SUDS

January 9, 2017

Hola Familia y Amigos!

This week was super humid and full of surprises.  To start, we had interviews with President Cifuentes.  As we were talking, he told me that he had a favor to ask and then asked if I could run and grab a piece of paper.  I was thinking that was an odd request, and all of the worst thing possible ran through my mind.  When I came back, he told me that he needs me to play the piano for a very special mission conference we are having at the end of the month with ELDER STEVENSON.  AHHH!!  I have to play the piano for an apostle....YES – I’M FREAKING OUT!!  President gave me the list of hymns for the meeting so that I can practice these next few weeks.  I’m super excited and honored....let's just hope I don’t screw things up. ;) 

During my interview President also surprised me by telling me that I had to attend a leadership meeting the next day in Bahia which I wasn’t planning on....so that night at 10:30 we pulled out of Mar del Plata and got to the white bay at 6:30 am...a missionary's full night of sleep right? NO!  Haha I’m so sick of colectivos (buses).  

Preparing to spend all night on a bus ride to Bahia Blanca...

Before and after we got ready in the church bathroom ;)
This is Hermana Hurtado from Bolivia...she's the best!

But the meeting went super well and I really enjoyed the chicken enchiladas that Hna Cifuentes made us. :) 

The Sister Training Leaders from Mision Bahia Blanca

We LOVE Sister Training Leader life :)

My comp and I continue having water problems in our apartment...this time the laundry machine door opened in the middle of the cycle.  I literally left the room for 5 seconds...  

I'm cursed...we just have the worst luck with water ;)

We felt like we were in a movie seeing our kitchen floor covered in SUDS (and I’m not talking about church members... 😉  Please tell me someone gets my joke??!!).

This week we had a great lesson with Gloria!!!  She has been reading in the Book of Mormon and is slowly but surely getting in the habit of praying more.  She totally remembers everything we teach her and as we talked to her this weekend about the 5 steps in the gospel of Jesus Christ, she felt the Spirit, understood, and told us she wants to follow Christ more in her life.  She accepted the invitation to be baptized!!!! YAY!!!!  She still wants to receive a confirmation, and really feel sure about it, so she didn’t want to put a date for her baptism yet.  But she knows that we are going to be there to help her get ready for that special day.  She's seriously such a miracle.  

As we were teaching Gloria about the baptism of Christ, we read the story in Matthew 3:13-17.  As we know, Christ was sinless and had no need to be cleansed of sin through baptism.  But like he said to John the Baptist, he needed to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness.  In 2 Nefi 31:5-7, it explains to us what it means to fulfill all righteousness. 

“And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!

And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfil all righteousness in being baptized by water?

Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments.”

Jesus Christ is our greatest example because he showed us how to be humble and obey God's commandments.  Baptism truly is the door, the first step that is required of all of us - even Christ - to be able to enter into the kingdom of God.  And that's why I’m here.  To help my brothers and sisters find the door and teach what they have to do in order to open it and receive all the blessings that God has waiting for us on the other side.  QUE GRANDE ES MI LLAMAMIENTO!  [HOW GREAT IS MY CALLING!]

I hope you all have a great week and remember to be obediente ;) 

Con amor y mi quinceñera (get it? because I turned 15 months old in the mission this week...), 

Hermana Bartholomew