Hardest Week Ever...

Well this was by far the craziest week in my mission ever. I almost had a breakdown because we were just going going going non stop and so many unexpected things happened. Last Pday after writing my email, my comp Hermana Moreno kept having really bad pain and we ended up having to go to the doctor and he told her she had an appendicitis (spelling? i know but spanish is messing my english up) so with a bunch of crazy events and 3 hours or so of waiting in the never ending line of sick people, and finally leading up to midnight where my comp was in surgery and President Gulbrandsen, his wife,  and assistants were all in the waiting room waiting for her. It was so neat to be able to talk with President and his life experiences and sister gulbrandens wonderful father. I really enjoyed the opportunity but i was also very concerned for my companion. Turned out fine, but the hospital (which is enormous) was full, they had no rooms left and i slept on the emergency room tile floor with the pillow that the nurse gave me but she really seemed like I was asking too much so I didnt bother to ask for anything else and i slept two hours and then I was woken up coughing and sick. Huge change in plans, Elder Sampson picked me up, and we had to pick up hermana Cariola (so sweet) to be my companion for the week in Almagro. Let me inform you that she had only been in almagro 6 weeks and i had only been there 5 so we were completely entirely lost every day and using the map every second but still we found ourselves racing around town like maniacs to all our appointments. We didnt know the subte route, the collectivos, the streets, or members... it seemed like a disaster... what did we do... prayed our butts off! We worked and worked and worked and prayed a ton to be able to do it. The lord had a lot of confidence in us to have us there to learn all on our own. We set up the baptism for Pablo on Sunday and he was so excited. But after his interview turned out that he needs one more week to prepare... that happens and we rather have them fully prepared but it was a lot of time spent and we were sad to not have been able to accomplish it right then. We had conference in our stake and it was huge, the most people ive ever seen in argentina in the church. the Almagro ward is incredible. Our Zone had 20 baptisms in one transfer... not too shabby. The thing ill never forget is the look in Pablos eyes when we spoke of the atonement and he cried because he felt so bad for his sins. Then he completely changed and said "hermanas i know i need to be baptized and Thats what I want. I want a new life. I want to be that person he wants me to be." I could feel the spirit so strong. It was amazing! He will get baptized this Saturday. Lots of crazy stuff happened this week and last night was the farewell for the missionaries and hermana Romo (my comp in campana) is leaving to go home and i cant beleive she has already finished her mission! I cried like a baby when she bore her testimony because she is my best friend in the whole world. i cant imagine her not as amissionary with us anymore but I know its time. I love her with all my heart! HOWEVER... last night, after the farewell and having hermana Rivera with us (I love her so much!) i thought that my area was still going to be almagro but i was wrong.... campana for 6 months and almagro only 1! wow... soooo im In another pàrt of capital... Urquiza... its the city but more open and pretty and calm. I gotta go because we have so much to do but wow... i learned alot this week and what im capable of taking on. I know the lord helps shape our back to bear the burdens and i look forward to the success here in Urquiza with Hermana Sandoval! (de chile) I love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu keep being the missionaries you are and spreading the love!!!!!!!!!!!!! love you fam!

xox hermana ashley gillum

Protection of the Gospel

Well our month in May wasnt too shabby with success for our mission. We had the month of Baptisms and Confirmations since september of 2009. There has been many miracles in Buenos Aires and we are growing in spirit and unity as a mission. We are so blessed to have a President who is so very intuned with the spirit and revelation. His charity for us as His missionaries and for the Savior and this work keeps growing and we are all in this service together one foot in front of the other, helping families all over Buenos Aires who are in need. We are just beginning. Our goal for this month far exceeds last month and we have such exceeding faith to accomplish what the Lord expects of us. Recieving revelation from him in prayer and acting promptly in faith. As much as we love our investigators we are teaching, they are not OUR children, they are the children of our Father In Heaven and only He knows whats best to do. He is our guide so long as we remain humble. We are working so much with the members in our ward. We are praying to know which member of the church we need to bring to which lesson for a person that has specific needs that this member can relate to. This is the key to helping these people. We are remembering the importance of obedience to time and how to use it wisely. We are not perfect and since we know this clearly we are striving to repent more consistantly. Personally and as a companionship to be spiritually pure and to be better instruments in the hands of the Lord. We have been listening to our investigators with more love and concern for their needs and its been an eye opener. We are caring for all the recent converts and teaching them all the lessons after baptism to help them to remain strong in their faith and remember their covenants they made at baptism. In the letter of President last week we read these words... " Like Nephi, we dont return to the tent of our Father without the plates!" We apply our problems and difficulties to those in the scriptures to see what it is Heavenly Father wants us to learn and go and do. We are growing to a maturity in our spirituality and purpose. We are mindful of our Bishop and seek to serve him and his family. We had the opportunity of fasting for his father this last fast Sunday and it was a joy for us.

 As for other things we experienced this week, we were eating lunch at mcdonalds (delicacy here jaja) and this lady comes up to each person asking for money and as im blessing my food she yells louder at me to give her money, I finish my prayer and calmly look at her and she shoves her hands in my fries and shovels them in her mouth as she harassed us. At this point I know exactly what to do, for I have had experience with two disturbed girls asking for money before, I pointed to my plaque and explained we are missionaries of Jesus Christ, sent here to help people. She apologized and left haha. Gotta love the people of Buenos Aires. Box of chocolates for sure. You never know what you are going to get.

Guess how the progress is with Sergio... EXCELLENT! He worked up the courage to walk up and bear testimony in front of all of our ward and we were two VERY PROUD missionaries in the third row! He wants to serve a mission! talk about a miracle! no wonder Satan worked so hard on him before his confirmation! We have experienced some of the most spiritual lessons ive ever had this week. I couldnt believe the peace we felt as we taught. we are improving and we want to keep it that way.  Pablo is our new investigator and progressing at a very rapid rate. We make sure to pick him up for church on Sundays and he participates in all the classes and is learning so much. he already has a testimony. We will baptize him this Sunday after conference and before the farewell of all the missionaries that are going home! (HERMANA ROMO my girl) I will miss her. So we have a lot of hope and a packed week. PRAY FOR PABLO!

There are several tender mercies we have had and protection also. For example, There was a guy on a motorcycle and he decides to pop a wheelie and ride it across the intersection (this is not the place and he was not the most professional) we almost walked down the way he was headed... luckily we felt we shouldnt... in my mind I said, oh no hes going to wreck... sure enough his butt skid down the street and the pretty black motorcycle spun out of control crashing on the street and flipping onto the sidewalk... i hoped he was alive... he stands up and limps to his broken motorcycle picking it up and laughing at everyone that saw as if to say he "MEANT TO DO THAT" and he got on his bike and rode away. Luckily no one was harmed but im sure he went home to care for his broken talebone. Then During our studies... we hear a huge crash of glass... thinking nothing of it (its normal here) we didnt look out the window... sure enough we hear an ambulance and cop cars, a guy was drinking and driving and ran his car into the store in front of our house and hit a mom and her son. We prayed for them and the officer told us they were only slightly injured but the driver was in bad condition. Stupidity takes a toll. We are walking down the sidewalk and talking about the accident and we speed up our pace and then we hear another crash of glass right next to us... four cars hit eachother right where we JUST were...and they all get out and yell at eachother for whos fault it was. we continued walking, amazed by our protection. Just as if this is not enough EVIDENCE that we are here doing the LORDS work.... listen to this... Yesterday before church as we were studying.. we smelled smoke and something burning.... we figured maybe its the outlet.. nope not the outlet... maybe the lights... nope not the lights... maybe the heaters... nope not those also. We think nothing of it. Maybe a niehgbor baked something a little too long. We go to enter the elevator... its beeping the alarm and not working. We take the stairs... the smoke is more thick... its getting darker and now... we are stepping in water... well at least theres water. opposite of fire... thats good... it was like walking down to the bottom level of titanic like the movie.. more dark and more water. Just two levels under us we open the door to tons of firefighters and hoses, broken glass, a the whole floor covered in blackness from fire. An electrical wiring problem. We see these men covered in gear and black smears all over them and we ask... um why didnt anyone tell us to evacuate the building when the fire was exactly under our apartment!? he says this classic line that I found to be ever so comforting... "your not dead are you, everythings under control" hahahaha thats Buenos Aires for ya!

We plan on doing service for the families that lost all of their precious belongings. We plan on doing all we can for them. 

Theres always a bunch of jehova witnesses walking around too and people get us confused sometimes. We talk to them sometimes if we are in the same spot at the same time. Its so sad the things that they do and dont beleive. I try and cheer them up and smile at them when we see them.

We see so much faith in our converts! Juan is homeless and carries a back pack with his cardboard box and SCRIPTURES! We are getting the ward together to help him find a home! Pray for Juan to be comforted!!!!!!!

No transfers for our zone whoo hooo... so ill be learning alot from my comp before she goes home next transfer! Almagro still! Pray for these people to be prepared for the gospel!

Well thats all i can think of right now.... we have to get going to get my comp to the hospital she is sick and needs to see the doctor. Pray for her to get feeling better!  Mom I love you for being a missionary too and sharing the gospel with your neighbors and helping them come to church!!!!!! you are awesome! joce I love you, your gorgeous dont wear makeup you dont need it! Your bday presesnt is in the mail! Talia I love you, thank you for the blog help! Robin and brooke... love you toooooons and im so stoked you all went to supercross and had a blast and glad that things are going so good for all of you! I love you for all your support and love! It means so much! Sky thank you! Marlin youre so awesome glad you got a new job and your happy! Ro, remember itll all work out!  Mark thank you for all of yoru weekly letters they are encouraging. Family in California, and Michigan, I miss you tons and i think of you often! I LOVE YOUUUUUU all so much! xoxoxoxoxoxox

 

love your argentine missionary!

ASHLEY ANN GILLUM

We were rescued by angels...

TRUTH: im exhausted!!! haha seems like the alarm goes off right when we hit the pillow. I have 9 months in my mission this month. Half way done! Woot woot! Rollercoaster this week. After emailing our family last Pday my Companion was angry and impatient with me and I was confused. Being how we do not speak the same language, this was bound to happen at some point haha. We returned back to the apartment and with great help from the spirit we were able to communicate, pray and fast for patience in our differences. We ended up hugging with tears and now... we are best friends stronger and closer than ever hahaha. It was hilarious trying to communicate when we were frustrated not being able to understand the situation and then after we talked for hours and we had to look some words up in the dictionary we were laughing at how silly it all was. haha. COMMUNICATION is huge!!!
Our attribute of the week to study and apply was Charity and in the words of Hermana Gulbrandsen, we put it right into action haha. The weather has been really whacky. One day is bitter cold, the next its humid and hot. and some days its back and forth so we never know what to leave the house in. So My comp and I had to change our plans and go pick up another sister flying in from the South to get her paperwork done for her mission in Mexico. We were a Trio for two days and she was such a sweet girl to have around. Turns out her aunt was our neighbor and members of our ward in Campana (my first area) Family Arrieta! I love them! I was able to help her with some struggles and doubts because shes new to the mission and I felt similiar to her in the beginning. But we sent her on her plane in high spirits. She is strong and I know exactly why the Lord called her as a missionary. Shes awesome. On our way to the airport to get her however, I found a package in the car we rode in with my name on it. Turns out we were riding with the delivery guy who works for the offices and I was given permission to open it.

PACKAGE in the mail:

Robin Vaughn, you never cease to amaze me! I recieved your heavy package that you sent me full of a whole Kiosko (candy store) haha I was so excited, then as I opened it with my companion and kept pulling stuff out of it like Mary Poppin´s purse, I couldnt beleive all it contained. Each item pulled out, I was in tears... it was way more than I ever imagined and it was really hard for me to accept that it was real. I cannot thank you enough. The candy, the lifetime supply of chocolate, the millions of photos of all the precious kids in the fam! Wow I couldnt believe it! There are no words for my appreciation and gratitude. When I imagined you all in Deseret Book picking out these little crafty special things to send me I was so touched. I pictured all the thought and work and money and creativity it took to put into everything and I was so overwhelmed. All the kids are growing up so fast its crazy. Seeing them all ride was too good to be true. Just like their parents! I loved haileys drawings and they are hanging on my wall where I study. I never expected to receive a whole two years worth of holiday gifts and gadgets but I assure you that I prayed for hours that night for you to eash be blessed for every ounce of your love. My comp from Nicaragua was also very happy to be able to share the goodies from the states that she never has tasted before. When I showed the children in our ward the puzzles and rings and candy their eyes lit up. parents were so grateful because that kind of stuff is very hard to get out here. I am already halfway through one of the books you sent and I will cherish all the rest as I study them in the morning throughout my mission. I have recieved a lot of revelation for our investigators through them already. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!! There never was a missionary more happy than I am for the love and thought you put into EVERYTHING that you do for others!!!!!!

 

 This week we did alot of service in the clothing storage for needy families with the Bishop´s Mother Rubia. She knows EXACTLY what she wants that little lady haha. She is great. Its a blessing to be able to join in on all the service projects. Friday 13 de Mayo was a very good day for us. We had much success with Juan! He is homeless and sleeps in the park. His family turned him away for being poor and so he looks forward to our lessons in the nice cozy church (with a member ofcourse) to be able to feel welcome and wanted. We explained the importance of paying tithing and fasting when neccesary. He was very happy and receptive. We diciding to walk with him to get some empanadas and hot chocolate so he could have a warm meal for walking so far to the lesson.

 

And now the part that I never thought would happen to us... We were walking to a members house Elisa. We had a very spiritual lesson with her that was very powerful and we walked out of her house smiling ear to ear with the progress and the good that we felt. "hermanas be careful walking home tonight please!" We had a route planned to return home and it was about 9:10. We had just enough time to get home and still have about 5 or ten minutes left. We had walked this before in the day. This time was much different. As I was folding down my umbrella and we were talking of the great lesson, just above us on the stairs their was a man against the stairs in the dark, and two gangster girls walking in front of us whom we thought were normal at first. they kept walking in front of us over this overpass walkway that goes over the train tracks. They turned around at us when we were the only ones on the walkway with them and asked for coins (common for collectivo bus) as I went to reach into my bag and grab out some coins I never took my eyes off of them and their faces changed into an agressive attitude. One girl grabbed my companions arm, stepped on her foot to keep her from running and held a weapon to her stomach. While the other grabbed my arm pulling me to seperate us and stepped between my legs holding a knife to my face and throat. They were yelling in our faces Tu Cellular Tu Cellular! They yelled for us to give them all the money and stuff that we had threatening that if we didnt they would hurt us. This all happened so fast and yet it seemed like forever at the same time. The holy ghost immediately impressed into my mind to kneel and pray in that very instant as my comp gave our cell to them (its an antique thank heavens) the girl shoved it back at her asking for money. they were threatening us with everything all at once and the knife to my face, I was about to kneel, my comp showed her Missionary Plaque to the girl in the dim street light far away and I did too and we said, "were sorry, were missionaries for Jesus Christ, we dont have anything!" Their eyes went so big and I felt a huge protective force all around me and they were absolutely terrified! They went running begging for us to not tell anyone. I cannot tell you how calm in my heart I was. I know with all my heart, this is the work of God, or else why would he send his powerful angels to our protection and to safely guide us home afterwards? This is Christs church without any doubt and we are His missionaries. Our President is very professional and very kind. He made sure everything was recorded and he has given us a new rule to be inside at 9 pm not 930. He and his wife were very considerate and caring and everyone was glad we were not harmed! Turns out the next day, a member had a smiliar incident IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY! We were told by the ward to be careful because the girls here are much more dangerous and always have guys standing by to help. We have no fear. Our testimonies are set in stone. We were protected by angels of God and we now have witnessed the full power of our Plaques bearing Christ´s name.

 

 Saturday was Juan Javier joffre´s baptism! He entered the water with the Bishop at 5:30pm and came out all smiles as a new person. He bore a beautiful testimony and we got him a nice outfit to wear from the storage we had. He looked like the saint that he now is and always desired to be. He is so strong already and the light is apparently showing in his face. He was Confirmed with the gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday and all smiles! In the night we visited Family Feresin who had the ward over with the Bishopric for a going away for Nicolas Feresin (leaving on a mission to Chile on thurs.) We all sat around the table sharing spiritual experiences of missionary work and getting to know one anothers testimonies of how we came to be here. It was a very special spiritual time. I told him that when my mom was about to drop me off at the MTC for my mission, she didnt want to say bye yet so she made a circle around the block haha. But then when it was time to go, I got out of the car with my stuff and never looked back, just looked forward. I told him leaving your family for this long is the hardest thing ever. But this sacrafice is of the most worth. It was incredibly spiritual. I wish him luck but know hes in good hands.

  Congrats to my trainer, KENZI JOY ALLEN (GARCIA) NOW!!!! whoot whoot! we all love you! and thanks to all of you who support and pray for us, I love you guys so much! Orar sin cesar!!!!! The Lord is forever on our side to encircle us in His arms.

 

love your missionary

Ashley Ann Gillum

buenos aires norte

argentina

Lovin it....

Hey! Wow you guys, SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED! I couldn´t be more happy with where I am then right here right now. Almagro is wonderful in every way. This city is like New York mixed with Los Angeles Spain and TJ mexico haha it has a little bit of everything all mixed in one huge city. We live on the tenth floor and minus all the cochroaches its the greatest view ever! Every morning we wake upo and say, wow... look at all the opportunity out there! There are billions of people needing the message and service we are here to freely bring. Theres nothing more fulfilling than knowing we are bettering the world a little at a time and doing our part to show a little more love in a world that often forgets how to love. A world that often sits in the midst material things with a frown and so many people searching for something more to fill their needs. I am so grateful to know what I do. I have experienced so much this last week. The world is beautiful. Especially Argentina and Capital. I love this city so much. I have seen some of the most beautiful people ever and the children here are all models. Everyone has different styles and very unique features and way of speaking. I have been speaking Castellana (ARG. español) todo día cada día con mi compañera Hermana Moreno. She is from Nicaragua and its been such a great time learning so much from her here. She has a very strong personality and she is strong in the work. We work really hard together. Its a good balance for us. The ward here is incredible!!!!! Its so solid! The Bishop and the Ward Missionaries and Mission Leader... everything is so solid! This ward is so loving and appreciative of all of the missionaries and they love to help out. So we have really set high goals for this month. We have no doubts that the Lord will work miracles through our obedience and dilligence. Im so glad that I was stationed in Campana for 6 months to have gained the humility that I have now and the charity that has increased in my heart for this work and these people. Im just full of gratitude for all that I have and I always want to share what I have.
  So I never thought that this would happen but Im a Missionary AND an English Teacher! Every Saturday for service, I teach an English class at our Church for all of our Investigators and members in our stake to come and learn and then we explain Gospel terms in English and Pray together in English. Its wonderful to help these people because when they know how interested we are in them, they really become interested in WHY we have the desire to be. We have had a lot of success. Also the work is growing, so we have newly called 6 other ward Mission helpers. We will be meeting often and working hard.
  I also never thought this would happen but we are teaching some people from India that are here for school. They hardly know any english and only two words in Español so its difficult but it is really funny to try and communicate with them. Its the spirit that matters anyway and thats sufficient. We are also teaching a married couple from China! They also know very little Castellana but we were able to get ahold of a Gospel Principles book for them in CHINESE! Listening to her read it and watching her eyes light up was so cool! She loves learning about everything.
  We are going to be working with members like crazy in our lessons because that will bring us success just as the 1st Presidency of the Church has promised. We Have also been strengthening recent converts. One is from Ukraine and she speaks Castellana perfectly. My trainer Hna. Allen baptized her and she is such a fun and sweet person. She is beautiful and whacky in all the best ways. She reminds me of Kierstie Leavitt. I Miss you Kierst! Also we have visited with Tereasa Pernía and her wonderful family. Her husband is famous for playing professional Futbol all around the United States and for Argentina and is now coaching for my fav. team here in Capital Boca! His Brother is famous for racing cars professionally and just won yesterdays race, making the headlines. So yesterday when we were at their house to call our Mothers for Mothers Day, they were all pretty excited about the success. She is like a model, her husband is like David Beckham and they work hard to be really great parents. Their boys are adorable. They all speak English and Spanish very well and they all play Futbol ofcourse. They gave me a jacket to use if I go to the South. Its a jacket that BOCA just gave her husband to use. She has so much desire to help other people. It was such a blessing to have dinner with them and be able to call our Mothers there.
   We have seen so many miracles already! We have recieved a lot of revelation for what we can do at this time and we plan to keep moving forward. We are teaching a man who is currently homeless and we invited him to eat with us at a members. It was so neat to see him interacting with the members and so happy. He will be baptized this Saturday! His name is Juan, pray for him!
We also have Alexander who will be baptized the end of this month and two other possibilities that we are going to go visit today and see how we can help them. We are full of energy and all is well!
 It was amazing talking to you on the phone for Mothers Day mom. I really miss hearing yoru voice every day. Its crazy how much a daughter can miss her Mother (and sister) ;) I love you all so much. Taizley Ella WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY YOU BEAUTIFUL LITTLE ANGEL! I CANT WAIT TO HOLD YOU IN MY ARMS!!!! Congrats Ry and Alesha! Jocey, you are my girl, keep doing well in School! hope you all had a great mothers day!! you are all in my prayers!

WITH ALL THE LOVE I CAN MUSTER....
hermana ashley ann gillum yours truly

He will calm YOU!

Well since I had to write everyone back today and we dont have much time until they close down here I just want to say that Hna. Romo and I have had some very special experiences. Very spiritual. We have had so much success lately. We were with this family we have been teaching and the dads friends came in the house (who listened to us once) and started smoking and laughing at our message and so the father kept listening and told him to stop. We were impressed with the father for saying what he said next... he said.. "listen, whatever the world says, or anyone else outside my home, doesnt even matter to me, what I think is right for my family is what matters and that is what I believe and pay attention to." He excepted a date to marry his wife,  and be baptized and the wife also accepted to be baptized. they have like 5 children together and the oldest (9yrs) accepted a date to be baptized also. It was so wonderful! We are seeing so much progress in the work now and people are much more willing to change for the better. I cant tell you all I want to tell you but Easter was awesome. The Bishops wife made us chocolate eggs and the ward was very united. Mom thanks for the awesome Easter e-card. I loved it. Mothers day is coming up so I want to wish all you Moms a happy mothers day. You have the greatest calling (second to a missionary ;) being a Mom is a big thing. I look forward to it one day. Good to hear the new addition to the Vaughn family has come! Daxton James! Im sure hes adorable. Congrats Jay and Shelly. The work is rolling forth, we are working hard and not looking back, the work is amazing!!!! I love my Savior so much! Transfers are this Sunday at 10 pm we will know so we will see where everyone gets changed out to. keep the missionaries in your prayers, surely you are all in ours!

 

remember... Sometimes he will calm the storm thats raging in your life,

he´ll hush the winds and rains because he wills to,

but dont turn your heart away if he lets the waters rise,

if he doesnt calm the storm,

He will calm you!

 

I love you all so much!!!!!! chao for now!

Hermana, Ashley Ann Gillum

Nothing a Bucket of Paint Can't Fix

Hola! Todo bien! Alejandra recieved the gift of the holy spirit by the laying on of hands yesterday during sacrament meeting and it was a beautiful sight. My companion and I greatly considered that family and their faith to all be baptized and we decided to make a sacrafice of some extra money we had by going into a paint store and buying paint to paint their home. We showed up with supplies and got to work and when we finished, we gave them a big picture of the temple with this scripture

“Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer,

a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order,

a house of God” (D&C 88:119).

My companion and I have done much service this week, for our members and our investigators. We have done much reflecting and organizing on what more can be done at this time. We have recieved much help and revelation from the Savior. We also had to travel to Capital for Tramites (paperwork for living here) two seperate days and we met a large group of american students all here for a study abroad. I recieved letters from Mark Johnson, the ever-so-faithful missionary writer of St. George! A beautiful card from my family in Farmington Hills Michigan! and a wonderful package with beautiful music from Matt Abernathy of the band The Sabre Rattlers sang and Produced by Mark Abernathy which all contained very creative and beautiful mixes of hymns from our church. "All Is Well" gave me chills. We throughily enjoyed the spirit that it brought. Thank you for so much kindness and such a great gift! I assure you that my companion and I were so grateful. Also from David in Arizona. Thanks for your letters and cards I loved each one of them! Thank you for the support and love!

 My companions always so creative brother Edgar sent some random news from home that we found interesting... So Taylor Swift dated John Mayor? Interesting gap there. Speaking of them, I really am missing being able to listen to all my music back home. I love music so much but its okay, this is the time to memorize all the hymns in english and spanish. So there were some tornados in the states, and another flood in St. George, Utah? Her brother made it into a masters program so they are moving east (her whole family consists of genius brains and obedient faith) Her brother on a mission right now attends Harvard and she wants to attend Boston when she gets home. Its good for me, it encourages me to push my education desires haha. Her mother sounds like such a rock of a mom with so much charity for everyone and she says I remind her of her sister Myra. Her Dad is amazing all that she tells me amazes me and Im so excited to meet them when I return.

 Deciding to serve a mission was by far the best decision I´ve ever made. I have been stretched to greater limits and come to understand with depth, the most important things in life. I know exactly what I want in my life and my future. Im grateful for the cast the Lord has wrapped me in to heal me of all misunderstanding. Ive written many poems, filled two journals already and actually my companion and I wrote a song on an acoustic guitar that I had. That is up until, the rule came out for our mission that we cannot have any instruments in our apartments because they are distracting. To me music is how I feel the spirit even stronger so this was a big struggle for me at first until I saw the reality of it, which is, its a sacrafice for me, the Lord knows that, He sends bushels of blessings for each sacrafice so we need to be obedient in doing exactly what we are asked, even when we dont understand. Through obedience, that is when we gain understanding. My spiritual growth in this time is almost hard for me to believe. I will cherish this experience all my life and I encourage everyone to prepare to serve. As far as the work goes, everything is rolling forth day by day and P-day (our free day) of the week seems to come too quick and before we know it, the end of the trasfer is here. Missionary work sure does take time and each day counts. Every afternoon that passes by as we are walking for miles in search for those in need of peace, there are moments I wonder where or how my family is doing and if they can feel my love while im a world apart from them. Then we find someone and imediately my heart goes out to them and I feel that they are also my family in need of the peace greater than what I can give them. The peace of the Savior and His promise of Eternal Life. I look around at thousands of people here and see every different person in the search of the same thing... happiness. I must end this early because I have many photos to attach for you. I hope you all are doing your own mission work where you are in your sphere, lifting hands that hang down, healing broken hearts, Praying for the armies who fight for our freedom, praying for this army of God fighting for eternal peace and purpose. May we go about  doing good in the world while wearing a smile, even when times are tough to face or problems may seem like mountains. Remember, that with the Lord, we can move those mountains. We can and we will. All is well. I love you guys.

 

Also Here is an inspiring video that my friend Elder Galati had sent me.

I wanted to share this video with everyone. This man is the Branch President of the Island ward in Ecuador. The church made this short video of him and his story. All of us as saints of the church have the same goal, to truly understand and obtain a testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ. I know with all my heart that this man has a testimony, that he is doing the lord´s work here on this island. I promise you will feel the spirit of the lord as you sit and reflect on this man´s testimony!
here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEUXgmTKoLg ..... if that doesn´t work, go to www.youtube.com and type in the search bar "Wilson Simmaron", it´s the first video that will come up.

 

love, hermana gillum

 

ye recieve no witness until AFTER the trial of your faith... and then the miracles come...‏

"some blessings come soon, some come late, and some wont come until heaven, but for the righteous... oh... they DO come!" - Holland

 

Dearly beloved... mewecals aw what bwing us togeva today... haha

Family and friends and aquaintances whom I love... I am SO stoked to be updating you at this time on this awesome work of the Lord! The missionary work that continues to change lives for the better, including mine as time goes on. So last week Im pretty sure that I informed you all that I was having unusual side pain. Long story short, had to make a midnight trip to the hospital. I had internal bleeding and had to have an ultrasound done but eventually with a prescription and some paperwork I was sent along my way. So want to hear the fun part... I was running a fever of 101 and my comp tried locking me in the apartment but I wanted to get work done so badly that I coaxed her into letting me out and we were able to have success with lessons that night. By morning... that stubborness of mine brought me to a worse fever and strep throat that I happened to catch from the two people we taught. My immune system was down already and then I had to be stubborn and go out anyway and so thats what I get for not resting again. On the flipside... the good thing is that Doctor Hollingsworth is a great doctor and the antibiotic he prescribed me kicked that little virus in the behind by the time we were supposed to listen to General Conference! And Sunday held one of the greatest miracles I have ever been blessed enough to be a part of. In all honesty every ounce of pain was worth that miracle.

   So HOW BOUT CONFERENCE EH? talk about AWESOME!!!!! We are so incredibly blessed to have such genuine faithful leaders who carry this Church  to be all it needs to be. We are so blessed to have all that we do. I will just tell you about the wonderful notes I took during conference and i hope that maybe some might be of good use to you....

These are just notes, not exact direct quotes by the way...

 

L. Tom Perry-      A testimony of the sacrament is what makes it take effect

                              Our GREATEST joy in this life... is following the Savior... (i second that, I plan to serve all my life)

 

Jean Stevens-    (I met her in the mtc by the way... talk about the most charitable women I have ever met!)

                             What can we learn from children... they are full of faith, love, humility and forgiveness! (reminds me of my little sister forgiving me when I accidently burned her with the curling iron!)

                      The story of Liam who needed radiation treatments and all he asked for instead of being sedated was hearing his fathers voice... (like Joseph Smiths courage during his surgery!)

                              I love how she emphasized to not only hold children... but BEHOLD them... as spirit children as they really are!

 

Walter Gonzales- We need to be reminded that Christ submitted to the WILL OF THE FATHER at all times, even while abondoned and beaten and accused. (are we that willing to submit to the Father?)

                               I loved how he mentioned the missionary who risked losing his family if he served a two yr mission... then he walked out head hanging down but hopeful as he served, sure enough his family came to beg him to stay out longer... for all the blessings they were recieving! (SO TRUE PEOPLE boys girls, get serving missions, it makes you the men and women you need to be)

                              making covenants= an expression of love... they must ALWAYS be kept!

     

Kent Richards - "coping with pain" Christ is NOT a silent observer, it is through pain that brings you the humility needed... to come closer to the Savior.

                              Pain... brings us to an AWARENESS of Gods love!

                              During Christs ministry he CHOSE to suffer pains... to understand US better... so WE must experience the depths of mortality to better understand Him!

                              The story of the young girl who needed a 14 hr operation on her tumor... when she saw angels, she said.."dont worry all the kids here have angels around us." (so true)

                                 "as Job, after we have been tried... we then shall come forth as GOLD"

 

Quentin L. Cook-  Women are more religious.. in every measure.

                                They are daughters of our Father in Heaven. They endure much and with a smile on their face.

                                 The woman and husband are side by side in marriage. Woman by DIVINE NATURE have the greatest responsibility= motherhood.

                                 The pioneer woman after lost her husband to the cold, she said with courage "I appealed to the Lord... and He came to my aid!"

                                 Much accomplished in our church is because of the sisters!

 

Henry B. Erying-   Our HF does HEAR our prayers... he has provided his disciples to answer those prayers of the needy.

                                WAKE UP AND DO SOMETHING MORE

                                 A feeling of sympathy has been felt by all and sometime somewhere, but turning it to action unselfishly is part of keeping our covenants as members of His church.

                                 I was so humbled by that story of the family who went to see the damage the flood did to their home... but their home was washed away... with positive hearts they returned to the bishop to ask how they could help other people... (wow talk about christlike charity! I hope to have that same courage)

                                  The welfare of our church is not for ONE time and ONE place.... but for All times and ALL places! (awesome to know we are all in this together)

                                  And the service project that Eyring asked us to start up... wow thats so neat! I hope you are all engaged in a worthy cause in some way to heed this counsel!

 

Boyd. K. Packer-  ( when he stood up there at the stand I smiled so big, remembering that that very man, placed his authoritive hands on my head for a blessing before my mission! wow!)

                               What so ever thing ye do... must be called in my name (christs) as MY church... ( hence... church of jesus christ of latter day saints)

                               Christ is the very center of US and our church. our proper authority is what sets us apart.

                                The husband is the HEAD of the Family and the home... the Wife is the HEART!

                                No one is more subject to temptation then another, we all have agency, we all need to learn to resist temptation of every kind. (self mastery SO IMPORTANT)

                                If you are burdened, Do a little repenting, and lots of forgiving and the spirit of the Lord will comfort you.

                                We are a positive and happy people, we are NOT afraid of this life.

                                 If there is a church that is easy and requires little work... this is NOT the one! (ooo gives me chills so true)

                                

Russel m. Nelson-  We live to die... and we die.. to live AGAIN!

                                  Satan strives to brings us down to be as miserable as he is... but we do not let our FEARS REPLACE OUR FAITH!

                                  The ONLY premature death... is the one NOT prepared to meet God.

                                  Will we really do whatever the Lord commands?

                                  We cannot pick and choose which commandments we must obey, we must obey them ALL.

                                  Your pleading hearfelt prayers are not only heard... they are WANTED. You Father in Heaven WANTS to hear them.

                                  Tithing and the blessings of Tithing... protect you in the day of difficulty.

                                  HOW you deal with trials and afflictions in this life... is WHAT makes your faith and builds your character

                                  You can let those difficulties crush and silence you... or you can let it strengthen you to come out victorious! ( so awesome)

 

Elder. Rich Maynes- Praying and reading scriptures in the home are not just simple tasks, they are CELESTIAL traditions being established in the home.

Cecil Samuelson -    If you are struggling now... you can hold onto OUR testimonies here at this pulpit.

Dallin H. Oaks -         When we have a great vision of what we truly desire we will do ALL we must cut out our addictions and imperfections to achieve that vision.

M. Russel Ballard-    The love of Christ is not a bunch of huge heroic acts, but the small and simple kindnesses

                                    The Lord needs the love of ALL the members to expand and fill the earth! It requires the service of every member.

Pres. Uchtdorf-         Many stand on the side of the waters of baptism but never bring themselves to the truth of needing to enter.

                                    Many wait for some big tramatic event to make them believe but do not even take the SMALL steps of faith on the road of discipleship.

                                    turn down the noise of the world, and listen more to the spirit.

                                    Answers to our prayers often dont come while on our knees but when we are on our feet.

Paul Johnson-           All that we suffer and endure expands our souls and makes us more charitable.

                                     Even the richest minerals need refinement.

                                     We dont seek for trials but we can be sure our mortal life contains the amount needed for us individually.

                                      Not ONE trial is beyond our limits... because THROUGH Christ all is possible.

David Burton-            The older lady who was more focused on food and temporal help when missionaries came means shes not even close to being ready for eternal progression.

                                     We cannot inherit eternal life unless we administer to ppl on earth.

                                     When we administer to others we are more sure of being forgiven of our own sins.

David Bednar-            We can walk with assurance that God WILL guide us... then thy confidence shall wax strong in the Lord.

                                      Focus on the LIGHT

Jefferey R. Holland-    IF we teach BY the spirit..... and you LISTEN by the spirit... you will without a doubt hear what you need personally right now.

                                       Our prophet by no means, has had an easy life... we can be sure that he and his family have endured much but nothing gets him down! He has remarkable faith, unusual stamina and his devotion is an example to us ALL!

 

Ofcourse I have filled half a journal with other notes I had taken and revelation I have recieved but I must bring this email to a close and tell you about the miracle that we have had during Sundays General Conference! So our Leaders Elder Bond and Elder Davis were super happy that they were prepping for a baptism of a family of 5 during conference. We were so happy for them! They really worked hard for this miracle! During the break in between conference we left to catch a bus back to our area to pick up a lunch from a member since we have had zero food in our cupboards for days haha. On the collectivo ride... satan was trying to get me to be discouraged.. the Elders have baptisms.. and we dont....

 I said out loud to my companion, "I wish we had a baptism today, that would be so nice to be able to find a full family that are legally married to be able to baptize them"

then my always happy sweet companion responded.. "we can sometime and we will.."

 thats when I pondered the miracle that needed to happen. I said with all the faith in my heart "alright, then this is what we are going to do, the second we grab our lunch we are going to walk to our favorite remise place where they always help us out and we are going to eat our food while we walk so we dont waste time. Then, we are going to pray that they wont charge us today and that they might do us the favor of taking us with Alejandra to Zarate for conference to meet President and see what revelation he recieves from the Lord. If she cannot be baptized today, at least we did all we could to make sure she got to hear the Prophet speak." We prayed so much and didnt doubt the possibility at all. Sure enough it all worked out. On our way to Zarate with Alejandra, the scripture sunk in deep, that when the lord asks us to obey, he ALWAYS provides a way! We obeyed not spending money on the sabbath and obeyed the time frame we were given and with more sacrafice and hard work, our faith was built more strong, and the miracles do come! We love Alejandra with all our hearts. It was possible only with the faith of our leaders, and your faith in us that we could all do it, and with all of our heartfelt prayers Alejandra entered the waters of baptism and it was more then beautiful! When we met her afterwards in the bathroom she looked brand new, she kept saying how she felt free. I can only imagine how good she felt. I saw the light in her eyes.  finally we were able to be filled with the joy of knowing we have helped complete their family as far as baptism goes. They all have seen so many blessings already they are much more happy! and they all now have been baptized and have the opportunity to live together forever. What a beautiful joy. We realized that with our past lessons learned, when we were so stressed over numbers and baptisms to the point of impatience, the baptisms fell through and wouldnt work, but it was when we were calm in our heart, accepted the will of our heavenly father and prayed for us to do according to His will, that was when we asked the person (the child of God that they are) what THEY thought was best and what Heavenly Father wanted THEM to decide, thats when we had success. When WE dont get in the way of the connection GOD has with HIS child, thats when they feel the spirit the most and thats when They KNOW they need to be baptized. It was beautiful. Now during this weekened I really gain appreciation for SELF RELIANCE that the apostles kept speaking of. Our president has been really emphasizing how we need to all stregthen our self-reliance and trust in the Lord. Its beautiful how we are teaching our investigators that also. Helping people to help THEMSELVES through the Will of the Father. Also ive loved how inspired you are as our President. Its a great example to all of us. You are an incredible instrument of the Lord. We are so grateful for the Love and faith of those that are mindful of us.... THIS IS THE LORDS CHURCH! He desires ALL to partake of this EVERLASTING JOY AND SALVATION!

Keep enduring... and the blessings do come... I promise you that!

til next week... I love you all!

chao for now

 

love hermana ashley gillum

Surprise I'm still here!!

Hola! Como esta? Espero todo esta bien!

The weather sure is getting cold! I do not even want to hear about all of you enjoying the warmth back home! Lucky Ducks! Hermana Romo and I are popsickles in the morning! the sun is out but the humidity makes the chill more cool and we are needing to bust out the winter gear... I hardly have any that I brought so im going to look all kinds of mismatching outfits haha. Im going to need to get some new shoes in a month or two. Its funny how I read through my last update and I kept making the typo saying, EVERY instead of EVERYONE... I have really gotten alot of my english mixed with Spanish. In Spanish you just keep it much more simple, you just say todo (meaning all) hence me saying every. haha its wierd how that happens with time. Im learning more but the language is a never ending learning process. Theres so much to still get down. My hair is getting longer by the days, it grows an inch every month so im stoked to have my long hair again when I get home. I still weigh the same as I did when i left, 118lbs. I hope to get all my muscles toned again when I return and have the gym everyday. As for right now, im just trying my best to keep healthy considering the food out here is horrible for you. Im not concerned about my physical nearly as much as my spiritual during my mission. Being spiritually filled is so much more important to me anyway. Virtue is the most important thing.

Church for one hour the last two Sundays has been interesting. So funny how we just RUN out of water...? haha really makes you appreciate the church services we have back home in the states. The little things that are often overlooked. We are so blessed to have so much there at our fingertips. When I get home everyone might think im so wierd for being amazed at all we have there. I like bagging my own groceries and washing clothes by hand to hang them up to dry haha can you tell that ive been here long enough? So as you can guess, walking into Sacrament Meeting was quite funny. Everyone just kept saying... wow hermana, youre still here? haha it was so fun for me to explain that ironically yes, im still in this area. This will be my 6th month here in April! Everyone was surprisingly overjoyed about the situation. They all just kept hugging me and kissing my cheek and saying oh, good we prayed that you would stay here. So I could feel the love for sure but i just kept joking with them saying, "Si todavía estoy aqui...porque necesitan parar de orar!" haha meaning stop praying! haha they know that they all mean so much to me, we are close enough now that they expect me to joke like that. Truly I feel its a blessing to be able to finish what Ive started here and continue to serve these people of Campana 1. They are very special.

 I have been having pain in my right side for a long time now and the doctor thought it might be my appendix so he had me on a different diet and get some blood work done in Hospital Austral which we had to travel to Escobar to get to. It is the biggest hospital that Ive ever seen. Its really clean though, and they are all very professional there. My only worry was when I was about to get my blood work, the Phlebotomist didnt properly clean my arm and inject the needle. (being a phlebotomist myself I notice details) My arm was swollen and bruised for a few days haha but im alive thats what matters haha. Turns out my results came back fine, and if it was my appendix it would cause a severe fever which I dont have. The Doctor suggested I go for an ultrasound when we have time due to the fact that it may be a cist on one of my ovaries. No big deal just annoyed with the pain really.

 We were also able to make it to Mercedes Flores big 15th quinceñera! Hermana Romo and I did service for their family and we styled all their hair and helped with makeup for the fiesta. She looked like a princess, her hair and dress were gorgeous. I was so happy to see her family´s reaction. They think I should do hair and makeup for movies haha. they are so funny. The Bishop was very grateful for our service for his family. He couldnt stop thanking us for the potatoes that I made and we plan to serve him more often with time that we are given. Service has now become a yearning of mine. I will not miss out on an opportunity to help serve my community however I  can when I get home. Just baking cookies for someone makes such a difference. Often we run into a couple that will say, "oh you are mormons? oh we dont know much about you but we do remember how someone from your church once did something very sweet for us and our family!" PEOPLE DONT FORGET SERVICE! Its always a blessing to the missionaries like us who again cross their path and they already know the kindness our church is based upon. Thank you members of the church who are striving to serve in little significant ways! You better believe that you each make a difference!

  Hermana Romo and I tried to do much service this past week and we were given the opportunity to feed a hungry family.

We had cooked up some chicken to bring to a family of 8 who barely has a loaf of pan (french bread) to split for the week. The Children´s eyes lit up when we came to share our message and bring a warm meal for them as well. The baby has trouble with speech and it worries them so we invited them to recieve a blessing and attend church next Sunday to feel the peace there.

 Our President called with great news that Alejandra has greatly been on his mind. Talk about revelation because she has been praying constantly these days to be able to be baptized as soon as possible. Her living situation is interesting because in there brick home, its attached to several other dwellings and living quarters so being a single mother with five girls, an ex spouse, and a few homeless friends, she is struggling to get her own place. She wants so badly to be able to have her own home for her girls and her so she can be baptized. We are working through this process for her as best as we can and she has so much faith that I have no doubt the Lord is very mindful of her and her family. I have so much faith that she will be baptized soon in the Lords time. One blessing we saw from her daughter Susanas baptism is we promised her mother would find a job and guess what... that very week, we visited them with a photo of her baptism and they were overjoyed to tell us her mother had found a job. Talk about Blessings of the Lord! Every single one of our investigators have seen miracles when they come to church. I get so excited for them to recieve the blessings because I know they will be closer to the Lord by trusting in him to take care of them.

  In our last district meeting we recieved some letters! Thanks Matt Abernathy I recieved your calendar with paintings of the Savior and it was beautiful and very much appreciated thank you! ive been needing a regular calendar for a while! Also a great friend of mine sent me a DearElder letter that I found to be very inspired. One of the paragraphs read this: "The message you bring (the message of love) is that God so loved the world, that he gave his Only Begotten Son. Love is what holds things together and keeps families lasting forever, its what you are feeling everyday while you are out there. That´s when I found out what true love was... on my mission. Not in a romantic way that hollywood tried to show, but loce as an eternal principle. I learned to appreciate family more, and so many things I used to take for granted. Missions I believe, are to teach us how to love, love as the Savior did and does." ... You know who you are :) thank you for your letter!

 Its true. Ive been out here 7 months and can truly say, ive already come to know this to be true. I thought I knew what I wanted before my mission... haha boy was I wrong! The Lord in His Everlasting love, has completely changed my hearts desires for the better. Ill never again stray from what Ive learned here in mission. A life lived for others, truly is the best life worth living. Not to mention im so glad ive learned to love these people in their culture and love this language that I know I will use all of my life. 

 I know that praying to be filled with Christlike love each day, makes all the difference in how we carry ourselves. Just yesterday we decided to go to our purple area on our map and start from the back of it and work our way up being led by the spirit and make sure to visit all those who have assisted church before. The spirit sure did lead us. We found several miracles, several people who said, they were grateful we found them.

   Then as we were about to go straight I felt a pull at my heart telling us to go left. Down that street we found Andrea sitting on the curb with tears in her eyes. We sat along side her and asked if we could listen to her and try and comfort her. She is a mother four who struggles with self confidence and her place in this world. She has faced horrible things in her life. When my inspired companion asked her what her greatest question in life is... she cried and responded.. "why my father abandoned me and ive had to live all my life without him. He left for another woman and has another family but never has spoken to us again. It breaks my heart. I need my father, my children need him. I just dont know why he would abandon us." As these words rolled from her mouth tears welled up so much in my eyes. I put my arm around her. My companion spoke and said, "you know what Andrea, my companion here can relate to you very well... I have a feeling you should hear what she has to say." Then I spoke, " Andrea, I too have had a very difficult hand delt to me and my family has suffered this same pain when my Grandfather left my Grandma for another woman, to have another family. I also have never had a father in my life. I watched that pain through my grandma, my mother and my aunts, down to me. As much as I hate the fact that my wonderful Grandma suffered from His actions, I look at her as my hero for the burden she bore with courage, saying nothing of hurt it caused in order to stay strong for the rest of us. I too have questioned my worth and standing and purpose here on earth. I want to tell you that I used to let it hurt me for a long time, but now I am free from the pains that come through the actions of others. I have a lasting peace. I know that im a daughter of God, just as you are and God being our Father in Heaven loves us and wants us to always be close to Him. Our mortal parents on earth are not perfect, nor are we perfect, but our parents In Heaven are, and they desire to comfort us. Our Savior suffered ALL pains to be able to succor his people and comfort us as needed. I know that you are a daughter of God Andrea, I know that He loves you and has sent us to you right now to bring the comfort you deserve."

That lesson was beautiful. walking away from that I felt so much assurity in my heart from my Father in Heaven. It was as if He told me, "you see my dear daughter... I have trusted in you so suffer great amounts in your life so far because I knew you would get through it courageously... I knew that you would soon enough find me and find the path you need to lead you right here, right now, to these people that need you. Now you can take your pain and use it for peace."

 What a huge blessing! Some things in my life that used to be such sensitive subjects I can now speak about with a smile on my face. Knowing that my Savior has a great plan for all of our experience, no matter what the circumstance. It is not what happens to us that matters, its how we react to it. Im so grateful for this opportunity. I love my these people, I love my mission, I love my companion, I love our leaders and the greatness of this Church for being so perfectly organized just as it was when Christ established It during his time here on Earth. I think of my teacher in the MTC when this was said,

"If I can give you advice during trial, be patient, it is AFTER your test you recieve blessings, have courage, be honored to feel a small little fraction of what our very Savior of the world felt during His ministry, that is true Honor!" Are we as individuals remembering this? Are we truly applying His atonement daily in our lives as we should? Or are we peering too much inward as the Prophet has said "looking out of our own windows that need cleaning?" I know that I have been guilty of this. Charity doesnt come over night, its a daily need and take a lifetime to fully understand. I love my Savior and for the blessings he helps me to recognize right before my eyes everyday that im out here. I love the greatness of this life and how beautiful everything can be when you see it with spiritual eyes.

Thank you all for your love your letters, your emails, your time and support.

You are all amazing people living lives of your own masterpieces.

No matter what, JUST KEEP SWIMMING! :)

tenga cuidado y cuidase, diviertase!!!!

 CHAO til next monday!

         xoxox    Hna. Ashley Gillum

Pitchaaaas!

hasta verr.....OR NOT

Hola famìlia y amigos en la misìon y de casa! Primera... gracìas por todo lo que hacen y por sus oracìones!

ME ENCANTA LA MISÎON en serìo! There is not greater feeling then being a Missionary. With time my love and my gratitude for serving in this work only grows to greater extents. This is the best chapter of my life by FAR!

  Even though im used to getting like 25 emails every pday, and today I only recieved one email and nothing from my family... I know you guys still love me and you must just be super busy. I just hope everythings going okay... I love you guys and you know that I just dont like to worry about how you are doing so im going with faith that the Lord is taking good care of you and I will keep you in every personal prayer.

  Transfers were given last night at 10:00 pm and our leaders played a mean joke and said im going to el Sur (south) with the freezing snow and penguins... I mean that would be a cool experience and everything but at this time that would just be a huge shock and I didnt bring any winter clothes to Argentina thinking I wouldnt need any anyway. But nope.. no changes still... Im still in my first area, in Campana Buenos Aires with my best friend and loyal companion the infamous and always so charitable Hermana Romo from Los Angeles California! Shes my girl and I love her SO much! So let me tell you the funniest part about NOT transfering to any where new... Hna. Romo and I have had SO many struggles in this area here the last two transfers and we literally worked our butts off but things were falling apart left and right and we were slightly worried about this next transfer and what was going to happen. So we both had this wayyy strong feeling I was leaving and all these other people in our area and other missionaries were like yeah, you have been in your first area pretty long so i bet you will get switched out this time... Long story short, I basically had a farewell in our ward and the bishop asked us to bare our testimonies spurr of the moment and I got up there and cried about how much i love everyone and how much I will miss them. Everyone wrote in my journal saying goodbye and wrote me letters and gave me gifts and Mercedes Flores (such a sweet heart) was crying because I wouldnt be able to be at her quinceñera (big 15th bday) and just a bunch of stuff....... hahaha boy do I feel dumb now... haha Im going to show up on Sunday and evere is going to be like heyyy... what are you still doing here haha! Lesson learned im not ever saying goodbye again, if it happens it happens. But what this does mean, is i can finish what I started with hermana romo and we are going to kick it into full speed. Im so excited to be able to get all these divorces and marriages finalized that we are trying to and see our long time investigators finally baptized!

  We did have a hard time during our struggles in the last two transfers and we started wondering what it was that we were supposed to learn when everything feel through... but then the last two weeks have been bliss! We have in all honesty, learned more in these struggles than any other time in our missions. Those struggles and humility and hard work brought us to cherish even more the little things. We had countless miracles and cried so many tears of joy. Those tears and prayers of ours and all of yours, have been answered. During the last week Susanna changed her feelings about wanting to be baptized and everyy started to fall away from all we taught them, we felt so worn out spiritually but GUESS WHAT, Friday I had a dream that we needed to go back to Susana and have her be baptized this Sunday and help strengthen her family through revelation that we recieved. Well thats what we did... on Saturday we went to her house, spoke with every single member of her family, interviewed them and helped work out there problems personally then asked them all to listen to our lesson and encourage Susana to be baptized. A miracle took place. Everyones attitude changed for the better. Later that day we picked her and her sister up to attend a baptism of the bishops daughter, there, she felt peace. After that we taught her lesson 4 and we had her read and pray about the Book of Mormon.... this was so beautiful. She felt so strongly that she NEEDS TO BE BAPTIZED SUNDAY AND THAT THIS IS THE TRUE CHRUCH. She said she now has no doubts whatsoever. So ironically our church runs out of water that night!!!

   but we just call the other Elders in Campana 2 and this Sunday at 4:30pm beautiful 15 year old, Valerìa Susana Callejas was surrounded and supported by many who love her, as she entered the waters of baptism and became a brand new person. She was baptized by my very first baptism, my brother and friend, DAVID MEDINA!!! She and her family were in tears and all smiles along with me and my companion. we put our arms around eachother and cried and said this is why we are here. This is why its hard... this is why its so worth it. Susana said that she feels so much more complete and so happy to be able to be with her family forever. That girl means EVERYTHING to me. EVERYTHING! We hung out with her all day so that she could come to the Farewell of all the other missionaries who end their mission this transfer. The Medina family (our family) haha took us to San Fernando with Susana and her sister so that we could introduce her to our wonderful President and his Wife and hear the testimonies of others that share her similar experience. They had so much fun. We sang Hasta Ver to all of our fellow friends that are heading home now and they were so sad to leave and not be missionaries anymore but they will never be forgotten. They are leaving a legacy in the hearts of many just as we are doing right now. We took many pictures with our sweet miracle Susana, she was attached to my hip and I couldnt stop kissing her cheek and hugging her hahaha I was so happy! She reminds me of my cousin Hailey when she was 15 and since I miss my sister and cousins so much, I have found comfort in the fact that these people are like my family also and I want the very best for them. I was anxious to shake the hand of my President and tell him how thankful I am for him and for this opportunity and of the miracle we had. He was overjoyed for us!

   As we were driving home from San Fernando I starred into the moonlight that touched all the green fields and I thought... I love my family so much, but I know they are under the same moon and I know there is a place being prepared for them for my service here in this beautiful land. I thought for the first time, as much as I love them... my thoughts are so occupied by the concerns I have for the families here and im finally the fully focused, fully trusting missionary the Lord wants of me right now. I know that the Lord calls us in our weaknesses to show forth His power... I know that His plan for me is far greater than anything I could possibly plan for myself so as the song goes... I will go where you want me to go dear Lord I will be what you want me to be! Im so excited for what lies in store for us here in this time with these BEAUTIFUL people!

  With amazing Elder Bond, and Elder Davis as our zone leaders still and Hermana Romo at my side... im going to prove myself to the Savior. I have so much faith that we can baptize all of these families we have in mind. I have this desire to stretch myself and push myself. To think that God in Heaven would reach out to us and touch our hearts telling us it was US that needed to be here for these miracles... US specifically! Thats too good to be true it seems. But I firmly believe all my life Ive been prepared for Susana... and to finally know that at last Ive found her and brought her to know the true path of peace back to her Father in Heaven, its a miracle. You only get your mission once... so here we go...

thank you for your love and support it means so much...

gird up your loins, fresh courage take, keep pressing on you guys!

in the end ALL IS WELL ALL IS WELL!!!!!

if its not well... its not the end!

 

I LOVE YOU

con amor y besìtos,

xoxox hermana Ashley Ann Gillum