Week 67 - Bariloche

 

 So, this week was good! I have my new companion from Brazil! Hermana Gaertner. She knows a lot of english so we talk in english a lot and she is teaching me how to speak Portuguese! Its fun! And almost spanish with a bit of a gringo accent haha 

She is from Curitiva Brazil and has been out for about 14 months (just one less transfer than me). 

So, this week, we found a less active member from Bolson and her boyfriend who is VERY interested in the gospel! He would have come to church this Sunday but there was an emergency with his grandson. Also, we taught Alejandro and the lesson went GREAT! but he will be in buenos aires for the next 3 weeks! 

Also, Hebe and her kids could go to church for a few weeks, but yesterday, they went! I LOVE LOVE LOVE them. 

I am learning a lot! I love Bariloche! We finally had a missionary work meeting with the bishop this week (because we dont have ward counsel here) and it went really well! 

Today, we are leaving to go to Neuquen! YAY! and next week... we`re going to Neuquen ..... AGAIN! YAY!!!! Yay for not being in out area for 3 days a week! 

We are going to the leadership training conference. They have told us it will start at 10 am and end at 8pm. a LONG conference. I am so ready. Next week we will go to Neuquen to do my paperwork ot be LEGAL! Its only taken almost 16 months, but I think this time it sounds like it will really happen! 

I love yall! The church is true! Read the Book of Mormon every day:) 

Love, Hermana Sant

Week 66 - Bariloche

IM STAYING IN BARILOCHE! I cant believe it! everyone in the mission wants to come to the south of the mission and I still haven't left. this will be my 8th transfer in the zone of Bariloche. I just really felt like my work here was done and that hermana howard would stay and have TONS of success. I guess the lord knows better! I am SO thankful! but EVERY missionary was telling me I was going north ALL transfer! 

Also, I just got the email we never want to get... the email asking for our information so the secretary of the mission can make flight plans.

I oficially only have one more opportunity to leave the south of the mission. I will be here for more transfer! #blessed. 

Our feet were FREEZING the other day. We left in the morning and it was SO pretty outside. We went into lunch and left and it was POURING rain until we went home and we did not put on the shoes we should have for rain. We were sloshing around everywhere. 

So, we had a really good week! We finally had more new investigators. every weeks we've had like 2. This week we had five! We are wokring so hard haha

TRANSFERS! Im starçying here and my companion with be EHrmana Gaertner from BRazil! Hermana Howard is going to Esquel doign white wash! 

Well, thats basically all Ive got to say this week. I love y'all! 

Hermana Sant

Week 65 - Bariloche

So, this week was crazy! We did exchanges back to back because we called the office too late to do them other than week five and six of the transfer... yay procrastination! I LOVE the sisters! I was with hermana coman and Hermana Lastarria. They are so cute and wonderful! Hermana coman is so special! She has the spirit So strong with her! You can just tell the words she says to the people are really from the spirit! And Hermana LAstarria is a scripture master and just knows the exact scriptures to share with people for their problems! Theyre so great!

We were able to teach ALejandro and find a few new investigators this week! Alejandro is very prepared for the gospel.

This week, it snowed... alot. Well, alot for here. Its only like a foot and a half but Barilooche isnt used to more than a few inches! So there have been power outages, crazy car crashes, ice ALL over the city, closed down roads, etc. 

So, we could not leave for part of Friday, almost ALL of Saturday and almost all of Sunday. There are fallen powerlines, everything! 

So, on Saturday, we went to lunch with a fabulous member. Afterwards, HErmana Howard took me out to icecream at Grido. SO YUMMY. We bought a half kilo of icecreama nd they automatically gave us a to-go bag and all. We're like... thats cute! you act like we wont down this is ten minutes. So, we ate the icecreama nd then the elders told us to go to church where Three companionships (the ones that live close enough to come) of the district were there with two cakes, a dozen of facturas and cookies ç. They sang and rapped happy birthday and Elder Ascencio almost lit the church on fire trying to make an improv candle. We werent aloud to leave out to the street unless we had appointments at this point, so we went out back in the church and ended up having an epic snowball fight. It was really fun. Best birthday eve, Ive always wanted snow on my birthday. I started feeling guilty about it but then again, we would have been in the pension... alone... without light... doing nothing. So, it was the more effective thing we could have done. My skirt was fozen like in the movie frozen and everything. 

Yesterday, they canceled churtch in all of bariloche except for one church. so, we went to that church to take the sacrament and then had lunch, left to proselite for an hour before the zone leaders let us know yet again that we had to stay in the apartment for they whole day. Good times in the snow! The whole world shuts down haha 

So, thats been my week! I am very happy in the work and am LOVING Barilopche.

 

Week 64 - Bariloche

This week was a little hard! But we saw a HUGE outstanding miracle! And a reallly reallllllyyyy sad thing.

So, theres a family here that has GREAT dogs. They LOVE their dogs more than their kid. Whenever we leave their house at night, they send the big one with us "to keep us safe" and all. So, yesterday we had lunch with them and they are great. 

We had been walking around for  awhile later on and were like one block from their house. We were talking about how good lucnh was and that they love their dogs more than their kids when 2 of their dogs, the big black one and the little brown one came over to accompany us. So, we walked toward their house on the sidewalk and they were on the other side of the street. The big black one crossed the street and the little brown one came to follow when a red care came out of NOWHERE and ran it over right in front of my eyes. It was crying and screaming and I was shocked! I was waling towards the dog because the guy had gotten out of his car and was asking whose dog it was and I told hermana Howard to call the family! She said, no we need to tell them in person. so we ran to their house and got the dad and by the time we had gotten back the car was gone and they had moved the dog over to the side of the road in a pile of dirt left to die. The poor hermana lifted up his twitching almost lifeless dog and just said "ya esta" a bunch of times and walked back to the house. As we walked away we heard him crying. It was so sad. 

So, One day we had plans to go to Dina Huapi. We went to the usual bus stop in the morning and waited for like 20 minutes (it passes by every half hour) and out of nowhere, I was like, "wait, the bus doesnt come to this stop! What are we doing here! " so we started walking the 6 other blocks to get to the bus terminal. like a block from the first bus stop we saw the dina haupi bus pass by us and it TOTALLY passed by the other stop! I was like, wow! Where is my head! What am I doing here! But we kept on walking and figured we woud wait the next one at the next stop. so, we get to the next stop and some lady yells at us "HErmanas!" and walked over to us with this guy. Turns out, shes a member from Moron (close to buenos aires, where I did my proseliting in the MTC) and she is visiting her dead husband's friend who lives in Dina Huapi (the guy that was with her). She was like, "we were just talking about some questions in the gospel. This is my friend and im taking him to church with me this sunday. She then turned to him and said, "go on give them your address and phone number and they can come visit you! " AWESOME! I LOVE members like this! So, we talked to them for the entire bus ride and he totally went to church yesterday. He is VERY ready for the gospel. He is active in his church, but he will gain a testimony of this one soon enough. :)

Anyway. 

God loves us! And the gospel is true!

Week 63 - Bariloche

 How's the work?  

So, I am working harder, praying more, and studying more than I have ever before on the mission and we are not having very much success. I know that the Lord has his time and loves us all.

Your area? 

Good. we are working with an investigator name Vanina. She left her Evangelica church about 4 months ago because she felt there werent many opportunities to serve in that church and she LOVES that Jesus visited the Americas.She is a little scared to come to church because she just recently l.eft her other church, but she believes in all that we teach and is willing to act on the answers she recieves from God. She is great! Also, we have Carolina (21 year old) who is not living with, but is not keeping the Law of Chastity, with a 42 year old member. She is coming to church every week, but really just wants to marry her bpoyfirend and get baptized. She cant because hes still not divorced from his first wife.  We love them both and we are working hard to help them recognize the answers they recieve.

The ward here is alittle tough. we have about 30 people in sacrament meeting so it should be a branch, but we have so many less actives that its a ward. but the numbers are also wrong because more than half of the people on the ward directory are dead or dont live here now. We are working on putting energy into the ward and I included pictures of the activity we did this week! 

 Companionship?

Really good! I LOVE hermana Howard. She is GREAT! 

 Companion?

She is incredible. So organized, great at making and doing plans. Everything. I love her a ton! And she has a fabulous family. I hear all about them! 

 Health?

Im good! Im actually really REALLY sick with a cold. I have body aches, constant runny nose and couhg and Im really tired, but this çis just something I have to wait out. 

 Apartment?

Still the same. 

I am learning so much this transfer. I love it here in Bariloche and am SO blessed to be here. I know that God loves us that that Christ is our Savior. 

There pictures are from this week. The activity and the hike on Monday. Today we didn't do anything fun, but we rested in the pension. Its best for my health that way. Next week we'll do something fun