AHH! SOryy!! Did this not get sent last week?! My bad... here ya go..
Sorry this is so long.... we´re gonna have to do topics so it´s easier to follow... :)
FLOOD?
Merry Christmas!! Yep... that´s right.... we had ANOTHER flood! Today is Christmas Eve, and we woke up this morning to a HUGE thunder and lightning storm, and ALL of the streets were completely flooded.... even more than last time! What a way to start the christmas festivities eh? I decided it´s God´s way of keeping people from blowing up stuff and getting as drunk tonight.
Christmas in Argentina
Oh yeah... i better explain how Christmas is here so that makes sense. It´s just a TAD different. Ok no... it´s really different. Here La Nochebuena... aka Christmas Eve, is the big day. Everyone gets together with family and eats tons all night. Then they have a countdown to midnight, and everyone goes out into the street and starts yelling, singing, dancing, and lighting off fireworks (that appear more like mini bombs), and shooting guns in the air at midnight. Also, they open all the presents and things like that at midnight too. SOOO.... we´ll see if i get any sleep tonight :) ha. Oh... not to mention... everyone gets super drunk, so sadly enough Christmas and Christmas eve are some of the most dangerous days here. It´s all good though.... no worries... we have to be back in the pension at 6:00 pm both days, AND new years and new years eve too, so we´ll be safe.
TRAINING? Saying goodbye to the Turlster....
Anyways... this was an AWESOME week!! .... Besides the fact that Hermana Turley left me :(. She went home a little bit before the transfer ends to get ready for school and be with the fam. The only problem is that because of that now I have a "mini missionary" who i´m training, so it´s been a little stressful this week! It was hard to say bye to Hermana Turley, cuz she´s AMAZING and we got along SO well! I love that girl! But... I´ll see here in 11 months so it´s ok :) My new comp´s name is Hermana Taquichiri, and she´s from Burzaco here in Buenos Aires. (the mini missionaries are members of missionary age who serve for only a few weeks or a transfer when we need extra missionaries). She´s way cute, and we´re having fun! It´s a little hard cuz she´s never been in the MTC or had an training, but now she´s gonna be a pro! She´s awesome though... she´s learning really fast and is always willing to listen and try new things!
ARIEL & RAUL .... the capos of the capos
So... cool Ariel and Raul update.... they ROCK!!! On Sunday Raul gave the opening prayer in sacrament meeting AND passed the sacrament for the first time! I felt like such a mom because he was really nervous, and WE were nervous cuz no one explained it well, and didnt have time to cuz the meeting already started. But he did great, so i was proud! :) THEN... after church on Sunday Ariel and Raul both went to a YSA fireside.... on their own! Crazy cool eh? Raul is the best missionary too... he sat with Ariel the whole time, introduced him to other members, and even took him home afterwards!
Then, to make it even better, on Tuesday Raul came to a cita we had with Ariel, and we were able to take out a baptismal date with him! But, what makes me happier than anything is that we didnt have to try to convince him or explain why or anything... he wanted to be baptised, and is WAY excited. Sometimes people are really hesitant and precautious, but he´s not at all! It was funny too, because he put it in his cell phone, and then wrote in his to do list "arrepentirse" ... o sea... "REPENT" :) I can´t even explain how happy I am and how much fun we´re having here. Life as a missionary ROCKS! There are so many people that I´ve met that I´ll never forget, who are friends i´ll have forever because of this mission . So... lets just say I´m in love with life! :)
*** DO THIS!! .... Pretty Please? :) ***
Alright... as usual I´ve written WAY too much.... I always wondered why missionaries send such long letters, but now I understand. A quick spiritual though of the day for yal though, is actually an invitation:
Read the lyrics of "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" - p. 29 in the hymn book, or look it up on LDS.org. But REALLY pay attention to the lyrics this time. I was reading it this morning and was amazed. What amazed me, though, is that this man did so many acts of service for the man who was suffering, but after each one HE always was served in some way or received something even better in return. That´s EXACTLY how I feel as a missionary. Lots of times people say how great they think it is that we sacrifice so much time and leave behind our family and schooling and jobs, but really... i kinda feel like i´m cheating the system or something, because although every day is filled with tons of service, I feel like I receive WAAAAAAAY more blessings that what I give. It´s amazing! Can I just say LIFE IS WONDERFUL! :)
Anyways... that´s the challenge.... read all 7 verses of that song, and then read Matthew 25:31-40, and let me know how it goes! And, most importantly, don´t forget to put it into action! There´s always someone around us who needs a helping hand... we just have to look around. So please.... all I want for Christmas is for everyone to find a way to serve those around them. I promise if you do then you will feel the same unsurmountable happiness I´ve felt. :)
I love you all, and wish you the merriest Christmas yet! :)
Un besito grande! :)
Hermana Devee Churchill
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