I loved hearing about how you're all
doing! I don't know why but it made me super happy today. Maybe because
I've thought about you a LOT this week. I was so excited to hear about
Justin's baptism!! That's awesome. Often times when I babysat the
McDonald's he was playing with Steven. He's a good kid. That's so cool
that you got to baptize him, dad!! You are such a great example for the
young men in our ward. They all admire and look up to you so much..as do
I!! Glad to hear Kimberly is doing well in TDT and school. Matthew,
chapter 4 is a beast. I remember well. Good luck, bud!! You can do it!
Emily...well, I've never written a 30 page paper...but I assume it's
less than enjoyable. I hope you're enjoying school. You're getting
pretty close to finals aren't you? Just a few weeks away if I remember
correctly? How many games does Craig have left? Still cheering from
Argentina:) Good luck this week!
This week has been one giant test of patience. Okay,
so I think that's how you spell patience but I'm not
sure...pacience...patients...
This week Elder Acuña and Elder Verges had two baptisms. Mario and
Gabriel. They are friends that the Elders taught. Maybe...25ish years
old. Elder Verges asked me to play the piano so I did prelude and we
sang Nearer My God to Thee and Choose the Right for the opening and
closing songs. Earlier that afternoon, Hermana Cortes and I made
cookies...wait for it...but not just any cookies. We made North American
cookies. The cookies here in Argentina are wayyy different. No one makes
cookies from scratch, so it was like Christmas for all the Argentines.
So funny. Everyone was obsessed. They weren't even that good because the
brown sugar here is super sketchy and you can only buy baking soda in
pharmacies here. What the?! Also, no chocolate chips, so we used
"rocklets" which are basically m&m's but the Argentine version. Good
times. It was really fun though. We had to cook them in the church
since we don't have a kitchen. Oh, and the oven? You can't set it at a
certain temperature because it's a fire underneath the boards so baking
them was quite the adventure. Anyway, the baptism was great. It's days
like those that make all the hard times worth it. Even though it wasn't a
baptism of someone we have been teaching, we're all working together in
the same work. We're all on the same team striving for one goal, and
that is to bring Heavenly Father's children back to His presence. Such a
special day:)
It is so hot here. Holy nutso. It's definitely
warmer than 70 degrees, but I never know for sure because everything is
in celsius. So frustrating. I'm starting to get the hang of it...but
really, fahrenheit is so much easier. It makes so much more sense.
Anyway, we all know that there's no central heating in
Argentina...well...the same applies for air conditioning. Non-existent.
So we're pretty much hot all the time. I've got nabby tan lines on my
feet from my grandma shoes...like really bad. Oh well, what can ya do?
But really, I'm glad it's warm and not cold:) It's still super windy, so
that helps us to not die everyday.
This week was the first experience with bugs...to be
more specific...BED BUGS! yayyy. I've got several bites on my legs from
bedbugs...and I'm using my spray...but I'm probably gonna have to find
something here as well that will help. Sweet.
This last week on Tuesday
we had zone conference with President and Sister Rogers. Trelew North
and Trelew South were there...which means Hermana Kuhn!! It was sooo
good to see her. We sat next to each other and tried to be reverent:)
But the zone conference was amazing. President Rogers is so great...plus
he's got a cackle that just might be able to beat Jilene Mecham.
PRICELESS. Never gets old. Hermana Rogers is so sweet and takes really
good care of the Hermanas:) I absolutely ADORE her.
And now...I know the only thing you really want to
hear about is the PENGUINS!! On Thursday morning President Rogers took
all the missionaries in Trelew to see the penguins in Punta Tombo. It
was about a 2 hour drive, but President Rogers said that he wants to
make sure that we get to see the sites while we're here since lots of us
won't be able to come back to our missions. Anyway, all the Hermanas
drove in the car with President and his wife. The Elders all had to take
a bus. Hahahaha. Let's just say that buses here are worse than the
white roller coaster at Lagoon. So bumpy. Anyway, we went through a
visitors center and then went to see the penguins. All of them are Magellan penguins, and there are hundreds...probably thousands of
penguins everywhere you look. We had marked trails that we had to stay
on, but there were penguins within 5 feet of us at times. Plus, they can
walk wherever so they would walk across the trail (kind of like the
bufalo in Yellowstone!! DREAM COME TRUE. you all know how much I love it
when we have to stop the car for the bufalo...this time it was for the
penguins:)) Anyway, they were everywhere with their nests. We saw lots
of eggs and when we finally got to the ocean, there were lots chillin'
on the beach or playing in the water. It was sooo pretty there. I got
lots and lots of pictures, but it was a moment that I really wanted to
share with my family. It's absolutely beautiful there:) Anyway, it was
awesome. We ate lunch at a restaurant, and then we got back in the car
and enjoyed a nice siesta:) Every single missionary was passed out, in
our car and in the bus of Elders. Too funny...okay so I know that last
week I mentioned 101 Dalmatians...but I have to reference it again. You
know the scene where all the puppies go to the barn and drink the milk
and then the next scene is the parents looking at all the sleeping
puppies? Yep, that was us with President and Sister Rogers. Hahaha.
Oh, do you know what? Next week...well Saturday...I
am teaching English!! My companion signed me up. I never agreed...and
I'm not sure how I feel about it seeing as I don't know the grammar
rules of English...but we'll see what happens. One hour on Saturdays
from now on. I guess it'll be fun?
I got to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting yesterday
about missionary work along with Hermana Cortes and Elder Verges.
Terrifying, but it went well. The members here are so incredibly
supportive. They are so loving and kind...especially toward the
Hermanas. They all call me "hermanita" and they call us "las estrellas"
(the stars) because it's been so long since they've had sister
missionaries. I think the Elders secretly resent us a little bit for
it:) hahaha jokes jokes, but really. Everyone in the ward jumps at any
chance to do something to help the Hermanas. These people are wonderful.
Also, you should know that every day at lunch with the members they
pray for you. It always makes me want to cry. It's hard being away from
home and away from our families, and they know that. They always pray
for your safety, well-being, and happiness. It's the sweetest thing. I
think the members here pray for you more than I do!! Well...probably
not..but they do pray for you a lot:)
I was a little bit sad to hear that Bugs
died....(Hercules is the little one) but I must say it was about time. I
hope you said something kind before flushing him down the toilet.
Mom, you were wondering about Hermana Cortes. She's awesome. She's from Colombia. She's 21 years old (turns 22 on November 27th).
She is the only member of her family. She was introduced to the church
at age 17, but had to wait until she was 18 to baptize because her
parents wouldn't give her permission. She helps me so much. She's really
sweet, but just like all the women here, she has a very strong
personality and is not afraid to ask favors or say what she thinks.
Luckily, she seems to like me so we get along just fine:)
Anyway, I hope you're all doing really well! I love
you so much. Thank you for all your prayers and your support. It means
the world to me!! Today we're going to Trelew to play with all the
missionaries. Should be fun...and Hermana Kuhn will be there! She is
doing really well.
Have a fantastic week!!
I love you forever and always!!
Hermana Heath
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