ATTENTION FRIENDS AND FAMILY! : A message from your beloved missionary`s companions.... :)

Dearest Family and Friends:

For the last 18 months your beloved daughter, grandaughter, sister, aunt, cousin, niece, squirrel, and friend has been serving Heavenly Father and His children as a missionary and representative of Jesus Christ in Argentina – a land VERY far away and VERY distinct from that she was used to. As her companions, we spend a LOT of time with her, and have seen her change and adapt to the circumstances here, which she has done very well.... maybe TOO well. That being said, as you now prepare for her exciting homecoming, we wanted to take a minute to warn you ahead of time about a few of the changes so you don`t get worried later on.

While living in Argentina, there are many things that Hermana Churchill had NEVER before done or experiences. First off, in the home:

1. She`s never had such poor table manners, so don`t be surprised when she eats everything with a large spoon, wipes her mouth with her hand, and wipes her hand on her skirt. Please forgive her beforehand if you ever catch her sneaking unwanted food into napkins on her lap, plastic-lined coat pockets, or to the dog while you`re not looking.
2. She`ll probably eat a ton at lunch and barely touch her dinner. Speaking of eating a ton, she`s never before had to eat so much to the point of making her sick, so please... if she starts to look queezy, remind her that it`s OK not to finish everything and that she won`t offend you, even if you did make it with love and spend your hard-earned money.
3. She`s never had such a confusing diet. For the last 18 months she`s eaten everything from cow brains, heart and tongue and bloody pig intestines to hot dogs, ketchup and french fries on top of pizza. Every meal has been deep-fried in cow-fat or drenched in oil and salt, with a loaf of bread on the side. The most ironic part of it all is that dessert is always the healthiest part of the meal! So please just keep it simple... make sure to have the pantry and fridge stocked with lots of sugar cerals, fruit snacks, clean produce, peanut butter, cheddar cheese, bagels, wheat bread, fresh skim milk (not powdered or expired!), clean lunch meat, maple syrup (not from concentrate), tortilla chips and salsa, etc.
4. She`s never had every article of clothing become “hand-wash only” so don`t be surprised when every sink in the house is full. Just remind her where the washing machine is and how to use it.
5. She`s never had to sleep in a mummy sleeping bag for a year and a half, so please have lots of clean, comfy blankets and pillows ready, and hide anything with a zipper! She`s also never had to rely on a rooster to wake her up, so if she sleeps in late, and then runs around frantically trying to get ready for personal/comp study and the day`s work, kindly calm her down and show her how to use an alarm clock.
6. She`s never celebrated so many random holidays yet still had to work, so try not to kill her when on Christmas day she wants to exercise, shower, eat breakfast and study all before opening presents at 10 AM.
7. She`s never had so many weird quirks and habits. If she claps to get people to answer the door, wears her flip-flops in the shower, kills bugs with her bare hands, refuses to drink water from the tap, or scolds you for walking around barefoot, just remember: patience is a virtue, and she will eventually adapt.

SPECIAL NOTE: If she spends HOURS playing with the garbage disposal, trash compactor, electric drill, lawm mower, electric stove, toaster, water dispensor, pencil sharpener, blender, or other at-home gadgets, do not be alarmed... It`s totally normal. Also, when she starts sweeping the carpet with a broom, remind her that you do have a vaccuum that will only take 10 minutes instead of an hour.

The next thing you`ll have to be careful about is taking her out into civilized society. Just be patient and try not to get too embarrassed, because just like in the home, there are a LOT of other things she`s never done before living in Argentina, such as:

1. She`s never realized how much she loves QFC, Safeway, Albertsons, Smith`s Macey`s, or Fred Meyer`s until now, so don`t be surprised when you take her to a grocery store for the first time and she acts like a child at a petting zoo, running from aisle to aisle and saying “Wow! Look at this!” If she starts talking to herself, don`t worry – she`s doing one of two things: 1) Praying and giving thanks, or 2) Trying to figure out how many pesos are in a dollar and how many kilos are in a pound, and how in the world to convert the measurements from all her Argentine recipes.
2. She`s never had to use so many buses or trains, so don`t be surprised when she`s frantically looking for coins in the couch cushions and asking people for 10 ¢ in the street. Remind her that you DO have a car and that she doesn`t need to scrounge for coins anymore. After a year and a half, though, it might be smart to first take her to a parking lot for a test drive before letting her loose.
3. She`s never gone so long without being alone, so she`ll probably follow you around everywhere you go and freak out when you`re not withing “sight and sound” of her. You might want to start now to master the technique of just “smiling and nodding” so that when she randomly starts speaking in Spanish or constantly talks about the mission and Argentina in “Caste-yankee” (aka Spanglish), you`ll be prepared.
4. She`s never kissed so many people, nor had so many men attempt to kiss her before serving a mission. Don`t be surprised when upon entering a room she immediately goes around and starts giving everyone kisses on the cheek, and then gives another round as she leaves. Oh and boys... if she kisses you, don`t take it personally... it does not mean that she`s in love with you!
5. She`s never been so excited to hear a song in English, so don`t be surprised when a hit from the 80`s comes on and she starts singing at the top of her lungs. Just hope you`re not in a crowd.
6. She`s never felt like such a celebrity just for having blond, curly hair and blue eyes, nor has she ever gotten so many cat calls, so don`t be surprised when she gives you the death stare just for saying “Hi”
7. She`s never worked so hard on the “Day of Rest”, so don`t be surprised when Sunday comes around and she`s ready to go pick up investigators at 7:30 AM, has an extra sacrament talk on hand and has read every lesson in advance “por las dudas”. When she responds to an invitation to pray or to read a scripture to the class with a look of complete panic, it`s probably because she has forgotten how to pray in English and/or has brought her Spanigh set to Sunday School.

As you can see, MANY things have changed while Hermana Churchill has been serving a mission. The biggest change, however, is the change that has taken place in herself. Before serving the mission, she had never had such as incredible, unforgetable experience. She`s never worked so hard, cried so much, smiled so often, or loved so deeply as now. She`s never been so converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ or been so desirous to share it with everyone around her. The last 18 months have been the best of her life, and have truly changed who she is for the better. She`s never before realized how incredibly blessed she is to have amazing family and friends who support her and love her so much, and would like to thank them for every e-mail, letter, package, and prayer. She`s never had so many people she can call “family”, as that truly is what the Argentine people are for her, and she will be eternally grateful for the short time she`s been given to spend with them, and for the friendships and memories shared with each and every one of them.

Well, that`s the best help we can give you. As her companions, we hope that these warnings and tips of advice will come in handy in the final preparations and first few months with Hermana Churchill. It`s hard to believe how fast the time has passed, but the inconceivable has become reality, and believe it or not....

Hermana Deverall Churchill is coming home!!!!!!

Pictures from this week!

1. Gaston`s baptism

2. The water heater that caused so much commotion!

3. Happy 18 months! . Do you like my floor collection? At least i was set to go! :)

4. This is me on the floor on sunday. My back froze up and i was trying to get it out, but it wasnt possible cuz it hurt so bad. Don`t worry though.... i`m actually dying of laughter on the floor... why it made me laugh and not cry i`m not sure, but oh well. Asi es.

You`ll NEVER imagine all the belebrations this week for....

MY 18 MONTH MARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Believe it or not, I officially hit 18 months in the mission?! Isn`t that insane?! I guess the next two weeks are vacation, no? SIKE! I`m super stoked I get 2 EXTRA weeks to work like crazy! :) Boy did we celebrate like CRAZY though.

So, my 18 month day started out super tranquilo. (PS:... 18 months feels more like your birthday than anything). My AWESOME companion made me pancakes with bananas and dulce de leche, and we studied and went out to work. We had lunch at our Bishop`s house, and then started doing all the preparations for GASTON`S BAPTISM!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOO HOO! Then the baptism started, and that`s where all the fun began....

When we got to the chapel, it was an hour before the baptism, and the font was filling. The only problem is that it was ICE cold, because the ward mission leader forgot to turn on the water heater. We got that figured out, and after that everything started pretty smoothly. We were really happy because a lot of members showed up to support Gaston, which is what we were really worried about because he has NO ONE - family or friend - who are supportive of him in getting baptised, so he was there alone. Our ward really pulled through though, and the meeting went super well. The talks were amazing and really showed Gaston that he`s part of a bigger family now, and what an amazing, important decision he was making. Then, AS SOON AS our ward mission leader announced that we would now be passing on to the most important part of the meeting, Gaston`s baptism, someone someone looked behind and saw that the water heater had CAUGHT ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!! At first it seemed like just a little thing, so as one person tried to put that out, someone else tried to open the baptismal font door.... but it was jammed shut. So more people went to help, and meanwhile the fire kept getting bigger and bigger, so one of the moms freaked out and rushed all the kids out of the room (which is probably good, since its a gas heater), which threw everything into chaos. Carlos grabbed the fire extinguisher off the wall, but luckily just as they were going to spray the heater they were able to put the fire out with a towel. The Carlos went and helped with the still jammed door, and was able to open that as well, thank goodness. By that time, though, the whole room was filled with smoke and a lot of nerves, and poor litte gaston was even MORE nervous than he was to start out with.

They were still going to move right onto the baptism, but we called a TIME OUT, had everyone sit down, and sang a hymn together. I love music, and how it invites the spirit in any situation!! After the hymn everyone felt a lot calmer, and we were able to move onto the baptism, which was beautiful, we did a special talk and sang a duet during the intermision, and the rest of the night went super smoothly.

But.... that`s not the end of the fun! (sorry, i know this is long!)

After the baptism Carlos invited us and Gaston over to his house for dinner, just because he didnt want gaston to have to go home after the baptism..... Carlos is SUCH A CAPO!!!!!!!!!!! :) It was way nice, but I had started feeling REALLY sick to my stomach. We called a remis (taxi) to go home, and by the time we got in our pension i was dying. I still wanted to plan, though, so we planned on our beds while i layed down because i was in so much pain. We ended up cutting our planning session short, though, cuz i ran to the bathroom... and... well... you get the picture. I spent the rest of the night alone in my room super sick, running back and forth from the bathroom, without sleeping cuz i was in so much pain (my poor cmpanion gets really sick anytime anyone else is sick, so she slept on the floor in the kitchen).

Sunday morning i got up at 6:30 and was determined to go to church for Gaston`s confirmation, but my comp didnt think i would make it since it was hard for me to even stand up, so she called pres to see if she could go to church with someone else. When he found out what happened the night before, he prohibited me from leaving the pension ( :( bummer.), but gave my comp permission, so she went and said the conf. was wonderful, and Gaston was SUPER happy!!

SO those were the big celebrations this week! Today i`m feeling a lot better, and finally ate something besides jello, gatorade and crackers, so life is good! It was a crazy, mixed up week with lots of twists and turns, but that`s just what makes life exciting, right? :)

Well, I hope all of you have an amazing thanksgiving holiday. Eat lots of pavo for me, k? I love you all so much. I`m SO grateful for this time I have to be serving as a missionary in this marvelous work, and I`m grateful for my amazing friends and family who have been there every step of the way. I`m a pretty lucky girl! So thank you. Les quiero muchisimo.... mas que se pueden imaginar.

Un beso grande,

Hermana Churchill

PICTURE:

1. This is what happens after 18 months of walking!

Catholics, evangelical pastors, and Baha´I?! What a mix! :)

You guys are never gonna believe what just happened to us.... we went grocery shopping, and they were playing CHRISTMAS MUSIC in ENGLISH!!! :) You have no idea what big news this is.... they never play christmas music here! Not even at Christmas time! We were so happy that we FROZE in the lunch meat isle and just listened in silence until the song was over :) haha

ANYWAYS.... Hows things going back home?? This week here was just kind of funny and mixed up... but GREAT! :) We found a ton of new investigators this week, which was way cool! Saturday alone we found 10, so we were super happy! Anyways, here are a couple of the random stories:

1. We found a lady from IRAN! That was a new experience. She was from the Baha´I religion (which I´ve never heard of), and had to escape from her country to be able to practice it. Interesting, huh? She was way cool though, and walking into her house was like walking into another country!

2. We also found an Evangelical Pastor! A lady and her husband, who own their own church right next to their house. They received us super well, and (in the end) even agreed to pray about the restoration. That was also a first!

Pretty cool huh? The biggest news of the week, though, is that GASTON IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!! I think I´m even more excited just because he´s SOOOO CAPO, and has an amazing testimony of the church! We did his pre-interview this week, and I couldn´t believe my ears... it was by far the most spiritual lesson I´ve had. In every single question he showed a sincere love and conviction for the gospel, and in the end told us that he KNEW that this was the only true church .... that he could feel it! The hard part is that his whole family is catholic, and have been saying a LOT of bad things about the church, but he defends it and says that he wants to be baptized anyways. He`s great!!! That takes a LOT of strength! Actually, Dad... it reminded me of you, and how you were the only member in your family. If you don`t mind, it`d be awesome if you could write him a little note of encouragement on email that I can translate and give to him next week after his baptism.

Welp, that´s about all for now! The work keeps rolling along smoothly, and we´re having a blast here in Burzaco! :) I hope everything is going wonderfully back home. Be happy, and don`t get so trunky, k? :)

Love ya!

Hermana Churchill

PICTURES:

1. In Argentina, every piece of clothingn becomes "hand wash only" :)

2. Language study in the chapel while waiting for our cita to arrive :)

HOT HOT HOT... tamales?

It`s really starting to burn up down here.... and I LOVE it! It`s actually been a mix of sun, rain, tornado-ish, windy, hailing weather, so it`s been kinda funky. Right before the BIGGEST storm this week, we found a man and his mother, and they let us in their house on the first visit. RIGHT before we were going to leave, it started POORING... I`m talkin fire-hose pooring... so they insisted on us staying. We said we had to keep working, and that we would be ok, so then they changed and insisted that we take their umbrella. Yal know how stubborn I am, though, so I assured them we would be totally fine, and the mother said " ¡Sé que ustedes son ángeles, pero aún los ángeles tienen alas y no se puede mojarlas!" (I know that you are angels, but even angels have wings and you can`t let them get wet!). :) haha. SO that was the cute moment of the week :)

We had a LOT of fun with the packages of hot tamales that my AMAZING long-distance visiting teacher sent me. The people here HATE spicy things, so hot tamales kill them, but we decided to use them and apply them to the gospel. We talked about why it is that God gives us trials, and how it is that we can overcome them, and read in Doctrine and Covenants 121 about how trials are really only short moments, and in the end we will overcome them and be blessed. Then we would give a hot tamale to each person and tell them that this was their trial - that they had to suck on the hot tamale, and have faith that once the overcome their trial they will receive the blessings (which is the sweet part inside the hot tamale). It was a blast, and really helped a lot of our investigators and less-active members to realize why it is that we have trials, and that we will always be able to make it through if we trust in the Lord.

Sunday was also a SUPER special day for me! Raul, one of my converts from Banfield 2 (my first area) came to sacrament meeting in Burzaco! What made it even better, is that it was fast and testimony meeting, so he got up and shared a BEAUTIFUL testimony, which made me cry seeing how incredibly strong and dedicated he is to the gospel...... and i don`t cry ever! :) It was absolutely amazing, and I felt like the happiest person in the world! In my agenda I simply wrote " I have been blessed " cuz that`s how I really feel... blessed that I have this opportunity to meet so many amazing people and share the gospel - the biggest blessing that i have in my life - with them. There really is no greater joy than helping someone else receive the gospel and follow in the straight and narrow - whether it be your friends or your own family members or complete strangers. I LOVE THIS WORK!!!

Alright, I gotta get going!!! But I love you all so so so much!!! Be good. Be happy. Smile TONS!

Besos y abrazos,

Hermana Churchill

Pics!

1. Machete weed-wacking in the jungle ( aka behind a member`s house) with carlos!

2. Cleaning the capilla!

3. Crawling out the window when our door broke!

Happy Halloween!

Geez! It was a VERY interesting week this week!!! There were a TON of little, weird things that made working hard each day:

- Wednesday - Argentina Census. We had to stay in our pensions until like 4 pm because Argentina did a census and no one was allowed to leave their houses until someone came by to census them. So I guess now I`m counted in the Argentina population! :)

- Also on Wednesday, the ex-president (and current president`s husband) of Argentina, Kirschner, died, meaning there were 3 more days of feriado and a TON of news

- Thursday/Friday - It rained, and rained, and rained some more.... Always a missionary`s FAVORITE climate to work in! Haha. It was kinda nice though, since it`s starting to feel like summer here! The only downer is EVERYONE sleeps all day here when it rains, and there`s never anyone in the street!

- Thursday - Our front door broke right when we were leaving to work, so we spent probably about an hour trying to fix it, and eventually just climbed out the window so that we could work!

- Saturday - we had a huge ward farewell for an elder here, which was super fun! It was super weird seeing so many Americans though! (17 people from his fam came, and that wasn`t even all that came to Argentina!)

BUT!!!!

Now the good part. At the beginning of this week we put some AWESOME goals for this week and were super stoked to reach them, but then ALLL of these things started happening, making it super difficult! It was really a bummer, but even so we were DETERMINED to find a family! (That was our biggest goal). Anyways, Saturday we cancelled our lunch appointment so that we could have more time to work, said a LOT of prayers, and head out on the hunt for a family! I had my comp tell me, while looking at the map the night before, where she felt like we needed to go, so she picked 2 specific blocks that she had never visited but felt we needed to go. I realized that RIGHT there was a lady who just the week before we had said hi to, who recognized me from the Blood drive we did a couple weeks ago! (She was a nurse there). So we decided to stop by her house to see if we could share with her. When we got there, before we could even tell her why we were there, her AND her husband came out and told us to come in right away (.... that doesn`t usually happen so easily!). Then, we went in and sat down, and they brought their 3 sons out to meet us as well!

Long story (a little) shorter, we ended up chatting with them and they invited us to stay for lunch, and we were able to share a Book of Mormon with them and had a great lesson, and they invited us to come back any time we want to share more, before we could even ask! It was so wonderful! SO WE FOUND OUR FAMILY!!! :) It was amazing. They`re such an awesome family, too! It`s kinda weird, cuz I think it`s one of the nicest houses I`ve been in in my whole mission, and is one of these families that would usually intimidate you because they`re very successful, well-educated, and VERY catholic (they teach catecismo), and know a TON about the bible, but even so were completely open to receiving us and learning and "experimenting" (aka reading and praying about the BOM) simply because the mom had gotten such a great impression of the church when we went to do the stake service project donating blood!

Man was it a great way to finish the week! I love how the Lord ALWAYS, always, always blesses us when we endure! :) It`s like sunshine after the rain! :) So... when it feels like everything just keeps going wrong... KEEP GOING, and don`t give up!!! The blessings are on their way!!!!!!!!! :)

I love you all tons and tons and tons! :)

xo, Hermana Churchill

PICS:

1. Check out our AWESOME Piñas! :) .... This is how we do Halloween in Argentina! :)

2. Close up :)

I`m SO happy! :) Let`s just say.... the mission rocks! :)

¡¡¡HOLA!!!

¿Cómo andan todos por allá? I hope everything`s going super well back home! Things have gone SOOOO great this week, and basically... I just LOVE my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My goodness!!! Everyone makes fun of me and asks if I`m trunky ALL THE TIME since this is my last transfer, but I really am not at ALL. I`ll admit, it kinda surprises me, but the mission just seems like it`s gonna go on forever and I`m gonna stay here forever. There`s just so much to do, that it`s impossible to think it`ll all change someday! I guess reality just hasn`t hit yet.... but it`s better that way :) Man... I love the mission so much!

Well things are going SUPER super well here in Burzaco!!! Hermana Smith and I get along SOOOOO well!!! It`s basically a party and a half EVERY DAY! :) We´ve had an amazing first week in our area together, and you can already see a difference in the work! We have some awesome investigators right now, and have a couple baptisms coming up in the next few weeks! On Wednesday I got to teach in a 3-some for the first time, and it was AMAZING! We found a few people who while talking with them you can tell that they`ve just been waiting to receive the gospel, and are already progressing really well!

Saturday we ended up doing service AGAIN all day! We finished cutting the "jungle" behind one of the recent converts´ house in our ward, and this time Carlos came to help us as well (which rocks, since he`s a gardener... he definitely showed us up with the machete). He`s such a capo! He`s always the first to volunteer to give service, and is always willing to help wherever he`s needed! By the end our hands were covered with blisters and cuts, but we had a blast! Afterwards we had a huge cleaning activity in the capilla with the whole ward. We missed out on the asado afterwards, but found cotton candy on the way to an awesome lesson with Carlos` family! :)

Anyways, that`s about all for this week. It was pretty tranquilo, but amazing all at the same time :). I hope all of you are loving life and focusing on the blessings rather than the burdens. Life is too wonderful to waste complaining... it`s just not worth it... it`s A LOT more fun to laugh and smile and enjoy life! Plus... even the rough moments prove for great stories later on! So, just remember to SMILE and be happy, no matter what gets thrown at ya! :)

I love you all so much! Cuídense mucho. ¡Un beso grande!

xo, Hermana Churchill

PICTURES! :) I`m really spoiling yal lately.... :)

1. CHICOS! ... I love Argentina...

2. Mate.... Ya gotta teach em young!

3. BOCA! Carlos and his kids, Hna Aravena´s last day

TRANSFERS! .... and in the hospital AGAIN?! ... ;)

Believe it or not, today is the first day of my last transfer.... WEIRD. It`s ok, though, cuz it really doesn`t feel like it. I`m just super excited to work like crazy and tear it up this transfer!! President called me and was considering leaving my companion with me for a FOURTH transfer, but we decided it`d be better for her to have a change and a new area. Plus, she`s doing SO SO SO much better now! I`m super happy. But guess where she`s going.... OLMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!! You won`t believe how much Olmos is growing! They`re now putting 4 Hermanas there because it`s had so much success! I love Olmos. I just can`t get over it! It`s super funny too, cuz last night she started naming off people I had talked about in Olmos, and already knows the whole ward!! :) Oh she`s going to love it! It was hard to say bye to her today. I really am so grateful I got to be her companion. There were so many times that seemed impossible to overcome and I got so tired sometimes with all that went on, but I`m so grateful I got to be here to help her out, and I know that I am a MUCH better person for having known her.

ANYWAYS, my new comp is awesome as well! Her name is Hermana Smith, and she`s from Riverton, Utah! President told me he was thinking about putting me with an hermana they`ve been having a few problems with, but then thought "No, it`s Hermana Churchill`s last transfer, and she deserves a break" .... so he gave me Hna Smith! She`s so awesome! She has about a year in the mish, and is always happy and upbeat! So... this is gonna be a party!! :)

Oh.. and about the hospital.... NO... DONT WORRY... it wasn`t for me! :) We had a kinda crazy weekend though. Saturday morning President called me and told me there was an hermana in the hospital, and that he needed us to go and pick her up/ do a companion exchange so that I could take her companion to the mission home to bathe and eat. So all day Saturday we did that, (which was actually super nice spending time with President and Hermana Stapley.... I LOVE them! They are both such amazing people!!!!!! I feel so lucky to be in this mission and have them for our mission President) then we ran back to our area for a service activity chopping grass with machetes, then ran to ANOTHER activity cleaning the capilla, ran home and bathed, and went back to the hospital. I stayed the whole night in the hospital while my comp and the other hermana went to the mission home to sleep.

The sad part was Sunday we didn`t go to our ward.... and I actually didn`t go to church at all! That`s a first for me in the mission! :) SOOOOO many good things happened in our ward, though. 1) the primary kids sang. I was supposed to play the piano for them but wasn`t there so they did it acapella. 2) Carlos received the priesthood!!! 3) A contact we had done came to church for the first time and was looking for us and... well, a bunch more stuff that I don`t even remember! We were happy to hear so many good things went on though! And it was nice to do so much service in one weekend :) :) Plus, the hermana who was in the hospital is all better now, so we`re all good! :)

Anyways, that`s the update of life in Argie!!! I love my mission and my life so much. I always feel like I have SOOOOO much more to learn and improve on, but everyday is a new to repent and start over new, and I`m so grateful for this time I`ve been trusted with to serve the Lord. There is nothing that can make a person happier in this life than knowing and applying the gospel. It`s the best thing I can imagine and possibly ask for! I LOVE IT!!! :)

... And I love all of you. Cuídense mucho ¡Un abrazo GRANDISIMO!

xo, Hermana Churchill

...random... but hey... they`re pics!

1/2. Homemade tortillas!

3. My " Happy 16 months and 14 days" present from Hna Aravena :)

SNOW IN ARGENTINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. Defrosting the freezer

2. EXITO!!!!

3. LOOK! It finally snowed in Argentina!!!!!!!!!!!!!! haha... looks like my comp doesn`t like snow as much. I was excited... :)

I LOVE MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

M SOOOOOOO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alright, I know I talk about Olmos WAY too much, especially since I`m not there anymore, but so many awesome things happened there in these last 2 weeks! I`ll try to explain the most concisely that i can (and i already explained parts in past emails), but here we go:

1. Ezequiel (Fernando) is on a mini missioN!!! I`m SOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy! Some pretty scary things happened with him in the last few months making me really worried, but he went to general conference and one of the zone leaders told him they were looking for a mini missionary for a few weeks. Ezequiel`s DREAM is to be a missionary, so he said yes and was super excited!!!! The missionaries talked with the bishop, though, and were worried he wouldn`t be able to. But Bishop had an interview with him, and came out glowing, and said that when he went into the interview he was ready to tell him no, but that he got the STONGEST impression from the Spirit that he needed to go. SO... Ezequiel went home and packed, and the next day he was a missionary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) I`m so happy! It`s blessing his family so much as well. His dad came to see him get set apart, and said that ìn the church he felt a peace stronger than anything he`s ever felt in his life. Plus, Cecilia, who is Ezequiel`s sister and the very first person we talked to when we moved to Olmos, came to church yesterday for the first time!

2. The Molina family - I don`t know if you remember, but in Los Hornos we found a family of like 200 people in one block that always called us " las Barbies" (it`s a mom, her 15 kids, and all her kids are grown and have 6-10 kids each practically). WELL... we had a lot of awesome experiences with them, but when we did a whitewash with the elders they slowly stopped listening to the charlas. WELL ... apparently the missionaries in Olmos were doing contacts and felt strongly that they needed to go down a particular street. They knocked a door and a little 10 yr old girl came out and invited them in. ANyways.... long story short, now they`re teaching this family, and the dad is Jose Molina. Turns out he was separated when we were teaching him (he was the most interested, and even almost got baptized 3 years ago) and lived with his mom in Los Hornos, but his gf and their 8 kids lived in Olmos. Apparently, in the last 6 months they got back together, got MARRIED, and his wife is MORMON!¨She got baptized when she was 12, was super active until 16, and then got together with Jose and stopped going. ANyways, now the ENTIRE family is receiving the charlas and progressing SUPER well!

3. Another one of our investigators, Jon, decided to get baptized, and in his confirmation was told twice that he would be a missionary. He"s 17 almost 18, and would be such an awesome missionary!!!!!!!!!

Ok, ok.... thats enough for now. But isn``t that AWESOME?! I know its kinda random that this week`s email is all about Olmos, but I just found out all of this and had to share! :) Burzaco is doing awesome as well! We have a baptism coming up this week or the next, so we`re excited! I love seeing people grow in the gospel! It`s AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love my mission and I love the people here so much! :) Life is wonderful! Enjoy every minute of it, ok? :)

Smile TONS!

xo, Hermana Churchill

I love Argentina..

1. 36 books of mormon, 20 blocks = good workout :)

2. Sandwiches de miga.... the best invention ever! You know how kids always want you to cut the crust off? Well here ALL the sandwiches are without crust!!! :)

3. Lots of work! This is my area. Almost all of the active members are on the elders` side of the area. We went through the list and marked all of the families, and it turns out that on our side there are 80 families in total and only 5 active! Man we got a lot to do!

CONFERENCE! :)

Wasn`t conference AWESOME?! Man, I can never get enough! It always makes me so sad when conference is over!

I had a really neat experience in conference I wanted to share with yal. Usually, when we have conference all the "gringo" missionaries (from the states) go to a different room so we can watch it in English. But this Saturday we went and there was NO ONE there to open the office (Our stake center has the mission offices attached to it, so we get to watch upstairs in the offices), and I called and an Elder told me that President said we couldn`t watch in English and had to stay with our investigators. I was super frustrated, because although I understand everything in Spanish, it`s just not the same... It`s like Preach my gospel says, that the gospel should be preached to people in their own language, because in that way you are able to feel the spirit more, and le llega mas.

Anyways, I was super bummed but went to watch in Spanish with my comp and our inv. I was kinda in a bad mood, so although I listened I didn`t write down a single thing in my notes. To make it worse, Elders Holland and Uchtdorf both spoke in the first session, making me even more bummed that I couldn`t watch in English. But then I realized how dumb I was being, and realized that even though it was in a different language I could still perfectly understand the language of the spirit.

In the middle of Elder Uchtdorf`s talk I started trying to listen more to the spirit rather that the spanish translation, and had a such a sweet, powerful experience. I could feel the truthfulness of the gospel, and started writing the thoughts and impressions that came into my mind. This is what I wrote:

" So many people attack the church and give so many reasons as to why the church isn`t true. But say what they say, there is not a single person in this world who could make me doubt that this is the church of Jesus Christ that He established. I know that it is true and I will never, ever deny it. This is His church. I will follow Him and dedicate my life to Him so that I can return to live with Him and my family forever. "

Even though it was something so small and simple, I cannot even explain what an amazing experience this was for me! Not only did it strengthen my testimony of the church and this marvelous work, but also taught me how crucial it is that we constantly listen to the Holy Ghost. I know that as we do so we will be taught and guided in everything we do.

Later on we did get to watch the other 3 sessions in English, and it turned out it was only a mistake, that President didn`t say we couldn`t watch it. I loved all of the sessions, and was able to learn so much from every speaker, but out of all of them this first session turned out to be my favorite, thanks to this wonderful lesson I was taught. I LOVE this gospel! The church is PERFECT! I know President Monson and all of the other leaders of the church are literally called of God.

I love you all. :) More than you know.

xo, Hermana Churchill

Romans 1:16

PICS

1. Conference in English with our capo zone! :)

2. ... And this is why I bought rubber boots.... :)

Little miracles... :)

HI FAMILY!!

So I have some cool stories for yal this week! We had zone conference last Wednesday, which was awesome! It`s kinda sad now cuz we only have zone conference every 2 transfers, but it`s all good. It was really inspiring. One of the things we talked about a lot was being obedient to have the spirit, and to be bold. SO... before I tell you my cool story, here`s a quote I really like about having the spirit...

As the challenges around us increase, we must commit to do more to qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Casual prayer won’t be enough. Reading a few verses of the scripture won’t be enough. Doing the minimum of what the Lord asks of us won’t be enough. Hoping that we will have the Atonement work in our lives and that we will perhaps sometimes feel the influence of the Holy Ghost won’t be enough. And one great burst of effort won’t be enough.

Only a steady, ever-increasing effort will allow the Lord to take us to higher ground. I know what some of you are tempted to think: “I’ll have to be careful not to set the bar for myself too high. I wouldn’t want to fail and be disappointed.”

You can set the bar higher for yourself to get more power of faith to pray for the gift of the Holy Ghost. You can set it higher for yourself to have the scriptures opened so that you will come to know the Savior’s voice. You can set it higher for yourself to be obedient in the things He asks of you. And you can set the bar higher in your expectation for peace in this life and your hope, even your assurance of eternal life in the world to come. You can set your expectations for yourself a little higher and then a little higher, with confidence that a loving Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son will send you the Holy Ghost and lift you higher and higher, toward Them.

There will be some private things that you need to repent of. There will be some things you need to begin to do that you haven’t been doing. The Holy Ghost will tell you what those are and tell you all things that you must do. And I have every confidence you will not be overwhelmed, that Heavenly Father and the Savior will lift you up, and the Holy Ghost will be your companion in a more constant and powerful way.

I`ve been thinking about this a lot this week, cuz things have been a little down since the whole depression thing with my comp, although she is doing MUCH much better! Even so, I was kinda frustrated because I really wanted to find new investigators who would progress and really desire to receive the gospel, and especially a family. So, to help us have the spirit more, we put a principle I learned in the MTC in practice, of "little miracles", which is when a cita or a plan fodges you, you have to talk to the first person you see.

So... now the good part! Sunday we went to visit a family, but they weren`t home. We looked around to find someone to talk to, but the only person outside was a little 7-year old boy. We decided to go over anyways, and asked him to call his parents. His Dad came out and started talking with us, and was pretty nice, and even said he would accept a folleto. But, it didn`t feel like enough... So I asked if we could meet his wife. She came out, started talking with us, and pretty quick invited us in to explain the folleto! Turns out they`re a family of TEN (and only one is less than 8 years old), and they`re all adventists, and had heard a LOT of crazy weird lies about the church. We were able to clear everything up, though, and they were super receptive! The whole family came to listen, which was AWESOME! Even so, they all seemed pretty devout to their church.

But later, the dad left to take his 4 daughters to an activity in the church, and we stayed with the mom. She started telling us a ton about their life and how they joined their church, but that her husband and her didn`t go much because they dont like it, and that her husband had been looking for a new church. Then she said "And wherever he goes, I`ll be right by him, to support him", and followed by saying "So, if you invite us we`ll come to your church for sure!"

?!?... This is seriously a missionary`s dream.... Family of ten, parents MARRIED, with a car so they can actually go to church, who received us and let us in their house the first visit, and ASKED to come to church!

:) SO that was our "Little miracle" for the week. Life is wonderful, I LOVE the mission, and ... yeah. Sorry this is a little long, but I just had to share!! :)

I love you all so much. Thank you for EVERYTHING you do and who you are. I feel so blessed to have the family and friends that I have. You are all examples for me in so many ways!

Have a WONDERFUL week, and smile tons!

Besos,

Hermana Churchill

More pics... Blood drive... Mormon helping hands! :)

BLOOD DRIVE! :)

PICTURES! :)

1. ALmuerzo with the Ochoa family. They`re WONDERFUL, and always willing to sacrifice anything and everything for missionary work and the missionaries. (They joined the church 4 years ago)

2. Bienvenidos a Argentina! :)

Livin n lovin every second! :) ... 16 months?!

Hey fam!

Well.... believe it or not, today I hit "16 months" ! ... weird, huh? The time is completely escaping from me! I`ve even started having scary/weird dreams about it all. Once, a big hummer was chasing me and i kept running and running and running away, and when it finally caught me and put me inside, mom and dad were driving, and they took me home, where there was a big party with lots of friends, and i kept trying to escape and run away. haha.... weird, huh? :) But anyways, I still have plenty of time, and I`m enjoying ever second of it! :)

Burzaco is wonderful! This week was a huge turn around in my comp, and you could feel the difference in the work! We had a lot of fun experiences. One was with Juan, a man in a kiosko who we started doing a contact with. We started talking to him and he said "Actually.. where is your church? I`ve been looking for a new church because mine burned down a few weeks ago".... ?! What a great conversion story that`ll be.... :) He`s super nice and loves having charlas with us, so we`re excited. Plus, turns out he`s the brother-in-law of one of our families of investigators. Small world :)

This week I read a scripture that I really wanted to share with all of you:

17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;

18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.

19 And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even anhundred fold, yea, more.

(Doctrine and Covenants 78:17-19)

I LOVE this scripture! Each of us know so little about Heavenly Fathèr`s plan for us, yet we can feel safe and confident knowing that we are in His hands and that he will protect us, take care of us, and watch over us. Many times trials and tribulations will come, but we must remember to BE OF GOOD CHEER. I truly believe that every trial is a blessing. Many times it`s difficult to understand how our trials are blesing when passing through them, but once was have overcome the trial, when looking back we can ALWAYS find someone way in which we grew or learned, and thus progressed, thanks to that trial. Heavenly Father has COUNTLESS blessings waiting for each and every one of us, which he gives us every day! So, be sure to "Count your many blessings" today, and accept all the twists and turns that come in life with joy and thanksgiving! :)

I love you all so much! Be good, and as always... smile! :) Life`s too short to worry.

xo, Hermana Churchill

pics :)

1 . Welcome to Burzaco!

2. Learning to make facturas with Bishop! It was awesome, and about 10 investigators came!

3. Rain, rain, go away!

Transfers!!.... or not?

Hi Fam!

Well... good news.... CARLOS GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn`t be happier! I don`t know how it`s even possible, but it seems like every time I`m more and more amazed and more and more happy about the people we`re meeting who accept the gospel. Carlos is one of my new favorites, just because every single detail of his story of getting to this point has been amazing! He is so incredibly happy, and all of us are always awestruck and can`t believe that all of this really happened. We always laugh about how at first he didn`t want to receive us and would hide from us, and now it`s the COMPLETE opposite. I absolutely LOVE how much the gospel changes people`s lives! Carlos was a mess before, and now he`s always smiling and happy! I LOVE the gospel!!! :)

In other news... it`s official... I`m only going to have 3 areas in my whole mission and 6 companions.... weird, huh? I say that cuz today was transfers, and believe it or not, me and Hermana Aravena are staying together for a 3rd transfer!! That NEVER happened before with President Asay, but I guess President Stapley is mixing things up a lil. So... cheers to another round in Burzaco! :) We`re excited, though, and ready to hit the pavement! .... or.... dirt roads.... :)

Well, times up and I gotta get to work! I love you all and pray for you often. Just like in the mission, there are 5 simple steps to having success in life... Be passionate about what you do, be happy, be obedient, work hard, and help those around you... and I guarantee you`ll find success in life! :) Les mando un abrazo MUY fuerte de aqui en Argentina a todos!

xo, Hermana Churchill

... and some more! :)

1. My crazy zone

2. The only dog I`ve ever held here in Argentina.... and it took me about 2 months to get the guts up to do it! :)

3. More black faces?! Ummm.... :). Flia Crespo, I love them! The husband isn`t a member, but I`ve never seen someone who supports his wife so much! It`s awesome.