Dear Mom and Dad,
Reactions to your emails: Dad, you are climbing a lot of mountains lately. Will someone please explain to Alta that she has a long lost godsister in Argentina? I can't believe that Ben is going to Brazil in less than a month! Could you remind me of the exact date? I'm going to try to send a package with the on-a-mission hat and some Argentine goodies for everyone, but I have no idea if it will arrive on time. You might have to forward Ben's portion of the package to him. How is the visa going? Maybe I'll just send Ben a separate package straight to Brasil. You'll need to send me his address though. Elder Clark! aaaaaah! That's so weird!
Quick overview of the week because I have once again malgastar-ed my email time (this time writing an unnecessarily well-composed email to president Carter)
* I let Hna. Azcurra (another missionary) cut my hair on Tuesday. It turned out nice.
* My new companion is Hermana Navarro. She is from Parque Chacabuco en capital, waiting for her visa to go to the Venezuela, Caracas mission. Because she is so close to home, she knows some people here in the ward. The Relief Society president is the sister of her best friend, and she swears she's danced with one of the bishop's sons at a stake dance. It's kind of funny. On Saturday we went to Hermana Mariana Zanzi's house for lunch and her sister and some friends were visiting-- all the best friends of my companion. Poor Hna. Navarro. She was happy to see them of course, but it must have been weird.
* Hna. Navarro and I are already really good friends. We teach really well together and are having a lot of fun.
* I called Reina on the phone and she told me that she and Esmeralda don't want to keep listening to the lessons anymore. Reina says she doesn't feel comfortable in church and that she's prayed to know a million times and feels nothing, zero, nothing. Bummer. I'm sure they will get baptized someday, but I was hoping it would be while I'm here.
* Gabriela, our miracle "I want to hear the lessons and get baptized" investigator, didn't show up to be taught in the chapel and wouldn't answer her phone. I still don't know what's up.
* Julieta, a new-ish investigator (17 years old) came to church for the first time. The young women were really nice to her, which made me happy.
* Olga got a really bad cold and couldn't come to church, but was really happy to receive a Book of Mormon.
* A son and his father showed up at church yesterday with some questions for a school report. Hermano Zanzi (amazing MTC teacher) talked to the father and taught him practically all of lesson one (the Restoration) in about 5 minutes and he was so impressed that he said we could go visit his family and teach them. I'm super excited about it!
* Well, that{s it. sorry I don't have time to write more. Thanks a bunch for your e-mails. I love you!
* Love, Ellis
Monday, July 11, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Saying Goodbye to Hermana Centurion
Dear Mom and Dad,
As always, the alarm sounds at 6:30. Hermana Centurión and I groggily drag ourselves out of our beds and kneel, one on each side of our our space heater, to pray together for the last time. We spend the morning talking, writing letters to each other and the members, and eating one last breakfast of malta and what has to be the tenth loaf of banana bread we´ve made this transfer. When Hna. C finishes packing and I finish getting ready, we leave the pension to order a taxi. One more time I`m losing a companion, and though we keep making jokes as usual as the driver loads the suitcase in the taxi and we drive off, I feel a little glum. I´m staring vacantly at the shiny bald pate of the driver in front of me contemplating how much I´ll miss Hna. C when the radio begins to play "I´m too sexy." "I´m too sexy for my car, too sexy by far. . ." I can´t help laughing-- inside, because Hna. C and the driver don´t understand the lyrics.
When we arrive in Ramos, we are greeted by Hna. C´s mom, who thanks me enthusiastically for watching out for her daughter. The cultural hall is crawling with elders and hermanas, and at any given moment 30 different people are shaking hands or exchanging hugs. I locate my zone leader, Elder Gutierrez who informs me that I´m training again. I´m not surprised--the gossip said as much, and just in case I came prepared with stuff to spend the night. The surprise is that Elder Gutierrez explains that I will stay TWO more transfers in Hurlingham instead of one-- it´s the new policy about training from the new mission president, President Carter. So I´ll have 7 1/2 months total in Hurlingham when I leave. I feel ok about that. Hurlingham has been a tough area for me, but I don´t want to leave until I see more success here. And I feel really involved in the ward´s efforts to improve-- I can´t just leave in the middle of that.
After we take several more photos, it´s finally time to say goodbye to Hna. Centurión. Her mother hugs me goodbye first and hugs me a long time. I hug back, and my eyes are moist. Her hug makes me think of yours, Mom, and saying goodbye to her and to Hna. C feels sort of like having to say goodbye to my family all over again. Hna. C and I hug what must be 5 or 6 times before I finally let her get into the taxi. We got to be such good friends. I´m going to miss her so much.
And so begins another transfer in Hurlingham. This time I´m spending the night in Ramos with Hermana Azcurra and HNA. SCHNEIDER (old companions reunited!), who are also training! Hermanas Reales and Yingling will be staying over too, because tomorrow they are opening a new area-- Libertad B. (It´s a really humble area near Merlo. I hope I get transferred there someday!) So we´ll be have a 5 hermana sleepover! Fun.
Well, I´m almost out of time, but here is the quick run down of what happened last week:
* President Benton and Hermana Benton flew home on Wednesday! We will sure miss them. President Carter arrived on Wednesday too with his wife and teenage daughter, but I haven´t met them yet.
* Two of our investigators, Sonia and Ester, pretty much told us they aren´t interested in being taught anymore. I found out over the phone, two fatal calls in 5 minutes. It was rough, because Sonia had church attendance and could get baptized any week, and Ester had a baptismal date. I feel like I took it pretty well though. I keep praying that someday they´ll be baptized, but if they´re not ready right now, that means Heavenly Father has other people prepared for us to teach.
* Like Julieta-- a 16 year old invesigator we found this week. She wanted to skip school to come to mutual (she takes evening classes). I felt conflicted, but told her not to skip school-- I know too many people here who never finished. She said she wanted to come to church on Sunday though. She didn´t make it to church yesterday because she stayed the night with her sister, but we´ll keep trying as long as she keeps seeming interested.
* Reina broke her arm this week and is in some pain. I´m worried for her because now she won´t be able to work, and she needs her income. On the bright side, Esmeralda came to mutual again on Thursday. She seemed really happy to see us when we stopped by to pick her up. She seems to really like mutual.
* Oh, I forgot to tell you, but I got Dad´s package and the envelope with the birthday photos two weeks ago-- oops! Thanks a lot. I use the thermometer keychain every morning to see how cold it is. I had fun with the baloons too.This morning it was 2 degrees celsius-- chilly! I loved Dan´s birthday story. It looks like he had a lot of fun. He looks so much more grown up now.
* On Thursday we consoled ourselves over the loss of Ester and Sonia by exploring a tiny corner of the area I´d never been to before, separated from the rest of the area by a highway. It´s super humble. We set about 5 return appointments, so I think we´ll have some investigators there soon. It was way fun!
* Evelyn was confirmed on Sunday! Her uncle Marcos confirmed her and gave a really nice blessing. He blessed her that through her example her family would come back to church. I am so proud of Evelyn, and of Marcos for coming back to church! Iara, Evelyn´s aunt, came to church for the third time. It looks like she is going to stay active! She is a really neat girl.
* We taught the priesthood/relief society lesson about charity and missionary work. It went amazingly well. Everyone participated with comments and seemed really willing to try to improve and participate more. We committed them to try "the Kindness Journal" for a week (THANK YOU, KISI!)-- pray everyday for inspiration to know who they can serve, and record their experiences and give us a copy next week.
* Olga came to church! We met her in the street a week ago, Saturday we taught her for the first time and she said she would come to church. I only half believed her-- everyone says they´ll come to church. But she came! She got there before we did and stayed for all 3 meetings. She said that the gospel principles class answered a lot of her doubts and she seemed to enjoy the other meetings too. She says she will come to the two ward activities this week.(TWO IN ONE WEEK! The ward is really getting its game on!) I think she is going to get baptized! She is a really awesome 71 year old lady who lives with three dogs and a parrot that imitates EXACTLY, with uncanny perfection, the crying of a two year old baby. She´s lost practically her whole family, so I think she will really love it when we teach her about eternal families.
* To finish off a great Sunday, we had a miracle. After sacrament meeting, the phone in the bishop´s office rang and it was for me-- weird! I thought maybe someone had died and Dad was calling to tell me or something crazy. But when I answered, Gabriela introduced herself. She told me she wants to recieve the lessons in the chapel and that she wants to be baptized! She got hit by a bus the day before her baptism in Moreno, about 5 years ago, and lost contact with the church during her long recovery. But now it seems like she is ready to try again. We set an appointment for Wednesday. She is so excited to be baptized! I can´t wait to meet her! HOW CRAZY IS THIS!!!!???
Well, that´s the news of the week. I´ll keep you posted with news of my new hijita-- rumor has it that she´s argentine, and waiting for a visa in a different mission. I´ll find out tomorrow. I love you so much and miss you like crazy. Keep writing!
Love,
Ellis
P.S. HAPPY JULY 4!
As always, the alarm sounds at 6:30. Hermana Centurión and I groggily drag ourselves out of our beds and kneel, one on each side of our our space heater, to pray together for the last time. We spend the morning talking, writing letters to each other and the members, and eating one last breakfast of malta and what has to be the tenth loaf of banana bread we´ve made this transfer. When Hna. C finishes packing and I finish getting ready, we leave the pension to order a taxi. One more time I`m losing a companion, and though we keep making jokes as usual as the driver loads the suitcase in the taxi and we drive off, I feel a little glum. I´m staring vacantly at the shiny bald pate of the driver in front of me contemplating how much I´ll miss Hna. C when the radio begins to play "I´m too sexy." "I´m too sexy for my car, too sexy by far. . ." I can´t help laughing-- inside, because Hna. C and the driver don´t understand the lyrics.
When we arrive in Ramos, we are greeted by Hna. C´s mom, who thanks me enthusiastically for watching out for her daughter. The cultural hall is crawling with elders and hermanas, and at any given moment 30 different people are shaking hands or exchanging hugs. I locate my zone leader, Elder Gutierrez who informs me that I´m training again. I´m not surprised--the gossip said as much, and just in case I came prepared with stuff to spend the night. The surprise is that Elder Gutierrez explains that I will stay TWO more transfers in Hurlingham instead of one-- it´s the new policy about training from the new mission president, President Carter. So I´ll have 7 1/2 months total in Hurlingham when I leave. I feel ok about that. Hurlingham has been a tough area for me, but I don´t want to leave until I see more success here. And I feel really involved in the ward´s efforts to improve-- I can´t just leave in the middle of that.
After we take several more photos, it´s finally time to say goodbye to Hna. Centurión. Her mother hugs me goodbye first and hugs me a long time. I hug back, and my eyes are moist. Her hug makes me think of yours, Mom, and saying goodbye to her and to Hna. C feels sort of like having to say goodbye to my family all over again. Hna. C and I hug what must be 5 or 6 times before I finally let her get into the taxi. We got to be such good friends. I´m going to miss her so much.
And so begins another transfer in Hurlingham. This time I´m spending the night in Ramos with Hermana Azcurra and HNA. SCHNEIDER (old companions reunited!), who are also training! Hermanas Reales and Yingling will be staying over too, because tomorrow they are opening a new area-- Libertad B. (It´s a really humble area near Merlo. I hope I get transferred there someday!) So we´ll be have a 5 hermana sleepover! Fun.
Well, I´m almost out of time, but here is the quick run down of what happened last week:
* President Benton and Hermana Benton flew home on Wednesday! We will sure miss them. President Carter arrived on Wednesday too with his wife and teenage daughter, but I haven´t met them yet.
* Two of our investigators, Sonia and Ester, pretty much told us they aren´t interested in being taught anymore. I found out over the phone, two fatal calls in 5 minutes. It was rough, because Sonia had church attendance and could get baptized any week, and Ester had a baptismal date. I feel like I took it pretty well though. I keep praying that someday they´ll be baptized, but if they´re not ready right now, that means Heavenly Father has other people prepared for us to teach.
* Like Julieta-- a 16 year old invesigator we found this week. She wanted to skip school to come to mutual (she takes evening classes). I felt conflicted, but told her not to skip school-- I know too many people here who never finished. She said she wanted to come to church on Sunday though. She didn´t make it to church yesterday because she stayed the night with her sister, but we´ll keep trying as long as she keeps seeming interested.
* Reina broke her arm this week and is in some pain. I´m worried for her because now she won´t be able to work, and she needs her income. On the bright side, Esmeralda came to mutual again on Thursday. She seemed really happy to see us when we stopped by to pick her up. She seems to really like mutual.
* Oh, I forgot to tell you, but I got Dad´s package and the envelope with the birthday photos two weeks ago-- oops! Thanks a lot. I use the thermometer keychain every morning to see how cold it is. I had fun with the baloons too.This morning it was 2 degrees celsius-- chilly! I loved Dan´s birthday story. It looks like he had a lot of fun. He looks so much more grown up now.
* On Thursday we consoled ourselves over the loss of Ester and Sonia by exploring a tiny corner of the area I´d never been to before, separated from the rest of the area by a highway. It´s super humble. We set about 5 return appointments, so I think we´ll have some investigators there soon. It was way fun!
* Evelyn was confirmed on Sunday! Her uncle Marcos confirmed her and gave a really nice blessing. He blessed her that through her example her family would come back to church. I am so proud of Evelyn, and of Marcos for coming back to church! Iara, Evelyn´s aunt, came to church for the third time. It looks like she is going to stay active! She is a really neat girl.
* We taught the priesthood/relief society lesson about charity and missionary work. It went amazingly well. Everyone participated with comments and seemed really willing to try to improve and participate more. We committed them to try "the Kindness Journal" for a week (THANK YOU, KISI!)-- pray everyday for inspiration to know who they can serve, and record their experiences and give us a copy next week.
* Olga came to church! We met her in the street a week ago, Saturday we taught her for the first time and she said she would come to church. I only half believed her-- everyone says they´ll come to church. But she came! She got there before we did and stayed for all 3 meetings. She said that the gospel principles class answered a lot of her doubts and she seemed to enjoy the other meetings too. She says she will come to the two ward activities this week.(TWO IN ONE WEEK! The ward is really getting its game on!) I think she is going to get baptized! She is a really awesome 71 year old lady who lives with three dogs and a parrot that imitates EXACTLY, with uncanny perfection, the crying of a two year old baby. She´s lost practically her whole family, so I think she will really love it when we teach her about eternal families.
* To finish off a great Sunday, we had a miracle. After sacrament meeting, the phone in the bishop´s office rang and it was for me-- weird! I thought maybe someone had died and Dad was calling to tell me or something crazy. But when I answered, Gabriela introduced herself. She told me she wants to recieve the lessons in the chapel and that she wants to be baptized! She got hit by a bus the day before her baptism in Moreno, about 5 years ago, and lost contact with the church during her long recovery. But now it seems like she is ready to try again. We set an appointment for Wednesday. She is so excited to be baptized! I can´t wait to meet her! HOW CRAZY IS THIS!!!!???
Well, that´s the news of the week. I´ll keep you posted with news of my new hijita-- rumor has it that she´s argentine, and waiting for a visa in a different mission. I´ll find out tomorrow. I love you so much and miss you like crazy. Keep writing!
Love,
Ellis
P.S. HAPPY JULY 4!
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