Week 47 (Feb. 24, 2014 El Talar, Argentina)

We caught Katelyn on line and Kambree wrote her a small note, but Kate didn't reply before kambree had to leave....
Family,
Oh no! Did Kambree miss the bus because she was waiting for me? I´m sorry if that was the case! :( But I am back now! There was only one computer and both of us were expecting mission calls for our brothers so we had to go one at a time! And that is the only thing I looked for and then got off. But MAN!!! I was so excited to see where he was going!!!!! I can´t believe it hasn´t come yet! Darn that just stinks, one more week I have to wait!! Poor Joel too! Hermana Jensen´s brother is going to Louisiana Baton Rouge Spanish speaking mission!!! She is so excited and I am so happy for her! Just wish that Joel had his too! 

Oh ok haha :) And ya, Hermana Jensen told me that now if you go to the US Spanish speaking you will always go to the Mexico MTC. That is strange. Also this is really random, but before I forget, are you friends with Laura on Facebook? I forgot if you told me that already. But if you are, you should definitely talk to her if you can! She would love it and it would be really good for her! :) 

I have lots of things to ask/tell you about this week and I want to reply on lots of things too so I will probably be really random today and all over the place. How is Joel? I haven´t read all your email yet so maybe you said something about that already. Also, did you tell the kids to email me? Because they just all our of the blue emailed me haha. I didn´t mean for you to tell them if you even did. I know they are busy kids! But I for sure appreciate their emails!! :) 

OK, I think I am ready to tell you about my week :) But you did have some questions so I will answer them quick. My cough is good now, I don´t have it anymore! :) Thanks for asking :) 

No worries about the other Monday :) hahaha Kendyl is a bit of a spacey at times hahaha

OH YA!! Katie´s gift!! Man there is just no time to think about things! Sorry about that Mom! I need to stop forgetting so easily! I actually haven´t really though about it and so it is not going to be anything clever like I am sure the rest are going to be :( but maybe something that has to do with hair because Shaun would always style our hair all fancy like and people were always so amazed when I told them that my brother did my hair...and a little worried haha. But I don´t know! That is all I can think of right now and maybe someone already thought of that. If so, let me know and I will try to come up with something else. 

El Talar is just one ward :) The area is just split that´s all. Good question :) 

Thank you for sending me those 25 reasons from Shaun! I loved reading those!!! So cute and fun...and gross! haha :) 

I don´t know if I can wait any longer for Joel´s call to come!!! I can´t believe it is not here yet!! I hope it will come next week!! 

Thank you Mom for your kinds words once again. They help me so much and I always feel better when I hear that you are proud. Thanks for helping me feel so good Mom :) And for the others as well. 

Yesterday I gave my first talk in sacrament meeting on my mission!! It was on how to retain and help our brethren in the church and the blessing that we receive in return for helping them. I prepared it all week because I was super nervous, especially because it was in Spanish. Heavenly Father helped me and answered my prayers! I wasn´t too nervous and felt like my Spanish was ok haha. There were a few things that i am sure I messed up on but I think they understood me for the most part ha. It was a great experience for me and helped me know how we as members have a great responsibility to help our fellow members stay active and firm in the church! One thing that I learned that really helps them is just being a friend. Pres. Hinckley said that every recent convert needs three things: a friend, an assignment, and the good word of God. He applied it to rc but I believe it also is applied to every member. And when we have these things, we are more likely to become faithful members of His church. Many people might think that la obra misional is only for those that are not members, and for those who are investigating the church. But another name for it is the work of salvation. And EVERYONE wants  salvation. I know that everyone has a special part in God´s work of salvation and that we can help our fellow brethren stay strong as we serve, support, and pray for them. 

There is not much to say about this week except for Laura and Gabriel!! We have been visiting them this past week with the same member and shared the book of Mormon with Gabriel and talked about a few other things that he wanted to know. He still hasn´t prayed to know but he did read some of the book of Mormon and seemed to like it. On Friday we had another lesson with them and committed both of the to come to church. Gabriel told us that he would come for one hour and that if he liked it, he would stay for the entire thing. YES!!! When he told us that he was going to come, we just felt so happy! We decided that we should fast on Saturday after lunch so that Gabriel would come and feel the spirit. Saturday we couldn´t see them but we called in the night and they said that everything was good for Sunday. Sunday morning we texted Laura and she told us that she was going to come with her 4 year old Matias but Gabriel could not make it because he was feeling really sick. We asked Laura for Gabriel´s number so we could call him. we talked to him and he said that he had eaten lots of chocolate the night before and that he had a bad head ache and stomach ache and wasn´t able to make it. We asked him if he could only come an hour and he said that if he felt better he would let us know. He didn´t end up coming in the end but Laura and her son were there and really enjoyed everything!! It was super hard to not see Gabriel there with his family. We knew that coming to church would have been a huge step for him, considering we had to stop teaching Laura because he wouldn´t allow her to come to church and that he hated the church to start with, and even though he didn´t come yesterday, we know that he will make it. He is changing little by little and for that, we are very grateful and happy. I know that it will take some time, but I know it will happen. Too much has happened with this family to not see them being baptized. I will need to earn the money to come back in a year when they will be sealed!!! :) ALSO, Laura accepted a day to be baptized!!! :) We wanted her to be baptized with her husband and so on Saturday when we saw her at her work we asked her to be baptized on the 9th of march. That would give Gabriel 3 Sundays to come to church before baptism like is needed. She accepted!! But since Gabriel didn´t come yesterday we will see what is going to happen. The experience with this family had been so crazy but so rewarding and I know that it will keep getting better! The Lord is blessing us so much! Next week hopefully will bring better news about Gabriel coming to church!! :) 

Well mom that is about it for the week. Next week I will have to write my email first maybe because if we had more time, I would write a bit more. But that is the most important part of the week. Thank you so much for your prayers and thoughts for Gabriel and Laura and their family. Thanks to everyone else as well!!! I know that your prayers are being heard and answered and that Gabriel and Laura feel them too! I promise I am healthy and happy and doing great! Love you so much!! 

Con Amor, 

Hermana Syphus 

Week 46 (Feb. 17, 2014 El Talar, Argentina)

Dearest Family and Friends, 

Buen dia from here in El Talar :) This week we had a lot of things going on and it kept us real busy which is what I love! El Talar has two sets of missionaries: us and a set of elders. Until about 2 weeks ago, the area of El Talar wasn´t split, so we both had the same area. It has been fine, but we just thought it would be better to officially split it into 2 areas. So now Hermana Jensen and I are in El Talar 1 and the elders in El Talar 2. They received the more dangerous part of El Talar, which is where Hermana Jensen and I have been finding a lot of great people to teach! So now all those people are going to the elders. But it´s okay, because we know that what happened was the Lord´s will and that these people maybe only needed to be found by us, but taught and baptized by the elders! :) We also have most of our recent converts in the Elders area. And we talked to the pres about that and we decided that we can continue visiting them and the investigators that we had in the elders area before the split. So that was good news :) 

Karina was baptized on Saturday!!! :)  And mom, her full name is Karina Beatriz Lavado Coronel. :) Once again, it was a crazy process but finally happened. None of the baptisms that I have had have been easy. No matter how prepared the person has been, satan always tries to find a way to prevent the baptism. We had decided that Karina was going to have her interview on Friday before the ward activity, her baptism on Saturday, and her confirmation on Sunday. On Friday everything worked out great. The activity started at 8:00 pm and she got there at around 7:00 for her interview and did great :) Saturday at 4:00 was the scheduled time for her baptism. An investigator of the elders was also getting baptized at this time. Karina really wanted the bishop to baptize her and we had called him and talked to him about the baptism and everything was great and he was super excited, but saturday came and he texted us when it was almost 4 and told us that he wasn´t able to make it because he was super sick in bed. He told us to have Fabio, the ward mission leader, take over. Well Fabio had told us early that day that HE wasn´t going to make it either. And no one from the bishopric could be there so there would be no one to preside. So we called the bishop and told him that Fabio was not coming either and I told us to do what he had to do all the time on his mission: Elder Alfaro would conduct and Elder Alfaro would baptize. I asked him about who could preside and he said no one, even though that should never happen. Ugh. Karina got there and we told her about the bishop and she was super sad because she really wanted to be baptized by him. But we talked to her about the only thing that is important is the authority and that Elder Alfaro had the same authority so he could do it if she wanted. We wanted it to be a special event for her so we told her that if she really wanted the bishop to do it, we could wait. She decided in the end that waiting to be baptized just so a certain person could it was silly and that Elder Alfaro had the same priesthood authority so that he could baptize her. Ahh we were so relieved and happy!! The baptism didn´t start until like 5 but it finally happened and was so wonderful! Hermana Jensen and I sang Abide with Me and I was super nervous but Hermana Jensen made it sound good :) Karina said that she felt so good and happy after she came out of the water. She said that the week before her baptism, she was receiving lots of weird thoughts and temptations and felt at times that she shouldn´t be baptized. We told her that it was the adversary and she said she knew. And after she came out of the water she said that those thoughts were gone and that satan was just trying to prevent her from feeling the way she felt after her baptism. 

So as I said to you ma, I forgot it was valentines day until I woke up and saw hearts on the wall and a sign that said happy valentines day. Hermana Jensen remembered and decorated the house! She also made me breakfast! We don´t really eat much for breakfast but we had some canned peaches and rice cakes so she put some peaches in a bowl and cut the rice cake in a heart shape and put that with the peaches. It was so cute! She loves Valentines day and always has pink heart shaped pancakes but since we didn´t have that, she improvised and it was so fun! I am so grateful for my companion and I love her so much! We also had a ward activity on this day that us missionaries put together but it didn´t have anything to do with valentines day. It is not really a big thing here. It started at 8 and not very many members were there at first but then more started coming and we had a pretty good turn out. We just watched a few Mormon messages on hope and patience and bore testimony about that. Then we played charades (i don´t know how to spell that ha) and it was super fun and hilarious! Seeing the members act out James Bond and Santa Clause and things like that was really fun and entertaining. After that we ate the food that the members brought. It was a fun night with them! And the first ward activity that i have been to in Argentina I think! 

Sunday was a crazy day as well. We had talked to Karina about being at church at 9 en punto so that she could be confirmed. It was almost 9 and she wansn´t there yet so we called her. She and Karla said that they lost their sube (bus card) and couldn´t find it anywhere. They didn´t have money to take a taxi and their house is too far to walk and make it on time. So Hermana Jensen and I decided that we would pay for a taxi so that they could make it on time. They didn´t want to make us pay for them but that was the only option so they finally accepted it. They told us that they would meet us outside the church so that we could pay the driver. Ok. By this time church had started. The Elders investigator was confirmed already and we were just waiting for Karina and Karla. Then Hermana Jensen and I realized that we didn´t have enough money haha. Here in Argentina we should only carry like 10 pesos with us at a time unless we need to but something, so we didn´t have enough. The elders didn´t have any either. I asked Elder Alfaro (district leader El Talar 2) if I could quickly go on spilts with another hermana from the ward to get money for the taxi because my comp had to give a talk. Instead, he offered to run to his house with his comp and get some money. So they left sacrament meeting and ran to their house and just as the taxi pulled up they arrived with the money and it all worked out! Hermana Jensen gave her talk and did so amazing and after, Karina was confirmed :) She was truly prepared by God and now is a member of His church! Even though she was so prepared, satan worked hard to prevent her baptism, but in the end God conquered like always, and all went well. I have been thinking a lot about how to help the recent converts stay faithful and strong in the church. It seems like so easily they can start falling because satan has such a grasp on them after their baptism. And even if they have been prepared, it can still happen so quickly. I know that it takes great faith and diligence and hope to see someone get baptized. But I have learned that it takes even more faith and diligence and hope to see someone endure to the end after baptism. I know that when people are converted to Christ before baptism, they will more likely endure to the end and continue making sacred covenants throughout their lives. We were so grateful that Heavenly Father answered our prayers and that re received so much divine help from him and also help from the elders! We are so blessed! 

I have some good news about Laura!! She has been so concerned because we do not pass by as often as we used to because she cannot progress so we can´t continue teaching her. But every so often we pass by and share something with her. She just thinks that we don´t care about her as much and that we are never going to pass by again and we told her that that is not the case and that we continue praying for her and her husband. Well this past week so told us that her husband said that he would be okay with us coming to their house and talking to them both and that he wanted to ask us some things. She told us that she didn´t want us to go to their house because her husband was just going to bash and say bad things about the church and that we would feel bad. We told her that we were used to it and that it wouldn´t be a problem and that we would just bare testimony to him anyway ha. So finally she agreed and yesterday we went to their house with an awesome return sister missionary (Diana Ramos) and we had a chat with them. Hermana Jensen and I thought and prayed to know what to teach because we knew that this was such a great opportunity to have the spirit touch Gabriel´s heart and that it might be the only one. We felt that we should start by testifying that Christ is our Savior and the head of this church and that we love, worship, and depend on him. We also felt that sharing the 13 articles of faith would help him understand what our church believes and that the things he read on the internet were false. We got to their house and the member hit it off so well with both Laura and Gabriel. Gabriel is very hard headed and he gets what he wants and it is his way or the high way. We testified and he stated his opinion and argued with Laura a bit, but it turned out pretty well in the end. He talked about how you should stay in the church your parents raise you in he is Catholic but doesn´t live it at all. We talked about prayer and coming to church so that he could know for himself. We didn´t end up sharing the articles of faith but what we talked about instead was needed. If Diana wasn´t there I don´t know if we could have done it! He was pretty rough but really softened up towards the end and said that he wasn´t going to commit to coming to church or anything, or allow Laura to come to church, but that he WOULD pray to see if the church was true and if it is Christ´s church. So that is some great progress!!! I really think Heavenly Father wants this family to receive the gospel and for that, they keep coming up and miracles are happening! Tomorrow if everything goes well, we have an other lesson with them!! We hope that everything works out. I know I have to give my best effort in order to see a miracle out of this. It will not be easy but I am excited and ready to go through anything if it means that they can become an eternal family!! Pray for Gabriel please! :) 

Mom just for journals sake I will add that we had interviews with president on Friday and they went really well :) 

Also for the journal, I went on exchanges in Tigre with hermana lobo and had some great experiences with her finding escogidos. Roque, Ramona and her daughter Vanesa. I felt the spirit helping me ask inspired questions and give me the confidence I needed to testify and know what to say in the moment. A great exchange! 

I have been reading and studying hope this past week again because we had to give a training on it in the district meeting. In preach my gospel it says that the source of hope comes from the knowledge that we are sons and daughters of God and that Christ is our Savior. I know that this is true. When we have this knowledge, we feel loved and we feel like we belong somewhere, to someone. Hope is trusting that God will fulfill the promises that he has made to us. But He can only give us these blessings and promises when we are obedient. So like every attribute of Christ, hope is connected to obedience. I know that because Christ is our Savior, we can always have hope. I realized that in satan´s plan, we would not have needed to have hope because we would have always done the right. If hope is trust that God will fulfill His promises to us, this means that obedience is involved. In satan´s plan, we would have always been obedient and would not have hoped to receive God´s blessings. I am thankful that we all chose to follow God´s plan and that we all had faith and hope in Christ and that we continue to have faith and hope in Christ. I know that he is the source of our hope and that as God´s children, we have so much to hope for!! I love you all so much and am thankful for all you do to help God´s work progress and move forward. You are all great examples to me! Thank you for your prayers and thoughts! Love you and have a great week!

Con Amor,

Hermana Syphus 

Howdy Ho Ma! Here I am once again. This week we had interviews with the president and i was worried about being on the internet emailing too long and so I asked him PERSONALLY if there was a rule on the time and he said that there is no way Hermana Jensen and I would be doing anything wrong on the internet so no, there is no time limit haha. He just said to make sure we get other things done during the day, but that we could stay on as long as we like. So now I can email over an hour and not feel guilty! :) Haha. 

I don´t know if you are back yet, but I have a few questions for you once again :) 

1. Do you have Jordy´s email?

2. For the past week I have had a cough but ONLY a cough. I am not sick or anything, just a cough. Does that mean anything?

3. How are my 3 siblings doing? I try to write them every once in a while but they haven´t responded. It has been a while since I have written them personally though. I am guessing they are just super busy, they are in high school after all! :) 

4. Does Kam have an email address? 

JOEL DOESN´T HAVE HIS CALL YET!?!?! Man I was so excited to get on my email today to see where he was going!! Darn. Oh well, another week won´t hurt. I just can´t wait to find out though! I am so excited! 

Thank you for the pictures! I love them! Shaun and Katie look like models. What a handsom couple. Kari and Rob´s pictures are just perfect too! Man I have good looking siblings. I have shown a lot of people that family picture this week and all of them say how good looking my sisters and mom are and how handsome dad and the boys are. And then there´s me haha :) 

Yes I get grandma´s letters. Let her know how thankful I am for them. They brighten my day and I love them so much! I wish I could write her back :( Mail is so expensive here. Hermana Jensen just mailed a letter 2 pdays ago and it was like 80 pesos. She said that never again would she send a letter in Argentina because it is so expensive! And about the package that you sent, it still hasn´t arrived from what I know. Neither has the one from Joel and Trish :( I am sure they will get here, but it will take a bit longer. They told us the other day though that now ANY package will cost money to receive and the minimum is like 125 pesos. So I don´t know if it would be a good idea to send any more packages :( :( And i love them so much. We just don´t have a lot of money to pay for them and we need food and such so it might not work. So if I need something from home...i don´t know what I will do. We will see though i guess. 

OH YA!! I already know that about Nik duh! Thanks for reminding me again haha! 

That is real exciting about Kambree!! Tell her congrats for me and give her a hug from me too!! A big one!

Ah thanks mom! I just finished my mass email and it is pretty long! I didn´t even put somethings in it that i was going to. OH! One thing I forgot to but was a funny moment of the week! We were at Ingred´s house and we are super close to her so i can really be myself when we are with her. Anyway, her phone rang and I told her I would get it. She was like are you sure and I said of course why not!? So I answered the phone and the lady said Ingred? And I said, no I am her daughter, do you want my mom? She said, oh yes sorry! Is your mom there? Then i gave the phone to ingred haha. Something really short and silly but I had a good time doing it haha :) 

Sounds like your Valentines day was a good one! I actually forgot that it was valentines day! I am telling you, I can´t remember anything on my mission haha. I think that I just don´t have time to think about it, or that my mind is just not very open ha. I will explain our day in my other email. But Hermana Jensen remembered and made it so special! 

She is the best! :)

Also, I don´t know if I have even mentioned this in my emails yet, but do you know how people say Syphus here? Haha, they pronounce it see-pooz. Have i mentioned that before? I always mean to because I think it is so fun, but never have I don´t think. I really like it though, it is funny when people try haha. 

OK I am ready to get off now! Thanks for your email this week! I always depend on them because I haven´t been getting a lot lately, only just from you usually, so I really appreciate it mom!!!! You really don´t know how happy it makes my day when i get emails! So thank you thank you! Love you so much!

Kates

Happy Valentines Day! 

Hermana Jensen is so good!!

 She decorated the wall with hearts and a sign and wrote nice things about me on the hearts. 

She just does so much for me and i love her so much! 

Karina´s baptism with Elder Alfaro

Karina (on the left), Karla and her daughter Kami

 The ward activity we had! 

Week 45 (Feb. 10, 2014 El Talar, Argentina)

Hey! Man I just have lots to say about this week as you can imagine and we only have one hour until we start working! So that means I have about 30 minutes to write! I wrote pres. and read the emails that i received today and then wrote dad a little note, so now I am on the new of the week. I will prob have to send pics and write more next week if that is okay, cuz we really are short on time. But it is okay because we went to the temple!!!!! :) :) :) So if you have anything, I am here for a bit :) 

Okay! :) The temple was amazing. I miss it already and want to go back. It was such a great experience and was wonderful to be inside the Lord´s holy house once again. I have really missed it and the feeling it brings me. The spirit is strong while on a mission, but being at the temple was just that much better and I loved it so much. I went in with a prayer in my heart and some things in my mind that I was hoping God would help me understand. Also, I have been praying this past week to receive revelation for our area and our investigators and the people here and was able to learn and understand many great things in the temple while pondering and seeking. I saw the new video and I love it so much. You were right, lots more emotion and a sense of what they really would have felt like. I loved everything about it. Dad´s email has a few more of my thoughts. I will continue my temple experience next week. But just so you can know, I LOVED IT. I can´t even say how grateful i am to have finally gone after 9 months. It was the best and I just feel so good and happy :) 

Just a few quick notes about the investigators and I got to go. Things haven´t changed with Laura´s hubby yet :( But we go to her ice cream shop once in a while and visit her for a bit. She gives us free ice cream every time haha. She will always have a place in my heart. It just hurts so bad knowing that she could be receiving so many wonderful blessings from this gospel but cannot because of the things that are happening. I know that someday it will change!

Karina is doing good! There is a lot to say about her, next week as well! But she was going to be baptized this past Sunday but couldn´t because she was on her period! Man that is just happening too often. It was a crazy week though! We literally saw her everyday but Monday and Saturday and taught her ALL the lessons. That is what happens when God puts prepared people in your path! They don´t need to wait if they already know! It has been a great blessing teaching one of the Lord´s elect daughters. I am excited to see her progress! I have lots to tell about her! But this Sunday is her baptism!!!!! :) I have pics and will send them next week! 

We found another escogido (elect) this week! Yesterday actually! Her name is Beatriz and went to church for 3 months with her friend in Peru and wanted to be baptized but in the end wasn´t becasue she didn´t feel ready. But she moved here and we came across her and invited her to be baptized in 3 weeks and she accepted! We will see if it happens that fast because the hard part is that she is not married and has two kids. Ugh. But no worried, we are going to have a wedding and a baptism :) Next week I will tell more of her! 

I have to go! Sorry for the short email ma, I know you like to know what is happening and i didn´t leave you much! I know that obedience brings miracles and that when we are obeying because we love God, the miracles are even greater. My love for my Heavenly Father has grown and I know that He lives and has a plan for us. I love sharing these eternal truths with all people and I know that i am privileged to be a missionary at this time. I love this work and I love being a missionary! I promise I am healthy and happy and enjoying my life so much! 

Thank you for everything mom. I really enjoyed the pics! Please send more when you can! Tell Joel Kam and Kendyl that I love them and think of them often. They are great examples to me. It is hard seeing the teenagers here and what they do sometimes. My three younger siblings are really angels. I love them so much! Love you mom! You make me so happy! :) Thanks for your example, charity, and diligence. You are a dream come true! :) 

Until next time and con mucho amor, 

Kates 

The package from Trish has not come yet darn it! I was told that it will take longer now for packages because they are now checking them really well to see if people are importing things to sell here. Dumb. So no, not yet, but I will let you know when I do! I did get their Christmas card though. Tell them thanks so much and that I really appreciate that they send me letters and packages, they are the best! 

Did Joel get his call?!?!?!?!

When is Nik leaving? I need to email him soon!!! :) 

Yes, we are allowed to get on lds.org and print off talks, I will have to find that one. Thanks so much for the insights mom, I really appreciate it! What a great lesson giver you are! I miss your lessons. It sounds like it was really successful though with the family, that is always a great blessing! :) 

Buenos Aires Temple with Herm. Terry and Herm. Jensen

Feb. 10, 2014

Week 44 (Feb. 3, 2014 El Talar, Argentina)

Dearest Mom and Dad,

Happy days from El Talar, Argentina :) This week the whether has dropped a bit due to the rain and so that has been nice. It is hard to work in the rain but it sure is nice when the temperature drops a bit. I have been able to sleep with my nice family blanket lately and I love it so much :) 

There have been some great happenings and some hardships this week, but we know that God has a plan for us and for these people and that we will get through it as we stay firm in Christ. First with Karina. This past week we wanted to visit her various times but she kept telling us that we couldn´t pass by because she wasn´t home or her cousin was sick and she had to take care of her. So that was hard. She has a date to be baptized on the 9th and still hasn´t been taught all the lessons so we wanted to see her as much as we could last week to help prepare her but if didn´t happen. On Saturday we called and texted to remind them about church but they didn´t answer. Sunday morning we called and once again nothing. We were both fasting that she would be able to come to church, as well as our other investigators. The meeting started and she and Karla her cousin still did not show up. It was raining yesterday and for some odd reason people here think that the rain is a good excuse not to come to church. I don´t understand it. It´s just water after all haha. So when it rains there are less people at church which is always hard to see. But after the sacrament we went outside because one of our other investigators said that she was outside waiting (i will get to that). So we went outside to get her and to our great surprise, Karla and Karina were walking up to the church as well!!! We talked with Karina after the meetings and she said that because she hasn´t had a religion in her life, it would be hard to be baptized in this church even though she likes it and feels good about it. She told her that we would be passing by all the days this week to help her feel prepared and ready and on Saturday we would see how she feels. We invited her to pray to receive a sure answer from God and to read the BoM as well. So we will see tomorrow how she is doing! 

We met with Natalia and her boys a few times this week once again and they are doing okay. Sunday they didn´t come because of the rain :S But the ward is trying to be really supportive with them and the boys. Like invites to young men activities and to jugar la pelota. They also have managed to combine forces to get them some sunday outfits! Eric is really being influenced by his friends though and that has been a big struggle and hardship. Remember Angel? Well now he is just all against the church and is telling Eric that he is following satan. The other day when we watched the restoration dvd and Eric felt something, he afterwards told Angel about that feeling and Angel told him that it was Satan and that he is crazy. Eric then told Angel that his evangélica church is crazy and then they got in a fight! It is just really hard right now with his so called friends. Sometimes Hermana Jensen and I want to give his friends a piece of our minds haha, but that would definitely not be the Christ like thing to do, especially as missionaries ha. I try not to get angry but it is hard because I just love Eric and his family so much and know that God has such a great plan for them. We taught them the priesthood the other day and Eric and Alex both said they wanted to prepare to receive it. So we are now trying to help them understand the importance of that and how to prepare to not only have the authority, but also be worthy to always have the power to use it. 

I forgot to mention this, but Natalia told us something really neat the other day. She said that her baby of 6 months (in her belly) never moves, except when she is in church on sunday. And he/she moves LOTS! We told her about what happened to Elizabeth and John in the Bible when Mary walked in her house and she thought that was really neat. She knows that the church is where they need to be and she has a stronger testimony that this church is true and that the spirit is found there.  

It is a long story with Laura but I will try to make it short!....er! :) This week she told us that in the Book of Mormon she learned that she shouldn´t say "I don´t know" when we ask her to come to church, but that she needs to say "yes" or "no" haha. We were glad she learned that but we are not sure where she read to find that out haha. She is so funny. We have had some great lessons with her where she has felt the spirit and that she knows these things are true. The other day she told us that when she first met us, it didn´t make a difference if we didn´t see her and teach her something everyday or every other day. But now she says that it is hard when we can´t come by and teach her something. She doesn´t feel the same she said. She said that we are her closest friends and sent from God and that she gets really excited when she gets a message or call from us. We are so happy about this of course, but have also been a bit concerned because we don´t want her to be getting closer to us as friends, but rather to God and Christ. We are trying to discern if she likes us coming because of the friendship, or the teachings and the spirit. We do know that she really does have a testimony and loves this church because we can see a change in her. She is also so sincere and i can feel the spirit when she is talking. She gave us free icecream the other day and also bought us this friendship charm thing that is really neat. You buy it as a circle and it has three parts to it that are equal. But then you break it in three and each person has a part of the circle. She has one, I have one and Hermana Jensen has one. She told us that she would never forget us and that she doens´t want us to ever forget her. Ah she is just so sweet. Definitely one of the strongest, most faithful that i have met. So on to what happened, she told us that she would come to church on sunday, but that it would be hard because her husband still is against it. Through fasting and prayer, we received a miracle. Sunday morning we texted her and she told us that she convinced her husband to take her to church because it was raining! We were amazed and so grateful! She came and was a little late and missed the sacrament again :( but still loved everything that day. We went outside after the sacrament to meet her and we met her husband. He was nice and seemed just fine at this point. She stayed for a baptism afterward as well and really like it and felt good and said that it was really beautiful. Her husband came to pick her up and drove away pretty angry. Later she texted us and told us that when she got home her family told her that she had to choose: this church or them. She told us that she doesn´t know if she can continue coming to church but that she wants to keep being taught because she loves it. Hermana Jensen and I were quite emotional when we received this news. Last night was tough and it really hit me how much I love her and how much God loves her. We are praying to know what to do. We know that if she can´t come to church, she cannot progress and be baptized, so we are seeking the will of the Lord to know what to do. Tomorrow we will see her. So that is where she is right now. She texted us to apologize about yesterday and told us that she wants us to please continue coming to teach her because she always feels good and loves learning. We are in a rough spot but hopefully it will work out. We just really feel that she is ready but now we are confused as to what to do. We know the Lord will guide us. Please pray for her and her family if you would. 

Thank you for all you are doing and for your constant love and support. I am thankful to be a missionary and know that miracles happen everyday! I love to experience and see them. I know that God has a plan for each of us and that we can fulfill this plan as we exercise our agency in the right way and apply the Atonement to our lives. i know that God answers prayers and wants the best for us! Love you all so much and hope you have a great week! 

Con Amor, 

Hermana Syphus 

This is a painting on a wall on the street Las Violetas. 

Hermana Jensen and I love it! 

If you can´t see it it says "El dia mas oscuro puede ser celeste." 

Which means, the darkest day can be celestial. 

 

Thank you for your email this week! I loved it so much and just wanted to keep reading and reading! 

Dante- we haven´t seen him since that day because of his work :( we had to drop him as an investigator because he is not progressing and we don´t have contact with him. It is super hard but we know that when it is his time, the Lord will help us. Thank you so much for your prayers, fasts, and thoughts. I really am so amazed and grateful for the support that you all are giving me and these people here in El Talar. You are my miracles! 

Temple- GUESS WHAT! We are going to the temple next Monday on Pday!!!!! It was so out of the blue but it is happening! Just as we were talking about it too! But the zone leaders told us specifically, "that the temple trip is not to take a break and enjoy ourselves, but it´s too receive revelation on how to baptize mas y mejor, or more and better." So that was a little harsh ha but it is true. I am hoping that Hermana Jensen and I really will receive revelation for this great area of El Talar and know the things that we need to do to help save more of God´s children. I am so excited!!!! It has been so long since I have been in the temple and I can´t wait! It will be in spanish too so that will be a neat experience! 

Great to hear about katie and her temple experience! Tell her congrats and i am excited to be her sister! Give Kerry and Courtney and fam my love and greetings as well. They have always been great examples to me in so many things.

Pat and Holland will be in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you for letting me know. Hope it all ends well. 

I like that idea for Katie and Shaun :) Very cute! i remember that from Michonn´s wedding! I will think of something soon i hope and let you know. Thanks for including me in it! :) I am not very clever and creative though so it might take a while. i will get it to you soon though no worries. Gracias ma. 

That is crazy about Joel! How in the world did all that happen so fast? Man that is crazy. I am so happy for him, he will LOVE his mission. Haha he is such a goober, I just smile when i think of him and his little ways. Hmmmm, I think i will guess Norway. I can see that....yup, I can see that. Or maybe Korea! He would fit right in there! hahaha I can just imagine him opening up his call and seeing Korea and then yelling in his little girly voice "Asians, asians!" Or something like that ha. Maybe Devin will train him :) I will stick with Norway though. I think that would be so special. 

The comment of Kambree and Linkon got to me real good for some reason. I think I just feel so much love and happiness when you tell me things like that and I get emotional. Thank you for letting me know about that. I really so love these little things that you tell me. Like that, and the earthquake, and the whether, etc. I have a soft spot in my heart for Kam as well. I don´t know why, but it is for sure there. I don´t know if this is bad to say but it makes me feel good when I know that my siblings still miss me. Not in a prideful way. I just fear that after being gone for a while, they will get used to it and move on and change and forget about me haha. So thanks for sharing that. Let Kambree and Linkon know that I love and miss them too. Kam is such a sweetheart. She and Kendyl make me so proud! I love them so much. 

Let Kendyl know that I am so proud of her and that she looks great in her necklace from Young Womens! What a great acomplishment! She looks beautiful and bright! :) 

Thanks for the pics of nathanial and shaun and katie. Finally I see those two together! :) they look like a good, happy couple. Nathanial and his lady tambien :) 

Haha Mom you sure know how to make me feel good. Thank you for the comments from the other friends and family. They are too nice that´s for sure. That was very nice of them and their words really helped me. Even though i still can´t see it in myself at this point, I am still very grateful for what they said. We actually wieghed ourselves today for the first time in a long time and I wanted to cry haha. I have gained more weight! It might not look like it in the pics but I have! When i show people my pics from home they tell me I look a lot different. That I look older now even though it was only 9 months ago and that I have lost my innocent look that I used to have. :( I liked that look and I guess it is gone now. People used to give me 16 or 17 years old and now they all guess 20 or older. I don´t know what happened! But oh well, I will get over it. I just won´t look as innocent and sweet when I get home is all. But really, thanks for the uplifting words. Really helped me, more than you know. 

Alright, love you so much mumsy and thanks for everything once again. Thanks for the last little bit that you sent, even from far away you help me feel better through your words. You are the best. Let them all know I say hi :) Until next week! 

Hey ma! While I am on for a bit here are a few questions if you are there :)

1. Do you have access to my facebook? I forgot ha. And if so, are you adding people that friend me?

2. When are Shaun and Katie taking their pics and you will send me an invite right? ;)

3. Have you sent that package yet? Just wondering to see if we need to go to San Fernando to pick it up, that´s all :)

4. No one in OUR family has cancer right?

5. How is Kari doing with the baby now?

6. Is it hard for you when i don´t send pictures? Hermana Jensen I know sends lots to her mom and I know they are of things that you would like to see, like the house and such. I am sorry I not creative and think about that kind of stuff  :( I thought about being a mom with a child on a mission that didn´t send pics and that it would be hard. So I will try to better with that. i am sorry! Hermana Jensen thinks of everything. She is going to be one of those moms that is just so cute and does so many things for everyone and has so much to do, but is always happy! JUST LIKE YOU!! She somehow finds time to write in her journal and she takes TONS of pictures. She has a memory card for EVERY MONTH of her mission! That is crazy! I just have one haha! She will definitely not regret her mission as far as recording memories and people go. I need to be better! 

7. That is it for now but if I think of more, I will let you know :)