TRANSFER CALLS.....

So hey! How is the outside world? We are well here. Lots of stuffies has happened this week. It was a good one. Where do I start...
Transfers.... oh man, I don’t know what I’m going to do about calls… as always we were so nervous. Our zone leader called us and asked who we wanted to know about first. We were sitting on pins and needles, but my comp yelled, "Hermana Farr!" …. He says, “Uh, Hermana Farr se queda.” That means... I’m staying! Huh? You’re joking. He doesn’t give me time to think before saying, “Hermana Laursen se queda tambien! What the JUNK?! “Elder, you’re lying.” Turns out he wasn’t. So I’m staying here AGAIN in Maldonado. Can you believe it?! And we are staying together!!!!! haha We start jumping up and down. This NEVER…. and I mean NEVER happens in the mission. You don’t stay with a companion for three changes... ever! Welp, apparently we still have people and a ward here to help that need us specifically. It’s crazy, isn’t it? We haven’t been able to get over it all night or morning. But here we are, staying together. Good times it will be. Seven and a half months here. That’s pretty much my whole mish. No one can believe it. Ademas... (in addition) we are going to be together for every single big holiday... Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. So you’ll get to meet Hermana Laursen when we all skype. Yeah baby! We’re gonna find a Christmas tree to set up and decorate tambien.

Last Pday was so fun! We got to go to Casa Pueblo and it was BEAUTIFUL! Uruguay is gorgeous. I can’t even explain to you. My breath was taken away when we got off the bus. I took tons of pictures, but I can’t send them all so you only get a few today. Don’t worry more are coming. The pics are just one of the pretty views before you get to Casa Pueblo. I felt like I was in Mexico. Then we saw a tarantula while we were walking! Ah! So crazy, it was huge. You look down one side of the coast and it looks like Ireland and the other side looks like you’re in Greece. So it was a good day. We traveled around the world; got out of the mission for a few hours and then hiked down some cliffs to take cool pics and read letters by the ocean. I actually took off my shoes and socks to hike, it was so fun! Check out that tarantula by my shoe

Yuri got baptized! It was so awesome. He is such a sweet person who deserves every bit of happiness. He’s my best convert. He is so awesome. I really feel like he will be a strong future leader in the gospel. He is so committed. Thanksgiving was good. I was trying not to think of the things going on there so we just worked really hard and then went to dinner. We didn’t have much time, but they were all great. It was good to be in loving company. We had chicken with gravy that Sandra and Mark (from Utah) made. We had stuffing, sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes. It was good. By the way... Sandra goes home this Friday and we are sending home packages with her for you. She’s awesome and totally American-ized. haha Good times. Her husband, who is a convert, is way cool too.We had the opportunity to see a little miracle this week with an elder who is serving in the mission. He called us one night to ask if a specific gentleman was in our ward. We said no, but we could do some investigating and possibly find him. "Why?" we asked. "Well, he was the elder who baptized me." We did our best to locate the man and learned that he’s the brother of a member in our ward. She called him and told him about this elder who is now serving in HIS missionary’s country. How cool is that? The sad thing is that this former missionary who baptized the current elder when he was 8, is now inactive. The elder got so excited that we found his missionary. They both were. Now they get to communicate and I imagine (hope) that this elder that is serving here now will help this man get re-activated into the gospel. It’s funny how the Lord works, isn’t it. Don’t ever doubt his grand plan. It’s amazing.

So here’s a little tip… you should get and read a Preach My Gospel. Read about the members’ responsibilities. We had a really good member step it up with some investigators he brought to church. When we thanked him later for it, he said, "Yeah, of course. That’s our responsibility or role in the work." That’s the truth, but most members don’t realize that. Later, we were reading in the white handbook and it says our duty as missionaries is to remind the members and inform them of their roles in the work. So here I am. I figure I could mention it to you, even though I know you are all doing so much missionary work already. I mean with befriending less or in-actives… you don’t understand how much it helps to have that friend. So my challenge to you this week is to find a less active and go by and visit them, invite them to church or some activity and be there for them every step of the way. Take them cookies, make a card, do something. It’s our duty. Use the wonderful American resources you have. We have been blessed with so much and for this reason, much is expected of us. Every member a missionary! Let’s go team!

I know this work is of the Lord and I love him with all my heart. Let us serve him with all our hearts.

I love you family... you mean the world to me. Keep being strong and holding on to that rod, but grab a few people on the way. I love you. Be good. Until next week.

Love, Ash