ROCKIN' IT!

FAMILY!!! I love you... SHAQUEL!!! Happy Birthday my dearest. I love you so much and hope you have the best day ever. Sorry I can’t do much for you from here. But I’ve been thinking about you all day and all week, since it took me that long to get this sign made with the little spare time we have. (gosh can’t believe you’re 20!)
This week has been somethin’ else. Oh my gosh. I have felt the stresses of taking care of these people here like never before. No wonder missionaries mature so much: we’re like the ultimate babysitters, psychologists, and bishops. uh... I can’t even believe the things we’ve been faced with this week. Crazy stuff .

We did intercambios, which in English is exchanges, I think... it’s where you and your comp split up with a different set of sisters. I went and stayed with Hermana Watkins in Santa Lucia and her comp came here to San Jose with Hermana Hite. We did it after district meeting on Tuesday and stayed until Wednesday afternoon working there and then switched back. It was SUCH a good experience! So Hermana Watkins, as you know, is younger than me, by one transfer. So... I got to be senior comp for a day. It was interesting. She freaked out because she still doesn’t understand any Spanish... she told me I’d have to pick it up. And pick it up I did haha. We pretty much rocked it. I know so much more than I give myself credit for. It’s hard to see that while leaning on the Hermana Hite crutch. I don’t actually lean on her, she just babies me cuz I’m still young in the mish. It was cool to see I can totally do this. It was a real eye opener. We got to go to the young men’s activity and give a devotional before they played soccer. Wow... 25 youth, just young men. There is hope here in Uruguay! You want to know the coolest part? NONE of them were members...yes, I said it. Not a single one. The Young Men’s leader actually went out... found a ton of kids who like to play soccer and invited them into the huge church with an indoor soccer court and said, "Hey, every Tuesday at 7 we will play here. The deal is, we’re gonna teach you something every week, then to keep playing you gotta come to church on a Sunday." Alright... someone who does their calling, and does it well. It made me so happy, I was almost in tears looking at all these kids who were being taught by someone who loves the work and loves them. So cool. And they’ve had major success! Six of them showed up at church last week. They have nowhere to play after dark so it’s a golden thing to do. Too bad we don’t have the facility here in San Jose to do that. It was just really cool to see another side of the work, ya know? So we got to teach them about prophets. I did this really cool activity with them and they started fighting over who would do the activity with me. That was cool. Afterwards I told Hermana Watkins, “Let’s go and talk with these kids.” So we did and made friends with them. It was so fun. Awe... love this work! Hermana Farr with little Naomi
Then, when I got back here, we had a really bad day. We had a lesson with this lady we are teaching... oh man, good news is, she accepted a baptismal date. Yeah! Bad news... like dad said, she really has to trade her entire life in for the gospel. But, she’s willing to do it. She’s a mom... and she has been receiving "help" from someone to pay for her house and her kids. When I say help... oh man, she has been selling herself to a married man for 13 years to receive this money. I couldn’t really understand completely what was going on and my comp went completely speechless. That NEVER HAPPENS WITH HERMANA HITE! Not ever. I knew I didn’t get it completely. When we walked out she told me that, and in the middle of the street, I felt the weight of her pain on my shoulders and just broke down. I felt a TINY smidge of what Heavenly Father must feel... just a smidge. This is going on all over the world in every country, every city... oh my gosh... it’s unreal. I never in a million years thought I would be dealing with these things here. It’s no wonder missionaries are so stressed! This is a hard life, having to care for these people. I read in Jesus the Christ this week (which by the way I’m loving dad), that we are NOT babysitters. We have the seeds of faith and we are responsible to disperse them to the people of Uruguay. That is the responsibility we have as missionaries. Then we are to do everything we can to pull the weeds from around it and water it, but we are not responsible for the sunshine... that’s the responsibility of Heavenly Father and the investigator. They gotta pray for that sunshine and then if it is His will, He will pour down rays of sunlight and make the seed grow. If they don’t do their part... it’s not gonna happen. I thought that was interesting, because Hermana Hite and I have been running around, trying to do all these extravagant things for our investigators. That’s nice... we are supposed to care for them, but we can’t make the seed grow. It’s been frustrating because no one is progressing over here. But we’ve taught them and like dad says, we’ll find those who are willing to trade their lives in for something better. Pray for her... she needs it.

On the same day that we found that out about her... we got verbally attacked by some lady we contacted... she accused us of so much stuff. First time that’s ever really happened to me. I had to suppress my angry feelings because that’s not what Christ would have done. But man, she said some hurtful things. She said Joseph Smith was made up. She accused us of preaching false doctrine. She said it was a huge shame that we were wasting our youth on something that didn’t exist. She even went as far as to say that when Christ comes to the earth, we are going to find out the truth and it’s going to be a real shame because by then it will be too late for us. We tried bearing testimony but she just yelled at us more. Thank heavens for fences on every house here, cuz we just walked away and she would have followed, if it wasn’t for that. It was so sad... Hermana Hite reminded me that Christ said our names or image will be "dirtied" for his sake. That was definitely how it was. But I KNOW! that what I’m here for is not a lie. Christ gave his life for me, and so ... who cares if people accuse me of false preaching. It’s sad for them, but I would suffer anything for Christ’s name. I would. (P.S. someone spit on one of the Elders this week too. Can you believe such horrid things go on?) It was a growing experience that’s for sure.

I love this gospel. I love you all. Can’t wait to hear from you again. Be so good! Keep the faith! I love you!

Love, Ash

THE TRUE CHURCH

Hello family! I love your guts so much. Everyone wrote me a ton this week! I’m excited to read what’s been said. Lots has happened this week:

Steph had an interview with the bishop and got a blessing. She’s doing better and actually offered the opening prayer in Sacrament yesterday! Wahoo! First convert in this ward for the last few months to do so. She did great. Before the interview we found a HUGE spider the size of a quarter. She just decided she wanted to play with it... hmmm. She let it crawl all over her while Hermana Hite and I freaked out. Then she was holding it in her hand when she realized it had an egg sack on it and it burst open and babies went everywhere. Luckily, she flung it to the ground before they could get on her. I think...

We had some more stalkers... worse this time. They followed us. We turned corners trying to get away from them, they continued to follow. We eventually started running...and when they saw us run, they ran after us. We decided we had to book it around a corner and duck into a shop somewhere really fast so they couldn’t see us. We did so... into a hair salon and a thousand girls were staring at us breathing hard and scared out of our minds. It was actually kinda funny. These boys were just teenagers, but still! We don’t like being followed. For real! It just reminded me of a movie scene or something haha. We had a good laugh afterwards, and it worked sooo... :) don’t freak out mom. It’s just Uruguay.

Miracle of the week. Well, it was for me, not so much with investigators. We had just gotten done with our meeting with the ward mission leader and we were late getting to an appointment. So we were bookin' it. We ran past the big Catholic Church and as we did two nuns come out. Now... I have never seen a nun in real life, it was crazy! As I ran past them, I started to think about the things I am doing here. They have quite literally given up their lives for their church, and for now... so have I. The only difference is... I’m doing it for the REAL true church. It’s sad that they have given up everything for the rest of time to preach and work for a church that isn’t even true... my comp and I talked a lot about that this week. It’s been cool. I’m glad I have the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Then, I realized that my comp and I are like the Savior, only in 2011 and just for the city of San Jose. But it’s big! That’s a whole city... and we are two girls, 21 and 22 years of age. What a great responsibility. We are responsible for this city and strengthening the church here. Holy cow! What a calling. And here we are, running our bums off to do so, and here they are... walking very properly and slowly. That’s the difference between our church and theirs. Just a thought… It got me thinking all week long.

Lastly, yesterday all the lessons were on talents. Of course, when you start talking about talents you start thinking about all the things you can’t do, and especially here, all the things you NEED to be able to do. I got frustrated. Thank goodness for good comps like Hermana Hite. She sat me down and we wrote down each other’s talents and shared with each other. It was cool to see all the things she thinks of me that I had no idea she would have thought of. I guess that’s what you learn about a person after you’ve been living together for almost three months. Crazy... we´ve been living together for three months. Weird.

I love the mission… with all of its ridiculousness and hardships. It really is good. And we have so much fun. I wish I could share all the funny things we do, but it’s just too much. We get in bed on time and are up for hours laughing... I love my comp. Cody wrote me and I guess they got their first baptism in A YEAR! Oh man, that’s rough, but I’m so proud of him. GO CODY! I love you! Keep up the fantastic work. I will see you three weeks after you get home :) I love the mission. I love the gospel. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. And I love my family. Thank you so much for everything you do. Loves...

Love, Ash. Be good!

BEST MOTHER'S DAY!!

Here it is.... from the madre! So, Saturday morning about 8:00 a.m. (the day before Mother's Day) I am running around gathering last minute things for Brooke who is going to Prom, getting ready to leave for her day date to Lagoon, and I get this call from some "Unknown Number." I answer, "Hello?" and most of what I hear is just feedback from my own voice..... except for a very faint, "Mom?" "Hello?" I say again.... more feedback... "Mom!!" comes the reply. Instantly I get goosebumps... "Is this my Ash?" I ask. "Yes!" comes the reply. I start jumping for joy. I ask her how she is doing. There is silence. I ask, "Can you talk?" She says... "not really!" And at that very moment I realize that the only thing being exchanged between the airways of Utah and Uruguay are some very deep emotions of gratitude. Awe... I miss that girl. We were only able to speak for a few moments as she gave me instructions on how and when we would be speaking on the following day. Yeah! Then Brooke stole the phone from me and spoke with her big seesta for another minute, as Ash offered her some imperative "Prom" advice that could only come from a big sister. Thanks Ash!!

Then came Sunday... Mother's Day. We all waited for the moment that afternoon when we could talk to Ash for about an hour. An hour seems like so long, but those of you who have been on missions, or have/had a loved one serving a mission, know that one hour feels like 15 minutes. We gathered around the speaker phone and listened to her explain only those things that somehow get lost in written correspondence. It was so awesome to hear her voice!!! We laughed and we cried. She is still Ashley. She sounded the same, only a little more mature and filled with a lot of gratitude. She is doing awesome, loving her mish and being stretched all along the way. Now that I got my Ashley fix..... I'm sorta going through withdrawals, but this too shall pass! It's all good. It was the best mother's day ever!

Now a word from our missionary.....

This little girl calls us Hermana Tupper and Nike. She’s funny: looks like a Latin version of the tiny Raven from Disney, hilarious just like her too. I’m Hermana Tupper, like a Tupperware, and Hermana Hite is Hermana Nike, cause she big ha, like the shoe ;)

Alright, that is beside the point. HELLO FAMILY AGAIN!!! Oh man... I’m not gonna lie…. It was soooo great to hear everyone’s voices on Mother’s Day, but I almost think it was harder to hear you guys than to not. I’ve just gotten so used to not talking with anyone. It’s weird. It was weird describing to you all what my life has been for 5 months and not have anyone really know about it. I realize that life at home isn’t changing in a way I can’t handle, everyone is still there. I appreciate that more than any of you will ever know. It’s crazy to think the next time we talk I will be pretty close to coming home… on the downhill slope anyway. Crazy! I can’t get over it.

I’ve been thinking about what dad said. I’m trying to find the needle in a haystack. I guess I thought it would be easier to find that needle than this. It’s difficult having to go through the whole city to find one person. It’s hard when our President asks us set a goal every month for how many baptisms we feel we’re going to have and then not having any. We are trying so hard. We have done literally everything for our investigators: made them General Conference CDs, daily contact, prayers, fasting, taught and invited them to feel the spirit... everything. I was reading in Jesus the Christ this morning... I found a little thought in the notes. It said, "There will be missionaries who will bring the message of great joy to others, but ultimately it is up to them to gain the testimony." Obviously, I knew this. It’s just challenging when you feel that no one is doing their part to feel that or to permit it to enter their hearts. We can only do so much, and we have done our part. We can only nudge them in the right direction. If it’s not their time, then it’s not their time. We have to let that be and know the will of the Lord is going to be something greater. I read in an article by Jeffery R. Holland (I love the man) that "faith is HOPING for a better future, trusting that the Lord has something better in store for us than what we have now. Faith builds off the past, but never longs to stay there." He referred to Lot’s wife, who looked back because she thought that what she was leaving behind was better than what the Lord was leading her to. She lacked in trust. I will not do that. I just gotta keep moving forward. That’s all. Like Shaq kept telling me, if someone doesn’t accept the gospel, just move on because there’s someone else who is being better prepared. Thanks for helping me keep in mind also that it might not always be during this year and a half that I see the results of my work. I just gotta keep pluggin :)

So funny story... right after I tell you my mission schedule, the district leader calls us and says.... major changes in the mish haha. Uh... what the junk... we have 2 hours of companion study, and then we have to do language study right after. Then we have lunch right after. So pretty much we stay in the house ALL morning until approximately 1-1:30. So weird. We’re kinda worried. That means we have to go out and talk to people during the siesta (naptime) and NO ONE likes to talk to us then. We just have to trust that some good will come out of it. What’s in the future is better than what is in the past, right? It just also means we have to go out and do contacts in the dark cold instead of the morning like we usually do. He never said it would be easy, right? So anyway, Elder Arnold, our Area President and Seventy, sent us 22 pages of info about all these changes and we´re required to print it out and use it and read it obviously. Both me AND my comp, crazy eh? That’s a lot of pesos haha… anyway, its good. I guess I´ll update you more on how it’s working next week.

I pray for you guys daily… like 30 times a day. I love you all. You and the gospel are my life. I don’t need anything else. Life is swell. I love the gospel. I love you... Happy Mother’s day and Happy Birthday, dad, again. Shaquel... ah! a few weeks till your 20th, and Brooke a few more till your 17th! Woo! Have some fun, but not too much without me. I love all your guts!!!! and faces too. Be good.

Thank you so much for your encouragement, support and undying LOVE!!! I will forever and ever be eternally grateful!!! I LOVE YOU WITH MY HEART AND SOUL. DONT EVER FORGET IT! The church is true :)
Love, Ashley Nicole

A STALKER?!?

I don’t think I mentioned the fact that we had transfer calls this week, last night to be exact. I can’t even tell you the amount of butterflies that make their way into my stomach for transfer calls. We had it bad last night. We were pacing the apartment waiting for the calls. We actually decided to make tortillas and ate them with jam and played Go Fish while we waited. It was quite fun. We are staying together. They white washed the elders right out of here. We are getting two newbies. We´re nervous about that. One will be a greenie, so we´ll see what he’s about. We got really close with the elders, (as close as we can be as missionaries). They were cool. They came over to the house last night to check on us because yes... we have a stalker. More about that later...

This week went well. It’s weird how this happens… I feel the hard days, but when I go to write you all, only the good can be remembered. I guess that’s how the mish works. Good times. I’m glad it’s that way, otherwise no one would ever come on a mission for REAL! This who-bizzle is hard.

The elders had two baptisms this week. It was so awesome to watch. One lady who quit smoking, they didn’t think she would be able to get baptized but I guess she called one hour before the baptism was going to start and said she was ready. It was awesome. Then the little son of the old bishop was baptized. He got to do the honors. It was so cool. We sang Child’s Prayer in Spanish. It’s hard! The spirit was so strong. It’s even cooler on Sunday to see them receive the Holy Ghost and get their blessing. The lady (Laura) started crying. Man it’s the only person I have seen cry when she received the Holy Ghost. So that was cool. I like to look at their faces when they receive it. You can see their countenance change. I cry every time. What’s new, eh?

Our investigators are... somewhat progressing... we are having a hard time with them. We have been fasting like crazy nuts and praying for them but... man Satan is working hard. We heard another set of sisters in the mish had 19 investigators with baptismal dates but not one of them got there. Really makes you wonder what the purpose behind it all is, huh? Obviously it’s not their time and we are to be learning something from the hardships here, but MAN! Some of the elders here have about 40 baptisms, but I don’t even know how that’s possible. Of course the number doesn’t matter... but we want to find those who are ready too. We´re working so hard and doing everything we can. I guess that’s all that can be done...we just gotta keep pressing forward and having the faith.

Luis... dear sweet Luis…. Poor man, went way out of his way this week to make us and the elders lunch. It was so fun. We made apple cinnamon muffins for dessert and he was in SHOCK! It was so funny. We are such good friends with him. We talk so frankly with him these days and we find him everywhere in the city and he always stops to talk with us. He’s so much more than an investigator to me. He is my brother, someone I’m trying really hard to save (for himself and for our Heavenly Father). He told us when the storms hit this week, when Bin Laden was killed this morning, called us last night to find out if I was staying or going and all sorts of other things. He’s the best. I just hope he can rise above his challenges and step in the waters of baptism for a better life. He deserves it and so much more.

As for our stalker… apparently he has been doing it to all the hermanas here for 3 years. But it got really bad last night when he came to our house at almost 10 at night... we freaked out! We called the elders and they rushed over. Our district leader says now we have to call the police... no worries. It’s all good! I’m honestly not that worried about it. We had a dance party with the elders... ha that sounds bad. Actually, we mostly just watched the elders dance to this CD a member gave us. She’s a singer and she taught them the funniest dance moves. So they showed us what it was about, from outside our door of course, [they can’t come in the house]...so funny. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. One elder is finishing his mish and the other was almost going to go home because of back problems, but now he gets to work in the office doing finances, so he gets to stay. It was a bitter sweet moment with them leaving. I thought to myself, this is one of those memories I’ll remember when I get home and feel sick remembering my mish and wanting to come back. It was a good feeling. Life here is good.

Love you, love ash

P.S. Regarding hardships… I read this scripture the other morning and it struck me really hard. It’s so cool. Ether 6:5 The Lord CAUSED the wind to blow hard… now why on earth would he do that? The same reason he gives us trials. It says right in that scripture... he causes the winds to blow to get us to the promised land. He tries us to make us the people he needs us to be, to become what he knows we can become and to have us learn what we need to. So cool!