Monte Grande Photos

My compi and I  :) 

When the sun turned orange! 

The flowers here in Argentina are half tropical looking and it is cool :) 

FACTURAS :) or bread with yummy things on top

Eating that Brazilian food! 

taking the train one foggy morning :) 

What everyone thinks sister missionaries are like.

What this sister missionary really is! 

Monte Grande

Monte Grande

This week was awesome! :)  We were in Monte Grande, which is one of my favorite areas, it has these trees that line all the streets that are gigantic!  Super pretty, lots of big parks and plazas and statues.  Love the area!  And the Hermanas we were with were great too!  Hermana Chaffin - who I lived with for 2 months in the same apartment and Hermana Santes from Brazil.  My comp Hermana Menezes was in heaven this week cuz Hermana Santes lives practically next door to her in Brasil and she had a little suitcase FULL of food from Brazil.  (I honestly have no idea if it’s Brazil or Brasil.  I think it is different in English and Spanish but my comp informs me that in Portuguese it is Brasil so yeah :)  so they were happier than 2 peas in a pod.  :)

This week more than anything we worked with the Book of Mormon.  We gave away 70 Book of Mormons this week.  It was super awesome…  But it also kinda killed us lugging that many books and extra weight in our backpacks.  But it was super cool to see the power of the Book of Mormon.  At one point my comp Hermana Menezes was with Hermana Santos in a plaza introducing the BofM to someone and was just about to read a scripture when a guy came up and was like, “Can I listen too??” OF COARSE!!  And then someone else came up within seconds asking for a BofM too!! Super cool!  And we were able to find a SUPER prepared woman.  She had listened to the missionaries before but in another city and had recently moved to Monte Grande.  She accepted the invitation to be baptized and even gave us in the first lesson her box of cigarettes.  She come to church on Sunday, which is the true test of true intent and loved it!  Olga is super awesome and we are excited to see photos of her baptism in a few weeks.

(Abby sent me her journal to type up for you, but I think she forgot to send the middle page.  Maybe we can get this part next week?)

I can actually speak Spanish now and they remembered that I like spicy food.  And to top off the morning we had lunch with a family that was totally inactive when I was first in the ward and I decided to work with them cuz they had already gone to the temple and everything, and now they are super active and it was wonderful.  I felt on top of the world.  It was amazing to see and feel like I brought to pass, or better said, I was the Lord’s instrument in bringing to pass some good.  It was a real blessing from the Lord to allow me to see the fruits of my efforts.  

This week I learned a lot about what a positive attitude and a little faith can do.  Some studies show that we have an average of 60,000 thoughts per day and 80% of them are negative!  When we try to change our outlook on people, circumstances and just life in general it can have a really big impact.  So think positive. 

And hey, what isn’t there to be positive about when General Conference is this weekend? :) WhooHooo! It’s a good life.  :)

Banfield 2B Photos

Lunch with Hermana Calquin

Luau with the Sisters and Andres :) 

with my comp 

Family Home Evening 

lets play a game of spot the blonde :) we did a service project painting furniture :) 

ASADO :) that means meat :) 

Banfield 2B

This last week was a good one.  I was back in Banfield 2 again!  It was great getting to go back to my old ward - it felt a little like visiting home.  I got to hug my mommies in that ward and it was beautiful.  This week we worked with Hermana Molinero and Hermana Lockling (don’t let the name fool you - Hermana Lockling is from Chile).  I knew and was friends with both of the Hermanas before but it was awesome to get to know both of them a little better.

It was a good week.  We gave away lots of Book of Mormons painted a few pieces of furniture and put together a giant ward activity!

One day I was proselyting with Hermana Molinero and well, we are focusing on contacting with the Book of Mormon, right?  So we had met a bunch of people and we had just given away our last Book or Mormon and we were heading home for the night to study Spanish and well on the corner of our street we contacted a guy cutting his lawn with giant scissors.  Naturally we asked if he needed help and he told us that he was okay and that we worked out.  We needn’t worry (awkward) and then both Hermana Molinero and I just kinda had a brain fart.  We had gotten so used to contacting with the Book of Mormon and we didn’t have a Book of Mormon with us and for a good 10 seconds we didn’t say anything trying to remember how to contact someone without the Book of Mormon.  It was super awkward and funny but we gave him a pass along card and set a day to come back.  :)  Super funny.

Also on a random note, the other day in the bus there was a man yelling selling his wares as normal right.  (Here in every train and bus every 2 minutes someone comes in selling cookies or candy or scissors or nail clippers or necklaces or really just anything).  And all the venders just have this super funny, super fast little chant and well in the bus I was listening to the guy and started copying his little singsongy way of talking and within half and hour I had it down to a tee!  The Hermanas made me show the member we were eating lunch with and she died laughing, it was great. 

The big event of the week was the giant ward activity we (the Hermanas) put on.  It was called “Journey to Hawaii.”  Basically the activity is a simulated air plane ride to Hawaii, but the plane crashes and everyone dies and two elders in white take everyone on a tour of the 3 Kingdoms of Glory.  It ends in the chappel with a short little testimony meeting and after we had a ton of fruit and we made smoothies and cakes.  It was great!  A ton of people came!  And lots of nonmembers too!  Cuz the branch of Fiornito had 4 baptisms that day but their chappel didn’t have water so they were using our building for their baptisms so we invited after the service the branch of Fiornito!  It was great, we had a big party! :)

It was a great week, and spiritually I learned a lot.  I learned a lot about the Savior and what it means to be his disciple.  It means I do what He would do and sometimes I suffer what He suffered.  Sometimes as his disciple I go about trying to do good as He did and people don’t like me for it.  I learned that being His representative isn’t easy because hey, we are are talking big league stuff here, the Eternal Salvation of the Children of God.  And I love being an instrument to bring to pass the Salvation of my brothers and sisters here in Argentina.  I know that this is the Lord’s work and that He directs it.  I wouldn’t trade my time here in Argentina for anything in the world. :)

—Hermana Walker

San Vicente Photos

Lunch with Sonia, the worlds best investigator and her Family! 

Noche de Hogar put on by Gracielas sweet little boys! 

Playing with Graciela's super super cute little puppies who are adorable !!! :) we can't hold babies or kids in the mission, but a puppy comes pretty darn close! :) 

haha so I didnt like the barbed wire so while we were knocking the door I covered the little spines with parts of a tree and I like how it turned out!! :) 

we were happy to go to church :)