Sister Abby Walker: April 2017

Monday, April 24, 2017

A Miracle Baptism in Banfield 1 Photos

A Miracle Baptism in Banfield 1

So this week was crazy, and good, and crazy good! This week Hna Menezes and I went to Banfield 1 with 2 cordobesas Hna Rivartola and Hna Ochoa! Both of them are crazy and loud and happy and we laughed a lot this week! This week was crazy too... cuz Hna Ochoa is a Capacitadora so she had exchanges already planned for the week and so from Tuesday after the district meeting till Thursday night she wasn't with us.. We were with Hna Manner from Idaho! It was awesome getting to know her!

Also my companion got super sick! It started on Tuesday and got progressively worse... Wednesday she literally whispered cuz she didn't have a voice! And my comp is crazy and LOVES missionary work so she didn't rest like she should have and went out to work in the pouring rain like a loca but I love her ;) crazy Brazilians!

Wednesday in the afternoon when I finally banished my comp to her bed, Hna Rivarola and I accomplished something unprecedented here in the Mission Buenos Aires Sur (bueno, probs not but it felt like it!) We managed to make it to 2 companionships worths of appointments... at 3, 4, 5, 6 and 6 30. That means people that we were in and out of every lesson in 45 minutes or less! Which is practically impossible in this little patch of earth that is Buenos Aires Argentina with its Portenos (what the Buenos Aires people are called) cuz they all TALK FOR HOURS!!! for real! They LOVE to talk here, mostly about themselves! :) so the fact that we were able to teach 2 plan of salvacion lessons (normally take minimumn 1 1/2) and one temple lesson and 2 follow up on commitment talks is super impressive. Be impressed :)

So as for the miracle baptism!! SO this week we had a MIRACLE!!! On Tuesday we met Emiliano. He is the little 19 year old brother of an eternal investigator (she needs to get divorced then married but her ex isn't helping), a super active eternal investigator! And he was SOOO prepared for the gospel, he had already attended church several times with his sister and this last Sunday when he came to church he told her he wanted to join the church. So Tuesday we passed by his house and started teaching him and invited him to pray... by Thursday he had received his answer and Friday we were all excitedly planning his baptism. Saturday we attended a very tender baptismal service. It is amazing to see the way the Lord prepares and changes people.

One of my favorite moments was when Emiliano arrived for his baptsimal interview this week and had taken out his lip and earrings all by himself. It is amazing how the Lord prepares people, as missionaries our job is just to help them reach their potential and invite them to follow Christ.

Another tender experience from this week, I got to teach a few lessons to a few recent converts. Two super old grandparents with broken bodies but the sweetest spirits! Juana and Victoriano. Victoriano literally was sad on Thursday that he had 3 more days to wait until he could go to church on Sunday. But because of their age, since they started receiving the missionaries and now that they are baptized, they haven't been able to read the scriptures cuz they can't see the letters. But this Sunday when they came to church and the Bishop handed him a GIANT bible and GIANT triple the look on Victoriano´s face almost moved me to tears. He was so, so happy to hold in his hands and to be able to read the scriptures. He lugged around his 10 pounds of scriptures under his arm for all the meetings happier than any kid at Christmas. That little old man taught me how I should feel about the scriptures and the church.

It was a good week, and I love being a missionary.

Hermana Walker

Monday, April 17, 2017

An Easter Week in Claypole Photos

When Hna Diaz and I fell on the bike about 2 months ago in Canuelas...finally got the pictures now... check it, the dirt gave me a beard!!

another moving day photo

How we arrive ¨home¨ every Sunday

My stowaway comp

With an adorable investigator

Our Easter stand

That universe car though!

Be scared

Thanks for the Easter gift mom! My last little present!

Our Easter egg hunt

Making bookmarks for the ward

Oh that I were an angel - Alma 29:1

Our Easter lunch

Crossing the abandoned train station on the way home when there were no trains or buses

An Easter Week in Claypole

This last week was a really good one - made all the more special because it was the Semana Santa - the Holy Week. This week Hna Menezes and I worked in the area of Claypole with the Hnas Barlow and Mattos. We were 2 Brazilians and 2 Blondies and it was a blast! The area of Claypole is awesome - we found sooo many people so prepared to hear the message of the Restored Gospel, it was ridiculous!

Lots of crazy stuff happened this week. To name a few things:

I bathed by candle light every day (not as relaxing when it is done out of necessity - but relaxing all the same)
H Menezes and I got fined on the train cuz APPARENTLY we don’t know how the train works (#pickingonforeigners)
We had interviews with Presidente Calquin
One of the assistants gave a workshop where he had us imagine heading to the airport the last day of our missions and what we would want the Lord to say to us, and then we put goals to be the missionaries we want to be and my comp and I were in tears cuz #wedon’twanttogohome! :(
I hit my 13 month mark
We invited the leader of a group of umbendas (a super scary religious group) to be baptized and he said yes!
It got cold - we started using sweaters and scarves
The Hermanas of Claypole’s district set up a stand in an outdoor market to give away Book of Mormons and we literally had people asking us for a book instead of us having to chase them down. We gave away about 75 BOM in about 2 hours!
We went and worked in the area of San Jose
We accidentally got lost in the sketchy area of the Elders of Don Orione
We were given pork to eat by some members for lunch and it still had the little piggy hairs on the meat…. not my favorite!
We made brownies :)
When we got back to Adrogue Sunday, the Hermanas that live in that apartment had set up an Easter scavenger hunt for us to find 2 chocolate eggs and we had more fun than little kids finding the clues and the treasures! :)
In Adrogue we became electricians Sunday night when my comp broke the light switch. To get the lights to come back on it only took 4 sister missionaries, 2 knives, flip flops, a flashlight, sketchy Argentine breaker systems, a camera and girl power!

It was a great Easter week, filled with lots of fun moments. But for me what really made the week special was what I did to help me focus on the reason for the season - the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Every day this week, and a few days of the previous week, I studied in the Gospels what Jesus did that day. Where He spent His last Sabbath day, the parables of the 10 virgins and the talents just before his Last Supper on Thursday and His trials and crucifixion on Friday and then on Sunday His glorious Resurrection. It was really moving to study Christ’s life that way, it helped me gain a deeper appreciation, understanding, and love for my Savior. I know that the story Matthew, Mark, Luke and John tell us are true. I testify that our Redeemer rose the third day and He lives today. I know that my Redeemer lives. And because He lives every single one of us will be resurrected one day and each and every one of us can turn to Him and receive peace, relief from sin, and hope. That is the true meaning of Easter.