Hey all!
It's been a long time since I've written. I've been home for about six months now and life is good. It was really hard to come home and at the same time it was the best thing that could have happened for me.
I loved the mission. It is the best experience you can have and I would recommend one to everyone. You meet the best people who will be your friends for life. They are people who will love you and stick by you.
Being home has been great too! I have a new niece that I get to babysit and I'm working. I also just get to be here to help out whenever anyone needs anything. I've been able to go to my friend's wedding, and have fun with my friends. I've even had time to write a story that needs editing. It's awesome!
It's hard to come home from a mission no matter how long you have been a missionary. But coming home is made easier by loving and understanding family and friends.
Hopefully, I'll write again soon! Love you all muches!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Last letter from Argentina (Monday March 12th, 2007)
Hey all! Thanks all so much for your love and support! I’m glad that everyone’s excited! So, this week has been great!
Monday we went to Mariano Moreno and I have great pics! Elder Whiting and I spent the whole hike that we took quoting movies and telling jokes. It was nice to relax.
On Thursday I had my best Undead Monkey Moment (UMM). I was walking behind Hna. Riquelme as we climbed a hill and when we reached to top, she said something. I didn’t hear her because the wind was very strong. So I caught up to her and started to ask her what she said and she apparently didn’t realized I was there. She scrame so loudly. She startled me. But I was laughing so hard at her. Sadly, there was no one in the streets to witness this marvelous event.
Sunday had the best good-bye event of the mission! Viviana Baigorria got baptized! The Spirit was strong and wonderful and you just should have been there. I love baptisms! Then we had a party afterward and we invited all the youth. It was the bestest ever! I love the people here in Argentina. They really are Celestial.
Well, that’s all for my last week as a missionary in Argentina. My next entry will be from home. Loves, hugs and kisses to all!
Hermana April Vay Madsen
Monday we went to Mariano Moreno and I have great pics! Elder Whiting and I spent the whole hike that we took quoting movies and telling jokes. It was nice to relax.
On Thursday I had my best Undead Monkey Moment (UMM). I was walking behind Hna. Riquelme as we climbed a hill and when we reached to top, she said something. I didn’t hear her because the wind was very strong. So I caught up to her and started to ask her what she said and she apparently didn’t realized I was there. She scrame so loudly. She startled me. But I was laughing so hard at her. Sadly, there was no one in the streets to witness this marvelous event.
Sunday had the best good-bye event of the mission! Viviana Baigorria got baptized! The Spirit was strong and wonderful and you just should have been there. I love baptisms! Then we had a party afterward and we invited all the youth. It was the bestest ever! I love the people here in Argentina. They really are Celestial.
Well, that’s all for my last week as a missionary in Argentina. My next entry will be from home. Loves, hugs and kisses to all!
Hermana April Vay Madsen
Monday, March 05, 2007
Letter from Monday March 5th, 2007
Hey all! Thanks for letters and emails from Mom, Dad, Noelle, Maxine, and Diane, Cody, Kelly, and Alex. Thanks for your continual love, support, fasts and prayers on my behalf. I appreciate all of them.
One of the best things about this week has been visiting the members. I love visiting them! We visited with Hna. Castro this week and shared about the Restoration and then sat and talked for a little while. I loved that. It is great when we get to know the people we serve.
We also met and talked with another member Jaime. He is really excited to come back to church and wants his wife to hear the lessons. We’ll see what she decides. I’m excited to talk with them though!
Funny story: so, the neighbors always have music going at night and it’s hysterical because they listen to music in English and Spanish. Anyway, the other night, I got to hear “Blue Moon. (a Smurf if bathing alone)” LOL!! I was trying not to wake my companion as I laughed that night.
Jay! Thanks so much, my kindred spirit for the shirt and the letter!!!!! I love them!!!! It makes me so happy to wear the shirt you gave me! Happy! How are you doing? How are classes, studies? I hope to hear from you. Kisses!
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
This is my almost last blog as a missionary in Argentina. My health problems have become too much of a problem and I will be home the week of March 12, 2007. Thanks to all for your love and support.
Love always!
One of the best things about this week has been visiting the members. I love visiting them! We visited with Hna. Castro this week and shared about the Restoration and then sat and talked for a little while. I loved that. It is great when we get to know the people we serve.
We also met and talked with another member Jaime. He is really excited to come back to church and wants his wife to hear the lessons. We’ll see what she decides. I’m excited to talk with them though!
Funny story: so, the neighbors always have music going at night and it’s hysterical because they listen to music in English and Spanish. Anyway, the other night, I got to hear “Blue Moon. (a Smurf if bathing alone)” LOL!! I was trying not to wake my companion as I laughed that night.
Jay! Thanks so much, my kindred spirit for the shirt and the letter!!!!! I love them!!!! It makes me so happy to wear the shirt you gave me! Happy! How are you doing? How are classes, studies? I hope to hear from you. Kisses!
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
This is my almost last blog as a missionary in Argentina. My health problems have become too much of a problem and I will be home the week of March 12, 2007. Thanks to all for your love and support.
Love always!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Letter from Monday Feb 26, 2007
Hey all! I haven’t gotten letters yet, but thanks to all who sent them! Thanks also for your continual love, prayers, fasts, etc. on my behalf. I’m doing well. The work is going well and my companion is great as always. The people in the ward here are wonderful, excited and work hard in their callings. I love them.
Happy March Birthdays to Mom, Grandma, Grandma, Nils, and Hna. Ale and whoever else I have forgotten! Love you!
We actually didn’t have a baptism this week. We had some scheduling conflicts, so we will see what happens. I will keep you all updated.
So, last Monday was wonderful! We climbed Cerro Michacheo (?) and had lunch. We could see all of Zapala and it honestly looks like southern/central Utah. We have mountains, desert, weeds, etc. I don’t know how allergies are going to be when fall hits. Anyway, hiking the hill was fun. I spend most of the day quoting movie lines with Elder Whiting, a newbie.
On Tuesday I got to help a less active member with his English! It was great! It made me happy to help and do something with English! My favorite part was when Martin’s face lit up when he understood and could apply what he learned! There was a sentence we were looking at that said, “It’s a nice sandwich.” I laughed because we usually don’t say that. Unless, we have met a mean sandwich before. It reminded me of The Hot Rock, “That’s a nice watch.” LOL!
We have a new nickname, “Señoras de Jesus”. I like it.
We also attended a ward activity for lunch on Saturday. It was fun! We all chilled, took pictures, etc. It was like a family reunion in Mayfield and it was nice for us to relax until lunch. We had a blast with the kids and swings.
Jay, how’s it goin’? “I’ve missed our conversations.” Saludos a su familia, Wendy, Hna. Ale, y todos en Madryn. I miss you, and pray for you. Hugs and kisses!
Well, that’s all for this week, all. Love tons!
Happy March Birthdays to Mom, Grandma, Grandma, Nils, and Hna. Ale and whoever else I have forgotten! Love you!
We actually didn’t have a baptism this week. We had some scheduling conflicts, so we will see what happens. I will keep you all updated.
So, last Monday was wonderful! We climbed Cerro Michacheo (?) and had lunch. We could see all of Zapala and it honestly looks like southern/central Utah. We have mountains, desert, weeds, etc. I don’t know how allergies are going to be when fall hits. Anyway, hiking the hill was fun. I spend most of the day quoting movie lines with Elder Whiting, a newbie.
On Tuesday I got to help a less active member with his English! It was great! It made me happy to help and do something with English! My favorite part was when Martin’s face lit up when he understood and could apply what he learned! There was a sentence we were looking at that said, “It’s a nice sandwich.” I laughed because we usually don’t say that. Unless, we have met a mean sandwich before. It reminded me of The Hot Rock, “That’s a nice watch.” LOL!
We have a new nickname, “Señoras de Jesus”. I like it.
We also attended a ward activity for lunch on Saturday. It was fun! We all chilled, took pictures, etc. It was like a family reunion in Mayfield and it was nice for us to relax until lunch. We had a blast with the kids and swings.
Jay, how’s it goin’? “I’ve missed our conversations.” Saludos a su familia, Wendy, Hna. Ale, y todos en Madryn. I miss you, and pray for you. Hugs and kisses!
Well, that’s all for this week, all. Love tons!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Letter from Monday Feb 19th, 2007
Hey all! Thanks for letters and emails from everyone! Especially the valentines from all my international family! I loved them! Thanks also for your continual prayers, fasts, and love. They help a ton.
So this week was interesting. My favorite part was p-day because I am good friends with Elder Whiting. He is new, but we quote movie lines all the time. I also saw a drugstore that is Dumbo purple called Porthos. LOL!
The weather here is like Merlin’s germ “followed by hot and cold flashes”. We had rain, sun, wind, and fall is setting in early. I had a funny thought when we were knocking doors the other day. “The police are here...I am the police and they are with me...we have all your friends outside in a paddy wagon...” from Signs. I was laughing so hard. This was the “undead monkey” experience for the week.
We have a baptism this coming Friday. Our investigator’s name is Viviana Baigorria. She is really excited and I will have to tell you all about it next week. She is about 16 years old.
Oh, cool scripture experience. We read Alma 37 and talked about how we don’t feel our pain anymore when we repent and then I applied that to the other aspects of our lives because the Savior suffered for everything (see Alma 7: 11-13).
¡Felicitaciones a Marcela y Milton con su bautismo! Me alegre tanto en saber de ustedes. Sigue adelante. Con amor, Hna. Brichu
Jay, my wonderful kindred spirit, como andas, vos? Saludos a todos. Suerte con sus estudios. I want you to remember something. “You are sure to do impossible things if you follow your heart.” Without thinking about anything else, take some time and find out what the missionaries are teaching you means for you. Hugs and kisses! I’m always here if you need me.
Taty, ¡hola! ¿me hagas un favor? ¿Leerá el libro que dejé que se llama Nuesto Búsqueda para la felicidad? Puede ayudarle entender todo que estamos compartiendo. Hay esperanza y las familias pueden ser unidas para siempre. Ud. Solamente necesita alcanzarlas. ¡Abrazos! Hna. Madsen
Love all always!
So this week was interesting. My favorite part was p-day because I am good friends with Elder Whiting. He is new, but we quote movie lines all the time. I also saw a drugstore that is Dumbo purple called Porthos. LOL!
The weather here is like Merlin’s germ “followed by hot and cold flashes”. We had rain, sun, wind, and fall is setting in early. I had a funny thought when we were knocking doors the other day. “The police are here...I am the police and they are with me...we have all your friends outside in a paddy wagon...” from Signs. I was laughing so hard. This was the “undead monkey” experience for the week.
We have a baptism this coming Friday. Our investigator’s name is Viviana Baigorria. She is really excited and I will have to tell you all about it next week. She is about 16 years old.
Oh, cool scripture experience. We read Alma 37 and talked about how we don’t feel our pain anymore when we repent and then I applied that to the other aspects of our lives because the Savior suffered for everything (see Alma 7: 11-13).
¡Felicitaciones a Marcela y Milton con su bautismo! Me alegre tanto en saber de ustedes. Sigue adelante. Con amor, Hna. Brichu
Jay, my wonderful kindred spirit, como andas, vos? Saludos a todos. Suerte con sus estudios. I want you to remember something. “You are sure to do impossible things if you follow your heart.” Without thinking about anything else, take some time and find out what the missionaries are teaching you means for you. Hugs and kisses! I’m always here if you need me.
Taty, ¡hola! ¿me hagas un favor? ¿Leerá el libro que dejé que se llama Nuesto Búsqueda para la felicidad? Puede ayudarle entender todo que estamos compartiendo. Hay esperanza y las familias pueden ser unidas para siempre. Ud. Solamente necesita alcanzarlas. ¡Abrazos! Hna. Madsen
Love all always!
Letter from Monday Feb 12th, 2007
Hey all! Thanks for letters last week from Mom, Dad, Maxine, Diane, Noelle (Thanks for the Link pics! I love them!) and Lisa R. Dunn. Thanks for emails this week from Diane, Kelly, Cori and Rene, Alex, and Mom. Thanks as always for your love and prayers and fasts!
I had a great discovery last week in the scriptures! We read 1 Nephi 1 and I realized that Lehi hears the words of the prophets and then prays to know for himself, just like Nephi does with the words of his father! That’s so cool!
So, the ward is wonderful. I have been very grateful this past week for the storm clouds, wind, and a companion that is there for me. There are many people that are wonderful here in Zapala, even though I still don’t know many names or where they live. Hna. Riquelme has been in the area for one transfer, this is her second one here.
OH, Kelly, I hear the funniest song last week about mullets! “That guy’s a girl, that girl’s a guy. Yep....nope” LOL!
Dad asked about perfumes. Yes. It is a latin america thing. But here in Argentina I don’t know what is worse the perfumes or the aerosol deodorant that everyone seems to think works great. “Who knows.”
Alex, congrats on work, school, etc. Keep me posted.
Congrats to Kelly, Heath and Alex for making it to green belt in karate! I will have a ton to learn! I’m so proud of you all!
So this week we had winds and clouds! I saw a licence plate that said “cuc” LOL! and a trash can that said “residuos” LOL! I thought of “prodigeonuous” from October Sky. I have been told be members that I speak Castellano clearly. I have also been told by the primary kids that I speak like a little kid. I said, “That’s good, because I’m still learning how to speak.” Oh, and I’m staying in Zapala for a while because Heavenly Father told me to. There are interesting smells here. The other day I smelled Disneyland (Gepetto’s place-the accordian music helped add to the illusion), and Splash Mountain, and Maxine’s school, and grass in the summer. It was beautiful!
There are a few investigators that I remember. One of them is Yisel. She has strong desires to be baptized and do the right things. We had a few very powerful lessons with her. They were powerful because the Spirit was there.
Jay! Kelly tells me that you are finally in touch with her! Yea! Keep writing! How have you been this week? ¿Me hagas un favor? Por favor, empieza un diario. Escriba lo que siente, porque escucha a las misioneras, sus deseos, todo. Okay, that was a horrible attempt at Castellano. But please start a diary or journal. It will be important to you later. Hugs and kisses, my kindred spirit.
That’s all for this week, I will try to answer other questions in other emails if I can. Loves always and forever!
I had a great discovery last week in the scriptures! We read 1 Nephi 1 and I realized that Lehi hears the words of the prophets and then prays to know for himself, just like Nephi does with the words of his father! That’s so cool!
So, the ward is wonderful. I have been very grateful this past week for the storm clouds, wind, and a companion that is there for me. There are many people that are wonderful here in Zapala, even though I still don’t know many names or where they live. Hna. Riquelme has been in the area for one transfer, this is her second one here.
OH, Kelly, I hear the funniest song last week about mullets! “That guy’s a girl, that girl’s a guy. Yep....nope” LOL!
Dad asked about perfumes. Yes. It is a latin america thing. But here in Argentina I don’t know what is worse the perfumes or the aerosol deodorant that everyone seems to think works great. “Who knows.”
Alex, congrats on work, school, etc. Keep me posted.
Congrats to Kelly, Heath and Alex for making it to green belt in karate! I will have a ton to learn! I’m so proud of you all!
So this week we had winds and clouds! I saw a licence plate that said “cuc” LOL! and a trash can that said “residuos” LOL! I thought of “prodigeonuous” from October Sky. I have been told be members that I speak Castellano clearly. I have also been told by the primary kids that I speak like a little kid. I said, “That’s good, because I’m still learning how to speak.” Oh, and I’m staying in Zapala for a while because Heavenly Father told me to. There are interesting smells here. The other day I smelled Disneyland (Gepetto’s place-the accordian music helped add to the illusion), and Splash Mountain, and Maxine’s school, and grass in the summer. It was beautiful!
There are a few investigators that I remember. One of them is Yisel. She has strong desires to be baptized and do the right things. We had a few very powerful lessons with her. They were powerful because the Spirit was there.
Jay! Kelly tells me that you are finally in touch with her! Yea! Keep writing! How have you been this week? ¿Me hagas un favor? Por favor, empieza un diario. Escriba lo que siente, porque escucha a las misioneras, sus deseos, todo. Okay, that was a horrible attempt at Castellano. But please start a diary or journal. It will be important to you later. Hugs and kisses, my kindred spirit.
That’s all for this week, I will try to answer other questions in other emails if I can. Loves always and forever!
Monday, February 05, 2007
Letter from Feb 5, 2006
Hey all! Thanks for emails from Kelly, Diane, Cori and Rene, Mom, and Alex.. Thanks so much for your love, prayers, fasts, and tears. I don’t know if I have any letters since here in Ruca Hueney, Zapala, we don’t meet the Elders until 1:30. Anyway, thanks for letters too!
¡Feliz Cumple a Marcela!
“I hate to worry you, Johnny, but it’s gettin’ hotter.” I know I said that at the beginning of summer in Puerto Madryn, but holy hanna. That was nothing to the cloudless summer heat here in Zapala. My companion is Hna. Riquelme from Buenos Aires. She is wonderful and upbeat and loves the people. I have a lot to learn from her. The ward is wonderful. Our ward missionary lent me her shoes becuase the ones I have aren’t helpful for this area.
Alex will be interested to know that we met a lady named Iris. I also had an interesting lightbulb moment. We were talking with a returned missionary and he said something to the effect that when you feel you don’t have anything that’s when you need to give everything. I’ve tried to remember that, but it has been hard. The members here are nice. They say I speak very clearly and that I don’t have a yankee accent. That’s kind of them.
So, what is Zapala like? Imagine San Francisco hills only not so steep, no sea, moutains in the background, more hills and pavement on the Wyoming trek route. Yep, that’s Zapala. I love seeing the mountains, but I miss the sea now. Zapala is beautiful. There are no Welsh that I know of. We have Mapuche and Argentine people. So I get my Native Americans. I live in an apartment with no windows. It’s great!
Kelly, you will be happy to know that a couple of years ago, Argentina won the Vollyball World Cup. There is more here than soccer.
JAY! My wonderful, kindred spirit, and eternal friend! Thank you so much for writing to me! As we both knew would happen, I cried. Actually I cried every day this week. I know things will be different, well, are different. I want you to know that I think about you and pray for you every day. Thank you for your friendship and for seeing me in a way that I often don’t see in myself. You are a choice son of God and he loves you. “Keep on keeping on” as my Dad and Grandpa tell me. Or in other words, “Sigue adelante.” You can make it. Do what you need to because you know it is true. This Gospel and this church are true. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He died for you and I had the priveledge to share that with you. The Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. We have a Prophet today who leads and guides us. There is nothing more important in this world than this, because if we stick to the Savior, we will gain the best reward and we can be with our families for forever. Keep on keeping on. You can make it. Hugs and kisses! OH, and please say hi to Wendy and Hna. Ale for me!
This poem is for Kelly and Jay. I wrote it when I was traveling to Zapala.
STRENGTH
“Be strong”
“Don’t cry”
“Be stronger”
Tears show
Weakness.
They must
Never show;
For if they do,
We become
Prey
To the Enemy.
But tears
Are
Not weakness.
They are
Signs of
Strength.
Strength to love.
Strength to sorrow.
Strength in compassion.
Strength in humility.
Through tears,
We release
Our burdens,
We renew
Our strength.
Then we
Get up,
Rise
To the challenge
In the strength
God has
Given us
Through Christ.
“Jesus wept”
And He was
The strongest
Of us all.
¡Feliz Cumple a Marcela!
“I hate to worry you, Johnny, but it’s gettin’ hotter.” I know I said that at the beginning of summer in Puerto Madryn, but holy hanna. That was nothing to the cloudless summer heat here in Zapala. My companion is Hna. Riquelme from Buenos Aires. She is wonderful and upbeat and loves the people. I have a lot to learn from her. The ward is wonderful. Our ward missionary lent me her shoes becuase the ones I have aren’t helpful for this area.
Alex will be interested to know that we met a lady named Iris. I also had an interesting lightbulb moment. We were talking with a returned missionary and he said something to the effect that when you feel you don’t have anything that’s when you need to give everything. I’ve tried to remember that, but it has been hard. The members here are nice. They say I speak very clearly and that I don’t have a yankee accent. That’s kind of them.
So, what is Zapala like? Imagine San Francisco hills only not so steep, no sea, moutains in the background, more hills and pavement on the Wyoming trek route. Yep, that’s Zapala. I love seeing the mountains, but I miss the sea now. Zapala is beautiful. There are no Welsh that I know of. We have Mapuche and Argentine people. So I get my Native Americans. I live in an apartment with no windows. It’s great!
Kelly, you will be happy to know that a couple of years ago, Argentina won the Vollyball World Cup. There is more here than soccer.
JAY! My wonderful, kindred spirit, and eternal friend! Thank you so much for writing to me! As we both knew would happen, I cried. Actually I cried every day this week. I know things will be different, well, are different. I want you to know that I think about you and pray for you every day. Thank you for your friendship and for seeing me in a way that I often don’t see in myself. You are a choice son of God and he loves you. “Keep on keeping on” as my Dad and Grandpa tell me. Or in other words, “Sigue adelante.” You can make it. Do what you need to because you know it is true. This Gospel and this church are true. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He died for you and I had the priveledge to share that with you. The Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. We have a Prophet today who leads and guides us. There is nothing more important in this world than this, because if we stick to the Savior, we will gain the best reward and we can be with our families for forever. Keep on keeping on. You can make it. Hugs and kisses! OH, and please say hi to Wendy and Hna. Ale for me!
This poem is for Kelly and Jay. I wrote it when I was traveling to Zapala.
STRENGTH
“Be strong”
“Don’t cry”
“Be stronger”
Tears show
Weakness.
They must
Never show;
For if they do,
We become
Prey
To the Enemy.
But tears
Are
Not weakness.
They are
Signs of
Strength.
Strength to love.
Strength to sorrow.
Strength in compassion.
Strength in humility.
Through tears,
We release
Our burdens,
We renew
Our strength.
Then we
Get up,
Rise
To the challenge
In the strength
God has
Given us
Through Christ.
“Jesus wept”
And He was
The strongest
Of us all.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Letter from Jan 29, 2007
Thank you all so much for your love and prayers! Thanks for keeping me up to date too. I haven’t had time to read the letters yet so I will try to answer questions next week if I remember.
This week is transfers and I am leaving my lovely home in Puerto Madryn to serve up north in Zapala, Neuquen. My new companion will be Hna. Riquelme. We’ll see how it all goes. Transfers are today, as well as P-day so we’ve been all over the place.
Cool things of the week. I spent time with my favorite people here in Madryn (Jay, Marcela, Milton, Tobias). They all went to church too! Jay even brought a friend! That was so cool! These people are such examples for me. I can’t think of anything else to share with y’all for the week. I need to finish getting ready to leave. We are going to spend the day with Jay and Marcela and Milton!
This week is transfers and I am leaving my lovely home in Puerto Madryn to serve up north in Zapala, Neuquen. My new companion will be Hna. Riquelme. We’ll see how it all goes. Transfers are today, as well as P-day so we’ve been all over the place.
Cool things of the week. I spent time with my favorite people here in Madryn (Jay, Marcela, Milton, Tobias). They all went to church too! Jay even brought a friend! That was so cool! These people are such examples for me. I can’t think of anything else to share with y’all for the week. I need to finish getting ready to leave. We are going to spend the day with Jay and Marcela and Milton!
Monday, January 15, 2007
Calling all friends...
As is the case with every missionary the work can be hard and lack of progress from your investigators can be a negative experience. I know, I served a mission myself.
If anyone has seen those Church produced missionary videos that depict missionary work, very rarely do those kind of awesome experiences happen - if ever - in one's missionary experiences.
So I would encourage all who know April and or read this blog to send her a letter.
By the way, I've just realized that I have been making posts as April for over 6 months...silly me.
Cody
oncewise.blogspot.com Administrator - in April's absence.
cctayl.blogspot.com
ldscorner.blogspot.com
If anyone has seen those Church produced missionary videos that depict missionary work, very rarely do those kind of awesome experiences happen - if ever - in one's missionary experiences.
So I would encourage all who know April and or read this blog to send her a letter.
By the way, I've just realized that I have been making posts as April for over 6 months...silly me.
Cody
oncewise.blogspot.com Administrator - in April's absence.
cctayl.blogspot.com
ldscorner.blogspot.com
Letter from Monday Jan 15, 2007
It’s not too humid, but it’s definitely not as dry as Utah. It is summer now. Contacts are improving, as I actually get to do some and my companion is wonderful. My Castellano is definitely improving. ;) There are butterflies in Argentina but I haven’t seen very many. Missionary life is hard but definitely rewarding. I love it!
Our investigators are wonderful. We are going to put a new baptismal date with Marcela and Milton. All the Bolivians are progressing very slowly. I love visiting Jay, especially with a member friend (his and ours) named Wendy. It is so great to have the members help us. The Spirit is in the lessons more and Jay now has someone, besides us to talk to about the Gospel. I’ve known for a while that all he needed was a friend, especially since we, as missionaries, can’t be there all the time, even though we wish we could be. Gladys and Juan are not married, and we are helping them get their Argentine document (DNI) so they can get married. They are great!
Cool story of the week is that we had Conference with President Cook and Elder Bowen. It was good, the Spirit was there, and yeah. The best part of it was that I was in Trelew and we passed a Welsh chapel and I saw a Welsh word and then we walked through a beautiful park. The Welsh stuff made me happy and I was sad not to have more time to stay. We’ll see if I get to have more Welsh as the mission goes on. I love Welsh things! Anyway, more next week. Love all tons! Hugs and snuggles!
Our investigators are wonderful. We are going to put a new baptismal date with Marcela and Milton. All the Bolivians are progressing very slowly. I love visiting Jay, especially with a member friend (his and ours) named Wendy. It is so great to have the members help us. The Spirit is in the lessons more and Jay now has someone, besides us to talk to about the Gospel. I’ve known for a while that all he needed was a friend, especially since we, as missionaries, can’t be there all the time, even though we wish we could be. Gladys and Juan are not married, and we are helping them get their Argentine document (DNI) so they can get married. They are great!
Cool story of the week is that we had Conference with President Cook and Elder Bowen. It was good, the Spirit was there, and yeah. The best part of it was that I was in Trelew and we passed a Welsh chapel and I saw a Welsh word and then we walked through a beautiful park. The Welsh stuff made me happy and I was sad not to have more time to stay. We’ll see if I get to have more Welsh as the mission goes on. I love Welsh things! Anyway, more next week. Love all tons! Hugs and snuggles!
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Letter from January 1, 2007
Hey all! Happy New Year! So, many of you (I’m sure) have been wondering what the holidays are like here in Argentina. Well, I don’t know, since I am in my apartment when all the fun begins, but they do have fireworks on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. All I have to say about it is, “I love school.”
It was wonderful to talk to everyone on Christmas! Thanks also to the fam for the package and socks! Thanks to Diane, the fam, and Sam for letters! That meant so much!
This week the weather has been “intense.” Or in other words, windy. It has been lovely. And the cool story of the week is that we tried to do a contact in Quechua. Neither of us speaks Quechua, the native language of the Bolivians, but we tried and the little old lady was wonderful. We didn’t get in.
We haven’t gone whale watching, because the whales are gone now. They are farther south. Sad!
So to answer everyone’s questions, I’m doing great! My area is relatively small. There are no restaurants in my area. There are about 20 or more Kiosks. We work in about 5 neighborhoods, but one of them is a bunch of apartment buildings. There are probably more people in Roca than in all the rest of my area.
We have two people scheduled for baptism, Marcela and Milton who just got married. The ward is wonderful and we are going to put more effort into working with them.
Our mission leader is great and is a big help! Hno. Garcia has a great testimony of this gospel and loves to help us out.
Zone Conferences are pretty good. We learn a lot. The only temple in Argentina is in Buenos Aires. We are a two hour flight away if we are in Neuquen, and I am 10 hours away from Neuquen by bus. We have the wonderful blessing of having a church building. It is just a couple of blocks from our apartment. I love it here!
I think that’s all for this week! Love always!
It was wonderful to talk to everyone on Christmas! Thanks also to the fam for the package and socks! Thanks to Diane, the fam, and Sam for letters! That meant so much!
This week the weather has been “intense.” Or in other words, windy. It has been lovely. And the cool story of the week is that we tried to do a contact in Quechua. Neither of us speaks Quechua, the native language of the Bolivians, but we tried and the little old lady was wonderful. We didn’t get in.
We haven’t gone whale watching, because the whales are gone now. They are farther south. Sad!
So to answer everyone’s questions, I’m doing great! My area is relatively small. There are no restaurants in my area. There are about 20 or more Kiosks. We work in about 5 neighborhoods, but one of them is a bunch of apartment buildings. There are probably more people in Roca than in all the rest of my area.
We have two people scheduled for baptism, Marcela and Milton who just got married. The ward is wonderful and we are going to put more effort into working with them.
Our mission leader is great and is a big help! Hno. Garcia has a great testimony of this gospel and loves to help us out.
Zone Conferences are pretty good. We learn a lot. The only temple in Argentina is in Buenos Aires. We are a two hour flight away if we are in Neuquen, and I am 10 hours away from Neuquen by bus. We have the wonderful blessing of having a church building. It is just a couple of blocks from our apartment. I love it here!
I think that’s all for this week! Love always!
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