wow wowowowowowowoweee wowzers!

I wonder if anyone but my parentals still read these emails or my blog but to all those who MIGHT 

THANK YOU!!!

You all have been a wonderful source of strength for me and I know that the prayers you have offered in behalf of all the missionaries of the world are HEARD and ANSWERED with a great blessing on us. I am so proud to be called one of the servants of God, like the Army of Helaman, taking the world His truth.

I know that this IS the work that He showed the prophets of the Old and New Testament and that the prophets in the Book of Mormon specifically saw our day and have blessed our lives with inspired words that we NEED to study every day!

I am so grateful for this time. Yesterday, I had the great blessing of participating in ONE LAST Argentine, end-of-the-world branch, testimony meeting. It was so beautiful with an amazing spirit touching everyone. I wasn´t planning on getting up but when I saw Hna. Kapp get up toward the end, I decided I would stand with her and testify together as we always do. When I got up and moved closer to the front, the 2nd counselor conducting the meeting got up and I panicked that he was ending the meeting! But he got up and announced that I was going to be the last to get up and THEN we would close the meeting. WHEEW! Good thing I love Hno Cherañuk or else I would have had a mini heart attack.

Well, I got up and as I looked out on the faces of people that I love so much, of people whom I have striven to serve and be a blessing for, I was overcome with emotion. It was an interesting thing to see that tears came to many people´s eyes and then one of them, a recent convert, came up and asked WHY she had started to cry. I tried to explain the best I could but it was really just something that I think she´ll learn when she feels that Spirit again. I am grateful that I got to share my testimony with the members that I have grown to love so much and that Mariela and Virginia were there to share in the great spirit of the meeting.

We have had some great news this week, a lot of work, and REALLY tired legs.

GREAT NEWS! Virginia and Nestor´s papers are all in order to get MARRIED!!! WOOT!......on the 22 of May........but hey, SHE’S FINALLY GOT THEM!

We´ve got investigators all over the map (of our area) so we walk a TON! And up the mountain AT LEAST once a day. It´s craziness!! 

I love these people. We have been opening our mouth more and more. We are doubling our failures in order to double our success in FINDING the people that Heavenly Father has prepared for us to teach and accept the gospel at this time. 

It´s been complicado with Stefhani but we are (and SHE is) more than certain that she is READY to be baptized. Basically, the minute her situation gets all better, we´re running to the church to fill the font and get the elders over to the church to interview her and LISTO! New member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!! WOOT!

We had a GREAT lunch of choripan, kind of a farewell thing, with Alicia and her kids and Hna Jocelyn. It was so happy!!! I LOVE me a good choripan so it was amazing! 

Yeah, basically, I don´t even know how crazy this week is going to be but it will be amazing! I don´t know where I´m going to stay in the north for a couple days but I DO know that I fly out of here at 3 on Saturday afternoon and get to BS AS at 8pm. Then Sunday, who know´s where, hopefully Congreso, maybe Tigre though, or Urquiza!! WOW! But then I´ll try to call you wherever it is I will be. Then I have my exit interview set up with President on Monday the 14th in the morning. Crazy but hey, this is what mission life is :) I´m thinking Hna Gulbrandsen will be my temp comp for a while which I will love! 

I´m actually going home with a BUNCH of Orem peeps. By a bunch I mean, at least 2. Most of our group will be all together until SLC. It´s a good size group from Utah haha go figure :)

Elder Grover, who´s little brother is Sam Grover, Ruth REMEMBER HIM? and Elder Unrau, Elder Smith who was my zone leader down here is from Draper, and I forget where Elder Hunt is from. Elder Cordon is from Ogden if I remember correctly. It´ll be legit on the plane! I have served with ALL of the elders finishing now except 2 I think....

Well, it´s a “see you later” for now. See you Sunday!! and then we´ll see everyone home soon! 

I have fought the good fight, but guess what the best part is??....The fight isn´t OVER!! Hooray! This is the FIRST of MANY missions to come. :) That´s why I can be ok leaving, it´s not the end. I love Argentina. It will forever hold my heart and we´ll go on progressing forever because I have great faith that my Father in Heaven will continue sending wonderful people to watch over, care for and Find and Teach these wonderful people. I know that the Church is true. This is HIS work and if it weren´t true, nothing would be the same. I am grateful to know that God lives, that we have a Savior and we CAN and WILL be with them WHEN we do what they ask. I love Them and I know They love me. I will stand as a witness of Them at all times and in all things and in all places, Argentina or not, I will live so that others can come to know Him through my small light. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Until we meet, 

Familia Leiva

 Del Fuego District

Hna. Kapp and I with Xenia

Hermana Gonzalez

wow....soo​o much to do

From April 30, 2012

I got the plans and stuff for things I need to do before heading to the airport...bah! Including my final interview with President. So weird. I can´t tell if it really has NOT set in or I’m just really prepared. Or in denial....haha either way, I am feeling GREAT about these days. The BEST days of the mission!!! WOOT!

Hey, a note for the blog for Pintos and others who read and love me:

There will be NO missionary fireside in San Fernando due to it being Mother´s Day Sunday and missionaries will be calling home. BUMMER! But I love you and though I don´t know WHERE I’ll be that last weekend, we will be in touch soon enough.

Hey, I have this intense desire to do a MILLION things. I´m writing them down. Like, putting tile down in the kitchen, other home improvement things like....painting my room....haha like we said we were going to do....um...3 years ago? or more? haha good stuff.

All those things can wait but guess what? I am DYING to do family history work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am SO excited! I have been teaching people about it non-stop these past couple of weeks and the spirit of Elijah is in my heart! I can´t wait to even learn how to do it! I know that I can repent for never having touched it before. I also am near tears every time I think about going to the Temple. Hna Kapp said this morning, as we were getting ready for the day, “I’m SO jealous you get to go to the temple in a couple weeks!” um, yeah!

Yesterday, I did cry a little in RS when they announced the long-awaited temple dedication in BS AS.....SEPTEMBER 9TH!!!

Ok, ZERO time left but we went to the GLACIER last week. It was AMAZING! Loved it! Pics next week...maybe or....in a couple weeks ;)

Today we played soccer a bit and are going to get our hair done. I love getting haircuts....mmm...chop it? haha NO!

Ok, quick miracles:

Rodrigo, we met him trying to contact our investigator and make sure he was going to church. He´s from Chile and we invited him to church, got his address and listo. Then Sunday morning, we knocked on his door, talked to his dad who went to go wake him. We went by 5 minutes later and he walked out, dressed and ready to go! WOOT! He accepted a baptismal date and it was WONDERFUL! He´s so GOLDEN!

Also, Virginia´s papers (well, her boyfriend´s really) got here!!! That means she now has all the papers necessary to go and get a turno for MARRIAGE! Same day of the marriage...BAPTISM! WooTT!

AND Stefhani (yeah, craziest spelling ever) is getting baptized too!!! She´s so excited! We just had to work on one more thing this week and listo! She´s getting in the water ASAP!!

This is the best life ever. The Work of the Lord is the reason for EVERYTHING. If it weren´t for the Gospel message, where would we be?

Love you all,

Hermana Gonzalez

It´s feriado here in Ushuaia today AND tomorrow so...nothing to do but TEACH, TEACH, TEACH and TALK, TALK, TALK, INVITE, INVITE , INVITE

I love, love, love (threes) and our Savior. I know He lives and THIS is His church.

Love you!

The ´field´ is white and ready to harvest... Apr 23, 2012

And when I say it´s WHITE, I mean we are getting the beauty of the SNOW at the end of the world. It is COLD! Brr...good thing I have some winter clothes that I can put on...all of them....every day. No sickness or frostbite yet! haha

Though yesterday at church, there were a lot of sniffles and coughing etc, we are blessedly NOT SICK! And everyone else is! I guess everyone needs to labor more in the Work of the Lord!

SO we have little time. I just want to let you know that we are working with Estefani. Her estory is a great one. She just moved her from Colombia and is living with a member friend. She was all ready to get baptized up in Colombia BUT felt that she still needed some time and some more knowledge. Turns out that she didn´t have a very strong testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. In other words, she said she believed everything but him. We testified, we read the testimony in the front of the BoM and we taught the Restoration...again. Then we felt to leave her a couple of videos to watch. We showed up the day after she watched the videos and she said casually as we were warming our hands by the heater, oh you know that thing i wasn´t sure about, I got it.

WHATT?!?! Yeah, ok. Will you get baptized this weekend?..... Yeah, I would love that.

OK!!!

WOOT!

It was a great miracle. There´s more to the story but not any more time. We are hiking to the glacier today. Much like i would in ALaska BUT it´s FREEZING and slightly rainy so.....yeah. It´ll be GREAT! we have another appointment with Estefani tonight and I’m super excited!

Love you all. I know that the Church is true. i still don´t feel like I have any more time in the day than i did a year ago. Remember when I said that mom? Yeah, that feeling never goes away. Everyone is counting down my time. The members here I mean. They keep saying, hey, isn´t it about time for you to go home? RUDE haha I’m sure they mean well. A lot of the ones who ask are mothers who have had missionaries out so I figure they feel super happy for Mom and Dad though they don´t know what they do to my heart!

Love you! Love, love, love!

Have a wonderful week!

Pics are worth a thousand words. So these make up for the short message!

Hermana González

 I cut my comps hair last week. We were trying to keep my mind off of my lost stuff for a bit to see if i could remember where it might be. I bought hair cutting scissors and gave her a trim! haha

 a BIG HAIRY dog that makes us laugh every time we see her because she´s got these big bangs and her underside is soooo dirty that she´s got dreds hanging out all around her poor body.

The SNOW

Our alpargatas (TOMs style shoes but they are really ARGENTINE and these are LEGIT)

some wet and cold missionaries...

and a pic with a BOAT...i don´t know why we loved it but we had a Finding Nemo moment with it and it was special....  

It´s not a job, this is my life right now.... Apr 16, 2012

The title is a direct quote from my amazing companion. We talk CONSTANTLY. But we're like the same person so talking is like just being vocally aware that we´re on the same brainwave. We are zoned in on being missionaries ALL day, all night and not ´clocking out´ just because it´s p-day or at home. She´s such a wonderful blessing to me and I´m so glad that I had to come all the way to the end of the world to meet a new best friend from Highland, UT! haha it makes me appreciate her way more. :)

Hna Kapp and I talk about how to be better. We had this great chat about charity and it was remarkable all the things I was learning as I testified to her about experiences that I´ve had throughout the mission and I know that the Spirit wanted to teach me a lot. I thought about how I have come to teach with more charity than when I got here to Argentina and was afraid to even speak. I look at these people we pass and think of what I would want THEM to do were I the one passing them on the street. What lengths would I go to speak and invite if it was MY salvation on the line? It´s what keeps me going. What if it were me? Do I love them as myself? Good, then get out, forget yourself, and go to work.

We had a fantastic week, didn´t have the results we really wanted but we are learning to be patient and press forward doing all the right things despite the lack of INSTANT signs of repentance and change. It doesn´t always work that way.

Sometimes is does though! Like with Cristina. I just can´t even tell you how I adore her. She and her sister Norma (who is STILL not baptized and she knows she should...whatever. AGENCY) have adopted us. Norma and I had a way amazing moment and I love her like crazy and will be here for her baptism I know it, even if I have to come back to the end of the world. She said that there were only 2 people in the world that she has met that instantly win her love like a mother-child thing. I am one of the two, she says. It´s a special thing that through Hna Shelley and I saying Hi to her in grocery store, we are now like FAMILY. Cristina, as I was saying, is doing amazingly well. She has fallen in love with the Relief Society/Priesthood manual for this year about President George Albert Smith like I have. She is desirous to go with us to appointments and have a visiting teaching assignment. She just wants to serve and help more people be as happy as she is. She is teaching her nephews and it´s just been a wonderful blessing to see them grow in their testimonies! She gave the prayer in Relief Society and it was like a parent watching their child and I was busting with joy and pride! I did nothing, of course, but I was so proud to have been a part of her amazing decision.

Tuesday and Wednesday were warm here..meaning....only ONE jacket, one skirt and one pair of tights. Then it got cold REAL cold again and back to the layering of the clothes. Good stuff.

DAD! and Danny! and any other RM that love me: I have a huge favor to ask!! Will you commit to writing me a story about your MISSION that you were reminded of or that you think I would like to hear? I don´t know many from Dad´s mission and FEWER from Danny´s so...yeah! That way Danny won´t have an excuse of something like, nothing cool in my life is going on and that´s why I don´t write you...junk. haha LOVE YOU AND THANKS!!

It´s only a few stories until I’ll HEAR them but ONE a week would be great. Thanks! I meant to ask for this FOREVER ago but have continually forgotten to ask....

Ok, Estefani from Colombia moved her three days ago. She has been meeting with Elders in Colombia for a WHILE now and is just SO CLOSE to the waters of baptism that it´s killing me. We are going to go get her right now and play soccer with the elders. Soo....see ya! haha love you bye!

I know this IS the true Church of Jesus Christ. There is no other. i love my Savior and am eternally grateful that i have this amazing opportunity to serve Him and my fellow brothers and sisters. i am grateful for the change in my life. I truly have changed and I hope to continue growing as my life goes on. Missions don´t end at airports. They just won´t let me wear my nametag anymore is all. :)

Love you all,

Have a great week!

Hermana González

I just LOVE life!!!!

From April 9th, 2012

 Ok Family and faithful friends, I just want to let you all know that the power and burning faith one can come to have on the mission DOESN´T die if you don´t LET it!!!!

I am so incredibly excited about these coming weeks and am more afraid of the dwindling time than worrying about it. I’m afraid that there´s not much time left because I don´t ever want to stop feeling this way every week when I report about what I´ve been doing. I have had amazing companions and the Lord knows me and has blessed me with yet another amazing Best FRIEND!!

Hermana Kapp is a joy and we have the best days!!! I was feeling a little under the weather this past week (we got REALLY wet in the constant rain and it didn´t do well with my already on the edge of dying health. haha exaggeration of course but I was NOT my full self so after I started taking meds and asked one of the Elders after district meeting for a priesthood blessing (I LOOVE the priesthood and I have FULL faith that my faith and the faith of a worthy priesthood holder helped me recover) I started doing much, much better.) I was feeling guilty for being grumpy and not with full energy to get out and help Hna Kapp learn the area quickly. I told her that last night after a great Sunday of visits and meeting great people and she said, “that was you GRUMPY? This transfer is going to be AMAZING!” Haha it made me feel better that she hadn´t been too effected by my lack of energy and that it hadn´t been so apparent. She said she noticed a real difference after we had rested and I let the meds take effect. All is well in Zion.

We are so alike, it´s nuts. We get along SPLENDIDLY as i have been so fortunate to do with all of my amazing companions on the mission. I loved seeing Hna Erickson last week and she´ll be coming down here at least one day for when President comes to do interviews and then I won´t see her again until....yeesh, 2013. Hna Shelley and Hna Dunn already know that they are REQUIRED to go to my despedida. haha I WILL see them both before I leave and Hna Kapp wins the jackpot to be able to pick through everything I leave behind haha :)

Seriously, Hna Kapp and I both feel like she´s been here way longer than a week. I feel as though we have known each other for years. We teach in an amazing unison that usually takes much longer to work out, practice and plan. It has been a huge blessing since day 1.

We went around to say goodbye to a few people with Hna Shelley. It was great to have some time to say some farewells and let them see both Hna Shelley and Hna Kapp at the same time and see the transition. I am so grateful that Hna Kapp has a wonderful memory for all these people I have been telling her about all week. At church yesterday, she was a rock star and remembered lots of people by stories I told her. It was wonderful.

CRISTINA AND JAVIER got CONFIRMED!!!!! They are now confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!!! The newest members on the island!! Well...at least in Ushuaia, don´t know what went down in Rio Grande. haha

I feel like I´m always saying goodbye to Hna Shelley! haha the bajillion pictures that we took together here in Ushuaia make up for the very FEW that we had in Congreso.

I have been learning so much about how important Hna Shelley is to the work in Ushuaia. She´s just amazing organized and has a mind for planning. She always said that she hated planning but she´s so ridiculously good at it, she can´t hate-hate it. I am really grateful for everything that I learned from her because it has really been helping with how I´ve been able to teach Hna Kapp about the area.

This week was a wonderful one for sure. Talking all day, every day about the Atonement of Christ, helping investigators and members alike remember what EASTER is. There is a lot that I would like to study about it later but it is one of the most meaningful weeks I´ve had in my mission. It helped to have this particular recent convert who was really stuck to her catholic traditions but we read together and learned together and the Spirit testified to our hearts of the Savior´s divinity and what we can do to sacrifice our vanity and selfishness to be more like Him. We can and must come in Him to find the peace that He gives. I have been studying the week, day by day, of the last week of the Savior´s mortal ministry and I think it´s a great new tradition to start for Easter week! I learned so much and was truly blessed with a greater love for my Brother and Redeemer.

We even had a special conference all about the Savior as a mission. It was the first time in President Gulbrandsen´s time that we have ALL been gathered, north and south, in a conference and it was amazing. I want to always make this such a special time of year.

Because Jesus lives, we have HOPE. Because He lives, we can repent, we can live again. Because HE LIVES.

Hna Gulbrandsen said this once and I´ve never forgotten it: Christ died to save us and He lived again. He didn´t die again. HE LIVES. Like you and I live, so does the One who loves us more than human mind can comprehend. I hope I can learn to love Him in like manner.

I am so grateful for being here. I am truly blessed to be found worthy as one to represent Him to the marvelous people of Ushuaia and lead them back to the fold of the Good Shepherd.

I love you all and hope that all is well......right?

A couple of shout outs:

Angelica, I´m glad you had such an amazing birthday. I DIED laughing at your email. Seriously, you HAVE to write me more. Just a couple more weeks yo!

Ali Washburn: I heart you face!!! I am so excited for you and congratulations on your call!!!! That´s so amazing and you will be phenomenal. We have GOT to talk hun!!! I LOVE missions!!!!!

Nick: follow Angelica´s example and....write me!! Email is SOOOOO easy. DON´T FORGET!

Hey I’ve been thinking a lot about my brothers. Brett, you are great, you know that? I do love you like a crazy pants and I hope you know that. COLLEGE man!!!! We should move out together!! haha maybe your second semester because I won´t be there for fall...but that would be cool! We can live work and study in SLC! What do you think? Maybe Danny could move in as my roommate after you leave on a mish.....oh wait.....he’ll be married by then! hahaha right?

Sam, is it too late to change a class for next year? You MUST take Mr. Park´s class (if you aren´t already and if he´s still at Timp) I´ve been thinking about that a while. It´s a creative writing class that I always wanted to take but it didn´t work out in my schedule. I had him for 10th grade English and it was a mini version of his creative writing class. It would be LEGIT for your talent. For real. Look into it if you haven´t already.

RUTH!! I love you hair!! I love that you do what you like. I hope you are happy. Haven´t heard from you in a while. PS a couple of my fav young members here looked you up on youtube (I told you I was going to make you famous in Argentina) and they said you have billions of videos!! When are you going to write your own stuff?!?! I will help you and edit your poems and stuff. You´ve got lots to work with!!! Love you pooh

Mom and Dad, you are fantastic! Have I ever told you how much I love and appreciate you guys?? If I haven´t recently, I repent. I LOVE YOU!

No word on flights or anything but I am honestly not worried about it. If you are, I´m sure you could ask Hna Gulbrandsen but I won´t ask :) haha all I know is that the Saturday before my last Sunday I will be flying up to BS AS again for my final interview with President. SAD! I get shorted 2 days! Bah....

Any who,

Love you all. WRITE ME PEEPS! Those who write will be those with whom I will spend some quality time. If not, I don´t know. I´ll move to another state or something and make NEW friends. haha :)

Love y´all forever!

Hna Gonzalez

hey quick update

Super crazy, awesome transfers. Seriously, it´s been hilarious.

Well, Hna Shelley´s bags are packed and she´s headed north!!! To an area called San Ignacio II.......

with.........

HNA DUNN!!!! Small funny world, right? She has STILL only had 3 companions in the field. Hna Shelley is destined to have repeat comps! haha Wow!!!

A LOT of changes in our little zone. EVERY companionship changed. Not the usual thing but hey, what the Lord needs, we will go and do!

My new companion is Hermana KAPP from Highland, UT. Officially wins award for the one who lives closest to home! haha sweet! She´s got 3 months in the mission. Started with Hna Gillum! Then with a sweet, sweet amazing sister I love, Hna Carriola, now here!

I just can´t get over the fact that Hna Shelley’s going to be senior companion,she is going to be with Hna Dunn again. Crazy, right? The Pinto´s will get a kick out of that, I´m sure. Right Camilly?? haha love you!

Oh, and Hermana Erickson came through here!!! She´s on her way to Rio Grande (weird, I forgot I wrote from there last week). She´s going to be companions with Hna Reed! Woot! So I got to see her and be with her about an hour before her combi went on its way to Rio Grande. That was a great blessing because even though she´s down here on the island now, she WON’T be in the north for my despedida in San Fernando which is a bummer! But Hna Dunn and Shelley will be there together with their most recent converts, together!! Hooray!!

This is so nuts. There is an elder here that I heard a LOT about from Hna Erickson when we were together because they were in the same MTC zone and then same zone in the north. Also, more familiar faces are making an appearance tomorrow. Elder Johnson, an elder that used to serve as the secretary to the President when I was in Tigre, is now coming down here to be a zone leader. We were really good friends so I´m super excited for all the great, amazing things that are coming our way this transfer! Seriously!!!!

Rio Grande with Hna Reed was superb. We had a great time and I love her so much. I am so glad that I got to serve with her even though it was only a few days. She´s fantastic! I learned a lot from her in such a short time. I am also very grateful for my wonderful, now former companion, Hna Shelley. I knew that she was going to be called as senior companion soon and I think that this division that we made really helped her see that she CAN do this and now she´s off to do great things.

I am excited about this all.

I´m sending pictures of our MIRACLES from this week! Cristina, the woman we found last week got baptized with her nephew!!!!! HOORAY! Between crazy conference sessions. I hope it was a great conference. I´ll read it when the text comes up next week. We had some major technical difficulties but it was a wonderful experience all the same. Even though it was nuts, our branch, almost all of them, showed for the baptisms and we had great support for these wonderful new members!!

I love this work. It brightens my day when I actually stop and remember that this is what we do, who we are and it´s the best thing in the whole world. The gospel saves lives. It has changed me forever and I hope to always be a person that lives so that my faith isn´t hard to detect.

I can´t wait to tell you all more. Just know that I love you, Hna Kapp and I are going to ROCK it here. We´re going around with Hna Shelley to say goodbye to peeps before taking her to the airport tonight.

Hna Shelley, Hna Reed and Hna Gutierrez in Rio Grande

 Cristina and her nephew.

 Hna Erickson and Hna Shelley!!

 The tall blond one is Hna. Kapp--Hna. Shelley, Me,

(the TALL one that makes me feel like a woodland creature...)

and Hna Erickson. Love them!

Gotta go. I’ll tell you all about the greatness of this week next week. Love you all. Thanks for the love, I feel it and hope to SEE it in my inbox next week, yeah?

What was your favorite part of conference?? Tell me your highlights and favs that I should look up and print off next week. I´m sad I missed it! Best weekend of the year still though. I love these two just like everyone else that is preparing to be baptized!!! Ushuaia, here we come!!

Love you, until next week,

Hna Gonzalez

This email came on the first day of Suzette's last transfer. She would love to hear from you before she comes home.

woot woooooo!

From March 19th, 2012

I am loving this life!!! I think EVERYONE should live a missionary life! It´s the best!

Well, that reminds me that in Preach My Gospel Chapter 1 there is a quote I read just this morning that the greatest work we will ever do is within the walls of our own home. That HAS to be the truth. What I have learned in my own parents’ home and here in the mission field is for SURE the key to how to have a successful future home. I am so grateful for the amazing examples in my life and experiences to learn by and teach by the Spirit of the Lord and gaining full confidence that it is His true Church that we belong to and through His Begotten Son that we will gain eternal life.

This week we have been overwhelmed with amazing people! Familia Carrari have been a great gain to the branch. Hno Carrari is a life-long member whose new almost-wife is not a member. After several years of inactivity, he decided that his life and his family needed the BEST things and he called up the Elders to have them come and visit. 2 months later, they are preparing to get married so that his wife can be baptized! They are so great and faithful not having missed a Sunday in 2 months. Little Lujan, 6, and Ignacio, 3, just LOVE church, primary and reading scriptures. They are just SUNSHINE. A new sister for our Relief Society, another priesthood holder and two great additions to our ever-growing primary. LOVE IT!!

Cesar, a convert from January, received the Aaronic priesthood and is so eager to keep going and growing in his responsibilities of the church. He just loves being there. He´s in the church almost ALL day Sunday when he can. He attends our branch and then helps the branch that comes after us and stays to participate in choir as well. haha he´s great!

The world is so small ESPECIALLY as members of the church. The family I told you about just now, the Carrari´s, know a member family (Barcos) from here from about 25 years ago when they were in the same ward/branch in Bahía Blanca (provincia BS AS). Now they live a block away from each other! Flia Barcos has been making all these connections with our investigators, including being a childhood friend of Enrique! They are often together now doing different activities and teaching and learning. It´s been amazing! Enrique says he´s hooked. haha love him

Monica, a great, great lady, was looking for work and we happened to randomly know that a member from the other branch was looking for someone to help them in their house. We made the connection between them and Monica was overjoyed to get the job the same day!!! She has been having a hard time lately but her faith was strengthened to get immediate answers to her prayers. I love watching how the love and confidence we have for our Heavenly Father can really shine a new light into our lives. It´s amazing!

haha Did I tell you all that the people I tell about my bus driving job in Alaska just stare at me incredulously? haha they stare at me, eyes wide just waiting for me to say, ‘just kidding’. Most women here don´t know how to drive. It´s really a lot more rare to find a woman that drives. There ARE women who do but it´s not as prevalent as the US. And so when I throw in the BUS thing, it´s even more incredible to believe. So I have to promise to bring them pictures the next time I see them and it´s also a great way to set up follow-up appointments. haha win-win!

We were walking up this one street this week to contact a referral when we saw a man sitting outside his house look up to see who was walking by. ( I still CAN´T get over the fact that people just SIT OUTSIDE and chill in their front yard while we are FREEZING and wishing we were inside somewhere, anywhoo...) He looked up and instead of looking back down, he stared and so we felt to go and talk to him on the way back down the street. We knocked on the door of the referral, no one home. Once we had gotten to the top of the street it really was going to be a lot more efficient to not go back down the street and just walk more uphill and have a more direct route to our next plans. But we both looked at each other and with that knowing look that we have achieved as a companionship; we went to follow the prompting of the Spirit. As we talked to this wonderful older man (80 yrs old!!!) about his relationship with God, I felt the strongest impression to tell him that if he came to church with us he would know that this is the true Church that he hasn´t found because he didn´t know where to find it. He looked at me a second and then just nodded his head and said, OK. Well, German Venegas LOVED church yesterday and is planning on coming back next week too. MIRACLES HAPPEN!

We FINALLY met this one kid who was baptized in Misiones (provinicia al norte de Argentina, almost Brazil) 3 years ago that his mom stopped us in the grocery store two weeks ago to ask us that we go and visit him to invite him and the rest of her sons back. I´ll have to tell you later what she said about herself but she knows that her sons were better when they were active in the Church. We are now helping Javier, Andres, Arturo and Martin. Woot! We have a Family Home Evening planned with them for the weekend when they are all home together.

Will someone please tell Nikki, Siostra Stay, that I love her??? I can´t believe that she´ll be home this week! I will let you know what i get from her emails because I’m pretty sure her homecoming won´t be for another 3 week or so because of gen conf and her ward conf and fast Sunday :) haha oh man.

This week we are planning on doing an exchange with the sisters from Rio Grande (the zone on this island Tierra del Fuego to the north of us) I´m a little nervous but very excited. I would be going with Hna Reed while Hna Gutierrez comes down here to be with Hna Shelley. Wow! Pray for us. It´ll be an exciting week! Especially prepping everyone for conference and Easter!

I love you all. Have a wonderful, joyous week. Danny sent me pictures of the snow!!! Wow. It snowed here too. We are finally in the same season on opposite ends of the world :) haha it´s nice today though so we will hopefully be going to a little hike to the Ushuaian Bridal Veil Falls. Pretty. So I hear. I´ll let you know if it is next week!

Love, love, love you all!

I know this church is true!

See ya!

Hermana Gonzalez

Word up!!

Hey, it looks like people are remembering me now. haha I know it´s hard after being out of sight and out of mind for forever but I love you too! No worries and keep writing! I love it!

Thanks Hna CAMILLY for the update!! I was SOOO happy to hear from you. I have a story for you and Alipio: so Hna Dunn went to her new area and new companion with all sorts of great hopes and things are going well as far as I know. She said that her new companion did NOT like the Brother of Jared´s skin!!! Remember when Hna Dunn SCREAMED when it was in her hand and she threw it on the table with the food that first time??? haha apparently her new companion´s reaction was WAAAY better. haha I thought Alipio would really appreciate that. Hna Dunn had to take that page out of her memory book and hide it until her companion leaves :)

EMMA bo bemma!!! I LOVE hearing that you have had such great testimony building experiences in DC and that you are loving it. I will TOTALLY go back east with you someday and you´ll have to show me around a town I know I’m BOUND to love! Keep being amazing like you are and remember always that I love you! The Church is true!

ANGELICA!!! You TALK about me all the time? I know, I know. You love me. But I DO expect you to dedicate at LEAST 3 biscuit nights to me to catch up on all the stuff you HAVEN¨T TOLD ME! I don´t worry that you will, it´s just when. What´s your Alaska stuff looking like? P.S. WHO is the guy that served here?? NAMES please? Well, I love you my dearest!

I don´t know if you can send these to them by email or what. I know that all these lovely ladies read my blog often. My favorite stalkers for sure :) haha I have a stalker story for you all later :) don´t worry it´s not scary, it´s actually really funny. Well, it was to me at least.

This week was INCREDIBLE!! I decided that the end of the mission is DEFINITELY the best. I can´t believe it but then again, God is a God of miracles. EVERY day is my new favorite day of the mission. We get home EXHAUSTED beyond all reason of course but we are on FIRE! Well, the MEMBERS are really. We have had the success because we have been receiving the Lord´s vision for this area and it lies in doing our part to help the MEMBERS fulfill their missionary responsibilities. I mean, when a member has a referral of a friend that wants to hear us, they come RUNNING. They don´t have to putter around, we don´t have to tear the referral from the hands or anything. This week we had 7 of these great people in Church with us and one will be getting baptized this coming Sunday. She is so great and is so excited! She´s like Enrique and has been telling everyone and inviting them to be there! Ana Laura. She´s 12 and fell in love with the Young Women´s program and the hymns and music and then read the Book of Mormon and noticed right away that it was special. She´s amazing! I´ll send pics next week!

We are preparing a great little family too and a wonderful woman who is fighting to get out of a bad, very harmful relationship. I love her and she is so great and has a powerful testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and how it is true by what? Praying and reading. She prayed and picked up the Book and found her answer right away. So GREAT! I love knowing that the good news we bring, the Gospel message, is what EVERYONE needs, regardless of situation or problem. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for every one of us.

We have been going to the hospital quite a bit this week because that´s just how Argentina medicine works (we´ll talk about health care when I´m NOT Hermana Gonzalez, don´t get me started) if someone gets sick, to the hospital. Fall and your knee still hurts 2 days later, go to the hospital. If your nose is runny, go to the hospital. Anyway, Hna Shelley got some weird red spots on her body and we were told to go to the hospital to figure it out. Anyway, the subsequent visits were to get an appointment with a dermatologist, get blood drawn, a delicious throat swab etc. Well, the point of the story is that I noticed when we were there at 6 am to get in line for the tests that Argentina has ZERO vending machines. I had never thought about it until we were sitting there in SILENCE, in a HOSPITAL. I have spent a good amount of time in hospitals and the familiar hum of the vending machines was absent and so it clicked. NO vending machines anywhere in Argentina. WOW! BUT there are dispensas/kioskos on every block which serve the same purpose. haha Just a little side thing that I discovered this week that changed my life. Also, learned how to make yogurt this week. Another life-changer.

This past Thursday, the 8th of march, was Día de la Mujer. Everyone was really friendly and wished us a good day all day. We took advantage of the day to get in touch with some of our tougher peeps. There are less active families that NEVER let us in to teach or they are all friendly and everything UNTIL we start to remind them about Church on Sunday then all the friendly goes out the door. So we took delicious banana bread to a sister that isn´t our biggest fan and we saw as the bread melted her heart a little, she smiled, let us in and it was great!! Hooray!!! We took more bread around to all of our appointments that day and ended with a big empty tupperware and happy hearts lifted all over Ushuaia! Oh the love and tenderness of small acts of kindness!

Hna Shelley asked me a really great question this week. We were enjoying really great facturas and she thoughtfully asked, ´why are pregnant women so cute, but fat missionaries aren´t?´ hahaha I would really like to know the answer but hey, it might be one of those mysteries that we won´t get to know until the other side. I might come home slightly round but not for a lack of trying. It´s cold, ok? Everywhere we go, they ask us if we are cold or hungry and without listening for an answer, they get out something to snack on and get the hot water on the stove. Bummer that it´s too wonderful to turn down a warm cup of boldo (not sure if that´s the same herb in English) on these cold days. Whew.

Well, the funny stalking story real quick. We have this recent convert that is doing great. She´s super faithful and is learning a lot and very quickly. She sometimes brings a lot of what she would have said in her ´former´ life to apply now and we have to remember to correct her like a child. She calls us her baby because she´s learning like a child. She´s been baptized for almost 5 months and has had some issues with an ex-boyfriend that she just chooses to suffer over. Well, we got that guy out of the picture, I mean, not US as missionaries, but she finally just closed the door on that. BUT all of a sudden we get this NEW guy on the scene. He´s already tons better than the last guy because he came to Church, is reading the Book of Mormon and all BUT is not being a fan. We were teaching this new member last night and he came over. She got all red and blushy! Like a little teenager. haha I called her out because he went to the other room to not pray with us (baby steps) and she wouldn´t confess. Anywho, we left all together because she said she was going to go meet some friends and this new guy had come to get her and go. We went separate ways after getting out to the street from the apartment. As she was walking I had this crazy ´protect her´ sensation so we watched as they crossed the street. It looked like they were holding hands!! So we ran down the block to see them cross the next street (good thing the blocks here are shorter than the city blocks in Capital) and we ran down and hid in a darkened doorway to watch them walk by. We followed them a good long while, laughing and giggling all the way because of my craziness. We stalked them until they got in a taxi and drove away but it looked like good friendly time so we walked home still talking about this new guy. We´ll be keeping our eye on him.....Then, Hna Shelley, always the worry-er (can´t spell), said she hoped no one called the cops on our creeper behavior, and if they did, she hoped Hno Franco (our ward mission leader haha) would be the one called to come. hahaha

haha anywho love the work. We are looking to help a lot more members catch the vision of every member a missionary and getting a STAKE here in Ushuaia.

I love this work. I know the Church is true!!

Love you all,

Have a wonderfully fantastic week!!

Hermana Gonzalez

Hey hey hey!!!

From March 5th, 2012

I cannot believe all the amazing-ness of stuff that is going on here, Poland, in Utah, and all over the great wide world!!! 

I have been faithfully receiving and reading such GREAT emails from friends who are wonderful examples of member missionary work and finding every opportunity to share their testimony and from fellow missionaries throughout the course of my mission. 

Sister Stay, my amazingly talented and beautiful friend serving as a missionary in Poland has always been a great source of motivation and love for me. Her amazingly powerful personality and testimony has kept me going MANY weeks of the mission and I love her stories of the tender mercies of the Lord. I don´t know if anyone one at home (mom, dad?) have followed her blog like I have (the posts of her emails get forwarded to me, not sure how but they have been since day 1 of the MTC. LOVE it) But she will be finishing up this great service to the Lord this month. My heart felt a ton of different emotions reading that. We were together very little time in the MTC while she was waiting to just get out and serve and it was a miracle for me to see her. Now, it´s just a little bit longer and I´ll see her on the other side. I love her so much and I am grateful for her friendship just as much as the amazing example she has been of a diligent worker in the Lord´s vineyard. The field is WHITE and ready for the harvest. 

A great friend sent a fantastic email with a story about sharing the Book of Mormon with David Russell, a Grammy winning guitarist, while he was in Salt Lake playing. I loved the story because of many things but mostly the power of prayer and preparation. He had a spare Book of Mormon in his car and a prayer in his heart to have the opportunity to share it with David Russell. He got the chance and did his part to flood the earth with the Book of Mormon as President Benson said we should do. 

The time is now. The technology has never been greater. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have shared my whole missionary experience with dozens, maybe a hundred people or more through a simple blog. 

I know that this is the only true Church of Jesus Christ. He Himself is at the head leading us in a world of confusion and changing values to a path of steady, sure principles and a firm foundation. What a wonderful gift of peace in a difficult time to live on earth. 

This week was amazing to see how the Lord has prepared the people here in Ushuaia to receive the Gospel. Hno Enrique was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. He has been a ROCK star inviting people to come to church to accompany him and see the great changes he is making in his life. 

There is a girl that is a reoccurring face in my pictures Xenia, (pronounced Gina, kinda).She is AMAZING! She was baptized about a month and a half ago in another branch down here. She LOVES going with us to visit investigators and makes sure that we are doing well in committing the people to read, pray and leave them a part they can read and ponder until our next visit. She´s 12 and the best mini missionary I´ve seen her age!! We went to meet this one family that just moved here from Rio Grande on Saturday night after a baptism (where we took Ana Laura, a great girl that is excited about her baptism the 18th that Xenia befriended immediately) and with this family, Xenia loved them immediately as did Hna Shelley and I. Nestor and Virginia are SO great! They have two little kids, Lujan and Ignacio. They are a great family. Nestor is a less active member who wants his family to have the gospel. Virginia and he are just waiting this week for his divorce papers, all signed and good to go, to arrive so they can go and start the paperwork to be married here! The day they get married, Virginia is all ready and anxious to get into the water!!! She´s so prepared it´s crazy that all these random things have been holding her back from being baptized already. The whole family went to church yesterday, stayed happily participating in all the classes. They are SOO great! Virginia started the Book of Mormon from the beginning about a month ago and is in Alma 30 I think! She LOVES learning the gospel and just wants to know everything. She has this huge list of things to ask that she is anxious to talk about with us this week. 

We met Ana and Ana Laura, well, I met them because Hna Shelley knew them from BEFORE I got here and they had left for vacation. Now everyone is back because school started down here. Ana Laura is this cute, cute 12 year old who loves church, loved young women´s and is eager for her own baptism. Hopefully we can work with the whole family but her mom has been kinda depressed lately and sleeps a lot so we never see her. Ana Laura came with us to the baptism on Saturday and loved it. She said it scared her at first because she wasn´t prepared for what it was but then said she got this great warmth in her heart as she was sitting waiting for the little girl who had gotten baptized to change clothes. She wrote little Victoria a note of congratulations and thanks for letting her be there. It was Great!!

I love this work. I am so grateful for every day we get to be here and testify!!!

I have so many more stories to tell you all someday. We´ll get there. Basically, Heavenly Father is a God of miracles. I love it. I get to see them everyday work in people´s lives and hearts.

I got really sick yesterday with a terrible migraine (like old-school style) that KILLED me. I was OUT after church. I can´t even believe it. It frightened Hna Shelley I think but after sleeping, I felt tons better. I thought after sleeping all day, I wouldn´t be able to sleep through the night, but I SURE did! It just goes to show HOW tired I am. It´s bad. I have to take care of myself because I can´t just be taking days off, so we´ll be planning better, resting better and figuring it out. My body can´t give out on me yet!! I still have lots of time left!!! :)

Love you all, 

Until next week

I´ll tell you about my new district next time. They are cool. I miss Elders Herrera and Manjarres though....bummer.

Love you!

Hermana Gonzalez

P.S. In response to Hna Dunn´s email from this last week,

 I DO get your emails and I love reading about how you are doing! Hopefully you are getting my emails too. I will send you some pics and I know that you are doing great in San Ignacio!!! Keep rocking. Oh, by the way, I about DIED in the cyber reading about the spider incident. How I miss our TRIO! Hnas Dunn, Erickson and me. Wow, what a team. We were great. Love you dear. See you later!

Peanut butter, tights and poptarts....could a Sister missionary ask for anything more???

Email for February 28 (p-day was on Tuesday this week)

I think a BAPTISM would be pretty news worthy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember that one time we found a GOLDEN investigator and three weeks later he got BAPTIZED?!?!?! Yeah, 

That would be the one and only Enrique Segundo Cisterna Miran. He is so amazing and just feels so good about everything that´s gone down in the last 3 weeks. We were teaching him last night and he said with teary eyes that he is so grateful that we knocked on his door. We had been looking for his dad but the Lord knew that Enrique was prepared. 

The baptism was amazing. It all started last week after the baptism we went to with Enrique. He was feeling big time excitement about this past Sunday, the 26, when he knew it would be his turn. With everything that we taught him and invited him to commit to live he would just say, ¨ok, I’ll do it. I´m just sorry I didn´t know this before.¨ We had the incredible opportunity to have District Conference this weekend too so he went to EVERY meeting he could with President Gulbrandsen in town. He went to and loved the adult session, a special meeting for new members and investigators that President Gulbrandsen planned and then the general session. After the General session, Enrique dressed in white along with Hermano Alvaro Robledo and they walked into the FREEZING Ushuaia water (because the water heater went out again! but he was DETERMINED that if we could find someone that could handle the cold, he´d be getting baptized, warm or cold water aside). It was incredible. He asked us a couple days ago if there was any way that his deceased mother could be baptized too. OF COURSE we said and taught him about the power of the ordinances in the Temple. He started to cry with joy and it was incredible to presence the start of a huge tree of people that have been waiting for their children to find and accept the gospel. Enrique will be the door for so many. LOVE IT!

He wants to share the gospel with his whole family that are all over the island. Rio Grande, Tolhuin, etc. At the end of the baptismal service (in which, Hna Shelley and I sang AGAIN and AGAIN I was dying of nerves.) we sang families can be together forever. He could sing for the tears in his eyes. President Gulbrandsen was up on the stand, saw Enrique´s emotion and then looked at me with that look of ´he gets it´ and such greatness!! I love this whole life! After the service, Hna Shelley and I couldn´t wipe huge smiles off our faces. We giggle and were happy, happy, happy despite the snow and cold. Nothing can get us down. Here we go off to work some more!! This feeling of the Spirit changing lives is ADDICTING!
We are getting great people in our lives. Jesús and Monica are the NEXT ones to get in the water. I hope. They do have to get married first and that could prove problematic with the silly argentines that just go on strike sometimes so everything goes kerplop. Like the weeks the gas people were on strike and we couldn´t pay our bill so we were afraid of being without heat or hot water for a while. Oh Argentina, how you have my heart! haha
Love this work. I know that it is the Marvelous Work that the prophets prophesied of. We do the Work His way and Heavenly Father does the MARVELOUS. I am eternally grateful for this opportunity. LOVE IT!
Love you all,
Have a wonderful week!
P.S. thanks for the amazing package, the tights are such a great amazing happiness in my life!!!!! SAVED ME! And the peanut butter? LOVE!! And poptarts? AMAZING! haha thanks for loving me!!! May the Lord bless and keep you!

TRANSFERS came and guess what???.....

Email from February 20th, 2012

YES!! Transfers and.....I¨M STILL IN USHUAIA!!!

WITH HNA SHELLEY!

Hey I’m LOVING the pictures that I’m FINALLY able to send today so I will write until all the photos load and then move on to the next email for more pics.

I can´t even tell you how nervous we were ALL DAY yesterday because of the impending changes. I thought for sure that Hna Shelley was out of here and I would be left to try and teach the area to my next comp. The Lord loves us and made sure that we could be together 6 more weeks and we are SOOO EXCITED! I love Hna Shelley SO much. She thinks I´m as funny as I think I am so we get along AMAZINGLY! It´s also one of the greatest things because we totally complement each other as far as personalities go because when I´m tired...(haha like every day but whatev) she says GO and when she gets down, I get the chance to lift her up and help remind her of the amazing life that we are living right now. We have such an amazing opportunity to serve the Lord and talk to everyone about the love of God and the beauty of the Atonement....(bah, English is hard. I hope you know I REALLY have to concentrate when I type on Mondays. I hope that the grammar and spelling is at least understandable) QUICK SIDE NOTE before I forget.....

Listen. NO ONE WRITES ME. I know that it´s not that long until we see each other again BUT I’m STILL HERE! I STILL want to hear from you peeps. Just know that EMAILS I love to read but rarely will handwrite you back UNLESS it´s a dearelder letter or a hand written to me. Sorry but it´s not a lot of time I have to write. Just quick notes like what´s up in your life and a quick testimony building experience. Sound good? ok good.

Well, we had such a wonderful experience this past week. Enrique, that we found by trying to contact the referral who is his dad, came to Church last week and this week after a sincere invite from us and the member that had referred his dad. It was so great and such an unexpected miracle from the Lord. Enrique is SO prepared!!!! GOLDEN!

We invited him to church. He went. We invited him to read and pray. He´s doing it every day so that he can understand for himself. We invited him to see a baptism the elders had this weekend. He went and enjoyed every minute. We were right there trying to make sure he had a good spiritual experience and he said he felt right at HOME. I just about cried of happiness. Hna Shelley and I had prepared a specialmusical number (the night before....haha oops) But Hna Shelley is a WONDERFUL singer and we prepared so we knew the Lord would help us to have the Spirit. It was not half bad, if I do say so myself. I was WICKED nervous because you all know I DO NOT sing solo in front of people, but here on the mission, Hna SHelley made me make an exception. :) It was super great.

transfers cont....

So Enrique, SUPER PREPARED. He is so ready for baptism, it´s not even funny. AND when we were announcing it to everyone, he was so happy to invite everyone. He is what they call here ´fueguino´ someone born and raised here in Tierra del Fuego. There aren´t many of them because either people move here from other places or the people from here move north but he is one of those who was born, lived and stayed. SOOO....that means, small town, knows a LOT of people. At church, it was like finding all these people that he says hello to on a daily basis but finding that they have something more than living at the end of the world in common: they have Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and are all trying to follow better His example. It was such a sweet thing to introduce him to people and they say, oh I know you! It was bittersweet. It´s bittersweet because lots of members know him and that´s great because he already has bunches of friends....BUT this is the first time anyone had ever invited him to church. Wow. All these years that he´s been surrounded by members of the Church and at the first invitation, he´s ready. I just wonder if his friends at Church have thought of this too. Well, he knows so many people so we have a LOT of work to do because we are going to be baptizing ´a FUL´!

Cherry on top: President is going to be here this weekend for District Conference and a Zone conference and he will be here for the baptism!!! HOORAY!

By the way, the Zone conference will be Monday...pday will be Tuesday. :)

I am just so torn in all my emotions right now. I love that we are still here. We were in shock last night thinking that we really weren´t moving! And I know that our work is just taking flight after a transfer of WAITING for people to re populate the town because EVERYONE including the members had left for vacation. (Did I talk about that before? How people in Argentina get like a month or two for vacation and they just go somewhere, to visit family, to the beach, whatever for a month or two at a time? This really means that we get a ton of visitors wherever we are but no one that will be permanent. For the south, it means that everyone evacuates to go north to enjoy some sun a while. It was a terrible month having the streets to ourselves....)

OH IT´S DEFINITELY SNOWING today!! It was freezing yesterday and it finally fell on us today as snow! I am dying of cold, it´s ridiculous. BS AS is still warm, like upper 30´s.

transfers cont....2

So i´m torn because two of our GREAT elders are leaving for the north. Elder Herrera already left today (we went to the airport too because a sister from Rio Grande, a zone also in Tierra del Fuego but more north on the island than us, Hna Milmont left to go north to BS AS too) and it´s sad because we are good friends with ALL of our Elders. We love them and they are great. This was my second zone down here in the south with Elder Herrera and Elder Giraldo, but Elder Giraldo is still here. Elder Herrera was with me in Rio Gallegos and he was there and then here all the while I was bouncing around in BS AS and came back. He spent a YEAR down south and will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the north. He´s great! The two Colombians that we had in the zone are leaving. haha they are the ones in all the pics I’m sending. The pics are from everything from the National Park last week, the snow from today! And the baptism yesterday, random things that I´ll just have to tell you about in like...a while. haha but they are all great. Love the Elders in our zone. I learn so much from them and being the only 8 missionaries in the zone, we have gotten really close. It´s pretty awesome!

Love you all

I want you to know that I am so excited to work. I love being here and I love that I have been blessed to have you as my family; I have been blessed to know the gospel and have it as the guiding influence in my life.

Oops some of the pics will wait ‘til next week. LOVE LOVE!!

mwah!

Until next week, Hna Gonzalez

USHUAIA end of the world