From Argentina March 26, 2012

This week was a bit tough, but ended great. I feel like we´re going to see some success here more and more every day. Hermana Schneider and I are getting a little more used to each other and I´m learning a lot from her. Something I love about her is that she knows how to actively love and serve people, to show them she cares. We had 3 or 4 experiences this week that made me feel like the world was falling apart for some of these people. These people were practically bearing their souls to us and all I could do was just sit there. Hermana Schneider was able to comfort them and help them feel the love God has for them. I want to be able to do what she does and develop this talent. She´s an example to me in a lot of things.

The work has picked up a lot. We have some really great investigators right now, two of them with baptismal dates. Aylen y Yuli (the "y" here is pronounced "sh") are sisters. Yuli is 14 and is really excited for her baptism. She reads in the Book of Mormon every day and enjoys coming to church. She even went to seminary this morning. Her sister Aylen is 12 and isn´t quite as sure about everything, but has the desire to know for herself. She reminds me a lot of Taryn. They´re always so excited when we come to teach them. We´re hoping to work more with their parents and have them come to General Conference as a family.

You asked what the "5 Ingredients" were. Here they are:
The Argentina Buenos Aires West Mission is the best mission in the world because:
1. We are Preach My Gospel missionaries
2. We are baptizing worthy converts
3. We are missionaries with all the Christlike attributes, which are: faith, hope, charity and love, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility, diligence, and obedience
4. We are meticulously obedient missionaries and filled with the Spirit
5. We understand our objective to invite everyone to come unto Christ

I want to be able to say that I have every single ingredient by the end of my mission. It´s a lot to work for, but I feel like I´ll be the missionary God wants me to be if I put forth the effort. As a mission we have the goal of 3 X 150 ( an average of 150 contacts per companionship, 150 baptismal dates, and 150 baptisms per month). We haven´t reached it yet, but we´re getting close. We´re really working hard to work with the members more, be more bold, and teach with the Spirit. I´m really excited for General Conference because I know I´ll learn what I need to do to be a better, bolder, more successful missionary.

Caseros is a lot more city than suburb. It´s busy, but I like it. I haven´t found the post office yet, but I´m sure there is one. We take the bus here a lot more than we did in Libertad, but it´s still a ton of walking. My feet always hurt by the end of the day, but that´s normal when you walk an average of 300 blocks every day. My foot doesn´t hurt anymore from the injury in the MTC, which is a huge blessing.

I´m so excited for the Kansas City temple. I look forward to seeing the inside and participating in the ordinances there when I get back. I miss the temple so much and pray that I´ll have the opportunity to attend during my mission. We´ve been hearing that the Buenos Aires temple should re-open in September, but no one really knows. They´re having a lot of difficulty finishing it because of the laws about imports here. I have a greater appreciation for the temple than I´ve ever had and for the faith of the members here that have to travel 18 hours in bus to Uruguay to attend the temple. The members here save their money for months sometimes in order to travel to the temple. 3 hours to Winter Quarters feels like almost nothing now, though it´s still a sacrifice, and a sacrifice well worth the price.

I could probably type for forever and a day, but I´m out of time. I love you all and I´m so grateful for your prayers and support. God bless!

Love,
Erin