Stressed Because of the Internet!

My new
companion, Hermana Rumualdo.

Walking home.

Companion and Sundaes!

So, right now I am super stressed out. Where I am now, Tupiza, is a
small town, not a big city like Cochabamba. Because of this, the
internet here is terrible. I have been waiting for over an hour just to be
able to get into my email account. So, I probably will not have a lot
of time to respond to emails this week, because we only have an hour
and a half to write. So, I am really sorry! Also, I can´t send
pictures. So you won´t be able to seem my cute little face this week.
Also, very sorry. (She finally was able to send pictures!)

This week I went to Sucre to pick up my new companion, and I LOVE her.
She is from Lima, Peru, has 10 months in the mission, and has only
been a member of the church for about 2 years. She really is great. Of
all the Latin American sisters I have ever met, her personality is
most like someone from the United States. She is really fun and
actually understands sarcasm. I am really excited she is my companion.
Also, she is a REALLY good missionary. I thought I was doing pretty
well, but I see how hard and well she works, and I´m like "What have I
been doing this whole time?" I am really excited to learn from her and
become a better missionary.

This week we met a lady named S., who has a 10 year old son named
C.. In the last year, she has lost her grandma, her husband, and
her 10 month old daughter. We were able to teach her the plan of
salvation, and talk about how she will be able to see them all again
in Heaven. It was really the most powerful lesson I´ve been in in my
whole mission. She said she felt so happy and relieved to  know that
she would be able to see them again.

It really is amazing the people we are able to encounter here. People
who are truly in need of the gospel in their life, and are prepared to
listen to us. There are some people who try to argue with us, or don´t
want to talk to us, or say weird things to us. But then, there are
people who are so humble and grateful to hear God´s plan through us.

I am so grateful to be here in the mission. ALSO, this weekend is
General Conference! Everyone has the opportunity to hear the words of
our living prophet, Thomas S. Monson. You can watch the sessions on
lds.org , I am pretty sure. And if you live in Ohio, I think the
sessions are at 12 and 4 on Saturday and Sunday. But you can ask my
mom to be sure! And you can probably go watch it at my house with my
family if you want! haha.

I hope everyone takes advantage of this great opportunity, and I hope
everyone has a great week!

People here like OSU!

They added 2 Hermanas in our area!

Baxter, You Know I Don´t Speak Spanish

Personal day.

So, I´ll tell you guys a little about my journey into the world of
Spanish. Because I am sure everyone has been on the edge of their
seats wondering. At first, in the missionary training center, I
obviously knew little to nothing. But I didn´t feel super worried or
stressed about it, but I didn´t need to speak Spanish to survive
there. THEN, I came to Bolivia. And I knew less Spanish than I
thought. And it was super stressful. I asked one sister how long it
took her to be able to speak Spanish comfortably, and she said about
3 and a half or 4 months. But the first months will be really
hard...and then I cried a little bit.

Then, after about 2 months, I felt more comfortable with Spanish. I
didn´t feel like I was completely lost all of the time. And people
started complimenting me on my Spanish, and telling me how good it was
for how little time I have. And I was like, "Hey, I can speak Spanish
now. I am a baller." And THEN, I was talking to someone, and thought I
was doing just fine, and then they turned to my companion and said
"What did she say?" Womp. So, sometimes people don´t understand me.
And it´s probably more often than I think, and people just nod and act
like they understand. Pretty cool.

Anyway, this week we found out about transfers. Hermana Nuñez is going
back to Cochabamba, and I am getting a different companion, who is
also tiny and from Peru. I am excited for the change and to see what I
can learn from her! You learn something new from every companion, and
usually you learn some patience!

I can´t remember a whole lot of what happened this week, to be honest.
BUT, General Conference is in like 2 weeks, so I am pretty excited. I
am excited to hear the words that our living prophet, President Thomas
S. Monson, has prepared for us. When you hear him speak, you really
cannot deny that he is a prophet of God. It´s really powerful.

I hope everyone is doing well at home!

 Birthday

Tupiza city.

Tupiza scenery from mountain.

Mountain around Tupiza

Temples

Sucre conference, Hermana Hullinger and Hermana Farmer.

While in Sucre, the Hermanas all went out teaching.

Hermana Hullinger and me at Conference.

So, this week we had a  conference in Sucre, Bolivia, with Elder Waddel, who is
the area 70 in Peru. He served his mission in Spain, then he was a
mission president in Spain, and now he is a general authority in Peru.
So his Spanish was really good. And he talked to us for about 5 hours,
but it honestly flew by. There was not a minutes when he didn´t have
my complete attention. Seriously, it was a great conference.Elder Waddel talked a lot about getting families to the temple to they
can be sealed. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we
have temples, where families can be sealed together for eternity, not
just "until death do you part". Our work here as missionaries is not
just teaching people about the gospel, but helping them and their
families get to the temple, so they can be blessed in this life and
for eternity.

He shared a story about a family who was being sealed in the temple, a
husband, wife, and their 4 kids. He said the person performing the
sealing started, but then had to stop. He asked "sister, are all of
your children here?" She looked around at her children, "Yes, they are
all here." Then he started again, but had to stop. "Sister, are you
sure all of your children are here?" She said "Yes, I am their mother,
I know they are all here." So he started again, and then a third time
had to stop. He said "Sister, do you maybe have a child that ha
already passed away?" She said, "Yes. I had a child about 20 years ago
who died in infancy." He said "That´s what I thought. Because
every-time I tried to start the ceremony, there was a voice in my head
that said, mommy, don´t forget about me." So they continued with the
ceremony, and the family was sealed together for eternity, including
the child who had passed away.

Elder Waddel told another story, of a man who he interviewed to be
stake president. He said he was looking over his records and said "So,
I see you and your family have only been members for 3 years, and you
have 3 kids." And the man said, "Well, I only have 2 kids. My youngest
of 2 years recently passed away in a fire." Elder Waddel said he was
sorry for his loss, and the man said "My biggest concern is that I am
afraid we will never see our child again." And Elder Waddel said,
"Well, you have been members for 3 years. Have you not been able to be
sealed in the temple?" And the man responded "Yes, but it was just
with my two older children. We were saving up money to go the temple
again with our youngest, but it was too late." Then Elder Waddel
explained that since they were already sealed in the temple when their
youngest child was born, he was born into the temple sealing, and that
he was also sealed to the forever. The joy that this man must have
felt, to know that he would see his baby again one day, really must be
indescribable.

If you didn´t cry from those stories, it´s probably because I didn´t
write them well enough.  I know that this church is true. I know that
families can be together forever through the work of the holy temple.
I am so grateful to have this knowledge and blessing in my life. I am
so grateful for the conference we had with Elder Waddel, and all he
was able to teach and share with us. I am grateful to be in the
mission, and to be able to help other have this same knowledge and
comfort.

Elephant rock, a tourist attraction.

New Clothes!

New clothes!

I bought a Hymn book to help teach my companions English!

I bought new clothes this week!!!! Well, they are used. Because
clothes here are sold like garage sale style. And a ton of other stuff
happened this week. But honestly, I am the most excited about my new
clothes. Because, well, I am a girl.

This week I had to go to Cochabamba to fill out papers for my visa, so
we were traveling basically all week. We left Monday night, and didn´t
get back until Saturday at 4 in the morning. It was a loooooong week.
But we spent 2 days in Cochabamba and 2 days in Sucre, on the way
there and back. But in Sucre we got to go out with the sisters working
there. It was really cool to see how other people teach and contact.
It was a great learning experience.

We also took advantage of being in a bigger city and went to the
hospital in Cocha, because my companion has been sick for a long time,
and the little clinics in Tupiza don´t know what she has wrong. But, it was
pretty inconclusive, because we still don´t really know why she is
sick. She has really bad abdominal pains,and the doctor said it is
gastritis, which is... heart burn. And that´s what they say for
basically every stomach pain. That it´s bugs or heart burn. Its
pretty cool.

We were out of town this week, so we were not able to work a whole lot
in our area, so we haven´t had a lot of teaching progress. But we
talked to a lot of new people yesterday and Saturday, and I think some
of them are really prepared to hear the gospel from us. I have a lot
of faith in them.

Tonight we are going to Sucre, because we have our conference with
Elder Waddel (of the 70) Wednesday. We were going to leave tomorrow night, but
there are these super cool things called blockades, where people just
put a bunch of branches and rocks in the street so no one can pass, as
some form of protest. So we are leaving earlier so we can be there in
time. The conference should be beautiful! I am excited.

I hope everyone is doing well at home!

Going out with other Hermanas!

Good old sideways picture! Sorry!

Engrish

Stuffed animals from home!

Pensionista and Hermanas.

Sister Training Missionaries.

I have been with my companion for about 3 months now, and I have been
trying to help her learn English, because the Latin American
missionaries are supposed to learn English. But, this week she told
me she doesn`t want to learn it. So, to fill the void in my heart for
teaching English, I started giving English classes in the church! And
it was pretty fun. About 8 members showed up, and I taught them to
pray in English. And I wrote under the words in English how you would
spell them in Spanish. It was actually pretty hard. Haha. But they all
helped me, and it was fun!

Also, the Sister Training Leaders came this week to do exchanges with
us, and it was nice to have other sisters to talk to. And we made
Pastel de queso (cheesecake) with our pensionista. It was really fun.

President and Hermana Hansen visited all of the areas outside of
Cochabamba this week, so we had interviews with President. They are a
really great couple and very concerned about us. They work really hard
to help the missionaries.

Next week we are going to Sucre (which is the capital of Bolivia. I
bet you thought it was La Paz.) And we are having a conference with
Elder Waddel, a member of the seventy. It should be really great!


Right now we don`t have a whole lot of people who are really
progressing, but we are working hard to find new people who are
prepared to hear the gospel.

I hope everyone at home is doing well, and I really appreciate
everyone who has emailed me!