Jehovah's Witnesses and Police Officers...

Hola queridos,

Thanks for the emails! It's been a good week in Rio Grande! I love it here. So...last week...gotta do some catching up...Kimberly's going to prom, eh? Cool beans. Make sure to send me pictures! :) And Matthew...decisions decisions...which of the many fair maidens will take him to the ball?

Alright...so first off...mom asked about Mother's Day. I'm just gonna be completely honest and say that I forgot because it's true. The problem is that Mother's Day in Argentina is in October...so no one is talking about it and the time goes by so quickly half the time I still think we're in February. They haven't told us anything about how that's gonna work...but I assume we'll have to skype from a members house since we can't come to the ciber on Sundays...we'll see. I'll let you know next week!

This week we're going to be traveling to Ushuaia on Wednesday at 5:00PM...all day Thursday we'll be in the conference with Elder Gonzalez and then we'll probably get to go see something that evening. Friday morning at 5:00AM we'll be back on the bus coming home...errr back to Rio Grande that is. Haha. It's only three hours though on colectivo so it's not too bad. I'm super excited though! Apparently there's snow...:) All the cold weather puts me in the Christmas mood though. I find myself singing Christmas songs in the streets as we walk. Weird.

Well...this week we had lots of run ins with Jehova's witnesses. I have all the latest pamphlets. There are so many here and they're not usually very nice. I'm not their biggest fan. All they want to do is Bible bash...and they're really good at it...the funny thing is they tell us we need to work on our door approach or people aren't gonna like us...when we knock doors, we always introduce ourselves and talk a little bit...offer service...and then ask if we can share a message the blesses families and centers on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Clearly we've been doing it wrong...shoving a million scriptures in someone's face and telling them they're going to hell is the way to do it. Duhh.

Ooooh funny story...the other day Elder Elliz called me to practice his English..."Seester...yur late." "You come to duh chursh" "I hab duh books orv merrrmons." Listening to latinos try to speak English never gets old, che. Anyway...Hermana Garavito and I went to the church to pick up our little blue books of mormon. Elder Elliz was talking to Elder Verges on the phone! (the new mission secretary..hahha) Anyway, I got to talk to him for a little bit. He's doing really well and talked with Hermana Hundley just the other day since he has to do visa paperwork with her companion. She's doing really well which made me happy to hear:) Hermana Hundley, Elder Ramos, Elder Scogin, and Elder Verges are all gonna be in Comodoro this week for the conference with Elder Gonzalez...forget Ushuaia...send me to Comodoro! It's gonna be an awesome reunion. That district in Rawson was the best ever...and then there's Elder Ramos who was our zone leader. Jaja.

The members here in Rio Grande aren't super motivated to work with us...which shows in the lunches.  We have lunch with members every Tuesday and Thursday....wanna know when the Elders have lunch? Every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday...and two Sundays...how does this happen? Don't these people know that the Hermana's are wayyy better? Plus we eat less! Who knows. Elder Tarwater has a good time teasing us about it though..."Today we eat with Hermana Meretta...I love how she always makes milanesa...oh wait...you've never eaten with her have you?" "Oh, today we eat with the Familia Barria...when do you eat with them next? Oh...you never eat with them...well this is awkward" The kid reminds me so much of Matthew it's ridiculous. That's a good thing though...usually:) Haha...today though the Elders are making us french toast. Should be yummy. You can never be sure though with the Elders.

Oh...another story...this week the police stopped Hermana Garavito and me! We were walking doing some contacts and I noticed two police officers. One said something to the other and then they started walking towards us...I was freaked out and ready to pretend that I don't speak any Spanish (just like I always do when I'm in a bad situation like when I don't have my ticket on the bus...just stare say, "Español no. English." They just look at you, roll their eyes, and continue on the next person. It's the best ever!) Anyway, the police officers stopped us and asked us if we were overage...errr...of age? I don't remember how we say that...anyway we said yes, and then they asked our nationality...I really didn't want to answer that question because lots of people here don't like Americans since they associate us with Great Britain and the whole thing with the Galapagos Islands that now belong to Great Britaint but were once Argentina's...anyway it's a sensitive subject here especially in the south since the islands are right off the coast. Well...turns out they were looking for Argentine witnesses...who knows for what. But we dodged a bullet there. It scared me half to death.

Well...I gotta finish up. Have a fantastic week! I love you all! Thanks for all the prayers espeically in this last week! We're seeing lots of miracles as a mission:) Don't forget to read your scriptures! Also...what time do you have church so I can arrange for when we talk in a couple of weeks!

I love you sooo much!!
Chau chau!

Hermana Heath

This, my dear friends, is what happens when it rains in Rio Grande.

Argentine sunsets:) Right from my front door!

ELDER HEATH?!?!

Querida Familia,

OH MY GOSH MATTHEW IS GOING ON A MISSION TO HOUSTON TEXAS! HE'S GONNA BE SPEAKING SPANISH! OH MY GOSH I'M FREAKING OUT HERE FREAKING OUT!! THAT'S SOOO EXCITING!! I'm honestly sooo excited to serve in the mission field with you, bud. You're gonna be the best companion EVER! :) Start studying now:) Sometime soon I'll send you a list of things to buy that would have been nice to know beforehand:) Congratulations Matthew! Wahooo for missionaries! :):):)

So, I hope ya'll had a Happy Easter! The Easter bunny got lost on his way to Rio Grande this year....Santa Claus didn't get my letter with my new address in time for Christmas...I sure hope I don't lose a tooth cause I'm guessing the tooth fairy doesn't work for Argentina. Puuucha. That's okay, one of the hermanas in the ward made us some bread and several other members gave us chocolate eggs...which in argentina are a total rip off because they're HOLLOW. Not complaining though. Haha:)

This week has been really cold. One morning it was -7 degrees Celsius when we left our apartment. That's like 20ish degrees Farenheit if I did the math right. I've been doing my studies in my sleeping bag at my desk. It's quite an effective way to stay warm. It's a real problem though when I have to get up for something...I generally end up hoping around the pension like a penguin. Good times. 

The Elder from the seventy that was supposed to come for a tour of the mission cancelled at the last minute so we didn't get to go to Ushuaia but this week we will or next week..I'm not sure on the schedule. I'm super excited! :) The zone conference, (which is different from the interviews since you asked, mom) was awesome! We talked about obedience, contacting, dropping investigators and the atonement! Hermana Rogers gave us a really cool scripture chain about the last week of Christ's life. Also, the church made a 2 minute video for Easter this year. In Spanish it's called "Gracias a El" I assume in English it's something like "Thanks to him" but it's really cool! Ya'll should watch it!

So, I officially got my mission call one year ago...I think it came on April 17th if I remember right...at that time I was only dreaming of being in Argentina and Tierra del Fuego...crazy. Where did the year go? That also means that Emily and Craig are reaaal close to their one year mark. Wahooo! Congratulations Emily and Craig!! I love you both sooo much:)

I've got a lot to tell you but they're kicking us out of the internet cafe! I'll tell you more next week! :)

I love you all! Have a great weeek! :)

Hermana Heath

hola familyyy....

Hola queridos,

Didn't have time to read your emails, but from the pictures it sounds like you had an awesome time in Southern Utah! I hope you enjoyed the warm weather....it gets colder by the minute here in Rio Grande. Not cool, che.

This week was weird. Hermana Tumbaico left Monday morning at 8:00AM, and my new companion Hermana Garavito didnt' arrive until 5:00PM Friday....partyyy! Well kind of...I got to spend the whole week in Chacra with the missionaries there. Good times. But I actually do like Chacra a lot. There are awesome members and investigators!

On Monday, Elder Elliz and I cooked lunch...tacos! It was so yummmy if I say so myself. Then we played futbol like a bunch of girls. NAME THAT MOVIE! :) Hahaha...how I miss movies...actually only occasionally when it's really windy and rainy and walking around outside seems like the worst possible thing to do. On Thursday we had a zone meeting. We talked about a talk given by Elder Bruce R. McConkie entitled Consecration, Sacrifice, and Obedience...or something like that. It talks about how we're not all called to live the law of consecration to the same degree, and very very few of us are called to live it completely, but we should all be CAPABLE of living it 100% if one day we were called to live it. Cool talk. I liked it. Then, Elder Elliz was talking to the mission secretary...ELDER VERGES! He passed me the phone and I got to talk with him briefly. He's doing really well and told me he spent the morning on Wednesday with Hermana Hundley and our old zone leader in the mission offices. Hermana Hundley is going to Caleta Olivia to train a gringa AND open an area! Wahoo! She's so awesome. I miss her soo much. Anyway, Elder Verges told me a little bit about Rawson and what's going on. Turns out that my investigator I left, Rocio, who had a baptismal date for March 15 wanted to get baptized, but the night before her mom wouldn't sign the permission paper. So sad. I was sooo sure she got baptized. One day...she's staying strong and attending church still:) After talking to Elder Verges  I went with the Hermanas of Chacra back to their pension for lunch...wanna know what I made? GRILLED CHEESE!! :) Wahoo! Wanna know what we listened to while cooking? DISNEY MUSIC! Pretty legit. Later that day to complete my "relive your childhood day" in the mission, we helped an hermana in the ward color some chickens for an easter activity she was encharge of the next day in the church. It was sooo fun. Then, as we were leaving the house it had just finished raining and there was a BEAUTIFUL full double rainbow right outside the house. It was sooo pretty.  In other words...thursday was an awesome day.

I love Rio Grande!! In a different way than I love Rawson, but I LOVE RIO GRANDE! It's still a test of patience with the weather, but we're doing good:) One day as we were on the bus in Chacra at night I couldn't help but think again "holy cow I'm in Argentina!" I wanted sooo bad to take a mental video of everything I could see...the bus weaving through the narrow streets of Rio Grande, the dogs on the streets, all the kiosks lit up with colored lights, all the parked cars on the side of the road, the light rain...probably a moment I'll always remember. I love Argentina. I'm never coming home.

This week an investigator showed us some money bills that he has from countries around the world. It was sooo cool. Some are really old and he has from probably 60 different countries...the whole time we were looking I kept thinking, "man, dad would love this!" Hahaha...this week there was lots of fog in the mornings. Oh, and Elder Tarwater gave me a spanish CTR ring ("Haz lo Justo") I love it! Now I've got my english reminder and my spanish reminder. Yesterday I got to teach the primary kids the song "my life is a gift my life has a plan" but in spanish...don't remember the exact title...it was really fun! I love helping in primary...although there's like 9 kids in total ages 4-11. Quite different from when I was in primary:)

My new companion Hermana Garavito is 29 years old. She turns 30 on Friday! We're gonna celebrate I think...hahaha. Not sure how yet..but I'll come up with something. She's from Peru. We're gonna get along well I think...she's only has three months in the mission.

Oh...Argentines are crazy did you know? They use halls and mentha plus cough drops as candy. I know it's strange. They always offer me one and I'm like, "no that's okay I'm not sick." but since I'm in Argentina and you can't say that I just take it. I've got like 50 saved up. If one day I get sickk...I'll be prepared don't ya'll worry. Crazy Argentines. Hahaha...I love 'em.

Well..until next time folks. Take care! Mom especially! I love you soooo much! Don't forget to say your prayers! ...you're always in mine:)

Chau Chau!

Hermana Heath

oh...PS!

I'M GOING TO USHUAIA THIS WEEK!!! :) President Rogers and Hermana Rogers decided we're gonna do our zone conference together in Ushuaia...so Wednesday morning at like 5:00AM I'll be on a bus...wahooo. It's gonna be a really long day...but I'm excited to see Ushuaia!! :):):) are you jealous? Well...you probably should be:)

Chauuu

Hermana Heath

(Ushuaia is the capital of Tierra del Fuego and is the southernmost city in the world.  It is located about three hours south and a little west of where Amy is serving and is the closest deepwater port to the Antarctic.  Amy will literally be at the end of the world on Wednesday!)

Transfers....again.

Hola Familia!

I didn't have time to read your emails because President changed the internet rules...we know have one hour...and I'm down to ten minutes! Yikes! I'm gonna write fast! I did however notice that Matthew turned in his mission papers! We're gonna be companions of the mission field before ya'll know it! :) Wahooo! :) Can't wait to hear moreeee! 

Glad you had a good birthday mom! I thought about you alll day! :) You're the very best in the whole world...and definitely my favorite of all the moms!

Last week was rough, but this week was great! Nothing but sunshine and daisies:) It was sunny...with no wind and no rain..."all you need is a light jacket!!" NAME THAT MOVIE. I love my area. I really do like it here....I'm in ARGENTINA. I'm in RIO GRANDE. That's sooo cool! Sometimes it just hits me...hahaha.

Mom, thanks for taking care of Hercules. What a strong fish. I think I betted he would die within a few weeks of the death of his dear friend Bugs(may he rest in peace). What a trooper. Haha. But seriously...if he's still living when I get home we're giving him away! I'm pretty sure the lady at the store told me they live for a couple years...well it's been 6.

So, April 2 in Argentina is a holiday...fun fact, did you know Argentina has more holidays than any other country in the world? They use any excuse they can find to take a day off of work. Crazy Argentines. Well, this one was actually legit. It marks the war for the Islas Malvinas (the islands off the south east coast of Argentina.) They currently belong to Great Britain and Argentina's not happy about it. But everything was closed. We walked around a lot that day. No one was home. The mission handbook says holidays and sundays are the best days to find people..it's a lie. It's true people are with their families, but no one wants to talk to you let alone let you into their house. Hahaa.

This week the zone leaders and Hermana leader traveled to Comodoro for conferences. They left monday night and came back Wednesday night so we spent the first half of the week in Chacra with the Hermana whose companion traveled. On Wednesday night we were back in my pension but we had to wait for the zone leaders who were scheduled to arrive at 11:30PM. After writing in my journal, I went into the bedroom to find Hermana Tumbaico asleep in her bed and Hermana Vera asleep in MY BED. Grrrr. In other words, I got roped into waiting up for the zone leaders. They arrived at about 11:45 with Hermana Carter...by the time I got to bed it was after midnight. 6:00AM came around wayy to early Thursday morning.

Friday morning we did tramites for Hermana Tumbaico to be able to leave the island. Saturday night after conference the zone leaders told us transfers. Hermana Tumbaico is going to Puerto Madryn to be the companion of HERMANA KUHN! And my district leader Elder Chavarria is going to Comodoro. I'm staying in Rio Grande, and I'm happy about it! I'm really starting to love this area! The members are awesome:)

Did you all love general conference?! ME TOO! I loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk about gratitude. It's true what he said. If we can learn to not only be grateful for things, but in things, we will be so much happier! I'm gonna work on being a more grateful person. I also liked the prophet's talk about love and service. It was cool watching in Spanish...but I missed the voices of the speakers. Haha...wanna know something cool though? Elder Scott served either as a missionary or mission president in Argentina, and he does his own translation...so I still got to hear his voice:) It was soo cool! All the members gathered in the church to watch conference. It was a neat experience. In between sessions yesterday I had five Elders tell me they were hungry because they hadnt eaten anything all day. They wanted food, and since my pension is right down the road...well...I'm sure you get the picture. Hermana Tumbaico went home and whipped up some scrambled eggs, ham, and sliced up hot dogs...we didn't have a lot of food...but they put the scrambled egg mix on some crackers and ate mini sandwiches. It's a good thing it's p-day because the Elders cleaned us out pretty good. Haha. Today I think Elder Elliz is cooking us lunch...I'll probably help because I like learning how to make Argentine food:)

Hermana Tumbaico, Hermana Vera (going to Trelew norte) and Elder Chavarria left early this morning..so I'm with Hermana Carter until my new companion gets here. Her name is Hermana Garavito. I'm a little nervous because I know her and I've done divisions with her and we're gonna clash on several things...like walking pace. Haha. She's just finishing her second transfer in the mission. We'll be alright I'm sure.

Oh, also, not to freak you out, but in the weather forecast they predicted some earthquakes. President sent out a list of emergency supplies for all the missionaries. I know they have had some earthquakes in Chile...one was pretty bad wasn't it? But don't worry we'll be okay. We're gonna go get the emergency things right now.

Have a fantastic week! I love you all! Thanks for your love and support! You're always in my thoughts and prayers! Hugs and kisses from the bottom of the worldddd!! :)

Hermana Heath

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!!

Hola queridos,

First of all, happy birthday MAMA! I hope you have a very very happy birthday on Sunday. Don't miss me too much, and eat lots of cake and ice cream;) I hope it's a great one! I love you!! :)

Welp, this week has been...weird. First off, interviews on Tuesday were the BEST! I love love love interviews with President. In the training part of the day he talked about visions and goals. We should set plans to reach goals, and set goals to reach a vision. He talked about the importance of working in unity if we want to reach the vision of building a temple here in the Patagonia. For example, a companionship can get a baptism, but only a district can change a branch into a ward, and only a zone can change a district into a stake...and it's gonna take a mission to build a temple! I love listening to President talk, because he truly is inspired and has been called at this time to lead the mission...of that I have no doubts:) My interview with President Rogers was great. He told me all the plans he has for Rio Grande and Ushuaia...they're big plans! But I'm not aloud to tell:) I told him what's been hard for me this transfer and we talked a lot...the whole time he just looked at me with his knowing and loving smile. He's sooo good. I don't know how else to say it. My interview with Hermana Rogers was sooo great...for the first fifteen minutes we just made jokes about Argentina. She's the best. We laughed so hard, but then we remembered that it was an interview...so we talked about the pension, the area, and our companionship. I love her. To finish off the conference, President talked about the lost sheep in John 10. The lost sheep represent the descendants of the twelve tribes of Israel. They are the chosen ones, the ones that will not only hear the voice of the good shepherd, but recognize it. We, as missionaries and members, have the opportunity to speak with that voice so that God's "lost" children can come home...and if we find a someone who doesn't belong to the family of Jacob, we adopt them in with lots of love. Always be on the lookout for the lost sheep:)

Seriously...Emily and Craig have been married for 11 months? ...freaky.

This week there's been lots of fun things. First, since general conference is this weekend we get to visit everyone and share the same message...it came out in the New Era I think...it talks about the appointment we have with God this weekend. We definitely should be present and PREPARED. How are you preparing for this weekend? God is getting ready to talk to us through the mouths of his prophets and apostles. It's gonna be sooo cool! Make sure you're ready!! :) Second, it rained all week long. No joke. Do you know what a small town looks like after 7 days of almost non-stop rain? Flooded. Puddle jumping has taken on a whole new meaning. The bad news, is that I still don't have boots that are good. The members in Chacra gave the other Hermanas like 5 pairs so I'm hoping one of those will work for me, because they are sooo expensive to buy. I bought a beanie this morning and payed like $30. Ridiculous...imagine what boots would cost? I'm hoping I don't have to find out! :) At this point, I probably hate rain more than Noah. No joke. I'm praying that it won't rain all winter...it's gonna be rough. The cold I can deal with, the wind I can deal with, the rain I cannot deal with. It makes it miserable to walk around. But, it's gonna be okay. Heavenly Father is teaching me patience...in Preach My Gospel it says that patience is the ability to deal with delays and inconveniences without getting upset, anxious, or frustrated. Boy have I got a long way to go with the rain. Hahaa..wish me luck people. Wish me luck.

Oh, here's something that I've been meaning to tell you since the first day I got to Rio Grande, but I keep forgetting. So you know the movie Kung Fu Panda? I don't remember the name of the turtle master guy...but you know how he has the cane? Well, Maria here in Rio Grande reminds me EXACTLY of the turtle from the movie. No joke. You know the part in the movie when the turtle chooses Poe to fight...the bad guy...gees Emily's gonna disown me for not remembering any of the names...but he points his finger? Well...Maria does the exact same thing in the same exact way when she chooses someone for the prayer. It's the best. Always makes me smile:)

Wanna know the best part of the week? Okay, I'll tell you. This week Satan was working on me really hard. After two miserable days of thoughts and feelings that definitely were not coming from God. I never realized before exactly how much power Satan has. It's a little bit freaky. He knows us soo well and knows exactly how to make us fall. The good news? We have more power! My zone leader, Elder Julcahuanca, gave me a blessing Saturday morning and I've been really really good since:) I'm so thankful for worthy Priesthood holders:)

Alright family, I gotta go. Thanks for the package! I loved it!! :) Although, I gave both of the Snickers mom sent to my zone leaders since they came and brought me the package and were there when I opened it. It's okay though...I've got lots of chocolate kisses that will last me a long time:) You people know me too well. Thank you! I love you all!

Have a fantastic week and I hope you enjoy general conference this weekend! It's gonna be soo good:) No sleeping through it, eh? Hahaha...I love you all! You're always in my thoughts and prayers!! :)

Hermana Heath

Gone with the wind...literally.

Hola Familia,

So, it's a little later than usual that I'm writing to you. Weird. Well...today we were supposed to have a birthday party for an Elder, but he and his companion didn't show up because they're doing service. Good for them. We'll go meet up with them after I think.

First off, I was so so sad to hear about Grandpa Olsen! He has been like my grandpa for sooo long. It made me so happy that he was at church the day of my farewell because I felt like he was there in the place of Grandma and Grandpa Springer. Such a good man. I love him! I'm so glad to know that God has a plan for us and that families are eternal! He's now with his sweet wife in a happy and better place:) The Olsen family is in my prayers!

Well, this week has been nuts. The winds got up to 98 kph...which I think is somewhere around 40 mph. SO STRONG. It's crazy. They tell us not to walk with our hands in our pockets no matter how cold it is because sometimes things fly and people have been killed from flying objects. Huh. The people here say this is nothing yet...the winds supposedly get up to 150kph. I might tell President in my interview tomorrow that it might just be best if he sends me back to Rawson. I'm still not a fan of the cold weather:) But seriously...the wind is so strong. Sometimes it's easier to just run with it instead of try to keep a walking pace. Hahaha...when we run though our steps are like the Neil Armstrong cartoon steps on the moon. HUGE! I feel like I'm flying sometimes...no joke. The strength of the wind is impressive. On thursday it rained all afternoon. Talk about a downer. Don't have a hood and my boots soaked through quickly...that meant nearly 6 hours walking around with wet hair and wet feet. You know how men get when they're hungry? I think the cold has the same effect on me...I get all grouchy and angry at the world. God is helping me develop patience...it's coming...slow and steady wins the race. REALLY slow and steady.

This week we did a tsunami in Chacra. Basically it's just when the whole zone helps a companionship in their area for a day. After lunch on Thursday we met up at the pension of the Elders and split up to work in their area. It was awesome! In just 3 hours, the Elders got 70 contacts, 10 new investigators, 4 new baptismal dates, and a lesson with a member! It was really cool and I was so happy we got to help the Elders. They have a really hard area and usually spend most of their p-days contacting and working hard! I look up to them a lot...they're super diligent. It was cool to see what we can accomplish as a zone! Miracles:)

Oh...the best part of Thursday? Our dessert after lunch? S'mores (cooked in the microwave) and a peanut butter sandwich. I never thought of a PB sandwich as a dessert...Argentina's weird...but I wasn't complaining because I got to eat PEANUT BUTTER. How I've missed that creamy goodness. Sigh. Oh, and my companion got bit by a dog. I wasn't with her cause we were on divisions. She's fine...no harm no foul, right? Haha. There's soo many dogs. It's actually really sad.

This week I was soo tired. On Friday night I swear I hadn't even closed my eyes when the alarm went off the next morning. During our lunch hour we took a short nap since we ate in the pension. It felt good...even though on my part it was an accident:) Haha...I was reading my scriptures and next thing I knew it was time for our appointment! :)

Okay...so I've got a plan for when I get home from the mission. The first person I'm going to see is dad. He'll give me an adjustment, and then from there I'll go straight to Dr. Markham to take care of my teeth (don't worry they're not rotting or anything....but I just feel like they are). Next, I'm going to get my hair taken care of. Then I'm going to get a pedicure. And then I plan on sleeping for a week. After that time, you're all welcome to ask about my mission and visit me in my recovery bed.

This year, I put the goal to read all of the standard works in Spanish. I'ts been a cool experience so far. I realized though that I don't like the Old Testament much. It kinda freaks me out. The good news, there's lots of awesome stories! Like Joseph when his brothers sold him into Egypt...when he is reunited with his brothers and dad I cried. Not sure why...but it's the coolest story ever! Anyway...also, Doctrine and Covenants? Coolest book EVER! The Scriptures are the best ever. Seriously. I wish I had understood a lot earlier in life the importance of really studying (not just reading) the scriptures. We can learn so much and as Nefi said, we can apply them!

Weird thing about Argentina this week? They have this obsession with mayonaise here...they put mayonaise on EVERYTHING. Also...hamburgers in argentina are just the patty. They don't come with a bun or condiments. Crazy argentines.

Well family, have a fantastic week! I love you all soo much! Keep being excellent! Don't forget to say your prayers!! :) Oh...next week I'll probably write late again! Sorry...we're gonna go to Cabo Domingo with some members!

Hermana Heath

Whoooopsies.

Querida Familia,

How's life? It sounds like you're doing well! Kimmie, I wish I could have been at your dance recital! How's TDT going? I can't believe you've already signed up for 11th GRADE?! When did you grow up?? Bud, I'm glad to hear your doing well in tenis! Wish I could be there to watch you play! :) Emily and Craig...welp...I don't think mom told me anything about you...but I'm sure you're doing great too:) Hope school is going well! Haha.

Well...this week was interesting. Let's start with Monday cause that's the only day of the week that I can separate from the others. In the cyber here they play non-stop Bruno Mars...for some reason people here in Argentina really like him. I've never been much of a fan...but what can you do? We had asado with Maria and Marcelo. It was really good...I'm starting to like meat. Don't judge me...I am in the beef capital of the world...Argentines know how to cook meat right. Also...the best part? They had ABBA playing the whole time...it was great. Dancing Queen, Take a Chance on me, chiquitito, Fernando...good times. After lunch...and some ice cream for dessert...we went to the church where all the Elders were playing futbol. 4 on 4. Gringos vs Latinos. HILARIOUS. Hermana Tumbaico and I watched safely from the sidelines. The gringos won...but only because they got lucky. Haha. I think the plan is to re-match today. Hermana Tumbaico and I will be the goalies because it makes the Elders play a little softer. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

Well...the other six days of the week blur into one big proselyting day...so I'll just start from where I can remember. On Tuesday we had a zone conference. Elder Julcahuanca and Elder Elliz talked to us a lot about contacts. Elder Ballard in the mission presidents conference in Chile talked about contacting...and President Rogers gave every missionary the challenge (in other words...a new rule) to contact 10 people each day. So, in the companionship we have to do 20 contacts every day. It can be knocking doors or talking on the street...but si o si...20 each day. Elder Ballard promised us lots of blessings...as Joseph Smith said, "When the Lord commands, do it." So...we've been doing lots of contacting this week! The zone conference was great...I love love love learning from my leaders.

After the zone meeting we went to lunch at a "restaurant" as a zone. 14 missionaries. We ate pollo and rice. It was actually really yummy. It was lots of fun. I love missionaries. It's always a blast being all together:)

Oh, and yesterday wanna know what we ate for lunch? COLE SLAW!! Reminded me of Grandma:) Well...we also ate meat and rice...but the cole slaw reminded me of home!

This week I had the craziest dream! I had a dream that I wasn't baptized because the church didn't have my baptismal record...so naturally Hermana Tumbaico and I flew to Ecuador so that I could be baptized...not sure why we went all the way there...oh it was because you can't be a missionary if you're not a member! Well..that doesn't explain the ecuador part...but it was a dream! Anyway...I got baptized in Ecuador...but then we realized that Ecuador is NOT part of our mission boundaries and so we hurried back to Argentina before President Rogers found out and sent us home. Unfortunately we got back to Argentina and still didn't have a baptismal record. I woke up extremely grateful for my baptism day 12 years ago:) What did I drink before going to bed? ...oh...speaking of that...I may or may not have accidentally broken the word of wisdom this week. Whoooopsies. We were with an investigator in the morning and she gave us coffee..only we thought it was malta...which is practically the same thing (same smell and similar taste)...but it's not against the word of wisdom. Well...we drank it...realized that it WASN'T malta and yeah. Don't worry...I repented and told President in my email this morning. I can only imagine the cackle I'm gonna hear in my interview with him next week. He has a cackle that beats all. It's the best. Hahaha...how are we gonna teach the word of wisdom to the investigators though? That's gonna be awkward. Hahaha...the good news? I like the taste of coffee just about as much as I like the smell...in other words not at all. Hahaha:)

This week we've also had a few run ins with some drunks and some creeps. On Wednesday night I think it was a guy stopped us on the street and asked for our help. He needed to get to Rio Gallegos and didn't have money. Since there's an Hermano that is incharge of helping with those circumstances, we took him to the chapel to figure out what we could do. Only when we got inside the chapel and out of the really strong wind could we smell the alcohol on the guys breath. We did what we could and then chau. Then last night we had a creeper following us. He stayed close behind us for 5-6 streets even though we did everything we could to lose him. He wasn't being very sneaky...when he started to say stuff we hurried and turned up a street...he didn't follow us that time and we booked it to the pension. When we arrived we called the zone leaders and they just told us to stay in the pension instead of finishing the last 30 minutes of proselyting hours. The bad news about winter here is that it gets dark early. Good times. Now, Mom, I did not tell you this story to freak you out...don't worry, we're fine...the creeps that follow us are few and far between:)

My companion almost got bit by a dog this week. She screamed really loud. The people on the other side of the street stared at us funny as we cracked up laughing. The dog wasn't that big and only came running at us because he was being a bone head as dad always says. No harm, no foul, right? Hahaha...there's so many dogs here.

This week we ate lunch in our pension a lot. Hermana Tumbaico took naps after eating really fast...I somehow never got around to it. Probably for the best though...if I take a nap I will not be waking up 20 minutes later. The mission is the best..but its exhausting! :) The days we did eat lunch with members were freezing so we showed up at the houses like popsicles. We stand for a few minutes next to the space heater to get the feeling back in our fingers so we can use a fork properly. It's sooo cold. Luckily..the last two days it hasn't been windy. Tender mercies of the Lord, people. You wanna know what song I've been singing the last two days? ..."somewhere in my youth or childhood...I must have done something good!" Yep, sound of music! Haha...It's true though. I don't know what I did...but it's been so nice without the wind...still cold...but we only leave with one coat instead of two!! :) It only rained in the mornings twice this week! And...why didn't I get a coat with a hood? Go me. Hahaha. When there's wind, I always come home with my hair full of dirt. It's gross.

This morning while walking to the cyber a guy was walking 7 dogs. Crazy Argentines. There were actually like 10 but only 7 of them were on a leash.

This week I've been studying a lot in Preach My Gospel. Chapter 6 is AWESOME! :) Christlike attributes. Best missionary tool ever. I LOVE that book. Also, have you all seen the video "only a stonecutter?" Well...if you haven't...it's time. John Moyle...I think is his name...what an incredible example of faith and service! 

Here in Rio Grande we're working on finding new investigators. It's a process. As my companion always says, "Hay mucho oro..pero esta muy muy escondido." (There's lots of gold here, it's just hidden really well.) She's right! There's always people who are ready...we just have to find them! When was the last time you gave the missionaries a reference?? :) Think hard and pray for Heavenly Father to help you know who those people are that are ready:) Remember, this is HIS work. He ALWAYS helps us in His work!

Okay family...I have to go! Have a fantastic week! I love you all and you're always in my prayers! :) Don't forget to read your scriptures and say your prayers!

I love you soo much!

Hermana Heath