Transfers!!!

Things are well here. Yes, we had transfer calls… AND Yes, I’m being transferred. I love it here and my heart will always remain here, but I’m ready for a change for once! My work here is done. So I’m going to an area called, Sarandi Del Yi. It’s in the state called Durazno, or peach in English. I should have seen that coming. I’m a little nervous, of course. I think that’s normal. I’m pretty sure it’s an area in the middle of nowhere, like cows and fields and stuff... yeah! I know what you’re thinking dad, "Yes! Now we get into the real world of the mission." Right? I think I’ll be in for a little shock. It’ll be interesting cuz I’m just a little city girl. I don’t like nothingness. Oh well, it’ll be good. I already know that this area will be the best of all so far, that’s what life is... having faith in the Lord that he has something prepared for you that is better than what you had before. I trust in him. Now it’ll just be a matter of maintaining that trust when I get there: walk into my teeny house, see bugs all over, and everything smells like a cow. That’s the hardest part for me, getting into the new atmosphere and not freaking out. I’m trying to take control of myself. That was one thing I wanted to learn on the mish. If I don’t do it now, I don’t know when I will. If I fear, I don’t have faith. It’s as simple as that. So, I’m choosing faith. My new comp is Hermana Lopez. No one knows ANYTHING about her, except she’s new. She’s only been here one transfer so I’ll be finishing her up on training. We will be finishing the new missionary program together. She is from the states, but she’s Latin. So it’s the best of both worlds! She speaks English and perfect Spanish. What better way to learn Spanish than that? I’m excited, it’ll be good. Now on to packing...
You’ll never guess who is coming to take my place here and be Hermana Laursen’s comp? Yep! You said it, Hermana Lundskog. Isn’t that so funny. She will be good for this area. We were all talking on the phone last night about how good of friends we get to be after the mish. It’ll be fun. Good luck to them!!

So last week for Pday we did end up going to that outdoor beachside restaurant. It was sooo awesome. We were giddy with excitement. We ate smoked salmon sandwiches. To our surprise... they were very, very raw. But I ate it and it was still really good! I got some things down there. I got daddy’s prize for when I come home. You’re gonna love it! It was a blast.

We ate smoked salmon sandwiches at a Beachside Restaurant. So great!

This week has been good. Pablo still hasn’t gotten back, but we have talked to him on the phone and he is still good. I guess he’s being reserved for Hermana Lundskog and Laursen to teach. He will be baptized. He keeps telling us how much he needs the lessons and all. He’s so cool. We found another girl. Anika is 14. Both her parents are members, but not active, and she lives with her grandma. We have been teaching her all week. She is getting baptized on the 21st and is so excited. She loves reading from the Book of Mormon and she came to church on Sunday. I’m sad to be leaving her, but it’s all for something, right?

That is pretty much all the updates work wise. My comp and I have been having really good, inspiring comp studies lately. We have come to realize a lot about life. This week has been hard in the sense that, we keep hearing stories of ex-missionaries and bishops and all of the above who have fallen away. I can’t imagine after serving a mission falling away. It breaks my heart. My zone leader used to always tell me, you can baptize a thousand people and be a successful missionary, but you won’t see the fruits of your labor until after you’re home, married and sealed in the temple, with kids who are going to Primary. That is the real test of successful missions. It’s so true. All I can do is make sure I bring one soul to Christ and that’s mine! Of course, in the meantime I am going to do everything possible to bring others along the way, but I've got to make sure I'm strong too. My comp and I talked about the test of life. Yeah, it’s 80 or so years... life gets rough sometimes, but you have two choices in everything and those choices determine if you are getting closer to Christ or further away. It’s that simple. Will we pass or not? It’s been interesting to think about.

Life is good. I just love you all so much. I appreciate everything you do for me. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. You will never know how much you mean to me unless you yourself come here on the mish. Otherwise, it’s indescribable. We only need two things in this life, the gospel and family. With those two things, we are unstoppable. Or at least I am. I hope you guys realize that too. I’m outtey. I love you soooo much! Until next week.

Love, Ash
Pretty hibiscus! All the flowers that we pay 8 dollars a stem for in the states, all grow freely here. It's awesome.