HAPPY NEW YEARRRR!!

Hola Querida Familia!!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas because I sure did!! It was sooo good to see your lovely faces last week! It made me soo happy. The bad news is that it made me miss you...but it's okay. Things are back to normal now :)

So, Christmas Eve. After talking with you we went to the chapel and hung out with the Elders. We played games, talked, sang some songs, and filled each other in on how our families were doing. It was a lot of fun. At 8:00PM we went to the radio with some ward members and sang...yep...on the RADIO. No big deal or anything...It was pretty sweet. Hahaha...Hermano Chemin knows EVERYONE.  After, we went to the house of the Chemin Family. Gustavo Parra (ward member - 27 years old ish) and his mom (inactive) were there as well. We started out by painting our nails with the Mayor girls. I was THRILLED as I'm sure you can imagine. My poor finger nails have been completely neglected for the last 3 months. Welp, then we decided to let the boys join us and we played some card games...uno and chancho...which is pretty much spoons Argentina style...in other words...it's crazy :) Hahaha...it was such a fun night. At 11:00PM we ate asado. DELICIOUS. At midnight we drank something I'm not sure what (sounds sketchy...but it was non-alcoholic I promise) and then we went outside and the whole town of Rawson erupted with fireworks. IT WAS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. Sign me up for Christmas in Argentina every year. Seriously, fireworks lit up the sky in every direction I looked. After watching the fireworks for a bit, we went inside and sang some Christmas hymns. It was really neat. Then, get this, the Mayor family car wouldn't start...soo we called a taxi. 45-60 minute wait. Well, it was already 12:30AM. So, we walked back to our pension with an army of people. The whole Mayor family including some aunts and cousins, and the Parra Family. We sang Christmas hymns the whole way. We got back safely to our apartment and went to bed quite exhausted, but very very happy!! Sleeping in until 8:30AM was the BEST EVER! I think it's safe to say that's the latest I've ever slept in on Christmas morning...

Christmas day, we went to the church at 10:00AM and hung out with the Elders all morning. Ping-pong tournament...don't worry Matthew...I didn't let you down. I DOMINATED. :) Then we had TIM TAM SLAMS. Courtesy of the Heath Family. So yummy. Thank you so much for the package again!! I have very much enjoyed my favorite chocolates :) At around 2:00PM we went to the Chemin's house in Playa and had lunch...wanna know what we ate? Lamb. Yep. LAMB. Two of them. Apparently it's tradition here. I tried not to freak out and only half succeeded. Good thing the only ones that noticed were the Elders. They thought it was hilarious and kept asking me if I wanted more right when Hermano Chemin was coming around with the plate of lamb just loud enough for him to hear and throw some more on my plate. I was ready to strangle all of 'em...but I didn't. They think they're soooo funny. Hahaha. Welp. After eating the Chemin family got into a huge water fight which started outside and eventually came inside. Yep...inside the house. Buckets of water. The hose. No big deal. The six of us missionaries hid in the corner watching and laughing...most of all dying to participate. It was hilarious. Everyone was SOAKED by the time they were finished. So was the floor in the house. Good thing Argentines don't believe in carpet. Then they had karaoke and dancing. Such fun traditions. It was an awesome day. A very Merry Christmas in Rawson Argentina :)

This week we had a district meeting with our zone leaders present. It was soo good. I admire our zone leaders so much. They talked about the importance of BEING missionaries, not just doing what missionaries do. They shared thoughts about how we can really love and feel what we're doing all day every day. Then Elder Elliz asked us about our experiences in the mission so far, and what our goals are for 2014. It was a really cool meeting. I love being a missionary. I've got loads to learn still, but it's coming. Slow and steady:)

This week we had 3 investigators come to church! Wahooooo! It was such a blessing. It's seriously the hardest thing to get people to wake up in the mornings. Mostly because people go to bed at 3AM, wake up at 11:00...and then take a siesta after lunch until 5:00PM. Crazy Argentines :) Haha...we're working on it. It's forming the habit. That's all.

We still don't know where we're going to spend New Years, but I think we're going to Trelew on New Years day to spend it with the zone. That's still two days away. We've got time :)

Welp, I hope you all have a very happy new year!! Remember to set goals!! :):):) Thank you so much for the pictures and the emails!! I don't have time to respond to all of them today, but I will next week I promise!! I love you all so much and I'm so incredibly thankful for your support and love. It makes all the difference because there are missionaries whose families don't agree with their decisions to serve missions. I can't imagine how hard that would be. I love you all and the church is true!!

Have a blessed week!

Forever and always,

Hermana Heath

 singing on the radio!!

 

tim tam slams!!

FEAST YOUR EYES!! Hermano Chemin and I...
and two lambs. yep...that's right.

FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!

Mi Querida Familia,

MERRRRRRRYY CHRISTMASSS!! I hope ya'll are planning an awesome Christmas Eve party:) I'm sooo excited for Christmas and I have no idea why...hahaha. Turns out we're NOT going to be spending Christmas Eve with the Chemin Family, but we will be celebrating with the Mayor Family. They're awesome. Unfortunately the Elders are going somewhere else I think. On Christmas day, as of right now, my district is staying in Rawson to spend the day together as a district and with the Chemin Family. We're soo excited! And yes, as a district we're going to have TIM TAM SLAMS!!! :) Thank you so much for the package!! I LOVED it. The candy Santa?! GENIUS. Sooo clever. Snickers and chocolate kisses. You know me too well. Thank you so so much!! The chocolate here is good, don't get me wrong, but it's different:) ...just like everything else. Hehe.

Welp. Where to begin. Last Monday we just hung out in the church as a district, ate some lunch together, played basketball, ping pong, and enjoyed a fun day of no work. Then we bought some ice cream. Good times. I looove p-days. Okay, I love all the days, but p-days are always a nice break:)

On Tuesday we had a district meeting and then we went (all six of us!) to eat lunch with the Nievas Family. It's always a blessing when we get to eat together as a district...as missionaries we have such unique relationships with each other. We're all far away from our families laboring in the same work. It's the best support system EVER. It's seriously like a family. There's a lot of love and occasionally some irritation. Hey remember when I used to say that I wanted more brothers? I take it back. One is enough:) Hahaa...so it's a good thing I got the best one in the world! I got a pretty good brother-in-law too. No complaints:) Speaking of brothers-in-law (which we only kind of were) here's a shout out to Em and Craig. Thanks for getting married in April. You have nooo idea how many times I've talked about my experience that day and borne my testimony about eternal families. It always makes me almost cry, and the people always feel the spirit. You guys are the best! Hahaha...but seriously. The personal experiences are what help the people the most. Have you noticed that in general conference the speakers always share a story about their life?? Yep. They're all super smart.

This week we found Natalia!! Her...husband is a member (not active) only he's not actually her husband... they just live together. BUT, she's listened to the missionaries before and has a sincere desire to be baptized. Her...husband-ish...is the brother of a member here. They just moved to Rawson last week. Member referrals are the BEST! We put a baptismal date before we even taught a lesson...come to think of it we didn't even pray. We just sang a Christmas hymn, talked about what we can give Jesus this Christmas, and she said, "Ojala que pueda bautizarme." (I hope I can get baptized!) Of course, that's every missionaries dream. Alright, no problem Natalia. We can arrange that. Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized.... YES! YES! YES! She said...alright. Now my companion and I thought we were dreaming for sure. She and her...husband...have talked and they're going to the registration office today to get everything taken care of so they can get married. She's gonna be baptized in January (if all goes according to plan! The 11th to be exact.) She is also 3 months pregnant. She's soo good. We also have daily contact with her which is so important!! Lots and lots of prayers heading in her direccion. They are gonna have lots of trials in the next few weeks...but keepin' the faith!

Ohhh!! Guess what?! On Friday night we had MOVIE NIGHT!! YAYYYY. Hahaha...we had a missionary family night in the church. We watched "the nativity" I think it's called. We ate popcorn and had a grand old time. It was a little weird sitting down to watch a movie..but it was a nice rest for our feet:) No AC, but the ceiling fans do an okay job of cooling us down...ish. Okay, so not really, but not complaining:)

Then on Saturday night we went CAROLING!! We had about 15 members and missionaries and we went to the terminal, a few shopping centers and super markets and we sang Christmas hymns! We all had Santa hats and it was good times. So much fun!! I officially LOVE caroling. Weird...I'm not sure I ever liked it so much before. Saturday we also had interviews with President and Hermana Rogers. We had to be in Trelew at 8:30AM. Ugh. That means we have to leave our pension at 7:30. That means we have to get ready really fast in the morning. BUT, it's okay because we ate facturas!! Which are basically Argentine donuts...except they don't compare to American donuts... but they're not really donuts actually so I don't know. They're really good though. It's more like croissants...with dulce de leche or some other filling. They're divine. Seriously, heaven in a...donut-ish thing. Then we had a Christmas devotional with the presidents. We sang all the Christmas hymns with lots of scriptures in between that tell the story of the Savior's humble birth. It was really cool. Then President Rogers talked about Christmas. He instructed us to miss our families just a little bit and then go to work. Pretty good advice I think. He encouraged us to focus a lot on how we can serve the people in our areas. I love love love President Rogers and I ADORE Hermana Rogers. They are so so good.

Last week we also had tramites which is paperwork basically for my VISA. Good times. Lies. It was miserable. We had to go to Trelew...again. We walked around for like 6 hours in the hot sun from place to place. I had to get finger printed...again. Is that the third time for me? Yep, I think so. But, I'm in the process of getting a permanent visa so that's good. We had a picnic in the park though. Our zone leaders bought us all sandwiches (bigger than subway..no joke) But we sat on the grass in the park and had a fun time. We opened my package from home...and then we went on our merry way. Unfortunately we still have more paperwork to do. It should be done in the next week or so though. 

Oh, and guess who I found? Mr. Saxton's twin. Yep, right here in Rawson Argentina. Am I freaked out? A little bit. It's seriously the weirdest thing ever. they look the same, talk the same...weird. Oh, also... I have officially seen the worlds ugliest dog...just if you wanted to know. And, the best part of this week? (I'm only half serious here) Not one, but TWO encounters with the worlds most famous boy band. That's right, One Direction. First, we heard Live While We're Young playing in a store, and then we were in a members house and the TV was on. Welp, lo and behold the Best Song Ever music video came on. MISSION MADE. Hahaha...it made my day.

Welp, have a blessed week and a very merry Christmas!! I'll miss you, but not really!! And...don't forget that we're gonna talk tomorrow!! yayyyy!! I'm super excited...until then...CHAU!!

Forever and Always,

Hermana Heath

Caroling with ward members in Rawson

Amigo invisible...secret santa in our district. Good times.

Argentine Sunsets!!

Me and my comp

Hermana Heath and Hermana Cortes

My district

Hermana Cortes and Hermana Heath at Punta Tombo,

the penguin colony

Punta Tombo - Hermana Cortes and I

 The hermanas in my zone...Craun, Heath,   ?   , and Cortes

I dreamed a dream...in SPANISH!!

Hola Family,

How's life?! Christmas is in 9 days? Woah. I forget that it's December because it's sooo hot. Like for reals, I forget. But, I have been counting down until I get to talk to all of you!! I would really appreciate it if you would try calling someone else on Skype and practice with everything so that we don't waste time trying to figure out how to communicate with each other. We only have an hour:) The headphones mean that I can only talk to one of you at a time?? Someone tell me everything in an email please!!

So, Christmas is coming. Everyone has cute little Christmas trees. Everyone except for us...that was until two days ago when the Velazquez Family gave us a Christmas tree with ornaments to set up in our apartment!! It's tinyyy but we LOVE it!! They also gave us some pan dulce and empanadas. Remember how I told you that the members here are amazing? Well, here's the proof. I love them.

Welp, it happened. I had a dream in Spanish. Weirdest thing ever. In the morning I couldn't believe it. In my dream we were sitting in the mission coordination meeting we have every week with Hermano Chemin and the missionaries and he was talking away in Spanish, same with the other missionaries...and guess what?! the coolest part?? I was too!! Hahaha...it was super weird, but really cool! Hahaa. I love learning Spanish. It's still coming definitely and there are lots of things that I don't know how to say, but it's coming:)

Mom! My package arrived!! Thank you so much!! Unfortunately, my zone leader Elder Holland still has it...it's been in Trelew for a week now. I'm sure I'll get it eventually...if he remembers to bring it to zone conference this next week. President is gonna be here and we're doing interviews this time around. I'm excited to see him and Hermana Rogers. They are seriously the best. I love them. Like really, I LOVE THEM. Oh, I also got a bunch of dear elders. One from mom, one from Miriam, and at the moment I can't remember from who else...hahaha...but thanks!!

So, this week we helped Hermana Isabel clean her yard again. It's still not done!! Haha...big job. She had an operation done on her shoulder because of some sort of paralysis in her arm and it's not really getting better. Sad day. Anyway, we helped her clear out some more juju...and there were tons of spiders. Big ones, small ones, some as big as your HEAD! Nasty. I'm telling you, they were everywhere. And you all know me with my spider senses. I always know when there's a spider near by. Sick and wrong I tell you. SICK and WRONG. I agree with nearly every one of God's creations, but the spiders absolutely not.

Yesterday we, the missionaries, sang in Church. We sang O come all ye faithful. In Spanish of course. It went really well!! Last night we had choir practice...more Christmas hymns!! and then the ward did a play about the birth of Jesus. It was awesome. They have been practicing for weeks. The kids sang, the adults acted. It was so neat!! After, papa noel came and visited us!! He gave candy to all the kids and then we all ate pan dulce and some Argentine treats. It was such a fun night. Christmas is coming!

Yesterday we also ate lunch with Gustavo and Fernanda Chemin...the son and daughter in law of Hermano Chemin. They have a little baby girl, Jasmin...like 18 months more or less and what can I say, she loves me:) Hahaa...every time she sees me she waves really big. It's sooo cute. I can't get over it. Fernanda always says that she only does that with me. Too cute. So yes, we had a grand old time together playing with all her toys. We ate meat. Big surprise, ya? The Chemin family is so good. So so good. I'm so excited that we get to spend Christmas Eve with them and the Elders. It'll be the closest thing to spending Christmas with all of you! They make up my amazing Argentine Family:) The love in my heart for these people. Ah!

So, last but not least, the sunsets in Argentina are the most beautiful in all the world. NO JOKE. Every night the sky is lit up with red and yellow and green and brown and scarlet and black and ocher and peach and ruby and olive and violet and mauve...and blue:) Haha...but seriously. It's sooo pretty. I love walking back to the pension at night and looking at the sky. You peeps are missin out :)

This week we had zone conference in Trelew. We talked about the Holy Ghost. It was awesome. We studied Chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel. Lots of really cool points which I will let you discover since I don't have much time. Basically, we cannot be effective missionaries, disciples, or teachers if we don't have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. The fastest ways we lose the Spirit are through contention and disobedience. Our zone leaders then focused on letting the Spirit direct the lesson and then we did lots of practices:) What an incredible gift God has given us...the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost to lead us, guide us, walk beside us...hahaha..no but really. The Spirit is our comforter and protector. I'm so grateful. There's no way I could do this whole mission thing without the help of the Holy Ghost.

Welp, I wish I could tell you about investigators or people we're teaching, but at the moment it's hard. The problem is, we live 15 minutes from the beach. And it's summer. AND it's Christmas. In other words, it's hard to find people in their houses. We have lots of people we teach and have taught more than once, but they don't count as progressing investigators because we can't visit them frequently enough. I'll let you know though. We have three really awesome Hermanas we're teaching...Soledad, Maria, and Laura. Two of the three have baptismal dates, but we've gotta visit with them more regularly, also known as daily contact. Which is really hard this time of year. I'll keep you updated though!

I love you all and wish you a very happy holiday season! listen to lots of Christmas music for me...it's one of the things I miss the most!! But, I'm teaching my companion some songs...we're having a good time with that. Do you know what I found out? Latinos cannot make the "urr" sound in the words girl, world, were, sure, jewelry. It's quite funny. Haha:) Keep up the good work at home and good luck with finals Emily and Craig! Matthew and Kimberly only have about a week left of school right? Until vacations? So exciting. Good job on the calculus test, bud. And Kimmers! I'm glad to hear you got your personal history done! That's awesome! Have a fantastic week! And I'll talk to you on Christmas Eve!! I hope that time works for you! Oh, and I was just told that we will still get to email home next Monday:)

I love you forever and always!! The Church is true! Until next week, Chaus!!

Hermana Heath

 Trelew South Zone Conference in November -
Hermana Heath and her companion, Hermana Cortes

 Trelew and Puerto Madryn Zones -

Conference with Elder and Sister Zeballos
of the Quorum of the Seventy

Don't cry for me Argentina!

Querido Familia,

I'm glad to hear you're all doing well. Matthew and Craig I hope you're feeling better!! Being sick is never fun:/ Today I don't have tons of time since we're going to a museum in Trelew and then a shopping center. We'll be back in Rawson in plenty of time to make sure we get in a good game of futbol and basketball though for sure:) Kimmers, keep working on the personal history!! It's a big project, but it's so fun to look back on when you've finished it!

I was so sad to hear about Aunt Ann! I even cried a bit in the cyber. She was always so loving and kind and made me feel special. So many memories of family reunions and silver dollars...the good news is we know that families are forever and that we'll all see each other again! In fact, Nani Velazquez (the Hermano who served with Tyler in Brasil) introduced us to his nephew and niece yesterday and we taught an awesome lesson about the plan of salvation. The spirit was so strong and both the nephew and the niece started to cry at different points. So special. What an incredible blessing it is to have all the knowledge and understanding that we do!

This week was good. We had 27 lessons in total!! (13 with members!) The people in the south of Argentina are fairly...difficult to teach. They all have a religion and most aren't open to listen to our message despite our efforts to persuade. BUT, the Lord is working along side us in his vineyard just like we learn in Jacob 5. This week I started the Book of Mormon over again. I'm about to finish 2 Nephi. I came to reallly appreciate the prophet Nefi this time around. He is such a solid example of faith and obedience. Just what every missionary needs! In 1 Nefi 17 when the Lord commands Nefi to build a ship, Nefi's response is not what one would expect. He doesn't say "I don't know how to build a ship!" He doesn't say, "That's way too hard! Are you sure, Lord?" Instead, he responds by asking the Lord where he should go in order to obtain material and tools. Que capo. What a stud. I decided this week that I'm gonna be more like Nefi. I will go and do...

This week so many hilarious things happened. First, one day we entered a house of a referral to teach a lady, and they were having a Brittney Spears dance party in the back. SO FUNNY. Of course, none of them know the words of the song, but I knew most of them. They were all of her first songs that she released. The temptations to sing along and join the party were almost too much to handle. It made concentrating on the lady EXTREMELY hard. It's always hard to concentrate and listen in Spanish when the TV or radio is speaking in English. Haha. BUT! It was okay. Oops I did it again... hahahhaa

Next, Hermana Delfina Carcamo. The old lady I think I told you about? No teeth, approximately 5 feet tall? Adorable? Well, we were supposed to eat lunch with her one day this week, so we called the night before to confirm. She answered the phone, but unfortunately has a hard time hearing. She couldn't hear us talking to her and hung up. Round two. We called again and the same thing happened. So what did we do? Try again. By this point my companion is SCREAMING into the phone. No luck. She hung up on us again. After 4 times, she stopped answering. Welp, the next morning, we called again and somehow she could hear us, but of course, was not prepared to feed us lunch. So, the next day, we went to visit her and apologize for not calling sooner in advance. We showed up around lunch time, bad timing on our part, and nearly gave her a heart attack. She thought we had shown up to eat lunch with her without advising. Anyway, we assured her we were only there to apologize and asked if we could eat lunch there the next day. She agreed and we laughed about the whole situation. She's so endearing. It kills me. As we were leaving we softly reminded her that we don't eat a lot. The next day we showed up to eat lunch and she had prepared a HUGE lunch. Only we didn't know that because she only brought half of it out at first. We were proud when we had managed to eat all the food between the two of us since Delfina can hardly eat anything. It was only a little bit more than a normal serving size. Then she brought out the rest. Lets just say, we snuck out several servings of meet, french fries, and our dessert in napkins. Oh well. She's adorable. I seriously love her.

Next, on Wednesday morning the Elders helped us sacar el juju (weed) the lawn of an investigator. Hermana Cortes got the easy job of ironing clothes and chatting with Isabel. I was left to labor outside in the hot sun with Elder Verges and Elder Acuña. It looked like a mini forest...no joke.  We were cutting all the plants/weeds out and burning them in the fire place in the shed. Lots of green which equals lots of smoke. Luckily most exits through the chimney, but at one point there was so much smoke in the shed that we had to step outside for a bit. So, the three of us emerged from the shed with tears streaming down our faces. Sooo funny. Hermano Chemin came around the corner, looked at us, and turned around went back to work shaking his head. Haha... I love him. Elder Verges broke out into a chorus of "Don't cry for me Argentina." Priceless. We all had a good laugh and then went back to work. We still have more to do so we're gonna go back again this wednesday morning:)

Last week for Elder Verges' birthday we didn't end up going to the beach because it was sooo windy. We stayed in the church and played basketball and soccer and celebrated with the 5 of us. Oh, and have I mentioned that the church has a pingpong table?! Yep, we played and I DOMINATED. I was quick to tell them that my little brother is the real pro:) We bought a cake and opened presents, took lots of pictures, and then bought some ice cream. 1 kilo...we ate it straight from the carton. We had no problem finishing it all between the five of us:) It was such a fun day. We are the cutest missionary family ever. No joke. Oh, also, the new companion of Elder Elliz came on Thursday! His name is Elder Scogin. He's from Washington. I haven't had the chance to talk to him much and I promised Elder Elliz that I would only talk to him in Spanish. I'll talk to him some more today:) He seems nice! haha...all missionaries are nice though:)

Well, I hope ya'll have a fantastic week! Thanks for the updates and good luck with all the upcoming craziness that always emerges in December! Can you believe that Wednesday is my 3 month mark? To quote dad, "that's just not right." Welp, gotta go! Love you tons!! You're always in my thoughts and prayers! Keep being wonderful.

Forever and Always,

Hermana Heath

it's DECEMBER?

Hola Familia!!

I hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving!! I thought about you all day and I'll tell you, I had no idea what homesickness was until Thursday. BUT, I'm doing good. I only lost it for a second in the morning while my companion was showering and I wished myself a very happy argentine thanksgiving. I LOVED the pictures!! Thank you so much. I'm so glad you sent the one of dad standing on the chair because I thought about you around the time I knew you would be eating and I pictured dad standing on the chair saying something about spillers and non-spillers. Hahahaa. Glad it was a fun week for everyone!!

Shall I tell you about my thanksgiving dinner? Pasta. Ya, not the traditional turkey and potatoes, but it was good. It was also the biggest thanksgiving dinner I've ever eaten. We had hard-boiled eggs first and then some weird breaded sandwich thing...and then the pasta. The only problem was that I was almost full and the Hermana who fed us lunch, bless her heart, stacked my plate like 3 inches high with pasta. I don't know if you remember, but pasta is not my favorite to begin with. While it was good, it was a little much for me. I was greatly wishing at that moment that I was sitting at home in the non-spillers section of the house with all of you!! But, this week we had transfers...this Thanksgiving I'm thankful that I get to spend six more weeks in Rawson with Hermana Cortes and the Elders! Our district isn't gonna change (with the exception of the new missionary coming in place of mini missionary Elder Dominguez. Elder Elliz will be training).

Anyway, this week was better. Hermana Cortes' birthday was so fun! Hermano Chemin fed us lunch, but Hermana Cortes didn't know that we were going there. He had called us that morning saying he couldn't make it. The Elders and I planned a suprise party for her! We had cake and everything. It was awesome and she was really happy. In addition, I sang her every birthday song I know, including Taylor Swift's "22" since she turned 22 years old. Good times. It was a fun day.

Today is Elder Verges' birthday so we're gonna party some more. SO MUCH CAKE THIS WEEK. But, it's so good...so I won't complain. We're gonna celebrate in the church since it's pday and we don't have lunch with members today. We'll find something to do...Rawson is tiny, though, so we're gonna have to be creative! Maybe we'll go to the beach. It's in the area of the Elders so Hermana Cortes and I have yet to see it. It's only 15 minutes away by bus.

So, in Argentina when we eat at the members houses it's kind of a rule that they have to serve dessert. It's inpolite to not give us something sweet...so, usually they make ensalada fruta...I don't remember if I've told you about it but it's basically just a bunch of fruit cut up in some juice...yes, it's soup not salad, but it's to die for. Anyway, two days in a row this week they gave us ICE CREAM! My companion said that she's never been served ice cream at lunch before. The ice cream here is SO good. It's definitely no cold stone, but it's really good. It's different than ours...not better, not worse, just different. Anyway, on Saturday they served us a BIG bowl of ice cream, then when we had finished they asked if we wanted more. To be polite you always say yes, plus, it was delicious. Anyway, I agreed to eat "a little bit more." She apparently doesn't know what "un poquito" means because the second bowl was bigger than the first. But I'll be honest, I wasn't complaining. Two massive bowls of neopolitan ice cream. DE-LI-CIOUS.

Also, this week in Argentina the older kids finished school for the summer. Weird right? It's December...it's winter...it's supposed to be cold! Well, not in Argentina. Anyway, the students finished school and the evidence is in the streets. In the United States we save all our homework and have a big bonfire at the end of the year right? Well, in Argentina, they save every single paper, rip them to shreds, and at the end of the year throw it all out on the streets. PAPER EVERYWHERE. Kinda cool, but really unfortunate for the people who have to clean it up. Hahaha:)

We're teaching an Hermana named Soledad. She's awesome. She has a real desire to follow Jesus Christ and strengthen her relationship with God. She's praying and we gave her a Book of Mormon yesterday. We've got an appointment with her on Tuesday:) Fingers crossed!

I can't believe that it's December. It's sooo hot. This last week there's been next to no wind. But, I'm not gonna complain, because the few days we've had that have been really cold are wayyy worse than the days that are really hot....however, it's not going to be a white Christmas here in Rawson:) Haha. The good news? I have the best tan I've had in YEARS. The bad news? I have the most hideous tan lines on my feet and wrist and neck. Nasty. Hahaha..oh well, what can you do?

Glad to hear you're all getting ready for Christmas! I'm getting excited to skype with you!! By the way, you need to figure out how we're gonna skype. I wanna be able to see youuu! We come to the internet cafe like always to skype. I'll let you know when I know more about Christmas:)

Welp, I think I've gotta finish here pretty soon. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. Despite all the hard days, I'm so happy. My companion gets discouraged a lot which is hard for me, and I often wonder why I'm so happy when she's upset, and I think it has a lot to do with the prayers of family and friends. I know that I have a huge support system all around me and it makes such a big difference!! Plus, I'm not here to be sad...and knowing that makes it a lot easier to let little things go and respect the agency of others. As long as I'm trying my best, it's okay. I can't force someone into the baptismal font or make someone gain a testimony.  I was studying 2 Nefi 31 this morning during personal study. I LOVE that chapter. It's so straightforward with what we have to do. Have faith, repent, get baptized, receive the holy ghost, and endure to the end. At the end of the chapter it says that there is no other way. Only through Jesus Christ can we inherit the kingdom of God. I love personal study. It's the best.

Well, I've gotta go. We're gonna go celebrate with Elder Verges! :) PARTY TIME!! Hahaha:) Here in argentina, party time is always an adventure. With Elder Pinkston who leaves for home today everyone got sprayed with soap. Yes, everyone, including me. SOAP. The ward members came into the room with bottles of spray soap and started spraying everyone and everything. INSIDE THE HOUSE. Crazy Argentines. Hahaha but I love it. I love these people...so maybe I'm crazy too? All signs point to yes:)

I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week!! You're in my thoughts and prayers every day!! Only 23 days til we get to skype!! I don't know about you but I'm counting down!

Forever and always,

Hermana Heath