12-31-12

Dearest Family,

WOW!!! Can`t believe that today is the final day of 2012... And what a year it was! My year as a full time missionary of God. I will forever remember this year. It was all that I hoped and even more. I have been very blessed... more on that later. 

So... Alan was BAPTIZED yesterday! It was such a great baptism and he was so happy. The rest of his family will be baptized in the coming weeks as they keep their commitments and prepare themselves more fully. It was truly a beautiful baptism. We had a lot of ward support and the family really enjoyed it. All in all, a wonderful experience. Alan has really changed a lot and he is especially enjoying the young men`s program. We just got anew young men president who is really taking Alan in and helping him to stay strong and not give in to temptations. 

It was SOOOO great to see and talk to everyone on Skype. I am so grateful that I was able to talk with Elder Shelley. It was a highlight of my Christmas. I am so proud of you, Mackay and all that you are doing. Keep up the great work! I am so proud of you. I love Skype! Can`t believe it has been a year and a half since we last talked... love you tons! It was also great to see the rest of the family. You all look really great and I am so proud of all the wonderful things that you are doing. Keep it up! 

This last week, I did a visit to Tigre and it went really well! It was fun to be with Hermana Hualpa again. I am so proud of all that she is doing and who she is becoming. I love her so much. Her new companion in Hermana Marchant and she is just amazing. She is so very obedient and has faith like no one I know. She makes miracles. I was really impressed with her and she taught me a lot. It was really fun to share ideas and learn all together. They had a baptism as well, Ariel, a boy that is part of a family that is coming back to activity in the church. You know how I am... I LOVE working with families who have strayed from the path a bit, help them feel the love of the Savior, come back to activity in the church, and help those who are not yet baptized to make that important covenant... So I was right in my zone there. 

Funny story... one day, while we were walking, Hermana Marchant said "Hermana, you walk like a Princess!!" haha. I don`t think that Hermana Gonzalez reads the blog, but I had to think of her and laugh... I guess that I CAN change... from walking like a man to walking like a princess is good progress, I would say! haha. 

We had the best Christmas EVER! It was just fantastic. The highlights were taking Christmas to the Suarez family and making a Christmas miracle for Hermana Salazar. For the Suarez family, we went with cookies, candies, some pencils (thank you Brad for the pencils... I had 4 left, so it was perfect for the kids!), and a lesson about the true meaning of Christmas. It was really powerful, and really simple. They all cried, saying it was the best Christmas they had ever had... and it was just so simple! The Spirit was so strong and I was really touched. It was a wonderful experience. I am truly grateful.
The other really awesome part of our Christmas was making a Christmas miracle for Hermana Salazar. We realized after our mission conference that she hadn`t received any packages or letters... nothing. She was not too bummed about it because she said that she knew that she wouldn`t be receiving anything. Well, we couldn`t let that happen! So I called a recent convert and asked her if she would accompany me to make a Christmas miracle. Hermana Dunn went with Hermana Salazar to our lessons and I headed out with Hermana Carabajal. It was your typical Christmas Eve craziness with all the last minute shoppers and so we had a bit of a battle. Plus it was like 95 with 100% humidity... death! haha. But it worked out well and we were able to find a really pretty necklace, a watch, a journal, and some candies. It was fun getting it all hidden and then heading back with my companions. The next morning, Hermana Salazar was less than excited when we told her that we wanted to open gifts, but followed us out into the other room. She cried when she saw packages with her name on them under our make-shift tree (a branch that we ripped off a tree outside our apartment). It was so fun to see the joy on her face as she opened each gift. She told us that they don`t really do Christmas in her family, and it was the first experience that she has had with Christmas. Special. I like being Santa`s helper.

Our investigators are doing really well!
Rosana hasn`t been smoking for 2 weeks now and she is on track for her baptism this Saturday! We are so happy for her and that she will be able to follow her kids into the waters of baptism. She is such a special woman! She even took her lip piercing out without us even telling her. She studies the scriptures each day and keeps a journal of what she learns. WOW!

Lucìa, ALan`s sister is doing well and will be baptized this coming Sunday. The young woman are really helping her to feel a lot of love and support. The leaders are already getting her started on her personal progress.

Mauro is so great! We love him so much! I contacted him at a bus stop after having missed 3 buses (they aren`t required to stop and if they don`t feel like it, they just don`t stop... we always have to leave plenty early). He was atheist when we met him, and didn`t really have faith in anything. He is SUPER smart and was really questioning everything. He is a chemist and really likes his scientific perspective. It has been really neat seeing him gain his testimony and realized that God and science can go together. He is an awesome young adult. He already lives the word of wisdom and law of chastity, just because he always thought that it should be that way. He is so very prepared. His faith grows each and every day. He has a baptismal date for this Sunday and we know that he will make it! He is still not totally sure, but he continues reading and praying. This last month that we have been working with him has been really special.

Juan and his kids are doing great. He has been really busy, but still finds time to receive us. He and the 4 kids went to the ward Christmas party and really had a great time. They weren`t able to go to church on Sunday, but will this coming week. Our goal for them is to be baptized on the 19th.

Ana and Nayla went on vacation, but will be getting back this week. We have had contact with them for phone and they are still doing really well. They are reading together every day and are on 1Nephi 20. Good stuff! They have dates for the 13th.

We have definitely been very blessed with amazing investigators.

Hermana Hill goes home today so that she can start school next week. That is so weird. I can`t believe that it`s coming to an end. When I saw her last week, we just sat and cried for a minute. I will miss having her here...

2012 was quite the year! I can`t even begin to thank the Lord enough for all the amazing blessings that I was able to receive and the miracles that I participated in. I can literally say that every single day I experienced a miracle. I can say that every single day, I testified of Christ. I can say that every day, I put my name tag on, and left with a smile. The people I met are forever in my heart. The companions I have had have changed me forever. I have had the most difficult and the most wonderful moments of my life. I have changed. I am a different person than I was. My vision is different. My desires are more righteous. I am far from perfect, but I have learned what it really means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. I know Him now in a way that I did not before. I see things in the eternities. I look beyond myself. I have learned to want what God wants.

So, I hope that you have a very happy New Year. I can`t believe all the things that are in store for our family this year. Many people have invited us to make goals and it has been strange thinking of my goals, since most of them don`t have to do with how many investigators we will have in church, how many people will be baptized, etc... I guess all has it`s time and place. But I will say that 2013 is going to be an amazing year. I have made some pretty specific goals with a Spirit of prayer, and I am actually pretty excited for all that is before me. I am so sad to be leaving my dear Argentina, but I will not be leaving my mission. All that I am is thanks to these last 18 months and I know that the Lord expects a lot of me now. My mission will stay with me because it really determines who I am and will be. Something that Hermana Dunn and I have been talking about a lot is just completely eliminating "grey area," since really it doesn`t exist. Everything is black and white, and we want to be on the white side. Small things like burnt CDs, replacer words for bad words, gossip even if it is true or "nice," movies or TV with only "one bad spot," books that I probably wouldn`t see if they were movies, etc. We are disciples of Jesus Christ and He called us FOREVER... at ALL times, and in ALL things, and in ALL places... basically, I am not going to do, say, think, or be anything that I would not in the presence of my Savior. It is going to be an amazing year! I also have formed goals about who I will BE and then formed plans for what I have to DO in order to BE what I want to be... I am pretty excited about all that the Lord wants me to become based on the many blessings that He has given me. In Dad`s words... "this is gonna be cool!" I invite you all to think about who you want to BE this year and then form plans to become that person. Let`s do it together!

I love this gospel! I love my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I love being a missionary. I love testifying of Jesus Christ. I love doing it without apology and standing strong for what I believe. I love Argentina and these dear people. This is God`s
work and He will receive the glory... He has blessed us to be able to participate.

I love you all dearly. Thank you all for your love and support. Thank you for the wonderful Christmas gifts. I loved them all so much! I wish I could send pictures of me in my new clothes... the camera isn`t loading. Sorry. But thank you! We have enjoyed all of the things. You are the best!
Love you!
Hermana Shelley

pictures: 1. Alan's baptism

                2-4. Christmas (Sisters: Dunn, Shelley, and Salazar)

12-24-12

Dearest Family,

I hope that you have a very Merry Christmas! I am so grateful this Christmas for all of you and for all that you do. 

Update on Skype-

I will be calling around 1 and I am SO happy that I will be able to see Mackay. The family that invited us is pretty high tech, so I imagine that they already have the latest version of skype, but if not, I will see what I can do. I am pretty sure that it´s free to update. We are going to get there about 20 min early to get Hermana Salazar all set up and to make sure that skype is good to go. 

I don´t have much time, so I will leave you all with a Christmas thought-

When Nephi received the vision of the tree of life, he asked for the interpretation of the dream. When he was given the interpretation of the fruit, which is the love of God, he is shown the birth of the Savior. I have been meditating sobre this and I was pondering why he was shown the birth of the Savior to represent the love of God. It could have been the resurrection, it could have been the suffering, it could have been the dedicated life of Christ, but no. It was the birth. Then I though of the scripture in Juan 3;16 "For God so LOVED the world, that He gave His only begotten Son." 

Nephi was shown the Savior´s birth to demonstrate the love of God, because there is no greater demonstration of love. God gave us His son, Jesus Christ. He sent Him to the world as a baby to save us all. Imagine, giving up your only son. How hard it must have been. What pain our loving Father in Heaven must have felt, giving up His only begotten Son to save the rest of us. Wow. That is real love. Do we understand that love in a way that will allow us to GIVE that love? Do we feel that love in our every day lives?

Family, I love you all so much! We had the best activity today for Christmas and something that President said is so true. Christmas is about FAMILIES! We have the eternities to be together. We are giving up this one Christmas so that we can hep others have THEIR eternal families. 

Christmas is a time for giving. May we do as President Monson counsels and give the very best of ourselves this Christmas through giving the Lord the gift of obedience, serving others, and forgetting ourselves. There are so many people that we can love and lift. May we all remember the Savior in these days and the whole year. 

"Wise Men Still Seek Him"

May we be wise. 

All my love,

Hermana Shelley

ps:This next part is too funny! You may not know, but Kailei was a blog stalker before she left! She followed Sis Gonzalez (who ended up being her trainer!).

I have a blog stalker!!!!! haha. Best news ever! She sent me a Dear Elder.... she did the same thing i did... got her mission call and google it and found my blog. I feel like I have now gone full circle! 

The best part? She lives in Chandler, so we will be able to be friends! She goes out in Feb, so we will have a month in between. FUN! I feel bad, because with the holidays, the post offices are closed this Monday and next, so I won´t be able to get a letter off to her... 

So maybe you could add this little part to the blog so that she knows that I am so happy that she will be part of the grand mission Buenos Aires Norte and that I will answer all her questions when I get home. But that she should start buying stuff because President Gulbrandsen doesn´t send a letter out before. 

SO FUN! I loved getting her letter... basically awesome! 

Love you all!

Hermana Shelley

12-17-12

Dearest Family,

I am so very happy! It just hit me today! I just love being a missionary so much and I love the work and my Savior so much. I am just always happy! Not that I was ever unhappy before... it´s just that I am so so happy. The work is such a joy!

Ok... first off, Skype info. I will be calling on Christmas at 5 PM Argentina time... I think if I remember right, that is 1 PM Arizona time. If it is a little late, don´t worry, because we have to try to get Hermana Salazar set up first. Her family doesn`t have a computer or a house phone, so we are trying to figure out everything with calling cards to a cell phone and if it will connect well. It will work out fine, I am sure. So be there at 1 and if it´s a bit later, don´t start worrying :)

This week was awesome! I visited Vincente Lopez and it was a lot of fun! Hermana Erikson and Hermana Escobar are doing really great things. The area really struggles and has only had 5 baptisms all year. But it has SO much potential. I just felt the Spirit super strongly while we were there. We found 7 new investigators in 2 days and when I called last night to verify the goals that we left, 3 of them had been to church and 2 more couldn´t go but want to next week! All 5 of those have baptismal dates. So awesome! One that we met was Juan, a man who had just moved there from Peru and lives alone. He told us that he has been searching for  a church, but doesn´t like how they all say different things when Christ established one church! WOW! When we taught him about the restoration, he happily accepted a baptismal date! Love it! 

I was reading the other day in Alma 29:14 and thinking about how true it is! I am so very grateful for the success that the Lord has blessed me with, but I am even MORE happy when I hear about Mackay´s great successes. I loved hearing about Marlin, about Tyler, about the new investigators, etc. I pray for you, Elder Shelley, and I pray for your investigators. Love you! I hope that you have a very merry Christmas. 

We are really excited for Christmas. We are going to have a mission activity in the offices next Monday, the 24th (I don´t know if I will have time to write home, so don´t worry if you don´t get an email. We will be going to internet to print President´s letter, but I don´t know how much time we´ll have after the activity... I will try to send a quick Christmas hello). And then that night, we are going to surprise the Suarez family and have a Christmas dinner with them and the Bishop. We are really excited about it and preparing some little gifts and things. Then, on the 25th, we will be eating lunch with a family in our ward and then going around to do visits to all of our investigators, new members, and less actives to take them cookies and sing them a Christmas hymn. We are really looking forward to it! I think that we will really feel the Spirit of Christmas and be able to bless many lives. I love Christmas so much. Not going to lie... it´s hard to feel Christmasy when it is so hot! haha. But I am getting used to it. 

I love you all so much! I love this gospel. May we all reflect on the gifts that we can give to our Savior this Christmas. Our Heavenly Father gave us the greatest gift of His Son. Jesus Christ gave us His life and the opportunity to live with Them again. What will we give them this year? They ask for a broken heart and a contrite spirit. We must give them all. We just have to change. What can we give up or start doing that would make us more fully disciples of Jesus Christ? I know that we all have things to change and improve and that we will be able to as we rely on the Savior and His teachings. 

I LOVE YOU! See you by Skype next week :)

Hermana Shelley

ps:Tell Jenny that I love her and that I am so glad that she had a good time in Disneyland.

Tell Brad that I am really happy for him with the opportunity to student teach.

Tell Ryan good luck with his auditions and sorry that I never write. 

Tell Alison that I am so glad that she will be going to EAC. 

Tell everyone I love them so much and that I am sorry that I never write

pictures:  1. Sisters Dunn, Monticenos, Shelley and Salazar

                 2. 12-12-12 party

                 3. Modeling Sister Dunn's new glasses

12-16-12

I haven't been able to post pictures for a while (computer problems?), so I called our sweet friend-Jenny Guthrie and had her help me fix the problem. She sat down at the computer and the problem magically disappeared! Was the problem the computer or the operater?! Here are pictures from the last few weeks.

Enjoy!
pictures 1. cakes made for Marcela and Jona's baptism
             2. Marcela and Jona's baptism- El Tigre
             3. Thanksgiving apple crisp
             4. Pday in Capital

12-10-12

Dearest Family,

My final transfer phone call came last night, and... NO CHANGES!!
Woot! This officially makes for 5 complete transfers with Hermana
Dunn!! Crazy! She arrived 2 weeks into the transfer last transfer, but
we make up for that with the 2 weeks in Congreso when we started!
HAHA. I never thought that we would be so blessed. Even though I am
not actually HERE all that often, it is still really fun to be
together and we have a great time! Hermana Salazar is also doing
wonderfully. She is growing so much and we are really proud of all of
her progress.

Last night, we went to the farewell of the missionaries who go home
today, and it was WEIRD! It was strange to think that I am now the
next group to go. Yikes! There is so much more that I want to do and
be before the end comes, so I best be getting to work! I don`t even
think about the end and that helps. Just so that you know, I will most
likely be home on January 22... my flight leaves here on the 21st, but
it is a loooong trip! But don´t remind me about it, ok? If you want to
do a countdown, ok... but I don´t need to know! haha.

THANK YOU for the packages! I am so excited! I am going to buy a kilo
of grapefruit today... not going to lie, my secret hope was a
grapefruit spoon! THANKS! Also, we are on rations with the Milk Duds.
They are just so good! But they will go way too fast... especially
with three... so we made rations and they will last. And of course the
Peanut Butter and granola are ALWAYS welcome. The granola is so good!
It´s been a long time. And I love the sticky notes. They are so
perfect. Thank you for everything. And for the presents. I will wait
on those till Christmas.

Things went really well in San Ignacio 2. I was there for 3 days and
we really saw a lot of miracles. The Sisters wanted to find lots of
new investigators, so we got to work and hit the ground running. We
found a great young married couple who both accepted baptismal dates,
a part member family (Dad and 2 kids members, Mom and 1 not), who have
been to church in another city and recently moved to San Ignacio. They
had been wanting to find the church! We also found a young woman who
is the friend of one of the young women in the ward. It was a really
productive 3 days and the Sisters realized just how much you can
accomplish in a short time when you are totally obedient and
completely focused on the work. I was also able to see quite a few of
the members, and that was really special. I cried with a few of them.
It is amazing how much you can come to love the people! I am going to
miss them so much!

The investigators are doing so well! We had stake conference this week
and it was really good. We had 5 investigators there, and we were
really happy with that.

ROSANA SUAREZ changed her job and now has Sundays off!!!!! It is a
miracle! She has a baptismal date for the 29th and is so happy that
she can finally follow her kids. The Suarez family is doing so great!
The girls recited from memory the young woman`s theme the other day
and it was perfect! I felt so much joy! Rosana is trying so hard to
quit smoking and is down to about 5 a day... we have to get her
totally clean by the 19th, so please pray for her!

Ana and Nayla (mom and daughter) also went to conference. We met them
about 2 weeks ago when the little boy, Alex, threw a soccer ball over
their fence and it crossed our path. We went to return it and met Ana.
She told us that her mom is a member in Zarate and that she has been
trying to convince Ana to learn more. WOW! She is really progressing
well. They both have baptismal dates for the 23rd.

Alex is a 25 year old nephew of some recent converts. He is really
great, but it is hard for him to really believe and have faith. I know
that he will get his answer though. He just has to read the Book of
Mormon and pray to know that it is true. It will come out just fine!
He is a really good man and likes what we teach him. Now he just needs
to let it in his heart.

Alan is a 14 year old that the hermanas met while I was gone. He is
really great and has a lot of faith. He has enjoyed getting to know
the young men of the ward and he is really finding his place. His
parents are divorced and he doesn´t get very much attention at home
and was wondering if God really exists and loves him. We have seen a
lot of growth in him in these last couple of days.

We are so very blessed! I couldn´t be happier about how everything is
going and how everyone is doing. I love this work and I am going to
give my 100% every day hasta el fin. In this Christmas season, it is
my desire to gift to the Lord all that I am, give Him my entire heart,
might, mind, and strength. I want to be the best missionary that I can
be. I want to come to truly know my Savior and become like Him. I want
to do His work in His way.

Another great miracle of this week...
Christian was BAPTIZED!!! He was a contact that we made in the street
and we taught him for about a week until we realized that he lives
outside of our area. He said El Talar, but he really lives in Troncos
del Talar which is part of Pacheco. Well, he continued progressing
really well and he made the important covenant of baptism yesterday.
We were able to be in his baptism and it was really spiritual. Hermana
Dunn and I were asked to do a musical number and it was great! I am so
happy for Christian. Miracles!

Well family, I love you all so much! Thank you for your letters and
your prayers. I love hearing how you are all doing and seeing your
great progress. I love that we are all learning and growing and
sharing these great experiences. Our family has grown so much in this
year and a half! I can´t believe it. The Lord is so good to us. I hope
that we can always recognize His hand.

I love you all! Keep up the good work! Keep doing the small and simple
things. May we never weary in well doing!

LOVE YOU!
Hermana Shelley

12-3-12

Dearest Family,

Hola from Villa Urquiza!!! I had the great opportunity to make a visit to two areas this week because there are two sets of missionaries here in Urquiza. It is capital and really a lot of fun. It´s not as crazy capital as Congreso, but it is good. We got to work and really had a lot of success. I arrived on Tuesday night and will be heading out tomorrow morning. That gave me two and a half days with one companionship and two and a half days with the other. It really did turn out well and I was very pleased with it. 

I started out with Hermanas Kapp and Lobos. They had the goal of finding new investigators, so we made some plans to try some things that they had never tried before and we saw miracles. We talked with the whole world on the way to citas with less actives or recent converts where we asked for references. We were really blessed to find people who were prepared to receive the gospel and they had two investigators in church! It was really great. 

I spent the second half of the week with Hermanas Vargas and Alvey! It was really fun to get to  know Hermana Alvey even better (the Houston´s niece) and we also had a lot of success with these Hermanas. We found so many new investigators and 7 of them accepted the invitation to be baptized in December! What a blessing. One of the investigators who went to church, Yolanda, was really on the fence about her decision and didn´t know what to do. She has gone to church a number of times, but was worried to make the decision. Well, the testimony meeting yesterday was really fantastic and she felt the spirit so strongly. She will be baptized this coming Sunday.  Miracles! 

Tomorrow, I am off to another visit. I was hoping to be able to stop by Talar to change out my stuff, but it will just be easier to wash my clothes and go on to the next area... SAN IGNACIO!!!! haha. I am really excited about it! I had been planning on going to Nuñez next, but I talked with President this morning and he wants to send me to San Ignacio! haha. I can´t believe it! I am really excited to get back there and see how things are going and start some new things up. I have a greater vision of the work now and I am excited to share it with the Sisters. Hermana Montecinos is still there and it will be really fun to see her! I think I forgot to mention... about 3 weeks ago, I received a 5 page letter from her! It was really special. I know that the beginning of the mission was really hard for her, but I also know that all I asked of her was to help her to become the missionary that she is. She talked about how she now understands and how grateful she is. I sat and cried as I read it. I was so very happy to see her progress. She is an amazing missionary. She always was... she just had to see it!

Quick funny story before I sign off...

We were doing street contacts the other day and I contacted a nice looking older lady. She tapped me on the shoulder, told me that everything was going to be alright and gave me 50 pesos! haha. I explained to her that I was just inviting her to church and gave her money back. She told me that there was no shame in being poor and that I should take the money. I explained to her that I was a missionary and that I was just inviting her to come and learn more. She said "ah! I thought you were asking for money!" and then walked away. haha. It was really funny. And 50 pesos isn´t a little here... it is only about $10, but here, it is quite a bit of money... to put it into perspective, I can buy all of my food for the week for about 60 pesos. Good times, good times. It would have been even better if she had come to church! haha. 

Family, I love this gospel! I love the work! I really am enjoying my travels. I am totally exhausted, but loving every minute. It is a blast being able to go all around Buenos Aires, get to know the Sisters, and serve them. This week, we had a training meeting with President about doing exchanges and it was really great. He talked all about serving and loving the missionaries and helping them to become even more, while learning and becoming ourselves. It was a really great conference. I am so humbled by the assignment to visit the sisters. I feel that it is a great responsibility and I don`t want to mess up! I love doing it and I am always looking for chances to serve. I seriously am learning way more than what I am sharing. It is really a huge blessing. The Sisters in the mission are so impressive and I am so grateful for all that they are teaching me. It is really neat to see each of the areas and serve, teach, and love our Heavenly Father´s children all over the mission. 

Jesus Christ lives. He is our Savior and Redeemer. He knows each and every one of us individually and perfectly. He knows the things that we are going through and He can help us to overcome it. He lives! I am so excited that Christmas is fast approaching. May we remember Him even more this season as we celebrate His birth, His life, His divinity, His way. 

I love you all!!!
Hermana Shelley

11-26-12

Dearest Family

We had a really great week! 

Thank you for all of the Thanksgiving emails! I am so grateful for each and every one of you. I love you all so much. That is something that is really different about me now is my ability to love and accept. It is really neat to feel the love of God and share that with others. I love the people of Argentina so much and I love you all so much! I am so very grateful for your support and your care. Thank you for always supporting me and helping me. My mission would not be what it is if it were not for you all. Our Thanksgiving was non existent as they do not celebrate it here, but at the end of the day, Hermana Dunn said "Would you make us an apple crisp?" haha. So we decided to have a mini Thanksgiving celebration. It was good. I did remember it all day and was extra careful to show my gratitude. Sounds like you all had a great day! 

I have a favor to ask. We are going to do a 40 fast here for missionary work. I would love if the ward could send me some of their experiences so that I can share them with the ward here. I will translate them so in English is fine. Also, if anyone else has participated in a 40 day fast for missionary work and can share an experience that they had, that would be great! 

Matìas, Marcela`s other son is doing really great! The boys in the ward are really taking care of him and he is really starting to be interested. He has the goal to be baptized this Saturday. We are so happy for him. 

Claudia is the mom of two recent converts and she is just on fire. In the 2 years that her daughters have been baptized, she hasn`t wanted a lot to do with the church, just because she didn`t have a lot of time. But she always felt that it was good and possibly true. Well, we felt to go back to working with her and she is progressing like crazy now! She loved church yesterday, is reading and praying, and already even had her baptism interview because she wanted to see if she was prepared. She will be baptized on the 9th. 

Alex is a new investigator that we are working with and is really a great guy! He is 21 and has a great desire to learn and find out the truth. He is the nephew of a family in our ward and they invited us over last night for a lesson with him and it went really well. He works on Sunday mornings, but says that he can probably get it off. He accepted a baptismal date for the 22nd. 

The primary program was yesterday and it went really well! The kids were so cute and it all came together miraculously. I was able to play the piano for them, and that was so much fun! On Saturday, it was pretty rocky, but on Sunday it was absolutely perfect and the kids did such a great job. I love them so much. The Spirit was so strong and the investigators all really felt it. 

I stayed in El Talar this week and President sent me some info about the Sisters so that I could organize myself and get ready to visit them. I think that I won`t be spending much more time around here. I am sad but it will be a good experience. 

Last week, Grandma wrote something about Baked Ziti, and I must say that it sounded SOOOO good! I forgot about Baked Ziti... that will have to go on the list of things to eat when I get home... haha. 

Sorry so short. We are headed to Tigre for Pday. President gave us permission to go to a theme park, so we are excited about that. 

LOVE YOU ALL! The gospel is true! I love this work. I love being a missionary. I love the things that I get to experience every day and all the fun that we have! I am so grateful for the chance to proclaim the truth of the gospel. I love seeing the Atonement work in the lives of others. Such a great blessing. 

LOVE,

Hermana Shelley

11-25-12

Look what we got in the mail!! Makes it more real-she really is coming home. Kailei will report Jan. 27th at 11 am. Our church building is located at 1415 E Southern. We would love to see all of you there. We will let you know when we will have a small open house, so you can all visit with Kailei.

 MISSIONARY TRAVEL

  ARGENTINA BUENOS AIRES NORTH MISSION

 

SERVICE               DATE  FROM           TO             DEPART  ARRIVE

_____________________ _____ ______________ ______________ _______ ______

DELTA AIR LINES       21JAN BUENOS AIRE BA ATLANTA GA     920P    540A

DL 110               MONDAY PISTARINI      HARTSFIELD JAC         22JAN

U ECONOMY                   TERMINAL A     TERMINAL INTL

           NON SMOKING      DINNER                        NON STOP

                            RESERVATION CONFIRMED         10:20 DURATION

                  AIRCRAFT: AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A330-200

                            SEAT 23H NO SMOKING CONFIRMED

 

DELTA AIR LINES       22JAN ATLANTA GA     PHOENIX AZ     835A    1053A

DL 1546             TUESDAY HARTSFIELD JAC SKY HARBOR INT    

U ECONOMY                   TERMINAL S     TERMINAL 3

           NON SMOKING      FOOD FOR PURCHASE             NON STOP

                            RESERVATION CONFIRMED         4:18 DURATION

                  AIRCRAFT: BOEING 757

                            SEAT 37D NO SMOKING CONFIRMED

 

RESERVATION NUMBER(S)  DL/GQUU2P

 

SHELLEY/KAILEI JO  248922-R

     ETKT:DL/006 7162408446

11-19-12

Dearest Family,

Well, what a week we have had! Hermana Dunn got here Tuesday morning and I left for my first exchange on Thursday. She was really blessed to learn the area quickly. She is such a great missionary. It was hard for her to leave her area so unexpectedly, but she is doing really well. I am so grateful for all that she is doing. It is fun to be back together. Hermana Dunn is seriously one of my very best friends. We definite have a life´s work to do after three times of being comps! 

I visited San Fernando this week and it was a lot of fun. I was there 2 and a half days and we saw lots of miracles. I was able to go teach a 13 year old that they have been working with and not been able to break through her "wall." Well, I was just praying so hard and I felt extremely impressed to tell her about a memory that I had with Granny about when I was running for Student Body Vice President and aways went after school to tell her about every detail and how it was really hard for me when she passed away before the election. I wasn´t sure why I was telling the story because it didn´t really have anything to do with the lesson, but I followed the prompting. Half way through the story, she just started bawling and at the end, she told a story about how last year, she was going to go and meet her grandma for the first time, but that just a couple hours before she arrived, her Grandma passed away. It was so sad and she said that it was really hard for her still. We had a great lesson after that about the plan of salvation and at the end, she agreed to be baptized next Sunday! It was a miracle, and I was grateful for the chance to be there. I was with Hermanas Smith and Allan and they are both really great. I learned a lot from them and was able to share a few things too. They are opening the area, so it has been difficult, but it will come. They are really organized and I know that they are going to see many miracles. 

Since I wasn´t here this week much, I don´t know a lot about the investigators here, but they seem to be doing well. Marcela´s family is progressing and I know that they will get baptized. They have a goal for the 2nd of December, and I am sure they will reach that goal. Marcela and Jonas are great examples in their home. 

Maxi (from Flia Suarez) received the priesthood on Sunday! I am so happy for him! He was beaming. It was really special to be a part of that. He is even doing some odd jobs to earn some money so that he can pay his tithing. He is doing really well. I am so proud of him. He is already studying a mission prep manual. What a great example! He has only 3 short years until he is Elder Suarez! Que emocion!!!

We had a great Zone Conference last week. It was so good. I don´t have much time, but I just want to share one thing. President was talking about how sometimes we get into these routines and we are not happy because we don´t understand the why of what we are doing. We do it, because we have to. Not because we love God and His children. He had an Hermana go in and play a very boring descending C Scale over and over and over. Imagine like when I was practicing my scales as a child. He asked her to get up and he was going to do the EXACT same thing, but with a smile. He sat down, and played the exact same notes, but with a different rhythm, and it was "Joy to the World!" Wow. That was really powerful and taught me so much. We can do the same things, but our attitude changes EVERYTHING: We can do it and resent it and be sad, or we can do it with joy and gladness and be happy that we are serving the Lord, doing it out of love. Is missionary work hard? Oh man, YES! It is the most difficult thing that I have ever done! Am I tired? Absolutely exhausted!!! Do I get sick? Of course! Do I feel discouraged at times? It happens. Do we experience sadness? Every day. But it is the BEST and most WONDERFUL thing that I have ever done. It gives me more joy than I have ever experienced. We have the chance to be servants of God. We have 18 months to think of nothing but Him and His children. It is FUN. It is an ADVENTURE. It is HUMBLING. Everything about it is just so great. We choose what our mission will be. I choose to do it with a smile and with JOY. Rhythm is everything. 

Well family, I have to go. I love you all SO much. Thank you for aways sending letters. I need that support. I am so grateful for all that you are doing and becoming. I love seeing our progress individually and as a family. I love the gospel. I know that we are in the only true church. I know that we are led by living prophets. I know that we will be able to have an eternal family. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that it contains the fullness of the gospel. I know that Jesus lives. I know that we are children of God. I love you all so much. Keep up with the OLA. Prayers, Book of Mormon, and Attending church. Simple, but critical. 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Hermana Shelley