Week 73 (Aug. 26, 2014 Tigre, Argentina)

Mom! :)

First, I dont know if I will have much time to tell about this week, but i will at least tell you about transfers and some other things that have happened! I am staying here in Tigre and yes, I do have a different companion! Because my last comp and I go home at the same time and we cant be together for our last transfer. So she got transferred to CHACABUCO!!!! I was just talking to her all night last night about Chacabuco and how much she is going to love it and I told her about all the members and the recent converts and just everything. She is excited and so am I!!! I told her that she will love ending her mission there!! I am super excited to be staying in Tigre!! I know that this new transfer will bring new adeventures and many miracles!! My new companion is Hermana Traverso from Peru!! My second comp from Peru!! :) She is wonderful and is a new sister training leader this transfer! She goes home two transfers after me, in december. I just told her that I hope she likes to work hard because the only way that I am going to leave Argentina happy is if I have worked hard, diligently and being obedient, until the end!! I can tell that she is a very hard working missionary and loves to serve God and I am so excited to be with her this transfer and learn from her. I still feel like I have so so much to learn and to change and time just goes by so fast I cant believe it. I hope that I will be teachable enough so that God can continue shaping me how he needs to!!

I wanted to send that pic of alejandro and nahuel again, but it was from my other comps camera and she already left :( sorry about that mom.

This last week was a good one. We are still trying to find those that are prepared to receive the gospel and accept it! We are still working with Rosana, the girlfriend of the recent convert. She doesnt have permission from her mom but she turns 18 the beginning of sept. and really wants to be baptized so we are trying to help her prepare for the 14th of september. We want to do Gods will though and will see how it goes.

Love you so so much!!

Hermana Syphus 

Ok, finally I remembered to send this picture!! I have forgotten every week to send it! So these are the before and after pictures of my hair haha. The before one is really gross, sorry. I know that I should never let my hair get to that point but now I know that that will never happen again. I learned that it is hard to find time to keep your hair nice when serving a mission. Well at least for me anyway, for other sisters it is super easy and their hair is always so perfect. I dont know how but oh well, it doesnt matter right now anyway ha. :)

Last pday after I wrote, President called us and told us that he was in Tigre with his wife and their daughter that recently got home from her mission and that they wanted to spend pday with us! So we just walked along the river in Tigre and they took us out to eat at a yummy restaurant. They are the best!! It was super fun to be with them and to get to know their daughter. Also, this day was their anniversary!! :)

 Camila!!! :)

Hermana Christensen and I, she is a sister serving in Matheu and we had exchanges this day. She is so great!  

Hermana Vivas goes home this week :(

 I am sure going to miss her. 

She is my mom here on my mission. 

My first companion in Argentina.

 

We went to her despedida (the meeting on Sunday when all the missionaries that are going home speak and give their testimonies)and Roberto, Marco, and Lautaro came! It was the best seeing them!! I was so happy! The rest of their family couldnt come but hopefully they will be able to make it when I go home. At least I was able to see them though! They are all doing great still and are going to church like good boys! :) 

 The view from our apartment in Tigre. This was the other morning at like 7. Very pretty! 

The hermanas in Tigre 2 had a baptism on Saturday! 

The girl that got baptized is Mora and she is so precious. This is her in the white. 

She has been taught by at least four sets of missionaries I think, 

and finally was ready to be baptized! She is so amazing!

Week 72 (Aug. 18, 2014 Tigre, Argentina)

Dearest Family and Friends,

Oh how I just love you all so much and each day I feel so blessed to have you all in my life. Being a missionary has helped me understand what love really is. It has helped me feel so much more Christ like love for Gods children and for all of you. Love is action! When we have Christ like love, we act and when other people feel Christ like love, THEY ACT. I think that is one of the many reasons that as missionaries, it is so important to have charity because the people that we are teaching will feel this love and will want to act. I have been praying for charity because I think it is something that I am lacking at times! Someday I will have the charity that my mother has! :) I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ helps us to develop this Christ like love and that because we have the knowledge that we have, we are expected to help Gods children! :) Thank you for being great examples to those around you and for being great example to ME!! i love you all so much! :)

We had a lot of adventures this week! My poor companion fell on her back a few weeks ago and her tail bone had been hurting really bad. She is taking a pill to help the pain but the doctor said that no matter what, she will still feel pain for like 6 weeks because it just has to heal. She has received blessings but is still struggling. She is so strong!! We work hard still everyday but once in a while she has to stop somewhere and sit down. I love her for being so diligent and she knows that if she cant go one, she needs to tell me because we talked with the pres. and he told her to not push anything to hard and to be wise. So she is :) We had interviews with the pres and his wife this week and Hermana Ayre always asks about our health and our family. Hermana Henriquez told her about what was going on and she said that she NEEDED to go to the hospital and get an xray because at times, my comp feels a pain going down her leg and hna. ayre told her that that was not safe. So pres and his wife told us that we needed to go to the hospital. Haha well the hospital is two hours from our area and we had to take a bus...3 buses actually haha. And we had no idea really how to get there, just the general directions. Haha it was a fun adventure! So we get to the hospital and have to wait forever to get the xray. And to make a long story short, in the end, my comp was told that nothing was broken and could only take a pill to help it even though her pain is bad! MORE THING! :( We couldnt believe that we had traveled four hours just to hear that she had a small fissure and could only take a pill to help it. We ended up being at the hospital until 2:30 and we left that morning at 7:00. We were pretty tired when we got back to our area and had to do splits with two hermanas in the ward in order to accomplish our goals for the day! So I went with an hermana and my comp with another and we were able to have a good day in the end! :) I am so thankful for a companion who works hard even when it is difficult. She is so great and love her so much. I know that I could not do Gods work without my companion. I would feel so lost doing it alone and I know that God gives us companions for a reason. I have so many weaknesses and my comp  has all the things that I dont have and so it works! God knows who to put together in order to help His work move forward! Sometimes it is hard with a certain companion, but if we work hard, it will always work! :)

I really like to laugh and have been trying to write down the things that make me laugh each day. One of the recent converts, Nahuel, is ever so funny. He is 17 and likes to play video games. They are all mostly war video games. He always texts us and asks me what random things mean in english. Haha the other day we get this message from him that says "Hermana Sif  (he calls me that because he cant pronounce my name haha, just like everyone else), que significa (what is the meaning of) "the terrorist carrying the C4 must destroy one of the chemical weap

on stashes." Hahahaha!! I read the message out loud and started laughing so hard! It was just the most random thing and made me laugh a lot. I thought about if Kam and Kendyl were with me, they would be laughing too, because it was just so random haha. I think it was a phrase from his video game haha. Anyway, maybe it is "you have to be there moment" but I hope you liked it as much as I did haha :)

Like I said before, this week we had interviews with Pres. and it was so wonderful to be able to talk with him. He is such a wonderful Pres. and I  feel so blessed to be in this mission. I dont think I ever want to leave. He talked to our zone about the authority that we as missionaries have and that we will never have this opportunity again and that we need to make more than the best of it. Hearing him helped me once again feel the great spirit that being a missionary brings and helped me think about the sacred calling that we have as missionaries. I love doing this! :) We know that Gods work and glory is to bring about the immortality and eternal life of man. And as missionaries, our purpose is to help come unto Christ by accepting and living the Gospel and that through faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end, they can accomlish this. It is so neat to me that as we as missionaries fulfill OUR purpose, GOD is fulfilling HIS purpose. I love to think about that :) We can all be missionaries and help God fulfill His purpose and be a part of this great work! Also, we had a time to talk with the assistants as a companionship. And I had to do something that I havent done in a very long time...pray in english. Elder Pirez said to me, Hermana, I am going to ask you to do something that will be hard for you, are you willing to do it? I told him yes i think so, and he asked me to say the opening prayer in enlish haha. And to be honest, it was SO HARD!! I couldnt do it! It was the weirdest thing I sounded so different. Those of you that have served speaking a different language I am sure understand :) It was a neat experience and I know that God heard me, but I think I will stick to spanish prayers :)

This week we contacted some referrals from some members. We are really trying to work better with the members and the recent converts because we know that we are going to find through them! Most of the referrals from the members have not been too interested, but one of them was! Her name is Natalia and she 17 years old. She is the friend of a really strong young woman in our branch. Natalia is pregnant but just broke up with her boyfriend. She noticed that Augustina, her member friend, was always happy and wanted to know why. Agustina explained to her the gospel and of the church and Natalia wanted to learn more. We met with her the other day and she accepted to be baptized but she did not come to church on Sunday because of her health. We will be meeting with her more this week. She is very special and I feel like she will progress! She was super receptive when we met with her and I love it so much! :) Agustina is helping her so much and is the perfect example for her!

We also met the girlfriend of a recent convert that was less active but is coming back and wants to be closer to God because he had noticed that he has not been as happy when he doesnt go to church. His girlfriend is 17 and was taught a bit by the other sisters before but didnt have permission to be baptized. Her mom works all the time and doesnt have a day off so we have struggles to find a time when we can talk with her to receive permission. She wants to be baptized and came to church on Sunday with her boyfriend and really liked it. We passed by Sunday evening to talk with her mom but she was not home. This week we are praying so that we can find her mom at home as soon as possible and receive permission! :)

Thank you all for being the best! I am always so happy to know that you are doing well and enjoying life. I hope that the light of Christ that is in each of you will bring more and more people to Christ! Have a wonderful, happy week! Love you all so much!! :)

Hermana Syphus


Nahuel and Alejandro helping us with our teaching appointments. They are the best!

Week 71 (Aug. 11, 2014 Tigre, Argentina)

Hahahaha!!! Mom you are ever so funny :) That is really funny about the word superdeduper I cant believe that!. I am still giggling to myself about that. Thanks so much for your email!

There is not much to tell about this week but it was a good one! Just like every week in my mission! We have an investigator named Eduardo and he is progressing pretty well but couldn't come to church on Sunday because he had already promised his uncle that he was going to look for a house with him and had to travel far to do it. But he is working on quitting smoking and drinking and is reading and understanding the Book of Mormon. We are excited to continue with him :)

We also had a family home evening with some of the recent converts and talked about the pioneers! I sent a picture of us in Nahuels home! Camila did not want to be in the picture though :( She is the one in the other picture with just me and her. She is the best!

This transfer we have really been trying to focus on finding Gods elect. It has been a bit hard but we know that if we start doubting that we will not work as effectively. In order to see more miracles, we have been fasting each week and decided to wake up earlier to study and prepare ourselves better for the day and we are trying to think of other things that we can do so that we will be more prepared to receive Gods elect and so that God will have more confidence in us. I know that we can do it with Gods help! In a personal study last week I was reading in Mormon 9 and it talks a lot about receiving answers to our prayers but only if we doubt nothing. I reflected on that and realized that I needed to put that into better practice. I think that because these last few weeks have been hard, my faith dropped a bit and I started to doubt, and I realized that God cannot work with me if I am doubting His miracles and blessings. I know that we will start seeing more miracles and find Gods elect and that things will get better! :)  I am thankful for the small miracles that we are receiving everyday. I am thankful for a companion who is always positive even when it is hard. Hermana Henriquez is a great companion is always serving me and helping me!

Well mom, sorry this is so short. Next week will bring more experiences and miracles :) Even if it was a harder week, I know that God keeps his promises and that we just need to keep having faith and working diligently and effectively in order to find the people that are waiting to receive this joyful news!! :) Love you so much and tell everyone I say hello and love them too! Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Syphus 

We had a family home evening this week with the amazing recent converts (Nahuel, Alejandro, Camila)! We watched the Legacy with them and talked about the pioneers and it was a great experience! I was able to feel great love for those that sacrificed so much in order to find Zion and feel closer to God. I just love the pioneers. The chicos really like it as well! I made banana bread for the occasion and we made popcorn as well. It was a fun lesson :)

I made some banana bread :) 

The reason we left today was to have a bbq with Alejandro at the church!! He wanted to make an asado for us and so we went to the church and ate lunch there with him. He is so great! He is a recent convert and loves to serve the Lord! :)  I just had some of the chicken haha. The other stuff was a bit weird. 

Me and Hermana Henriquez tracting

Week 70 (Aug. 4, 2014 Tigre, Argentina)

My Dear Family and Friends,

Happy August!! :) I can imagine that in St. George it is super hot and everyone is doing their gardening and playing in the water and here we are in Argentina building snowmen and sipping hot chocolate :) Haha just kidding, there is no snow here! But if there was, I probably still wouldn't have time to build a snowman! But I think there is always time for hot chocolate :) It is cold here but getting warmer and I think the coldest month is over. I am excited for the heat! I am also excited because now our investigators won't have the excuse that "I can't come to church because it is too cold outside" :) So I am happy about that :)

The other day we had a meeting with some other missionaries and Dan Clark spoke to us through skype. He talked about the difference between a commitment and a covenant. He said that a commitment is a two way contract born out of suspicion and that a covenant is a two way contract between God and man born out of love. I really love how he described the two. And it is really true. When we invite our investigators to do something or commit them to something, they might want to keep this commitment for many reasons, but they do it because God has blessings for them if they do so and they want to see if they receive the blessing or the answer they are looking for. These commitments help them to have a relationship with God and they become closer to him and love Him more and become ready to make covenants with Him because they love him. Or at least that is how it should be. And it is the same with us. Each time we make a covenant with God we are showing him that we want to follow HIm and when we keep these covenants, we are showing him that we love him. I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to help people prepare to make covenants with God and become closer to Christ. It is the best feeling ever :)

This week was a little rough but in the end we were able to have two investigators ar church (to answer your question, mom :) ) But we don't know if these two that came will end up progressing. Maybe next week I will tell the story. We are short on time today! But I know that God provided us with miracles. We have been fasting and praying lots in order to find God's elect and to have them at church on Sunday. First, because we want to fulfill our purpose as missionaries and help people come unto Christ. And also, because if we don't have investigators at church, we can't do exchanges with the hermanas in our areas and we have to do exchanges every week in order to be with each hermana. So it is sometimes hard but the Lord blessed us and helped us to see miracles! The recent converts here are doing great and the branch is growing slowly. I know God has prepared people here and we just need to work harder to find them! :)

Thank you all for everything and for being the best friends and family ever! I feel so blessed! Sorry for the short email :( I hope next week will be better! Love you all so much!!

Hermana Syphus 

Oh man I forgot about my haircut! I totally told you last week that I was going to post a pic of my hair! I am so sorry! I am just so brain dead sometimes and have problems! I am pretty sure that I tell you almost every week that I am going to do "something" the next week and I never do it. So sorry mom :( i don't have my camera now but next week I will send it! Also, I finished my email but didn't have lots of time so it is kinda lame. Sorry :( We are getting off now though so I will talk to you next week. Thank you for EVERYTHING!! Love you tons mom!! Hugs and Kisses and many of them!