Hola! 02.16.2009 (Email)

Hello my family! How are you doing? I hope you´re all doing great. First off, Orrin! Two weeks late, happy birthday! I feel so guilty. I even wrote on February second, Orrin´s birthday! And then I read all about Uncle Richard and totally forgot. But I really was thinking of you on your b-day. I hope you did something fun to celebrate. 25 right?

Also, happy valentine´s day everyone! It´s funny, because it turns out that valentine´s day doesn´t really exist here. It´s a holiday, but I didn´t hear one thing about it. We actually reminded one of the couples in our ward here. Funny.

Good news! Hermana Riquelme sent me a picture of Marí and Miguel´s baptism! They were baptized the 31st I believe. Miguel cut his hair, and it appears as though he stopped smoking! Yay! Miracles. Also, Hna. Riquelme wrote on the picture that John and Judith, parents of Gabriela, had a wedding AND BAPTISMAL date for February 13th! This also means that John has quit drinking. Wow. Miracles. I´m so happy!

More good news. I FINALLY sent a CD with all the mission pictures I have taken just now. The CD should get there in 15 days or so they said. I hope it gets there safely. :D

So things here in Allen are going well. I think I mentioned about making the changes of where we are eating lunch. That now we will only be eating in our area. So it has been a fairly hard hit for some of the members, but they´re handling it well. We taught the doctrine, of why we´re doing it. We compared our area to the ward, and how we don´t have ¨the keys¨to work in other areas.

Therefore, when we were in the elders area, we couldn´t feel prompted to knock on someone´s door, etc... and thus weren´t using the Lord´s time wisely. Obedience. I think they all understand.

We laughed because a couple of the families aren´t attending church, and we said that now if they want to see us, than they´ll have to go to church! ¨Nos vemos en la capilla!¨

So yesterday we went to eat with one of the families for the last time. We got there before the food was ready, and met one of their family members - a cousin? - who isn´t a member of the church. They live a good ways out in the fields, so we couldn´t really leave to do contacts, etc... So we asked if we could watch ¨The Restoration¨while we were waiting. So we watched it. Then afterwards we talked to her for a good while about our beliefs, the need for a prophet, a little about the plan of salvation, etc. I have found here the common belief that we don´t need to go to a church, because churches are of men, and that God is with us - within our hearts. It´s true, that God is with us, but we need the ordinances that are found only in the church of Jesus Christ. It was a good talk. The mission is really very interesting. I really don´t see people as a mechanic, lawyer...I just see people as children of God who need the ordinances of the Gospel.
It was all very interesting because it turns out that she hasn´t been to their house in years, and she decided to go the last time we ate lunch with their family. We ended up giving her a Book of Mormon, and we´re praying that she´ll read it. I wish she lived in our area!

Here´s a story. Someone had mentioned that there´s an older lady in the ward who knows English. I really didn´t think anything of it. So we recently got a ward directory, and we´re trying to tract down all the members in the ward in our area that we don´t know. So we tracted Irene down. We started talking to her and introduced ourselves, and she started talking to me in English! It caught me a little off guard. It turns out that she´s from Pennsylvania, but moved to Argentina when she was 15! I´m impressed she still knows english so well because she´s 95! Anyway, it was very enjoyable. There´s just something different about talking in your own language.

Dad, I´m just winging it with english. I like the idea of really teaching it like it should be done. I think I need to do much better about really teaching - with a plan. I don´t know how it would be better. To send everything here or what. I really have no idea how to print things here so I would have to ask around. Whatever you think is best, but it sounds good.

We found a lady named Carla about a week or so ago. She´s a teacher, and her husband a policeman. We talked to her for a good while in a park, and then went to her house one day. She has two kids. We shared a little about how the gospel blesses families, and read ¨The Family: A Proclamation to the World¨ and I think it went well. We´re going to go to her house again to teach and we´re really looking forward to it. We still haven´t met her husband, but she, and he sounds great. They seem really similar to our family. They´re always doing things outdoors - hiking mountains, etc... very fun. And she reminds me A LOT of Becky Stubbs (Houston now :D). We´re praying that things will go well with them.

The other day we were trying to find the house of a couple, in a neighborhood we weren´t familiar with, and it turns out they had given us the wrong address. But, we asked Clara, a lady who was outside, for help. We ended up asking if we could talk with her and share a message with her. She said we could go in. She has eight kids, and she and her husband were baptized in another church, but she seems interested. We´re excited to go back to their house and finish teaching The Restoration.

A while back we were doing contacts, and met a less active couple in the ward - in our area! So we went to their house, and talked a little bit. Went a second time but the husband wasn´t there. And then we went the third time last night. It was interesting, because they were telling us how they used to always feed the missionaries, but then they were transferred or something a while back, and the missionaries never went again. Crazy. They asked us if we always have somewhere to eat. We explained that we´re making changes, and so no, we don´t have lunch several days now. So they invited us to eat with them Sunday! So we´re excited. I really don´t have a doubt that meeting them, talking with them, and now going to their house more regularly is an accident. It all just fits too well together. We´re eager to help them back to church.

I love when new ideas come to my mind when I´m teaching. Yesterday we were teaching the Plan of Salvation to a member, Victor who´s 20 I believe. He´s basically in training/tryouts for soccer right now, and we compared his training and preparation before tryouts to our life here. His preparation before will have an affect on if he´s on the ¨A¨ or ¨B¨ team. Equally, our life here and our preparation, will have an affect on where we live for the eternities. It was fun. I think he understood better.

I love you all. The church is true. Families can live together forever. We need to do our part to be worthy of such amazing blessings. The Book of Mormon was written by God through His prophets. We need to share what we know! I hope you´re praying about how you can share the Gospel. :D

Love always,
Hermana Jamba Pincock

P.S. Elder Scott is coming to Neuquen the 25th and 26th so we get to listen to him! Yay!

Hola! 02.09.2009 (Email)

Hello! How are you all doing? Things here are going well. Well first off, I hope that Uncle Richard continues to improve. I´d love to hear about how he is doing. I hope all is well!

Well, I think I´ll just start off answering questions that I have gotten recently.

Size of the ward? I actually don´t know how many members there are in the ward, but around 45 usually attend. We´re working on increasing that number. :D

Food in general and when we eat with members? The food is great as always. Pretty much the same as in Plottier. Have I mentioned that they eat a large amount of tomatoes here in Argentina, and that I am now eating tomatoes without really even thinking twice about it? Pretty good huh? The eating with members thing is a little complicated, because we have been eating with members in the elders area. As I talked to President Cook this last week before zone conference, he said that we should be eating only in our area. So things will be changing here in the near future. I think we´re going to eat like normal this week, and tell them that we´re going to be making changes from here on out. So we may have a few less lunches now, but it´s okay. It´s worth it.

Mom and AK, I loved reading your goals. Thanks for sharing. You both set great goals. Good luck!

My mattress is great. No problems.

Correlation with stake presidency if they´re in our area? I guess not, because we didn´t have it in Plottier, and the stake president met in our building. But he does live in the elders area. So I don´t know!?!

AK, thanks for the pictures of Christmas! So fun to see all of you. I caught a glimpse of the pictures on the wall in the living room, and how fun! I must admit, I was happy to see my smiling face up on the wall. Good to know you´re thinking of me. :D

There are four missionaries here in Allen. Us and two elders.

How to pronounce Allen? It´s just like you would think with the spanish vowels, but you have the ¨sh¨ thing for the ¨ll¨ instead of the ¨y¨ sound that is more common in spanish. I think I would say that the emphasis is on the first half of the word. I think. But much easier than Plottier. :o)

Companions with a sense of humor? Hna. Riquelme and I had some pretty good laughs from time to time. Funny story. We just mentioned to ward members, and a couple of contacts that I´m going to start teaching english. We´re still trying to get it going. But anyway this first week I just helped Hna. Valeria Moreno, who wanted help with english anyway because she needs to pass a test. Anyway, we were talking about how to pronounce different sounds in english, and it was pretty funny. I need to remember to try to keep it simple and to keep speech pathology out of the conversation! haha. It was very funny to listen to her and Hna. Ramirez say mountain. It turns out that it´s a pretty complicated word. :o)

Do I have ¨Jana time¨?? Hum... I try to write in my journal for 5-10 minutes when I find the time, and I must admit that sometimes I don´t get it done. Sometimes in the morning before personal study I have like 15 minutes to do whatever. I would say that it ends up being more ¨Hna. Pincock¨time than ¨Jana time¨ but ít´s great.

Lisa,I don´t remember what the person had suggested as far as vocabulary expanding when we talked to him at Jordan´s game. You should remind me so I can do it! I feel like my spanish is improving. I need to get back into the habit of writing down the words that I don´t know when I hear them. That´d help. It helps as well that Hna. Ramirez really does´t speak any english at all. Before if I really couldn´t say something, Hna. Celis and Hna. Riquelme could both understand english. Not now. I still read sometimes in english, but that´s about the extent of it. It´s actually kind of crazy to think about it.

AK, a stove that you can cook lots of cookies at once? Sounds good to me! Ryan, sounds like the fish tank is coming a long well. Good work!

How fun that Lisa, Aaron, Jordan and Hallie went to see Shari and Orrin. Very fun. I hope that you all enjoyed it.

About Hna. Ramirez... she´s from Peru as you all know. Eights brothers and sisters I believe. She´s somewhere in the middle, but I´m not sure where exactly. She and one of her brothers are the only members of the church. Her brother hasn´t been a member for very long. She has a good relationship with the members so that´s good. Lets see, what else? I´ll continue to write...

I love that Nyah says ¨happy¨to say that she´s happy. That´s the goal of this life right? To be happy? Heavenly Father did create ¨The Plan of Happiness¨we just have to follow and live His plan.

I read the talk by Elder Uchtdorf today from the last conference on hope. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It´s amazing how the spirit teaches you the things that you need in the moment that you need them.

The church is true. I´m grateful for the opportunity I have to be here in Allen. I´m trying to be the missionary that Heavenly Father would want me to be. We had a good talk with one of the ward members yesterday and it was good to hear a more detailed version of the history of the ward. We really want to focus on strengthening the ward. We just do our best right? Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us, and they´re always ready and willing to help. I love you!

Love Always,
Hermana Jana Banana Pincock

Miracles (Email) 02.02.2009

Hola mi familia!

How are you all doing? I hope you´re all doing well. Well, I read parts of the letters that Mom and Dad sent me. I don´t know what to say about Uncle Richard. Wow. Our family is so blessed. I am so grateful that he went to the doctor, that they prevented the heart attack, and that he is recovering from the surgery. I´m grateful that mom could be with aunt Becky up at the hospital, and that Lisa had the opportunity to be his nurse part of the time. A lot of tender mercies. Know that I will be praying for him, and for all of the family. I´m grateful for a loving Heavenly Father, who has a plan for each of us. He takes care of us, and gives us the experiences that we need in order to become more like Him, and His Son, Jesus Christ. It´s amazing how Heavenly Father helps us remember what is most important.

Well, this has been a good week. Dad, you had written me several questions last week, but I´m afraid I forgot to write them down so I´ll have to respond next week. Sorry about that! The one I do remember is how much I see my mission president - or talk to him. I have an interview with him once every transfer, so about every six weeks. Every once in a while he calls to encourage us, etc... as well so that´s nice. We called him last night with some questions about our area, and I really enoyed talking to him. He talked about finding people, exercising our faith, having patience, and being diligent. And he promised me that there are people in my area who are ready to accept and live the Gospel. We just need to find them. I was very grateful for the opportunity to talk to him, and the encouragement he gave me. I needed it.

I am so excited that you made a list of people that you can share the truths of the gospel with! I know that Heavenly Father will answer your prayers and let you know who is prepared to learn about the Gospel. He wants us, His children, to return to live with Him!

How exciting that Nathan got his mission call! Yay! California, spanish speaking. That´s great. Do you know if he ever got the card I sent to him? I hope I used the right address... I was trying to remember from memory and I don´t know if I got it right. Anyway, tell him I´m excited for him, and that he should start studying Preach My Gospel and Spanish! That´ll help a lot in the field. :D

So we´re still getting every figured out. An interesting experience. The other missionaries had been visiting less-active members in the ward, but it turns out that several of them are actually in the Elders area. So we´re working on contacting and finding the less-active members in our area. 

My concern is that the less-active members and the recent converts in the other area aren´t going to understand why we suddenly can´t visit them anymore, unless we´re eating lunch with them. Change can be hard. However, we have to follow the rules. They´re for the good of everyone. If they understand that we´re doing it out of obedience, I pray that they´ll understand.

One man in our ward told us he had talked to the son of a less-active member in the ward, who is one of his relatives, and he said he would like to start going to a church. So he suggested that we stop by. Hermana Ramirez had gone by the house before, and the woman had ZERO interest in talking to the missionaries. But we decided to find the house and pass by again, with the hopes that her son would be there.

So we found the house, and clapped :D. She came out, and we introduced ourselves as normal, and asked what she knows about the church, etc... She said she had a story about the church, and we said that we had time to listen. :D So she let us go in her house, and she then poured her heart out to us with all her problems. As we sang ¨Where Can I Turn For Peace¨ she just cried. I know she felt the Spirit, and that we were supposed to be in her house and that moment. We´re going to go to her house and have FHE Wednesday, and we´re going to teach her and atleast one of her kids. She needs the gospel in her life again.

We eat with the members almost every day of the week. It´s still all getting worked out. But we should have about every day (lunch) from here on out. We´re pretty blessed. And I know that the members will be blessed as well.

I´m going to start teaching English once a week. In the mean time I´m trying to help Hna. Ramirez with English. Who knew that English is so complicated? :o)

We found a couple of new investigators this week. We´re praying that they´ll progress, and that we´ll be able to teach in such a way that they understand the importance of the Gospel, and what a treasure it is. I´m really trying to think about how I can improve my teaching so people can understand.

I love you all so much. I´m so grateful for eternal families. Thank you for your examples. Thank you for teaching me the truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We can live with God, Jesus Christ, and our families forever. I don´t have any doubt. Everything depends on us, our decisions, and our own willingness to repent - to change the things in our lives that aren´t in line with Heavenly Father´s will and teachings. 

I love you!
Hermana Jana Pincock

Hi! 01.26.2009 (Email)

My Family,

Hi! How are you all doing? I hope you´re all doing wonderful as always. Well, it has been a good week! Lets see, where to start...

Did I mention that Hna. Celis started the mission here in Allen? It has been interesting to meet some of the people she taught / found. Funny how it all works out.

So, we have our area more figured out this week, so that´s good. In our district meeting this last week the zone leaders went, so I took advantage of the opportunity to ask LOTS of questions. It was good. We got some things cleared up, and we still need to clear some other questions up, but I´m feeling a lot more comfortable this week about how things should be working.

We met with our ward mission leader for the first time this week, and it was really good. I felt a little guilty because we had A LOT of things to talk about with him and the elders for the first week. But there are a lot of ways we can improve! One of the first things he is going to do is get us a ward list so we can know who is and isn´t in our area. That´ll be good.

There´s also a little bit of a possibility that we´re going to change our area boundaries. We need to talk to our leaders to see who can change / decide what the boundaries are. We just want what´s best for the people in the area.

So I´m playing the piano here as well! It´s good though. I thoroughly enjoy playing the piano, and I miss the ¨therapy¨that playing the piano used to give me on a daily basis back at home. Once a week is just going to have to be good enough. :o)

So back in Plottier, we had a teacher for Gospel Principles. When she couldn´t teach, we taught as a companionship. So here the missionaries are the teachers, and we take turns. One person teaches at a time here instead of teaching in companionships. I was a little surprised, but it works. So they informed me last week, that it was my turn yesterday. I must admit, I was a little nervous about teaching the lesson, in spanish, by myself for the first time. But it went really well! It was on Temple Work and Family History. It really made me miss going to the temple. It´s so peaceful and wonderful there. The Spirit is so strong. You all need to go a time for me! Anyway, Heavenly Father really helped me with the lesson so I could teach the things I needed to, and I think they all left the lesson understanding. :D I took the calendar that you sent me for Christmas so they could see more pictures of temples, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. One family (baptized 3 or 4 months ago I believe) is pretty sure that I need to give them the calendar. :D Temples are beautiful.

Did I mention that Hna. Ramirez has been a little sick? We have had to go to Roca (the biggest city close by) several times the last two weeks so she could have tests taken (an endoscopy). Anyway, we need to go one more time on Wednesday, and that should be it. Hopefully the doctor will know what she needs to do so she can have full health.

I´m not sure exactly when Hna. Ramirez was baptized, but she had been a member a little over a year when she left for the mission.

Lisa, what is gastritis and what causes it? If you could let me know I´d love it, because I always here about people here who have gastritis, and I don´t understand why I´ve never heard of it before if it´s so common. Grac!

So we are trying to work more with the members, as I mentioned last week. Something that we were taught was to go to the houses of the members, and have them tell us the name of every person that they can think of who is not a member of the LDS church. They tell us without address, phone number, or anything. We assure them that we won´t visit any of the people they tell us, unless they want us to. So the next time we go we give them this list, which they put in a very visible place, and they are supposed to be praying about who on the list is ready to hear, accept, and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We did this with one family last night. They´re actually very missionary work oriented, so we´re excited to work with them. I am recognizing more and more why missionary work with the help of members is so important. The members already have the trust and confidence of their friends and loved ones. It is so much harder for missionaries to go in, unannounced, to houses and to try and gain their trust and confidence. Members are SO important!

So my invitation to you all, is that for FHE tonight, you can make a list of all the people you know, who haven´t been blessed with the message of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then put the list in a visible place, like on the fridge, and pray both individually and in your marriage, about who you can share the gospel with. Will you do it tonight for FHE? Great!!! I know that we all know people who would accept and live the gospel if they really understood the blessings and opportunities that we receive.

So I have been reading the conference talks still this week, and I´m thoroughly enjoying it. It´s amazing how even though I´m reading the talks in order, that I read the things that I need just in the moment that I need them.

Some quotes I love:

¨Our heartfelt testimoes are the most powerful answer we can give our accusers. And such testimonies can only be borne in love and meekness¨. Elder Hale

¨The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare¨. Juma Ikangaa (man who won the New York Marathon.)

¨I [pray] that every young woman might be encircled, strengthened, and protected by righteous priesthood power, not only at the time of birth and blessing but throughout life¨. Elaine S. Dalton

¨You must never under-estimate the power of your righteous influence¨. Elaine S. Dalton

Oh, we had a really neat lesson the other day. As we were doing contacts in the street, we met a family who are less-active, and have been for like five years or so. So we made an appt. to visit them. We weren´t sure if we could go because of the boundaries, but decided that we could. We went with Hna. Moreno, and great member of the ward. The lesson was wonderful. The family had been offended, and stopped going to church. We´re eager to keep working with them, and the Moreno family is going to keep helping us. :D

But how are you all doing? I hope you´re all doing so well. You all sound very busy, but it sounds like things are going well. I am so grateful for my family, and that we´re sealed together in the temple. I love you all with all my heart. Thanks for everything, and I´ll write again next week!

Love Always,
Hermana Jana Banana Pincock

:o) 01.19.2009 (Email)

Hola! How are you all doing? Things here in Allen are going well. What a week it has been! First off, a little bit about Allen...

The good bye at the bus terminal was a little sad. Paula Beltran had gone with us as well because she stayed with Hna. Riquelme until her new companion got there. But I survived. Luckily, a ward member was on the same bus as me so he could tell me when we arrived to Allen, because otherwise I really have no idea how I would have known. It is just a regular stop, and from what I could see, I didn´t see any signs saying we were in Allen. So that was a blessing that he was there. But Hna. Ramirez was at the bus stop waiting as well so no problem there.

I´m basically living in a palace compared to my other apartment. It´s not that my other was in bad condition, it´s that this apartment is really very nice. We basically live in the outskirts of the center of Allen. The walls are painted light green which makes me happy. There´s a big kitchen with a table, and our desks and everything. (marble- like counters). Then we have a bathroom, and a different room where we sleep. Wow, three rooms! And it has a big over-head fan in the kitchen like the one we have in our living room at home. Fun fun.

Like I said before, Hna. Ramirez is from Peru. She has been a member for a little over two years, and she´ll be ending the mission in April. It´s funny that Hna. Celis, Hna. Riquelme, and Hna. Ramirez are all from the same group. The only other sister missionary from their group is Hna. Wilches (sp??) and I don´t think I´ll get the chance to be her companion. But funny. Companions with 3 of the 4. I have eaten food from Peru for the first time this week. It was actually very good. A rice, meat concoction.... very good.

This week has been a week of finding investigators. They had a couple of investigators before, but they´re now working different schedules (it seems as though quite a few people work with fruit) and right now is definitely the fruit season. So lots of work. So those investigators aren´t really available. So... we´re starting from square one. It has been good though.

Lots and lots of contacts this week! Contacts in Plottier were never my strong point, and I came to Allen with the determination to do better. The mission goal is that we as a companionship do 140 contacts every week. We met the goal for the first time this week! Yay! 165!!! We just need to keep doing them now.

We have found some good investigators this week. We´re excited to get teaching them more so they can progress.Dad, you asked me if I have ideas about how to gain the confidence of the members. That´s something we are really going to start focusing on here, because as of now the members really aren´t very involved in missionary work. That has to change. We as full-time missionaries need the help of members.

Something a little tricky, is that we share our ward with two elders who are also here in Allen. I´m still trying to figure out how it all works. It´s okay though. We´re going to figure it out.

So things here in Allen are going well. We definitely have room for improvement but that´s good. We´re just going to keep on improving. I feel a great responsibility here, and hope I´ll be able to do what Heavenly Father expects of me. Oh, and good news, they just called a ward mission leader. I guess it´s the first time the ward has had a mission leader in quite a while, so we feel very blessed. He and his wife are wonderful, and we´re excited to work with them.

How are all of you doing? From what I hear from letters, it sounds like you´re all doing well. Have I mentioned that I love hearing from you?

Lisa, no I didn´t bring a taperecorder. I don´t even know if you can buy one here. I´m assuming so... but yes, I agree, it would be a fun game. I´m up for it if you all are as well.

Oh, we want to start a Book of Mormon project with the ward. We´re going to challenge them to all read the B of M and give a B o M away by a certain date. We´re not positive about the details yet, but we´re excited about it.

Andres should have been baptized yesterday. It makes me so happy for him and for Andrea and their kids. It´s going to make such a difference.

We got the conference talks here just recently, so I have been reading quite a few conference talks. I LOVE conference! Some of the quotes I have read recently are:

¨True happiness comes only by making others happy - the practical application of the Savior´s doctrine of losing one´s life to gain it. In short, the christmas Spirit is the Christ Spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service.¨ David O. McKay¨

In spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wise, and happier as a result... We experience hard things so that we too may have increased compassion and understanding for others... The next time you´re tempted to groan, you might try and laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable.¨ Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

¨The principle goal of your lessons is the conversion of hearts. The quality of a lesson is not measured by the number of new pices of information that you give your students. It comes from your capacity to invite the presence of the spirit and to motivate your students to make commitments. It is by exercising their faith by putting into practice the lessons taught that they will increase their spiritual knowledge. ¨ Elder Gerald Causse.

Well, I hope you´re all doing wonderfully. I´m grateful for my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for your testimonies. I love you all so much. Gracias!

Love Always,
Hermana Jana Banana Pincock

Hola! (Email) 01.12.2009

Hola! How are you all doing? Things here are going well. Well, as for the moment, I´m in Plottier, but I´m headed to Allen in about 3 hours. So Allen is in the province, Rio Negro, and from what I understand it´s only like 1-2 hours away. It was actually Hermana Celis´first area. My new companion will be Hna. Ramirez and she´s from Peru. She came to the mission at the same time as Hna. Riquelme and Hna. Celis, so she´ll be ending the mission in two transfers if I understand correctly. Pretty crazy!

Hermana Riquelme is going to train. She´s a little nervous, but I ensured her that she´ll do wonderful.

So, back to Plottier. We had Clara´s baptism this Saturday! It went really well. Fernando Acuña baptized her. The young women sang a song during the baptism and they did well. Clara was a little nervous, but it went so well. She´s so happy that she´s baptized and that she received the Holy Ghost yesterday. She really is a different Clara than the Clara we met about two months ago. The gospel is so amazing. Now her family members just need to follow her example. :o)

Andres is super excited for his baptism this next Saturday. He went to Clara´s baptism because we told him we would like him to see another baptism before his own (he had seen Andrea´s baptism before). Anyway, we had asked him Saturday after his baptismal interview who he would like to baptize him. He decided Julio Beltran (16 yrs old) so he could practice, and Fernando Acuña to give him the Holy Ghost since Fernando just received the Melchezidek Priesthood. So he took it upon himself after Clara´s baptism to personally ask them. It was so good. I can hardly believe how different Andres is now. He is totally different. When I see He, Andrea, and their kids Omar and Clara in church, all in their church clothes, learning and participating, talking about going to the temple to be sealed for all time and eternity, it makes me so happy. The scripture in Doctrine and Covenants is true that says that sharing the gospel brings you joy.

Mari and Miguel went to church yesterday as well, and two of their 3 kids. We talked to them again this week about their baptismal goal, and they have decided to set the goal for January 31st. Two of their kids are ages 8 and 10. They told us they want them to make their own decisions about being baptized. So we need to talk to them as well. Yesterday in Gospel Principles we talked about being sealed together as a family, and how their kids can´t be sealed to them in their not members. So we talked about the responsibility of the parents in teaching their children. We think they understand better now.

They´re very excited, but Miguel is a little concerned because he needs to stop smoking. So this is the next big step for them. They´re reading the Book of Mormon consistently though, so it´ll give them a lot of strength. And The Valenzuela family is helping us a ton with them. Oh the difference of having the help of members...

Jon and Judith Meneses went to church yesterday as well! Yay! They were nervous but excited about going. Their little girl Graciela went as well. Graciela wanted to help me play the piano during the hymn so that was exciting for a minute. :D She learned in a minute that she could watch, but she couldn´t touch. haha Oh I love kids.

The Bishop asked me as I walked in the door if I could speak for five or ten minutes about missionary work and my time in Plottier. It was good. A little bit of a surprise, but good. I talked about the plan that Heavenly Father has for us, how we accepted His plan, and how we need to make this plan known to all the world. And thus the importance of missionary work. It´s so true!

So not all the investigators really understood that one of us would probably be changing cities, so they were a little surprised at church. It´s okay though. It makes me sad to leave Plottier. I love Plottier! I have been witness to a lot of Miracles here. The people are amazing, and I´m never going to forget them. I´m ending one part of the mission, and it´s so crazy. It makes me so sad to think that I might not see some of the people ever again. But there´s always email and letters! It okay. On to different people and different experiences.

So sorry I have been such a slacker with pictures. I think I´m going to put all my pictures on a CD and send the CD home. Cheaper then printing them, and faster then loading them onto emails. I hope that´s okay. :D

Oh, a sister in the other ward in Plottier received her mission call on Saturday night! She´ll be serving on temple square! Her name is Hermana Salinas, so if you ever see a Sister Salinas, it´s probably her! She leaves to Provo in March I believe. And, she already knows English, so you can all talk to her without a problem. She teaches english.

So, how are you all doing? What´s new at home? Mom and Dad, I love the picture of you two at temple square. You both look really good. You look happy.

Work? Church? I love that you have been playing Memory recently. Are you still playing Sudoku? Friends? The Minsons sent me a Christmas card so it was fun to hear from them. Oh, I got the Christmas card from the stake presidency a while back as well. Very fun.

I read the talk about Angels by President Holland in the last conference the other day and I really enjoyed it. I often forget that there are angels both seen and unseen who are always helping and protecting us - us missionaries out in the field, and all of you at home. Sometimes we recognize the angels as our friends and loved ones who help us continue forward and endure to the end. But sometimes we don´t recognize it. It makes me think of all the pioneers who crossed the plains, who had the help of angels. However, I have faith that it´s the same today. Angels are real and they help, guide, and protect us.

I love you all so much. I´m grateful to be a missionary. It´s an incredible experience, and I´m learning and trying to be better every day. Love and help the missionaries, and they´ll be so grateful. Take care of yourselves!

Love Always,
Hermana Jana Banana Pincock

I forgot.... I hear that Rio Negro has a ton of fruit, so that´s exciting! Yummy. I love fruit. Pears, peaches, apples... Yay! Alright, that´s all. Love you!

Hermana Jana Banana Pincock