testimony of our savior. It was a satisfying feeling to see this 12 year old say that she knew her savior lived and that he is our redeemer. I hope I can make difference in the lives here and just help them along the way to feel that they are loved and that there is hope in this life! I love you all and have a wonderful week!

March 1, 2010

Oh your emails are like gold to me!!! I love to hear how great you are all doing! I can´t believe we are already in our week 2 this transfer! This week we even had more success. It’s actually been the best week I’ve ever had with reaching our goals and spreading forth the gospel! Tearing it up! The earthquake didn’t hit any of us here, but one of the new converts was having a hard time thinking its the end of the world. haha. I guess we really are in the latter days! But we can always trust in our Savior when we stand in holy places. Stand our ground in all the torments and storms that Satan throws at us.

We didn’t receive mail last week cause the office had a their zone conference but tomorrow I’m pretty sure I’ll be receiving the package! I sure hope so! I’ts been a hectic week from working every second we have! We never have time to relax until we hit the bed, but I love it... I love being busy and working with Hermana Lopez! She truly has a way to get people to listen to her and share what we have! I didn’t know our time to serve was going to be so soon in the mission! We are preparing the Rodriguez family for baptism not this week but the next. The husband got called into work yesterday and we came to search for them and none of them were home yesterday. So tonight we have another FHE with them at one of the counselors home! Next week we´re going to make sure they come to church. Last week we were helping some kids with English for their essays to start school today... weird huh. They had their summer vacation and now they start back today!

Tomorrow we have our big zone conference in the mission office. I sent off a letter today for you to send to Sarah for me from the pouch mail! I’ts kinda sad this week we have found a lot of people that would be ready for baptism but they need to be married first... I didn’t realize that would be such a problem but its common here where they live together have kids but no marriage.

Yesterday our gospels principles class was amazing! The teacher gave a good lesson on prophets in the church... and how to this day our prophet sees God and is visited by angels like in the old testaments. I was thinking this while I was looking at the cover with King Benjamin in the Liahona awhile ago how he was visited by the angel in the night! That is just another testimony how our prophet’s words are truly the words from our dear heavenly father. Not from his own thinking but from God. It is amazing how those words and teachings become so much more precious and meaningful in our daily lives when we truly give heed and act on them.

Thank you my family for everything! It sounds like all of you become more and more successful in your daily activities when I read your emails. It helps me to know that you are all doing great and are happy. I love you all! TE AMO MONTONASO!!!