Coolest Experience of my whole life!!!

HEY EVERYBODY!!!!!!!! WOW this is the coolest experience of my whole life!!!! I wish I could share every moment with all of you! Ive learned that you must be visionary if you want to see miracles. You must have a vision. You must want to achieve it with all your heart and you must know your greatest source of power to achieve it. (The Lord) I have learned a lot!

So heres the update. Im in Ushuaia, Argentina!!! I left Caballito with so much love for all of the ward and our investigators and ill never forget them! Elder Bond called to tell me to pack up cause im now heading to the South part of our mission which is just above antartica, surrounded by huge snow capped mnts. and gorgeous crystal blue water and islands! Penguins and animals, and the mnts are covered with these communities of cabins and bridges. Its an area for lots of tourists and people that have a lot of money so things are more expensive here but theres also the community on the mnts that all live super humble and build their own little homes out of whatever. The trees are huge and the sunsets are incredible! Its the most beautiful place in my mission so far! Theres a dock or port that is covered in big boats and the other day we were able to go on a tour with President and his wonderful wife to the different islands with animals and sea lions and stuff! Ill attach a video for you guys. These people are super sweet here. Super receptive to our message and all of these children here are the prepared generation to carry this gospel we just know it. My flight was really good. I dont know how but the two missionaries that I was with, Elder Olivos and Hna. Malhue got first class seats and i got the back which we laughed about but two pilots were sitting by me and I ended up explaining to them about our church. When they spoke to me about their love of flying planes and they taught me how the planes wings work as we flew over the clouds and Im not sure how, but I tied that in with the gospel and how Elder Dieter Uchtdorf is also a pilot and an Apostle of the Lord. That kept the conversation going for a while and they gladly accepted the pamphlets I gave them to read. You could really feel the difference in the cold outside just by the window. everything outside was covered in pure white snow it was so pretty. So as I bundled up and we all headed off the plane all the pilots in the front of the plane were talking together about what I had told them and we went our own ways.

The plans in changes of my companions were interesting. Everything kept changing and changing and I was on my way with sister Malhue who is from Chile and has 6 weeks in the mission, to our house to meet the other two sisters: Hna. Gonzales from Chile who has 9 months in the mission and Hna. Milmont from Wyhoming who has like 3 months in the mission. It was so neat to see all the different lifestyle here as we drove up and down streets in the mountains. SO DIFFERENT THEN CAPITAL! Ushuaia is like Park City Utah but third world country version of it I guess, with water all around. Our house is the smallest in the mission but its a cozy little tiny home full of love. We had a great time having a sleep over all together and telling the funniest stories that we have had in the mission. we laughed all night til we fell asleep and then we were woken up to hear that Sister Milmont and I needed to leave and head to Rio Grande to open the area. Looks like they need the Hermanas there and not just any hermanas but they for some reason only known to Heavenly Father need US. Hna. Milmont was a bit nervous but I was surprised how much faith the Lord gave me. I was ready to take it all on and I was brainstorming all morning with all the different ideas that I have for the area and all the work we need to do. So saying goodbye to everyone, the group headed to Rio Grande filled the van and we headed up and over the beautiful mountains for almost three hours until we wound up in the flat boonies and I was like... " oh.... its.... pretty..." haha yeah its not the most pretty, and nothing like ushuaia but the people there are growing in the gospel and we need to work with them. We headed to the Senior Couples home Family Downs from the U.S. and they are pretty new still in the mission. They are so sweet! We had lunch with them and then we got another call... I was heading back to Ushuaia to help the Hermanas there first, Hna. Milmont was heading to Rio Gallegos to be the companion of Hna. Salva until we all waited for a new sister missionary from Peru who was waiting for her visa.

I told Hermana Milmont I loved her and Id be back to open the area with her and I loaded back up in the van and fell asleep from all the traveling. Wow ushuaia has been an incredible experience! We have been climbing this mountain all day everyday this week and we have found countless opportunities to serve these people! We would walk down the mountain and find these families here with buckets and jugs that they would use to hold in the tube in the ditch from all the melting snow for water. then all of the little children would carry these things thats twice their size clear up this mountain to their home and do it over and over all week. The homes on the mountain are not well established so they fall apart sometimes when the wind is blowing hard enough. So everyday we have helped these children carry water to their families and we end up teaching them the lessons. I feel so good helping these people and showing how much we love them! The Lord knew I wanted to go were I could serve like this and then He sent me. So cool! Almost every family that we have found was from talking with the children first. These boys were in the street playing futbol (soccer) and we started playing with them on our way to contact a reference we had, sure enough the goalie was the boy of the family and he was so happy that we were fun and nice to them that he invited us to meet his family that we were looking for. We ended up teaching his family and his neighbor. The Ward is actually a branch, and so the bishop is called President of the branch. (for those that dont know) And he is so awesome. He lives in our same complex with his sweet wife Emmi. They are young converts of only 2 years in the church! Ironic! I only have 2 years. The branch here in Ushuaia is sooo beautiful! the Chapel and the people are amazing.

CONFERENCE

President Gulbrandsen came down and we had a conference with him. It was so inspired as always. He talked alot about how we need to not just take the sacrament but PREPARE for it all week. That we need to be repenting and praying all week for forgivness and for miracles in our work. So he had us all seperate and pray about the changes we need to make and the faith we need to have. He spoke alot about how we need to bring all of these people to sacrament meeting and how we need the help of having a member in EVERY lesson. Thats what everyone struggles with is getting these people to church because of the weather, the mud and snow and they just dont want to take their kids out early in the morning. So we were really inspired with what else we need to do. He was proud of us as Hnas. because he is attentive to everything that goes on and he knows and sees that we are working our butts off. We are not competitive, we are just determined to get the job done. We feel like the older sisters to the elders because they mean alot to us and we joy in their success but we also hope to set the example for all of them.

SUCCESS IN SERVICE

We have been obedient. We have been full of faith and we find new people to teach in every opportunity. When someone is carrying something or working we jump in and help and then we teach them about the Savior and how much he loves them. We are finding families like crazy and its been a miracle. We have 10 baptisms planned so far for this month and Armando is our first baptism next Saturday at 6:00. There are so many people here that the Lord has prepared that I can totally invision the south having a temple sometime in the future. We pray before every single house, we are not afraid to talk to anyone and everyone about our testimony and why we are here and because we have a happy hopeful energy nothing gets us down. We see rejection from those that dont want to listen but our success far out weighs the rejection and thats all simply because of our attitude and unity.

IM CHANGING

I have never worked so hard in my mission than I have here and my desire just keeps on growing. Our goals and numbers this week were outstanding but our joy in the progress of these people blew our numbers out of the water. I am learning so much! Maintaining a pure life in heart and mind spirit and body, we recieve more light. I feel this transformation and this wisdom changing my heart every day. I used to think that spending alot of money and going to all kinds of fancy places held my happiness, and I was so wrong! I recieved Gerlann and Ricks card for me in the mail and the words you wrote Geralann meant SO Much to me! Thank you! its so true... I "have found myself" here in my mission of Argentina! I have found my happiness in the most humble of homes when these families had only a loaf bread to eat and they desired to give it to us for bringing them the gospel! I have never cried and laughed so often and so hard in my life as I have as a missionary. Im so overwhelmed by these people, who they are and how they live everyday with so much joy and have so little! I will never open the cupboard in my moms house and say "mom theres nothing to eat here" haha I have had my eyes opened to other parts of this world. Ive lived among these people and they have changed me for the better. Each day its still so unreal to me as we are walking together to say wow, we are missionaries! this is so cool! haha Im lovin it!

EARLY TRANSFER

Our connection is not like any other! Hna. Malhue is such a happy little hippie and so is Hna. Gonzales. We are all a bunch of hippie personalities that just like to laugh and love and help. We have alot in common and from completely different places but its an eternal friendship. Just as we were getting comfortable... we were informed that we need to make changes again because the new sister from Peru came. Well its still in the air right now, for what exactly we all are going to do, but President is brainstorming and thinks that i need to still go to Rio Grande this Wednsday with Milmont and do work there, but then he wants the four of us to run both areas and help eachother between here and there. We are powerhouses together and get along so perfectly that I have no doubt that we will bring about success in the service we are called to. We read eachothers minds practically which really helps our efficiency in this work. We have the spirit. We obey. We do whats best for these people and what the Lord wills. We are always laughing, and always full of love and helping one another. I feel so blessed to be here with them. Being the oldest in the mission in our group is an interesting pressure for me. Ive really looked hard at myself to make sure im teaching them whats right. Im not perfect but Im doing all I can to be an example for them. We are always enjoying ourselves and soaking up every minute.

CHURCH AND THE CHILDREN

Well this Sunday was really rough. We prayed so much for good weather and the weather was horrible. Windy and raining with snow outside. We bundled up and headed up really early to wake people up out of bed and get them to church. Some houses were blowing apart from all the wind and the rain was blowing against us but we just continued from house to house asking them to come. out of the 30 that said they would come to church, 4 came and the others used the excuse of the cold weather to not come with us. But it was definately a test of faith because in the midst of the chaos I became very quiet inside to pray and ask for the weather to clear. As we were getting our last family we were amazed to watch the wind stop, the sky clear and the sun come out immediately after my prayer. Our investigators loved church. We taught our Gospel Principles class and then the primary asked us to share our mission experiences and they sang to us "we are as the armies of helaman and we have been taught in our youth.." my comps and I were all in tears when we watched all their bitty eyes looking at us and their precious little faces sing the part "and weee will beeee the Lords missionaries... to bring the world His truuuuth!" OH MAN I BROKE DOWN! haha that gets me every time! I have always loved children but this time here has been a beautiful experience to feel their love and their spirit even more. These children are our future generation and we need to embrace them and learn from them and their innocence.

This was a great week and Im super excited for the rest of the transfer! We are going to see miracles! Pray for these people! I love you guys so much!!!!! take care! WITH ALL MY LOOOOVE chao til next week! Besos!

Con Amor, Hermana Ashley Ann Gillum