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 :)

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 :)

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 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.... :)

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.

More pics! :)

Pictures:

1. Like my umbrella? :) Last week "Santa Rosa" came to town, a huge week-long rain storm. And this was the damage....

2. I don`t know if you can read the sign, but it says that the van is for sale... any takers?

3. Don`t you love the boots? YUCK. But hey... ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right?

Let the rain fall down!

Hi family!!!!

Thanks for being so patient :) We just got done with our zone activity (a couple pics to follow). The highlight was definitely watching President Stapley and Elder Jones from the offices in white shirts and ties beat the assistants in a game of 2-on-2. :) I love being in the zone with the offices! :)

Well, this is the last week of this transfer! These last 2 transfers have been some of the most difficult of my mission, but I`ve learned SO much and am sincerely grateful for every single day. My poor companion has been struggling, and we`re pretty sure she has clinical depression, so we`re trying to figure a whole bunch of stuff out with that. It`s been really emotionally trying on me, too, since we`re so close as companions and friends. She`s a wonderful girl with such a big heart and has taught me SO much. It`s like Melanie said when I left on the mission, that sometimes the mission is more about serving your companion than anyone else, so now I`m learning patience and unconditional love. It`s been rough, but I truly believe I`m a better person now than I was before. Aren`t trials WONDERFUL?! :)

Carlos and his family is still doing wonderfully. He passed his pre-interview to get baptized, and is going to have his baptismal interview tomorrow, so we`re getting super excited! I can`t even explain how happy I am for him. It`s absolutely incredible how much the gospel changes lives. The other day we made a whole bunch of notes of scriptures and quotes and taped them all over to help him stop smoking. Later when he saw it he called us crying, and shared the sweetest testimony of how he knew that all of this was true. He kept saying how "weird" he felt, but that he`s never felt like that before, so happy... haha... I LOVE it when people first starting feeling the spirit and have no idea what`s going on :)

So, life is wonderful. I`m sure I`ve probably said it a million times, but i LOVE the quote from Brigham Young: "we are the happiest people when we have what are called trials, for then the blessings of the Lord are poured more abundantly upon the faithful"... so.... bring on the trials! :)

I love you all tons and tons! Be good, and enjoy this life... there are no second chances at life, so love the life you`ve been given! :) It can be everything you want it to be if you just make it that way, so make it a wonderful one! :)

Un besote

Hermana Churchill

Pictures:

1. I FINALLY got to climb a tree! ... kind of....

2/3 .. Pday today!
2. President Stapley and Elder Jones playing 2 on 2 with the assistants... my President is so capo!
3. ASADO! :)