Life is... swell here. I felt like this week was a little uneventful here in Argentina, but I spoke too soon and last night gave me some... eh, some experiences haha. We were going to go proselyting two times this week, yesterday and Saturday but it was raining so hard that they actually cancelled. Who does that in the mission field! No one... it was lame. It was so stormy… you should have seen it. I tried going outside and the wind blew so hard that I couldn’t open the door. I pushed on it and it flew open and I flew with it, right smack into the door and now I have a huge bruise on my back.
Then, in class we had a sub teacher who spoke absolutely zero English and out of nowhere expected us to teach him the second lesson. We haven’t even learned the second lesson in English. .. We are still so far behind of where we should be. We should have gone through all the lessons in English and Spanish by now. So he decided to let us teach in English. That’s when I figured out I don’t know how to teach some of these things I’ve grown up with to someone who has no idea what it is. I didn’t even know the material in English. I was so sad... that’s a major letdown. So now instead of focusing my personal study time on scriptures and other meaningful things, I have to study and restudy the lessons in English so when we go over them in Spanish during class I can know how to translate my thoughts. That was frustrating... THEN!
As we are heading down to bed after a long night, they decide to spring on us that all our companionships are changing with the new group of missionaries that are arriving today. So Hermana Lundskog and I are no longer companions. I am in a threesome again with Hermana Kirkham again and Hermana Preston. But everything happens for a reason, eh? Besides I love Hermana Preston and Kirkham. We still all do stuff together anyway. So, it’s been a crazy couple of days. It’s even weirder that we have graduated to the senior class. We are out of here in 2 weeks and 4 days. Let the countdown begin. I’m getting more and more nervous. It’s crazy to think I waited for 4 months to get on my mission and I still feel like it hasn’t really started yet…. lots of buildup and excitement to get out there. Anywho.
I sent you all a letter on Monday that describes what happened for proselitismo last Saturday, but... Maria couldn’t meet with us. We were most excited for her, but she was out of town. She did read the things we told her, but she doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ so that creates a new barrier we didn’t think we had to get through. So we are turning her over to the real missionaries out in the area. It was a long Saturday when we literally had knocked on every household door and there was no one in the streets. It was rough and apparently January is vacation month, like July in the states. So stacks of mail sat at everyone’s house. I was starting wonder.... it was so hard, but at the very end of the day we ran into one girl. I realize that having faith isn’t just hoping someone will fall into our laps that we can teach. It is acting. And this girl, Gabriella... we almost let her go, but last minute, Hermana Lundskog chased after her and I ran too. She was so sweet, our age... and she has been to many churches in search of one that will help her feel good all the time. Certain churches make her happy for certain periods of her life, anyway, long story short, she went to church and then we get to meet with her on Saturday to see how it went. We are so excited! Anyway... that made everything better.
We also had someone try to kidnap us! ha not... but it was sketchy. These men tried to get us to go one street past our area boundary and have lunch with them but we resisted and we are safe. It was interesting.
On a little fun note... lots of girls here love the braids I do in my hair and therefore I have been braiding hair like crazy. It’s really fun. Also, every elder who had something to be fixed by a needle and thread… I fixed it. And since they all know I can and will fix things for them, they all come to me. I feel like a mom. It’s some good traits to be learning anyway I guess ha. Whatever the case, I am going to teach my sons how to sew. Elders... psh ha.
I miss you all so very much and love you to pieces. Thank you for everything you have done for me. Everything is so greatly appreciated. Have a great week. You’re in my prayers. This church is true : ) Love, Ash
THE MOMMA's PERSEPECTIVE: Kidnapped???? I hardly classify that as an "Interesting" event of your mission. I need a little more details than that, Ash!! And as for teaching your sons..... who says you'll have any? bahaha (wink wink)
Friday, January 21, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
OVER HALF WAY THROUGH THE MTC!
Oh man...so much to say! As every week, but I have soooo many emails that are so long and I have no time to read them.
Alright, alright. It has been a great week, AS ALWAYS! Throughout the week I write everything down so that I can remember the things I want to share with you all. I wish I could call you and really let you know the things I am experiencing but it is purely incredible. I know that such things can only come from our loving Heavenly Father. To start off, we went proselyting as always on Saturday. It was great…. SUCH a different area from last time. This place is rich, and I mean rich. Alright, probably not what you guys think of as rich, as in the looks of everything is still not what Utah is... haha but the houses were so big! They were 3 stories tall and all really cool and unique designs. Not that this matters at all, but just so you get a feel for what I am seeing. Instead of dirt roads and tiny shops that are swarming with flies, they had clothing stores, fabric stores, little cute cafes, all sorts of fun stuff. We got really excited, except of course all those things were out of our assigned areas haha. But this area, instead of being full of people in the streets, everyone was indoors, which... of course leads to DOOR KNOCKING! ….. completely new experience hahaha. I haven’t had to deal with that yet.
Let me just mention to you that we woke up that morning and it was pouring. I mean pouring…. like raining cats and dogs. Here they call it aguacena haha (like a combo of water and dinner) no se! (oh gosh, I am speaking Spanish and I don’t even know it! haha “no se” means I don’t know). But we all got bundled up which is weird and went trucking out in the rain. It was intense. We knocked, I’m not kidding, every door. And they have gates on every house and speakers to talk through so no one comes out. It’s hard. Anyone who did come out slammed the door in our face. I have never experienced such a thing! My companion started getting really discouraged and by this time my skirt and shoes were COMPLETELY drenched. I had to literally wring out my skirt later. But I had to keep us together. I just kept saying, keep going! We have to keep going. She was just trudging along. I actually just started laughing at every door slam we got. It was great.
Then we started playing a game like on “Errand of Angels” trying to get as many words into the speaker before people could hang up on us. When they would say “no time, no time,” I would say, “Por favor,” really sweetly, but they would still hang up haha. Finally we get to this house and this girl looks at us through the window. P.S. they do that a lot. They don’t like to really open the door so they just yell from the windows. But she says she will come down for us. Miracle number 1! She actually comes outside and starts talking to us in the rain. Miracle number 2. Then she says she is going to get an umbrella. She wants to KEEP talking to us. Miracle number 3. When she comes out, we slipped an English word and discover that she speaks English too! Miracle number 4. We started teaching her the restoration and it was amazing. She was interested and it was awesome. Right when I get to the part about a pillar of light.... no joke… the rain stops and a pillar of light comes right on us. She puts her umbrella down and looks at the sky. She says... "That’s God. Look... there is no sun except right where we are. He is trying to tell us something." It was so crazy! I know Heavenly Father was with us at that moment. We are going back to teach her on Saturday. And I can’t wait! We gave her a Book of Mormon. Today we had to call her to confirm when she works and she wasn’t there so hence I had my first telephone call completely in Spanish. It was cool! I am getting good, but we still have a long way to go. Our teachers keep telling us in less than a week we´ll be the senior group here and we have to set the example for everyone and then we´re outta here. We are starting to get nervous for the real deal.
I have found my new fav quote. You might think it’s weird but I found it in Preach my Gospel. I wanted to share. "Study, believe, live, love and teach." This is the most perfect thing ever for how we should be living our lives. We should be studying the gospel every day! Believe in Heavenly Father and his words, and believe in Jesus Christ and have faith in him, live the gospel through everything we do and say. Love with every fiber of our being, those we like and those we don’t, at all times, even when someone does something wrong… and teaching others... spreading the good news. Helping everyone. This is our mission. It’s great.
Last night was really hard for my comp. We were teaching the Latinos here and discovered we don’t know everything haha. Apparently it says in the bible to have church on Saturday. We did NOT know how to respond to that. And she broke down. My teacher said she gave us that situation because we will come across things we don’t know out there. We aren’t expected to know everything. We’re young… for crying out loud… and still learning too. But if we humble ourselves and tell these people, "Hey, we don’t know the answer, but we study everyday and we will find out for you for next time." She said they learn to trust us and love us for being humble. I don’t think I ever imagined myself saying I don’t know to someone out here. I thought they would look down on that, but no.
It is sooo crazy to me that literally everything you thought you knew coming here, has to be broken down by Heavenly Father and re-taught to you before you can really KNOW. Every part of your testimony gets tried here, but it’s so great when you pull through because then your testimony is that much stronger and you can say you know for sure this church is true. We have to experience everything our investigator does. We teach them to search the scriptures and that it will answer every question they have, it is the same for us. So we studied that "Sabbath day worship" this morning and we also found in the bible where it changes to Sunday after Christ’s resurrection. Now I know that we can find the answers to anything, any problem in our books of scripture. It’s incredible! I love this gospel, I’m so glad to be here and I love you all so much!
I got a ton of letters today and loved it, but I can’t respond to everything! haha
Keep the faith everyone! I promise it will pull you through! I miss you all immensely, but things are well. “All is well" as Joseph Smith said. Cherish this gospel and cherish each other. We are so blessed. I LOVE YOU!!
Love, Ash
Alright, alright. It has been a great week, AS ALWAYS! Throughout the week I write everything down so that I can remember the things I want to share with you all. I wish I could call you and really let you know the things I am experiencing but it is purely incredible. I know that such things can only come from our loving Heavenly Father. To start off, we went proselyting as always on Saturday. It was great…. SUCH a different area from last time. This place is rich, and I mean rich. Alright, probably not what you guys think of as rich, as in the looks of everything is still not what Utah is... haha but the houses were so big! They were 3 stories tall and all really cool and unique designs. Not that this matters at all, but just so you get a feel for what I am seeing. Instead of dirt roads and tiny shops that are swarming with flies, they had clothing stores, fabric stores, little cute cafes, all sorts of fun stuff. We got really excited, except of course all those things were out of our assigned areas haha. But this area, instead of being full of people in the streets, everyone was indoors, which... of course leads to DOOR KNOCKING! ….. completely new experience hahaha. I haven’t had to deal with that yet.
Let me just mention to you that we woke up that morning and it was pouring. I mean pouring…. like raining cats and dogs. Here they call it aguacena haha (like a combo of water and dinner) no se! (oh gosh, I am speaking Spanish and I don’t even know it! haha “no se” means I don’t know). But we all got bundled up which is weird and went trucking out in the rain. It was intense. We knocked, I’m not kidding, every door. And they have gates on every house and speakers to talk through so no one comes out. It’s hard. Anyone who did come out slammed the door in our face. I have never experienced such a thing! My companion started getting really discouraged and by this time my skirt and shoes were COMPLETELY drenched. I had to literally wring out my skirt later. But I had to keep us together. I just kept saying, keep going! We have to keep going. She was just trudging along. I actually just started laughing at every door slam we got. It was great.
Then we started playing a game like on “Errand of Angels” trying to get as many words into the speaker before people could hang up on us. When they would say “no time, no time,” I would say, “Por favor,” really sweetly, but they would still hang up haha. Finally we get to this house and this girl looks at us through the window. P.S. they do that a lot. They don’t like to really open the door so they just yell from the windows. But she says she will come down for us. Miracle number 1! She actually comes outside and starts talking to us in the rain. Miracle number 2. Then she says she is going to get an umbrella. She wants to KEEP talking to us. Miracle number 3. When she comes out, we slipped an English word and discover that she speaks English too! Miracle number 4. We started teaching her the restoration and it was amazing. She was interested and it was awesome. Right when I get to the part about a pillar of light.... no joke… the rain stops and a pillar of light comes right on us. She puts her umbrella down and looks at the sky. She says... "That’s God. Look... there is no sun except right where we are. He is trying to tell us something." It was so crazy! I know Heavenly Father was with us at that moment. We are going back to teach her on Saturday. And I can’t wait! We gave her a Book of Mormon. Today we had to call her to confirm when she works and she wasn’t there so hence I had my first telephone call completely in Spanish. It was cool! I am getting good, but we still have a long way to go. Our teachers keep telling us in less than a week we´ll be the senior group here and we have to set the example for everyone and then we´re outta here. We are starting to get nervous for the real deal.
I have found my new fav quote. You might think it’s weird but I found it in Preach my Gospel. I wanted to share. "Study, believe, live, love and teach." This is the most perfect thing ever for how we should be living our lives. We should be studying the gospel every day! Believe in Heavenly Father and his words, and believe in Jesus Christ and have faith in him, live the gospel through everything we do and say. Love with every fiber of our being, those we like and those we don’t, at all times, even when someone does something wrong… and teaching others... spreading the good news. Helping everyone. This is our mission. It’s great.
Last night was really hard for my comp. We were teaching the Latinos here and discovered we don’t know everything haha. Apparently it says in the bible to have church on Saturday. We did NOT know how to respond to that. And she broke down. My teacher said she gave us that situation because we will come across things we don’t know out there. We aren’t expected to know everything. We’re young… for crying out loud… and still learning too. But if we humble ourselves and tell these people, "Hey, we don’t know the answer, but we study everyday and we will find out for you for next time." She said they learn to trust us and love us for being humble. I don’t think I ever imagined myself saying I don’t know to someone out here. I thought they would look down on that, but no.
It is sooo crazy to me that literally everything you thought you knew coming here, has to be broken down by Heavenly Father and re-taught to you before you can really KNOW. Every part of your testimony gets tried here, but it’s so great when you pull through because then your testimony is that much stronger and you can say you know for sure this church is true. We have to experience everything our investigator does. We teach them to search the scriptures and that it will answer every question they have, it is the same for us. So we studied that "Sabbath day worship" this morning and we also found in the bible where it changes to Sunday after Christ’s resurrection. Now I know that we can find the answers to anything, any problem in our books of scripture. It’s incredible! I love this gospel, I’m so glad to be here and I love you all so much!
I got a ton of letters today and loved it, but I can’t respond to everything! haha
Keep the faith everyone! I promise it will pull you through! I miss you all immensely, but things are well. “All is well" as Joseph Smith said. Cherish this gospel and cherish each other. We are so blessed. I LOVE YOU!!
Love, Ash
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
WEEK FOUR
BEST DAY EVER !! (1/6/11)
...more or less anyway haha. soooo.... It’s been a month! Well, almost. I count it anyway, can you believe how fast time has flown by? It’s literally insane.
Her. Lundskog and I were upstairs in our room studying Spanish on our Pday haha and someone came and told us they had passed out mail. We totally forget because we had been working so hard and it’s the first time we've missed mail pass out. We kinda moped down there thinking we weren't getting anything. Secret is, we know where they keep the mail here so we can check daily if we've gotten anyway. We just can’t take it till Pday, but we checked last night and there was nothing. We come down today and BOTH of us got 2 packages! Happy Christmas to us hahaha
There is so much I wanted to tell you all, but there simply is no time. We lost all our good teachers this week and with all the new missionaries coming in it has been a crazy mad house around here. We fell so behind in our Spanish and we had a sub teacher one day. Her. Lundskog and I were teaching her when she said we are nowhere near where we should be. My district got so discouraged. It’s been rough but I had to be strong because Her. Lungskog was the one crying. We help each other a lot, it’s good. I love her. Because of those things Amulek district (who we are really close to), went out of their way to make us feel good and uplift us. They drew pictures in our classroom, wrote quotes everywhere, and gave us scriptures to not let us stay discouraged. Our spirits have been lifted once again. On top of that, we've been working so much harder and our slower teachers both got replaced with the best in the house. We've been going like crazy and you can’t stop us now. Things are well here, we're happy, but most importantly we feel the hand of the lord. I am loving it here. We have new Latina roommates and they are the best ever, it still blows my mind we can be such good friends with people who we can’t understand and they can’t understand back. We do a lot of acting, but every night we go to bed laughing so hard we hurt. They have been teaching us funny things in Spanish. It’s good.
Anywho, we also inherited another sister in our district. We got split up with Her. Kirkham last week and we really missed her, but we got her back pretty much. She has a new companion but we all just act as a foursome now. Her name is Her. Preston. She’s from Utah also and she is so great. We all love being together. She teaches yoga! haha I love it! So every day since last week we have done yoga during physical activity time. Best thing ever. My body hurts all the time. And just an FYI eat more than ever before haha. It is truly a blessing and I haven’t come across a meal I don’t like since that first week I was here. And yes… everything pretty much still has red sauce. I am definitely being helped here. It’s great.
I noticed that here everything reminds me of California. Just the feel of here is like Cali. I think about that all the time and I think of grandma and grandpa Berg and it makes me feel so good. Even the birds outside remind me of there. Also, I have noticed I am more like you, mom, than I ever thought. I hear myself saying things that sound exactly like you would say them. I love it haha. Also, I see my reflection when my hair is wavy and I see you. I am grateful for that. I also noticed when I cry I sound like you. I bore my testimony on Sunday in sacrament and the whole time I was just hearing you, mom. It’s amazing, and I’m so grateful for you. I was the finale of meeting and it’s weird.... I wasn’t nervous and everything I wanted to say came out just how it should. I think maybe my fear of speaking in front of people is lessening. It’s still there! but its lessening. hahaha I don’t even think that’s a word.
Things are well here. I am being guided and I know it. I have Jesus Christ and the spirit with me and I can feel it. It’s the best thing ever. I’m ready right now to go to Uruguay. Crazy thing is we're the middle group here now instead of the newbies and the older group keeps talking about how they have like 10 days till they leave. That means 10 days till we're the oldest group and then it’s a frantic countdown till we leave and start teaching for real. I’m excited. This work is so amazing and I see the hand of our Lord and Savior every day. Be grateful for this gospel. Never take it for granted. I love you all. Smile! Thank you again for the packages. They have made me so happy. I love you, I love you, I love you!!!!
Love, ash
p.s. New years was so cool. I wrote a letter about it, but there were massive fireworks. Illegal fireworks in the U.S. are not illegal here haha It’s great. We set our alarm for midnight on New Year’s Eve and watched the fireworks allllll night… across the entire sky. It was so cool. That’s all loves!
...more or less anyway haha. soooo.... It’s been a month! Well, almost. I count it anyway, can you believe how fast time has flown by? It’s literally insane.
Her. Lundskog and I were upstairs in our room studying Spanish on our Pday haha and someone came and told us they had passed out mail. We totally forget because we had been working so hard and it’s the first time we've missed mail pass out. We kinda moped down there thinking we weren't getting anything. Secret is, we know where they keep the mail here so we can check daily if we've gotten anyway. We just can’t take it till Pday, but we checked last night and there was nothing. We come down today and BOTH of us got 2 packages! Happy Christmas to us hahaha
There is so much I wanted to tell you all, but there simply is no time. We lost all our good teachers this week and with all the new missionaries coming in it has been a crazy mad house around here. We fell so behind in our Spanish and we had a sub teacher one day. Her. Lundskog and I were teaching her when she said we are nowhere near where we should be. My district got so discouraged. It’s been rough but I had to be strong because Her. Lungskog was the one crying. We help each other a lot, it’s good. I love her. Because of those things Amulek district (who we are really close to), went out of their way to make us feel good and uplift us. They drew pictures in our classroom, wrote quotes everywhere, and gave us scriptures to not let us stay discouraged. Our spirits have been lifted once again. On top of that, we've been working so much harder and our slower teachers both got replaced with the best in the house. We've been going like crazy and you can’t stop us now. Things are well here, we're happy, but most importantly we feel the hand of the lord. I am loving it here. We have new Latina roommates and they are the best ever, it still blows my mind we can be such good friends with people who we can’t understand and they can’t understand back. We do a lot of acting, but every night we go to bed laughing so hard we hurt. They have been teaching us funny things in Spanish. It’s good.
Anywho, we also inherited another sister in our district. We got split up with Her. Kirkham last week and we really missed her, but we got her back pretty much. She has a new companion but we all just act as a foursome now. Her name is Her. Preston. She’s from Utah also and she is so great. We all love being together. She teaches yoga! haha I love it! So every day since last week we have done yoga during physical activity time. Best thing ever. My body hurts all the time. And just an FYI eat more than ever before haha. It is truly a blessing and I haven’t come across a meal I don’t like since that first week I was here. And yes… everything pretty much still has red sauce. I am definitely being helped here. It’s great.
I noticed that here everything reminds me of California. Just the feel of here is like Cali. I think about that all the time and I think of grandma and grandpa Berg and it makes me feel so good. Even the birds outside remind me of there. Also, I have noticed I am more like you, mom, than I ever thought. I hear myself saying things that sound exactly like you would say them. I love it haha. Also, I see my reflection when my hair is wavy and I see you. I am grateful for that. I also noticed when I cry I sound like you. I bore my testimony on Sunday in sacrament and the whole time I was just hearing you, mom. It’s amazing, and I’m so grateful for you. I was the finale of meeting and it’s weird.... I wasn’t nervous and everything I wanted to say came out just how it should. I think maybe my fear of speaking in front of people is lessening. It’s still there! but its lessening. hahaha I don’t even think that’s a word.
Things are well here. I am being guided and I know it. I have Jesus Christ and the spirit with me and I can feel it. It’s the best thing ever. I’m ready right now to go to Uruguay. Crazy thing is we're the middle group here now instead of the newbies and the older group keeps talking about how they have like 10 days till they leave. That means 10 days till we're the oldest group and then it’s a frantic countdown till we leave and start teaching for real. I’m excited. This work is so amazing and I see the hand of our Lord and Savior every day. Be grateful for this gospel. Never take it for granted. I love you all. Smile! Thank you again for the packages. They have made me so happy. I love you, I love you, I love you!!!!
Love, ash
p.s. New years was so cool. I wrote a letter about it, but there were massive fireworks. Illegal fireworks in the U.S. are not illegal here haha It’s great. We set our alarm for midnight on New Year’s Eve and watched the fireworks allllll night… across the entire sky. It was so cool. That’s all loves!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Christmas at the MTC
Here are a few pics the mission president's wife sent of the missionaries having their Christmas celebration at the MTC. It was the first time we have "seen" Ash in three weeks. She looks great and so happy!! From the reports we received, they had a great program, played some fun games and ate some Christmas goodies "Argentina style." It was simple, but Ash says the BEST Christmas ever. 
WEEK THREE
My my my... has it really been 3 weeks already? I thought time was going by so slow, but turns out it has flown by. I can’t believe it. Technically here, we are on our 4th week schedule. So that’s what my district likes to say, it makes us feel better about ourselves haha. So! So much to tell.
We´ll start out with proseletismo last week, it was a huge letdown. I guess that’s how it’s going to be this next year and a half. Every appointment we had fell through. We had spent so much time preparing and STRESSING over all the lessons we wanted to give them and not one person was home. Actually, I take that back. Facundo, our most important investigator was home. We were so excited for him because he spoke English, and we thought he was so ready to hear what we had to say. He had family over for Christmas and his parents don’t want him to have anything to do with the church. That’s the vibe we got anyway. It was so sad. Luckily, we had a Book of Mormon for him. We said a prayer before we went to his house and I asked that the will of the Lord be done as we went and visited him. Then that happened. Weird thing is, we were so overly concerned about him that we all wrote our testimonies in the Book of Mormon. We are keeping the faith that all this is going to lead to something good and maybe he needs to hear about the church through the book instead of our mouths. No one will ever know. Tomorrow we will try and see him again. It’s our last day in the area then we get transferred to a different one. Everyone is really glad because apparently this is the poorest of any area anyone has been to. That’s pretty intense if you know what I’m sayin : )
Christmas! I hope everyone had a good one. Thank you much much for the package! All the candy is already gone haha! I love the pictures. I look intensely at them every day. One is by my bed and the other I carry around everywhere to show. Everyone says we are all so pretty! haha except dad… he’s just handsome. But they help me so much daily to have those here. I am doing so well here. The fact that it’s sunny and resembles nothing of the Christmas I know helped a little I think.
We had a lot of fun though. Pres and his wife had a couple programs for us. We played games and they got us all gifts. We had a little "remember Christmas at home" and we all shared traditions and then everyone was in tears. I witnessed a lot of giving though. Someone whose favorite Christmas memory was going to a choir and hearing a certain song every year and someone here would have that song and play it for them… Those kinds of things. It’s giving on a whole new level and I’ve come to appreciate this season even more. Afterwards, we all got to eat yummy food and we had a battle of the Christmas carols with the Latinos haha. It was the best time of my life. There’s nothing better than seeing 100 missionaries you have become so close with sing songs about Christmas, laughing, loving and having a good time.
Christmas day brought even better gifts. As I said we got to have Mervin J. Arnold and his wife come speak to us. Best thing ever; he is amazing. He talked about the spiritual gifts we have inside of us and how important it is we use those here. Because of those gifts is the reason we have been called to this specific mission and the reason everything for the next year and a half will happen. It was really touching. His wife and some other women gave us stockings full of AMERCIAN CANDY! It was such a sight haha! I will never take for granted anything American again. If only there was a Walmart here. It’s amazing the things we don’t appreciate. Look around you! There are so many comforts and blessings. I’m serious. You are all so blessed.
After that we ate lunch and they got to eat with us. I sat down and guess who walks over to me. Elder Arnold. He sat directly across from me. It was so awesome! He and his wife ate with us and we talked the whole time about his mission. Pretty soon everyone was crowded around us listening to his stories. It was so awesome. I swear he looked only me in the eyes for the whole 2 hours, like he was talking directly to me. He told us a really good story about when he served his mission they would reassign missionaries if they couldn’t speak the language. He went to Mexico and he got a call one day saying that he had to get on a bus to Salt Lake and he was being reassigned. He really struggled with Spanish. He told them no and refused. He said he had been called there for a reason and he would stay. They let him but a few weeks later they called again. Again, he refused. They let him stay and he said he worked so hard and eventually got the language down. He said imagine if I would have gone. Nothing about my life would be the same. Every blessing I have now is a direct blessing from serving, but not only serving... serving in Mexico. Basically, he told us to not give up, if we are struggling with anything it’s for a reason. We have been called here for a reason! It was so great.
Hmmm... I don’t have much time left, but this week has been crazy. I have been so blessed. I can handle the food now, no problem. So great! And I am not so homesick... I feel good here and it is starting to become home. Better not get too used to it because we'll leave in 6 weeks. So weird. Umm everyone left on Tuesday except us and 10 others. It was so sad. We miss the Latinos immensely, but my companions and I decided it was a blessing HF gave us. We got to see a love for those people and it’s just a tiny glimpse of how we will feel once we get to Uruguay. When people leave here it’s like graduating high school, they all sign journals and we party all night long haha. We also got to take pictures on Sunday! Wahoo! I got a bunch of MTC and people I have become friends with and my district and comps and such. Lots of things. We can’t send them until we get out of here though. But it just takes way too long on these computers. Sad day, but I do have some. It makes me feel better. It’s been fun though. Speaking of companions, we are not going to be a threesome anymore. Hermana Kirkham is getting to go with the one new North American sister who gets here tomorrow, she will move rooms and it’s so weird. But, on the plus side, Hermana Lundskog and I get to stay together! Yay! I love her. And we get 2 Latino sisters in our room tomorrow as well which means more Spanish practice. We are excited for that.
I can’t believe how much I miss the temple. In all this craziness here, it is the one place I feel like I could go to be closer to home. I mentioned we live literally next door to the Argentina temple, so I see the progress they are making on it daily and I long to go there so much. It is our way of doing other forms of missionary work. Don’t take for granted the opportunity that we live so close to so many. Go as often as you can..... It's a huge blessing.
I love you all so much. I’m doing well. I love this gospel and I know with everything I possess that it’s true. I’m so happy to be here and I’m so grateful Heavenly Father knows me and is blessing me. Take a look around and remember what you have been given. You will be so humbled. I love you all. Have a great week. Until next.... : )
Love, Ashley
We´ll start out with proseletismo last week, it was a huge letdown. I guess that’s how it’s going to be this next year and a half. Every appointment we had fell through. We had spent so much time preparing and STRESSING over all the lessons we wanted to give them and not one person was home. Actually, I take that back. Facundo, our most important investigator was home. We were so excited for him because he spoke English, and we thought he was so ready to hear what we had to say. He had family over for Christmas and his parents don’t want him to have anything to do with the church. That’s the vibe we got anyway. It was so sad. Luckily, we had a Book of Mormon for him. We said a prayer before we went to his house and I asked that the will of the Lord be done as we went and visited him. Then that happened. Weird thing is, we were so overly concerned about him that we all wrote our testimonies in the Book of Mormon. We are keeping the faith that all this is going to lead to something good and maybe he needs to hear about the church through the book instead of our mouths. No one will ever know. Tomorrow we will try and see him again. It’s our last day in the area then we get transferred to a different one. Everyone is really glad because apparently this is the poorest of any area anyone has been to. That’s pretty intense if you know what I’m sayin : )
Christmas! I hope everyone had a good one. Thank you much much for the package! All the candy is already gone haha! I love the pictures. I look intensely at them every day. One is by my bed and the other I carry around everywhere to show. Everyone says we are all so pretty! haha except dad… he’s just handsome. But they help me so much daily to have those here. I am doing so well here. The fact that it’s sunny and resembles nothing of the Christmas I know helped a little I think.
We had a lot of fun though. Pres and his wife had a couple programs for us. We played games and they got us all gifts. We had a little "remember Christmas at home" and we all shared traditions and then everyone was in tears. I witnessed a lot of giving though. Someone whose favorite Christmas memory was going to a choir and hearing a certain song every year and someone here would have that song and play it for them… Those kinds of things. It’s giving on a whole new level and I’ve come to appreciate this season even more. Afterwards, we all got to eat yummy food and we had a battle of the Christmas carols with the Latinos haha. It was the best time of my life. There’s nothing better than seeing 100 missionaries you have become so close with sing songs about Christmas, laughing, loving and having a good time.
Christmas day brought even better gifts. As I said we got to have Mervin J. Arnold and his wife come speak to us. Best thing ever; he is amazing. He talked about the spiritual gifts we have inside of us and how important it is we use those here. Because of those gifts is the reason we have been called to this specific mission and the reason everything for the next year and a half will happen. It was really touching. His wife and some other women gave us stockings full of AMERCIAN CANDY! It was such a sight haha! I will never take for granted anything American again. If only there was a Walmart here. It’s amazing the things we don’t appreciate. Look around you! There are so many comforts and blessings. I’m serious. You are all so blessed.
After that we ate lunch and they got to eat with us. I sat down and guess who walks over to me. Elder Arnold. He sat directly across from me. It was so awesome! He and his wife ate with us and we talked the whole time about his mission. Pretty soon everyone was crowded around us listening to his stories. It was so awesome. I swear he looked only me in the eyes for the whole 2 hours, like he was talking directly to me. He told us a really good story about when he served his mission they would reassign missionaries if they couldn’t speak the language. He went to Mexico and he got a call one day saying that he had to get on a bus to Salt Lake and he was being reassigned. He really struggled with Spanish. He told them no and refused. He said he had been called there for a reason and he would stay. They let him but a few weeks later they called again. Again, he refused. They let him stay and he said he worked so hard and eventually got the language down. He said imagine if I would have gone. Nothing about my life would be the same. Every blessing I have now is a direct blessing from serving, but not only serving... serving in Mexico. Basically, he told us to not give up, if we are struggling with anything it’s for a reason. We have been called here for a reason! It was so great.
Hmmm... I don’t have much time left, but this week has been crazy. I have been so blessed. I can handle the food now, no problem. So great! And I am not so homesick... I feel good here and it is starting to become home. Better not get too used to it because we'll leave in 6 weeks. So weird. Umm everyone left on Tuesday except us and 10 others. It was so sad. We miss the Latinos immensely, but my companions and I decided it was a blessing HF gave us. We got to see a love for those people and it’s just a tiny glimpse of how we will feel once we get to Uruguay. When people leave here it’s like graduating high school, they all sign journals and we party all night long haha. We also got to take pictures on Sunday! Wahoo! I got a bunch of MTC and people I have become friends with and my district and comps and such. Lots of things. We can’t send them until we get out of here though. But it just takes way too long on these computers. Sad day, but I do have some. It makes me feel better. It’s been fun though. Speaking of companions, we are not going to be a threesome anymore. Hermana Kirkham is getting to go with the one new North American sister who gets here tomorrow, she will move rooms and it’s so weird. But, on the plus side, Hermana Lundskog and I get to stay together! Yay! I love her. And we get 2 Latino sisters in our room tomorrow as well which means more Spanish practice. We are excited for that.
I can’t believe how much I miss the temple. In all this craziness here, it is the one place I feel like I could go to be closer to home. I mentioned we live literally next door to the Argentina temple, so I see the progress they are making on it daily and I long to go there so much. It is our way of doing other forms of missionary work. Don’t take for granted the opportunity that we live so close to so many. Go as often as you can..... It's a huge blessing.
I love you all so much. I’m doing well. I love this gospel and I know with everything I possess that it’s true. I’m so happy to be here and I’m so grateful Heavenly Father knows me and is blessing me. Take a look around and remember what you have been given. You will be so humbled. I love you all. Have a great week. Until next.... : )
Love, Ashley
Sunday, December 26, 2010
WEEK TWO
Hey everybody! There just is no time to write! It’s crazy. We are so busy…. So!
Hermana George, the president’s wife, has been so great. She reminds me of Grandma Berg. I’m so grateful for her and President. They have been great. She even brought me breakfast in bed one morning because I haven’t been able to eat breakfast at all. I will be ok though : ) All my teachers inspire me. They are fantastic. I think I already mentioned that. The people we have in our lives are there for a reason. That’s why I have my family! I love you guys so much. Heavenly Father teaches us in interesting ways.
Speaking of which... We are learning so much about families and their importance in the whole scheme of things and it has me thinking so much about you all. I really do hope that you don’t take our family for granted. I know I did, and I wish so much I could take that back. Every single person in our family has so much to offer and so much love to give. I hope with everything that I am and I say in every prayer that I hope we all can be kind and just love unconditionally. That’s what Heavenly Father wants from us.
Ok, so proselyting! Oh man. The best time I’ve had here so far. It was soooo good to get out of the box we are in and get out to see the country and the people. We went through Buenos Aires for about a half hour and it is big. There are dogs who run all over the freeway, it’s so scary and horses do roam the streets haha! It’s great. They don’t need fields. Then we got to the city we were teaching. It is soooo the opposite of big and nice. I couldn’t believe it. So poor. Dirt streets. We had a map, but it did us no good because there are no street signs. We got lost a lot.
I have to make this quick because other missionaries are waiting to email, but... we found 3 investigators. Even with our tiny bit of Spanish. We go proselyting every Saturday. Since this Saturday is Christmas we are going back tomorrow to teach them. This whole week has had new purpose. Instead of just learning facts, we are actually planning on what to teach these 3 people.
We have Javier and his family. He has a little girl and boy and wife. We met them at their hair salon and we're going to teach them about families and the Plan of Salvation. Facundo speaks English! He is young, and he had all the questions of the soul. So we are teaching him and his girlfriend, who also speaks English, about the Book of Mormon and how it has every answer to every question they may have. We are so excited about him. He even told us he questioned his religion and he hated the Pope and such. He is ready for the gospel…. or so we hope : ) He is open for anything. And he speaks English! haha Can’t get any better than that. And lastly there is Jorge. He is a sweet little old man and it will be his birthday tomorrow! haha So we made him a card and things to let him know we love him already ... even though we have no idea who he is. I think that speaks tons about our gospel.
My Spanish is still coming along. We are getting better and if I think about it outside of the MTC, we know a lot. I still don’t feel ready to teach people though. It’s alright, we trudge along ha ha! We have since learned the first vision all in Spanish and we have that and half the commitments from the Preach my Gospel chapters and the principles of each chapter memorized in Spanish. That’s so fantabulous. I noticed last night I ended my personal prayer in Spanish without even realizing it haha. I remember dad said I would get to that point and it would be weird. AND weird it sure was. I also wake up in the morning and I have a random hymn stuck in my head every day and I’m reciting Spanish phrases. It seriously is the craziest thing ever.
Hmm... so the oldest group here leaves this next week, because a group leaves every 3 weeks, right? Anywho, we sure are going to miss them. Also, all the Latinos leave. There will only be 2 districts here from Tuesday till Thursday until all the new ones arrive. P.S. we counted how many missionaries there are here and there are 60 of us. So, when those districts leave there will be only 20 of us. crazy eh? We have become such good friends with the Latinos too, even though we don’t speak the same language and can’t communicate hardly at all - we all love each other. It’s the best feeling ever. We really are so blessed here. Count your blessings!
I hope you all have a good Christmas. Seriously, remember who it is about. I don’t even miss Christmas haha. Maybe it’s because of the fact that it’s sunny here and doesn’t remind me at all of home is the reason, but nevertheless... I’m glad. Christmas is not about us. Just smile and remember Christ and don’t worry about the gifts. hmm... also, I am singing for the Christmas eve program. Interesting eh? This is the second time I have sung here haha. I love you all sooooo so much! I love love love hearing from you. Till next week...
Love, ash
P.S. Pray for our investigators and that we may teach what they need to know!
Hermana George, the president’s wife, has been so great. She reminds me of Grandma Berg. I’m so grateful for her and President. They have been great. She even brought me breakfast in bed one morning because I haven’t been able to eat breakfast at all. I will be ok though : ) All my teachers inspire me. They are fantastic. I think I already mentioned that. The people we have in our lives are there for a reason. That’s why I have my family! I love you guys so much. Heavenly Father teaches us in interesting ways.
Speaking of which... We are learning so much about families and their importance in the whole scheme of things and it has me thinking so much about you all. I really do hope that you don’t take our family for granted. I know I did, and I wish so much I could take that back. Every single person in our family has so much to offer and so much love to give. I hope with everything that I am and I say in every prayer that I hope we all can be kind and just love unconditionally. That’s what Heavenly Father wants from us.
Ok, so proselyting! Oh man. The best time I’ve had here so far. It was soooo good to get out of the box we are in and get out to see the country and the people. We went through Buenos Aires for about a half hour and it is big. There are dogs who run all over the freeway, it’s so scary and horses do roam the streets haha! It’s great. They don’t need fields. Then we got to the city we were teaching. It is soooo the opposite of big and nice. I couldn’t believe it. So poor. Dirt streets. We had a map, but it did us no good because there are no street signs. We got lost a lot.
I have to make this quick because other missionaries are waiting to email, but... we found 3 investigators. Even with our tiny bit of Spanish. We go proselyting every Saturday. Since this Saturday is Christmas we are going back tomorrow to teach them. This whole week has had new purpose. Instead of just learning facts, we are actually planning on what to teach these 3 people.
We have Javier and his family. He has a little girl and boy and wife. We met them at their hair salon and we're going to teach them about families and the Plan of Salvation. Facundo speaks English! He is young, and he had all the questions of the soul. So we are teaching him and his girlfriend, who also speaks English, about the Book of Mormon and how it has every answer to every question they may have. We are so excited about him. He even told us he questioned his religion and he hated the Pope and such. He is ready for the gospel…. or so we hope : ) He is open for anything. And he speaks English! haha Can’t get any better than that. And lastly there is Jorge. He is a sweet little old man and it will be his birthday tomorrow! haha So we made him a card and things to let him know we love him already ... even though we have no idea who he is. I think that speaks tons about our gospel.
My Spanish is still coming along. We are getting better and if I think about it outside of the MTC, we know a lot. I still don’t feel ready to teach people though. It’s alright, we trudge along ha ha! We have since learned the first vision all in Spanish and we have that and half the commitments from the Preach my Gospel chapters and the principles of each chapter memorized in Spanish. That’s so fantabulous. I noticed last night I ended my personal prayer in Spanish without even realizing it haha. I remember dad said I would get to that point and it would be weird. AND weird it sure was. I also wake up in the morning and I have a random hymn stuck in my head every day and I’m reciting Spanish phrases. It seriously is the craziest thing ever.
Hmm... so the oldest group here leaves this next week, because a group leaves every 3 weeks, right? Anywho, we sure are going to miss them. Also, all the Latinos leave. There will only be 2 districts here from Tuesday till Thursday until all the new ones arrive. P.S. we counted how many missionaries there are here and there are 60 of us. So, when those districts leave there will be only 20 of us. crazy eh? We have become such good friends with the Latinos too, even though we don’t speak the same language and can’t communicate hardly at all - we all love each other. It’s the best feeling ever. We really are so blessed here. Count your blessings!
I hope you all have a good Christmas. Seriously, remember who it is about. I don’t even miss Christmas haha. Maybe it’s because of the fact that it’s sunny here and doesn’t remind me at all of home is the reason, but nevertheless... I’m glad. Christmas is not about us. Just smile and remember Christ and don’t worry about the gifts. hmm... also, I am singing for the Christmas eve program. Interesting eh? This is the second time I have sung here haha. I love you all sooooo so much! I love love love hearing from you. Till next week...
Love, ash
P.S. Pray for our investigators and that we may teach what they need to know!
WEEK ONE
Ohhh goodness! I don't even know where to start. This week has been.... something else. The first few days I was here it was so great. We study and plan for 11 hours a day: from 7 to 8 we eat breakfast, 11 to 12 we have lunch and 6 to 7 is dinner. Other than that we have personal study, comp study, language study (on our own besides the classes), one hour for playing outside and breathing and then 30 minutes to prepare for bed at night. Classes are all the rest of the time. My teachers are great. All of them are native to Argentina and every single one of them is fantastic! We have already learned so much. I can pray and testify in Spanish already. It is a little rusty though. At times I have to sneak a peek haha. Right now we have been in the process of learning how to make contacts, because starting this Saturday we go proseletismo! (proselyting, if you didn't catch that in Spanish.) It is so intense and I am so nervous. I was fine before, but yesterday we practiced with the district who has been here for six weeks and I was not as prepared as they are, of course. P.S. we are here for 9 weeks. Crazy! ok so... the food here is making me sick, not because I don't like it, but my body doesn't handle it well. I just can't digest it.
And the responsibility I hold is so much more important than I ever imagined. Hermana Lundskog is my favorite. She reminds me alot of Chelsea and is so kind to everyone. She understands me and when she laughs I just have to laugh. Hermana Kirkham is strict! She obeys every rule and we have come to find out that there are reasons why we have been put together. Anywho.
I know Heavenly Father is there, no matter what. I have gained a stronger testimony about priesthood. It's funny and truly amazing how the Lord works. I am so happy. I can't believe how much I love my personal study time here. I also cannot believe how much more the scriptures come alive. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING applies to me and the situation I am in, that brings such comfort. It's amazing....
There are probably about 100 people here, half americans, most of them from Utah specifically, and the other half latinos. The latinos are staying here in Argentina when they get out of here, this is their mission. Everyone else is going to Uruguay. It's pretty awesome... I love it here. It, unfortunately, is a rule that I cannot take any pictures here except when the latinos leave, which is every 3 weeks. So I will send them once I am in the field.
P.S. I haven't seen anything here yet. Saturday will be amazing to see the country and get out with the people, wish me luck. Until next week!
And the responsibility I hold is so much more important than I ever imagined. Hermana Lundskog is my favorite. She reminds me alot of Chelsea and is so kind to everyone. She understands me and when she laughs I just have to laugh. Hermana Kirkham is strict! She obeys every rule and we have come to find out that there are reasons why we have been put together. Anywho.
I know Heavenly Father is there, no matter what. I have gained a stronger testimony about priesthood. It's funny and truly amazing how the Lord works. I am so happy. I can't believe how much I love my personal study time here. I also cannot believe how much more the scriptures come alive. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING applies to me and the situation I am in, that brings such comfort. It's amazing....
There are probably about 100 people here, half americans, most of them from Utah specifically, and the other half latinos. The latinos are staying here in Argentina when they get out of here, this is their mission. Everyone else is going to Uruguay. It's pretty awesome... I love it here. It, unfortunately, is a rule that I cannot take any pictures here except when the latinos leave, which is every 3 weeks. So I will send them once I am in the field.
P.S. I haven't seen anything here yet. Saturday will be amazing to see the country and get out with the people, wish me luck. Until next week!
Hermana Farr's First Impressions
Here I am in Argentina... it is sooo great! I arrived safely : ) I haven't seen much, but it's extremely green here, and warm! Really warm, like 80 degrees warm. I love it. The MTC is soooo very, very small. It's just us who arrived here on the plane in our district. At least I think that's what it's called. We haven't been told much. Maybe I'll start from the beginning. In utah I met up with 3 others who are also here in Argentina going to Uruguay. Once in Texas, we met up with 2 others. That makes 6 of us! 3 boys and 3 girls. We got to Texas and had forever to wait. One of the sisters, Hermana Kirkham had a giftcard to TGI Fridays and so we ate there. Everyone is SUPER great and super nice. We all get along really well.
We got on the flight to Argentina and that's when I discovered what I was in for. All the instructions were in Spanish and everyone on the flight (which was huge, I might add) spoke Spanish. I immediately freaked out! but it was all good. ha ha The flight was fun for the first 5 minutes. Being on a huge plane with tons of people, tv screens everywhere was grand. Until... I was on there for 10.5 hours. I got 1 hour of sleep and I don't even know how I accomplished that with squishy chairs, screaming babies all night and lots of snorers = no sleep. I felt sick once I got off the plane, as did all the missionaries. We're better now.
So we were picked up by two men who did not speak any English either, and they took us to exchange our money, getting through customs was easy enough. Then they packed our things into a van and we hopped in too. We sat in lawn chairs in the back of the van haha. That should tell you something about where I am ha ha. Everything is KINDA ghettoish, but ya know. That's that, not that I'm complaining; I just want you to get an idea of the place I am in. We arrived at the MTC and the Argentina temple is literally out our window, as in next door. It's so awesome. It is under construction though so no going in, and it's not as pretty as I'm sure it will be next year. Like I said, the MTC is tiny! We are the only new missionaries coming in today. I have seen 2 other people period; besides the 2 boys who have been telling us what to do. I met the president for a split second, everyone is taking turns doing their interviews as we speak. I will be soon. He seems awesome, called me Hermana "Farr out" (as if I haven't heard that before). But it does mean 2 things, he likes me, and he has a sense of humor. Both good. All we have done is take our luggage to our room, and email you! So I pretty much am still the same girl you left yesterday. ha! Thursdays will be our P-days just so you know. Apparently we can't take any pictures here. Other than that, us 3 girls are in a threesome companionship. It's very, and I mean VERY, chill here. We'll see what I think about that, I think I need a bit more structure in this unfamiliar place haha. Anyway, there is not much else to report. Like I said, next week will be better. I'm doing well though! Love it here. Tell everyone hi for me, and loves! till next week... Love, Hermana Farr! (ash)
P.S. I dont miss anyone yet! wahoo!
We got on the flight to Argentina and that's when I discovered what I was in for. All the instructions were in Spanish and everyone on the flight (which was huge, I might add) spoke Spanish. I immediately freaked out! but it was all good. ha ha The flight was fun for the first 5 minutes. Being on a huge plane with tons of people, tv screens everywhere was grand. Until... I was on there for 10.5 hours. I got 1 hour of sleep and I don't even know how I accomplished that with squishy chairs, screaming babies all night and lots of snorers = no sleep. I felt sick once I got off the plane, as did all the missionaries. We're better now.
So we were picked up by two men who did not speak any English either, and they took us to exchange our money, getting through customs was easy enough. Then they packed our things into a van and we hopped in too. We sat in lawn chairs in the back of the van haha. That should tell you something about where I am ha ha. Everything is KINDA ghettoish, but ya know. That's that, not that I'm complaining; I just want you to get an idea of the place I am in. We arrived at the MTC and the Argentina temple is literally out our window, as in next door. It's so awesome. It is under construction though so no going in, and it's not as pretty as I'm sure it will be next year. Like I said, the MTC is tiny! We are the only new missionaries coming in today. I have seen 2 other people period; besides the 2 boys who have been telling us what to do. I met the president for a split second, everyone is taking turns doing their interviews as we speak. I will be soon. He seems awesome, called me Hermana "Farr out" (as if I haven't heard that before). But it does mean 2 things, he likes me, and he has a sense of humor. Both good. All we have done is take our luggage to our room, and email you! So I pretty much am still the same girl you left yesterday. ha! Thursdays will be our P-days just so you know. Apparently we can't take any pictures here. Other than that, us 3 girls are in a threesome companionship. It's very, and I mean VERY, chill here. We'll see what I think about that, I think I need a bit more structure in this unfamiliar place haha. Anyway, there is not much else to report. Like I said, next week will be better. I'm doing well though! Love it here. Tell everyone hi for me, and loves! till next week... Love, Hermana Farr! (ash)
P.S. I dont miss anyone yet! wahoo!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
The blessed day has arrived....
So......the day has finally come and gone. We dropped our dear sweet Smashley off at the airport to depart to the Argentina MTC to begin this new 18-month spiritual adventure of her lifetime!! What a cherished event.
Ash told me days prior to her departure that I couldn't come to the airport if I was going to cry! "Ummm...excuse me...... but I'm the mama so I'm gonna cry," I informed her. She gave me permission to cry all the way home from the airport. She told me that if I cried, she would cry. I said, "That's okay." She explained to me that she had the greatest feeling about everything right at that moment and she didn't want it to change for anything. She didn't want to shed a tear. I told her I would try my hardest.
We arrived at the airport and when we checked her bags in, the airline attendant told us her bag was 4 pounds over weight. Funny since we weighed her bag at home and it was 5 pounds under. Anywho, that meant she would have to pay an extra $60.00. Steve asked the attendant if she could make an exception for a missionary. "Sorry, no way! It's for liability reasons," she said. We laughed trying to rationalize how if we paid extra money that that would somehow eliminate any liability, right? haha! It didn't matter anyway because she could actually check on two bags to South America for no extra cost. So we reshuffled the contents of that bag to her carry-on bag and checked them both on. Hopefully no luggage got lost because her extra set of clothes were in that carry-on bag. She had
intended to keep it with her just in case of lost luggage.
We walked slowly to the security point, taking some pics along the way. Emotions ran high, but I managed to keep the tears back as I watched Ash hug her little sistas for the last time in 18 months. As I got my turn to embrace my little girl, the tears welled up and we both cried for a few brief moments. They were tears of joy though.
Although I'm going to miss that girl, I am so proud of her for making such a huge sacrifice in her life for a greater cause...the people of Uruguay. We managed to hold strong as we watched our little girl walk through security and out of sight. Now she is in the Lord's hands!
Can't wait for her first email..............
Ash told me days prior to her departure that I couldn't come to the airport if I was going to cry! "Ummm...excuse me...... but I'm the mama so I'm gonna cry," I informed her. She gave me permission to cry all the way home from the airport. She told me that if I cried, she would cry. I said, "That's okay." She explained to me that she had the greatest feeling about everything right at that moment and she didn't want it to change for anything. She didn't want to shed a tear. I told her I would try my hardest.
We arrived at the airport and when we checked her bags in, the airline attendant told us her bag was 4 pounds over weight. Funny since we weighed her bag at home and it was 5 pounds under. Anywho, that meant she would have to pay an extra $60.00. Steve asked the attendant if she could make an exception for a missionary. "Sorry, no way! It's for liability reasons," she said. We laughed trying to rationalize how if we paid extra money that that would somehow eliminate any liability, right? haha! It didn't matter anyway because she could actually check on two bags to South America for no extra cost. So we reshuffled the contents of that bag to her carry-on bag and checked them both on. Hopefully no luggage got lost because her extra set of clothes were in that carry-on bag. She had
intended to keep it with her just in case of lost luggage.We walked slowly to the security point, taking some pics along the way. Emotions ran high, but I managed to keep the tears back as I watched Ash hug her little sistas for the last time in 18 months. As I got my turn to embrace my little girl, the tears welled up and we both cried for a few brief moments. They were tears of joy though.
Although I'm going to miss that girl, I am so proud of her for making such a huge sacrifice in her life for a greater cause...the people of Uruguay. We managed to hold strong as we watched our little girl walk through security and out of sight. Now she is in the Lord's hands!
Can't wait for her first email..............
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
My Bags Are Packed...
here i am. the day before i go away. seems crazy, i cant believe the four months since i have gotten my call have come and gone and now im off with my packed bags to uruguay to preach this AMAZING gospel.
it took alot to get me here and not without the sacrifices of so many people, so thank you thank you. i feel so blessed.
i have the funds, the equipment, the call and the testimony; i know this church is true and i love it so very very much. it has blessed my life more than anything else ever could have. well... because of the gospel i have everything. i love heavenly father and jesus christ and i know they will bless me as i go to find those who are ready for the wonderful news.
stick around here, my mom will be posting all my weekly dealings while im away. itll be grand.
mom- thank you for always giving me courage to continue to go forward and to not lose hope. you bless me everyday with your smiles and hugs.
dad- for always reminding me whats most important in this life and keeping me focused. your strength has added to mine and kept me going many a time.
sistas!- for always loving me no matter what and being there for me always!
kenny jones- aw...your support. even though i know its a little hard i will always be grateful for your gentle pushes that have made sure i get to this point right here, right now.
family- the constant love and support and help with paying for the mish! you will be so blessed in return for helping the lord
and friendsyss- all the loooove! i love you guys.
to everyone. you all have played a role in getting me here. i have no words to describe how thankful i am. you will be in my prayers. i hope to hear from you. see you in 18 months all.
signing off for now...
Sunday, December 5, 2010
My Last Day of Work...
i realize this post is farely long, but trust me when i say you wont regret reading it...
At least at one job. Naturally I had to go out with a bang. Little did I know exactly how big that bang would be.
So funny story of my life/ job is this stupid mouse that has been torturing me there. I'm not overly scared of them but he sneaks up on me in the most perfect of ways, im sure just to hear my harmonious squeals. Its great, for him at least. Anyway he has found a hole in the shop and even when I'm not still, even while I'm moving around working he always appears at my feet. Its gross first of all, but really? He is one brave little thing.
So tonight, I'm sitting at the computer, I see a piece of string; or so I thought swaying at my feet. But I look down and its just nothing. I look again and there's that thing. He makes me really mad. (And to top it all off my boss won't let us kill him. It should be against health code, but the place is so old I'm sure noone ever checks on it.) So I freak out a little and I'm convinced tonight that I'll find a way to kill the beast. So I furiously start spraying windex at the hole it pops through. ridiculous i know. When I've gotten all my anger out at the hole, I start to realize that's really going to do nothing and he'll just be back tomorrow; hence my thinking cap. "I will figure out how to kill you."
I search the place, I could put pointy objects in its way, hmm, heavy objects in front of the hole, but ya know, that's really not going to do any good. He'll find a way somewhere else. Oh yeah. He's just that good. So I start thinking like a little murderer ha. Naturally my thoughts turn to the pepper spray we have just in case someone attacks us in the shop. Shear joy, nothing but shear joy folks. I pull it out and read the instructions quickly on the back. "Avoid contact with YOUR OWN skin, eyes, and mucus membrane." Yeah yeah. So I run to the hole and I spray that stuff hard core in the hole.
Next thing I know I can't breathe, I start choking and the fumes that have just filled my lungs I'm sure are going to kill me. Worst feeling ever. I book it out into the cold and try to get some fresh air. I just so happened to still be holding the can of spray in my hands. As I glance down at it and read more fully what this terrible stuff is, one word sticks out to me, GAS. Not pepper spray, not like, "I can spritz this in your eyes you nasty burglar and be fine," but GAS. as in, "I'm gonna spray this in the room your in and have it fill up the whole chamber. you'll breathe it in and die, but first I gotta make sure I'm outta there." Ugh I'm so stupid. and now I realize I can't even breathe outside. And I start to figure out that the can I'm holding is still giving off the fumes and I toss the can back inside the shop.
Long story short my friends, man they make this stuff well! That's good I suppose, means noone who comes after you when you have a bottle of that in hand will be pursuing you. But I couldn't go back into the shop the entire rest of the night. I opened the door and window to let it air out and still had to count down the till by running inside, grabbing the 20's and running back out to breathe. Grab the 10's, and so on and so forth. The only thing that makes me the slightest bit happy is knowing I'm SURE that devil of a mouse didn't survive the thing.
...Too bad it was my last day anyway : )
So funny story of my life/ job is this stupid mouse that has been torturing me there. I'm not overly scared of them but he sneaks up on me in the most perfect of ways, im sure just to hear my harmonious squeals. Its great, for him at least. Anyway he has found a hole in the shop and even when I'm not still, even while I'm moving around working he always appears at my feet. Its gross first of all, but really? He is one brave little thing.
So tonight, I'm sitting at the computer, I see a piece of string; or so I thought swaying at my feet. But I look down and its just nothing. I look again and there's that thing. He makes me really mad. (And to top it all off my boss won't let us kill him. It should be against health code, but the place is so old I'm sure noone ever checks on it.) So I freak out a little and I'm convinced tonight that I'll find a way to kill the beast. So I furiously start spraying windex at the hole it pops through. ridiculous i know. When I've gotten all my anger out at the hole, I start to realize that's really going to do nothing and he'll just be back tomorrow; hence my thinking cap. "I will figure out how to kill you."
I search the place, I could put pointy objects in its way, hmm, heavy objects in front of the hole, but ya know, that's really not going to do any good. He'll find a way somewhere else. Oh yeah. He's just that good. So I start thinking like a little murderer ha. Naturally my thoughts turn to the pepper spray we have just in case someone attacks us in the shop. Shear joy, nothing but shear joy folks. I pull it out and read the instructions quickly on the back. "Avoid contact with YOUR OWN skin, eyes, and mucus membrane." Yeah yeah. So I run to the hole and I spray that stuff hard core in the hole.
Next thing I know I can't breathe, I start choking and the fumes that have just filled my lungs I'm sure are going to kill me. Worst feeling ever. I book it out into the cold and try to get some fresh air. I just so happened to still be holding the can of spray in my hands. As I glance down at it and read more fully what this terrible stuff is, one word sticks out to me, GAS. Not pepper spray, not like, "I can spritz this in your eyes you nasty burglar and be fine," but GAS. as in, "I'm gonna spray this in the room your in and have it fill up the whole chamber. you'll breathe it in and die, but first I gotta make sure I'm outta there." Ugh I'm so stupid. and now I realize I can't even breathe outside. And I start to figure out that the can I'm holding is still giving off the fumes and I toss the can back inside the shop.
Long story short my friends, man they make this stuff well! That's good I suppose, means noone who comes after you when you have a bottle of that in hand will be pursuing you. But I couldn't go back into the shop the entire rest of the night. I opened the door and window to let it air out and still had to count down the till by running inside, grabbing the 20's and running back out to breathe. Grab the 10's, and so on and so forth. The only thing that makes me the slightest bit happy is knowing I'm SURE that devil of a mouse didn't survive the thing.
...Too bad it was my last day anyway : )
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Just for you...
Once upon a time, a girl met a boy,
Little did she know,he would give her great joy.
After many dates, conversations and talking,
Would soon find them on the same road a-walking.
Through ups and downs, each other they would carry,
In hopes that for a while they could tarry.
Alongside each other is where they hope to be
But only time will tell and they'll see.
Now this girl goes to uruguay to befriend
And noone knows where this great story will end.
But that's ok; don't worry, no strife,
That's what's so wonderful about this journey called life.
Little did she know,he would give her great joy.
After many dates, conversations and talking,
Would soon find them on the same road a-walking.
Through ups and downs, each other they would carry,
In hopes that for a while they could tarry.
Alongside each other is where they hope to be
But only time will tell and they'll see.
Now this girl goes to uruguay to befriend
And noone knows where this great story will end.
But that's ok; don't worry, no strife,
That's what's so wonderful about this journey called life.
he he
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Harry Potter
so! i went and saw harry potter at the 8 o clock showing. ha, the 8 oclock showing before the midnight showing. it was saweet! all except...
ugh, why did they have to put "nudity" in their. i mean really? soooooo lame! that pretty much ruined the whole thing for me.
and besides that, i thought the ending was really uneventful. just saying, i thought they would have at least had you waiting on a cliff for the next movie. also lame.
oh well i guess, dont get me wrong, i am still all harry potter all the time ha. it really is my favorite. but anywho, i just thought they could have done a touch better. and now... it'll be approximately 2 years before i get to see the final chapter. sad day.
i still love you harry. dont fret.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Stress City
holy balagna. (even though that phrase appears not to rhyme, it really does)
this week has been crazy. and i sense that its only going to get crazier from here on out.
this week was supposed to be my last from work, and i only work one day. but nevertheless, if youre not stressed about one thing, youre stressed about another right? si senor.
this week has thus far consisted of, finishing up mission clothes shopping, making sure everything fit in my luggage was its own complete seperate dilemma, getting my pictures taken by two people, getting things ready for my farewell, preparing my lame lame talk, taking pictures for another family, surprise visit from my favorite girl jess, and many many more smaller items. holy junk. i have found myself having an almost heart attack like twice a day. not joking either. breakdowns are not ok. its been mass craziness but you know what, im taking a break right now and blogging oo yes. happy day. everything is going to be just fine i keep telling myself. and it will be... eventually. just not quite at this very moment.
i found this quote and i am so very greatful i have this gospel to lean on. it makes me greatful that i will be able to dedicate all my time and efforts to spreading this wonderful gospel and do nothing else beside that. joys... anywho, ill continue venting another day. love you all!
"get on your knees and pray, then get on your feet and work"
- gordon b. hinckley
Friday, November 12, 2010
Seestas.
one request my mom had before i left on the mish was to get some new pictures of my sisters. so here they are. just a few. i have a pretty family : )
kenziloo
brooklin
cass
kenna sue
kenziloo
brooklin
cass
kenna sue
San Diego
oh my. best trip ever. i got to experience so many new fun things. san diego; first of all i had never been ha. even though cali is my home town! never... kinda crazy, it is so beautiful there and i loved it.
i got to do the flowers for ms. jess porters wedding. another first. it was on a yacht. first.
i got to meet little katey lynne canty and russ canty. loved them.
first family vacation with the boys family. amazing...
hmm what else? more for later i guess. i just had a blast.
i found myself a horse friend in delta on the way
picnis in cedar!
my newest favorite picture. arent they adorable? vegas at the dads hosue
little haley. such a doll. literally... she looked like a perfect doll
rollin around with the puppies
i made her laugh. thank heavens she doesnt hate me : )
beautiful. sunset once we got into san diego
all the kids in the family, plus some. including me
look at my boy! such a champ. got up with me at 6 am to help get flowers done for the wedding.
a far off shot of the finished product. minus bouquets of course
better shot
kenny and i got V.I.P. treatment after we had set up on the yacht; complete with caterers who brought us martinellis in wine glasses and we got to tour the yacht and hang out for a few hours just us two. it was grand. go hornblower events! you rock
awe. reenacting the statue. we did pretty dang good if i dont say so myself
the whoole fam damily
by the ocean
we all matched. kennys sister regan, him and myself
mini golf, arcade, bouncy balls, and a large parking lot = good fun without alcohol here!
at the hotel of sorts
goodbye cali for a year and a half. i will surely miss you
i got to do the flowers for ms. jess porters wedding. another first. it was on a yacht. first.
i got to meet little katey lynne canty and russ canty. loved them.
first family vacation with the boys family. amazing...
hmm what else? more for later i guess. i just had a blast.
i found myself a horse friend in delta on the way
picnis in cedar!
my newest favorite picture. arent they adorable? vegas at the dads hosue
little haley. such a doll. literally... she looked like a perfect doll
rollin around with the puppies
i made her laugh. thank heavens she doesnt hate me : )
beautiful. sunset once we got into san diego
all the kids in the family, plus some. including me
look at my boy! such a champ. got up with me at 6 am to help get flowers done for the wedding.
a far off shot of the finished product. minus bouquets of course
better shot
kenny and i got V.I.P. treatment after we had set up on the yacht; complete with caterers who brought us martinellis in wine glasses and we got to tour the yacht and hang out for a few hours just us two. it was grand. go hornblower events! you rock
awe. reenacting the statue. we did pretty dang good if i dont say so myself
the whoole fam damily
by the ocean
we all matched. kennys sister regan, him and myself
mini golf, arcade, bouncy balls, and a large parking lot = good fun without alcohol here!
at the hotel of sorts
goodbye cali for a year and a half. i will surely miss you
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Hello?
First of all, i would just like to know why its soooo difficult to decide and then SETTLE on what you want to do for your life. oh yeah, maybe because, you have to decide, then settle on doing something for the rest of your life. aw yes.
i cant BELIEVE how many times i've changed my mind in this region. as of right now, i feel like i have NOTHING planned out in my life. and i like having my plans. im lost. its for sure. i need help. anywho, i guess i dont REALLY need to know quite this moment. i do have a full year and a half before i can do anything about it anyway. hmm, which leads me to my second point...
secondly, where on earth did time go?! i was so mad about having to wait 4 months before after i got my call and i could leave. turns out time really flies. thank heavens though. im ready to go! got everything taken care of. i just need the plane ticket in hand, oh yeah and im still waiting on that luggage mom and dad. anyway, its makin me almost kind of nervous. but not really. cant wait to meet you uruguay! cant wait to start my own adventures and bring some people the gospel : )
i cant BELIEVE how many times i've changed my mind in this region. as of right now, i feel like i have NOTHING planned out in my life. and i like having my plans. im lost. its for sure. i need help. anywho, i guess i dont REALLY need to know quite this moment. i do have a full year and a half before i can do anything about it anyway. hmm, which leads me to my second point...
secondly, where on earth did time go?! i was so mad about having to wait 4 months before after i got my call and i could leave. turns out time really flies. thank heavens though. im ready to go! got everything taken care of. i just need the plane ticket in hand, oh yeah and im still waiting on that luggage mom and dad. anyway, its makin me almost kind of nervous. but not really. cant wait to meet you uruguay! cant wait to start my own adventures and bring some people the gospel : )
Friday, October 8, 2010
House Beautiful
... they have such amazing d.i.y. ideas. and seriously this is do it yourself people. they got this bedroom done in less than a day.so fantastic, but not only do they show your their stuff, they tell you why it works! fabuloso. nevertheless, they did this sweet makeover. i must admit i doubted some of the ideas but it all came together quite nicely.
they said, this is a nice space but you've got nothing to be in here for; with the exception of sleep. booorinnnng. you need something else.
volia! desk space, vanity space, and sleep space. perfecto.
they said, this is a nice space but you've got nothing to be in here for; with the exception of sleep. booorinnnng. you need something else.
volia! desk space, vanity space, and sleep space. perfecto.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Jill Thomas
Ladies and gentleman, may i introduce to you my ultimate new favorite blog EVER to stalk.
Jill thomas the photographer.
she is entirely too amazing. wedding photographer in southern california, this woman has got what it takes to make it out there today. and not only is she surviving in this boy eat boy world, but she is dominating it. being published in magazines everywhere she has the style, the taste, the talent, and the guts. take a look.
i look up to you jill. thank you for being so awesome.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Flora
I made this for jess' wedding in november. practice round numero uno!
Close up of the ribbon work. forgive the missing black pin on the bottom green notch. that'll be fixed ha
her flowers will be so beautiful! not because i am doing them duh. her colors are leprechaun green, black and white, so we're using white gerbs, bear grass, and white snaps and plenty greenery. i also get to do the ceremonial pieces for the wedding day. more of that later. it'll be great. love ya jess.
Close up of the ribbon work. forgive the missing black pin on the bottom green notch. that'll be fixed ha
Cherry Craze
Seeing as how i would someday like to be a wedding planner, and i am CONSTANTLY checking everything in this department out, i thought it might be kind of fun to post some of the really cool things i discover. everything from cakes, flowers, color schemes, dresses, and the many amazing decor ideas.
themed weddings are the best, but only if you smart about it. this was a smart themed wedding. just you wait. 
lets face it, this industry hones in on the latest crazes; the unique, the new and the talented. hence, youve got to be aware of whats out there. i suppose this can be my contribution to you for now. giving you a wide variety of the latest, the unique, the new, and the MANY talented people who bring you these... wedding crazes.
first off, the colors for this table display and wedding are phenomenal. such an elegant feel, not too elegant cost. you could pull this off (something similar) for not very much.
themed weddings are the best, but only if you smart about it. this was a smart themed wedding. just you wait.tada! alice in wonderland?? get real! isnt this so awesome.
Yes, your very welcome.
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