Week 33

October 18-October 24, 2016

This week we really have seen miracles! The whole week I have been in Nuequen for conferences and in Barliloche for exchanges (Trading companions for a day to better our tactics when it comes to sharing what we know to be true) We arrived in our area, el bolson, Saturday morning around 10 and went straight to work. We talked to EVERY person we could and invited them to church and even to be baptized. Hermana Sant and I have been trying to get our investigators to come to church but we haven´t been having very much success. Saturday we poured our hearts into the work and looked for every opportunity we could use to share the gospel. We ended the day with a ton of lessons taught and a lot of new investigators. Sunday we left our apartement and began inviting everyone we could to come to church with us. Lots of people said no, but that didn't stop us from talking with everyone we saw. We ended up have 3 investigators in sacrament with us and 2 of them will be getting baptized the 5th of November. One is named Norma a reference/friend of a member and we have been teaching her for a week now. She lost her child about a month ago and has been looking for answers as to were exactly is her little boy now. We taught her the plan of salvation of course. She said she knew he was in a better place and that she would be able to see him again but everyone was telling her otherwise. She now has the hope and faith that Heavenly Father loves us and has a plan for each of his children. She says she doesn't want to waste any more time in her life and she wants to be bauptized and live so that someday she will be able to see her baby boy again. 

The other is Claudia who just showed up at church and we didn't even know it. We talked with her a lot and she said she knows this church is true because she's never felt so much peace and hope in any other place. (She was evangelica)

We are super excited for them!! The last but not least is Mayra who has read the whole book of mormon, knows that its true and wants to get baptized she just doesn't feel ready yet. So well be helping her out with that.

Sunday our prayers were answered and I knew that I was blessed. Every day we know our hard work is sooo worth it and we are full of faith that we will just keep finding the people who are searching for the true and don't know it just yet. Hope you guys have a great week!

Hermana Jarvis

Traveling to Nuequen for conferences

Week 32

October 11-October 17, 2016

I have started the whole leader thing and mostly have been talking on the phone and helping the other missionaries out with advice and trying to lift their spirits when they're sad or answer their questions if they have any. It's pretty daunting that I have a responsibility to make sure that they all are doing well and that they aren't fighting with their companions that they are trying their best and that the are okay physically and emotionally. I have only had to help someone out emotionally once so far but I am remaining in contact with them and trying to help them the best I can. This week we'll be traveling to Nuequen for a liders conferene (6 hour bus ride to nuequen and 6 hours back.. Wahoo!) and then I'll travel to barriloche to help tell all the missionaries what we need to improve on and a few rules that have changed or whatever my mission president gives us that is new. OHh and the busses usually are double decker and the seats are like giant recliners with a pillow and a blanket. Sometimes we get served meals on the busses too and there are usually movies playing the whole way and if they aren't horrible we are allowed to watch them to pass the time so its pretty fun!! Have a great week!!

Hermana Jarvis

Traveling to Nequen for leaders conference

the buses usually are double decker and the seats are like giant recliners with a pillow and a blanket. Sometimes we get served meals on the busses too 

family night with members

Week 30

September 27- October 3, 2016

We had transfers and this time I´m staying in El Bolson and so is Hermana Sant!! But there is a slight change... I am now the sister missionary leader and I've got more responsibility now than just myself, my companion and el bolson.... I´m in charge of I don't know how many hermanas  and areas. My companion and I will have to travel all over south Argentina, Bariloche, and other areas yet to be known haha while I do companion exchanges with other sisters. I´ll be helping them with their missionary work and goals. Now more than ever I have to be a great role model. Sometimes I wonder what President Casariego is thinking putting me in charge...BUT I know that he is called of God and THEY know my potential. I just have to keep giving it my all. My companion and I have three investigators with baptism dates coming up! Mayra 27 years old and  will be bautised as soon as she gets back from her trip (está en Chile) . Mayra (different mayra) 12 years old and Lucia 12 years old. We had 6 baptisms planed but most of them haven't come to church so their dates fell through of course. OH exciting adventures... I got my hair cut last week... I decided that i could use a little trim so after my companion got her hair cut I asked to get a centimeter or less of my hair cut off of my long lovely locks and well I lost about 5 inches. We then returned to our apartment and I sobbed as my companion used my scissors to even out the choppy job. BUT now all is well and I'm enjoying the change. You got to embrace life and what it throughs at you and well I´m going to do just that :)

Hope you all have a great week and remember that Jesus is our Savior and with him we can overcome ANYTHING. We can choose to be happy in this life and we can experience TRUE joy but we've got to use the atonement. Love you all! 

Hermana Jarivs

Embracing my new haircut

Week 27

Pictures

September 12, 2016

p-day

Hermana Sant and Hermana Jarvis

This week was kinda hard and my companion got a little discouraged, so I wrote her notes while she was in the shower and put them around our apartment. 

our bedroom

the kitchen

the bathroom

Week 26

August 30-September 5, 2016

Have I mentioned that El Bolson is a hippie town with tons of dreads, natural foods and fairs full of hand crafted goods like dream catchers?? It's pretty cool haha. I'm not a huge hippie but I sure do love it here.

We have two people with baptismal dates!!

Mayra- A mom of a newly born baby and the wife of a member of the church. She has been taught almost all we know and wants to be baptized. She literally just had her baby and is still recuperating but in a few weeks we´ll be having her baptism!! Super Excited!!

Paula -  A mother of  5 who has been reading the Book of Mormon and now has a testimony that God exists and that Jesus is the Savior of the world! All her life she wanted nothing  to do with religion and thought it was crazy talk. She now says that everything we've taught is true because she put it into practice and could feel the peace and happiness the gospel brings to her life. She says it's no coincidence that our message is what touched her heart and changed her mind. She has a testimony that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ restored with the authority of the priesthood! 

That's about all for now. We have been teaching like crazy and the hunt is on to find those who are waiting for our message and don't even know it! Have a great week and thank for all your love and support! Love you all!! 

Alma 31: 34-35

34 O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ.

35 Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren;  therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee.

Hermana Jarvis

Week 25

August 23-August 29, 2016

This week has been awesome!! We only hike up and down mountains everyday to get to all the people we have to visit... hahah its awesome!! It totally kicked my butt at first but now I'm pretty much used to it. It's almost spring here and it always seems cold so we put on our jackets and head out but walking up mountains creates a lot of body heat haha we are constantly taking off and putting on our jackets and sometimes I feel like my body is a little bipolar. I cannot remember exactly how to spell in ingles so please forgive me if my words are crazy. This week Hermana Sant and I saw a lot of milagros (miracles). We have been working like mad men haha. We have a few progressing investigators for now and we are searching for more people to teach. Our goal has been to ask everyone for referencias (friends and family members that might be interested in out message). We are also trying to find out where all the less active members live because a ton of the members live in the area of the Elders (male missionaries) and we want to visit everyone we can. This week we were walking home from our last appointment for the day and a man came running up behind us saying excuse me!! and I stepped out of the way as he ran between us...I gave him plenty of space to pass by, not to mention he could have easily just gone around us, but anyways he ran through us and pushed my companion and continued to run on by... we thought we were about to get robbed... But nothing more happened.. We chose to cross the street and change our path and in the end everything turned out okay. My companion also forgot her 200 GB pindrive in the ciber we were using the other day and well a USB/Pindrive is the only thing that matters to a missionary when it comes to the things we own. It normally has our entire life saved- all our photos, music and memories. The next day we said our prayers and asked that the kind man in the Ciber (internet cafe) find that USB pindrive and keep it safe until we could return and ask if they had found one. We returned and the man looked at us and said "ahh," went to his car and pulled out her flashdrive. We joyfully said thank you and went on our way. My companion was so relieved. She then noticed that her name that she had written in sharpy had been removed... We have a feeling he was planning on selling it. Here a decent flashdrive costs about $300 pesos... and thats one with only 16-25 GBs... I said we shouldn't dwell to much on whether his intentions were true and that we could just change cibers.

Also this week we have been reading a few talks from the last missionary conference/devotional and I have been learning a ton!! I definitely have refortified my desires to always testify of our Savior Jesus Christ and His atonement. I know our Savior lives and that he loves each and every one of us. We are all children of our Heavenly Father and they are waiting with their arms stretched forth for us to come unto them. We can always repent, always change, and always look for a better life. I know I'm not perfect and I have to repent daily for sometimes the simplest things but I know that through the atonement I am able to be pure. Thanks to our Savior we all have the chance to live with our Father in Heaven again. We've just got to do our part and all the gifts and blessings we could ever receive can be ours. I'm am so grateful to be here in El Bolson sharing what I know to be true: that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the exact same gospel, church, and teachings that Jesus Christ establish in His earthly ministry. I know that thanks to the Priesthood we can perform ordinances like baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost and I share these things humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Hope you all have a great week!! Never forget that there is always light to be found!

 

Hermana Jarvis

Hermana Jarvis and Hermana Sant

the beautiful mountains

Week 24

August16-August 23, 2016

We had transfers yesterday and guess what?!! I got moved to yet another awesome area!! I'm not going to lie this place is the most beautiful place ever!! I am literally surrounded by snow peaked mountains!!! It's spring here now so its just perfect outside. Here there are a ton of hilly roads to walk and I can already tell it's going to kick my butt. My companion has less time than I do in the mission!!! Her name is Hermana Sant and she is awesome. She´s from Louisiana!! Una gringa!!! I'm officially a senior companion! It's kinda scary because I have to be even more responsible and be an example for my new companion but it shouldn't be too bad haha.

Last week in Centinario we had another baptism!! Wahoo! Jaqueline got baptized Sunday after the sacrament meeting. I´ll telll you what that water was ice cold and she went in anyway. She came out of the water laughing and sopping wet of course haha. I have some awesome pictures!! Ella es una capa! She knew it was her time to get bautized and couldn't wait another minute! It's amazing to watch people change and grow in the gospel and even more amazing to know that you are doing something for the Lord. I have learned so much about what it is to serve the Lord with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. I am so unbelievably grateful that I have the opportunity to be a hand in His work. 

That´s about all for this week.Oh and I attached pictures of the mountains here today and of our apartment. Not going to lie this one is pretty nice. Oh and today we chopped wood (cortamos leña)!!! ​

Hermana Jarvis

Jaqueline's baptism

Estoy in El Bolson! It is the most beautiful place ever!