Vicente Lopez - Post 5

Miracles are happening in Vicente Lopez! After working long and hard we have found someone to teach who is progressing and is super excited to get baptized this coming Sunday!

His name is Jerardo Fillippes.  He is a former investigator of 10 years meaning he first met the missionaries 10 years ago.  Every couple years or so the missionaries passed by.  About 4 or 5 years ago he started really listening but never felt anything so he stopped meeting with them.  We decided to pass by and invited to him General Conference last weekend. He said he was Catholic, had already listened to the missionaries, but would come to Conference; he didn´t come.  Hermana Salazar wanted to look for someone else but I wanted to at least go by and ask him why he didn't come.  We went by again but Jerardo wasn't there but his dad, Antonio, was. So we talked with him.  He told us that his wife passed away a year and a half ago.  We shared part of the Plan of Salvation with him and we set another appointment to visit him. 

The next day Jerardo was there and his dad wasn´t so we entered and started to teach Jerardo.  His dad showed up and Jerardo started to explain to him what we had been teaching. We taught the plan of salvation to both of them and invited them to be baptized.  His dad said no.  He has doubts about the catholic church but his family was always catholic so he was catholic by tradition and didn't want to change that.  Jerardo piped up and said "Me bautizaria" which means "I will be baptized" That took us by surprise but we were happy.  We set a date for the 27th of April.  We left him an assignment to read Alma 34, which talks about our purpose here on the earth. 

We had weekly planning saturday and while we were planning we felt really strongly that Jerardo could be ready for his baptism for the 20th of April.  We passed by saturday and talked with him about his baptism and he felt good about the 20th too.  We invited him to pray about it and taught him about the Restoration.  He was telling us that he feels really good when we visit him and reads what we leave him - the Book of Mormon and the pamphlets.  He was told us meeting with the missionaries this time feels completely different. I was wondering what is so different this time? I think with the death of his mother he realized he was missing something in his life and now he´s found it.  It´s interesting how the Lord prepares His children to accept his gospel.  

Sunday he came to church with us and had a lot of questions on the ride there but we answered them and he was happy.  He loved being in the church. All of the members were very welcoming and excited for his baptism the following Sunday.  Today we are going to meet with him and we are so excited to see him progressing and accepting the gospel in his life.  He is realizing that we have the gospel to make us happy.  And he seems more happy.

Just a couple days before we met with Jerardo and taught him about the plan of salvation, I was thinking "Why in the world was I called here to argentina? The mission is totally different than what I thought it would be.  I thought it would be a fairytale.  I thought it would be easy to find people who will accept the gospel. But it´s not. The mission is hard.  We are walking and walking and yet nothing." I was doubting (the worse that could happen to a missionary, but happens to all).  Then we found Jerardo and I remembered why I was here.  I´m here to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord.  I´m here to help people receive the happiness and joy and many blessings that the gospel brings.  I need not forget what my Heavenly Father has done for me. It´s times like these that I remember why I´m here.  

Like my mission scripture says in Alma 29:9-10 in the Book of Mormon:

 9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.

 10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me.

It really is my joy to be here helping others come unto their Savior.  I love watching the lives of others change through accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ and making covenants with their Heavenly Father so that one day they can live with Him again.  I am so grateful for this short little time I have to give thanks unto my Savior through missionary service and to submit myself to His will every day to help His other children find their way back to Him.

Also, today I had to do tramites (paperwork) for my Argentine dni (Visa).  I saw my District Leader from my last area.  He had the good news that Simon, Adrian, and Edgar are growing strong in the gospel.  They're assisting every Domingo (Sunday) and are progressing great.  I just about burst into tears of joy right then and there.

I really am so blessed to be here and right now i have no doubt in my mind that I'm where my Heavenly Father needs me to be and doing what he needs me to be doing.  If I do my part, he will guide me to those who are waiting to hear this gospel

Love and miss you all,
Hermana Allison Scarlett

P.S. Today on the collectivo (public bus) I saw the pirate man from the movie Ever After!
P.S.S. I have received the good news that here in Argentina they have GRITS!!!!!! I am going to buy some today and ensure that it´s the real deal :)  Here it´s called sémola.

Vicente Lopez - Post 4

IMPORTANT ANNOUCEMENT - NO MORE PACKAGES FOR MISSIONARIES IN ARGENTINA - But cards and letters are more than welcome!

What a week!  This week sure has been busy.

Monaday we had p-day

Tuesday was normal

Wednesday we had zone meeting

Thursday we had zone conference and divisions

Friday we had weekly planning

Saturday and Sunday General Conference

And here I am monday again and feel like we did nothing and everything

We have been running to and fro trying to go everywhere and had limited time to actually teach.  Our investigators fell through and nobody came to conference.  SO we are back to ground 0.  But tody we evaluted our efforts and are going to be SUPER DUPER FOCUSED on finding this week.  Because "nothing happens in missionary work until you find someone to teach."  

Conference was AWESOME! as always.  I really enjoyed Elder Ballard´s talk.  I suggest every member to read it and follow it´s council. Especially to study preach my gospel.  THAT BOOK IS AWESOME!  Obviously I love it and the Book of Mormon because I study them every day.  But every member really should study them every day hand in hand and they will come to understand even more the plan that Heavenly Father has for every one of his children and how we can help his othe children to accept said plan.  It really is something amazing.

OH! haha I think the elders saw a different side of me today that they didn´t expect.  The basketball side!  Haha i haven´t touched a basketball in 5 months!  We were at the president´s house and he has a hoop and a little squre of concrete but that was enough of me.  It was a bit dirty outside and sprinkling but that didn´t matter.  All the elders were inside and we were outside ballin it up!  Oh man i miss basketball!  Well that is all :)

Love and miss you all!

Hermana Aliison Scarlett

Vicente Lopez - Post 3

Wow it´s already been another week.  The time is flying by CRAZY FAST!  

This week has been pretty good :)  Monday night we called a member to see if he could accompany us on some visits and he said yes then added that he had a friend he wanted to introduce to us.  Of course we were super excited!  We went with him to where his friend works (His name is Ricardo) and the member gave him a Book of Mormon with his testimony written in the front (que capo!).  We talked about what the Book of Mormon is and invited him to be baptized.  He said if he reads it and feels like its´s right he would like that.  This guy is super spiritual and said he is willing to do whatever God asks of him.  But here is the problem - just 2 days before his work schedule changed and he works all day Sundays! AHHHHHHH!  If satan had a face I would have punched it right there and then!  We visit him in his work every other day.  Another problem is that he starts work at 8pm and it´s about a 25 min walk from where he works to where we live and we have to be home at 9 pm.  SO we have short lessons with him. He is busy with the other jobs he has and he wants to sit down and study the Book of Mormon, not just read a small part.  So we are working with him.

Also we are working with Estela.  She is a friend of Ricardo.  When we went buy to meet Ricardo she stopped by to say hi and we started to talk with her.  We talked a bit about the plan of salvation and gave her a pamphlet to read then also invited her to be baptized. She said it was a possibility and wanted to visit the church to see what it´s like.  We asked her for her address or telephone number so we could stay in contact with her but she didn't want to give us anything because she had security problems before and doesn't like to give out information.  But she almost always stops by to see Ricardo.  SO when we stop by to see Ricardo, Estela comes by too and we chat with them both.  The 2nd time we met Estela we gave her a Book of Mormon and explained what it was.  She's really great.  The only problem is that she didn't come to church this sunday :(  But when we see them again tomorrow night we'll see what happened.  Right now they are the 2 main people we are working with.

Companions!

Thursday was pretty funny.  We had weekly planning and I had really bad gas.  We were sitting there and Hermana Salazar said "mmm! Que rico que huele!"  ("It smells good in here").  I had a moment of shock and just busted out laughing and said "en serio?"  ("Are you serious?")  She said "si, por que?"  ("Yes, why?") I said "porque estaba pasando gases por como 20 minutos!" ("I've been passing gas for 20 minutes!") Then she started laughing and we were just laughing a lot.  Now we have a joke "Que rico que huele!" ("Smells good in here!")

Also this same day it started raining pretty hard in the afternoon.  We were heading back to the apartment that night and a the wind started to blow really hard and my umbrella flipped inside out!  I was trying to hold onto it and turn it so the wind would blow it back to normal and I stepped into a huge puddle of water and was getting soaked from the rain.  I finally got the umbrella fixed and closed and was just dripping wet.  I just started laughing at how funny the whole situation seemed.  My companion was laughing and so were two guys outside a nearby restaurant.   I just decided to run to the apartment in the pouring rain laughing and soaking wet.  It was quite the moment  but I love moments like those where you just have to laugh at yourself, take it for what it is and enjoy it :)  

Also Saturday I saw a guy with a t-shirt that said "Don't hate me because I´m a little cooler" and had a picture of a little cooler (the thing that keeps your food cold).  It took me a minute but when I got it I just started laughing.  Then I tried to translate it for my companion but she got really confused.

SO yeah I'm enjoying my time here in Vicente Lopez.  I hope I stay here a long time.  Even though it´s hard to find new people to teach and we had 0 investigators at church, I'm not discouraged the least bit.  There are people here waiting for us to share the gospel with them.  WE just need to find them!   And the search continues....

Hermana Allison Scarlett :)

Vicente Lopez - Post 2

Yet again this week consisted of a LOT of walking and I am plum tuckered out! 

We´ve been working in the area closest to where we live but to no avail.  At the beginning of the week we looked for former investigadores who have attended the church before.  They were all busy but said we could pass by another time and would love to go to church with us this weekend.  So we set return appointments and were very content.  But during the week they all fell through.  Every. Single. One.  And we had no one to come to church with us this weekend. We are going to try to visit them again this week and see what happens but we are REALLY going to focus this week on finding new people to teach.  But if you could pray for them their names are:  Jose, Fabian, Graciella, y Delia and Antonella.  

We are getting to know the ward members better :)  We have lunch with the members every day except Monday (p-days) and when the members live further away from our apartment, we take advantage of the opportunity to work in the area where they live before and after lunch to visit all the members, less active members, and recently baptized members.  Poco a poco (little by little) we are getting to know the ward a bit better and gaining the confidence of the members. 

This weekend we had... duhn duh duh DUHN.... STAKE CONFERENCE!  I love when we have conferences :) The theme was "apresurar la obra de salvacion"  which is "hastening the work of salvation" and it was absolutely awesome!  Talked about how everyone, members and missionaries, need to work together to share the gospel. That we need to leave behind our fears and lose ourselves in the work and will of the Lord (what I needed to hear).  The saturday night session they asked me to give the closing prayer, so I did.  I really hope that the members put to practice what they learned in the conference.  If everyone takes part in this amazing work, it will grow even more than it already has this past year and a half.

  

I´m still happy, healthy, and working hard in the vineyard of the Lord.  I love every moment of it.  Even when we are exhausted and don't know what else to do we are laughing and smiling.  Not trying to brag, but I really do have the greatest calling there is :)  I have every day to share a message that changes lives for the better and see people apply the Atonement in their lives and make sacred covenants with their Heavenly Father.  What is better than that?  IT´s hard, I'm not gonna lie, but those sweet tender moments when I see people´s lives touched by the message we share, are worth all the pain in the world.  I am so grateful for all that my Heavenly Father has done for me, does for me now, and will do for me in the future and I´m so grateful for this opportunity to be an instrument in his hands to bless the lives of all of his children here in Argentina.  

I love every single one of you and miss you a lot, but I´ll see you in 1 year! (yeah 1 year from this day is the day I finish my mission, crazy right!?!)  I´ve been in the mission 6 months and I feel like I just started yesterday!

Hermana Allison Scarlett

Vicente Lopez - Post 1

Hello everyone!  This is your favorite sister missionary here (Hermana Scarlett, in case you were in doubt of who is your favorite sister missionary :p)  telling you about my new adventures here in.... (drumroll please!)......... VICENTE LOPEZ!   

My new companion - Hermana Salazar

Yes, I have been transfered and I am with a new companion, Hermana Salazar de Honduras and this is her last transfer in the mission.  She is AWESOME!  She is my grandma in the mission (trainer of my trainer)  and we get along super SUPER well.  We are always smiling and laughing and walking, but I am loving every second of it!  

As for the area, it is GIANORMOUS! and we are the only missionaries here so we have a lot of work to do.  I love VIcente Lopez.  It´s kind of like Gastonia.  It´s got industious parts and off of the main roads there are a lot of houses.  HOUSES!   I´m really happy that we have houses :)  The Presidenta de Argentina lives here.  She has a huge estate surrounded by a brick wall.  All we can see is the top of the trees.  Also, this is the ward where our Mission President lives.  He lives on the completely opposite side of the area, but we´ve seen his wife a couple times.  (My mission president and his family are the best, fyi).

As for my week.  Last monday night my companion and I recieved the call for transfers and we were super excited.  So we ordered ice cream and started packing.  We were both leaving so we had to clean really good and leave all the information for the area nice and neat.  Then I got sick.  I started vomiting and had a fever, but we had to pack and organize and clean and all that.  It was a rough night with only 2 hours of sleep.  We got up the next day called 2 taxis to take all of our stuff to the offices, met our new companions, and went to our new areas.  When my new companion, Hma Salazar, and I got to our apartment we had to take all our stuff up 2 flights of stairs, and 2 times I had to run up to the apartment to throw up again.  But finally we got all of our stuff to the apartment.  Then we went to an internet cafe, had to run outside to throw up again, did our grocery shopping and went back to the apartment and my companion sent me to my bed to sleep.  So I slept until 6, which is when P-day ends and we are supposed to go out and work, but my companion could see that I still wasn´t feeling to good so she said we were going to stay in so I could sleep and get better.  I agreed so I slept until the next day.  When I woke up I felt a lot better, no fever, no feelings of nausea, only a little weak. 

Top paper is area in Congresso
Bottom paper is Vicente Lopez

The following days we walked, A LOT!  The investigators that the Elders had been teaching weren´t home or weren't answering their phones so we started looking up addresses of members that live close by and we walked and walked a lot!  But we were happy, chatting and enjoying our time together as missionaries.  And the whole rest of the week that´s pretty much all we did, was walk and talk with people.  Here in Vicente Lopez, it´s a higher class area, so the people in general aren't very interested in listening to religion, but that doesn´t matter. The least I can do is open my mouth and invite people to listen.  

Saturday the Relief Society had an activity celebrating the 50th anniversary of Relief Society.  We went by to get to know the sisters and it was a lot of fun.  Sunday the bishop asked us to give our testimonies, so we did, and afterwards I was sitting in the pew thinking "What I´m doing right now, really is kinda crazy.  I´m a 19 year old girl form Gastonia, NC living in argentina in an area where I know almost nothing and nobody, teaching people about Jesus Christ and his restored church, speaking SPANISH with a companion that i´ve only known for a week. I get to put on a plaque everyday with my name and the name of the person who i´m representing, Jesus Christ." And then I thought of a phrase mom said to me once "The church must be true, because if it wasn´t the missionaries would have destroyed it a long time ago."  I am so imperfect and yet I have every day for 18 months the opportunity to invite people to come to Christ.  I really have the greatest calling in ALL of the WORLD!  Oh how I love to be a missionary!

SO yeah, I´m good, healthy, and happy :)  

Remember,

The Church is True

The Book is Blue

And Moroni is on the Ball!

Hermana Allison Scarlett