Happy Birthday Chango!!

 

 

HOLA FAMILIA!!

 

Oh have I had a great week!! I really saw so many miracles this week it is crazy!!!!

So we have been struggling with some our investigators… they just are not progressing a whole lot. It has been hard.  But we have been really good at not allowing it affect our mood or our spirit! We are just going along with the flow the best we can! I also have the best companion that helps me stay positive!

Well this week I have recovered 100% and I feel great… except I pulled a muscle in my shoulder today but other then that, yeah I'm good!

 

So Tuesday we had a lesson with a less active named L__________ and she is great! She is the only member in her family and we are teaching her sister and her mom. Her mom is super Catholic and we taught about the restoration. Hermana Hammond came right out there and said that the catholic church doesn't have all the truth.... the face of her mom was like a spiritual bomb went off in her head and the face of L_____________was like told you so kinda look! haha it was great!!

Well I guess I will get to my favorite part of the week and it was yesterday. So all week I have been trying so hard to focus on getting investigators to church so that the can really progress and all. I had taught a lot about the Sabbath day and the sacrament. Well it finally came to the day.... we went to look for someone and they couldn't go. We then got to church late and none of our investigators were there. We called everyone! We got a hold of O____________ and something happened to his brother and he wasn't sure if he was going to make it and no one else answered their phone... I started to lose hope. We waited and waited and waited... and the biggest surprise of my life.... V__________ showed up!! I am not sure if I explained her situation but she is not allowed to learn anymore about the church. Her mom forbids it... it's so sad because she wants to be baptized so badly!! It's hard but she has not been to Church for 4 weeks because of her mom and she just showed up to church! I almost started crying!! Then if that wasn't a miracle 10 min before sacrament started, O________ pulls up.... tears started in my eyes and then sacrament started and M__________ (O_________'s girlfriend) walks in..... tears are flowing at this point!

It really was such a blessing to see it!  We had 3 instigators in church and 16 less actives in church! I really can not express the gratitude that I have that I was able to see this happen! I know that my purpose here in Cabildo is for O__________ and V__________! I have such a strong connection with them! Stronger than any other person I have taught in my mission! I love them so much! They have been through so much and they are receiving such a strong testimony!

As for the reading this week! I hope that you are all caught up because it was a great reading this week! What I loved the most is that it really was all about the Plan of Heavenly Father for all of us as his children! I loved every part! That every thing that He has done for us is for our personal growth for us to be like Him! One verse that I loved so much and I have been applying this week in my work is in 2 Nephi 7:7-9

I love the part when it was "who is mine enemy?" and to bring it on!!! That is one thing that I have been learning here in Cabildo to really fight with Satan! I really hate him and I am so ready to fight him! One thing that I heard Elder Uchtdorf say was "I you want to punch Satan in the mouth... Preach the Gospel!"..... Gladly!

This weeks reading

Mon 2N 15-19

Tue 2N 20-24

Wed 2N 25-26

Thu 2N 27-28

Fri 2N 29-30

sat 2N 31-33

 sun Jacob 1-4

Love you all so much!!!

 

I just have one favor before I go... O___________ has picked the day of his baptism. July 19. He needs all the prayers he can get. Please have  place for him in your hearts. He needs some extra help from the other side of the veil and I have felt your prayers in my mission and I know that they can help him!!

Love you and miss you more!!!

Hermana Creason



HOLA family!!!

What a week!

Not a lot happened at the beginning so I will just get to the important stuff. First off I got the flu this week on Thursday and Friday. I was so sick. I threw up Thursday night and I spent the day in bed on Friday. Friday we had a ton of appointments so we figured out a way for me to be with a member in her home and Hermana Hammond worked with a member and I am so glad she did! She is so great!!! I remember when I was in Palpala and my companion was a leader and I had to work with the members and I HATED IT! It drove me crazy but Hermana Hammond took it like a champ and did it! but I spent the afternoon into the night at the family S___________. It was great! While I was there I got to talk to hermana S_________ and get to know her more! She has become my mother in Santiago! I love this family so much! They always take care of us! She made me soup and made me feel so much better. Later my district leader came over and gave me a blessing. I now feel 100 % better and I feel better now that I am not on happy pills.(I was taking meds that made me really loopy...) haha

Well as for teaching it was a good week. We are teaching a less active woman that is great, her name is S___________. She has been less active for a year and now her friend, J________, wants to listen to us. Well we taught him last week and left him the introduction and Alma 32 to read... but I guess we explained it wrong because in 5 days he read the intro TO Alma 32!!!! WHAT?¿?¿? yeah crazy!!! haha we had a family home evening last night with them and we watched Finding Faith in Christ!

We also taught V_________! She is still going strong.  Her mom doesn't want us coming over anymore but V__________  and her grandparents said that we can go over on Thursday nights when her mom is working.... I feel like I am a spy going over there! haha but she is already working of getting to the TEMPLE!!!! We have not even taught her about temples yet!!!! She is AMAZING!! I just want her mom to understand and to allow her to make this step in her life!!!

But one thing that me and Hermana Hammond are learning in life is that there are times when we are going to have to pay a token of the price that was made in Gethsemane that way we can understand the way the Savior knows us and that we can understand his Atonement! I have had so many moments in my mission and my life that I have been able to get to know the Atonement and feel His love from it.... that means that our investigators will have to too... that means V__________ and O________.... its not fun because they are going through so much and just want to be baptized but its all in the will of the Lord. This I know, as long as we take our trials and keep pressing forward with the Savior, all will be well!

Well I encourage you to keep reading the Book of Mormon! I too am a little behind but only a few chapters! IT IS AMAZING! I am learning so much from it! I will share a few things.

I really loved chapter 7 in Nephi. This is when Nephi and his brothers are returning with Ishmael and his family and they are so tired and grumpy and his brothers want to go back to Jerusalem. Nephi stands up and says no we can't. We need to keep the commandments of the Lord and his brothers got mad at him and tied him up and left him for dead. It is this scripture that stood out to me. Verse 17

Nephi prays and asks for STRENGTH to break the bands of his affliction. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE TO US IN OUR AFFLICTIONS! Usually when I am down and ready to give up, I ask God to change my situation BUT Nephi is a great example to us that we need to ask for STRENGTH to go through it and then have the faith to act as he did in verse 18

I am loving the Book of Mormon with every word I read and I am so glad we have here for us to learn and understand!

Here is the reading for this week!

Mon 1N 19-20

Tues 1 N 21-22

Wed 2N 1-2

Thurs 2N 3-5

Fri 2N 6-8

Sat 2N 9

Sun 2N10-14

I pray that your week is great and that you can feel my prayers!!!

LOVE YOU!!

Hermana Creason

 

Happy Father's Day

 

Santiago

 

 

HOLA familia!!! wow what a week. Not like the last one! haha

But first!!!!!! FELIZ DIA DEL PADRE!!!!!!!..... yesterday!

I would just like to declare to the WHOLE WORLD that MY DADDY is the best!!! I am so very grateful for everything that he does for me and my family! One thing that I will never ever forget is those long gospel talks that we have! I learn so much from him and his life and the way that he teaches me! I LOVE YOU DADDY! and I would also like the thank my grandpa and all my uncles for all their love!!

SECOND!! We don't have transfers!!!!! YAY!!! This is the first time that I have not needed to change companions or areas my whole time here in Argentina!!!! We are so stoked!!! haha

Ok so i have got some updates about a few perople but I guess I am not very clear in my letters. In particular V________.

Ok so yes you are right that V__________ is the teenager that wants to get baptized but doesn't have permission, and I think that in a few of my letters I have mixed up V__________'s name and V____________.... I keep doing it in my planner too!

V____________ was the one baptized last week. She is 11 and just great! Hermana Garibay and I actually taught her a lot but she never progressed and so we dropped her.  Well out of the blue she showed up again and progressed like crazy! Her brother is a member but he is less active but she had a great desire to be baptized and she did! It was great!

 

Well as for O__________... Crazy story this guy! I feel like we are on a huge roller coaster with him!  Well Monday night we found him. We went to his house just to pass by and ask what happened because he still was not answering our phone and he wasn't home but Hermana Hammond had to use the bathroom so his mom let us in and used her bathroom. As we left, O___________ pulled up on his motorcycle!! We talked with him and he thought that we were so mad at him but we explained that we are just really concerned about him because he was fine the day before his baptism. He was shocked. He said that he had been struggling so much. The day before and the day of his baptism he was hit with lots of thoughts about his dad who passed away... he was extremely depressed and Satan was working EXTREMELY hard on him! It was really sad actually because he really wants to be baptized but every time that he is set on it, something happens! Keep him in your prayers!

And just as far as the cockroaches go, I HATE THEM!! Haha! I have definitely gained a HUGE respect for cleanliness!! Haha

 

M___________ and C__________…. Well its not going to great. Turns out they were dating but now they broke up and we don't know where he lives and she is heartbroken… she is so angry at God about it but we have another lesson with her tonight so we will see.

 

OK now I am at the part of the letter that I have been waiting for!

 

I would like to let you know that I have finished reading the Book of Mormon in SPANISH!!!!! WOOT WOOT! Haha I am so excited! I have learned a lot this time! It nearly took me 10 months to read it but it was great! But now that I have finished I need to start again and I would like to do it with you!

 

I am thinking that we should read the Book of Mormon as a family! I have totally figured it out too! I really hope that you have not started recently but I have figured it out how if we do it just right, we will finish the Book of Mormon the night I am home! LETS DO IT PLEASE!!!!

 

Here is the plan!

Monday Intoduction and 1 Nephi 1-3

Tuesday 1 Nephi 4-6

Wednesday 1 Nephi 7-10

Thursday 1 N 10-12

Friday 1N 13-14

Saturday 1N 15-16

Sunday 1N 17-18

 

 Let's do this together! I will let you know the revelation I get as I read and I hope that I will get revelation in return! 

LOVE YOU SOOOOOO VERY MUCH!!!

Hermana Creason

 



 

Our District

 

 

 

New baptismal font

 

 

Oh my gosh!!! This was the worst best week of my life!!! It was absolutely nuts!!! My companion wrote home what happened every day and I just might have to do that too!

Lets start and the beginning of it all....

Monday....

So monday was a great day! We got to write home and just kinda chill and then we went out to work. We had an appointment with M__________ and C__________ and the lesson was really weird. They always ask questions really deep and hard to answer, let alone in Spanish.  He asked us when we believe an embrio actually receives a soul..... uh ok... haha we explained to him that we believe its at the very start. He then asked a bunch of other questions that really have nothing to do with what we were talking. I was really frustrated. I was so ready to leave the lesson. I asked if there ws anything that we could do for them and they said to please keep coming and then he had a look on his face of deep consern and like he really really ment it. We told him absolutely.  I then asked if we could say a prayer and he said that he would like to..... O_o..... well it was our fault because we didn't teach him how a prayer is so he basically bore his testimony. It was so touching. He said that never in his life as he listened to other religions and other types of churchs, has he felt a peace and a desire to know more. And her we are 19 and 21 year old GIRLS teaching him basic gospel principles! It was cool!

So then after the lesson we went to O__________ and he told us that he got a job and he could not get bapized at the schedual time that we had the baptism. We then called V_________ and she couldn't do it the time he could so we set 2 baptism times on Saturday. No big deal.

Tuesday

Tuesday was really nice.  O_________ had his interview and it was a great day up until the night. We got home after working and found a few cockroaches in our apartment and so we decided to spray them with raid, well we found out that they came from our wall... we began to spray the wall and we went to bed.

Wednesday

We woke up in the morning and found 67 dead huge cockroaches on the floor throughout our apartment! I felt like I was in another world!!  I took a ton of photos but I am not going to send them because you guys acted badly the last pictures of cockroaches I sent because this story just gets worse. Well we called an exterminator and when he got there he said that it even smelt like cockroach... EWWWWW!!!! Well he ended up sprayed our apartment and we had to leave and sleep in La Banda.... I don't think I am not going to have a transfer without going to La Banda! haha Well right after we finshed sparying our apartment we went down with him. We live on the 3rd floor and at the very bottom in the hallway there is a big box in the floor that has all of the plumming underneath it. Well he told us to go outside and he used a CROWBAR to open it .  Me and my companion were so afraid because at that moment we knew what was underneath. As soon as he opened it, it was like New York City for them!!!! DISGUSTING! So he sprayed the crap out of them and a good 300 tried to escape in the hall.... After he was done, he closed the lid and climbed in his car and drove away.... LEFT THE MESS!!!!!! We felt so bad that there were a good 300 dead cockroaches in the hall of our apartment building so we went to sweep them up.... I prayed the whole time that the spirit would just shield my eyes from this battle scene!

So after it was all done we had about an hour before we had to head to La Banda so we went to the familia M____________... it was TERRIBLE! They were not respectful at all. We talked about the atonement and they then asked why can't we have wine instead of water... they know why.... just wanted another excuse to drink more wine than they already are. We are so mad at them! I think they noticed how disgusted we were with them because when we left, we didn't set an appointment to return.  We will pray and see what happens.

ok....

Thursday

was a good day. We taught Valeria. and this is where it is sad... we are no longer allowed to teach V_______ anymore.  Her mom forbids it and we can't do anything about it.  Her mom doesn't allow her to come to church.  She can't be with her boyfriend who is a member.... it is so sad and we are really bummed about it!

Friday

We had a ward activity and it was good.

Saturday

Well this is baptism day... it was a great morning.  We had a ton of banana bread for the baptism and about to start our studies and we got a text from O__________.  He said that he was not going to go to his baptism and that he was really confused.  He said that he couldn't drop his catholic habits. We dropped everything and ran to his house!!! He wasn't home... we called and called and called but he kept cutting off our calls! We talked to his mom and she said that he went to a park to play soccer. We found a taxi and asked him to take us to the nearest park. When we got there, he was not there. e were devastated. We had no idea what to do. We called V___________ and her mom had not signed the baptism form for her to be baptized.... at this point we had no baptism. We were stunned. We sat on a bench and prayed because everything is out of our hands and we needed to give it to the Lord. After the prayer we just sat there... about 5 min later V_____________ called us and said that her mom signed the paper!!! YAY!!! It was 2 hours before the baptsim!  The baptsim was great and her mom cried at parts. After the baptsim her mom said that she wants to talk to us this week!

This work is nuts! It drives me crazy and it makes my hair fall out BUT I have never felt the hand of the Lord in the things in my life! There is no way I could have done to prevent or to prepare me of what happened this week but it was an experience I will never EVER forget!!!!! That is why it is the worst, best week of my life!!!!!

We are not going to give up on O__________! I know that he is my purpose and that  that man will make it to the waters of baptism!

Love you all so very much and pray for you always!!!
Please keep a special prayer that we can find O__________ again and help him!
love
Hermana Creason

 

GIANT empanadas - YUM

 

 

HOLA mi familia!!! como esta?¿?¿?  I am now on the double digit countdown!!! How did that happen?¿?¿?¿? Wow what a week!! It was a good one again! This week I will talk more about what had happened!

Well to start off I guess I will just follow your questions.

As for new investigators, we taught 2 last Monday after I wrote you.  Their names are M________ and C_________! They are great but the problem is that they are really proper and they use really big words.... hahaha They would ask us something and we would just sit there.... its been a while that I didn't know what they were saying and that I was praying so hard for the gift of discernment!  It was funny. We explained that we are young and clearly learning the language but they didn't dumb down their words.... haha so I have been trying to broaden my vocabulary this week because we have another appointment with them tonight! haha

As for the M___________ family... they have not been progresing and our area is really big and their are a lot of people that we teach, that frankly are progressing so we have been focused on them. It's so hard because I love this family but they just are not doing or completeing the commitments that we leave. We have plans to go this week but this week will be a busy one for us!

It will be busy because we have 2 baptisms!!!!!! O________ and V______________!!!

O_____________ is getting baptized this Saturday!!! He is so ready and he said that he feels great about it! His interview is tomorrow and we know that he will pass! He has been taught the gospel for 14 years! haha! V___________ is also getting baptized! I am not sure if I told you much about her. S She was actually one of mine and Hermana Garribay's investigator but she never progressed so we dropped her. She is 11 and her older brother is a member but less active. Well we found her again and she is so pumped to get baptized! It was such a surprise to see her change and see how the Lord really did just prepare her heart!!! She went to church yesterday and had a blast looking through all my stickers! haha

V___________ still does not have permission but she is a jewel! We had a lesson with her on Thursday and we then asked her if she would like to go out and teach with us! Her face lit up and she was so happy that she could! We went and taught an old man, sadly the lesson wasn't that good but V___________ loved every moment of it! She didn't make it to church yesterday because of family problems but she is still going strong! I pray all the time for her that she will make it to baptism!

Transfers is in two weeks.   Not this Monday but the next. I really hope that I stay here! I love Cabildo a lot and my companion!!! I think that I will still be here because I am still her trainer. The greenies are in training for 12 weeks and this is only week 5. I don't think that president would split us up and then after her training I only have one transfer left so there is no real point of me transferring.... I really hope! But seeing my history of always changing and every trasfer something happens, I really have no idea!

We finally got a heater just when the sun decided to come out! We had stormy weather here for 3 weeks strait and now it feels like a perfect autumn day for watching little league baseball! ;)

The work is going good! This week really flew by! We are doing great as a companionship! We are starting a diet because we didn't eat so healthy this week! haha and we really should eat healthy here! I really love my companion! She is so great and she is helping me push to be my best!

I remember one of my companions told me that when you get to your last couple months, the Lord really tests you to help you see what you have learned in your mission. I can feel that he is doing it now! I have had so many opportunities to apply different skills that I have learned, or applied new talents that I developed this week and it has made me think more and more of my mission. I recently found a talk that is called "an opportunity of a life time".  It talks about how the mission is something that if done right, it will be holy ground for me in the future! It is a beautiful talk and I love it with all my heart! I can see that I am not the same person I was and that Padre Celestial has so much in store planned for me! and I can't wait to see what else hes got!!!! haha

Well I love you all more than you know and pray for you always!

Love you long time!

Hermana Creason