Hola! :D 09.28.2009 (Email)

My Family,

Hola! How are you all doing? I´m doing well here in Bariloche. :D First off, Mariana got baptized yesterday!!! Yay! It was wonderful. Did I mention that we decided to do it on Sunday? We always baptize on Saturdays, but the Bishop mentioned that he would like to do it Sunday, and that more members normally participate, so we decided to try it out.

It actually went super well. We basically let Mariana plan her own baptismal service. A priest from the ward baptized her, a friend and relative said the prayers, a Priest spoke, Hna. Porter and the YW President sang together ¨Cuando me bautice¨while I played the piano. The Bishop also spoke. And, the Stake President is her uncle so he came and spoke for a couple of minutes as well. And the best part of it is that her Mom and little brother went. Yay! I think it was a pretty emotional day for her Mom, but it was a super spiritual baptismal service. Very very fun. I love baptisms!

I´m glad you all liked hearing a little bit of the details of my Argentine life. I´ll try to include something fun and interesting every week.

Thanks for all the great letters. I love it. Shari, I´m glad you´re recovering and that Mom could be with you for so much time. And Dad, I´m glad you survived being without Mom for so long! AK, that´s a bummer about Matt, but I´m sure you did what needed to be done. Lisa, I hope that things work out in the hospital. It´ll work out like it´s supposed to. And Jami, I got your letter! Really good to hear from you. Grac! jaja

Oh, something exciting... We have stake conference here November 1st, and I hear the General RS President is coming! Yay! That should be very exciting. And a couple of others, but I´m not exactly sure who. I´ll keep you updated.

No, I wasn´t able to see the RS Broadcast. It was broadcasted here at 9:00 - time to be in our apt. It´s okay though. I can always read it in the conference issue in November.

I´m SO excited for general conference this next week. I hadn´t realized until the other day that it´s so soon. A couple of members were asking Hna. Porter and I yesterday how it is to be in the actual conference center. We assured them that it´s very amazing, and they are very envious for the opportunities we have there at home.

Well, investigators! Pablo is doing great. He makes me very happy. He accepts everything. He really has ¨hunger¨to learn. We taught him and Monica about Tithing the other day. We always expect a good amount of questions about tithing. But we taught them, asked him if he´s willing to pay tithing once he´s baptized and he simply said ¨sí¨. No problem for him! He´s excited because he gets to go back to work again today after not working for so long. Like 2 1/2 months from being so sick. But he got the clearance from his doctor the other day. Yesterday he, and two of his kids - Matius and Ana Paula - went to church with him. Yay!

Then we have Nico. He also went to church yesterday. He´s progressing little by little. We explained very clearly to him and Jovita the other day that they should be reading the Book of Mormon EVERY day if they want to know if this is the true church of Jesus Christ. So they´re reading much better now.

Ashelen went to church yesterday as well. She´s doing well. In Sunday School we were learning about the grain of mustard seed of faith, etc... and how this seed can grow. She asked them about their experiences as they have been learning about the Gospel, and it was so great to hear what they´re thinking. They have all had different experiences, but they have all felt a definite change. Missionary work is amazing.

Nelida, Ester and Belen didn´t go to church yesterday. :o( Pushing the baptismal date back... we´ll try to figure out how to get them to church.

We had a good lesson with Nelida and Mario the other day. They´re not ¨a couple¨ because Nelida doesn´t want to be, but they´re living together. We explained to them very clearly the Law of Chastity, and that they have to avoid the situation. Marriage, or separated. They both want to be baptized, so they have some decisions to make. It´s a tough situation for them, so we´re definitely praying for them.

Hna. Porter and I taught the RS lesson yesterday in church. It went well. We talked on the talk by President Monson in last conference ¨Be Your Best Self¨. It went really well. I´m a very big fan of team-teaching now days. To end the lesson we sang ¨Escrudiñar, Meditar, y Orar¨ (Search, Ponder, and Pray). I like singing with her, but I´m not sure about in front of all RS! jaja She assured me that I could do it, and so we did it. And singing with her makes me sound better. :D What I don´t do in the mission!

We tried to get together to play soccer with investigators the other day, and youth from the ward. We had a good turn out of youth, but only Nico and his little brother as investigators. But I think it still turned out well. And some of the youth invited friends who aren´t members. :D It was fun, but Argentines are so good! I had to learn the word for ¨nutmeg¨because it happened to me several times! Good times though. And Hna. Porter is a super good sport because she´s really not a huge fan of soccer because she has never really played. I think we´ll have a lesson where I teach her all the rules. :D

Oh, there´s like a soccer stadium super close to my apt. Yesterday there was a game, so there were lots of people going to watch the game. It´s quite the event. I would love to go to a game if they weren´t all on Sundays! It would be great to go to one on a Monday. Not sure if I´ll have such luck.

Oh, Hna. Hedquist is in my zone now! She and another Hermana are opening an area. So that´s very fun. Hna. Porter and I are excited to see her in a couple of weeks.

Buses... are always interesting. It makes me feel like I´m in Plottier again. No they´re good. Here you actually need to have a card to pay. If you have a card it´s cheaper. Like 1.75 every trip. If not, it´s 3 pesos every time. Anyway, Hna. Porter and I are trying to work up our guts to make a ¨declaration¨on the bus and sing or something. It would be really good, but we´re so nervous when we even think about it! But we´re going to do it. :D

Yesterday Hna. Porter and I were ¨clapping doors¨and she asked if I think there is even one house in all of Argentina that doesn´t have a dog. jaja Or less than five dogs. jaja I assured her that there aren´t THAT many dogs here! Well, I think that´s about everything. How´s ¨The Living Christ¨project going? I know you´ll be really blessed for doing it. I know that this life is all about learning. Heavenly Father knows exactly what we need in order to learn and progress - in order to become more like Him. He gives us tests to help us progress. I like to think about the Apostles, and how their faith was tried little by little, and their faith eventually became unbreakable. We can choose to learn from our experiences, and become a better person because of it.

Choose the right and remember that I love you!

Love Always,
Hermana Jana Banana Pincock