Monday, September 8, 2014

You know you're in Argentina when....

Hola Familia!

This week was AWESOME. I'm so glad to hear you're all doing well. My week started out (skipping the really boring p-day) with interviews with President Rogers:) I love love love interviews. It's always a big spiritual boost and it makes me feel important when I get time to talk with President and let him know how I'm doing and how things are going in my area. I LOVE PRESIDENT ROGERS. He really is focused more on the missionaries and how we're converting ourselves than the numbers of every week. He told me he's glad I'm staying until March...me too! The visa waiters I came with all finish their missions in December! Ahhh! That's soo crazy:)

So...then my week got even better on Wednesday when Hermana Zanuttini stayed with Hermana Davis and I while her companion went to comodoro for a day for a leadership conference. We had a PARTY! I love Hermana Zanuttini. She's from Santa Fe, Argentina. She's just a great big ball of happiness and sunshine. Anyway...from there we had zone conference on Friday. The zone leaders talked really briefly about the Book of Mormon and then invited us to share our testimonies of the Book of Mormon. It was sooo cool. As missionaries we always share our testimonies with investigators and members and everyone else we come in contact with....but we don't usually get the chance to share our testimonies with the other missionaries. It was really cool and the spirit was really strong. :) I LOVED IT. I have the best zone leaders ever.

Sooo...from there we had a baptism on Saturday!! Technically she's the investigator of the other Hermanas..but they dropped her and the zone leaders started teaching her...they dropped her and last sunday Hermana Davis and I were talking with her (cause after the missionaries dropped her she still went to institute...weird.) and she was super happy and telling me how much she loves institute and studying the scriptures with the other YSA's. Okay... background story. Florencia is a GOLDEN investigator...she just changes her mind everyother day about whether she wants to be catholic or mormon. Sometimes mid-lesson she decides to be catholic again. It's really hard to teach her as you can imagine...she's a lil bit crazy...but she was super prepared. It just cost her a lot to make the decision to get baptized due to problems with her family mostly. Anyway...back to last Sunday night. I straight up asked her when she was getting baptized. She told me she wanted to get baptized but she wanted to be more sure. Well...as I was thinking about how she could be more sure...it hit me that Flor had never really been dropped before. The hermanas stopped visiting her but she still came to church. The elders stopped visiting her but sunday morning she's in the chapel again...she had never felt what her life would be like if she decided to be catholic tomorrow and never come back....so Im trying to figure out what to do...then it came to my mind: She needs to be dropped! That I knew already...the problem was I didn't know how to do it...how do you drop an investigator that participates in everything and does everything she's supposed to do even after you tell her you're not gonna visit her anymore? Well...CLEAR AS DAY it came to my mind and I tell you it did not come from me: "YOU HAVE TO UN-INVITE HER TO CHURCH. That's your only option." Jo. I swear to you all that I fought that impression soooo hard. You can't just go around telling investigators not to come to church! Well...as much as I fought it I knew I had to do it...so I told her not to come to church for two weeks. I told her not to talk to any of the missionaries...I told her not to participate in the activities...and well....I was TERRIFIED but I did it. In that moment she told me, NO! I would die without the church. So...what are you waiting for?! She told us she wanted to get baptized on Saturday...all week she was back and forth...but finally after lots of prayers on her behalf (and un-inviting her to church)...SHE GOT BAPTIZED! Woah. What a crazy week. It took the testimonies of all 10 missionaries here in Caleta Olivia to get her baptized. Technically...the baptism is of the zone leaders...but we all agreed it was a zone baptism...haha. Miracles in the mission!

OH....yesterday there was a fire in my area...it was only one house that burned down luckily. But you know when you're in Argentina when you can't tell if the excess smoke is a fire or a family enjoying a nice Argentine asado.

This week I started my third big journal of the mission. I can't believe I'm about to hit the year mark. That's insane! I don't ever want the mission to end. I think the best kept secret in the church is how hard missions really are. The second best kept secret is how amazing they really are!:) I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!

Well...I tihnk that's it for this week! I hope you all have a fantastic week! I love you soo much and you're always in my thoughts and prayers! Cuidense a full!

Besos y abrazossss
Hermana Heath

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