Congreso, dear Congreso

Hna González blog just a different look!!

Nov 21, 2011 9:37 am

OH the mission, there are so many things here that I have to write down (I’m getting WAAY better again at my journal writing following the great example of my companion! I write EVERY night again. I feel bad because there´s really no way to go back and write everything I missed in the south....oops. Hopefully my planner´s will do for my posterity....) I have to write stuff down because I am learning so much all the time and I think that it will serve me for the rest of my life. Actually I KNOW IT!

I just read Mom and Dad´s emails since they were the only ones who wrote in time for me to see it today and I got really excited for mom! HOORAY! And Dad´s really made me emotional. I am so grateful that even in the moments that I don´t think I´m doing enough, just being here has been an immense blessing for my family and that´s all that I could hope for in the world. It reminded me of Elder Holland´s talk from priesthood session saying that in our family WE SERVE MISSIONS. We can say that. Mom and Dad in Mexico, DAnny in Brasil, me in Argentina, Ruth, Brett and Sam.....TBA. And my parentals will be companions in some not-so-distant future wherever the Lord needs them. I LOOOOVE IT! SISTERS and COUPLES are missionaries too :) Everyone within hearing range of the Prophet can answer his call. I know that today we have a prophet, a modern-day servant of God that declares repentance to the children of God and a way we repent is to prepare ourselves NOW by learning more and applying the principles of the gospel and going out into the world to bring this truth to the WORLD. Like a stone cut out of a mountain without hands....until it fills the earth.

We are children of our Father, an army of His sons and daughters.

We are here to serve our King, children of the Most High. And this is good news that we bring, as we labor gladly bringing souls to Christ!

I can´t believe that I didn´t write last week about the Pinto´s. We had lunch with them last Sunday (as we do every other Sunday) and had a great time again. We had an exchange of desserts, sharing recipes (which Hna Pinto appreciates but I think her husband appreciates it MORE :) ) and eating delicious things. One I’ll have to make for you Mom because it´s a coconut milk thing with JELLO which just happens to be one of the BEST combos this little missionary has ever seen!! SOO GOOD! I´ve been craving jello ever since.....I’ve got to make some...

So with the Pinto´s, I don´t know if I mentioned how much Hno Pinto loves critters. But not cute little critters like, awww, cute. But the hairy, crawly, possibly dangerous things like tarantulas and scorpions. So the things, I’m sorry, the spiders, shed their skin, right? And Hno Pinto saves them. He brought some out to show us. He was super excited about it and we HAD to let him show them off because we do so many girly things we have to give him a Man Moment. So he had the skin of one out and Hna Dunn asked if she could just hold it. Hno Pinto placed it in her hand and it was fine for a minute until.....AHHH! She screamed a weird, disturbing scream that I´ve never heard before and threw the skin on the table. I don´t blame her for freaking out but I knew myself better than even touching it. haha it was super funny. We had a good laugh. I MIGHT tape one of those skins into my memory book just to always remember that great moment.

Oh hey........HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It´s super weird that this week will be all kinds of festivities and it will be just another day here......haha AND that it´s now climbing into the 80´s and we are starting to bake! It´s going to be another WEIRD mission-flavored holiday season. PRIME family togetherness time...for those who don´t all LEAVE. Did I mention that last year? All the people who CAN, LEAVE BS AS and move to cooler or less crowded places for a month or two starting in January. It´s crazy.

Oh quick things before I forget, we made CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! I know that doesn´t sound so amazing but for a person who is starting to have all her favorite things be ARGENTINE.....we´re talking about having a truly wonderful USA moment. Seriously, when people ask me if there are foods and things I miss from home....I can´t remember. Everything I like or like to eat are now  Argentine. Haha But the chocolate chip cookies were a great little love bubble from home.

We had a great Sunday yesterday. I really love this ward. It´s small, but powerful and full of so many rockstars. I love them! Hna Chávez, Hna Amparo, Hna Gómez, Hna Aguilera, Hna Martínez and Hna Miño are some of them. These wonderful, wise women are great examples of faith, diligence, patience and love. They are at church always, sharing their testimonies through word and deed ALWAYS. I love these women so much and look up to them for all their hard work and dedication to the Lord. Sometimes they go to church alone, some are single, some are married with less active husbands or husbands who are not members of the Church. Yet, they are strong and determined. They uphold their beliefs and feed and grow their testimonies week after week. I LOVE THEM!

Hey question: mom do you have a recipe for cranberry relish?? I want to see it that´s something that I can find all the ingredients for here.. Thanks!

I know that this church is true. I love the Lord and thank Him every day for the wonderful opportunity that is REPENTANCE. It´s a HAPPY thing. It means that we can change. It means that we can achieve a lasting happiness and be at peace. What a marvelous thing.

I know that my Savior lives. I know that because He lives, we have hope. We have hope of a brighter today and a better tomorrow. We can be forgiven of our past and be made clean.

Missionary work is the lifeblood of the Church. Without it, we wouldn´t have ANY OTHER organization. The Relief Society, Young Men and Young Women´s organizations and Primary would be for naught. There wouldn´t be people to fill the seats. I love all of you for supporting the Work this way and for preparing for your own dedicated service. If was easy, it wouldn´t be hard. :) The things that are worth it are hard. They require sweat and smiles.

Do we still have that refrigerator magnet that says that? Look for it. Maybe it´s long gone... anyway, it was a good one.

I love you all

I gotta go. We have to live up this day like there is no tomorrow!!!

Love, love, love you!!

Mwah!

Until next week.

Hermana Gonzalez

ps. does the book of Mormon get printed in Creole?? Could you look for that next time you are in the distribution center. Also in Bambara. Long shot but just curious. Creole from Haiti, Bambara in Mali, Africa.

Thanks LOVE Love!!

10 am same day-  As I was writing President.​...

I thought of all the amazingness of this week that I forgot to share!

We have been receiving little tender mercies everywhere. When I got here, I don´t remember if I mentioned how hard it was to find people at home, even members and ESPECIALLY the recent converts. A lot of the recent converts, about 90% of the last 2 months are not active. It was really hard for the elders who have asked us about them to hear that we hadn´t been able to contact them or that when we had contacted them, they didn´t want to receive us BUT things have changed.

It´s like we had to struggle a lot to learn how to love and appreciate these people that we didn´t know but that needed our help. It´s hard to love a person immediately upon meeting them or just seeing their name, but we prayed to have Christ-like love, to have charity toward them. Now, almost 3 months later, I have met and LOVE all but 3 of these, the newest members here in Congreso. Yesterday was amazing. We met for the first time Elena and Roque. They are GREAT. I was really hesitant to go and didn´t have much hope (my poor lack of faith) that they would even be home but the minute we rang the doorbell, Hna Elena came out and seeing her was like seeing Grandma. No kidding. I loved her immediately and just couldn´t stop smiling at her. She got emotional at the end of our visit when I expressed that love and asked us when we were coming back. This from a woman who just a month ago said that she didn´t want us to come and would never let us in because we were women. (She was trying to protect us from her 4 very big, very wild sons) Now, we are just flying on cloud 9 and this week is looking to be the best yet here in Congreso! LOVE IT!

Right after this great experience, we saw a young family headed out of their apt building for a Sunday walk (it was REAALLLY humid and hot yesterday so no one stayed inside really) The little baby boy in the stroller was staring at us and following us with his very intelligent eyes. So we smiled at him and stopped to shake his cute little hand. He looked at my planner in my hand, on the front of which is a great picture of Christ kneeling and holding children with angels above them. (fav) He held his chubby little arms out for it and I handed it to him. He took it, looked at it and stroked it lovingly. Then he turned it over stared at the other side where I have a picture from the sacred grove (thank you Ensigns!) He and we had this wonderful moment to appreciate how the children recognize Christ and His light. We talked to little Mariano´s parents, invited them to church and set up an appointment to see them next week. They said they had been looking for a church but worked so much, the one day they have off, SUNDAY, they didn´t have time to really go look for one. So, the Lord put us there and little Mariano to find them and give them the information they needed. What a tremendous blessing!

Things like that happen all the time. Sometime, I’ll tell y´all all about them. :)