Two baptisms and five birthday cakes - July 30, 2012

Well, I love the mission. I'm preparing to come home (July 15th!!) mentally and made lots of goals. But, I still have 2 weeks left and I am going to love and live every second of it.

Marcos Vilela and Marcela Quiroga entered the waters of baptism this last Saturday. Amazing. Future families sealed in the temple. Ruben Flores, our recent convert did the baptism. The ward is on fire :) Amazing last baptisms.....

It was my bday this week. Hna Lino was the 26th, mine the 27th. We went to visit the members and found out that there had been FIVE birthday cakes made for us in different families. That's what you get for being close to the members- 3 pounds of birthday cake goes straight to the hips :)

We just got to San Rafael. Mixed emotions, but great to be in my favorite area of all time. It should be a BLAST this week!! 

I love you all........

Alma 28:14 And thus we see the great call of adiligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing梥orrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the blight of Christ unto life.

-- 
Hermana Emily Thatcher
Mission Argentina Mendoza



Cake 1



Cake 2



Cake 3




Cake 4



Godoy Cruz Mendoza, first stop‏ - July 23, 2012

Family and Friends.

I am tired. But HAPPY. SUPER HAPPY. Traveling is kind of like a mix of
a few things....

1) Camping (living out of an even smaller suitcase than the normal
mission one. you sleep on the floor with cheap air mattresses).
2) Girls Camp. It´s like being a JC for about 1 month straight. We
stay up later, wake up earlier, all to serve and help the hermanas. We
have planned fun stuff for the trips to get the sisters pumped to love
Mision Mendoza and being a missionary
3) An amazing but very tiring vacation. Everyone loves to see you, but
you want your own bed after a few days.

So this week Pte Avila assigned me to work with Hermana Call (my 3rd
¨daughter on the mission¨) and Hermana Salcedo ( my nieta from Hna
dana) in Godoy Cruz Centro Barrio. It was hard work but fun. Hermana
Salcedo is from Peru and a little older and Hna Call, well she is
amazing, I know her too well. We had lots of work to do to find new
investigators and get to know the members, but we did lots of work.
The area is lots on downtown so very different, but great. Pte Avila
gave me specific things to teach and help them with, the they were
great. Hermana Bedke worked with the hermanas in a neighboring area-
Trapiche Godoy Cruz. All 6 of us were in the pension! What a party! I
learned a ton from them and they have great investigators.

We got all the hermanas that are close to Mendoza together for a big
pday at the famous monument ¨Cerro de la Gloria¨. Don´t have the group
pic yet but I have some. It was a blast!!! We made our ¨Title of
Libert¨ flag to rise up on the hill. President Monson said ¨Captain
Moroni had courage as he faced challenges. He loved truth, liberty,
and faith. He devoted his life to helping the Nephites preserve their
freedom. You can be like Captain Moroni by facing your challenges with
courage. You can even make your own title of liberty by writing on the
flag below or on a separate piece of paper the things that are
important to you and your family.¨Alma 46 says

12 And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece
thereof, and wrote upon it—aIn memory of our God, our religion, and
freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it
upon the end of a pole.

13 And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his
shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the
pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it
the title of liberty) and he cbowed himself to the earth, and he
prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon
his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christiansremain to
possess the land—

Make a title of things you love and will fight for. We right now are
fighting and loving to make this mission better!! Read about the Cerro
de la Gloria en Mendoza!

So we are off to SAN LUIS!!! I talked Pte Avila into letting us go
there since Marcos is getting baptized this weekend! :)

Love you all. Hna Bedke is AMAZING!!!! Super paciente and an all star
missionary. From Bakersfield Cali!!



Me and Hermana Bedke



Cerro de la Gloria



Condor



End of Transfer

  

Familia Castillo



Familia Romero





Gloria

 

Godo and Cruz Hermanas


 

Good-bye Party!



Marcos and Anina





The offices



San Luis Transfer 11



Our Title of Liberty



The Totem Pole!

Hermano Yao and Hermana Lino



Zone Leaders



Dreams come true. Especially in the service of the Lord - July 16, 2012

Well, this week has been one of the most reflective weeks I have had on the mission. Let me explain....

1) Zone Conference. It was the best one I have every been to. Pte Avila spoke a lot about obedience and faith, Hna Avila spoke, his daughters sang, Santiago his son (11yrs) did practices with us. From 9:30am to 7:30 pm, what a spiritual fire hose! What an amazing family the Avilas are. I feel like they are my family too. The nurse of the mission, Elder Ence, and his wife who got here in January gave their testimonies in broken Spanish and made me cry. We all had a testimony meeting to finish with. I didn't realize it was my last zone conference, so as tradition is, they ask the missionaries who just got here and who are going home to give their testimonies. It hit me. I hadn't really been thinking about home but I realized my time is running out. I realized the best thing that has happened in my life was about to run out....I gave my testimony struggling to not cry. 

2) President Avila came up to me while I was sitting down in a break between zone conference. He asked me if I wanted to pack my bags. I first was a little sad thinking ¨Well, finish the mission in a new area, oh well¨. But then he said I would be packing to travel around the mission! Hermana Bedke and I will we working in Maipu Mendoza and traveling to train the other hermanas and help them with their baptisms. What a dream!! My whole mission I have wanted to be able to do this (hermana Anderson and I planned it all out but never happened...) but now President Avila for the first time will call Hermanas to travel. I feel super humbled for such a great opportunity and amazing way to finish the mission. ( Plus to be able to see my converts before I leave in every area). I still can´t believe it!! 

3) Marcos Vilela came up to us Sunday after church, and in his quiet shy voice said... ¨Hermanas, yo decidi a bautizarme. El 28 de Julio. Yo quiero que Ruben Flores lo haga¨. And to you that don´t speak Spanish..it means he decided and prayed to know if he should get baptized and got his answer. We have been visiting him with Ruben, who had a similar story (his wife and family were members of the church but he wasn't until recently) and he has stopped smoking and wants to be baptized. Hna Lino and I jumped and cried and ran to tell the Bishop. It is huge for the ward and for their family because it could mean a lot of future baptisms because he in a house behind his family who all are awesome people too who coulnd in the future accept the gospel. Plus, he will be a great future priesthood holder. So...what more can one ask for? The recent convert who recently got the Melchizedek priesthood to baptize your future family sealed in the temple! WOW blessings!!!

Sooo....... things are great. Sorry Mom and Dad, not ready to come home yet. I have 4 weeks left in the best mission in the word........

-- 
Hermana Emily Thatcher

Misión Argentina Mendoza



Elder Yao's Birthday!



Carla and Leticia Avila



President & Hermana Avila and family




Grafitti Bridge

 

Hermana Avila



Lunch with the Bishop




Micaela



Welcome to Zone Conference

Happy Argentine Independance Day‏! - July 9, 2012

9 DE JULIO!!!!

Hello Friends and Family!! I have been super busy (and perhaps a little lazy) to write a letter to the family. Sorry! I am still in San Luis, 4 months now I have been here. I love everything about it. It is still relatively warm here. It is like Chicago, super windy. So when it is windy- it is a terror to walk in but we still obviously go out. I am staying warm with my heavy Chronicles of Narnia jacket. I have gotten a lot of comments on it. I laugh and say thanks but in the back of my mind think ¨ I bought this old thing for $20 at the DI and probably belonged to an old dead guy¨. The mission is still fun, even 17 months into it :)

So let me tell you about the three investigators that are progressing the most right now:

1) Marcos. He and his wife Yanina ( who is a member who recently came back to activity in the church) are a young married couple with two little kids. He is in the army, and his dad served in the Islas Malvinas war. He is super timid but is making tons of progress. He has almost completely stopped smoking his previous 20 cigarretes a day and is slowly and surely gaining his testimony through prayer and reading. A million of missionaries have worked with him but Yanina says that Hna Lino and I are the ¨chosen ones¨ for him. We´ll se, I don´t believe it but I do feel super happy he is going to church and preparing for baptism.

2) Mariel. She is a young college study studying BioChemistry. She is a roomate of a member here and is progressing fast. She is reading the book of Mormon and is in love with it. She is from Entre Rios (a province about 15 hrs away) and recently went home for ¨winter break ¨ here but when she gets back, I am sure she will be ready to rock and roll.

3) Sasha. She is the daughter of a recent convert of about a year. 11years old and is the province champion in figure skating (but they do it here with roller skates on a basketball court...cool huh?)  She SHOULD GET BAPTIZED THIS WEEKEND!!! And thus will end the 2 month drought of no baptisms :) She is a sweetheart and is learning very quickly. 

This week should be great. This Thursday we have Zone Conference and Pte and Hna Avila are coming. We spent most of today cleaning the pension because she is coming to check it.....rutt roohh. This week all the students have off so we set up a few days with divisiones with the young women which should be good. I love to call them and show them what the mission is so they one day will plan to serve too. Transfers are in less than a week so by next email I should be able to tell you who the lucky last companion is. I am praying it is Hna Dana. We will see....president owes me haha maybe it will happen. 

Gotta go, the field is white and ready to harvest. Plus we rented a basketball court for the afternoon haha :) Love you all



Julieta. She is the bishop´s daughter. She is the cutest baby and mission rules, we cant hold babies. But we couldnt withstand, so we took a couple pictures with her for like 30 seconds each.



Mexican Restaurant. It was Elder Passantino´s birthday so we found a mexican place. 

I got nachos and almost cried when I ate refried beans tortilla chips and salsa, something I havent tasted in 1.5 years!!

 

Sasha in her house after a lesson



Mariel and Yanina (her roomate who is a member) after we made empanadas together and read the scriptures.



More Photos - Not Enough Time to Write - June 25, 2012

Me and Jackson's (my dog) girlfriend



Playing Uno




Working on the lay-ups





Dr. Thatcher




They have "Gangsta" going on here too




Argentines love their wine!




Jumping Again!!!??!!!