Semana Loca

July 14, 2014

HOLA! 

So this week was crazy... the mundial and all that definitely added to the craziness, but on top of it all it was just lots of crazy exchanges with all the hermanas, lots of trips to the hospital, and RIDING BIKES! That was just super fun:) 

Anyways, i went on exchanges with some hermanas and we called some members to ask them to let us borrow their bikes and we totally went the whole day on bikes!! Something totally nearly unheard of for our mission, but it was so wonderful!! you can get everywhere so fast! although i was pretty scared i was going to fall seeing as the last time i rode a bike i think i was like 15... funniest thing though is that at the end we had to return one of the bikes so we just had one between the 2 of us. And well everyone here always rides with people sitting on the bar between your legs or on the handles bars so we decided we would try it. So i told Hermana Inga (who i was doing the intercambios with) to climb up and sit on the bar between the pedals. Lets just say that it is a LOT harder than the people make it look! hahah we fell over on the side the first 2 times but the 3rd time was the charm and we managed to balance ourselves well! I had on her backpack and my side bag, and she had my duffle bag with the stuff that i had brought to stay the night at her pension. It was a super talented act we pulled off! although i was super sore afterwards haha. I officially love bikes though!

Then later on in the week were doing some other intercambios and we got a call from some other hermanas that they needed to go to the hospital right away. One of our hermanas had woken up without being able to move or feel half of her body. After she was finally able to move though she was still in really really bad pain on that half of her body. and she kept getting partial paralysis (is that the right word?) anyways, we went between hospitals and clinics and then we spent a large marjority of the night in the hospital with her companion untill she could get released. she's doing all good now but sunday we had to do some crazy intercambios in order to be able to get missionaries to every church. Because we have an area in our zone that the church is totally new to and its just a group of people and few members that have been baptised now that is run by the sister missionaries in a small building that is rented out with a new convert in the area being the one that blesses and passes the sacrament. And with 2 hermanas having to stay in the pension it was complicating getting hermanas to this area (there are no elders in that area). Anyways, im just realizing its way to hard to explain over e-mail.... maybe one day ill esplain it all to you better. haha

In other news our investigator sergio is doing so good and is living the word of wisdom now! We also found a really great woman this week who suffers from really extreme social enxiety and cant leave her house very much. and when she does it has to be with one of the sisters. Shes super sweet though and im excited to start teaching her this week! I saw a woman in Senillosa with this same type of problem that was able to completely change after recieiving the gosple. So im really excited to see how the gosple affects her:)

love you all so much!!

hermana ashcroft

PS- here are some photos, dont remember which ones i attached. 

PS- thank you cousin brandon for the letter! you may have officially won the most points in card sending! 

This is me putting together this huge cabinet.

 My companion and the zone leaders leaving a conference.

 Me and hermana ernhofer

Me and Eleonora. The sister of marcos and gaby and daughter of alicia. She got baptised over 6 months ago and then after lots of prayers on her part her family got baptised with me and hermana garcia 3 months ago.

Me and hermana inga on bikes, shes great!! convert from peru

This is adolfito rodolfo´s sister!!! hahaha they are SOOO great and so crazy. 

Ayuno

July 7, 2014

Buen día!! 

So going back to last week, the fevers are gone and my throat is basically normal:) I did end up going to the clinic after the new mission nurse kinda chewed me out for not going earlier. Funny thing, the doctor looked inside my throat and audibly said "EW" as if it was totally okay to do that to a clear foreigner who was slightly dying. haha it made me laugh, the hospitals and clinics in general are always a delightful experience here. so anyeways, im basically all better:) sad news that is was just in time for our district leader to start getting really sick.... luckily he's not doing as bad though:) the elders tried pulling a prank on us this week, but im like a super detective and figured it out! can't remember if i told you all that we played a really awesome prank on them a few weeks ago hahah we got them super scared. But we are way to smart for them to ever get us back.

So it was a great week! Our investigator Sergio came to church again and he even fasted this sunday!!! He's really looking forward to getting baptised now and it's been so incredible to see how much he has changed from not wanting anything to do with the gosple and saying he would never and could never go to church to now reading and praying and coming to church and even FASTING! He's looking forward to getting baptised the 26th now:) and his little girl as well:)

Our other investigator Jordan is so great! I just love him so much and want him so bad to have the gosple in his life. So can't remember if ive told you abut him, but he's 23 and doesn't and hasn't ever had a very stable or loving family. He lives with his grandma (she doesn't really like us), quit going to school at 8 years old because he was boxing, and has been going to the boliches (clubs) and doing drugs for over 8 years now so he gets into all the boliches for free cause they all know him. The last 2 months though he has changed SO MUCH! He's dyslexic and can't read very well, but he is reading the book of mormon nearly every day now! when he prays he talks about how much it just fills him up. How he's never felt so complete before. He's backing off on smoking marijuana and going to the boliches and is so much clearer when we meet with him now. Since his grandma doesnt really like us, we can't meet in his house, and there aren't any members nearby whose house we could go to so we meet outside near the canal here and he comes even when it's freezing cold outside! Which is happening a lot more now. He talks about how he cant put the book of mormon down sometimes and he has read all the way through 1 nephi chapter 8 which is huge considering how long it takes him to read a verse. He wants so bad to continue with the gosple but doesn't know how to do it with the struggle of everyone around him. His family doesnt like the mormons, they are all very evangelico, and all his friends are giving him a hard time when he says that he listens to us. He is just so amazing! He has a baptismal goal for the 23 of august:) 

I really love seeing how the gosple changes peoples lives so much. the simple act of reading the scriptures and praying can change everything!

i love you all so much! 

Hermana ashcroft

PS- Scripture to read- alma 41:14-15

Flu week

June 30, 2014

Hola All.

So this was a pretty crazy and awesome week. I got the flu though satuday morning... that wasn't too fun. But the reason I got it was even less fun. I have some crazy infection in my throat and it's all swolen up on one side and has white patches on the inside and basically just hurts a lot. It hurts just to swallo my spit and at times is impossible to even think about swallowing anything else. so for the last 2 and half days i have lived off of a few cups of this banana, apple, and milk smoothie that my companion has made for me. The most solid thing i have eaten is a couple spoonfulls of some really soggy rice with some soup. So that's awesome. I might be able to lose all the mission weight i've gained with just a few more days of this sickness. 

Other than that though, it really was a great week! Our investigator Sergio came to church with his little girl Naira!!!!!!! We were secretely freaking out inside! He's 32 and is a single father and it's incredible how he's been changing! he went from not reading the book of mormon or praying at all to asking us what his nest tarea would be to read. And he paid attention to everything in church and wanted to stay for it all!! he's awesome:) On top of that we had 2 other investigators in church this week as well!

In other news.... an investigator guess my age this week.... i guess im 30 now... that's disgusting. hahha it kinda broke my heart to hear that. also. my companion and i proved ourselves to be super awesome. we took apart and re-put together in a different room this GIGANTIC closet thing for Micaela But honestly it was one of thopse things that goes nearly all the way to the ceiling and covers a whole wall. and between the 2 of us we did it all:) Her step dad didn't say anything but looked very impressed. My daddy raised my well... no weak girls here.

So i really love you all so very much:) I know i have the best family ever that was selected for me directly from an all knowing all loving heavenly father. So it really is impossible for me to have a had a better family than the one i have:) Even though my mom is a criminal.... hahha:) 

LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

hermana ashcroft

PS- dont tell anyone but im still just waiting for argentina to lose the world cup.... one so that the jersys will hopefully be cheaper but mainly just so that all this craziness will stop. I'm sure if someone here knew that though i would be kicked out of the country. 

How 'bout some pictures?

June 23, 2014

So i dont really know what to write this week.... so maybe ill just send some pictures... haha. 

Let's see.... it was a crazy week of ups and downs. Started out incredible and really being able to see how the book of mormon changes people. Our investigator Jordan, didn't leave to go out to the clubs this week or drink. And he's been reading a praying everyday. But then satuday came with a little thing called futbol. EVERYTHING fell through on us that day. Even Jordan. We had one lesson at the last hour of the day and got to end up witnessing a brother sister fight. Just a day full of a lot of disappointments. Although on the bright side we made it through the crazy mosh pit that was going on just outside of our pension with the game ended. The joys of living right in downtown haha. Funniest thing though was when my companion slipped right after doing some crazy manuvering to dodge all the people and get though the crowd right outside the center city bar. hahahha.... she slipped on some water and nearly yanked me down with her right in front of everyone, but she manadged to get up SO fast it was like lightning and the best thing was the first thing she said- "i just fell in front of all the argentines!" hahahha it seriously cracked me up forever!  

So it was a rough week getting people to church, but our super old investigator adolfito came! He's like 78 and is the funniest crazy man ever! Although he started pulling the moves on my companion and i this sunday in the gosple principles class. he calls my companion black girl and me colored girl and is always shouting to us in church hahaha. He's really sweet though:)

I've been thinking a lot about our agency lately. How great of a gift it is that god has given us, but also how hard it must have been for him to give it to us and watch how we use it. It's like a parent. wanting the best for their child but ahving to suffer as they see thier children suffer with the decisions they make, knowing that to just choose the right would make it easier for us. However knowing that it is all necessary for our growth and development. 

So I think i've got some pictures being sent to you all, one of the day our bathroom exploded (it will be the one in the bathroom and where we are all wet... obviously)... another with our awesome district leader from colombia elder supelano that just left to another area (i will have to tell you just how awesome he is later). ummm what else... one at a leaders council. another of my american flag sugar cookie i made (we did a family home evening decorating sugar cookies we had learned to make). Some of the day we celebrated christmas (we made lots of chickens and laughed a lot as we may have danced and played with the raw chickens for awhile)... and im not sure what else.... 

So i hope you are all having some great adventures in your life! I'll just reassure you all that im super happy to be here! The gosple changes lives. It changes mine more and more every day. ANd that's the beauty of it, it continues to change and bless us. We forever continue to progress.

Really love you all so much and hope all is going so well! More than that though i know that god loves you all even more:) There is nothing that can stop his love for us. We just have to accept it in our lives and we will feel it. 

Hermana ashcroft

PS- My new district leader is Elder Quiñonez and guess where i was surprised to learn he is from?!??! Good old tiny Fallbrook California!! He said he never knew matthew but that he remembered him leaving for his mission and knew of him. His parents are from mexico. And now he is here in argentina where i am... what a small world! 

PSS- Thought i was going to forget??? NO!!! FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS CHEALSEA!!!!!! TE AMO MUCHÍSIMO Y DESEO TODO LO MEJOR POR VOS Y TU VIDA!!! QUE LO CUMPLE RE BIEN!!!! gracias por ser mi hermana:) la verdad que la amo más que lo puedo decirte. YOU ARE AWESOME!!! 

Explosions

June 16, 2014

This week was a week of explosions.... quite literally. Remember how last week i said that protesters knew how to protest really loud? well futbol fans know how to be even louder. The streets went crazy sunday night with every single car and horn going off for about an hour straight. That is how we knew that argentina won their game. We couldnt work after 6:30 practically cause the game started and i think they must have thought it was general conference or something cause it was too important to listen to us...

The other crazy explosion was our bathroom this week.  I know, this already sounds like an intersting story. Every bathroom story i have had in the mission has been the best (calling your memory back to the time i got locked in one below my pension). So anyways... I woke up sunday morning and went to shower and our toilet was still running cause the little thing inside hadnt been sealed shut. So i took the top lid off to arrange it right and get it sealed shut and i may have slightly bumped the other little pipe thing in there.... and well that little pipe thing ended up being pretty important. water tarted rushing quicly out and overflowing and i tried aranging it to be back in it's place and well that just made it worse... it broke off.... that was bad. Water started literally shooting all the way up to the ceiling with a lot of force!!! So my companion and i shoved our hands in trying to block the hole off. my companion managed it pretty well and meanwhile we were on the phone kinda freaking out to our district leader... well he didnt know what to do so we called the zone leaders... they told us to ask a neighbor or call the landlord. First of all, i should mention that i KNOW that normally, in the states at least, you can turn the water off behind the toilet.... well yeah there was no water sut off key here.... So anyways, the zone leaders just kinda ignored our plea for help without really understanding the gravity of the situation. and it is about 7:30 in the morning... in argentina... on a sunday... NO ONE is awake. And luckily enough our landlords number had been lost a few transfers ago when the area got a new phone when some other hermanas had lost their phone. So the zone leaders ended up calling us back and meanwhile we had covered the shooting fountain of water with a cup which was dealing with it pretty well. They came over and it turned into the biggest hunt trying to find where in the world you would shut the water off to our apartment. We got up to the roof... we checked everywhere!! Our district leader ended up coming over as well to try and help....Finally after over an hour of theis whole ordeal of water shooting up in our apartment we were able to find the litte water key, which had been painted to be the same color as a wall!! So over an hour later from the time the whole thing started, we were 6 missionaries walking rapidly to church, 4 of us pretty wet with bathroom water (our district leader left nice and clean haha) leaving behind a bathroom that had been practically completely torn apart. 

It was crazy. So we still dont have water... i think someone will be coming today to fix it, but it was absolutely unheard of somebody coming to fix it yesterday, not because it was sunday, but because it was the day that argentina would be playing in the world cup.... hahha. 

So after that story... mission is great! Im staying in roca another transfer!! and with hermana Ernhofer as well!! yay for gringas! We're getting 2 newbie hermanas in our area which will be exciting:) And im so excitied for our investigatores that we are teaching!! I just love the people so much!! they are amazing! even if they are kinda crazy argentines:) But we do have an investigator that turned the world cup off for 15 minutes to listen to us!!! talk about a miracle!!! yeah argentina wasnt playing, but still, it was great:) He's Sergio... and we are trying to help him get baptised and be able to baptise his 8 year old daughter:) 

So i love you all bunches and bunches! 

Hermana Ashcroft

PS- dont judge me.... that story makes me look pretty aweful, but it totally wasnt my fault... not completely hahha. 

PSS- i have the funniest and best parents in the world!! my whole district loved the pictures and we laughed at all your comments!! 

PSSS- i also have the best sisters:) 

PPPPSSSS- FELIZ DIA DEL PADRE AL MEJOR PADRE DEL MUNDO!!! le amo mucha daddy and i hope you have the best day, or already had the best day seeing as it already passed. you are my favorite dad of all the dads. thank you for all you do, i look up and admire you grately. i also try to be just as funny as you, i aspire to one day achieve it. 

PPPPPSSSSS- feliz cumpleaños hailey!!!! that weird, you are old. stop growing up. but i love you!! hope you enjoy your work in park city and have a great birthday week!!! 

PS- i love the rest of you all as well:)

Umm....

JUNE 9, 2014

HOLA! 

so i kind forgot what i was going to write you this week.... my mind just kinda went blank... 

i guess first off though, congratulations are in order to the amazing sister of mine for her graduation! you made a much better and prettier graduate than i did, although you might have to re-enact it all for me when i get home. If you could just ask some friends to rent the gowns again and to put on another show that would be great. you're like in charge of the school anyways no? so it shouldnt be too hard. Also, that's rough joe that your little boy thought of you as a diaper...

So it was kinda a crazy week, although i guess nearly every week is. Weird that christmas ended only a week ago.... But after that whole ordeal we had a lot of very long reunions this week... less missionarying (i try to make a verb out of every word these days... spanish...) and more sitting. We had leadership council wednesday all day, planned with the zone leaders on thursday for the zone conference on friday, and then stake conference on saturday and sunday. and on top of it all my companion got sick this week so we didnt do anything else on saturday and sunday except go to the conference. So I hada lot of time to clean the pension and listen to lots of talks from apostles and general authorities. Luckily a very nice elder gave me their i-pod with some speakers to listen to the 80GB of church talks and music he has.... im thinking about keeping it... just kidding, but it's pretty awesome. I feel like i could listen to BYU talks and general conference the rest of my life. They are awesome. 

*note for mom and dad- if you could please apply to BYU for me that would be great. i keep forgetting to tell you. And then to send me the essays that i have to write to apply. i probably wont get in, but i just feel like i should try it out. I'm not too sure how i feel about suu now... it is also hard to really think about anything pertaining to home while being on the other end of the world. So who knows, very likely i will just end up at suu again, but i figure ill apply and then put it to prayer.

So between all the conferences and sickness we didnt have too much time to actually work this week, which left me feeling oddly empty and frantic thinking about our investigators. Cant remember if i told you about jordan, but he is awesome!! he's about 22 and has so much potential! we've got to help him stop drinking and smoking marijuana, but litterally everytime we see him he has already read his assignmenet in the book of mormon at least 2 or 3 times to be sure he understands it. He reads really slow, so doesn't like to read out loud but it makes it mean even more that he is reading so much. I've never heard someone explain how well they feel the spirit when he is with us or reading as he does. He really recognizes it, which isn't something always all that easy to do. I dont even know how to explain it, but i want him to have this gosple in his life so much!

I'm becoming more and more desperate for the people to listen and understand and accept the gosple. I can't explain how important it really is becoming to me. it's everything. I especially want to be able to helop people understand the atonement... what it means and how and why they need it in their lives. how accepting the gosple helps us to accept more fully the atonement that christ already paid for us. which allows us to recieve open access to all the comfort and help we could ever need or want in this life and an even greater promise for the eternities. 

With christmas just last week, grandma's chirstmas quote came into my mind a lot this week:) Christmas or CHIRST is- light through the darkness, love through the ages, and hope for eternity. thanks grandma:) for always teaching me that even when I didn't fully undertand it. 

So i was going to send some pictuers this week, but i forgot my memory converter and this computer wont accept my camer as is... sorry, next week. Thanks for all the pictures though! i loved them!! i have the best looking family ever!

love you all from here to there (which is really far if you think about it). 

hermana ashcroft

PS- thea and sofi are awesome for their wonderful scarves and gloves they gave me... it's not too cold yet, but winter is definitely coming and i have already utilized them:) 

PSS- Argentines are defintiely crazy about the world cup... things are going to get loco here!

PSSS- there's some random people that keep protesting in our street where we live, right below out apartment..... it get pretty old through the nights... they really know how to protest loud here with lots of horns...

PSSSS- did you know that the police can just go on protest here as well, and just quit qorking... that's crazy... totally has happened. My question is what about the robbers....

IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!!!

JUNE 2, 2014

FELIZ NAVIDAD A TODOS!!!

So this week was super crazy but super great! My companion and i planned christmas for our district and the zone leaders. lets just say it was awesome. in a quick summary-

we made a couple hundred sugar cookies.

we learned how to knit in 15 minutes

we then made 10 stockings in three days

we assembled 2 chirstmas trees.

we played with raw chickens 

we peeled and cut potatoes for way to many hours. like 5 kilos

we made a plethora of snowflakes.

we bought over 5 pounds of butter

we died of christmas laughter

we sang chirstmas songs all day long

we made and saw miracles happen

we managed to detroy our aparntment from a chirstmas explosion

we made and bought chirstmas gifts for our secret friends

and we had more lessons with members and investigators than we or anyone in the zone has had in any other week

......we may not have slept the last 4 days

but it all made for one giant chirstmas miracle!!!

We honestly saw so many miracles this week! our investigators are progressing a lot and it is incredible to see them recognize and feel the spirit and watch as that spirit changes them as they change their life. 

i love you all so very much! sorry i spent all my p-day preparing christmas and now dont have time to write you all... but hope you could feel the christmas spirit andjoy on the other end of the world because it really is a joy that can last all the year long. 

may you all be filled with the christmas spirit!

LOVE YOU!

hermana ashcroft

PS- ill send some christmas pictures next week.