holllaaaaaa!!!!

Holllaaaaaaaaaa! What a great week we had! I am just SO HAPPY to be a missionary. It is the best time of my life.

CHISTOSOS:

·       Oh my goodness. I almost died in a lesson the other day. So we were having this great lesson with a couple that needs to get married. They have 5 kids and their youngest son, Franco, has 9 years and has lots of learning difficulties. So we are in the lesson and it’s like the most spiritual part. The spirit is so strong and we are just testifying about Jesus Cristo aful. Then all of a sudden we hear their dog barking like crazy and freaking out. So we look over and FRANCO HAD PUT THE DOG IN A PLASTIC BAG and the dog was about to suffocate so the mom freaked out and ran over to save it hahahahahahahahahahaha. Then they told us that this would not have been the first animal he has killed. They have an animal cemetery in the backyard! haha

·       Idk if I have told y’all about Liliana (picture attached) but she is like my favorite lady ever. She was baptized about a month ago and we had lunch with her the other day and she made empanadas - my fav. Then she told us that there were two surprise empanadas so we had to find them. So H Williams and I were looked and everything and we finally found them but all they had was a little bit of cheese. It was basically air. Liliana thought it was the funniest thing ever and started laughing and she does that one laugh where you forget to breathe. Love her so much

·       Our mission leader here in Manantial is named Leo and so now every time I see him I put a giant L on my forehead (like the loser sign) and yell LEADER LEO. He thinks it’s the best because he loves the attention. Plus he bought us ice cream for our 

BAAAAAPPPPPPTTTTTTTIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSMMMMMMMMMMMM

MILAGROS:

·       That’s right. We had a baptism!!!!!!! Wooohoooo!!!! Mauro got baptized and it was the best thing ever. He was so so so excited and his mom is Liliana and she gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. And then on Sunday he showed up late to church because public transportation chupa. BUT HE CAME and then he got the Holy Ghost and I just couldn’t stop smiling. Then in our class, we were talking about his baptism and everything and we were like what do you want to do now Mauro? And he said he wants to GO ON A MISSION! THAT IS MUSIC TO MY EARS FRIENDS. I am so happy! He already has 22 years so now he just has to wait a year and then go and serve the Lord! 

·       I found a picture of my cousin in the church magazine. That was a miracle. Love you Abby. Can I have your signature?

·       I GOT A LETTER FROM THAILAND. I feel so spoiled. Idk how I keep receiving so much support. I feel so blessed. 

·       Interviews with Presidente this week! He wasn’t even that behind schedule so yay! But I really know that he is a man called from God to lead the work. So grateful for him! 

LET ME TELL YOU A LITTLE ABOUT OUR INVESTIGADORES JULIA Y FRANCO. When people just show up to church because they feel like it, that is a great sign of golden investigadores. We have been teaching Julia and Franco for like a week now and they are so excited to be baptized and they have so many good desires - like they are already reading the Book of Mormon every day! So grateful for them! Keep them in your prayers! 

And EASTER is this week! wooohoo!  And general conference! 

But I know that my Savior lives and that He loves each and every one of us. Here is some proof. This is a scripture when Jesus Christ came to visit the Americas after his resurrection 

3  Nefi 11:14  “Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.”

Jesus Christ invites to gain our own testimony. He invites us to COME UNTO HIM and to PARTICIPATE OF HIS LOVE! I have felt His love so much in the mission and am so happy to be one of His servants 

Love you all! 

COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT

hermana mann

Familia Erasmo

homies

LA BUSQUEDA DE HELADO

lider leo!!!!!

Liliana aka bff

MAURO (he kinda looks like donkey kong right?)

surprise empanadas

Happy Anniversary

Hello family and friends! We had a super crazy week but I absolutely loved it. God is so good and I absolutely love the mission. 

We are gonna throw it back to ONE YEAR AGO when I came on the mission and all my letters were so organized and I was all spiritual and all that jazz. (But really, can’t believe that it has been almost a year. do y’all miss me yet?) 

Anyways............

CHISTOSOS:

·       So I have a little book that I call my smile book because there are so many reasons to smile but at the same time, life is hard. So I always right down the things that make me smile to help remind me of the countless blessings God gives me every day. Here are the latest entries in my smile book:

·       (Hermana Williams and I were explaining that training is like your life. And week 5 is like having 7 or 8 years) HW: so basically you are my mom and you come to school to eat lunch with me and all my friends think you’re cool

·       When someone doesn’t come to church because they are making lunch for you. Face palm so hard. Thank you but ummm...your salvation

·       Mauro, one of our faithful investigadores had a shirt that said I would cuddle you so hard. He don’t speak English and has no idea what it means but H Williams and I were dying. 

·       H Williams: Why am I fea and untalented. I just want to be a cougarette.

·       Bombas de papa con arroz. CARBS CARBS CARBS CARBS CARBS

·       I freakin’ hate Satan.....H Williams and I are not gonna let Satan win. He has nothing on us.

·       Nadia, the wife of a member that goes to church and pays her tithing but is not baptized. We were explaining that in the ward conference we were gonna do a lot of sustainings and she says "I’m gonna be baptized today so I can reject everything tomorrow" lol alright.

·       (Sharing a scripture in lunch. The dude is already reading it and it’s a scripture a little weird) H Williams: this is NOT what I wanted to share. Spanish man. It’s hard.

HAHAHAH LIFE IS GOOD AND H WILLIAMS IS SO FUNNY LOVE HER

But yeah....MILAGROS too

·       So we aren’t that lost anymore but sometimes we just look really lost. haha But last night we were looking for a family and we had the address to their house so we were walking casually down the street when suddenly three young kids started yelling at us "are y’all missionaries???" Hermana Williams and I were like ummmm yeah. So we turned around and walked to their house and it turns out that the mom is a member and lots of her kids are not members and they want to return to church so they were so happy to see us! I know that God is leading us in every part of this work!  He placed us in that street, a little lost, at just the right moment to find them! 

·       So on Saturday and Sunday we didn’t have any more food in the apartment and we didn’t have any money to buy more food. So I was secretly praying that someone would give us food AND THEY DID. The members take so good care of us and gave us bombas de papa, popcorn, candy, bananas, all kinds of good stuff. God really does listen to all the desires of our heart. 

·       We had a GREAT lesson with the familia Aguirre. They need to get married in order to be baptized and we talked a lot about the plan of God. And then we talked about how Satan wants us to be miserable. Then idk what happen but I went on a huge rant about Satan and that we can NOT let him win! You have got to pray. You have got to read your scriptures. And you need to go to church. Don’t let Satan make you miserable! 

·       La familia Aslan is always a miracle because if lunch falls through, we can always go to their house and they always have milanessa ready to go...my favorite. 

·       EL MILAGRO DE TODOS LOS MILAGROS! So yesterday in church a young family that I didn’t know just showed up and I was like. Umm hello who are you (and bueno, I have done that a lot but this time I knew they were new) and they said that they had come to the church a couple years ago one time and they really liked what they felt. So they came back and want to be BAPTIZED YAYYYYYY I love it when God just places the miracles on a special plate all ready to eat. Ahhhhh I’m just so happy! 

Let me tell y’all a little something about grace. Wait....God is gonna tell y’all a little about grace 

2 Nefi 25:23  “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”

I absolutely love this scripture and the doctrine of grace. But I am a firm believer that we are not only saved AFTER all we can do but WHILE WE DO IT too!  God isn’t just waiting at the finish line...He is with us every step of the way. And we are not only saved by grace but CHANGED. A change in our heart that makes us a better person and a better disciple of Jesus Christ. 

Love you all! Thanks for everything! 

COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT! 

H Mann

Got to go find the best ice cream in Tucumán. We are on a search...tbc

Is this the most awkward photo ever or what?

mother daughter <3

sneak peek....

bruised knees

That’s right. Call me a real missionary because this week my knees where bruised (and I’m pretty sure it’s from doing too many lazy pushups but I like to think it is because I am praying so much lol)

Anyways....

·       Getting to know the ward is still a struggle. For the second time this Sunday this is what has gone down:

Lady:  "hi Hermanas"

Me: " hi what’s your name"

Her: "you came to my house"

Me: "Ummmmm....yeah sorry about that but still don’t know your name" 

YEAH IT MAKES ME FEEL REAL BAD BUT IT’S OK! I will learn

·       Have I mentioned how much I love Hermana Williams....well I love her a lot and am so grateful for her! God is directing this work! 

·       DANIELA! Please pray for my dear friend Daniela. She has 11 years and really wants to be baptized but is so shy and change is hard but pray for her! She is so cute and has the sweetest smile. Love her with all my heart. 

·       Capilla abierta wasn’t that bad! Like people actually came YAY! haha...so it was really fun walking in the heat (like 130 degrees I heard) at 3:00 in the afternoon to find people to come and see the church! But it was super fun because God just helps us so much and I feel so spoiled! 

·       Let me tell you a little bit about the Familia Aguirre. So basically they are investigadores that have to get married so they can be baptized but they are so nice and they gave us two huge bags of food for the week. Which was really a blessing because we had zero food. Wow. Such a blessings. les amo

·       So the Pepsi factory is here in my area so H. Williams and I are trying to get a quick tour of that place! Pray for us lol! 

That's all that came through this week.  Thanks for all of your prayers, love, and support.  But we did get pictures!!!

wow.  miss my homie H West

mis hermanos de la mision . . . too bad we can't hug lol

obispo and his wife

THESE ARE THE PANTS THAT I RECEIVED FROM THAILAND!  MY COUSIN IS THE BEST!

SALTA!  (en tucuman lol)

selfieeeee

zone conference

May Christ lift thee UP

Hello!!!! We are still alive!!!! And we had a much better week! We were able to work more this week and truly saw the hand of the Lord guiding us in our labors. Here are a few of the highlights:

·       Me getting to know the ward…

Me: “and she’s your girlfriend”

Nico: “ex-girlfriend”

Me: runs away awkwardly.

Three days ago they were basically engaged lol love the mish

·       ACHILATA!!!!!!!!!! So I didn’t know that coming to Tucuman would be such a great privilege because little did you know, there is a special ice cream that they only have here in good ole Tucuman and it is called achilata! Basically its ice cream but not made with milk…made with water. Sounds gross but its so yummmmmmmy. And idk if I have told y’all yet but I think I am addicted to ice cream so yeah. This is not gonna help my problem. But hey….this is a once in a lifetime opportunity so you GOTTA ENJOY IT! (at least that’s what I tell myself on the daily…)

·       Hermana Williams is doing great! Still hasn’t cried…capa. We won’t talk about how many times I cried in my training lol. But she’s the best! I know that God is leading this work because He put us together! She is so excited to work and really has the Holy Ghost to guide us in the lessons, in the streets and all that jazz. I know we are going to see lots of miracles in our time together!!!

·       I FINISHED THE BOOK OF MORMON! AND IT’S STILL TRUE!!!! Bueno, it was never not true, but I just know for sure, without a doubt, that it is a book of God. The words are HIS words and He gave us this book to help us in our lives right now. This time in my reading, I read with a specific question in mind, throughout the whole book and I found my answer! I know that God knows me perfectly and He is aware of my needs and my concerns and everything. I know that God loves each of you too! He wants you to be happy…that’s His whole purpose! So read the book of Mormon! And feel Gods love! YEAH!

·       Ummmmmmm….I’m happy. Are y’all happy? Cause if you aint, make some changes so we can all be happy! Because life is good my friends and there is so much to be grateful for!

"MAY CHRIST LIFT THEE UP"

Moroni 9:25  “My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever”

Is that the most beautiful thing you have read or what? Found that in the book of Mormon yesterday and defiantly made my week. Let Christ lift our burdens, our worries, and our stress. And let us walk hand in hand through the eternities!

New catch phrase (sorry Hermana Richards ☺)

COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT!

Have a great week! Love you all!

♥Hermana Mann (it is way too hard to say Mannewitz here in Argentina so I have officially become Hermana Mann)

and now we’re stressed out #twentyonepilots

HELLLLOOOOO FROM TUCUMAN!!!!!!!!!!! That’s right! I finally left Salta!!!! BUT I CONTINUE WITH MY GRINGAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! 

Yes ladies and gentlemen...you better believe it. I have my hijita (daughter) and she is a gringa straight from the MTC. And I love her so much. She is named Hermana Williams and she also studied at BYU and we graduated the same year and we have a lot in common and I’m so excited because we are gonna see so many miracles here in Manantial. 

So a little info about all the changes: 

Now I am in a ward called Manantial and it is the only ward that has four missionaries. Us and some other elders. We work in one area and there are in another! It is really fun because sometimes we get to eat lunch together! And we are also the first sisters that the ward has ever had so everyone is really excited and will to help us because bueno, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM DOINGGGGGG!!!!!!!!! But that’s ok. I’ll learn. God will help us! 

Anyways, life is good here in Manantial! Hermana Williams thought our investigator died but he didn’t. Spanish is just a little hard and that’s what she understood hahaha. 

Umm I feel like so much has happened that I don’t even know what to tell you all. But....I will tell you about a cool prayer experience I had the other day. 

- So yeah. Whitewashing with a newbie isn’t that easy.  I was really overwhelmed and stressed out the other day and so I kneeled down to say a prayer. And bueno, lots of times in my prayers, I talk the whole time and don’t even give God the chance to say anything. But in this prayer I said something like "Alright God, please help me. I don’t know what I am doing and I need Your help. Here is your chance."  And the only thing that came to my mind was the song “I am a Child of God”. I took the chance to think and ponder every word...in English and Spanish and truly feel the love of God. I know that He hears and answers our prayers. 

Well friends, I know that God loves us and He wants the best for us. Not only good things but THE ABSOLUTE BEST! HUMDINGER!!!! So be happy and say your prayers! 

Love you all!  Thanks for everything! 

HOY ES EL DIA! 

♥hermana mann

Awww . . . miss Adrian and his family!

buscanod mi carnaval BROMA SOY MISIONERA! 

The crazy girlfriend from Brazil

Family Gonzalez

MI HIJITA! on my right.

Mariano! mas capo de todos! 

love this fam

kiara!!!! sooooo cute! 

thunderstorm sleepover

lol. just look at how white i look in this picture