Happy (Argentine) Mother's Day!!

October 17, 2016

Hola Familia y amigos!! 

I hope you all had a great mother's day yesterday!!  Oh wait...it’s October and you guys are in the USA, so it wasn't Mother's Day. J  Well, fun fact for you all…Argentina likes to be different from the rest of the world and celebrates mother's day in October.  Weird right?!  I'm not complaining though because the men from our ward put on a dinner for women on Saturday night, and Claudia and Angelica went.  Since they are our investigators, we got to go too!! :) 

With Claudia and Francisco at Mother's Day dinner
Francisco said he came to help the men cook ;)
Really - I think he just wanted to eat ;)

With Sonia Paez - one of my favorite ladies here in the ward.
She helps us out sooo much and is so great!!!

Cute Alberto came to help the men cook and serve

Mother's Day Dinner

Decorations for the dinner

My companion and I made little Mother's Day cards for all of the women here in our ward.  I wrote a poem in Spanish on the back...are you proud of me? ;)  

Cards for the hnas in our ward

The Poem:

De nuestras mamas estamos lejos,

y a veces extrañamos sus consejos.

Por suerte hay muchas mamas en este barrio

que nos ayudan a diario.

Gracias por su apoyo y amor,

Le deseamos lo mejor!

Cute right?? ;)

This week has been a bit crazy....I got my first sunburn of the summer!!!  Wahoo!! Haha it wasn't that bad, just a little on my neck because it was SO hot...but then it rained buckets the rest of the week and got chilly again.  You’ve gotta love spring!!  As a result of the bipolar weather, I have decided to start listening to Christmas music already.  :) Haha sorry, not sorry!! I'm happy! :) 

So this week we've been working lots with Claudia and her family and preparing them to get baptized in November.  Yael came on Friday to help decorate with the Young Women for the dinner for the moms, and Claudia came the next day and LOVED IT!  The next morning, Sunday, she woke up super sick and called us to say she wouldn't be able to come to church.  Poor thing!! Hopefully she's better for next week!  But they are seriously the greatest!!!  So, so prepared!  They've already adopted us and we have adopted them too. ;)  This last week was Francisco’s birthday and this week is Claudia’s so we've got lots of baking to do! 

Our little brother turned 10!!!  YAY :)

Birthday surprises for Fransisco

3 Birthday cakes makes a happy 10 year old
(He said he liked our cake best)

Claudia, Yael, y Fransisco

Maximiliano hasn't been answering his phone and hasn't made it to church these last few weeks... so we'll see what happens there.  

Angelica and Alberto are planning their wedding for December and Angelica seriously can't wait to get baptized!!  She asks us every day if she can get baptized yet!!  LOVE THEM!!! 

This weekend is transfers....duh, duh, duh....so we'll see if I'll finally leave Olavarrìa or if I’ll spend half of my mission here. ;)  Either way is fine with me!  Plus, I’m not going to have much time to think about it because this weekend we are having a chapel open house.  It’s a new program the church is doing to let people come and tour the chapel!  I'm super excited to see how it goes!  We have about 100 invitations to give out this week, so we’ve got to get to work!!!! 

I love you all and hope you have a great week!! 

Con amor y oreos,

Hermana Bartholomew 

Check out these cute mini Oreos with faces

I think I'm funny :)

Copying the Oreos

Referencias de ORO!!

October 11, 2016

Hola Familia!!!

Well another week has passed by here in Olavarrìa and I've completed another month in the mission... which makes my count 1 YEAR!!!!!!  I know I say this a lot, but I really don’t know where the time has gone.  IT'S FLYING BY!!  ;)  I don't want it to end...so we're just not going to talk about it, okay?  Okay.  Just gonna keep having fun, working hard and eating ice cream. :)

The absolute best way to celebrate 1 year in the mission!!!!

Where has the time gone...I'm officially OLD!

A one year mission anniversary gift from my cute companion
(it's a hymn book case)

So remember the guy "Chavo" from last week?  Well, his real name is Maximiliano.  He's doing well.  Didn't make it to church this week though... :(   We're going to keep doing all we can to help him make it to his baptism date.

BUT, we also have a new family that might be getting baptized the 23rd too!!!  So it all started last Tuesday when a member from another ward in our stake called us to give us a referral.  She set up an appointment to go with us that night and we met the GOLDEN family of a single mom named Claudia who has three kids- Yael (pronounced shaiel) who is 17yrs old, Lumina who is 15 yrs old, and 10 year old Francisco.  The member, Hna Mussi has been a friend with Claudia and a great example to them for many years.  As a result, they are so prepared and ready to hear and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ!!

Claudia told us that she's been feeling like a big change was going to happen in their lives and loved everything we taught her.  We've been able to visit her many times this last week and got her to come to church with Yael and Francisco.  They really enjoyed it and the three of them have decided they want to get baptized!!  When we invited them to prepare for the 23rd, they were a little hesitant but said they would pray to know if they should get baptized that day.  We immediately made a strong connection with their family.  Claudia has basically already adopted us, and Francisco...oh he's just like my little Argentine brother! ;)

So yeah, we are pretty excited and happy little hermanas, and all because of these great REFERRALS that we are getting from members here in our ward. 

This week, I watched a new video the church has made about the Plan of Salvation with graphics.  IT’S SO GREAT and so cute!!  If you haven’t seen it, WATCH IT NOW. But don't only watch it.... SHARE IT!!!  I loved in Elder Oaks talk at conference when he talked about all the possibilities and tools we have with internet and social media to share the gospel and then asked if we are taking advantage of all the tool we have.  Let us all follow the counsel of an apostle of the Savior and SHARE this video!!

Love and miss you all and hope you have a great week!

Con amor y pantalones,

Hermana Bartholomew

P.S. Oh, because of the risk of Zika virus, we have to start wearing pants in 2 weeks... I’m going to die of heat this summer. #helpme

More pics from last week:

The crazy Hermanas of zona Olavarria

Sleepover for zone meetings last week

Someone was tired after all of our meetings

Siempre Listo

October 4, 2016

Hola Familia y Amigos!!!

Did you not all just LOVE general conference?!  I don't know what it is but conference is just different as a missionary and I LOVE IT!!!  I love how so many people talked about how much JOY and happiness is found with the knowledge of the gospel and the plan that God has for us, and how we need to SHARE IT!!!  

Conferencia General!!
(you can tell that an Elder took this foto)

Hear me out.... coming from a missionary, I can't tell you guys enough how important you are as members in missionary work.  WE NEED YOU.  I hope you all take the counsel we were given and turn to the Lord in prayer to find his lost sheep that are all around you and introduce them to the missionaries.  I promise it will not only change the life of that person, but yours as well.  It's changed mine - that's why I've been able to stick out this last year of ups and downs here in Argentina preaching the very things that make me the happiest!  Oh yeah.... that reminds me, I hit my YEAR mark this week.... where has the time gone?!?!

Okay so this week we witnessed a miracle.  We have two investigators that we have been planning to teach and invite to get baptized this last week but it didn't matter how many times we went to their houses or called them, there were NEVER home and never answered.  So we were super disappointed.  But, we received a reference from a member in our stake and we had a lesson with him on Thursday.  From the second we met him, I could tell he was special and was ready to accept the gospel in his life.  His name (technically his nickname) is Chavo and he is from a small town outside of Bahia Blanca.  He's 27 and is an orphan.  His mom died when he was super little and his dad abandoned him. 

Needless to say, Chavo has such a good spirit and wants nothing more than to follow Christ.  I had the impression to teach him the lesson we had been planning to teach the other investigators and at the end invite him to be baptized…and HE ACCEPTED!!!!!  He's going to be baptized on October 22nd :)  I'm so happy for this guy!!  I learned a very important lesson this week - that we always have to be prepared, because even though sometimes our appointments fall through or investigators choose to stop investigating the church, there's always someone out there who is ready. :)

I hope you all have a great week and partied lots yesterday to celebrate Hailey's b-day. :) I love you sis!!!  Miss and love you all LOTS!!!

Con amor y fechas bautismales,

Hermana Bartholomew 

Cute Gabriela goes to a painting class every week and recently completed this masterpiece!! :)

We got together with our entire Zone to watch General Conference
Next week is Hermana Cifuentes' Birthday, so we made a giant card and took this picture for her!

Happy Birthday Hermana Cifuentes!  We Love you!  The Olavarria Zone

Two Patricias

September 27, 2016

Hollaaa Familia y Amigos!! Còmo estàn?! 

Hope you've had a great week!  Life is good in Olavarria.  Summer is coming in quick but this week it’s SPRING and the weather is perfect!!  Today we took advantage of the beautiful weather and took my child for a picnic in the park. :)

Spring is here!!!

:)

Jamon y queso

Giant Pineapple Trees :)

Hna Quenta's first time down the slide - I'm such a proud mom! :)

So I’ve got a funny story for you this week (well I thought it was funny at least...) 

One morning, my companion and I were out contacting people and we had been talking about how we need to talk to the people we pass on the street more and knock doors less.  Sooo... as we were walking to one of our investigators houses, a lady was walking towards us and SHE stopped to say hi to us!! Haha okay...so her name was Patricia and the poor lady has a rough life and is going through some hard things right now. But she was so nice and genuine and happy to meet us and told us we were angels to her…awww :) 

After talking to Patricia and setting up an appointment to go teach her later, we kept contacting and talked to another lady outside her store with her two little girls and you'll never guess what her name was... yep, PATRICIA! :)  Super crazy coincidence (you guys should have just seen me sitting here trying to remember that word and then how to spell it.  Now with Hermana Quenta as my companion, I haven’t spoke English in SO LONG.). 

So yeah, it was crazy in the moment to talk to and meet two Patricias in one morning.  But, the best part was that night when I was writing in my journal, I remembered a part in one of my favorite movies, "Letters to Juliet" where Charlie says, "there are TWO Patricias" and I cracked myself up laughing.  Then I had to attempt to explain it all to my companion and she didn’t get it... and most of you probably won’t get it either!  :)  Sorry but just know that I found it hilarious and so will my little sis Hailey, :) who by the way is almost 16 years old!!! Ahhhh stop growing up!!! But have a Happy (early) birthday okay?! :) 

Well folks, I hope you are all as excited as I am for General Conference this next weekend!!  It’s a little crazy because last General Conference I was in Olavarría too!!! :) At this rate,  I’m going to finish my mission here!! 

I was reading one of my favorite talks this week by President Uchtdorf from last October’s conference and wanted to share two quotes with you all. 

"There is nothing good unless you do it." 

"As we increase in faith we must also increase in faithfulness." 

With that in mind, I hope you all are faithful this weekend and take advantage of every session of conference to listen to our leaders, especially our dear prophet.  I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have that we are led today by a living prophet that receives revelation from God.  

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!!! 

Con amor y calor, 

Hermana Bartholomew 

Sharing frosting from yankeelandia with my favorite Latinas 

Es Latina!

September 19, 2016

Hola familia y amigos!!  Como estan??!!

Well...I’m once again writing from good old Olavarrìa. :) All the members and investigators have started joking around with me that I should just become a citizen of Olavarrìa now since I’ve already been here for so long. ;)  We'll see...as tempting as it is, nah, I love Draper too much!!!

It's actually been a super long week though!!  I spent p-day last week in Bahia with a trio of missionaries and was actually able to meet up with my first child, Hna Ahlmer to go get some hot coco in el centro because the weather has decided to be cold and rainy again!  

Hot coco in our favorite Bahia cafe

Look who I ran into last p-day

It hadn't even been a whole day since I last saw her, but I missed her lots igual. ;)

Wednesday morning, I headed to the mission office and went through the same nerve racking process and orientation as last time (just 3 short months ago) to find out who my next hija is!  There were 4 new Hermanas that came to the mission - 3 Latinas - one each from Chile, Peru and Brazil, and 1 fellow Utahan.  

Well, long story short, my hija is Hna Quenta (it’s pronounced “kenta”) from PERU!!!!!  Ahhhh a Latina!!!!!  

Meet Hermana Quenta!

Hija #2

Wait...didn't I just take this same picture yesterday with Hna Ahlmer? :)

Super super crazy and exciting!!  She's from a small city called Tacna in the south of Peru, lives with her mom, and is 19 (so young ;) ) .  So far, she's doing really well with the language and is doing well teaching the Argentines. ;)  Haha, jk but let's be real, I’m grateful to not have to teach Spanish again...(the reality is that Hermana Ahlmer was learning super fast and I really didn’t do much anyway).

By the time we got back from Bahia, it was Thursday and we just went and visited all the people we could before Sunday.  We've got our hands more than full and are hoping and praying that the investigators we have can progress towards baptism!!  

I'm the lone Yankee Hermana in Olavarria
LtoR: Hna Quenta (Peru), Hermana Gonzalez (Panama), Hermana Niz (Argentina)

Sleepover with the Hermanas from Azul :)

In one of our missionary handbooks, there’s a quote that says, "You have a front row seat to the greatest miracle of all: the effect of Christ's Atonement on individuals and families."  I want nothing more than for these people that I have known and loved for the last 6 months to experience the joy and peace that can only be found through accepting Christ and His atonement in our lives.  I hope you all have a great week and remember the importance the gospel of Jesus Christ has in your life and that you can share that love with others!!

Con amor y mucho arroz (my comp eats nothing else),

Hermana Bartholomew  

My mission mom...;)

Hermana Quenta with President & Hna Cifuentes

I've still got work to do!

September 13, 2016

Hola Familia y amigos,

Well, this chilly and windy afternoon I’m writing you all from Bahia Blanca.  

Traveling solo to Bahia Blanca

BUT it’s not what you're thinking…I didn't get transferred here.  I'm still serving in Olavarría and I'M GOING TO TRAIN AGAIN!!!!! AHHH!!! HIJA #2!!! Say what?!?!  

I never thought I'd have to make another one of these so soon!

That being said, you've probably guessed that my primera hija nacida en el desierto se fue [my first daughter born in the desert has gone]!!! :( (Hna Ahlmer got transferred).  But wait, it gets crazier.  You'll never guess where she got transferred.... yep, VILLA FLORESTA!!! My first area in the mission!!!  So yeah, it’s been a crazy transfer weekend to say the least!! 

When your child is all grown up and leaves the nest...

Helping Hermana Ahlmer pack...NOT COOL!

...these aren't my clothes :(

Goodbyes at 2:30 AM aren't as fun as they look ;(

Before the transfers happened, this week was super great!  We really found and taught a lot of great new people and had two new investigators come to church on Sunday so that was awesome!! It was nuts because I was literally saying goodbye to everyone and writing thank you notes to the whole ward, preparing myself to be transferred but now I guess I’ll just be more prepared for when I really leave, IF I ever actually leave Olavarría! ;) 

Okay so here's a little info about some new investigators we have;

Karina- she's a friend of some members and is recently going through a divorce and life is a bit crazy.  She's been really open to what we have taught her so far and I'm excited to see where things go.  She came to church on Sunday and really liked it! 

Barbara – she's jovencita [very young]!!  She’s only 17.  We knocked on her door a couple weeks ago and when we returned, she had read the folleto [pamphlet] we left her about the restoration of Christ’s Church and had some questions so she went to the internet to find some answers... yikes!!  Let’s just say that she found lots of lies and misinformation, but luckily she didn't accept them as truth until after she had a chance to talk to us again. :)  We taught her lesson 1 and it all just made sense to her…she really liked it all.  At the end of our lesson, Hna Ahlmer said the prayer and afterward Barbara said that she likes how we pray as if we are really talking to our Heavenly Father.  ES DE ORO!!  [She is golden!!]  Barbara couldn’t make it to church on Sunday but next week we'll get her there! 

Laura (Hilda's granddaughter I told you about a couple weeks ago) came to church too on Sunday!!!!!  Poco a poco!!  [Little by little]  Laura has really opened up to us a lot over these last few weeks and I’m really hoping and praying that she'll keep coming and want to join the church!! 

Well, as I’m sitting here in Bahia waiting to meet my new companion, I'm excited but a bit nervous to train again!  Hopefully my child will be Latina this time so I can have una hija yankee y una latina [an American daughter and a Latin daughter]. :)   After that I'm calling it good ;)  Two kids is enough!!  Haha! 

Chillin in Bahia with my hermanas
We are were all trained by Hermana Palma -  haha so fun!
Once again...I'm a middle child ;)

I have such a strong testimony that our Heavenly Father puts us WHERE we need to be with WHO weed need be with. Not only in the mission but in life.  I'm excited to see what it is that I still need to learn from my new companion and all the people in Olavarría. :) 

Hope you are all doing well!  Never forget how much I love you all and that you are always in my thoughts and prayers!  

Con mucho amor y hijas, 

Hermana Bartholomew 

Here are some other pictures from this last week...

Hermana Laplace - a less-active member here that reminds me of Grandma Barbs :)

Last P-day we took a field trip with our zone to the zoo:

P-Day at the Zooooooo!

Some strange animals...oh, and some llamas ;)

Self-timer problems...

...good enough ;)

Reptile Girl

eww...I HATE snakes, but my hija dared me to do it ;)

Sad donkey...

Zona Olavarria (menos las otras hermanas)