Hermana B in Bahia Blanca : May the Spirit be Ever in Your Favor

October 24, 2015

HOLA FAMILIA Y AMIGOS!!

Okay first things first, the good news of this week - Hna. Brown's nose bleeds have stopped and we didn't end up having to go see a specialist so yay! AND even better news... she is officially going to RIVERSIDE. :) There was a lot of confusion with doctors and parents and mission presidents about the health concerns in her mission right now but they gave her all their info and the final decision. We went to the temple like we do every Saturday and we both could feel Heavenly Father answered her prayer. It was awesome! SO SO HAPPY! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers they really helped!!

The autumn trees outside our home :) I LOVE FALL IN UTAH

Next... the best surprise of the week! Yesterday (Friday) Hermana Brown and I were about to head to dinner and she had a letter that she wanted to drop off. I also had one but had left it in the classroom so we were debating whether to take the time to go get it or just head to dinner or what. Anyway, I said "It’s okay, let’s just go take your letter now and we can do mine tomorrow and we can head to dinner after."

As we were walking to the mailbox, I'm off in my own little world kind of zoned out and talking with my compi when I saw Carolyn Bristol!!! It was seriously so surreal - first of all to see someone from the outside world, and second to see such a great friend and neighbor from home! (For those of you who don't know, Sister Bristol lives up the street from my family and was my piano teacher for like 8 years.) She was here with her dad who is a teacher at the MTC for senior couples. It was definitely a tender mercy and little miracle that we ran into each other. A perfect example of how Heavenly Father puts us in the right place at the right time - all because of a little letter we needed to take to the mailbox. :)

Overjoyed to see Carolyn Bristol!

In other news I'm finally starting to sleep better here! I guess I'm so exhausted by the end of the day that I'm just out real quick. It’s probably cause of all those games of Speed/Knockout I play with the Elders during gym... and to answer your question dad, yes I've won multiple games! Don't worry I'm still humble, but I do love beating them and seeing their faces when an Hermana can play ball. ;)

This last week on Tuesday Hna. Brown and I did a half-day “fast” from English. We had two lessons with investigators that day we were concerned about, so we did our best to speak only Spanish beforehand to feel more comfortable with it during the lessons. Let me just tell you, the gift of tongues is real, WHEN you put in the effort. Yeah Spanish is hard, but it’s not when you have the Lord’s help. We just gotta keep trying our best and He'll give us the courage and ability to say what we need.

Last but not least, THANK YOU ALL. I'm seriously the luckiest missionary in the world. I have received so many packages, letters and kind emails and honestly it’s what keeps me going. THANK YOU for your love, support and prayers and know I'm praying for you all everyday. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!

There is nothing else that makes me happier than the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want nothing more than to share it and bring others to this knowledge as well. I still can't believe I'm actually on my mission and my life is now completely dedicated to serving my Savior and the gente de [people of] ARGENTINA. Gosh I'm lucky.

Espero que ustedes tienen una semana buenísima! [I hope that you all have a wonderful week!]

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Bartholomew

Funny stories of the week:

1) One day this week I braided Hna. Cafe's hair like Katniss (from the Hunger Games) and announced her at dinner as "from District 35.... Hermana Everdeen!! Then Hna. Waters (sister training leader) told everyone to pray extra for me…haha glad nothing has changed. :) This story is the reason behind my email title - slightly sad I won't get to see the final Hunger Games movie but good thing it will still be around when I get back!!

2) An elder in my zone told me that I look like Hermione (from Harry Potter) so he's taken the liberty to call me Hermana Granger...It’s pretty fun.

3) Hna. Brown's mom sent us all YO-YOs to keep us sane during the day and they are honestly life savers. Haha we look like such nerds, but hey we are somehow managing to learn how to teach the gospel at the same time, so esta bien! [its’ all good]

Artsy pic with our yo-yos haha

More pictures from the week:

Hna. Pierce and I are always the first two ready in the morning so we take advantage of the extra 10 mins of sleep we can get while our comps beautify themselves. Haha the perks of being super low maintenance. :)