(no subject)

What a week, what a week!!! I think it was a little more hectic and crazy back home than it was here, but I´m glad to hear everyone is safe and still alive! :)

Anyways... Only 2 weeks left until tranfers!!!! Yay!!! I love transfers time... and not only because all the missionaries in the mission go to Burger King together... :) Last week we had interviews with President Asay, and he said there´s a good chance I might be changing companions. Of course we still don´t know, but it´s exciting just because I love changes!!

Well the mission is great. Time is SO weird here, because some days seem SO long, and then before you know it the week is already over! I´ve already been here for over 4 months... crazy! And it´s only going to go faster since we´re going to start practicing for noche de luz soon. Our area is doing great though!! This week we found 17 new investigators!!! Pretty sweet, since thats about as many as our area had each transfer (6 weeks) before. We´re loving it, and just trying to push forward and work hard.

Wanna hear something exciting?? This week is GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!! Party time! Party time!!! Man, I am so stinking excited!!! It almost feels like Christmas!! With it being conference week, though, I have a VERY, VERY, VERY important challenge for every one of you!!!! Find someone... a friend, coworker, neighbor, ANYONE, and bring them with you to one of the sessions of conference!!!!!! You have no idea what a difference it will make!!! We were talking, and a lot of missionaries said that every single investigator who has gone to conference wanted to be baptised. Why?? BECAUSE THEY GOT TO HEAR A PROPHET OF THE LORD SPEAK!!!! What could be better?! This is an opportunity for every single person to listen to an actual prophet, who has been called of God to speak in his name, talk to US! So... that´s my challenge. If you´re a member... invite someone! If you´re not, talk to someone you know who is LDS and make the arrangements to go Saturday or Sunday!! You will NEVER EVER regret it, I promise!!!! If there is any question you have or any problem you´re facing, take it to conference and i PROMISE you´ll get an answer!!

I love you all. Be safe, don´t sleep while driving, and as always... SMILE tons!!! :)

Besitos,

Hermana Churchill

Life is WONDERFUL :)

Buenos Dias a todos!!!!

Man is it a beautiful day in Argie land! We had a great week this last week, and are getting ready to have another great one! First off... CONGRATULATIONS AARON AND YUKA!!!!! :) :) :) I´m a new auntie! ... again :) YAY!!! Sukai is GORGEOUS and I´m so excited to meet her!! ... in ... a year. haha. And Beanie Bear... you look gorgeous too!! Keep that smile going.

Anyways.... Yesterday we had 2 BAPTISMS!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!! Marta - the mom of Marcela, Daniela, and Leo - and her other hijo Diego got both got baptised yesterday, and man was it wonderful!!! I know I´ve probably told you about them tons, but even so I love talking about them because they´re the perfect example of how wonderful the gospel is and how much peace and happiness it brings to people´s lives!! We met this family my 2nd week of the mission. Apparently other missionaries had gone by before, but never had taught them. When we passed by, we were talking in the gate when the mom came out, skinny as a stick and in tiny clothes with her hair crazy, and told us if we were going to talk we had to come inside so the neighbors didn´t get mad. We were kinda thrown off and didn´t know what to do, but ended up having an awesome lesson with there family, and have been teaching them ever since. At the beginning Marta was a mess... and she says so herself! She´s had a TON of hard things happen to her and her family, and has gone through things I can´t even imagine. When we met her she was always depressed and sick, and always had something to complain about. Now, though, she´s ALWAYS smiling, and is always out and about talking to neighbors and playing with her kids. I LOVE going to their house, because in every lesson it´s a fight for who gets to choose the hymn and who GETS to say the prayer :)

Plus, this week Marcela (17) went out with us for her first time to teach other people, and it was amazing! She ALWAYS wants to share her testimony, and always wants to help other people. She even says that she wants to serve her own mission, as does her little brother Leo. They´re SOOO wonderful. Basically... I´m in love with this family!! :) It´s true.

Anyways... I gotta head out. Today we had a district asado (AKA amazing BBQ... but way better than a BBQ) so I´m all out of time. The big thing that I´ve realized this week is how wonderful studying is!!! There is so much to learn about and grow! So, I just want to encourage all of you to take the time to study the scriptures this week. Not just read them, but actually STUDY them. You´ll be amazed at what you´ll learn and how much happier you will be.

MILLIONS of kisses to all of you!! Love you all tons and tons!!

Con cariño,

Hermana Churchill

AKA Devee :)

Argie time!! :)

I am BEAT! But man does it feel good :)

SOO.... today was WONDERFUL! Sorry about the delay in the email, but this week our p-day was switched to Tuesday because we got to go to the temple!! WHOOOO HOOOOO!!! Sadly, though, it was my first and last time going to the Buenos Aires temple, because they´re closing it for 2 years in November to do rennovations :( sad day. But at least I got to go, and boy was it wonderful!!! :) So, this is my temple shout out to everyone... whatever it takes, BE WORTHY to go to the temple!! If you´re not right now, then get worthy!! If you are, then make time to go!! The temple is a PHENOMENAL place, and the feelings and thoughts you have while inside are better than anything else imaginable. If you don´t know what the temple is... well.... let me know... I´ll fill you in :)

(Oh... PS... while at the temple... Josh McDaniel, one of the Hermanas from Lanus said she was talking to you a few weeks ago and said hi to me for you :) It was awesome! And Allen... while walking back from the temple I met your ¨hijo¨.. pretty funny... i dont remember his last name but it starts with an M... he says hi! )

So.. this has been a pretty mixed up week. Wednesday I spent the day in Capital doing paperwork for my visa... not so exciting... but we did get to have a sleep over with Hermana Fox (my MTC comp who i LOVE) and another hermana... and Thursday we had zone conference... yay! Zone conference is always amazing, but this one was especially fun because I got to play the flute with another Elder playing the violin and another on the piano. I am SO happy I get to play!! We also got to talk about all the awesome experiences we´ve been having, and the crazy number of miracles we´ve seen! Before our ward was pretty cold to missionary work and not interested, and finding people to teach was difficult. Now, though, we´ve been finding tons of people who want to learn more about the gospel, and the ward is starting to see it and get excited!! Yay!

So.. thought of the week is from the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon. Can I just say that I love Alma the younger? Anyways... He´s talking about the experience he had with repentance and how wonderful it is to be forgiven of his sins. Sorry I dont have the english scripture, but I LOVE Alma 36:21... ¨No podia haber cosa tan intensa ni tan amarga como mis dolores. Si, hijo mio, y tambien te digo que por otra parte no puede haber cosa tan intensa y dulce como lo fue mi gozo. ¨Or... basically he says there is nothing as intense or bitter as the pain he felt, but also there is nothing as intense and sweet as was his joy when he repented. It´s SO true to. So many people suffer because of things they have done in the past and the guilt the feel. Imagine, though, that if they repent the joy they feel is just as intense, if not greater!! We are SOO incredibly blessed to have the atonement and the opportunity to repent of ALL of our sins! Our brother Jesus Christ suffered for us so that he could help us. All we have to do is turn to him and he will take off the burden and we can be HAPPY again!!! :) There is nothing sweeter!!!

Well... I love you all more than you can even imagine!!! I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve. I´ve only been gone four months, but I am already amazed at the difference this has made in my life, and will be eternally grateful for the chance I´ve had to serve in this amazing work!! Thank you so much for all the prayers and support!! :) Les quiero

Con carino,

Hermana Dev :)

PS.... BYU updates? Anyone? :) :) :)

RISE AND SHOUT!!! :)

Ok... so there´s lots to shout and sing about here in Argie... but the subject of this email is definitely a tribute to BYU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE BEAT OKLAHOMA!!!!!!!!! WHOOOOO HOOO!!!! Man you have no idea how happy I was to hear that!!! President Asay let my zone leader know who passed on the message to me! I can´t even explain how happy I was!!!! I spent like 30 minutes dancing around in our pension singing the cougar fight song :) Trying to explain to my companion who is from Chile why I was so happy and what BYU beating Oklahoma means in the world of college football and why it was such a big deal to me didn´t really work very well, but she was nice enough to listen and let me sing anyways :) MAN! I am so happy!!! Sad that I have to miss two college football seasons, but... I guess it´s worth it ;) haha. Any BYU updates would be more than welcome :) I mean.... .what?

ANYWAYS:... on to more missionary-like matters.... :) We had a pretty sweet week, and a pretty disappointing one at the same time. BUT! It´s all good. It was an awesome week because we found 16 new people to teach... YAY! It was also disappointing because Marcela, Daniela, and Leo didn´t show up to church... and neither did anyone else of our investigators ¨:( It´s all good though.... we went to their house later and found out the night before they had a ton of family stuff happen... and... in the end it was legit they didnt come. It was such an awesome lesson too, because the sister-in-law was there and Marcela, who just got baptised last week, shared her testimony and even helped us teach part of the lesson. It was wonderful!!!!

Even so, moral of the story.... For every good thing that happens there will always be something that happens to oppose it. That´s just how Satan works., and as the scriptures say, there is ¨opposition in all things ¨. So... even when hard times come just push through it!!! Just wait... a miracle is on it´s way! You just have to look for it!

Well... sorry this is short this week but I´m nearly out of time. Thank you SOOOOOOOOO much to those of you who have sent me letters!!! You have no idea how wonderful it is!!! And yes, I´m writting every single one of you back... it just takes a little while since I dont get letters for nearly a month and then it takes 2 weeks to send them too. So... patience :) But MUCHISIMAS gracias!!

I love you all more than you know!!!! :) SMile lots, be good, go and do something good for someone else.

Besitos,

Hermana Churchill

YAY FOR BAPTISMS!!!!! .... Great way to end my first transfer!

Well hola yal!

Life is great here in good old Argentina!! This week we had an awesome time, especially Sunday! First, we had 5 investigators at church on Sunday! Oh... one of which is named Angel, who showed up at church last Sunday asking how he could get baptised.... talk about a dream come true! :) He´s awesome though

After church we had a BAPTISM!!! YAY!!!!! Marcela (17), Leo (8), and Daniela (11) all got baptised today, and their mom Marta and other brother Diego are getting baptised in 2 weeks!! It was so wonderful. You have to understand.... this family lives in some of the worst of circumstances, and when we first met them the mom was super sick, always in bed and angry at the world too. Now, though, you can literally see a change in her eyes, and she`s always happy and smiling, and LOVES talking about the gospel! I`m so excited for their family!!! Marcela is a total future missionary too, and we already have plans for her to go out with us to teach their neighbors. WHOO HOO!! Party time in Argie!

Oh... also... I was way excited for this baptism since it was my first here, but then I also found out that this is the first baptism in this area since like February! Not to mention we also have 13 other investigators getting ready to be baptised too in the next few months... so it`s AMAZING because our ward is starting to change and are starting to get excited about missionary work. Miracles really do happen.... just gotta have a little faith!

Let´s see... other news... Today is the last day of my first transfer! (6 weeks). Turns out me & Hermana Reyes are staying together though, so we`re getting ready to work extra hard this coming transfer!

So... thought of the week... here`s a quote from President Hinckley that I love (i hope i havent already shared it... but if so... no worries... its still wonderful)

`Rise to the great potential within you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope you will not nag yourselves with thoughts of failure. I hope that you will not try to set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass.`

Each and every one of you are AMAZING with so many talents and abilities. Develop them and use them to help those around you. Every day miracles are happening, you just have to look for them to recognize them.

I love you all! Know that you`re always in my prayers and I wish the best for each of you!

Besitos,

Hermana Churchill

Livin the life!!!

Hola, Hola, Hola!!!!

Man... this has yet again been a great week! We have had some awesome lessons, and have met some amazing people!!!! - Remember the mad wife who ended up giving permission for her daughter to be baptized? Well we went back Saturday and I had my first Argentine Asado.... HOLY COW!!!! It was amazing!! Chicken, beef, chorizo, (luckily no ¨mystery meat¨) ... that they spent 5 hours making! But man was it good!

Stories of the week:

- Humberto and Norma (the family of 12) - we went back to their house and taught them about the plan of salvation. The best part, though, was that when we got there the whole family was watching TV together, so they all ended up staying for the lesson, including Humberto (the dad) who usually makes excuses to go and do other things. We had talked with Norma the week before and found out that they aren´t married, but they´ve been together for 23 years and have 10 kids together. So, while talking about the Plan of Salvation we also started talking about Marriage and why it is so important, and extended a commitment to them to get married!! In the FIRST lesson we´ve had with Humberto! :) They´re great though... i´m not too worried. The BEST, BEST part of the lesson, though, was at the end when we asked Humberto if he would give the closing prayer. He wasn´t too excited about it, but we showed him in the Book of Mormon where we had writen the steps to prayer and told him he could use that, so he agreed to do it. When he said the prayer he simply thanked heavenly father for his family and for never abandoning them, and then was silent. All of us sat with our heads bowed waiting for what he would say next, but he was silent. After a while, he simply closed in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen, and then sat with the Book of Mormon in his hands just staring at it. This was SUCH a simple, small moment, but everyone in the room could feel the spirit so strongly!

So... thought of the week... this week the subject of adversity has come up a lot, and while studying i came across a quote from President Brigham Young which I love...

¨We are the happiest people when we have what are called trials, for then the Spirit of God is more abundantly bestowed upon the faithful¨

I don´t know about yal, but the first thought that that comes to me when I´m faced with a trial is usually not about how happy I am. What a great perspective this is to have, though, because if we really have faith, and recognize that every trial we pass through will help us become better and progress, then we can have this same view ... To know that during our trials our savior Jesus Christ will never abandon us, and will never leave our side. WHat a comfort it is to know that we will never be alone! I´ll admit... being thousands of miles away from all of my family and friends is difficult at times, but at least I´m never alone, and I can still always be happy!!! I know this is where I´m supposed to be right now, and I´m so grateful for this opportunity Heavenly Father has given me to share the gospel with others!

I love you all and wish you the best. Take some time this week to forget about yourself and the millions of trials and hardships you may be facing, and do something nice for someone else to help lift them up. I promise it will help ease the burden you feel as well.

Besitos a todos!

Hna Devee

Pictures!

Sorry I've been running behind on posts. Our family just moved to California and we've been pretty busy for the last few weeks. Hope you enjoy these pictures of Hermana Churchill!

1. mission president week in the MTC! This was the sign in the parking lot.... pretty sweet :)

2. Me & Hna Fox´s awesome collection of food :) Yummy yummy. I SO wish i had some of these things right now! :)

3. Playing in the laundy room the day our last time doing laundry before we left the MTC!

4. Remember the day that English died? This was the funeral service we had for it. It was a sad, sad day!

5. WHOO HOO!!!! PERU!!!!

6. The view from the roof of our apartment building!

Sorry everyone that I'm so behind! I just moved to California and have been so busy moving in. Enjoy these pictures of Devee.

BEST DAY EVER!!!!!!! :) :) :)

Holy WONDERFUL week in Argentina!!

Man... this week has been CRAZY with many crazy moments.... I had a man attack me with a hug and proceed to ask me if we could be friends and if i loved him and if we could eat lunch and chat together (he was a little... different). Kinda weirded out... my companion just sat and stared. Egh. We taught a family who started out with the wife telling us very... strongly.. that her church is the only right one... but ended up in her giving permission for her daughter to be baptised and them inviting us to have an asado with them. Crazy. And.... i dont even know. I million very interesting things happened this week.

The BEST though... was Sunday! Its a VERY long story, but because of some crazy happenings we ended up having 6 investigators at church (this whole transfer we´ve only had 1), found a family of TWELVE PEOPLE, and found 8 new investigators... alll in one day!! It was AMAZING!!!!!!!! The most miraculous was this family. On Saturday an appointment fell through and we were way bummed, but we decided to go back to the chapel and study language there while we waited for our next appointment. That day it turns out the MTC missionaries were proselyting in our area, and when we were in the chapel some of the hermanas ran up to us, telling us they were SOO happy they found us and that they had a reference for us of an awesome family. Sunday we went and met them... the family of 12... and found out that they had been being taught by missionaries a LONG time before, but the missionaries just stopped coming. (most likely because this house doesnt have an address so when the missionaries changed they didnt know where to find them). Anywaysl... long story short.... we got to teach them about Joseph SMith and the restoration, and they accepted invitations to be baptised!!! This family is SOOO amazing!!! There are 10 kids and they all live together, and are SO SO SO prepared!!! Its funny to me though how all of this worked out.... if we hadnt have listened to the various impressions we received throughout the day and if this apt hadnt fallen through, this all never would have happened and again they would have had to wait. Moral of the story: You never know what Heavenly Father´s plans are. Even when things go wrong, remember he is in charge and is ALWAYS watching over you!

Quote of the week is from Elder Dallin H Oaks:

¨Drive and determination are what lead to extraordinary success, not natural ability.¨

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this quote, because its so true!! I believe is a person puts their mind to something and wants to succeed and is willing to work for it, they can accomplish anything!!! So many times, though, people make excuses for themselves or for others. Don´t do this!!!!! There´s a quote from Pres. Kimball I love when he talks about how any excuse, no matter how valid, will always hurt the person. So don´t make excuses!! Even if you´re right!! Instead.... move forward. Try to make the best of what you have, and always push yourself to become better! This is when we find success and when we truly are happy. ¨If you think you can or you think you can´t, you´re right.¨(Henry Ford... i think....)

I love you all!!!!! I hope all is wonderful. Smile TONS:... it will do miracles for you! I am loving being a missionary and a part of this great work. I pray for all of you and hope that life is everything you could dream of and more!!

Besitos,

Hermana Dev