May 16, 2013
Hola
Familia!
So
I'm into my third week here and it's been so great! Last Saturday we got to go
out and do proseletismo which was super awesome. I almost couldn't believe that
they just send us out to the middle of the city with only our equally as gringo
companion and tell us to go share the gosple after only 2 weeks of being here.
Super crazy, but amazing! When Saturday came we were all suppose to get on a
bus together that would drop each companionship off at our different
locations. So we went outside to get ready and then one of the Argentine
teachers calls "Hermana Ashcroft y Christensen y Hermana Lutz
Crowley"... So we went over to him to see what he wanted and he told us
that there was no room on the bus for all of us, so us 4 were going to have to
take a taxi. If you can't tell by the names, all of us are complete gringos and
don't speak spanish. And then he told us that the taxi wouldn't be there for
awhile, so it wouldn't be able to follow the bus, so we would have to explain
to him were to go... in a city that we don't know... at all. I immeditaely lost
the draw and got booted to be the one that had to sit in the front seat with
the driver cause I 'know the most spanish' which believe me when I say,
that isn't saying anything, it just shows how little spanish we had between us.
The taxi showed up though and we made the 40 minute drive into our area and he
just dropped us off at a random street corner (which ended up not even being
the right place) and we had to use a map that they hadn't explained to us and
try to find our area and the place we would be getting picked up at hours
later. Talk about sketch haha. And although we almost missed our ride back to
the CCM, we figured it all out eventually and made it. During proseletismo was
super awesome though. At first my compañera and I were kinda lost, but then we
found quite a few people that we could talk to, we taught a few lessons, gave
out our Libro De Mormóns and our pamphlets and we even got 2 return
appointments for this Saturday! We're gonna teach a lady named Karina and her
little 2 year old boy, and we're gonna teach a boy names Augustine and his
family of 8. It's incredible how much the Lord can accomplish through 2
Hermanas that don't even know the language and yet we were able to communicate
well enough everything that was necessary to say. At one point we ended up in a
kinda sketch part of town and a lady we talked to said (in spanish of course)
"don't be talking to people around here, you girls are far too pretty to
be walking around by yourselves, it's not safe for you here". Yeah... that
for sure made us feel all warm and fuzzy. We walked for a bit more though and
then just decided to pray right there in the street for some guidance and
comfort. I can promise to you that prayer always works, and you can be as specific
we your prayers and you want and the Lord will hear and answer them, cause he
defintiely answered ours. And within minutes we were back where we should be
and we were teaching a man named José that we gave a book of Mormon too and the
address and time of our church meeting so that he could try out the church and
learn more. Also- the women in Argentina seem to always been grumpy and not
care to talk to you at all, but the old men are so nice and the best to talk
with... not sure if that's creepy or not... In any case, I'm so excited to go
back out the Saturday and teach the families we made appointments with and try
to find more people!
Things
really are going so well and I love doing this work every single day to learn
as much as a can so that I can hopefully help some people to have this
happiness in their lives. The waking up has finally started to hit me and I
definitely am tired in the mornings some days (thank you mom for the zip
fizz!). Also, the language is becoming more complicated, and every day after
Activida Fisica, around 4 or 5 o'clock, I start to get a language headache. My
brain just feels like there is too much in it and I can no longer speak spanish
or english for that matter haha. All my verbs and conjugations just blow up in
my brain. Yesterday was really bad, and when my companions and I
went to teach our Progressive Investigator (IP) I don't think I said a single
thing right. I gave him a book of mormon and he asked if he had to pay for it
and I basically told him "no it's a natural talent for you" hahah.
Our teacher was looking at me so confused and trying not to laugh the
whole lesson cause I kept saying all the wrong words for everything haha. I
just keep telling myself that my brain is having growing pains but that it will
be super big in no time so that I can speak normally.
So
most of your guys's letters I am replying to via a letter that I wrote this
week. So you should get it in the mail in about 2 weeks I think. Let me know
how long it takes to get to you guys and if you have ever gotten my other 2
letters yet. And thanks dad for being concerned about my suitcases haha, they
made it here in one peice which is good! They're trooping along as of right
now.
I
told you all that I got a new companion and along with that came 2 more
companionships into our district and it has made me just love my district all
the more! One Elder Brewer is the funniest thing ever, he took sign language
for a lot of years, so he is always trying to talk with his hands and and the
poor chap just struggles in the most hilarious of ways that we all always end
up laughing so hard. And when in doubt of what the word is in Spanish, we all
just add and 'o' onto the english word when we say it in hopes that it will
work. However, the other day we ended up saying a super bad swear word I
guess... So the moral of the story is don't make up words. It's bad. haha.
From
now on we get an hour each week to write which is so nice! And my district will
be wrting on Thursdays starting at around 8am our time. Possible 10am some
weeks.
I
have to give a shout out to Julia and her being married now, Congrats! I'm so
happy for you!
And
also one to the most adorable nephew in the world that just got blessed, and to
my sister and brother that are the wonderful parents of baby bear.
And
also (this one's important) to my Norwegian Thea Skandsen!! I know it was your
birthday like forever ago, and I've been thiniking of it for ever now but
haven't been able to tell you so yet! Happy Birthday sister! I hope you had
such a wonderful day and I hope you know that I love you dearly!
Also
to Emmie Buma and Aubrey Nilsson- Happiest of birthday's to you two! Be sure to
let me know if you get married in the next year and half! hahah, but really.
And
to Amaya who has written me but I haven't been able to reply- send me and
address for one. Hope you are preparing and are so excited for your mission for
two. and C number 3 happy birthday to you this month too!
I
love you all so much and hope everything is going well!
Hermana
Ashcroft
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