Sister Abby Walker

Monday, October 3, 2016

Hey There is A Prophet!!! :)

Okay wow, so lots to say this week so that is fun! So first off today is the first day of a new transfer which means changes but luckily Hna Hernandez and I are staying together wooohoooo!!!!! ARIZONA AND MEXICO FOR THE WIN!!!! But there is a little twist! I get to be a capacitadora! (Sister Training Leader) so basically I am in charge of 2 zones worth of hermanas and get to go on lots of intercambios these next weeks! That will be interesting!!

So we saw lots of miracles this week, the first one was last Monday when we had to buy lots of food for the week and it was the end of the month and we had NO money and I am seriously not kidding we were scared to death we weren't gonna have enough but we had a miracle in the vegetable shop and only spent half of what we planned and even bought extra things and it was a beautiful miracle and we honestly don't know how that happened!

Then we had a pday of hermanas with the zone because there is nothing to do here on pdays and made tacos :) without meat and using empanada shells as tortillas but hey, almost.

HAHA, so this is great, so we get to the pench Tuesday in the night and my comps nose starts bleeding right? And I was like, oh no big deal, and my comp super chill told me I think we are gonna go to the hospital and I just laughed right... okay so 20 minutes later when her nose was spewing blood like a faucet and I was getting scared we called Hna Calquin (the Mission President's wife) to see what she should do and she is like, oh hnas that is normal just relax, and then my comp started throwing up blood and I majorly started loosing my cool and started yelling in the phone, she is throwing up blood, she is throwing up blood and Hna Calquin freaked out and was like call a taxi and go to the hospital and I by that point was already running downstairs to where live some members with a car to take us to the hospital.

So we went to the hospital, they put something up her nose to stop it and told us 2 days of rest and NO sun they don't know what is wrong but welcome to the Argentina health care system! ;) ..... so we died of boredom in the pench (apartment) for 2 days. We watched the Restoration video in english, spanish, portuges... I washed clothes for like 5 hours (I am not exaggerating people) cuz i had let it pile up and needed to wash all my winter stuff and so yeah.... super fun stuff!

When we FINALLY got to leave the pension and get back to work we found an awesome investigator Friday, she works in a super cheta shop of prada suits, one day some elders went in there to buy .... who knows what and they talked to her and she was super interested! And so we went to visit her cuz she is in our area and we were talking with her and we asked; do you believe there are prophets today like in the bible times, and she was like yeah, but I don't think many people know where they are, and we were like ¨well we do and you aren't gonna bleieve it but just this weekend they are gonna talk to the world in a semiannual conference!¨ and then her eyes got super big and she quickly asked ¨TODAY?¨ and we said no, tomorrow and she just kinda jumped in surprise and was like, Ï knew I talked to the those boys for something, I need more Christ in my life and thought maybe you guys had a message but now I am gonna hear directly from the prophet and we were like, ¨YEAH!!! Isn't that just the coolest thing ever¨ haha we were happy giddy :) because for real there is a prophet on the earth and he talked to us this weekend and not everyone knows that and we get to share it :)

This experience made my favorite conference talk the first one by Elder Uchtdorf, about how marvelous is the restored gospel. We have Gods full plan, new scriptures, continuing revelation, prophets and so many other amazing blessings and there are people in the world that don't know about it! A moment especially cool was getting to hear President Monson speak, as he spoke I just got the strongest feeling come over me that he truly is the prophet of God on the earth today. Hearing him bear testimony of the Savior (in english which was fabulous) was powerful.

And how cool is it that I have the opportunity to share my testimony of the Savior and of these things with the people here in Buenos Aires :) I love my life :)

Monday, September 26, 2016

Let's Serve The Ward Photos

here are some photos from my comp at least, our district acticity! I ate 5 super hot dogs and wanted to die, our pancake breakfast tuedya and chocolate pudding! She likes to send photos of food :) no sé porque! :)

chilling in the kitchen/my bedrrom! with my super cool new socks :) wooohoo!

haha love Hna Chaffin! It can be kinda awesome to share a pench with another yankee :) we can keep fresh on our english :) and she is basically my favorite person ever too :)

oreos and ice cream and enjoying SPRING :)

making guacamole, enjoying our district activity and FOOT THINGS!!! I can Walk :)

Let´s Serve The Ward

HOLA!!! Hey everybody, how you doing? So this week was a good one but let´s just say that my little compy and I finished just about dead yesterday! To illustrate just how dead we were maybe I´ll tell what happened yesterday after lunch. So we get an hour for lunch each day, usually the members feed us but when they don't we make the most of our time to do whatever we want in the apartment, usually a nap! So anyways we took a little nap yesterday and at the end it was time to get to work and so I started trying to wake up my comp and she just kept telling me to leave her alone but haha no :) So basically I kept bugging her and poured maybe a tablespoon of water on her and that got her up and yelling and me that she hated me and I just laughed and responded that I loved her too and then we just broke into a fit of giggles and I love our relationship, it is great! We seriously get along so well it really feels like I live with a sister :) My Hermana Hernández :) just so we are clear, she really doesn't hate me, she just has strange expressions of love :)

Anyway, we were super tired this week cuz there was just a lot going on ya know! Monday we had our district activity and we made hot dogs and put guacamole and salsas on them and it was wonderful, even if we did have to substitute parsley for cilantro or something because it doesn't exist here. Haha, our district is basically Relief Society :) but it was fun and the assistents were able to join us!

Thursday we had zone conference and my wonderful mother sent me the most wonderful package I have received of things for my foot and so guess what, good news, I can walk now without problems :) woooohooooo, blessing :)

On Friday a member in the ward called us basically in hysterics and was like, I never like to ask for help but I just can't, can you come help me?? So basically we ran over to her house to help her clean because you know she is 7 months pregnant and her house is 4 stories so LOTS of stairs and we basically died just cleaning the floors and were super sore the next day. And then the next day we went to visit a recent convert who hasn't been coming to church and she basically had a meltdown and then we cleaned her whole house and so yeah basically dead.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE (I'm trying to go for one of those infomercials but don't think it is working! )

On Saturday night we were helping out with a ward baptism to prepare food when the assistents called us. Our lider misional (mission leader) of the ward put the obra misional (work mission) in charge of a Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evening) of the entire ward the next day at 7:00, and he didn't plan or tell us anything so Saturday night he called the assistents to put them in charge of the activity but they had some meeting with president and GAs and so they put us in charge of it. We basically wanted to kill the mission leader but we are practicing patience :) So hopefully for the first and last time in my life we planned a ward activity in an hour, 4 hours before said activity. But holy cow people, lets just say it turned out beautifully! We played this awesome game and had all the members laughing and participating and joking and then we turned it around super spiritual and everyone left with the commitment to invite somenone to General Conference this week and YES!!! SUCCESS!!!!!! also there was pizza at the end so we are basically the best! Totally had the Bishop thanking us and he gave us some references of people to visit and so WOOOHOOO! We have the wards confidence, LET'S GO!!!!! :) It was great :) but we are TIRED :) haha, it is all good!

So yup that is basically the week. All is good here and I am happy! Miss you all! :)

Abby

Monday, September 5, 2016

Rockin Banfield 2C

Hola todos! This week has been pretty good getting to know better our area. We don´t have a lot to work with, all the records we have are from 2007 and basically all the houses we go to look for don't exist, the people moved or the people don't have any interest now so that's fun. We are really starting to get out ringing doorbells and talking to people through the fence! A lot different from my last area. I feel like I have a new appreciation for what stateside missionaries do, it is hard work here and there aren't always immediate fruits.

Some interesting things that happened this week, so there is the 92 year old less active, Lujarda, and she is hilarious to teach because she remembers absolutely nothing! She was like I am scared to die because I don't know if my family will be there because sometimes God sends people back a second time and we were like .... no??? We showed her scriptures in the Book of Mormon that say otherwise and she felt better. Then we were talking about how she is gonna be resurrected and she was like but I don't want to be, my body is horrible and we were like we literally just read that you will have a perfect body... she remembers nothing! ahh she is hilarious but there is always food so that is fun!

We have been getting to know the ward too, basically most of the ward is one family. This lady had 5 sons and they all got married and live in the ward so there are like 5 Ferreyra families and it is kinda confusing. We haven't had a ton of success as far as investigators. We have a few, but they work a lot so there isn't a ton of time to teach them, and they are hard to find, and so that is a struggle.

My cute little comp is doing great, losing her fear to talk to people so yay! She knows the scriptures super well too! She is awesome and we don't have the best numbers but we are super united and happy, I literally am doubled over laughing in the street all the time with her, it is fabulous! We are gonna try to make delicious, glorious tacos today and I am super excited!

We are still living with Hermana Medrano y Hermana Chaffin, it has actually been super cool to live in the pench because Hna Medrano is a sister trainer leader which means she gets to do intercambios with other hermanas so like 2 times a week she brings home other sisters and we get to know them which is fun! Hermana Heinrich made us cinamon rolls :) but we live in the kitchen so we are still calling trying to get those elders to find us a lovely little home all our own! Because living out of your suitcase for weeks isn't exactly ideal, but what you gonna do? :)

This week we have been focusing on consecrating ourselves more in all we do. This time really is the Lord´s time and we should use it wisely. But really life is the Lord's time so we should use it how He wants it. I am grateful to be a missionary.

Abby

we made flan delicious flan and it was pretty darn good :)

we live in the kitchen but it is cool :)

when missionaries cook everything just kinda turns out almost right..... cinnamon rolls with what the y call brown sugar here and without yeast and with dulce de leche and chocolate sauce cuz what is powdered sugar to make icing?? :) basically we have to substitute half the ingredients..... one time some elders told me they made chocolate cookies and I asked how in the world because brown sugar isn't a thing here and they were like we just used honey instead.... the cookies tasted like honey but they were good all the same! haha :)

Monday, August 29, 2016

Bienvenida a Banfield! Photos

my comp and her new mama

with la Hermana Davis my buddy :)

con Elder Packer and his wife

pizza in the pench

my new comp our first day together

Bienvenida a Banfield!

Hola todas. So this week has been a crazy week full of moments where I just have to think to myself... I have no idea what is going to happen next!

First off I spent Monday and part of Tuesday in a trio! Woo hoo rocking the trio! I was with my trainer and her new hija la Hermana Chaffin. It is kinda fun because Hna Chaffin is struggling with the same things I struggled with during my training so we click super well and it has been fun to hang out with her! Hna Medrano hasn't changed a bit!

Also I got my new comp and hija!!! Hermana Hernàndez from Mexico. She is super cute and we have a lot of work to do but she will be a great missionary! Right now she is kinda a lot missing family and food in Mexico and isn't really embracing yet the mission life but I just gotta lead out and be an example, right? :) She will be great!

We have had fun wandering around with our map in hand trying to figure out the new area, this area doesn't have a ton of investigators YET!!! But we are gonna work our tails off to find the people ready for us! Our area is huge and kinda confusing! But it is awesome!

On Friday we had a conference with Elder Packer, the son of the apostle and an area GA. He gave us some great ideas of how we can change the mission culture and improve it and he gave lots of great advice and I got to see lots of friends!

Working here has its perks for sure! for example.... WE had lunch yesterday with Presidente Calquin and his cute wife and it was awesome! A roast and yummy veggies and it made me super happy! And they shared super awesome stuff with us, ideas and ways to improve! And it made up for the fact that this week we don't have peope to feed us!

Also it has been fun and interesting living 4 hermanas in a pench! We sleep in the kitchen which is weird but it is fun!

Abby