We All Scream for ICE CREAM!!

April 28, 2016

Hola Familia y amigos! 

Well this week absolutely FLEW by!  We have been some busy little bees trying to juggle all our investigators, zone meetings, preparing for Maira's baptism, and of course English classes with Hermana Cardenas. :) 

 

Baby it's (getting) cold outside!

First off...Investigator updates:

MAIRA - She is so prepared!!! It's so funny because she really has done everything herself.  She asked what she needed to do to be ready to be baptized, started reading and marking the Book of Mormon, stopped some bad habit she had with the Word of Wisdom…all before we even had to invite her to do it.  She is ready and determined to live the gospel the best she can and it all starts with her baptism this Saturday! :)  Like I mentioned last week, it’s been a long, 10 year conversion process for her, but now is her time and we are so excited to be able to be a part of it!

TAMARA – She is a cute, pregnant, 21 year-old that we met and started teaching a couple weeks ago after she came to church with her husband Matias, who was baptized when he was a kid but has been inactive for most of his life.  She too, is so prepared and ready to receive the gospel right now.  WE have taught her a few times, and she told us that after talking with her husband, they have decided that this is the path that they want to take and that she wants to be baptized!! :)  The only problem is that she and Matias aren't married...BUT they are planning to soon!  She just barely gave birth a couple days ago, so once things calm down a little, we'll be having a wedding followed by another baptism here in Mariano Moreno! :) 

JUAN - Juan came to church with his girlfriend Alejandra and his 4 daughters (one of which is special needs and just the cutest thing) last Sunday.  Our ward was so welcoming and helpful and they really enjoyed it.  For right now, Juan has the most interest, but we'll see what happens as we keep working with them. 

ALICIA - We don't know what happened, but ever since the talent show activity, we haven't been able to find that woman.  We’ve called and set up appointments, but every time we go, she’s not home.  Yesterday, her daughter told us she went out of town but we don't know where or for how long either so yeah... maybe next week.  We’ve gotta keep the faith, right? :)

This week, I taught Hermana Cardenas one of my favorite songs/chants from my childhood about my favorite food group.  It goes "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!" :)  Don't ask why I decided to teach her that...just imagine my cute little Latina compi saying it, and then smile lots, okay? :)  An Elder in our zone had his birthday this week, so Hna Cardenas sang that to him as we ate ice cream and brownies.  So funny!  

Zona Olavarria

Just being a bit crazy. :)

Also, I'm teaching her how to pray in English!!  Let me tell you ... its freaking hard! :) She's having me pray in English now to give her examples and help her practice and I really can't do it!  After almost 7 months of praying in Spanish, the first time was super rough.  But Hna Cardenas told me last night that I'm getting better at it. Hahahaha ;)  I now understand why my sister Jessica couldn't pray in English after her mission ;) 

My final thought for the week: 

President Eyring said, "Whoever you are, and wherever you may be, you hold in your hands the happiness of more people than you can now imagine.  Every day and every hour you can choose to make or keep a covenant with God."  The choices we make not only affect us, but those we love as well.  Let’s always choose the right and BE HAPPY with all our loved ones!

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

Hermana Bartholomew 

This week's pictures - ENJOY!!

Cothing Swap!
Literally the best picture we have taken together...look at how big my dress is on her. :)

much better...

Seamstress
This is what happens when the Elders ask you to sew their pants!

Our hands are a bit full...

April 21, 2016

Hola Familia y amigos!! 

Bueno, I don't have lots of time today so I'm going to try my best to explain the craziness that was our week here in Olavarría. 

First, last Saturday we had a show de talentos (talent show for those of you who don't speak Spanish 😉) with our ward.  It was super fun!  Hna. Cardenas and I had to participate so we printed off an EFY song called "Good to be Alive" and I played the piano while we both sang.  Poor Hna. Cardenas was a bit nervous because it was in English, but she did great and we had lots of fun!  To add to the happiness of the occasion, Alicia and another investigator named Raquel came!!!  

Hermana Bart, Alicia, Raquel, Hermana Cardenas
We had 3 investigators come to the talent show!

Wahoo!  Sadly, neither of them could come to church this week but it’s all good.  They both got to meet some ward members and have a good time! 

So last week we met a family that just moved into our ward - the Familia Garcia.  The parents, Sergio and Maira, had both been investigating the church off and on over a period of 10 years. Sergio is from Uruguay but grew up in Australia, then lived a bit it Europe, Brazil and New Zealand.  Maira is from Argentina, but lived in New Zealand for most of her life where they met each other and got married.  Crazy right?!  Yeah so they both know how to speak English, Portuguese and Spanish of course. J  They like speaking English with me, but I am having the hardest time understanding them... one, because I don't speak English here ,and two, imagine listening to a Latino with an Australian accent speak English.  J  Yeah, it’s pretty hard!

Anyway, 2 years ago, Sergio decided to get baptized but Maira still didn’t feel ready for it.  Fast forward to ahora [now]... they have 3 kids, the oldest of which is about to turn 8 and wants to be baptized.  Last week, we got to know them a bit and they came to the activity and church.  This week we went their home for a family night with the whole family.  As the kids were playing and we were all talking, Maira all of a sudden says, “So what requirements do I have to meet to get baptized, and how soon can I do it?”  UMMM What?!?!  Hermana Cardenas and I were both at a loss for words!  Just a couple days earlier Maira had told us that she wasn't thinking about herself, but was more focused in her son getting baptized.  It just goes to show that everyone has their perfect timing and will accept the ordinances of the gospel when they are ready.  

So, the big news is that we have a change of plans for the 30th of April...Alicia, isn't quite ready yet, but Maira accepted the date and will be getting baptized in just 2 short weeks!!! :) Yayayaya!! 

Stay tuned next week for more crazy news because we are still working with Juan and Alicia, as well as a couple new investigators that are progressing really fast. :) 

Hope you all have a great week and remember how much I LOVE YOU!!! 

Hasta luego! 

Hermana Bartholomew 

Teaching English :)

Rainy Days and Teaching English

April 14, 2016

Buenos Días a todos!! Como están?! Les extraño y les amo MUCHISIMO!

I've had lots of you ask how my Spanish is coming along so feel free to refer to the sentence above and decide for yourself! ;)  JK!  But the truth is that I feel lots more comfortable with the language and feel like I can really communicate with the people now.  Given, there are still some people we meet that have super strong accents or don't enunciate well and I have no clue what they are saying…so I just smile and look at my companion. J  It’s such a blessing to be with Hermana Cardenas because it’s much easier to learn Castellano with the help of someone who speaks it. 

That being said, I also now have the opportunity to help her learn English!  It’s not easy, but it has been super fun to try and teach her random phrases and words and help her practice her pronunciation without an accent.  This week she learned to say "What the heck?!" and "You got it dude!" J  She told me that she had heard lots of Yankee missionaries say, "What the heck?" and that she liked it and wanted to learn it.  So the other night when our district leader called us, he asked Hna Cardenas to teach him a phrase that they use in Mexico and she says, "Okay....What the heck?!" :) Oh, it’s too fun!  Don't worry, I'm also teaching her more useful and important phrases like "it’s time for bed"; "we are eating apples with dulce de leche"; "please open the door"; "I am hungry"; etc.  I’ll be honest - I'm quite enjoying being on the opposite side of the language learning struggle. :) 

Hermana Cardenas hit her 8 month mark in the mission this week, so I made her a special breakfast...complete with figure 8 pancakes, mini french toast, and ice cream too, of course! :)

Feliz 8 Meses Hermana Cardenas!!

I have not lost my touch...mini french toast :)

ICE CREAM!!!!

And speaking of cooking, when I got here we didn't have one of the most basic tools of the kitchen...a rolling pin!  But, no problem!  There was this random wood pole in our house...so we washed it, and got creative. ;)

The world's longest rolling pin

This week the weather has started to change…it has been super rainy and cold and I LOVE IT!  It’s been a bit harder to contact and talk to people because no one is outside but hay que perseverar no? [we should/must persevere, no?] :) Just gotta keep on, keepin’ on! 

I've gotta get some use out of the snow boots that I brought to a place without snow...;)
But hey...they keep my feet warm in the house!

On Sunday, there were 95 people at church!!!  It was a bit overwhelming because I was used to like 65 in Floresta.  No idea what I'm going to do when I get home and see a Utah-sized congregation again. ;)  But yeah, our ward is super great and involved in the obra misional [missionary work] so that's good!

This week we had a couple more good lessons with Alicia but she didn't come to church again. :(   We are still working hard with her and hoping and praying that she can be ready to be baptized on April 30th, but if not, it will happen in May for sure. :)  Sadly, we weren't able to teach Juan this week either, but I'm sure by now he has to be half-way through the Book of Mormon.  I'll update you all on that more next week.  Please pray for us to be able to find people who the Lord is preparing to receive our message and that the investigators that we do have can progress! 

My ending thought for the day is a quote by our prophet, President Monson from his General Conference talk in October of 2012 (sorry I only have it in Spanish...). 

"Debemos cultivar la capacidad de ver a los hombres no como lo que son ahora, sino como lo que pueden llegar a ser."  [We must develop the capacity to see men not as they are at present but as they may become.] 

I have been blessed to be able to develop this ability.  That is, to see my investigators and all the people I meet in my mission through the eyes of Heavenly Father.  Every time I teach people about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, I imagine them dressed in white, entering the waters of baptism and later, through the doors of the temple.  After all that's said and done, that really is the ultimate goal in this life...to receive the ordinances of salvation – baptism and confirmation, and then make covenants with our Father in His house - the temple.  

I challenge you all to have patience and love with all those you come in contact with daily.  Try to look at everyone you meet…not as they are now, but as what they can one day become! 

I love you all and wish you a happy weekend! 

Hasta luego!

Hermana Bartholomew

P.S. Last Thursday we went mini bowling with our entire zone and it was so fun!  We were all pretty awful, but that made things super competitive at the same time.  Good times indeed! :) 

Some very small bowling balls...;)

Our Classy Bowling Shoes

P-Day Bowling with the Zone

You can't tell me this isn't the greatest photo ever!!
We got some weird looks, but this cute little old man who is a super good bowler was a good sport.
He was really laughing hard when we took the picture.

The things that happen on the mission!

6 Months Down…1 Year to go…

April 7, 2016

HOLA!!!

Can you believe that I have finished the first third of my mission...como ya?!!! Because I sure can't!  Man, time sure flies when you're having fun!

After 6 months in the mission...I'm OFFICIALLY LEGAL!

Bueno.  This week was great!!! First of all, can we just talk about how amazing General Conference was?!  Oh boy, did I just LOVE it!!!  I've always enjoyed conference growing up, but there's just something special about getting to watch it in the mission. AND, I was lucky enough to be able to watch it in English too, so I was even more happy and excited to hear not only the words, but the voices of our dear Prophet and other leaders of the Church. 

One of my favorite talks was Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson when she shared the experience of the mother flying in the life-flight helicopter from Utah County to Primary Children’s Hospital with her son clinging to life.  It definitely brought a smile to my face when she mentioned that the mother saw the Draper temple out her window as well as other temples across the Salt Lake Valley.   (I even admit, I may have missed home just a bit hearing that.)  The thought came to this mother's head in that time of great trial, "Do you really believe it?" Like this woman in the story, and so many of us, I have been raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and have known of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ all my life.  But like this woman, I often need to be reminded of this important question, "Do I really believe it?"  So powerful! 

Also, I loved the focus of many of the speakers reminding us of what it means to really understand that we are children of God and that He loves us.  Sometimes we let things get in the way and we forget the importance of remembering where we come from.  As President Uchtdorf shared, Jesus Christ IS the Shepard, and He knows His sheep personally and will do all He can to help us, love us, and bring us back to Him when we are lost. 

Let's just say I'm on a bit of a spiritual high right now that's not going to go away! :) 

Okay, now I need to clear up something super important from last week....I messed up and was too generous to my companion when describing her height...she's actually only 4' 9" hahaha :) Oh, but isn't she just the cutest!  

Yeah...I'm HUGE, but it's fine...

I seriously LOVE Hna. Cardenas!  I also have to admit that I've been a bit of a slacker this week writing in my journal because we like to sit and talk and laugh at night instead of getting ready for bed.  But hey, that's not a bad thing right?!  At least we get along. ;)  Haha she's awesome!  

She likes it when I cook for her...
This is an Argentine Special - "Tortas Fritas" - basically scones...SUPER YUMMY!!

Dulce de Leche is my life now...Whoops ;)

I'm also helping her with her English - it’s just so fun and her accent is the best! Speaking of English... I can't speak English anymore haha!  It’s a struggle but SUCH a blessing to have a Latina compi!

Oh, and just to clarify, Hna. Cardenas was here in Olavarría last transfer too, so she's been here like 6 weeks more than me, which is bastante [enough].  But yeah, we are still getting to know the area together. 

Now I've got some really great news for you all... 

So we have this investigator right now named Alicia.  A couple weeks before I got here, she stopped the missionaries in the street and told them her son was a member of our church and invited them to come back to her home and talk with her later.  The Hermanas passed by a couple times, but she was never home or was super busy.  So when I got here, we got to actually start teaching her and she basically has already accepted everything we have shared with her as the truth.  She even said, without us saying anything, that "I was already baptized in la iglesia evangelica [the evangelist church], but I’d like to go to your church, because I like how I feel when you guys come into my home, and when I read the Book of Mormon, and if I have to get baptized again, I'll do it."   Ummm.  OKAY!!  What?!  That never happens.  So in our last lesson with her, we committed her to be baptized on April 30th (which happens to be my favorite brother's birthday 😉)!!!  She's going to come to church with us this Sunday too!  So if you can all imagine, we are just a bit excited here in Olavarría right now!!  Please keep Alicia in your prayers so that she can receive a sure answer that this is the path she needs to take, and that she will take it! :) 

Also, this week we received a reference from some members in another ward in the stake. They had given their friend Juan a Book of Mormon because he was interested.  When we met with him, he told us that he was already in 2 Nefi.  Say what?!?!  We set up a lesson with him and when we asked if he had any questions so far about what he was reading, his main concern and question was that he didn't understand what the footnotes were at the bottom of the page or how they worked/how to follow them.  Don't you worry, we can help with that, and help you understand so much more!! :)  He is really interested to learn more and we are excited to keep teaching him too. 

So yeah, it’s been a pretty good week :)  This morning, President and Hna Cifuentes came to Olavarría for interviews and then we had a zone meeting - that’s why I'm writing later today.  Don't worry, I'm still alive! ;)   So our p-day just got shifted to the afternoon, and tonight we are going bowling as a zone!  Whoop! Whoop!  Haha, I haven't bowled in 6 months so it’s going to be pretty rusty.  ;)  (Not that I was ever good at bowling before anyway, but oh well). 

Last Week's P-Day...3-Legged Relays in the Park!

P-Day Picnic in the Park

I hope you all have a great week and remember that you are each a very important son or daughter of Heavenly Father and HE LOVES YOU!!! (And I love you too!) ;) 

Hasta la proxima semana! 

Hermana Bartholomew 

Never been so excited to see a Walmart in my life...

Chao Bahía...HOLA OLAVARRIA!

March 31, 2016

Hola Familia!!! 

Well today I am writing you all from Olavarría - a city about 6 hours (by bus) away from Bahía Blanca [200 miles to the northeast].  That's right... I've been transferred away from my beloved Bahia Blanca, Villa Floresta y la Hermana Baird.  BUT... I'm still as happy as ever!! 

This week has been a little bit nuts and I don't quite know where to start.  :) 

So last Thursday we had our p-day with all the missionaries in our zone.  We went to the park and had an Easter egg hunt which was super fun!  We also painted eggs, and as a result, ate egg salad sandwiches the next day. :)  It was fun to be with our zone one last time because we all knew transfers were coming and that President was planning to change a lot of people and their areas.  

P-Day with our Zone - Selfie on the Bridge

They call us the "Triplets"
With Hermana Darrington

 

Chao Bahia - Our Last Picture together with the Zone

So Saturday morning we went over to the church to help the young women in our ward make cookies for new beginnings on Sunday.  As we were baking, our cell phone rang and it was one of the assistants to the President.  Now mind you, we were waiting for transfer calls but we never know when they are going to actually call during the day, so it’s pretty much just torture staring at the phone until they do call. 

So when the phone actually rang, we panicked and went in to another room.  Elder Chikoma started talking to Hermana Baird and was congratulating her on her new assignment and thanking her for being such a great missionary, etc.  My jaw dropped, and I immediately knew in my mind what he was referring to.  But in reality, we really didn't know for sure what he was talking about, so Hna Baird says "ELDER! What new assignment?!  What are you talking about?!"   Elder Chikoma goes silent for a moment and then started backtracking, "President hasn't called you?”  Ummm, NO!  He then proceeded to tell her that she had been called to be a new Hermana Entrenadora (sister training leader)!!!  What?!?!  So crazy!!  Haha it’s super funny too because the same thing happened when Hermana Palma left me a couple months ago.  I guess all my companions get called to be stl's right after they are done being my comp.  Haha too funny!  But yeah, from that phone call we knew for sure that we were being separated and that she was heading to a new area, but we still had to wait to hear about me. 

Our reaction when they told us we were being separated...NOT cool

Anyway, back to Saturday, poor Hermana Baird was freaking out a little bit, and we had to head right over to Hna Ortiz's house to have a lesson with Soledad.  It went well - we talked about the restoration of the gospel, and she accepted the invitation to read the Book of Mormon, pray and come to church with us on Sunday.  :)  We didn't have the heart to tell Hna. Ortiz right then that we were being transferred, so we just headed home to eat lunch and work on the area book for the next missionaries. 

Long story short, they tortured us by making us wait until 5pm that day to tell us where we were headed.  When we finally got that call, they told us that Hna Baird was headed to "White" which is just on the other side of Bahía Blanca from Villa Floresta.  Then we found out that I was headed to Olavarría... (6 hours away from Bahía in bus) and that I would be replacing Hna. Palma in an area called Mariano Moreno and would be paired with la Hermana Cardenas.  WHAT?!  :) So crazy!!  To be honest, I was super excited and actually mentally prepared and ready for a change - so it was perfect!  AND I get to be with another Latina!! Wahoo!

Hermana Baird and I spent the rest of the day packing and eating grilled cheese sandwiches as comfort food, because as excited as we were, we weren't quite ready to be separated... :(  

Sunday was a crazy blur of goodbyes at church and even a couple tears when they had us both share our testimonies in Sacrament Meeting as a goodbye... gosh that was hard.  Villa Floresta will always have a special place in my heart and I'm going to miss my ward family there lots!   

Saying Goodbye to my family in Villa Floresta - La Familia Luna

 

Familia Andrada

We will miss our Villa Floresta Ward Mission Leader and his wife

With our favorite abuela - Hermana Ortiz

Getting crazy with Hna. Ortiz

After church, we went home to eat and pack some more and then headed out to visit a few investigators and members to say goodbye to them.  Our last stop was to visit cute Tila with Hna Ortiz, and to sing to her one last time.  We made the dumb decision to sing "Para Siempre Dios Este Con Vos” (God Be with You ‘til we Meet Again), and poor Hna Baird couldn't make it through the song.  We really have loved our time together in Floresta.  Cute Hna Ortiz walked us back home and that is where we said goodbye to our cute abuelita [grandma]. 

We had to be in the terminal at 5:30am on Monday morning to meet my new companion and then catch our bust to Olavarría at 6am.  I got to see Hna Palma in the terminal and also got to say goodbye to both my mission "moms" as I headed off with Hna. Cardenas. 

With my two "moms" in the bus station terminal

So like I said earlier, Olavarría is about 6 hours away from Bahía Blanca...but our colectivo [bus] decided it was necessary to stop in every single little pueblito [town] along the way...so it ended up taking us 9 hours.  Luckily, we were able to sleep for most of it and then got to talk and get to know each other for the rest.

Selfie on the 9 Hour Bus Ride to Olavarria

The beautiful campo of Argentina that we looked at for 9 hours :)

Hermana Cardenas is from Mexico City and is 4’10”.  She has been in the mission for about 7 months and is just the cutest thing ever!!  I seriously feel like a giant compared to her, but it’s all good.  We get along great and have had lots of fun these first few days in Olavarría together, getting to know the area and each other. :)  

I'M HUGE!!!  hahaha She's too cute!!

Introducing Hermana Cardenas to SMORES :)

Bad hair day - it was just a bit windy on the bridge!

Olavarría is a lot more laid back and más tranquila que Bahía [calmer than Bahia] and I love it!  The streets are all paved and are super wide.  The people all talk pretty slow and clear and I really feel like I can understand them all…and that makes me very happy :).  

Olavarria, Argentina

Olavarria, Argentina

Olavarria, Argentina

But yeah, that’s about it.  Sorry if I rambled a lot today, it’s just that life’s been a little nuts with this big change and my head is still spinning.

I'm so beyond excited (as I'm sure you all are too) for this weekend when we get to watch General Conference.  I hope you all pay close attention and really strive to listen to the Spirit and apply what we will learn from our church leaders in a couple days.  We really are so blessed to have a Living Prophet and the modern day revalacion and instruction from other men and women called of God to teach and help us all improve our lives and strive to be better disciples of Jesus Christ every day.  

Love you all and hope all is great on the home front. :) 

Hasta luego! 

Hermana Bartholomew 

Classic Argentina Picture of the Week:

Yup - you are seeing that right...this is definitely a statue of a mother breastfeeding.
Found in a little park in Villa Floresta 

And finally, the last episode of Missionary Master Chef with Hermana Baird...making SMORES!

Super yummy!