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Argentina #3

HOLA FAMILIA Y AMIGOS!
I absolutely LOVE you all for the support and all the prayers! I feel
every single one of them so thank you its much needed out here. Wow
I´m never sure where to begin but this is such an amazing time in my
life! Nothing compares to this! I have had my heart broken over
matters before but the way these people tug at my heart strings doesnt
even compare! My love for these people and this gospel is so strong
and I have had several experiences that proves it to me daily. I
desire so much to help any and every single person we come across but
with that desire comes heartache when those people become like family
and they take the lessons, they read the book of mormon, they pray,
they go to church, they see miracles happening in their life then for
no reason at all.. they dont want to press forward. They give up. No
matter what I do or say its not enough and thats the worst feeling in
the world. Some are more prepared than others and we just have to
accept that and wish them the best. The children are my favorite part
because ARGENTINE kids are by far the CUTEST kids ever... besides my
fam ofcourse but really they are so dang precious! They love soccer
its everywhere! Everyone here is so humble and they keep everything
until its all used up and broken haha. Its always an adventure,
sometimes I see families of 6 people on one tiny old beat up dirtbike
flyin down the road with bags and boxes haha. They make due with
whatever they have and its awesome haha. I live in Campana which is
more outside the city buildings right now and I was able to go to
Capital Buenos Aires which is the city on Wed. which was amazing! I
went with the Crofts sen. couple to go speak to Hermana Ottoneli and
she is an amazing woman. She helped me out a lot. The Crofts are from
Toole Utah and they are so much fun! We had a good time sharing
stories on the way. There are SOOO many many people in the world of
such different backgrounds and culture and its amazing to see all the
varieties. There was a little bit of everything in the city, buisness
men to hilly billies and I had a smile the whole time because it was
so interesting. The beauty of Argentina is amazing. The trees are HUGE
and everything is so green I took a bunch of pics so ill have to send
some in an attachment after this. pics take a long time though. We
have several baptisms lined up! Estoy MUY animada! Me encanta
Argentina! So it turns out, that my Trainer Hermana Allen is wayyy
sick so I avoided the same area as her for a while and downed all the
Vitamin C I possibly could but sure enough Hermana Keele and I are
also sick. Fever and exploding headache but still have to work in the
humid heat! No bueno but beats sitting at a home with bugs hahaha They
dont have good medicine out here anyhow and theres no such thing as
public bathrooms so when we have to throw up... we pretty much have to
find a garbage and keep going haha its the life of a missionary and
its an adventure. We have made so many friends and all these people
are like our family. I love my companions, Hermana Keele from Orem Ut
is a total sweetheart and so pretty! and Hermana Allen is amazing!
Shes from St. George also and Highland Ut. We know all the same people
too. Her boyfriend Nes is in Brazil on his mission and they are both
almost finished. I love the Elders in our district they are very
respectful and mature and humble also. Every single day that Im here
im like wow, im finally here.. in the middle of Argentina.. on my
mission... this is amazing. Its so great to see my various life events
that led up to being so prepared for this. Im so grateful for this
opportunity and so grateful to all the great examples that Ive been
able to see and learn from. I know that ive changed my career plans
like 4 times now... but I have to be honest and say that being out
here gives me many ideas.. haha we will have to see when I get home
but I definately dont want my mission to be the last of my rescue
service in Argentina. I hope to be a part of something really big in
the future also. I want to do all that I can. Ill never again in my
life take anything for granted when I get home. Im so blessed. I love
you all and wish you all the happiness in the world on each of your
journeys! My journey has been difficult here but of the greatest value
to me and I thank you all for being a part of it. Letters take much
longer to get to me than I thought because they go to the office two
hrs from here and we dont get them until an Elder comes down to our
area so we wait for a long time. sorry if i havent responded, now you
know why so if I could get emails and address through email it would
be much appreciated! Thanks! Much love until next time, hope you enjoy
the pics!
Con Amor, Hermana Gillum

Pictures!!!

Letter #2

The miracles of this Gospel are incredile! all that has happened in the last week is way too good to be able to sum up in an email with short amounts of time to explain. Ill try to not jump around to different topics to much and just update you on all thats happened so far! Ive seen some freaky stuff here haha ladies just breast feed their babies in public no cover or anything haha I guess its normal here. Last week we ended up haveing to be up by 4 am to get to a scary abondoned train station to travel to another city for the leadership training meeting with everyone. That was freaky! We were just asking to get robbed because we were three sister missionaries waiting in the dark for the train and from the looks of the surroundings it didnt look like a safe place to be at all haha. we met the elders on the train that was filled with cigar smoke and mosquitos! Man those things love me or something im getting eaten alive! we passed through some beautiful fields of trees and tall grass and every once in a while would see some really sad communities of huts. (the villas) the faces on those people were so sad. I am constantly reminded how important it is that we are here to help. We have this investigador that is progressing and doing very well but cant wrap his mind around the fact that this is the ONLY true WITH proper authority, he thinks our church makes the most sense but needs to read more of the book of mormon and needs to see for himself that the Priesthood is EVERYTHING. I bore my testimony to him and my conversion touched his heart. He said he could connect with relation. My sen. comp Hermana Allen does an awesome job at speaking the language she only has about a month left and Hermana keele is picking it all up quickly also. So we met this one family, the grandma was supposed to get baptized but backed out last minute for no reason. She says the times she went to church were her happiest days and she knows without a doubt this church is true but now she wasnts to move away. The daughter of her is fed up with her children and has a very angry boyfriend they live with. The children are in terrible condition. They called us angels when we walked up to there home and they had big smiles all covered in dirt half clothed. My companions asked the mother to remember that they love her and they deserve to be able to go to church and deserve to be loved and cared for but she didnt agree. the little girls just stood against us and as I had my hands resting on the shoulder of the girl, I noticed her scratching her head and it was then I looked and saw the fleas all over her precious scalp. Tears filled my eyes. It became very real to me the conditions the world is in and the desperate need of peace and solace that the Savior brings to all. It became real how little I am able to do physically but the Lord reminds me that its HIM they need. My companion mentioned once that she was walking down a dirt road and a family by garbage had a little 3 year old boy curled up in a ball against the wall and he looked up at her with bloodshot eyes and looked so sick and pained. The family said something along the lines of do you want him? take him! My heart couldnt take the thought of all the people in the world that lack the knowledge of the worth of souls. My companion said that she often has felt that pain on her whole mission but reminded me that the only thing to do is remember the great plan of salvation and that God has a much greater plan that is all merciful and perfectly put together. Im so glad to be doing my part to be on these front lines of battle against good and evil as we press forward and bring comfort to those in need. We went walking down this dirt road through all these crazy homes and up these stairs we spoke with a less active member. She is incredible. Having no windows or air with children and her mother in this tiny home I couldnt believe how strong her love is for the gospel. I bore my testimony and the tears filled their eyes feeling the spirit and she said she would come to church. It was the most amazing feeling to feel the power of my companionship and those peoples hearts and hear what was so very dear to them. Im really anxious to just go up and talk to absolutely everyone so I always start conversations. At the bus stop I started telling a guy with his wife and kid I like his shoes that looked like Toms shoes and he told me they were cheap. Anyway, a lesson came out of it and we will visit them again this week. Church was incredible. I got up to bear my testimony and introduce myself. I was nervous at first but the love of this people is so strong that they appreciate anything you do. Especially when you speak their language. Brenda the music director prepared us lunch and it was just like that movie, Errand of Angels because we had way too much. I thought I was going to be sick because I was so full. She is the sweetest lady though, we shared a scripture with her and told her she would be blessed for her kindness to everyone. Wow talk about TONS of tracting and knocking doors! the streets are literally COVERED in wild dogs. My legs were sooo tired haha I love it though. so many amazing things happened! Some people laughed at us, some hid, some werent home but the ones we came across WERE AMAZING!!! you can tell how well god and prepared those that accept us. He is the one with all the ability. So get this, we were exhausted and looking at our area map when suddenly I had a great idea, use the bathroom=comps present lesson. so we go to this really nice house and ring the bell and they yell out the window that we cant use the restroom and slam it haha we were like haha ummm... ok... NEXT... we go to the next house and this cute argentine father lets us in his very nice home and we have ornanja soda and it leads to a lesson, the daughter comes, the mom, the grandma, now we have the WHOLE FAMILY HERE LEARNING! They were so receptive to everything it was incredible. We laughed a lot and mostly at my broken Spanish and it was so much fun. They paid more attention to my spanish because it took me a hwile to say what I wanted. haha. they are a golden family. cassic argentine familia. AMAZING. Today we have to shop for our house then back to work all week. We have no food. and we are poor missionaries haha its fun living on the edge haha. It takes two weeks to get letters here from the US. So the best way to communicate is DEARELDER.COM. Everyone that emails me huge emails I have no time to read all the way through. little ones are ok though but dearelder is free and easy and fast. I love you all thanks for your letters and support you all mean alot to me, EVERY ONE Of YOU xoxoxoxox  con amor hermana gillum

Argentina Baby!!

So heres the latest news.. WOW the world needs the gospel SOO badly! Well first off, Sunday was our last one in the MTC so we were very busy preparing to leave for our country. Packing to weigh the perfect amount was really difficult for all of us but we somehow got it done with the Lords help. I was asked by the MTC president to give my conversion story in front of 400 sister missionaries and it went awesome, it was a blessing to be able to bear my testimony of what I learned so far. A lot of sisters ran up and gave me thank you letters after and I was grateful to have helped say something meaningful for them. We all sang our last hymn in sacrament that we had been pracitcing. Its a spanish missionary hymn on page 88 and its not in english. It sounded awesome and we all looked up to see our teacher in the very back that stepped in to watch us sing one last time and he was crying so it made us all cry. He really loved us and we felt it everyday. We said bye to our district and headed to our rooms for the night where several other sister missionaries came to our door giving us leas of flowers and singing GOD BE WITH YOU TIL WE MEET AGAIN and it was beautiful with all their different nationalities. we all felt so loved and appreciated. We got on the bus and everyone loaded all their stuff on which was so exciting to get of the mtc and see the real world again! We got to the airport, called family, and left for Atlanta. I Bore my testimony and read the book of Mormon to this 20 yr old girl who was 4 months pregnant and had no where to go so she was heading to Florida to find her mother. I told her that she can start over and leave her passed behind. She was in pain and was nauseaus so I rubbed her back for her and told her that she is a beautiful daughter of God and he loves her. She cried to me expressing that she really needed to hear that. (thank you holy ghost) I read a chapter to her and invited her to seek out the missionaries in Florida and told her that it would change her whole life for the better! She agreed that she wanted to and we parted ways. That place is no place for a white missionary! Black people really gave us hard times and this guy was yelling out all his beliefs at me, calling us names and we all just kept walking with a smile. The whole time in the airport the black people everywhere were glaring at us and saying how cursed we are hahhaa. On that next flight to Buenos Aires we talked with many Argentines and had a very uncomfortable flight all the way to Buenos with a lot of rough turbulance and no possible way of sleeping. We arrived at 8 a.m. and all of us missionaries had bloodshot eyes and huge smiles that we were here at last! Argentina! Its gorgeous and green everywhere and Buenos is a huge city! The food is amazing and the birds fill the trees. But to tell you the truth i am scared. Im sooooo wierded out by this place. hahaha talk about stuck in the early 80´s! people try to hit you on the street every chance they get and nobody follows the laws. EVERYTHING is different here. We have tons of bugs in our shack apartment and its all broken and falling apart. this computer is like the first one ever made! hahaha we walked from out place 4 miles to get here. I miss america but this is a whole new adventure. Its muy triste (sad) sin is everywhere. we will be blessed for finding the lost sheep in this work.  this keyboard is  all spanish so its a little wierd to get used to. its a wierd internet store with about six 1995 computers and bars all over every window! the cars, the streets, the fashion, everything is so wierd. haha. >This store clerk speaks sooo fast! He is really really into the Boca soccer game thats on right now. ARGENTINA loves there futbal! people either love us or hate us ive noticed. We had a ton of people call us names and guys say really dirty stuff as we walk by but we just keep pressing forward with this work and do our best. we live in like an old half abandoned brick building by they old freeway and theres trash everywhere. our place is like infested with huge bugs.huge cochroaches and spiders.. mmm my FAVORITE!!!! My two comps laughed when they saw my facial expression, glad they got a kick out of it, im loading up on grocery supplies and bug spray after this. before we have to go tracting in the slum area, (area we are near at the moment because elders there left) scary stuff but im going to go where im needed. Im terrified but I know the fear will go away once Im hear a little while. The language isnt so bad I can understand a lot of what ppl say but I do need to always work hard and study. we have to cook and clean on a broken stove and in a really old rusty sink. the toilets are WIERD! Eveything here is dirty so i wash my hands constantly. >Theres huge trees out here though and its gorgeous! kids run around barefoot everywhere and motorcylces go on the sidewalk. its nuts. We relaly stand out here. I love our mish president and wife they are so amazing! The food here is SO good and the fruit is to die for! WE WALK A TON! I already have blisters on my feet. We went to the banko and i got pesos that look like fake money but they are so neat! This work is SOOO hard, so scary, but so worth it! hopefully i can get all unpacked and get some rest tomorrow after i get all the bugs off my bed and the ceiling! Its so humid and hot but im enjoying the hot part. I heard I might have to get sent down to the bottom of ARG. which is now part of buenos aires norte, where the penguins are!!!! I dont have any warm clothes either! ill have to buy some but i dont do well in the cold i pray that i will not get sent out there.  i miss america haha but i love this crazy amazing adventure. my comp is leaving soon and she is so sad to leave, i know i will feel the same. Argentina will become a part of my heart. its awful and amazing all at once. bye for now I love you all and i apologize for my limited time to update you all but i want to let you know that all your sweet support means everything to mean and I deeply love each and every one of you so much!!! ill be sending pics!

keep prayin for me, you are all in mine! always!

 

xoxoxox

con amor, hermana gillum, your Argentine missionary!