Hola! and Happy Thanksgiving! 11.30.2009 (Email)

Hello everyone! How are you all doing? It was good to hear from home as always. :D But Aaron, I must say, it was SO GOOD to hear from you!

Well, the week went by really fast this week. We were very blessed this week in finding new investigators. I think it was a little miracle really. We are actually in a section of the area where the sisters haven´t worked in some time because it´s farther away from the apt. However, I think there are a lot of people prepared there. Yay!

First thing interesting, we have an investigator from the Dominican Republic! Her name is Santa. Who would have thought right? We found her house earlier in the week, and taught her the message of the Restoration yesterday. Very enjoyable. She has been here in Argentina for like 9 years, but I was very excited to tell her that my sister lived in her country! A great lady, and she´s even married. :D

We also found an investigator named Marianela. We actually found her the week before, but we were able to teach her brother and mom this week as well. Marianela has two kids, 12 and 14 years old. Anyway, it went super well. Marianela´s dad passed away a long time ago, and they all seem to have some questions about that. It actually makes me sad, because the mom really believes that she´ll never see her husband again. And if she does see him again, she doesn´t believe that it´s possible that he´ll be her husband, or her kids father. Sad huh? But we´re teaching her.

We also found a lady named Veronica. She has three kids. Like 5 years ago she was baptized, but none of her kids were. We have an FHE planned with them tomorrow. We´re going to make them pancakes/waffles and watch a church movie with them. We´re excited about that.

Lots of blessings this week. We´re really receiving lots of blessings for doing lots of contacts every week. Yay!

Lets see, some funny things... Hna. Johnson and Hna. Schafer are constantly paranoid that they have lice. They don´t, but they always want that they check them for lice. So far so good. :D

Hna. Johnson, Hna. Schafer and I generally by things with a little less fat: low fat milk, light cheese, etc... and Hna. Passas is completely amazed. She thinks we´re crazy. She wants everything with all the fat possible. haha.

I´m eating my fair share of ¨alfajores¨. They´re like ding dongs, but different. I figure I have to take advantage of them while they are available.

We north americans are realizing that we like things that we didn´t eat much of before. For example, jam on crackers. They´re basically salt crackers. Or this cheese, that is like sour cream, on crackers.

The houses here are really different. Maybe it´s because we´re more in the central part. I don´t know. But I think they´re nicer than in Bariloche. And they about ALL have fences, with locks. Well, lots in Bariloche as well. Okay, maybe in all of Argentina. I should take more pictures so you can see more of what Argentina is like. And I don´t want to forget.

Okay, back to the ward. The ward here is really great. There are lots of return missionaries, and it actually makes a big difference in the ward. Elders and sisters. The Bishop here is really young as well. He and his wife served the mission in Chile. They got back like 5 years ago. They have two young kids. She´s actually from Uruguay. Anyway, we had lunch with them the other day it was really fun. A really good, young couple... with a lot of responsibility.

Dad, I think it would be neat to have you release me. Sounds good. :D

Today we are going to go bowling again. We´re going to meet up with other sisters here in the area, and I believe I´ll actually see Hna. Schwab, so that should be fun. Kind of ironic that we are all here in Neuquen.

I am almost finishing ¨Jesus the Christ¨. I love that book so much. I learn SO much when I´m reading it.

Well, I think I´m going to head out now. Thanks for everything. I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. I´m so grateful for the simple truths that we take advantage of: we lived with Heavenly Father before we were born, Jesus Christ really is the Savior of the world, this life is a test, Jesus Christ is the Creator of the world, and the heavens are open. We have a prophet today, Thomas S. Monson, who continues receiving guidance, to guide the true church of Jesus Christ. How important it is to share our knowledge with our brothers and sisters in the world. I love you!

Love Always,
Hermana Jana Banana Pincock

I forgot! On Thursday we got together with Elder and Hna. Graves (the mission couple) as well as two elders, and two members, and had thanksgiving. Can I just say that it was SO DELICIOUS! Real North American, Thanksgiving food. I didn´t realize how much I missed it until I ate it again. Very fun. And I´m happy that Hna. Passas could experience a real ¨Thanksgiving¨. So so fun. Oh how I love our traditions! And very fun to reflect on what I´m grateful for.

I love you!

Con Mucho Amor,
Hermana Jana Banana Pincock

It's Warm in Neuquen! 11.23.2009 (Email)

Hola mi familia! How are you all doing? Well, first things first... Dad, Happy Birthday! I have been thinking about you today, and I hope you have a fantastic day. Birthdays are good, aren´t they? Funny thing, there´s an hermano in Bariloche who was actually born the exact same day as you. The same year and everything. We jokingly said that maybe you´re twins. :D

Mom and Dad, thanks for the letter and pictures. So fun!

Well, transfer news! I spent Tuesday and Wednesday trying to get one last appt. in with investigators and members. It was good, but sad as well. Man how I loved my time in Bariloche. There are a lot of amazing people there. It was good to reflect on all the good things that happened there. Very enjoyable - stressful at times as well - but very good.

Wednesday night Hna. Makelani and I left together to Neuquen. She had to go to Neuquen as well to get her new companion. So I found out a while back that there are actually two sisters already serving in the Limay ward here in Neuquen, it´s just that there are four of us now! So when Hna. Makelani got here to Neuquen Thursday at 5:00 (yes, 5 :D) we went straight to the sister´s apt. A few hours later Hna. Schafer got here as well.

So, there are four of us living in our apt! Hna.Schafer and I, as well as Hna. Johnson from California, and Hna. Passas, who is from Santa fe, Argentina. They´re all really great. Hna. Johnson is actually a speech pathologist. She already got her degree and everything. Anyway, that´s just a side note. So it´s basically a party at night in the morning when we´re all together. ;o)

We weren´t really sure how to do it... split the area up or what. Because we have never shared an area before! But we decided to split it up, and then we´ll basically have divisions once a week or so, so they can get to know our investigators that we´re finding in our area. I think Hna. Johnson will be the only one that will stay here after this transfer, because Hna. Passas will be finishing six months here. Anyway, we´ll see how it goes. Hna. Schafer and I are basically working from scratch. There´s one investigator in our ¨area¨ but it´s going well.

Oh, Hna. Schafer was here before, so she remembers pretty well the streets. So it´s working out just fine.

It has been good to be with Hna. Schafer again. It´s fun to see the progress we have made since the MTC - especially with the language and teaching. I´m grateful for all the improvement we have both made. It´s true - progress is often sure but slow. But it happens.

Here´s a tender mercy... we ran into Hna. Makelani and her new companion on Thursday here in Neuquén. She was born in Mexico, but has been living in Las Vegas for like 14 years. But she speaks perfect spanish! So I feel good about the transfer - a little more at peace about leaving Bariloche.

Oh, and it´s warm here! I´m about in shock to tell you the truth. The first day I got here from Bariloche I thought, no, it can´t be! I´m walking around with a short sleeve shirt! It has been a while. It´s really beautiful here in Neuquén. No mountains, but very pretty. I had forgotten. :D

Happy Thanksgiving on Thursday! We are actually going to get together with the missionary couple and have a Thanksgiving lunch on Thursday since they´re here in the office in Neuquén. It should be fun.

So, I wrote last week asking about flight plans, because I really didn´t know how it all works. Then on Tuesday I was talking with an Elder who used to be serving in the office, and he said that they write to the families, telling you not to tell us about the flight plans. Oops! So I feel a little guilty now, but what can you do. I didn´t know!

So here´s a good story for you all... when I heard about transfers, and that I would be leaving Bariloche with just part of a transfer left, I wondered a little bit about how it would be. I had thought I would finish in Bariloche, so was a little sad. But thought it must be for the best. When I thought about this change, I realized that I might not have a final zone conference because of the mid-transfer change. So when I got here to Neuquén it came up with the other Hna´s, and sure enough, they already had their zone conference here. Neuquén is always like the first place, and then they move south.

So to tell the truth, I felt kind of bad that I wouldn´t have a final zone conference, but decided to not think about it. Then Saturday morning Pres. Peterson called, and he talked to Hna. Johnson and Hna. Passas, and then I talked to him. He asked me how I was doing, how I was doing with the transfer at this point, and to apologize, because he realized that I was the only missionary who wouldn´t have a final zone conference. He feels really bad about it. But I assured him that it´s just fine. I´m just fine. I had lots of other ones! But he assured me that this is where Heavenly Father wants me to be. So anyway, I really appreciated his phone call. I appreciate that he cared enough to call, and see how I was doing. I´m grateful for the Spirit who prompts people, to know how to help others. The church is true!

So last night we were able to go to a fireside that was by Elder Bednar and his wife, and Steven Snow and his wife. It was for all the members in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. It was very interesting. Really good. They did a question - answer session, for two hours! Elder Bednar got up first, explained what would happen, and they even put a phone number up on the screen so people from all over Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay could participate. It was pretty amazing. He talked a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the Atonment of Jesus Christ. He emphasized a lot the strengthening - uplifting power of the Atonement. I think I almost always think of the Atonement as a way to be cleansed from sin, but forget that there is a great strengthening power available through the Atonement as well.

He said that as members of the church we often say that it´s hard to live the Gospel. He said that it´s hard to live the Gospel if we try to do it alone. But we don´t have to do it alone! Jesus Christ is here to help us, and lift us through our trials.

Well, I had better be going. Thanks for everything. I love you all very much!

Love Always,
Hermana Jana Banana Pincock

P.S. I hope you´re all practicing your spanish! :D

Hola! 11.16.2009 (Email)

My Family,

Hello! How are you all doing? I hope that you are all doing really well. Sorry I am sending the emails to different addresses, and not to Aaron. The computer is having small issues, and I am having to copy your addresses and paste them in from your last emails you sent me. So anyway... sorry about that.

Well, we have had a good week! We have worked hard, and it feels really good. My favorite part of the week is... we did a lot of contacts! I always struggle doing lots of contacts. But, we decided that we were going to do it. The mission goal is 154 per week, and we did 156! Yay! So that was exciting.

We also had some good lessons with members this week. There is a member named Melisa Ganga in our ward. She is 21. Anyway, she is serving in YW, and we asked her to help us out with a few girls we are teaching - investigators or less-active members. So we went and invited Karen Ñancufil and her family. Their less-active. We invited her and her friend, Daiana. They seemed excited, and they went to the YW activity on Saturday! And something else interesting... we had knocked Daianas door the other day, and we talked with her Dad. He really didnt have much interest in listening, but was nice enough. Anyway, he drove Daiana and Karen to the activity Saturday, and we were able to give him a little tour of the church. It went well, and I think he has a little better idea of the church now. :D Hopefully Daiana will be able to keep participating.

Yesterday Mariahelem, Eduardo, Angelica and her daughter Pamela, and Pablo went to church. Pretty good, but we should have a lot more there. Slowly but surely.

Pablo needs a wedding date!!! Im pretty ready for him to get baptized. Hes so ready! The mission definitely teaches patience. ;)

Mariahelem and Eduardo are thinking that maybe they want to get married, so thats good. A good step.

We went with Melisa Ganga to invite two of Angelicas daughters as well. Antonela is 15, and Yamila is 13. I think if we can get their daughters involved the family will progress faster. It should be good.

Were working on deciding who is progressing and who really has serious intentions, and spending time with them. Those who arent progressing... we have to let go. Its so hard for me to stop visiting people because I have so much hope that it will click for them. But my job is to find and teach those who are prepared. Maybe their time is in the future.

Oh, we had a great lesson with Carlos and Ashelen the other day. Carlos always says that he's looking for the true church of Jesus Christ. We talked to them again about the church of Jesus Christ - that He orgainzed in His earthly life. We talked about authority, etc... We got him thinking. He agreed that we need a prophet today, but he doesnt know who it is. We explained the importance of the Book of Mormon, and that its the only way that he can know if this is the true church of Jesus Christ, and to know if Joseph Smith was a true prophet. He admitted that in the past when he saw the Book of Mormon, he had already decided that its bad. But he promised us that he will read it with an open heart, really wanting to know if its true. :D Im so excited for him. Thats a huge step for him. We saw him later that night as he was walking to work and he had his Book of Mormon with him that he would read during the night at work. :o)

I'm excited about Ashelen as well. She is reading more in the Book of Mormon. We asked them at the beginning of the lesson if we need prophets, who can give us more of Gods word. Carlos said no. Ashelen said yes. She said that Nephi had written the plates, and that if he was a prophet, who wrote more, that the same thing can happen today. We testified that we have a living prophet today. Ashelen believes. I'm so excited for her.

Hna. Makelani received a letter today that she has a meeting the 19th in the mission home - the meeting with the trainers and new missionaries. So it seems to me that I'm headed to Neuquen. I'm sure we will hear for sure, and with more details, but I think my time in Bariloche is coming to an end. :o( But its okay! I have loved my time here, and I have seen lots of miracles. I know that things happen the way they do for a reason.

I have been thoroughly enjoying food with flour. Although I was eating flour before, not so much because Hna. Porter couldnt eat it. Yummy Argentine foods with flour. Oh, speaking of flour. Here they have a thing called facturas. They are like little rolls that have dulce de leche inside, or chocholate on top... like dessert rolls. Anyway, they are absolutely delicious, and everytime we walk by a bakery, you can smell facturas. Thats something I will miss. :D

Have you received a letter giving details about when Im flying home? Just wondering, because Hna. Makelani said that Hna. Schafers family got flight details. As for me, I have no idea. I know I leave the mission the 15th. Thats about it. I realized the other day that I won't be going to the Buenos Aires temple, because its closed. It's tradition that the missionaries go to the temple before flying home. But... the temple is closed for like a year and a half for repairs/changes. So anyway, thats a bummer. But its okay, there are temples in Idaho and Utah as well. I hope that a temple trip is in the plans for one of the first days that Im home. :D Oh how I miss going to the temple!

Well, I think thats it. I love being a missionary. I feel so blessed. I'm constantly learning and I always try to improve. I know that the church is true. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live and that Jesus Christ is guiding His church. I know that Thomas S. Monson is His prophet today. Be careful, take care of yourselves, and I will write again next week. I love you!

Love Always,
Hermana Jana Banana Pincock

Pictures! 11.09.2009

My Family-

1- Hna. Makelani and I the other day.

2 - Lucía, Me, Hna. Porter, and Melisa (two members here, but Lucía actually just moved to Zapala - where Hna. Porter went!)

3 - me dressed up in an Argentine Folklore dress. Good times. :D

4 - part of our zone when we went to the waterfalls.

Love you!

Hermana Pincock

Malolelei 11.09.2009 (Email)

Mi Familia,

Hola! How are you all doing? Mom, I hope that your teeth are doing better. The people here basically just have their teeth pulled out when they have problems. Dad, I´m sure you did great speaking in the institute. But yes, lots of speaking! Orrin, you´ll be getting your gallbladder out? Good luck! Shari, that´s great that you´ll be teaching the 16 and 17 year olds. You´ll be great. And Jordan and Lisa, I hope that you enjoyed Denver. I´m sure you did, and I hope you´re back safe. And Jordan, you certainly made me giggle - Melky Cabrera. I had Hna. Porter read your email as well, and she got a good laugh out of it as well.

Well, things are going really well with Hna. Makelani. So I doin´t really remember what I wrote last week. She´s from Tonga, a Polynesian island. She actually speaks Tongan, english, and now spanish - though I honestly haven´t heard much english from her. ¨Malolelei¨is hello in Tongan. Pretty fun huh? She´s 22. She has been in the mission for a year and one month, and is excited but nervous to train. She was with Hna. Schafer before coming her with me. She is the oldest in her family. Her dad actually lives in Australia with his family, and her mom is actually working in the U.S. for now. Before the mission, Hna. Makelani was studying in New Zealand. Pretty interesting huh? But she´s learning the area really well, and quickly. And yes,we do keep an area book. We don´t have one single map that has all our area, and we need to go pick up another map for her. The one Hna. Porter and I found is pretty much destroyed from lots of use, rain and snow. But I´m sure she´ll be just fine.

We´re working on putting baptismal dates so she and her new companion will have baptisms this first transfer. I remember when I started in Plottier, and I felt a little guilty that I was harvesting the hard work of other missionaries. So I would love it if her new companion could get here and have a bunch of baptisms right off the bat. There´s not a better way to start the mission than to have baptisms.

Lets see, a couple miracles of the week...We were walking one day in a neighborhood, that we haven´t worked a lot in. A lady told us she´s catholic, didn´t have a lot of interest in listening, but told us her neighbor loves talking to people from our church, told us her name and a little about her, and sent us to her house. So we went, (knowing her name), and they let us in. We then taught her (Norma), and two of her daughters ¨The Restoration¨and it went really well. She informed us that she listens to all the churches, but usually doesn´t let them in her house. Just outside. But she let us in because we knew her name, and her neighbor sent us over. A little miracle. I think they have great potential.

There is a lady named Patricia, that went to our church for like a year a while back. She and her husband spent a lot of time with other sister missionaries like 3 years ago. Anyway,they stopped going because they raised the bus prices and they couldn´t afford it. But a member told us about them,and we went with the member to their house. The lesson went well. We talked about the family, their goals for their little family, and assured them that the Gospel is the best thing that could happen to their family. We´ll pass by again soon. Oh, another miracle of that day is that the dad was there. He´s never there, but hadn´t gone to work because he works in construcion and it was bad weather that day.

Also, there´s a member named Viviana that lives in our area. She´s the only member in her family. So yesterday we stopped by, and got to talking with her mom. I have no idea how many missionaries have passed by their house in the past. Viviana even did the ¨mini-mission¨two times. But yesterday we talked to her about the Book of Mormon, and admitted that she has never read it. We assured her that she needs to read it, and she said that she´ll read it with us if we pass by. She said she won´t promise to go to church, or be baptized, but she will read the Book of Mormon with us. I´m okay with that for now. If she´s willing to read the Book of Mormon, the Spirit will do the rest.

Oh, Pres. Peterson called Hna. Makelani and said that her new companion should get here between November 19th and December 1st. So we´ll just have to wait and see. The ward here is so great. I love the people here. I think in every area I love the people more and more. I´m grateful for prayer, and the guidance that we can receive through prayer. I love the scriptures, I love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Today I read Deut. 31:6 and thoroughly enjoyed it. I forgot about that scripture. Choose the right, and I´ll write again next week. I love you!

Love Always,

Hermana Jana Banana Pincock

General Authorities and Transfers :D 11.02.2009 (Email)

Mi Familia! How are you! I hope that you´re doing wonderful. Well, first off, I know you´re all eager to hear about transfers, so... I´m staying here for a while! Here´s the scoop... Hna. Porter is going to Zapala, and she´ll be companions with Hna. Schafer (my MTC companion). Hna. Schafer´s companion is coming here to Bariloche to be my companion, and her name is Hna. Malekani I do believe. She´s tongan! Here´s the tricky part. There are a couple of sister missionaries there in the US, who are waiting for their visas/passports to go through. They should get here in 3 weeks - halfway through the transfer. Hna. Porter is going to train one of them, and Hna. Malekani the other. So what happens with Hna. Schafer and I you ask? :D We are going together, to an area close to Neuquén. I believe it´s called Limai, but I have no idea if that´s how you spell it. So I really don´t know exactly how it´s going to work. We´ll get there together and be there together for like 3 weeks, and then we´ll end the mission together. So I don´t know what´ll happen to the area. But it should be good. I´m curious. So there you have it. It should be an exciting six weeks with lots of changes. New companions, new areas, home... it should be good.

Lisa, Jordan and Hallie are going to Denver this weekend? Well, have fun and be safe!

Well, I must say, that I absolutely LOVED stake conference yesterday. First off, Hna. Matsumori got up and spoke, and she did wonderful. She had a lady translating for her, but luckily I speak english, and understood every word that came out of her mouth. :D She actually even ended by saying her testimony in spanish. I thought that was neat.

Then afterwards Hna. Beck got up to speak, and she had a translator by her side. She said a few words in spanish, and kept speaking! I had no idea that she speaks spanish! I thought it was great, and the members were excited about it. It turns out that she lived in Brazil when she was little for like 3-5 years or so as well. So she speaks english, spanish, and portuguese. She did really well.

She talked about how Argentina needs to send out more missionaries. There aren´t many. I loved it, because it really made me think. People learn so much on the mission, and the church needs strong Priesthood leaders here in Argentina. Argentina needs good strong families. It talked about the responsibility of parents to teach their kids, and prepare them to leave on the mission. I absolutely loved it.

Brother and Sister Bowen, the area president and his wife, were here as well. They did really well. And Pres. and Hna. Peterson spoke Saturday night in the adult session.

Then after the conference we had a special training. The people involved in Relief Society listened to Hna. Beck, and with the primary, Hna. Matsumori. We listened to Hna. Beck, and she taught us five principles of leadership. So good. So so good. Then afterwards Hna. Porter and I went up to meet her and give her a hug. A really great and amazing lady. I learned a lot from her during the conference, as well as from Hna. Matsumori.

So Hna. Porter actually leaves here at 12:50, so I´ll be with one member, Melisa Onnainty for part of the day, and then my neighbor, Hna. Zulma, is going to work with me tonight, and have a sleep over with me. :D Hna. Malekani gets here tomorrow at 5:00 in the morning. Bright and early! Transfers are always exciting, and I´m excited for Hna. Porter. She´s going to be a great trainer.

Jordan, I laughed out loud about ¨melky¨. So bad! Thanks for your advice about ending the mission. It´s good. Hna. Porter has been telling people I´m ending the mission for like 4 months now. jaja

So, about here in Bariloche. Eduardo and Maríahelem moved back into our area! Yay! So they went to conference yesterday, as well as Pamela and Angélica. I think they all seemed to enjoy it. I have no idea why Pablo didn´t go. We have an appt. with him tonight so we´ll see what he says.

We´re trying to work more with members. I have decided again that it´s not only good for the investigators, but for the members as well. It´s good to get some teaching experience for them, and the opportunity to share their testimonies and explain why they live the way they do.

There are no Halloween traditions here, but everyone knows about the Halloween tradition at home. We were going to have an activity, but it didn´t work out with the stake conference and everything. However, I do believe that a member is going to send a picture to the fam, that he took of Hna. Porter and I one day at lunch (our halloween celebration). I gave him AK´s email address because you speak spanish. So if you get some random email, it should be from Hno. Gonzalez. I hope that´s okay!

We were able to contact a couple of our new investigators from last week, and we found 12 new investigators this week! Yay! It´ll be good to get working with them a little bit.

Jordan, your question about Obama. Everyone here dislikes Pres. Bush, and is ecstatic about Obama. They all think that he´s great. That´s about all I´ve heard. Interesting huh?

Well, I think this is all for today. Pray for me to be able to teach my companion everything about Bariloche in 3 weeks so she can train. I´m excited, and I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ. The family is SO important, and I am so grateful for my amazing family - you! Choose the right, be safe, and I´ll write again soon! I love you!

Love Always,

Hermana Jana Pincock

Jana dressed up for Halloween at a members home.

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