5-14-12

Dearest Family,

WOW! How fun to see and talk to you all last night! I loved it SO much! I am so proud of all of you and the great things that you are doing. Thank you for your examples to me and for staying on track. I love you all so much and can't even begin to express my gratitude! 

Well.....................


WE ARE STILL HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That´s right! No changes and we are SOOOO happy! I really thought that we would see a change, but I am so glad that we didn´t! It is a huge blessing that we are still together and I know that we are going to see miracles. We are both so happy and content. We just finished a great transfer, and we know that we are going to have another really awesome one! So happy! I love Hermana Dunn and the things that we are doing together. I am really grateful for all that she has taught me and continues to teach me. 

Well, not too much has changed since last night, so I don´t have too much to say... but we did have an AWESOME week and I will be trying to send pictures of the BAPTISM!!!! Yenifer Daniela Barroso was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday! She is so wonderful! And the especially great thing is that we found her through Andrea, and then through Yenifer, we found 2 more baptisms that will happen in the next two weeks. WOW! That is really the key, finding through the recent converts. That way, they have the chance to be the members present in the lessons, which really increases their own testimony as they testify, and they gain a support system when they invite their friends to come and see! It´s so awesome. Yenifer is doing great, as is Andrea. They have both started their personal progress through helping the young woman plan the family dance that they will  have on Friday. The two little girls, Marian and Milagros who will be baptized in the coming 2 weeks are also doing great! They are wonderful in primary and are learning so fast. What is especially great is that pretty much their whole family are really active members, so they can go with them. They have aunts and cousins as a support system, so that really helps. We have a lot of fun with these girls. The other night, we taught them the Macarena and then did "Tuti-Ta" and they LOVED it. We are just having a ball!



This week was also the anniversary of our Bishop and Hermana Chen. We made them some lemon bars and took them over during their work break. That was fun. It is SOO important to love and serve the Bishop. He does so very much in the work. Even just little things, I think are really important. We are blessed with a really amazing Bishop who has great counselors who are really focused on the work. I know that it is for this that we are having such great success.

I am LOVING my Book of Mormon study! Mom and Dad, it was so great to hear that you have joined in on the study! I got a couple emails from friends today that said that they are doing it too! That is so wonderful. I love the Book of Mormon, and as I have been looking specifically for references to the Savior and His gospel, I have really come to know Him better and love Him. Something that I read at the beginning of last week that I wanted to share is from 1Nephi 21:15 where it says that our Savior will never forget us because He has us graven on the palms of His hands. As I thought about the marks in His hands, I realized that when He sees them, He really does think of US every time... my first week here, I had a minor bike accident and cut my hands up a bit. I still have the marks, though they are slowly fading. Well, literally every time I see them I chuckle and think about how clumsy I am and remember the bike accident. If I think about something so trivial every time I see these little marks in my hands, how much more does the Savior think of US when He sees His very permanent marks. Think of how many times a day we use our hands! I testify that the Savior is thinking of us ALWAYS... that "our walls are constantly before His face." What a neat thing to know that the Savior knows us personally, loves us, and is always helping us. Wow.

Well, I can´t believe that we are starting in on transfer number 7... so weird. Hermana Gonzalez had 10 months in the mission when I met her, just like I do now, and today she is heading home. So weird! I think that she will probably become a great blog stalker real soon (she learned from the best! though it´s not quite as cool since she already KNOWS me... I mean, who reads blogs of people they know... boring!) so I wanted to tell her a couple of things. First off, we are SO sad that there was not a despidida... Bummer. We miss you tons and love you lots. You have been in our prayers. Second, thank you so much for telling me about Karen! I am so happy that she is back with the Díaz family... I hope that things calm down there and that they get back to church ASAP. I think that Karen will really be able to help with that... I sure hope so. And really, just thank you for EVERYTHING: You were the best trainer ever and what a blessing it was to have time together again! Thank you for everything you taught me and everything that you continue to teach me. We will be doing something, and I will remember something that you said. Thank you for your example, your faith, your love, your guidance. You are AMAZING! I know that you have wonderful things awaiting you as you start this next chapter in your life. Enjoy every moment of it! We are going to miss you, but we know that it won´t be too long until we see you again. If you have to go and get married or something, at least send an invite. haha. WE LOVE YOU TONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you again for everything! Go take a picture at the TOP of the road that ends in Ushuaia, learn how to say FedEx, eat TONS of your Mom´s amazing Mexican food, and put into practice all of the great things that you learned in the mission! You are going to do GREAT THINGS :) If you make a Mesa trip, give my parents a call... they will love you since you are JUST like me ;) But seriously, Hermana! You are amazing. Thank you for your example of Christlike love and discipleship. See you in 8!

Well... for not too much to write, that became kind of a long email... oops! Know that I love you all TONS! Please write to me about what you are learning in the Book of Mormon and how you are feeling as we take this challenge together. This morning, in my study, I was just so happy knowing that you are doing this with me! You are the best!

I don´t have any doubt that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He lives. He loves us. He is truly the Son of God. He knows you by name, as He does me. He is our advocate with the Father. We can repent every day and strive to become more like Him. Not only can we, but we must. He is calling to us. It is our great privilege to listen and go to Him.

Thank you for being the best family in the WORLD. I love you all dearly. Thank you for your love and prayers. Know that I love and pray for you. I hope that all is well with Mackay. I was glad to hear that he looks good. I will look forward to an update next week. Hang in there, Elder Shelley! You are such a great example to me and I am learning from you every single day! Thank you for your faith. When times are tough, that is because the Lord loves us and is refining us.

I love you all!!!!

Con Amor,
Hermana Shelley


Pictures: Yenifers baptism

5-7-12

Dearest Family,


Ok! So this week has been great! We have seen lots of miracles and we had many really wonderful opportunities that are a bit out of the regular routine.

FIrst off, Andrea was confirmed and it was a BEAUTIFUL blessing! It was really special and she was blessed with desires to serve in the Church as she comes to understand and live as a virtuous woman. Really great and really special!

On Wednesday, we had a special mission conference that was really fantastic. President talked about the Temple opening and how we are going to prepare ourselves as a mission. He talked about the importance of remembering our covenants and honoring them. It was all very powerful and the Spirit was sooo strong! At the end, he invited us all as a mission to take on a challenge that will help us more fully come to know our Savior and prepare us to go to the Temple. As a mission, we will all be reading the Book of Mormon from cover to cover in our native language in 60 days! We will finish the last day of June! I am so excited! We got started right away. We were instructed to mark every name and reference to Christ, everything about the doctrine of Christ, and anything that adds to our personal testimony. We have already had really powerful experiences. Seriously, everything that is in the Book of Mormon is so true. Having recently finished it in Spanish, I am really happy with the goal to read it in English. As much as I love Spanish, there is something about reading it in your native tongue. I have already really come to know and love the Savior even more just in these few days as I have sought to do so through The Book of Mormon.

Yesterday, I completed 10 months in the mission! I really can´t believe it! I don´t know where the time has gone. I have truly loved every moment of my mission and would not change any experience that I have had. I just have to make these next 8 months EVEN BETTER!!!!! I love the mission and I love who I am becoming because of it. I am here to serve and seeing miracles every single day!

This week we had an AMAZING opportunity! We have a great senior couple, Elder and Hermana Garvin who served as the directors of the Mexico City Temple Visitor Center. While they were there, they closed the visitor center for renovation. Well, they still wanted to do their work, so they took it on the road! They took the displays to the chapels! Such a cool idea! Well, the Church asked them to do the same thing here and depending on how it goes, they want to take it to many places in the world that don´t have visitors centers. Well, we got to be visitor center Sisters for a day and it was AMAZING!!! They even bring in a Christus and have His voice play with the same words that we hear in the Mesa visitors center. It was so powerful! They do that part in the chapel and then you go back to the cultural hall and they have the whole display set up and you go around and do a normal visitor center´s tour in the chapel. It was SOOO cool and the Spirit was so strong! I loved having that visitor center experience. Another super awesome blessing that day was that we were called in to do it with 2 other Sisters... Hermana Milmont and Hermana Alvey!!! So much fun! So we got to spend 4 hours with them! In those 4 hours, we had over 100 people come in, 25 of whom were not members! Of those 25, the Elders in that area (we were sent about an hour away to another area, but are hoping to do it here soon) have return appointments with something like 18 and 8 accepted baptismal dates on the spot! Wow! That is so cool! It was really just an amazing experience and I loved every moment. It was fun being a visitor center sister for a day!


So, to answer all of your questions:

1. The new area is great! It is all very green. There are TONS of trees! Fall is starting, so all the leaves are changing and it is really beautiful to see all the red, orange, and brown leaves. I will have to take some pictures today! There really isn´t much of a view cuz everything is really flat, but it is really green. We are pretty far north from Capital, so it is like the country and there are lots of fields and farms. It´s cool. Every area that I have been in has been really different.

2. Things are great with Hermana Dunn! We are loving our time together. I am thinking that it is coming to an end, and that is kind of sad... we are just starting the last week of the transfer and I don´t think that we will have more time together. Sad, but I know that we will go where Heavenly Father needs us. I love Hermana Dunn and it has been a HUGE blessing to be together again! It is really neat to have companions and learn from each and every one.

3. Thanks for putting some stuff in the box! I should get it next week I hope. We only get mail once a transfer (every 6 weeks), so if it hasn´t come yet, I will have to wait till next transfer, but I think it should be here! Thank you so much! I am excited to see what you sent.

4. The food is actually pretty normal. The biggest difference is that they cook pretty much everything in lard. So I think I am getting kinda fat... I need to change that! haha. It is super delish though! I think the most exotic thing I have eaten is definitely the octopus! But, on the 25th of May, I will probably be eating cow stomach... it is there independence day here and it is traditional to eat Locro which is a soup with vegetables and cow stomach... oh boy...

5. The people are sooooo nice! Seriously, pretty much everyone lets us in their house, even if they don´t want anything to do with the Church. They are really giving too. Even the most poor people offer us juice and crackers. In this area, people are always out in the street playing soccer with their neighbors and that is fun. Sometimes we kick the ball once or twice with the little kids.

6. Pdays here are really different. There isn´t a ton to do, so we pretty much just email and do some window shopping. It is fun. I do miss Ushuaia for that though... we would always go on hikes and stuff. Today, we are going to meet up with our district and go to a pizza buffet. Should be fun! The pizza here is SUPER yummy. You would like it.

Thanks again for all the questions! I always love answering questions, because I am never sure what it is that you all want to know when I email. 



Well, the investigators are great! The work is great! We are doing great. We are happy and healthy. We had a terrible mold problem and were finally able to get that fixed, so we hope our lungs will start opening back up! haha. But no, we are really doing so well. The work moves on. We should have 4 baptisms in the next 3 weeks and we are very excited. We will see if I stay here in San Ignacio or if I am shipped out, but whatever happens, I am happy to go.

I love my Savior so much. I love the work. Prayer is so powerful! Know that I have all of you in my prayers always.


I love you all so much! Keep up with the great scripture study and prayers!

Love,
Hermana Shelley


pictures:       1-3 pictures of Jessie's baptism
                       4-6 pictures of Andrea's baptism
                       7 friend they found in their apartment (wonder which one of them beat his leg off!?)
                      8 group at the traveling visitors center

4-30-12

Dearest Family,

If this email makes you tired just reading it, think of how very exhausted we are! haha... in a very, very good way!!! 

This week, we had:

2 baptisms

1 confirmation

2 interviews with President (one each)

Zone Conference

7 investigators in church

District Meeting

And a whole lot of FUN!!!!!

Woo! What a week! We are a bit tired but 100% happy! 

On Saturday, Jessica Micaela Enrique was baptized BY HER DAD!!!! It was such a beautiful baptism and a wonderful thing to see the whole family come together and especially that her dad baptized her! So wonderful! Then on Sunday, she was confirmed and received the Holy Ghost, also performed by her DAD! So great! That day, her mom also got called to be a young woman´s teacher. So neat to see this whole family come back! 

Then, right after church on Sunday, Andrea Micaela Leal was BAPTIZED! It was also a great baptism. She was a bit nervous and the water was a bit low, so it took 4 tries before she finally went all under, but she was a good sport about it! haha. I am so grateful to see this baptism. She is also pat of a part-member family that we are slowly completing. Also, she invited a bunch of friends to her baptism and three of them accepted baptismal dates for the 19th of May! So great!

We also had interviews with President this week and it was WONDERFUL! During the zone conference that was attached to interviews, we talked all about how when we ourselves understand more fully the Atonement, we will be better missionaries and that we will teach with more power and authority. We talked about retaining a remission of our sins and "singing the song of redeeming love." It was a really powerful experience to think back about the times that we have felt the power of the Atonement and using that to testify. We talked about how we have to retain that remission of sins and always remember the joy of repentance. We talked about how we have to repent daily to have to power and how every day, every single person makes mistakes and we have to become better. Then we learned that those who "sing the song of redeeming love" have love in their eyes, are more focused on others, teach with more power, and can really apply the Atonement. Then I went into my interview with President and it was really great! We talked about how the Lord is fulfilling promises in my life and how He is preparing people right here, right now to receive us. We talked about the vision that I have received from the Lord for my mission. Then, President looked in my eyes and said "Do you know that you are singing it?" It was such a powerful moment and I was so grateful to have experienced it. I know that i have much to improve on and that the Lord is counting on me. 

Things with Hermana Dunn are great! She is really awesome and we are loving working together. She is a go getter and has a great vision of the work and how it can and should be. I am grateful for the chance that I have to learn and grow with her. She is an awesome missionary! 

This week, we also found out that FINALLY the TEMPLE is reopening!!!! Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After THREE YEARS without a Temple in all of Argentina, we finally have an official date. The open house starts the 4th of August and the rededication is the 6th (I think) of September!!!!! We could not be happier! What a blessing!

Oh! Random awesome quote from President this week. He was talking about sometimes he hears from missionaries who say that they don´t know what they are supposed to be learning in their new area, to which he says,

"What made you think you´re here to learn?!?! You are here to SERVE!!!" 

I loved that! He shared it with our zone and I really liked it!

Quick note to my friend, Terrance who I know reads the blog...

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so proud of you and so happy for you! Congrats on your call! England! That is so wonderful and I know that you have been called by God through His prophet on the earth today! What a great experience you are going to have. The mission is the best! You will love it!

Elder Shelley,

I am so excited that you get to work with a native companion. You will love it! You truly learn the language and the culture. Use every minute to learn from your comp. And no matter what you hear about a person, if you go into it with the idea that they will be the best companion ever, they will be. Help him to know the missionary that he can be. Always look at your companions as the person that they can be and you will see miracles. 

As for Mother´s Day, still no news on the time. It for sure won´t be Monday because we have transfers that day. We are trying to find a web cam so that we can do it on Sunday in the church, but I will just have to let you know. I am very sorry. If it is Saturday, I will make sure that it is after 2 your time... is that late enough? With the 4 hour difference, it is just a bit hard much later than that. I am hoping for Sunday anyways. 

I am so grateful for this time to be a missionary! I know that the Church is true. I know it with all my heart. There are so many things completely unique to our church because it is the ONLY that has the plenitude of the restored gospel. I know that the Savior lives. I know that we have been sent to earth at this time to prepare all for the 2nd coming of the Savior. I know that we too must prepare ourselves and that we can do so by living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that the family is eternal and that we will all live together again some day. I love you all dearly and am so grateful for all your support!

Sorry no pictures, we are trying a new internet place and it´s kinda slow... 

WIth love and prayers,

Hermana Shelley 

4-23-12

Dearest Family,

Wow! Theses weeks are just absolutely flying by! I can´t believe how fast it is all going. Crazy!!! Yes, in 3 short weeks we will be skyping! Fun! I am not sure because we haven´t heard for sure yet, but it looks like I might actually be calling on Saturday... we are in a really humble area and I don´t think we will be using a members computer, because they don´t have them. We will most likely have to come here to the cyber and call... that means I will have to do it Saturday since we have to pay. I will keep you updated. But just to know, everyone goes to church early now, right? 

This was a great week! 

Jessi is doing awesome and so very prepared for her baptism on Saturday! We are so happy and it is just awesome to see the progress of the whole family. I love it so much! The ward is really happy to have this family back. They really are a great family. In Brother Enrique´s words, they missed one Sunday and then it was easy to miss the next and the next and the next. The next thing they knew, 2 years had passed. Crazy, huh? But they are back and doing great!

Andrea is also progressing to her baptism which will be on Sunday!! She is a miracle! We found her through working with a less active boy, Nicholas. He is awesome and just needed an invitation to come back! For him, we met his 12 year old sister, Andrea, who a year ago was going to church every week with her aunt and was just about to be baptized when her aunt went inactive. Well, we have helped with the reactivation of the family, and Andrea will be baptized on Sunday! She was truly prepared and is so happy. She is a really sweet girl! 

With Familia Vilma, we have to wait a couple weeks for their baptisms because they didn´t make it to church this week. Bummer. We still feel that we should keep working with them. 

Orlando is still doing so great! Still not smoking or drinking and it is truly a miracle! We love him!

So the other afternoon, we had lunch with the Familia Maidana, a fun young couple and we were doing the normal getting to know you thing. They asked where I was from and I said Arizona. Hermano Maidana said that he had a companion from Mesa. I told them I was from Mesa, but that it was really big. He said that he knew but that his comp was Elder Rogers. I said that there are tons of Rogers in Mesa, but what was his first name. Well, it was Chase!! haha. Crazy. I don´t know... maybe there is more than one Chase Rogers in Mesa, but maybe it´s him. haha. I don´t remember what the name of the mission in, but it´s the most northern mission in Chile. Small world. 

I have had a really great week with my studies! President Gulbrandsen has challenged us to catch the vision that the Lord has for our area and then to find out not only the What, but the Why (he took it from a talk from Priesthood Session from President Uchdorft). So we have been studying and praying really hard to understand what the Lord wants and why. Not why in a bad way, but why in an eternal perspective kind of way. It has been really neat to feel and know that the Lord is preparing many people right here, right now to enter into the waters of baptism, to return to activity in the church, etc. and I have received some very real very wonderful revelation. I know that all that the Lord does is to get ALL of us back into His presence one day. I know that we have to do all we can do to get ourselves back and then help others along the way. 

Sorry that this is kind of short today... I have to update some paperwork that the offices called and said that they are moving to be online. Love you all! Know that I am doing really well and loving the mission. I know that this is the Lord´s work. I know that The Church is true and that it is truly The Church of Jesus Christ. I know that the Atonement is real. I know that Jesus lives. I know that our Heavenly Father lives and loves us. I know that we are lead by living prophets. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I love it! I am so grateful for each and every one of you and for the sacrifices that you are making so that I can be here. THANK YOU!!!!

All my Love,
Hermana Shelley


Pictures: 1. Kailei and Hermana Alvey (Kevin and Danette Houston's niece)
                 2. Kailei and Hermana Dunn
                 3. Kailei's 9 months out picture (it's a tradition with the sisters to take your picture sitting down and with something under your shirt-to make it look like you've gained a lot of weight!)
                 4. Chocolate eggs (in Argentina they pour chocolate into molds and then decorate the eggs)
                 5. Decorated Easter eggs (people thought they were weird for decorating real eggs)
                 6. San Miguel, Argentina
                 7. Kailei outside of the chapel in San Miguel, Argentina

4-16-12

Dearest Family,

What a great week we had! We have been working really hard and finding a ton of really awesome new investigators which is exactly what we needed. We really want to find families! It is hard here, because not many are married and don´t really have an interest in doing so because they get some kind of benefits if they are "single parents." Not sure... but we know that it is much easier for full families to progress in the gospel because they have a good support system. Please pray that we can find complete families and future priesthood holders. Thanks!

Like I mentioned, we have some really great investigators! 

Orlando was a referral from the Bishop and he is really doing great! Our Bishop, Bishop Chen, is an amazing young man from China who owns and runs a "China" and Orlando always came to the store to buy wine. One day, Bishop told him that he wouldn´t find happiness in the box (wine comes in boxes here... actually, lots of thinks come in boxes here... milk, juice, etc.) and Orlando asked him what he met. So, Bishop sent us off to meet him. He was a huge alcoholic and was drinking something like 5 boxes a day when he almost died and was in a clinic for about 3 weeks. He is out now and when we met him, was down to a box a day (we met him last Monday). Well, since then, he hasn´t had a single drink and says that he knows that this is the true church. He went to church yesterday with his hands and face washed, his hair combed, and a clean shirt! He cried through the whole thing and said that he knows that the Lord is saving him and has brought him the truth! So great! He accepted a baptismal date in the first lesson for the 5th of May! So great! The Atonement is REAL, and it works for EVERYONE. It truly changes us. I think that for the first time in my life I finally am starting to understand the Atonement. 

Then there is Jessi. She is the cutest 9 year old girl and the second to youngest in the Enrique family. She and her family started reactivating in December and the Bishop told us that Brother Enrique is good to go worthiness wise to baptize his daughter in the 28th of April! So awesome! They have really come far and it´s so great to see the whole family together in church. Bishop Chen has this great vision of finding, rescuing, and completing (baptizing those members of the family who are not yet baptized) the less active members. It is a great program that he has called "Rescue the Flock." Man! I feel the spirit so strongly just thinking about it! We have seen miracles as we go to visit these families, invite them to come back, and invite those in the family who are not yet members to be baptized. In our ward list, there are over 800 members!!! However, only about 125 attend each week! Wow!!! And many of those missing 675 have family members who have already come to church, already tasted of the Spirit, and just need the invitation to come back into the fold. Jessi is one of those and in 2 more weeks she will happily enter the waters of baptism and be baptized by her father!!

We met the Perez family this week. The Elders had run into them the other day, but they live in our area. We went to contact them and they told us that they had been meeting with Elders in Santiago del Estero and that they were about to be baptized but unexpectedly moved about a week before the baptism! They accepted baptismal dates for the 28th as well. So great! The parents are married, so we are working on that, but the 3 daughters are golden and they told us yesterday that they have some family interested as well and they are going to invite them to a Family Home Evening that we have planned for tonight. So great!

Rodolfo is the husband of Vilma, a recent convert. He is really awesome and has a really neat testimony, but just can´t seem to quit smoking. We are really trying with him, but he really has a hard time with it. He says that he wants to be baptized, but he also wants to keep smoking. Please pray that he can experience true conversion and have the desire to change. 

Something else really awesome is that this week, we found out that one of our investigators in Congreso, Monica, got baptized a couple weeks ago!!!! So fun!! She was really great, but had some major doubts. I don´t really know a lot of the story, but her member boyfriend reactivated and for that she finally got truly interested. So awesome to hear about past investigators making it to their baptisms! I am going to have to write to her... 

I am getting used to the bike and the area. I´m not as nervous about the bike now, so I do okay. I still need to buy a mud guard.. there is just never time! haha. Next Monday I hope. For now, I just wear an old jacket while we are riding. 

Fall is coming (still weird that the seasons are backwards here) so it is cooling off at night, which is great because it is crazy hot during the day! I hear that it gets pretty cold here come winter and that it might even FEEL colder than a few of the "nice" days in Ushuaia because it is a very wet cold with the humidity... good thing I have my big jackets. 

So funny story... first, I have to explain a few things about a couple Spanish words:

el papá means dad (plural, los papás, means parents)
el Papa (unwritten, but spoken accent on the first a) means the Pope. 
la papa (sounds the same as the Pope, but a feminine now... uses la...) means the potato

So we were trying to contact a referral and the kids were outside. I said:

"Están los papás?" (Are your parents home?)
The little boy of about 6 told us that he thought they were behind the house. We asked him to got get them for us. He looked super confused, but agreed. He was gone a really long time and we were getting confused. After about 5 min, he came back, struggling to drag a HUGE crate of POTATOES!!!!! hahahahahahahahah. It was Sooo funny!!! I think that I need to make sure that I really accentuate on that word... good times, good times. 

So... I debated if I was going to tell you all this or not, but I figure I might as well... this area is the area really well know for LICE. Bleh! Super gross! Hermana Dunn got rid of hers about 2 weeks before I got here... so, Hermana Gulbrandsen told me that I can do one of two things to prevent it. First, spray my hair every morning with vinegar water, or second, die my hair (they don´t like the smell or the chemicals). For now, I am going with the vinegar... I really don´t want to die my hair, cuz I have never done it and don´t know if I could keep it up... just a box die, and I would try to just match my color, but still... and also I don´t really know how great of an idea it is. FOr now, the vinegar works, but I feel like I smell... Hermana Dunn says we don´t, but I´m just not sure. We will see what I decide... Opinions??? haha... oh the terrible memories of Mayonnaise in the heat of the day... The good thing is, they have great products to get rid of it fast if I do get it. We do weekly checks... 

So, I received some difficult news from a dear friend today that really got me thinking about the Atonement. I will declare with all I have till the end of my days that it is REAL. Please apply it! Don´t give up. Don´t stop trying. When you feel like it is hopeless, it is not. If you feel like you can´t, you can! I have learned that the Atonement is for EVERYONE! It is for the righteous, as much as for the sinner. We read in the scriptures that the Atonement took Alma, the WORST of sinners and changed him into a Prophet. It took Nephi, a strong and firm prophet, and made him even MORE. The Atonement works. The Savior does what He says He does. If you are lost, take the steps to come back. He has not left you. If you are not lost, take the steps to stay firm and become even MORE than you are. I love you. I pray for you. Come back. 


I love you all so much! Please know that I pray for you always and that I am truly grateful for the love, prayers, and sacrifices that you make so that I can be right here, right now. The Savior lives. He loves us. He paid the price so that we can return to Him and our Father in Heaven. They both want that we return to them. They want to give us all that they have. All we have to do is apply the Atonement and live the gospel. And something that I have really learned here on the mission is that living the Atonement IS applying the gospel... having faith, repenting, taking the sacrament weekly, following the spirit, and enduring to the end. May we all do it together is my prayer.

With all my love,
Hermana Shelley

4-9-12

Dearest Family,

Well..... here I am again in the north!!! haha. To answer your question, the reason that you couldn´t find San Ignacio is that it is the name of the Ward. I am in San Miguel, a suburb of Buenos Aires, about an hour and a half or so north. It is in the stake Sarmiento. San Miguel is very big, but I am on the outskirts... it would be like serving in the far out part of Gilbert where everything is dirt roads and such... Ya... and... we ride BIKES!!!!! 

Yep, you all read that correctly. We, the Sister Missionaries, are on bikes... in skirts... on mostly dirt roads (about one in 4 is paved and the others are all dirt/rock). Ya... that´s about exactly what it sounds like. I´m getting used to it. And in all honesty, it is a blessing because the area is really big. I´m not sure what they did before they recently spit it... it would have been HUGE! haha. Good times. Funny story about the bikes later. 

And yes, as everyone realized, on Friday I hit my 9 month mark. I really can´t believe it! Where does the time go. It has been such a blessing to be serving the Lord full time for this 9 months and I am looking forward to 9 more, full of miracles and memories! 

I finally met Hermana Alvey!!!! She is the Houston´s niece. She is so sweet! Since we flew in about 1AM last week, I stayed with some Hermanas in Capital for the night and she was there. It was great to meet her and spend some time there. Hermana Milmont, one of my favorite people, was also there and it was wonderful to see her! She was serving down south and we got to see them every now and again and we really just clicked. 

Also, Elder Araboa (I can´t remember if that´s exactly his name)... is in my district! He´s the Holaday´s nephew... the one who sings. It´s been fun having him the the district. He seems to be doing well. 

Hermana Dunn is great! Really, it is the biggest tender mercy to be back with her and not in a trio. We work really well together and have enjoyed catching up on the last 6 months of our lives as missionaries. She is doing really well. She has had a hard week, because they had a lot of success last transfer, TONS of baptisms... like 5 in 5 weeks, but didn´t find any new investigators, so we don´t have very many right now, but we are working like crazy and trying to get things back up. It will all be great. I was worried how Hermana Dunn would feel about me coming here, but she was great about it! She has grown a lot and I have grown a ton and now we can grow together. 

The area is pretty tranquil... um... is that a work in English? um... not sure. But everyone is pretty chill. I love the Ward. It is really good to have a ward again. It´s fun sharing it with the Elders and they are awesome. We are really trying to win the ward over. They are still not totally used to having Sisters and their first experience wasn´t the best. But the BIshop told us that he has really seen a difference and that he is excited to work with us! That was EVERYTHING!!! The ward council is really great and we know that we will see many miracles for working with them! 

It is HOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT! I thought I was just about going to die. Crazy! And I wasn´t even here for the bad part of the summer... we will see what happens come November... But it is starting to cool down and winter is coming. I hear that it FEELS crazy cold here because of how humid it is... we will see. 

So. Bikes. The first day, my chain fell off about 10 times... all I could think was "oh man! Why wasn´t I paying closer attention when Brother Mickelson showed me all this bike care stuff????" But somehow I got it back on each time... Well, at night, there was a CRAZY storm and we left our last appointment as the rain finally stopped and rode home through literally a LAKE! I forgot to mention that the burn their trash here... so we were riding with water up to the top of our tires, mud like crazy, and trash floating by that had been waiting in the street to be burned... ew. That´s when my chain broke. Our awesome member Marcos, fixed it, but then it just fell off again. Fixed it again and about 5 minutes later it fell off again. So we just had to walk home. It was crazy! We were sinking in the mud, trying to get home while wheeling our bikes and with water and trash up to our knees. haha. Oh what an adventure! We were going as fast as we could, which was not fast at all. When we finally got home, we were a mess! haha. We cleaned up and kept on with the day, planning, etc, but it was quite the adventure!

So leaving Ushuaia was HARD!!! I knew it would be, but I just didn´t think about all that it met... after 6 months, it was a very difficult move, but it is also exciting to start in a new place. It was neat, because a bunch of members and converts went to the airport to see the 3 of us off and it was great to see them. They even gave us some Tshirts and some other things. So nice! I loved every moment down there! And now, it is time to get off on a new adventure up here! 

We had a mission conference this week for Easter and it was AMAZING!! President has never done a full mission conference and it was the first time ever for him, but he felt like he should. It was all about how we too can start a new life and give truly everything that we are over to the Savior and let Him make us what He needs us to be. It was really powerful. We have made some great goals about how to become better and we know that we will see many blessings for doing it! 

I saw Hermana Hill and Hermana Binks there and got to talk to both for a time and it was AWESOME! I love them. I am hoping that I will get to be with Hermana Hill again since I seem to repeat companions. haha. I also saw Hermana Malhue, but didn´t get to talk to her because they came in right before it started and we were released zone by zone so that we stayed reverent. Sad to not be able to talk with her, but it´s ok. 

I have to run... we have to go pay our rent and the bank is PACKED!!! I love you all. I love the gospel. I love my Savior. I love the work!!!

With much love,

Hermana Shelley

4-2-12

Dearest Family,

Well if ever there was a week of MIRACLES, this was the one!!! Not only did Cristina Amarilla get baptized, but also her nephew, Javier!!!!!!! It was an absolute miracle! We had been working with him (9 years old) and Cristina getting here just helped so much! They do everything together, including family scripture study every morning before school!!! LOVE. The baptism was amazing and we had such great support from the branch! We had the first session of conference (amazing) and then the baptism, and then the second session. Talk about spiritually powerful weekend! LOVE! Cristina shared her testimony after the baptism and it was SO powerful. She talked about wanting to be baptized for such a long time, but knew that she had to be here to help Javier. She bore a beautiful testimony of truth and then dedicated herself to the work. WOW! So great. Our branch president was beaming. I love the work! 

And................ has the suspense gotten to you yet??? Are you wondering about transfers????? Well... after 6 amazing months... I have been transferred! 


I will be serving in the Provincia do Buenos Aires in an area called San Ignacio 2... with..................


HERMANA DUNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I can´t believe it either! I have learned that the Lord truly does have a sense of humor! haha. But really, I am SO excited! We only had 2 weeks as companions, and now we will be able to have more time together and I know that I am going to learn a TON from her and I will be able to share the things that I´ve learned! I just think it´s so funny because it is not normal to be with the same comp twice and I have done it twice. haha. But it will be awesome. Hermana Dunn is great and I am really excited to be with her. I know that we will really help each other out. And I have heard really great things about the area. It was a really big Elder area and 3 transfers ago, they split the area and now we share the ward with 2 Elders. It should be a lot of fun. My plane leaves at 9 tonight and I will get to Buenos Aires around midnight. I will go to a capital area to sleep and then make the trip to my new area in the morning. Good times. I am a bit nervous, but excited for the great challenges that await me. We are going to work like crazy, catch the vision of the Lord, and see miracles! I will admit that it is HARD to leave. After 6 months, this has truly become home. But I have received a confirmation of the Lord´s will and I will go and do. We are going to go say goodbye to a few people after this and I think it will be hard, but I will do ok. Hermana Kapp, Hermana Gonzalez´s new comp got in this morning and she is AWESOME! I know that they will be great together and I am excited to hear of the miracles that they will experience. 

Conference was GREAT! We had a few technical difficulties and weren´t able to see the Saturday session, but we were able to get it for Sunday! We watched it in Spanish because we weren´t able to get 2 comps going to be able to watch it in English. I actually really like that though, because I was able to see what our investigators were seeing. I am going to print out the talks we missed and read them on the plane. 

How about the MTC choir??? We saw about 10 min of Saturday afternoon, just long enough to see it. There have never been enough Sisters to have the mixed choir in conference. The ELders always sing in Priesthood. WOW! Talk about amazing! I had such a confirmation that I made the right choice. I know that not all Sisters need to go, but I know that I am where I am supposed to be. I know that I am to serve with all I have and I will give til I drop! 

Our investigators are doing great! I can´t wait to hear of their progress and baptisms. I have seriously changed so much in this last transfer. I was focused before, but now I eat, sleep, and breath the work. I think in Spanish. I dream of my investigators and how to help them at night. Hermana Gonzalez really helped me this transfer to become something much more than I was. I don´t ever want to loose the fire that I feel right now. I want to become a true instrument in the Lord´s hands. I want to do what He would do, say what He would say, and stand for Him at all times. 

Well... I better sign off. Lots to do and we have to be in the airport in 4 hours. There are 3 of us going together, and I am glad cuz my carry on is HEAVY!!! haha. The Elders will have to put it in the overhead for me... I put all my books in it so that my luggage wouldn´t be over weight. haha. 


 

You are all the best! I couldn´t ask for more support. I seriously have the best family EVER! You are all in my prayers and I want you to know that I feel your prayers. Thank you! 


I love you all,
Hermana Shelley


pictures: 1. Baptisim of Cristina and Javier
                2. Family of Cristina and Javier
                3. Branch Presidents family
                4. Barcos familly