Familias! :)

April 14, 2014

Hola, Buen Día:)

So this week went by super fast... it was crazy. We did exchanges wednesday with hermanas in Godoy and then on Thusday in Villa Regina, So I stayed 3 nights there and my companion 2. I've become convinced that I learn more from the other hermanas doing the exchanges than they do haha. By the time i left to come back super early in the morning though i was super stinky... I didnt bring very many clothes (that was an error of mine) and a dog there nearly tore my skirt off with how much he bit me! He left it nice and dirty for me too...

We had an open chaple this week with us missionaries giving mini lessons of what we believe and tours of the chaple. It was a really big success and a LOT of people came! It was super neat to do, although I can say I'm greatful Im not called to serve in a visitors center cause i dont know if i would like to do that every day... We had a super incredible experience with a man and his 3 kids though... they were the last people to come though and my companion and I did the last tour for them even though is was only the one family. We focused more in teaching the kids who had 11, 11 (twins) and 9 years old. You could feel the love that this father had for his kids and as we shared about how the families can be eternal we said to him how wonderful it was to see the love that he had for his kids... He immediately started to cry and couldnt speak.... He just said "they are everything to me". To see and feel the love that this man had for his children was incredible. It made it even more powerful and meaningful to share about the love that our father in heaven has for us... we are everything to him. Experiences like these help me to remember how powerful and wonderful is this gosple. And how important is this work.

So that's were i got my subject line for the week. The family really is the most important thing and I've seen and learned that so much more on the mission. Our families are everything. And how great is it that we know that they can be eternal. The plan of salvation really has come to be my favorite lesson to share. It makes me so happy:) Especially since i have the best family.

Things are going well.... let me know what else you want to hear about.

Oh Pascua here is different... i dont think they color eggs, but the large chocolate eggs are tradition. Oh and it lasts like 4 days! They dont have work thursday or friday.... all the people laugh and say that argentina makes up hollidays to not have to work.... and this is the argentines saying this not me haha. Although there are so many holidays here without work! Womens day, mothers day, flag day, capital day, friend day, childrens day... everybody has a day! Im pretty sure the dogs do too...

Anyways, love you so much!

hermana ashcroft

ps- this is me and micaela. She is awesome with and amazing conversion story and reactivation story. She always accompanies us:)

Storm Alerts

April 8, 2014

Hola,

Sorry I didn't write yesterday, we were on lockdown in our pensions. It's rained so much and is continuing. They've allowed us to leave to write and work today but depends on how the weather continues if we'll continue to be able to. They've shut down water nearly everywhere for the next 3 days or so, so we've only got whatever is in the tanks for the apartments. and we woke up without electricity yesterday, but it came back on in the evening. Luckily ive got a great mom who packed me a wonderful clip on light so that we could see enough to shower and study:) They've told us to stay away from the canals and rivers, which is funny cause our area is right next to the canal haha. So yesterday everyone stayed in the pensions and it made for a super weird day. I dont know how i use to stay inside all day hahah. I made tortas fritas though and im pretty sure ive finially got it down and im not burning myself to do it either haha. We obviously didnt feel the etrthquakes in chile but we have heard of them. Honestly i think argentina likes to exaggerate. the "storms" dont seems to bad. it's just water after all.

However the rain kept a lot of people from coming to sonference on saturday and sunday which was a big bummer. Lots of our investigators werent able to come because of it... again, i think they exaggerate a bit haha. Conference was so good though! It seems like mom and I were on the same page watching it cause all the quotes and thoughts you sent me were some of the ones that really stuck out to me as well. Uchtdorf, Jean A Steven, and Lawrence E Corbridge were some really good talks. All were good actually! I love conference! And i got to see some of the members from allen cause the are in our stake and come here to watch it! It was so good! The missionaries there now told me that the lady (if you can remember) that lived WAYYY out in the middle of the chacras (orchards) that we had to walk forever to get there,got married and her and her husband got baptised! I really loved all of conference though and the members got together to get a tv to put up on sunday in a room so that all of us gringos could watch it in english on sunday! It was so sweet:) As I was thanking them one man said "it's so our angles can hear from god as well". It really touched my heart.

So things are going great though. Marcus and his sister gabby are getting baptised the 27th!! their mom finally gave them permission and she has a baptism date as well!! That was a grand miracle of the week. We did exchanges with some of the hermanas this last week and if the weather allows us we'll be doing 2 or 3 more this week. We've got a lot of awesome hermanas in our area:) Oh and i forwarded thephotos of the conference we had this week. I dont know how we stayed awake cause we woke up at 3 to get there.

Photo of the week... my lovely feet. hermana garcia laughed so hard to see how my toes seperate, hope you get a good laugh from it as well.

Last thought,I recently read a talk called "his grace is sufficient" I cant remeber by who...it's by some BYU teacher or something...But you should all look it up and read it. I absolutely loved it. It helped me to better understand the grace of god and the love he has for all of us. His grace really is sufficient for all of us. i know it. Thanks to his grace this gosple isn't just for a few, it's for everyone. "the gosple isn't weight it's wings, it carries us" as they said in conference:)

Also, joe, it made me think of what youd told me a few weeks ago... you should share it:)

love you all to neptune and back!

hermana ashcroft

 PS- My cards are good and wont expire in the mission

PSS- Cant remeber if i told you that my watch broke and i had to buy a new one... i bought it with a card.. like a month ago haha so dont think its super fishy when you see that.

PSSS- My boots that an investigator gave me in trevelin are still good, but i may need to buy new ones at some time. also, i probably will be buying a rain coat sometime... theres a lot of rain. haha

love you!

We're not in Kansas anymore...

Hola!!

So I've made it to the grand General Roca! It's defintely different than all the super tiny towns that i've been in! It honestly feels wierd to be in a city. I feel like....whats her name with the red shoes that leaves kansas and goes to the land of oz?? well i feel like her... And encima, we live right in the middle of the city center. Our address is Tucuman 1161 if you want to look it up. We're in an apartment on the 2nd floor, which is really the 3rd floor but in argentina the 1st floor is what we call the 2nd floor haha. Im in the area Universitario B, but Hermana Garcia and I will be doing... I cant think of how you say it in english.... intercambios with 8 different pairs of hermanas in 2 different zones (Roca and Villaregina) So I'll get to know a lot of areas here.

Our ward is the biggest I've been in! We have about 100 members that usually come although the last week there were only 90 and it still seems SOO big! I think I'll have a spasm when I get back to the wards in Utah. The members are awesome and we have a lot of investigatores and potential investigatores. However the investigatores that I have already come to love so much in only 2 visits is the family Jara. The daughter got baptised a few months by Elder merrell who served in Senillosa with me. And we're teaching the other 3 children and the mom. I have heard some incredible and sincere prayers in my mission but i think Marcus (17 years old) wins. "god, im marcus, one of your children.... i want to know..." And his brother Anibal (30 years old) as well. You honestly could feel the spirit so strong. Well marcus wants to get baptised now as well as the sister Gabby, but they need permission from their mom. So we're praying and fasting lots for them:)

So it wouldn't be a reunion with Hermana Garcia if something crazy didnt happen.... so my second day here we were in the middle of studying when we realized there was water... lots of water. Long story short... our apartmenet flooded from a clothes washer hahah. All of my bags were still on the floor cause i hadnt had time to unpack yet and everything got wet. Thankfully the books were saved. But it was about nearly 2 inches in our bedroom and kitchen. haha so we spent a good morning cleaning up all the water.

Another miracle, an investigator Ancelmo accepted a baptism date. And his wife is reading the book of mormon! Although she hasnt told us yet that she is... haha ancelmo secretly told us:)

Miracle number 10000- we bought grapes from a couple the other day and gave them our number with a pamphlet and they called us yesterday wanting to make lunch for us and hear more about the church!

I'm super happy to be with Hermana Garcia! Although ill be getting a bit more than chubby cause we always cook a lot of intersting food together haha.

Well love you all so much!!

Hermana Ashcroft

PS- I have the cutest nephew in the world!!

PSS- i found out what i figg is!! I actually learned what it was in spanish before i did in english haha. There was a fig tree on the side of the street and we may have climbed it a bit to eat some figgs... they're really good!! Even if they do look like worms inside.

Bienvenidos a....

March 24, 2014

Hola family and all!!

So transfers came and they were a bit crazy. I'll tell you this, I'm leaving Senillosa as well as one of the elders. The elder that's leaving is going to be a zone leader now in Neuquen, and I'm going to Roca as one of those hermana lider things. I'm super sad i'll be missing the next 2 baptisms that we have planned though.... monica is all ready to be baptised now and i had to say goodbye to her today... I bought some cute hats for baby soren (he's still a baby in my head) from her though! She knitted them and one if of mike from monsters Inc and the other is nemo! Monica has progressed incredibly though! She's very timid and insecure but to see her now is totally different than just 3 weeks ago! She's got so many talents and is so incredible, but she's never thought so of herself. The gosple has helped her realize more her worth though and i truly lover her so much!

So the part that is the most crazy of the transfers is who is my new companion.... remember good old plaza huincul and the names in the clouds?!?! YUP!! HERMANA GARCIA (from mexico) IS MY COMPANION AGAIN!! hahahha I'm super excited!! Also, i was kthining about it and it seems to me that the lord really wants me to learn spanish cause in my 11 months (today actually) I have only had latina compañeras. Which is awesome:) So I'll be trodding around General Roca now with hermana Garcia:)

Updates of what we did this week-

*built a house. Literally. hahha the ward did a service activity and we built a house for a family with special needs and fixed up all of their yard. You'd think it would be impossible to build a house in a day, but the way they do it here it you really can build a house in a day haha. so that was awesome! I'm now a profesional with working with wire and one member told me that i was all ready to go home and build my own house now haha

*Noche de hogar with all the jovenes and some new additions. They all bore their testimony at the end to say goodbye to me and elder merrell and it was incredible.

*We ate Asado. that was delicious!! Our last almuerzo and the members prepared an asado for us from a goat and cow that they had just killed... meat is always SUPER fresh here.

*our convert ezequiel gave his first talk in church and did awesome:)

*we found 4 more investigators:)

*we've taught one of our investigators to read and write now and she does it like a champ now with the book of mormon!

*Jose Dimitrovich carved me a gift out of wood and I cried with him and his family saying goodbye to them. We shared testimonies and I KNOW that he felt the spirit and i KNOW that he will get baptised one day.

*I also cried saying goodbye to our converts Juan and Luis. They are like 2 more adopted grandpas to me:)

*and so much more....

I really love the mission. and i really love you all:)

Hermana ashcroft

PS- write you from roca next week:) Funny thing is it's actually really close to my last area in Allen and it's in the same stake

 Some of the youth from the ward and the salame i found on the street last week!! hahah