One More Time... (Email) 12.14.2009

Hola! How are you all doing? I hope that you are all doing very well. I´m doing well as well. I have actually been in the mission home all day, but before talking about today, I think I will explain the week.

We had a great last week! We did some more divisions this week to make sure Hna. Johnson met all the progressing investigators that we had found. She met about all of them I believe, and I know they are in great hands with Hna. Johnson. And.... guess who is coming here! Hna. Hedquist! I think she´s following me... jaja

Wednesday we had a good field trip in Allen. I worked with Hna. Legrow, who actually got to Allen when I left, and Hna. Schafer worked with the other sister. It went well. I was able to see the Peñalver family (Santiago Peñalver got baptized when I was there), Irene (oh how I still love her!) And a couple of other members as well. It went well. It was definitely dejavu (sp?) but enjoyable. A little weird. I´m worried about the Peñalver family. They´re really struggling. :o(

I don´t really know why we went there. Something new I guess. Maybe it was for me to help compensate for the fact that I didn´t have a last zone conference. jaja

We were able to teach Santa and Miguel again this last week. The last time we talked to Miguel he was kind of distant, but it was really different this last week. We didn´t share much, but we read a little from the Book of Mormon in 2 Ne. 5:27. They were happy because they lived the Gospel. Anyway, they both expressed how grateful they are that we are passing by to teach them, and they love it when missionaries from our church come by because they always feel such a peace in their house. Pretty amazing huh? I´m convinced that they´re going to get baptized.

Sunday morning we stopped by Gabriela´s house to go to church with her. She´s an investigator that Hna. Schafer taught when she was in the Limay ward before. Anyway, she initially said that she couldn´t go because her husband doesn´t want her to, but we convinced her into going for at least a little bit. This week was actually Stake Conference and it started at ten. But at nine they had a special meeting for investigators and recent converts. Anyway, she loved it. She stayed for like an hour, and I know she felt the Spirit.

Did I tell you all about Jorge and Conce? We found them last week as well. Jorge has some pretty serious health problems - depression. Anyway, he went to church on Sunday! It was a little miracle. He seems to have really enjoyed it, and ward members actually gave him a health blessing afterwards. Yay!

And now my favorite story for the week... yesterday Hna. Schafer and I had been knocking doors, and we weren´t having a lot of success. So after one door and told her that I just wanted to enter a house! So we suggested we pray, and ask for guidance. In this prayer she asked Heavenly Father to guide us to a family who needs the Gospel, and we promised to teach well, and to invite them to be baptized.

We decided afterwards to walk down a street, and we saw a man walking towards us. So we talked to him. His name is Daniel, and he explained that he was headed to work, but he believes strongly in God, and told us where he lives. Well, more or less. He told us the streets close by and described his house, since his house doesn´t have a number.He also told us his wife´s name, and we decided we would pass by later.

The minute he walked off, I looked at Hna. Schafer and told her, this is the family! So even though we had another appt. pretty soon, we decided to go and find this house. We found it immediately. We introduced ourselves to Cecilia, and that her husband had sent us to her house, and she immediately let us in.

We told her how we arrived to her house, and that Heavenly Father had sent us there. He knows that she needs this message. She listened, and then told us she wanted to tell us something. She just found out this last week that a loved one has cancer, and she has really been struggling. She hasn´t been able to sleep at night because she is so worried. She has really been praying for help. We assured her that this is exactly what she needs, taught her a little bit about the plan of Salvation, and Hna. Johnson and Hna. Hedquist are going to pass by this week.

So anyway, that was a huge miracle for me. I know that Heavenly Father has been preparing this family. And I´m so grateful that Hna. Schafer and I were working last night at /:00. That we endured to the end! I think it was a trial of our faith at the beginning of the day, but then a great blessing afterwards. The Spirit is amazing, and I know that Heavenly Father is involved in every detail in our lives.

So we got to the mission office this morning at 8:30. I had the first interview with Pres. Peterson. It was a great interview. I´m very grateful that he is my mission President. He is a very amazing person. I want to write down in my journal the advice that he gave me.

So today we have basically just been relaxing and hanging out. Pretty nice if I do say so myself. :D We´ll have dinner and some meetings tonight, and then I believe we´ll be getting up bright and early to fly out of Neuquen in the morning. We are going to be in Buenos Aires for like 12 hours tomorrow. Pretty crazy huh?

I love being a missionary! I know without doubt that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. I know that He lives. I know that He loves me, and that He has plans for me. I know that we can have eternal families. We are so blessed to have the Gospel in our lives. Thank you for your continued love and support. It has made a world of difference in the mission.

So, I will see you all on Wednesday at 6:00! Please, travel safe! I will too. :o)

I love you, and the church is true!

Love Always,
Hermana Jana Pincock

Christmas is Coming! 12.05.2009 (Email)

Hola! ¿Cómo están? So fun to read that you´re all getting Christmas ready at home. So fun. I love Christmas. To tell the truth, I´m actually very excited to have a good old, U.S. (LDS) Christmas. I´m definitely getting forward to the music as well. I love the music! :D

I actually don´t know if I´ll be able to write next week or not. I´m guessing that I´ll be able to, but I´m not sure. But, I´ll for sure be talking to you all on Wednesday next week. :o) I´ll be there with bells on my toes as well. :D

Aaron, I´m going to try to get my hands on some good Argentine recipes. The food is delicious!

Well, the work here is going well. We had another really good week. We´re working really hard and it feels great. I broke my personal record for the number of contacts during this last week. Yay!

We did some divisions this last week as well so Hna. Johnson can get to know some of the investigators. It went really well. It´s fun to work with different missionaries. Everyone has their own style. I remember when I first got to the mission, and my style always changed with my companion. When I was with Hna. Celis, I taught like Hna. Celis. And when I was with Hna. Riquelme, I taught like Hna. Riquelme. Now I finally feel like I have my own style. The way I teach changes, but I like it. I love teaching. It´s one thing I´m really going to miss... to go from teaching several lessons every day, to teaching... I don´t know when or where... but it´s okay. Can I teach FHE every once in a while? I´ll try to prepare good lessons. :D

We were able to find new investigators this week as well. It´s really a miracle to find all the people who are willing to listen. I have decided again recently, that there is a great need for sister missionaries in the world. I really think that sister missionaries can get in some houses that Elders can´t enter in so easily. Both sisters and Elders I think are very important.

I´m really impressed with Hna. Schafer, Hna. Johnson, and Hna. Passas. They are super hard workers, and really good things are passing here. It´s exciting to see.

Marianela continues to progress. We taught her the plan of salvation the other day and she really liked it.

We did have a mini FHE with Verónica and her family the other day. Making ¨waffles¨ ( that are really pancakes) took longer than we thought. However, we were able to share with the whole family. Verónica and her 3 kids, and her sister, Lorena. And then we also met her brother and sister-in-law. Successful I think. We need to set another appt. now.

Oh, we had another lesson with Santa, the investigator from the DR. We had set the appt. but got there with a member, to find that they were celebrating her daughter´s birthday! However, we were still able to share a little bit with them. So we met her husband and friend, and talked about the importance of families, and that the Gospel strengthens families. I was impressed that Santa was totally willing to let us ¨crash¨ the birthday party, and still talk to all of them. She´s great. I feel like she has a great need to go to church.

We also found a man named Juan this week. As we went to the first appt. he had a ton of questions for us. He wanted to know how our church got started. What a great question, since we almost always start out by explaining the Restoration! Anyway, it was a really neat lesson. He has a lot of knowledge about history, and so we understand a lot. Usually, we spend a good amount of time explaining prophets, what an apostasy is, the fact that Jesus Christ organized a church, with apostles and the Priesthood, and the fact that we actually need a church, and to belong to a church through baptism. Anyway, he already understood the basics, so it was really fun to teach. He went to church yesterday, so that´s great. I hope he progresses.

Oh, Hna. Schafer and I are going on a field trip to Allen this week! We´re just going to be there on Wednesday I believe, but it should be fun. We don´t know a lot of details. The assistants just called and let us know that we´re going. Road trip! jaja

I have started writing down things that I have learned on the mission. I have had a lot of learning to do. How grateful I am that we have this life to learn and progress. I have often thought that the mission is like a mini ¨life on earth¨. I´ll tell you about more of my conclusions later on, but it really makes me think.

I love the mission. I love that I get to teach people about Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Father, The Plan of Salvation, and the the Gospel of Jesus Christ every day. I have no doubt that I was supposed to come here on the mission. Even though I had a hard time deciding whether or not to come, I am so grateful I came. I definitely don´t regret coming (Shari, you were right!)

I really don´t know where to start or end as I think about the mission. I hope that I´m a better person than I was when I left, and that I have been able to help others come unto Christ. I love the missionary´s objective: ¨Invitar a las personas a venir a Cristo a fin de que reciban el evangelio restaurado, mediante la fe en Jesucristo y Su Expiación, el arrepentimiento, el bautismo, el don del Espíritu Santo, y el perserverar hasta el fin¨.

In English more or less: Invite others to come unto Christ through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end¨.

I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ lives, and that as we follow His example, we become more like Him. We become better instruments in Heavenly Father´s hands. I love temples. Mom, I´m excited for your talk this next week. I feel like the temple helped me so much. I became much closer to my Heavenly Father through baptisms for the dead. And Jesus Christ. We are doing something for others that they can´t do for themselves. It´s like Jesus Christ. He suffered for us, because we couldn´t do it on our own. I am convinced that when every young adult, or member, is determined to be temple worthy, every day, their lives change. Our priorities change. Temple worship makes all the difference.

I love you all so much. I´m excited to see you all. Take care of yourselves. If I can´t write next week, remember to travel safe to Idaho. See you there! I love you!

Con Amor,
Hermana Jana Banana Pincock