July 2, 2012

Hi!

Fotos...Por fin. Sorry I haven´t sent a lot lately!! It takes time and time is limited! We had a baptism this week for Maria Elena! She is the girl friend of a member. They want to get married in the temple and everything! She´s so awesome! A friend of her´s (Hermano Corbo) did the baptism, He is really skinny and she´s a little bigger and well, the water wasn´t as full as it should be, because as you know baptism days are crazy crazy so for a few reasons...the water wasn´t as full as it should be. Well anyways they were both a little nervous and when she went down in the water he kept pushing and pushing to make sure she was emersed. It probably was only a few seconds but it felt like 2 minutes. everyone gaspt because Maria probably thought she was drowning or somthing!! But she came up with a huge smile anyway and everyone pretended like nothing happened! haha in the end it was beautiful and she was happy and WE HAD A BAPTISM. 

We also had 12 investigators at church on sunday. Thats the record for me in my mission. I had 9 once but 12 is the most I´ve ever had! Were teaching 3 familys! My comp is awesome. I love Latins, they work hard, our cultures are super different so we don´t really talk about home, and I can´t speak english with them, so my spanish is getting better everyday! I´ve really become attached to this ward. We have members that we´ve built a relationship with thats so strong that they are calling us asking when they come help us and come to lessons with us. SUCH A CHANGE. We had to BEG members to come out with us when I first got to Urquiza 5 months ago. They are more then just members they are some of my best friends and family. With each companion change I can see progression huge. Well all is well and I love you all. Thanks for your love! Hope your all warm and summery while im freezing down here :) xoxo

No...I´m not from a different country. I fit in perfct here!!! haha 

Romina and me, She is my favorite invesigator from my whole mission. I want to give her a new family, her´s sucks its not fair! I love her!!

Other missionarys, and a member of our ward at a going away conference for all the missionarys that left last week!!

Mission presidents wife and me. Were obbsessed with each other!! but really. 

last day with Hermaa Gonzalez. Hno cortez (my fav member and dad of argentina always sticking up for us with dramafull gossiping members! you can delete that sentance when you send to friends, dad.) and family of  our investigators

Baptism from this weekend

June 18, 2012

Good Morning!

How was everyone’s week? Well we had Riley’s baptism this week! Wow it was so awesome! I don't remember how much I told you all about him so l'll give a quick summary of his life.  He was baptized at age 11 or 12 in Peru, but fell inactive a few years later, now he's 29 years old and he found my companion and me walking one day in the street and told us he is a member but wants to be active again. Well, come to find out his records were lost somewhere in the last 15ish years so to be an active member he needed to be re-baptized. He made a lot, a lot, a lot of mistakes in his life, so it was such a blessing that he can just repent, be baptized to erase it all! He has such a strong testimony now. The bishop baptized him and after when they were standing in the water they both hugged and cried! I love being a missionary!!!!

So that was probably the highlight of my week...his baptism! But I was thinking this week a lot and studying agency and I learned something that’s not going to sound super profound probably because we've all heard it 1000 times, but hearing it and learning it are two different things! What I learned...basically is: we can choose our success, our fate our happiness. Everything, including attitude, events, decision (obviously), its all a choice. My investigators CHOOSE to feel the spirit, and accept or not, CHOOSE to be baptized or not, CHOOSE happiness, blessings, freedom, love, the gospel... everything. They CHOOSE if they are going to fall, succeed, grow etc. (this was my thought process first) Then I realized...obviously its not just them that get to choose, I get to choose too. I can choose to be obedient to the mission rules, choose to learn from each experience I have, etc. The Scriptures are always talking about when there was peace in the land; it was when they had religious freedom and the ability to choose. Agency is the plan of God. Its the peaceful way, its the successful way, and its the ONLY way to return to live with Heavenly Father again. I hope this maybe makes sense a little bit! Well, when we were walking yesterday I tried to apply this lesson. When I was absolutely freezing I thought its a choice I’m not absolutely freezing...and well, it didn't work...I was still absolutely freezing, Then I thought and decided: ok I can't choose the weather, but I can choose my attitude. I put a smile on my face and yeah I was cold, but I was happy!!! Well summery of what I’m trying to say is this week Riley choose to change his life, choose to get baptized and choose to accept the atonement. I choose to be happy about cold weather ha-ha. But what can you chose to change this week to better your self? Well I love you all a ton! Have a good week full of good choices and missionary experiences!

Love,

Hermana Marchant

June 11, 2012

Family and friends,

This week was good! We had 8 investigators at church! Almost the most I´ve ever had! (We had 9 once) We have two baptisms on Sunday. Maria Elena, and Riley. Riley was a less active from Peru that found us in the street 2 transfers ago and said he wanted to be active in the church again but doesn´t know how. Well turns out his records are lost and the church has no record of him as a member so with his years of inactivity and mistakes he made this really is a blessing and opportunity for him to have the chance to be rebaptised! Maria Elena is the girl friend of a member and she is the cutest lady ever!! When I’m in her house I feel like I’m in the United States! Her bathroom is the cleanest bathroom I´ve used since I’ve been here! Ha-ha.

Ok, so the other day we were walking to our lunch appointment and (keep in mind its super cold here) I saw a little dog house kind in the middle of this neighborhood...not near a real house or anything. So of course, I felt bad for the poor dog and walked up to it trying to see if there was anything I could do. Well turns out this dog jumped up and started wagging his tail and walking around. But when he walked he had a really bad limp. So as we were trying to figure out what happened a policeman walked up to us and told us the story... are you guys ready for this story? This dog is a hero! So there was some criminal guy that was running from the cops and the cops finally trapped him in a corner and this criminal had a gun and right when he shot the gun at the police man this poor homeless dog ran and jumped in front of the police man to protect him. As a result the bullet went into his leg and so now he has a really bad limp! But He saved this cops life! Should be a movie or something! The neighborhood took him under their wing and now he has a cute little doghouse with blankets and pillows and TONS of food! And a doggy sweater too! He was the nicest cutest dog ever! Well sorry this letter wasn’t the best ha-ha short and not that interesting but got to go! I love you all. Read your scriptures... Alma 29! xoxoxo

May 28, 2012

Hola!
Wow, Happy Birthday mom! Dad sent Pictures and your party looked so so fun!! Everyone looks so cute these days, and tan! A lot of the family has changed Alex and Liz specially. You guys look good!!
This week was good! I got to do two haircuts for a service project. An investigator and a member!! I gave one of our investigators bangs and her husband didn't notice until she said something after 3 days ha-ha I told her about the time I colored my hair brown and how dad didn't notice for a few hours!
We were teaching/helping cook for one of our investigators that works in a restaurant (he´s so busy, but has interest so we decided to help him cook) Well, we had to take the chicken off of full, cooked (at least it was cooked) chickens. With bones and feet and all. It was so gross, I was using a knife and cutting all the fat and grossness off and he looked at me and said ´´have you ever done this before? Do you even have chicken in your country´´ then took all the gross parts I cut off and put it in the pile with the normal looking chicken that people are going to eat. Then we went to our lunch appointment with a member, and had......chicken. Ha-ha
So even since about 2nd or 3rd week here in Argentina, President has been telling us we need a vision. A vision for this mission. And how this mission (Buenos Aires Norte) has one and it is ´´Real Growth in the Celestial Kingdom´´. Well this has been huge, every time Pres. Talks to us it's about getting this vision, how to get it, and how to strengthen it. So for the past few transfers we prayed and got it and have been working and strengthening it. But this week during my personal study I was studying in Mosiah 15 and it talks about ´´The will of the son being swallowed up in the will of the Father´´ and it led me to think about this whole vision and how this vision of Real Growth is the will of the father, and I'm not sure exactly how I made this connection before, but it led me to think that ´´learning how to get the vision´´ is part of the ´´personal vision´´ that president has for each of us individually. He is teaching us how to get the vision or the ´´will of the father´´ for our future families, our future spouses, kids, testimonies, life's. And how ´´real growth in the celestial kingdom´´ is for our lives too, not just for these investigators and this mission. Well when I shared what I had learned with my companion she said ´´Yeah he always talks about how this vision is for our life's more than the mission´´. I don't know how I missed that if he ´´always´´ talks about it ha-ha, maybe I needed to learn it for myself to remember it or something. But I feel so blessed to have President that is helping us to be better then mediocre missionaries, and better then mediocre parents, wife's, husbands, daughters, sisters. Well, I hope you are all reading your scriptures; you should read Mosiah 15:7 (I think its 7) and start getting a vision for your life! With a vision comes goals, and motivation! I love you all so much!! xoxo

love,
Hermana Marchant

May 21, 2012

Hola!
Where to start! Well first of all Mom, HAPPY BIRTHDAY this week!!!!!!!!!! Well, I spoke about 10 minutes in total of English this week! Ha-ha it went good. I saw my Spanish skyrocket. Having a companion that doesn't speak English is super helpful and I LOVE IT! Our goal is to teach families, and our President told us that we should pray in every single prayer to find MARRIED families (because everyone lives together unmarried here) and Men because the past 20 years of missionary work a ton of women have been baptized but there are no men in Argentina that they can marry (that are members) and guess what!!! Were teaching a few men and we found a family!! 6 children, married, hilarious, and live in a normal house in a good part of town so we can actually go at night!! We're really excited about them!  I found out that I´ll be in this area for at least the next 3 months!! Well a few weeks ago when my companion was sick we did divisions with a older couple in the ward, Hermana Sperry stayed at their house while Hermana Gonzalez and I went out and worked. Well Hermana Sperry told me about a little experience she had at their house with them. They have these two silver prongs hanging from a CD with ´´special´´ wire and some sort of electric current box plugged into the wall. Well according to them if you plug it in and set the two prongs in water it creates some scientific molecule or something that will kill ANY infection, ANY virus, bug, parasite etc. Well luckily for me the last day Hermana Sperry was here I saw her NOT wash her dish after using it but put it in the clean pile (sick I know) and well, you guessed Hermana G, and I both got sick! So anyway we had lunch with that same family on the day I was the most sick and they told me all about this ´´magic water molecule drink´´ and pulled it out and plugged it in and bore testimony of all the infections that its healed for them ha-ha. He gave me a huge bottle of it and well...I'm healed. Ha-ha. I think it's the antibiotics that healed me, but they don't know I bought antibiotics, so I'm there living proof to the ward members! Ha-ha well as for my BOM reading. It´s awesome. I love the BOM so much. I hope you all are reading!  I hope you all had a good mother's day and are enjoying spring there, because it's absolutely freezing here! Have a good week! xoxo

Con Amor,
Hermana Marchant


I got a whole bunch of letters this week from the mission home! Thanks everyone for writing me!
Natalie & family: Your letters are hilarious,  I loved your Mexico ketchup story! luckily for me, here instead of using ketchup on everything like Americans they use Mayo ( I HATE mayo) so when something is really gross I have the option of mayo or swallow and follow with a bunch of juice!! I've actually stopped trying to eat the whole thing when it's really gross to not hurt their feelings because I´ve been on the verge of throwing up from weird fish or meat one too many times, I just pull the ´´I had a huge breakfast´´ and eat a little bit. Glad to hear all is well! love you guys!
Rach and Carly: I'm sending a letter to my sister and ill have her print it out and send it in the mail because I don't have stamps to send it from here. Love you!

May 14, 2012

Family, and friends!
Hope all is well there! This week for me was amazing! I got to talk to you all, AND we had 2 baptisms!!! I have pictures! The baptism was amazing, it was of Facundo and Emiliano, and they are brothers. 9 and 11 years old. Their mom is getting ready to get married to her boyfriend that she is living with and then she will be baptized too! They are the cutest family ever. Facu was super cute, he had his clothes on for his baptism and it was super stiff  because it's that thick white fabric and it didn't fit very good either, so it kept bunching up at the top, and he was pretending he had huge muscles but really it was just extra fabric ha-ha.
So you all got to meet my comps! Hermana Gonzalez was so nervous to speak in English that she prepared a whole long thing to say but got nervous and only ended up saying a little bit, but how good did she do!! She´s so cute! Remember Pedro? The one that found the other church on the way to General Conference and ended up wanting to be a member of that one not ours? Well yesterday FINALLY after weeks of prayers and fasting he accepted a baptism date for this Wednesday! I CAN¨T WAIT. Well this letter is super short and not that interesting but I need to write a super interesting letter to my mom for Mothers day, ha-ha so I love you all and can´t wait to hear from you. Sorry I haven't replied to any mail..that's because I haven't gotten any this whole transfer because it's all at the mission office, but I should get it all soon! I love you all xoxoxo


Love,
Hermana Marchant

May 7, 2012

Hola!

Trying to think of what to write this week was hard...how is the possible on the mission? Either I´m getting used to the craziness of the mission and not recognizing it as crazy anymore, or this week nothing super interesting happened.

Well, my birthday was awesome! We went to the Holocaust Museum and then to this famous shopping street. Everything was really expensive so we window shopped, and then finally found a store we could afford and I treated myself to a new sweater.

Speaking of sweaters...ITS SO COLD HERE. I swear it changed overnight. And everyone keeps telling me this is just the start and it gets WAYYY colder. Oh well, the more cold I am the more blessings I receive, right?!

We got a new Hermana in our apartment yesterday. Her companion was visa waiting here for her mission in Venezuela, and after 9 months of waiting she finally got it and left. So now we have the Hermana Renteria in our apartment too. Switching between us and the other hermanas as a trio. Yeah, you know what that means. 5 girls, one tiny ghetto bathroom, 6:30 am. Ha-ha but no she´s awesome and we all have a lot of fun. 

Thinking about the mission, I think one if the hardest things is that you are constantly being lied to. And no matter how bad you know/think that someone is lying to you, you have to correct yourself and have perfect faith. You have to. Your successes, baptisms, happiness, trust in others, and relationships all depend on it. Were struggling with quantity of investigators right now, but the quality is really good. We have a few really awesome ones. Pedro...the empanadas guy is on the verge of being dropped. He is so sweet and has a lot of interest but he´s not really progressing. We´ll make a decision in a day or so. We have to meet with him one more time.

I´ve decided the two best members in all of Argentina live in this ward. Hermana Curia, and Hermano Cortez. Hermana Curia is like my second mom here, she is so sweet and gave me one of her rings ´´so that I never forget her´´ for my birthday. She is so sweet (she wrote you a message on facebook dad you should check!) and Hermano Cortez is awesome. He is older, about 60 or 65ish but talks about his mission like it was yesterday! It was so cute, the other day we were at his house and his cute wife made us hot chocolate and he talked to us about his mission. He reached literally in arms length and found this folder that had all his mission things in it. It was not even hidden in some box somewhere. He remembers so much and talks about it as the best time of his life. He is so awesome. I hope I can be like that about my mission too!

Well its confusing for Christmas not to be soon with this cold weather, but were listening to Christmas music anyway, how weird its spring where you all are. Well I love you all and hope this week is amazing. You should all read 2 Nephi 33. It's a short chapter and awesome. It's pretty much all a testimony, that's why it's so powerful. Keep sending me your missionary experiences!

Besos,

Hermana Marchant