It was an interesting week. Probably the longest and most interesting week of my whole mission. We had a lot of things happen that kind of frustrated the work, but we´re moving forward with it all, trying to be optimistic and look for the little miracles that happen every day. I really enjoyed my time with the Hermanas in Ramos Mejía, but it was hard to not be working in my own area. We had P-day on Wednesday and the transfer meeting, but we got lost (not something new for me) and showed up late. We weren´t allowed to enter because of it. It was a big bummer, but there will be others. We had a really long zone meeting in the morning on Thursday and my companion was sick on Friday morning. It really was a miracle that we were able to meet our goal of 150 contacts with so little time actually working.
Andrés didn´t come to church yesterday and we don´t know why. Things that only happen once in a life-time are happening to him to make it so that he can´t get his 3 church attendances and be baptized. He is so ready. We´re convinced that Satan really doesn´t want this man to get baptized. We´re praying so hard to know what we can to do help him. Guido told us on Saturday that he wants some time to decide what he´s going to do, if he´s going to stick with the Jehovah´s Witnesses or be baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ. He wanted to take a month without us coming by, but we compromised for two weeks. We´re praying so hard for him, too. Not only that he´ll make the choice to be baptized, but more that he can learn how to pray, really talk with God, and be able to recognize what God wants him to do. We want him to be at peace with whatever it is that he chooses.
I´ve learned a lot this week and have done a lot of self-discovery. I was able to pin-point a few specific things that I need to change about how I act and how I see things, not just in the mission, but in who I am and how I approach the rest of my life. They´re things I think I already knew, but didn´t understand completely or apply fully in my life or behavior. Every day I feel more and more grateful for my mission and the plan God has specifically for my life. He´s teaching me so much. I just hope I can learn it all and use it to help me in the future.
God bless you all.
Love,
Erin
Monday, July 23, 2012
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Worth the wait
We found out last night that Hermana Rojas and I will be staying together in this area for this transfer. I´m glad. We´ll be able to continue learning from each other and I´m sure we´ll be able to see a lot of success together. She´s only got 4 months in the mission, but already has 11 converts. She works so hard and has so much faith. She is so much of the missionary I´ve wanted to be all of my mission. She´s not afraid of anything or anyone. She is so bold and is able to call people to repentance with so much love. She has strong desires to be exactly obedient and really understands her purpose as a missionary. She´s really helping me forget myself and go to work. I´m grateful for her and the things she teaches me every day.
I spent yesterday in Ramos Mejía working with Hermana Olson and Hermana Johnson while Hermana Rojas spent the day with President Carter and all of the new missionaries. It was good to be with Hermana Olson again and learn how I can improve my work in my own area. I can see why divisions are so good for missionaries. It was a little funny to be with them because we got a lot of weird looks (3 blondes with glasses walking the streets of Buenos Aires) and it was interesting to do contacts in a trio. I think the people felt like we were going to attack them or something at first because there were so many of us, but it turned out well. It was hard not to be in my own area with my own investigators, but I feel like it was something I needed. I learned a lot and I was able view my work from a different perspective and what it is I need to change to be a more effective missionary.
Little by little we´re seeing improvements in this area- with our investigators, the members, finding new people to teach, and relying on the Lord to do this work His way. I´m realizing more and more every day how perfect God´s plan is for each and every one of us and how He gives us exactly what we need to be able to become the people we want to be and that He knows we can be. Thanks for all of your support and prayers. I feel them more and more every day. I love you all.
Love,
Erin
I spent yesterday in Ramos Mejía working with Hermana Olson and Hermana Johnson while Hermana Rojas spent the day with President Carter and all of the new missionaries. It was good to be with Hermana Olson again and learn how I can improve my work in my own area. I can see why divisions are so good for missionaries. It was a little funny to be with them because we got a lot of weird looks (3 blondes with glasses walking the streets of Buenos Aires) and it was interesting to do contacts in a trio. I think the people felt like we were going to attack them or something at first because there were so many of us, but it turned out well. It was hard not to be in my own area with my own investigators, but I feel like it was something I needed. I learned a lot and I was able view my work from a different perspective and what it is I need to change to be a more effective missionary.
Little by little we´re seeing improvements in this area- with our investigators, the members, finding new people to teach, and relying on the Lord to do this work His way. I´m realizing more and more every day how perfect God´s plan is for each and every one of us and how He gives us exactly what we need to be able to become the people we want to be and that He knows we can be. Thanks for all of your support and prayers. I feel them more and more every day. I love you all.
Love,
Erin
Monday, July 9, 2012
Happy Independence Day!
I hope you enjoyed the 4th of July. I missed all of the traditions we have in the USA to celebrate our freedom. Today is the Argentine Independence Day and the only thing they seem to do here to commemorate it is to close everything down and not work. I love Argentina, but I am so proud and grateful to be a citizen of the United States of America.
This week was good, but full of all kinds of ups and downs. Guess what? I have a new companion... again....and it´s possible that she´ll only be my companion for 10 days. It´s possible that I could have a record number of companions in the mission. Hahaha. Hermana Rojas is my seventh companion. She´s from Peru and spent the last 3 months of her mission serving in the Lima Central mission waiting for her visa. We´ll see how everything develops. I guess God knows I need to progress a little more and that´s why He´s giving me so much change in so little time.
I can´t believe I´ve reached my ten month mark already. The time passes by way too quickly. I am determined to give everything I´ve got to these last 8 months of my mission. Each day I feel that I´m turning everything over to God and losing myself in the work. It´s a great feeling. I only wish I could have started doing it sooner, but I think I´ve had a few major turning points in my mission the last two weeks that have helped me understand my purpose as a missionary and what it is that I need to change to be a useful tool in the Lord´s hands.
Andrés came to church yesterday. This time he was able to stay until the very end of Sacrament meeting. It was really hard on him, but he´s really putting forth the effort to be able to be baptized on the 21st. He´s going to be a really strong, faithful member of the Church here in Argentina. We have some other really good investigators that are progressing slowly and I´ll give you some updates on them as they progress a little more.
I started reading the Book of Mormon over again. I´m trying to do it from the perspective of an investigator and pretend like I´ve never read it and have no idea what´s going to happen next. I´m loving it. I don´t think I´ve ever been so excited to read from the scriptures every day or ever felt the Spirit so strongly as I´ve read. Every day I feel more and more how special a book it is and feel grateful more and more every day to be able to have it in my life. Yesterday, Marcela, a recent convert, taught in Relief Society. The lesson was about missionary work, but it turned into a discussion of the Book of Mormon and the power it has in conversion. It was so great to be able to listen to the sisters in our ward remember their conversion and share the experiences they´ve had with the Book of Mormon. I love the Book of Mormon and know it is true. It really does testify of Jesus Christ and contains the fulness of His Gospel. I´m so grateful for the opportunity that I have as a missionary to share it with the people here in Buenos Aires.
I love you all. I am so grateful for all your support and prayers. God bless.
Erin
This week was good, but full of all kinds of ups and downs. Guess what? I have a new companion... again....and it´s possible that she´ll only be my companion for 10 days. It´s possible that I could have a record number of companions in the mission. Hahaha. Hermana Rojas is my seventh companion. She´s from Peru and spent the last 3 months of her mission serving in the Lima Central mission waiting for her visa. We´ll see how everything develops. I guess God knows I need to progress a little more and that´s why He´s giving me so much change in so little time.
I can´t believe I´ve reached my ten month mark already. The time passes by way too quickly. I am determined to give everything I´ve got to these last 8 months of my mission. Each day I feel that I´m turning everything over to God and losing myself in the work. It´s a great feeling. I only wish I could have started doing it sooner, but I think I´ve had a few major turning points in my mission the last two weeks that have helped me understand my purpose as a missionary and what it is that I need to change to be a useful tool in the Lord´s hands.
Andrés came to church yesterday. This time he was able to stay until the very end of Sacrament meeting. It was really hard on him, but he´s really putting forth the effort to be able to be baptized on the 21st. He´s going to be a really strong, faithful member of the Church here in Argentina. We have some other really good investigators that are progressing slowly and I´ll give you some updates on them as they progress a little more.
I started reading the Book of Mormon over again. I´m trying to do it from the perspective of an investigator and pretend like I´ve never read it and have no idea what´s going to happen next. I´m loving it. I don´t think I´ve ever been so excited to read from the scriptures every day or ever felt the Spirit so strongly as I´ve read. Every day I feel more and more how special a book it is and feel grateful more and more every day to be able to have it in my life. Yesterday, Marcela, a recent convert, taught in Relief Society. The lesson was about missionary work, but it turned into a discussion of the Book of Mormon and the power it has in conversion. It was so great to be able to listen to the sisters in our ward remember their conversion and share the experiences they´ve had with the Book of Mormon. I love the Book of Mormon and know it is true. It really does testify of Jesus Christ and contains the fulness of His Gospel. I´m so grateful for the opportunity that I have as a missionary to share it with the people here in Buenos Aires.
I love you all. I am so grateful for all your support and prayers. God bless.
Erin
Monday, July 2, 2012
July 1, 2012
I think this week was even harder than the last one, but I also think I´ve learned more in the last 3 days than I have in the last 6 months about how to do this work, trust in the Lord, and listen to the Spirit. We had our zone conference on Thursday and I learned a lot, but I think I learned even more in the hours following.
We were waiting for the train to take us back to Castelar in a big group of missionaries. We were having a good time, getting to know each other better and everything, but I kept hearing in my mind the rule that we should avoid congregating in large groups of missionaries. Obviously it was the Spirit, but I ignored it. There were a ton of people waiting for the train, and obviously they were watching us and trying to listen to what we were saying. I can´t help but feel like there was somebody there, among the hundreds, that needed to be contacted and receive an invitation from one of us. The Spirit told me repeatedly to do it, and I never did.
I´ve always heard these stories about missionaries that received a prompting from the Spirit to talk to someone in specific and were able to help that person in a huge way with the message of the Gospel. I´ve thought a lot this week that I wanted to have an experience like that. I probably have and didn´t take advantage of the opportunity. I can recall countless experiences from the past weeks that I thought, "we need to do contacts" and then saw a few people coming towards us. Almost every time I rationalized why they wouldn´t listen to us or why we didn`t have to talk to them. I thought, "If the Spirit tells me to contact someone specific, I´ll do it." What I didn´t realize until last night is that the Spirit has been telling me over and over again.
I was reflecting about our week last night after our planning session about what we need to do differently and how we can have the Spirit with us more abundantly. Something President Hinckley said came to my mind. In response to the question, how can I know if the Spirit is prompting me to do something?, He said that if it persuades us to do good, it is of the Spirit. Contacting someone to invite them to hear the Gospel definitely isn`t an idea that comes from the devil....needless to say, I learned my lesson. Now I just have to apply it all. That´s the hard part.
Our investigators are doing pretty well. Andrés didn´t come to church yesterday because he was sick, but Guido came. I´m not sure what to do about him because I´m not sure if he even listens when I´m teaching. Because it´s a little more difficult for him to understand me because of my accent, it´s like he doesn´t even try. I don´t know how to help him progress if he doesn´t listen to me when I teach.
Hermana Campos is great. I´m sad we only have two weeks left together. She´s my sixth companion so far. That means I´ve had twice as many companions as I´ve had areas. But I´ve grown a lot. I do like change, because it pushes me farther than I would go on my own, but I´m not a huge fan of the changes every 6 weeks. Oh well, God knows better than me what I need.
I love you all!
Erin
We were waiting for the train to take us back to Castelar in a big group of missionaries. We were having a good time, getting to know each other better and everything, but I kept hearing in my mind the rule that we should avoid congregating in large groups of missionaries. Obviously it was the Spirit, but I ignored it. There were a ton of people waiting for the train, and obviously they were watching us and trying to listen to what we were saying. I can´t help but feel like there was somebody there, among the hundreds, that needed to be contacted and receive an invitation from one of us. The Spirit told me repeatedly to do it, and I never did.
I´ve always heard these stories about missionaries that received a prompting from the Spirit to talk to someone in specific and were able to help that person in a huge way with the message of the Gospel. I´ve thought a lot this week that I wanted to have an experience like that. I probably have and didn´t take advantage of the opportunity. I can recall countless experiences from the past weeks that I thought, "we need to do contacts" and then saw a few people coming towards us. Almost every time I rationalized why they wouldn´t listen to us or why we didn`t have to talk to them. I thought, "If the Spirit tells me to contact someone specific, I´ll do it." What I didn´t realize until last night is that the Spirit has been telling me over and over again.
I was reflecting about our week last night after our planning session about what we need to do differently and how we can have the Spirit with us more abundantly. Something President Hinckley said came to my mind. In response to the question, how can I know if the Spirit is prompting me to do something?, He said that if it persuades us to do good, it is of the Spirit. Contacting someone to invite them to hear the Gospel definitely isn`t an idea that comes from the devil....needless to say, I learned my lesson. Now I just have to apply it all. That´s the hard part.
Our investigators are doing pretty well. Andrés didn´t come to church yesterday because he was sick, but Guido came. I´m not sure what to do about him because I´m not sure if he even listens when I´m teaching. Because it´s a little more difficult for him to understand me because of my accent, it´s like he doesn´t even try. I don´t know how to help him progress if he doesn´t listen to me when I teach.
Hermana Campos is great. I´m sad we only have two weeks left together. She´s my sixth companion so far. That means I´ve had twice as many companions as I´ve had areas. But I´ve grown a lot. I do like change, because it pushes me farther than I would go on my own, but I´m not a huge fan of the changes every 6 weeks. Oh well, God knows better than me what I need.
I love you all!
Erin
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Buenos Aires Temple Rededication Announced
The first presidency announced the re-dedication of the Buenos Aires Temple in three sessions on the 9 of September. Oh happy day! There will be a public open house from the 4 of August to the 25th of August with the exception of Sundays. Saturday, the 8th of August there will be a cultural event as part of the celebration.
December 2011 & January 2012
Hermana Litster is in Argentina!
MTC Photos September- November
