Transfers......kind of haha‏ September 26, 2011



Heating water for the font




Filling the Font



Hola ALL!!

So, crazy news. I looked at my mission call and I am pretty sure I missed the fine print that read:

¨Hermana Emily C. Thatcher, you have been called to serve the Lord in the Argentina Mendoza Mission¨
 
(Barrio I San Rafael)

Haha, just kidding. But yes, we got transfer calls and I am staying here!  But by the time I am done with this transfer, I will have spent half of my mission in San Rafael. Another 6 weeks here. I was a little suprized and am going to find some special people that obviously I didnt find or baptize the last 6 months. I am going to find people like ¨Where´s Waldo¨ but more like ¨Where are the Lord´s Chosen¨ in this beautiful area.

This weekend, another daughter in Flia Gonzalez´s family got baptized. The parents now no longer want to get married so I am really bummed but we will keep working. Funny story on the baptism this weekend. Brisa, is 9 years old. She is loud and very outgoing. But, when it came time to get in the fount, she cried like a baby and refused to get in. We waited for 5 or more minutes until I thought  ¨well maybe if I get in with her since she trusts and loves me, she will feel more comfortable¨. So I walked down into the fount until the second to the last step barefoot with her to then hand her off to Marcelo Garrido and he baptized her very quickly. We also closed the baptism doors so the witnesses where behind me because she was so nervous. In the end, it was an awesome experience. I learned a lot and it is fun to laugh about now. A few of the elders from our zone went to support us and they joke that that is the closest a Hermana has come to baptizing haha.

So, springtime is wonderful here. I have major allergies to some kinds of plants that obviously are not in the states or maybe is it from walking in dirt all day, who knows. I really am enjoying myself a lot. Hermana Wilde is going to San Juan so I am sad because she is one of my closest friends but Hna Anderson is training and her new companion will be here Wed. which is exciting for her.

Love you family and friends,

Hermana Thatcher

Baptism! - September 19, 2011

Hola Family and Friends!!

It has been an amazing week. WOW. I am exhausted. Week of a baptism is way more stressful. But, one more soul is saved here in San Rafael. And three more are planned for next week.

Romina is the oldest daughter of Familia Gonzalez. She was the most ready to make the step on baptism. But, we have the invitations ready and poor thing, Friday night she got super sick with high fever. She still wanted to do it, which we were very happy. The longer time you wait for a baptism, the longer time Satan has to try to mess it up. So we knew the water heater in the fount was broken and it was supposed to be fixed. Well, Saturday afternoon when we were supposed to start filling it, the repair man called and said he didn't fix it. So, we went to all the member's houses around the church (which really isn't that close) and collected big pots. We spent the whole afternoon filling the fount and we studied as we waited anxiously.

The night time came and although the water was very low, the baptism continued. We asked Marcelo Garrido (the father of the family we just baptized) to perform the baptism because he received the priesthood 3 weeks ago. He was stoked and very nervous. He said the prayer 4 times before he got it completely right and baptized her twice. She was a great sport about it though. Everything turned out beautifully. Her younger sister Brisa was there watching (and waiting for her turn next week) and the other two kids that are going to get baptized next week (Ruben, family friend of Familia Garrido, 12yrs old and Agustina, 9 years old). 

I sometimes wonder why I have had such success with children. I really hated babysitting when I was younger, which my Mom can attest to. So it is weird really. We have great adult investigadors too, just all of them are taking a long time to decide to be baptized. Children are pure and have great faith. My zone leader Elder Gonzalez told me this week " I think God is preparing you to be a great mother". I thought about that for a long time. I believe it is true.

President Hinckley gave a quote
"Many young women are serving missions and many more are preparing to serve, not because they aren't married or have nothing else to do, but because they have the desire to serve and therefore are being called to the work. The reason there are so many going is because in the next generation Heavenly Father will be sending his Priesthood army to the Earth and he wants to send them to mothers who have been properly trained and taught in the gospel, and what better training can a young woman have than that of serving a mission". 

I am so so grateful that God prepared me my whole life to do His work. I love it. It is very hard but I wouldn't be anywhere else in the world. I am grateful for the blessing and responsibility to teach the children and adults here. Pray that this week we can bless the lives of these kiddos, because they this gospel.

Pictures wont load this week. Lots next week!!


Love, Emily

SPRINGTIME!!! - September 12, 2011



Augustina




My Smily Pizza



Kids from the Primary Program



Fried Blood Sausage



Acting like Utah Girls



The girls here still love Justin Beiber


HOLA~!

Here we have another week that passed by very quickly. Always the end of the transfer goes by really fast. This week was CRAZY!!! Here is why...

1) I learned lesson about poverty. Our area is very mixed. We have people who drive Mercedes Benz and then some who cannot afford a bicycle. It keeps you on your toes, because each person has very different needs. One of the families we are teaching, the parents we not progressing much and looked always distracted and stressed. Then as we were leaving the lesson on Saturday, one of the daughters ran up to us and asked us if we had any food because they hadn't had any for a while and the dad wasn't getting paid for a few days. My heart broke. They have 5 kids under the age of 12. I had never seen them eating, and the time we brought them snacks they ate like there was no tomorrow, because there really wasn't. I wasn't paying good attention. We went to the grocery store and I used my money to buy the basics for them. They probably weren't progressing because they didnt have food in their stomachs and were so stressed financially, they couldn't think about anything else. I went to a member's house to eat "canalones" a lasagna crepe yummy dinner and my stomach felt sick. I felt so bad for these people I loved who had nothing when I was eating a king's dinner. Be grateful for the food you have, the spare change you have on your dresser, because many have none. Poverty is real. 

2) We found a GOLDEN INVESTIGATOR named Viviana. She has been through the ugliest and hardest situations I think this life can throw someone. I thought Law and Order SVU was complicated, just wait til you hear it real life. She came to church this week and knows it is true. It is amazing how prepared she is!! I have never know someone who lived all the commandments and knew certain principles were true before we even explained them to her. Please pray for her. She has lots of anti Mormon friends and got a little worried this weekend. We will work with her this week and hopefully get her baptized this weekend or next. 

3) The primary program was this week. I guess it has been a while since they had one because they never have enough kids. I was about as proud and happy as a missionary could be  this Sunday. Seven out of the nine kids in the primary programs were my recent converts and they sung and gave their talks beautifully!! I felt so much joy. It was such a strong testimony that God is sending down very strong spirits in these last days to prepare his way. They all wore missionary tags and committed to prepare for missions!! Yeah whooo!!! 

So it is finally warm here. My missionary tan has already begun and I love it. San Rafael is now my second home, I will have a hard time leaving. God loves me so much, every day I can barely believe it! Keep strong! Til next week!! 

Pics>
1) Agustina. Granddaughter of a menos activo. She is a love bug and reminds me a lot of Aubrey although she is 2 years younger.
2) We fasted and then made our personal pizzas. mine was happy >)
3) The kiddos in the primary program!!
4) This is or was the grossest thing so far I have eaten here. I shouldn't of asked why the sausage was black but out of curiosity I did. Fried pig blood covered in stomach to keep it all together. Yuck. 
5) Hermana Anderson, Wilde and I posing as Utah girls....just having fun
6) We did a family home evening last week and Nazalena and her friend had to show me their love for Justin Bieber. I guess he is even famous here haha


Love,
Hermana Thatcher

Septiembre en San Rafael - Sept.5, 2011

Well, sorry for not writing last week everyone. Our email time has been cut down and sometimes I run out of time. Hermana Dana and I are doing great! The weather is finally warming up and it makes things a lot better. I got 2 winters in a row (Utah, and then here since seasons are opposite) so I am SUPER happy to see some sun finally.

 

Our investigators are doing great. Last week we saw a lot of miracles. Here is one that happened with the Familia Gonzales (mother, father, 5 kiddos ages 12, 11, 9, 3, 2). They said that they were going to be out of town Sunday and we were very sad. They had been to church once but to get them more prepared for baptism, they really needed to assist again. We walked really far to pick up another investigator Natalia, but she said she was ¨¨leaving out of town¨ so we were really bummed. I had a very strong feeling to walk to Flia Gonzalez´s house and that they were there even though we would be late for church. We knocked, and THEY WERE THERE! They had gotten home at 2 in the morning. I pumped them up and told them to hurry and get dressed, they could obviously go back to sleep after church haha. So they all threw on some clothes and it was 5 minutes before sacrament meeting started and we were 45 minutes walking away. I had put cash in my pocket in the morning, not really sure why. Well it was exactly enough for us to call a taxi and arrive at church, only about 7 minutes late! Not sure why I had thought I needed cash, but the Holy Ghost made me think to bring it. So that is only one of the miracles of the mission this week. 

 

Romina, Joni, and Brisa could be entering the waters of baptism this week. The parents are not married (like about 75% of the people living together here) so we are going to get them married and baptized just like Flia Garrido. I feel I have been left here this transfer specifically for this family. It takes over a month to start the marriage process so I might not see the fruits of the labor, but I know I am here for a reason. Hermana Dana and I are growing a lot and she is already an amazing missionary,

 

Here is the news on our converts (which make up about half the congregation). Lucia and Agustina have read the Book of Mormon together out loud for over a month straight and love the primary songs. Their mom is following their example slowly. Marcelo Garrido passes the sacrament every week. Marcelo Jr, their olderst son turns 12 this month and is anxious to be a deacon. Their younger girls got a name and a blessing yesterday in sacrament meeting. Lautaro and Nazalena are amazing and helping their mom (who was less active) everyday and have become the strength of the ward. The mom just got called as young women´s president, but when we taught her kids she was smoking and hadn't been to Church. The gospel changes lives!

 

Well, that is all for this week. We did lots of family home evenings and had lots of fun playing ultimate frisbee with the Elders today. Keep strong, the church is true no matter how many miles you are from Utah haha! The Lord lives, He blesses us everyday- you just have to be grateful and find the tender mercies in the day!

 

Love,

Hermana Thatcher

 



Frizbee in the Park on P-Day




Posing during the game



Football with the Garridos

Family Home Evening with the Garridos



Hermana Football




Ping Pong




Me and Hermana Dana