Monday, March 31, 2014

Hola Mis Amigos, Sunchales March 2014

Hola, Hola, Hola!!! (:

Sometimes, I'm still surprised when I wake up and it's Monday already...I feel like I just wrote an email and told you everything I did! Well....this week flew by...literally! It's SO WINDY!! And it's strong! I thought a few trees were going to fall down and crush us a few times. The storms here are crazy and there is lighting and thunder and rain drops the size of my hand. It’s fun, but I've never been so scared walking down the street either! My umbrella broke...and I forgot my hood to my jacket one day too haha I was SOAKING wet! The streets don't have gutters and so we walk through rivers and everyone stares at us through their windows wondering why we are outside. Even the kids in school get to go home because in the lightning storms, they shut off the power. On Thursday, they shut it off while we were inside doing studies and then weekly planning. We didn't have power for about 5 hours, but then one of our neighbors went in her house and we saw she had light! So we asked her how and she told us we had to switch on the power again.....we don't know how long we were sitting in darkness when we could have had light haha. 

Miracle of the week: We went over to visit Jorgelina and Toto the other night and we had a really great lesson planned to help Jorgelina feel the need to obey the Word of Wisdom and give up smoking. Before we even began, she told us that she went to the doctor earlier and got pills to help her stop smoking completely!! (: MIRACLE! Thanks for all your prayers for me and my investigators, they really work and I appreciate them every day!!<3

We had a branch activity on Saturday, and two 9 year old girls (twins) Priscila and Alexis came! Their sisters and mom are members but inactive. They came with us and we read the Easter story in the bible for kids with pictures...and then made these super cute eggs where inside you put a picture of Christ or bunnies, or whatever you want. I'll send pics next week when ours is done! (: Maybe the girls can do it for a Young Women's activity!

On Saturday nights we are now doing something really awesome. As a district, we pray together over the phone at 10:15 and it's called ''La oración de Fe'' or the prayer of faith, and we pray that our investigators will go to church! On Sunday, Priscila and Alexis came with us!! It works haha!! I also gave a talk on the organization of the church yesterday and talked about the church that Christ established on the Earth and how through modern day prophets, the same iglesia was restored again and we have the same one! 

Another fun fact...I taught my companion how to make grilled cheese and tomato soup! Yummy (: 

Well, I don't have much else to say, we walked and slipped in mud, we contacted a lot of amazing people and are going to pass by this week to start teaching them, we invited a sweet old lady to watch general conference with us next week, and we are still working really hard to build the kingdom of God here in Sunchales. Thank you for all your prayers, really they are being answered. I love this work and I know that we really have a living prophet on the earth today. I am so excited to hear from him and the other faithful leaders of the church this next weekend. Pray to receive revelation and answers to your prayers. Heavenly Father is preparing them so that they can help each one of us grow in our faith and be protected in this world that is difficult to live in. Love you all so much!!<3

Con mucho amor, 
Hermana Moberly





Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Hola From Sunchales

Hola mis amigos!!!

Wow!! This week has really been a trial hahaha and it still keeps on going! I just wrote a huge nice long email and had to switch computers and lost it all....so this letter won't be very detailed but we'll see!

SO I was barely in my area this last week and was traveling all over! Tuesday we had district meeting in San Cristobal again and learned about the importance of inviting people to be baptized because it's the only way to be saved. Then Wednesday, I took 3 buses in 6 hours to go to Paraná! I had exchanges with Hermana Mikayla Boren from Highland, Utah and she knows the Cuillard family and talked to Alan Van!! Small world (: She was the best and I learned a lot from her!! Then Thursday I traveled back, missed one of the buses from traffic, and didn’t get back to Sunchales until 9 PM. Then Friday we had to wake up early and travel to Zone Conference in Rafaela and were there the whole day! I learned SO much though! It was all about how to improve our teaching and me and Hermana Arias are working really hard to become better.

No one came to church, no one is progressing, but I still LOVE it here!! I love the people and I love sharing what I know is true with everyone! Even though it's hard, it's impossible to not be happy. I know the Lord is preparing people, and we just need to find them. We still are seeing miracles and I think that in a few weeks we will see the fruits of our labors. But if not, that's okay because the Lord knows what He is doing and I trust in Him. Sometimes we only need to do all we can and wait to see His hand unfold the rest.

Sorry this is so short and lame haha but not much happened this week. Some funny things about Argentina: when we buy things at the grocery store, if they don't have enough change to give us, they give you little candies which is totally fine with me! (: Everyone rides motorcycles, but not just one or two people, they pile the whole family on! We have more investigators that are dogs than people. They follow us all day long and when we are bored, we practice teaching them and they are more receptive than the people (: haha

Well Just know that I love you all so much, you are all in my prayers and I am so grateful for all your prayers, love, support, and letters!! Have a great week <3<3

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Moberly




Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Sunchales, St. Patrick's Day 2014

March 17, 2014
HOLA!!!!

Hmm donde empiezo (where do I begin)?? Well, another week flew by! I know all of my emails are pretty short, but it's really because every single week we walk and walk and walk some more, then walk some more trying to find people to teach and talk to everyone, and barely anyone wants to listen. But don't worry, I still LOVE the mission and I never imagined that I could ever be so happy. I have learned so much about diligence and obedience and how the Spirit guides me, I have met so many amazing people that have changed my life forever, I have learned Spanish and am still learning how to adapt to another culture. The mission has changed my life and I love being one of the Lord's servants at this time. 

So, this week:

MONDAY: We cleaned alllll day to prepare for the next transfer, then every Monday night we have dinner and a quick meeting with the missionary couple from Switzerland. They are awesome and Hermana Hohermuth cooks really well! They both know English and love to talk to me in English, so at least I have some practice (:

TUESDAY: We had P-day, went to San Cristobal to say goodbye to our AMAZING district leader from Mexico, Elder Madrid, who taught us how to make real Mexican tacos and I was so happy because I miss Mexican food SO MUCH!!! We then went to teach Jorgelina and Toto who are having troubles with family right now. Jorgelina is really depressed so she is still smoking and won't give it up. SO please pray for her with us!!!

WEDNESDAY: Hermana Arias is learning how to ride a bike and Hermanos Hohermuth and I are teaching her. HAHAHA It's super fun! We spend about 30 minutes almost every morning trying to help her. If she learns, then we get bikes!!!!! (: We then finally saw Olga again, and she blames all of her problems on God. It's so sad to listen to her complain and ask why Heavenly Father isn't answering her prayers when she doesn't take the time to count all of the blessings she already has. We are trying realllllly hard to help her understand patience and that she is not the only one who has to pass through trials. Please pray for her too! I have never seen someone with such light change so quickly and lose it. It breaks my heart but I know that the Lord can help us help her! 

THURSDAY: We walked for an hour to find a friend of our branch president and he wasn't there (haha) so then we had to walk all the way back (haha)...lots of walking, I told you (: I had to pee sooooo bad and we still were going to be out for 2 more hours so we decided to try and contact someone and then ask if I could use their bathroom. Great idea, right!? We contacted a super cute old lady and then we asked her, and she said NO! Haha, I just about died! But no worries, we finally ran back home and were able to find a new investigator after! Her name is Sabrina and we are going to try and teach her whole family this week.

FRIDAY: We had 5 lessons this day which was a miracle! One was with Patricia. She is amazing and her whole family is awesome! Her husband (man that she lives with and father of her kids...) still doesn't want to talk to us, but poco a poco (little by little) we will convince him! We invited Patricia to church on Sunday and said she would come! (:

SATURDAY: We taught Family Palavesino the Restoration and invited them to be baptized...all 7 of them! (: They said they wanted to pray first to know if it is true but they are golden!! Pray for them too, please (: Thanks! We set up a family night with them in the next week and will have a BBQ and watch a movie with them, so it should be really great!

SUNDAY: We were expecting 5 people to come to church and 3 did!!! Patricia and her 2 daughters came and we learned about the life of Christ so it was a great day!!! We have been working so hard to have people come to church and when they finally come, I can't explain the happiness we have! Then we visited with a less active Hermana and watched the Restoration and she is finally softening her heart! (: Then we came home and I cut Hermana Arias' hair, and she cut mine! We have a lot of trust in our companionship...haha but it's worth it because I don't want to pay 100 pesos for a haircut! My hair is pretty short, but it will grow again!

I think that just about catches you all up. I love this work so much and even though sometimes we can't see the fruits of our labors, I know that the Lord is blessing us for what we can do and that he is still preparing His children. Alma 13: 24. I was going to type it for you but accidentally brought the Book of Mormon in Spanish …haha.

Love you all so much!! Have a great week! Trust in the Lord will all your hearts, and lean not unto your own understanding.

Con muchooooo amor, 
Hermana Moberly<3

PS HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEA!!!!!!!!!! Woohooooooo 16 years old! Love you<3




 

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Sunchales Apartment March 2014







Hola! Hola!

Hola Mis Queridos!!!

Today is going to be another quickie because I have to send LOTS of pictures of our clean little apartment to the mission...and the computer is sooo slow! But I'm learning a lot of patience (: Wow! This week flew by! We had a lot more success than the week before which was great! We were able to find 9 new people to start teaching and they are all really great and receptive! Sunchales is a small little town where most of the people are super rich and then the surrounding outside areas are super poor. So the rich people think they already have what they want and don't want to listen to us, but the more humble people outside are super kind and loving. 

Olga still doesn't want to talk about baptism because she wants to wait and keep learning. it's really sad to see how much she has already changed- doesn't want to leave her animals for very long to go to church, can't find time to read the scriptures everyday...I don't know what happened, but we are not giving up on her and will keep working hard!

We are teaching a couple, Jorgelina and Toto. They are awesome! Jorgelina has a smoking problem, has received a priesthood blessing and all, but doesn't do anything herself to stop. We are trying to help her quit...and Toto won't get baptized without his wife. So please pray for them! (: 

We are contacting a lot to try and find new people and I love it! It’s super fun knocking on doors and being rejected all the time (; haha But really, it makes me really appreciate when someone accepts to listen and all of the hard times are forgotten because we can testify and share our testimonies with these handful of people!

We have to travel 2 hours every Tuesday to San Cristobal for district meetings which means LEGAL NAPS!! (: It's super fun to travel and see the surrounding places....which means lots of grass and cows and horses! But it's really fun!

We don't have anyone ready for baptism but we are planning on inviting a few people this week so more news to come with that!

I gotta go, but just hope you all know that I LOVE THIS WORK! It's the Lord's work and I am on His time out here. I am working hard and really know that blessings come from obedience, not just for missionaries, but for you all too! Love you all so much and pray for you all every day! Keep being good and sharing the gospel with everyone! Love you so much and hope you have a great week<3

Hermana Moberly




 

Monday, March 3, 2014

Hola Hola Todos Mis Amigos from Sunchales Argentina!

HOLA HOLA TODOS MIS AMIGOS<3
          Mom told me some of the things happening in other countries right now...Wow crazy world!! Haha I love not being a part of it right now. I literally never know what is going on! I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THE OLYMPICS WERE THIS YEAR!!!! What the heck hahaha...Grammy told me Russia won, then us! Crazy!
         Well, this week was really rough but it’s over and this next week will be the best yet!! Our investigator, Olga was going to be baptized on Sat but on Fri told us she didn’t feel ready yet. Heartbreaking. But it’s okay because she still wants to be baptized, just a little more time. That’s a really hard thing to handle when there is a new missionary with you! WOW! But all is well here. The carnival happened Saturday and Sunday nights from 9 PM to 3 AM and we didn’t sleep for 2 nights because it was right outside our apartment and SOOOO LOUD!!!! We put hymns and EFY songs on to tried and have some peaceful music on in the background, but it didn’t do too much. That's okay though! Sunchales is still amazing and I love it here! I think I say that about every area I am in, but I think that is how it is supposed to be. When we serve with all our heart, then the people progress and the Lord trusts us with the people He is preparing.
          On Monday I had the stomach flu and was up all night, then Tuesday we took it easy because the both of us were pretty sick and it was POURING all day! Wednesday we went 2 hours to San Cristobal for our district meeting and learned about how to work with members. Luckily, I just came from a ward where all the members helped us every day so we have some good plans to help our branches grow stronger and how we can use the few members we have. Then Friday we had to go back to San Cristobal for another meeting with the zone leaders and learned even more about strengthening our branches. This Sunday, only 9 people were at church and it is really different. We don't even meet in a church building, it is a little hole in the wall ''Club de Abuelos'' (club for grandparents) haha. There are stray dogs everywhere and there are lots of interesting smells....haha Everyone here has ''siesta'' where they nap and there is NO ONE in the streets from 12-4. Not even the stores are opened. There are mostly dirt roads which makes it really difficult because it rains practically every day so we return home really muddy, but its super fun and I really do love it!
           I'm learning a lot more Spanish from Hermana Arias. She is really sweet! She is also teaching me lots of Peruvian foods...we eat rice and eggs practically every day though because we have no money. It was really a week of learning patience, trusting in the Lord, and enduring to the end. But we both grew a lot and are now ready to take on Sunchales and baptize everyone we see (: There really are great people here, they just need to open their hearts and listen.
          Hope you are all doing so well!! How is the weather?? Any rain in California yet? Has the country frozen? Everyone that hears I am from the United States tells me it's snowing everywhere... Have an amazing week and ''MAKE GOOD CHOICES'' (Freaky Friday quote for Daddy (: ) Love you all so much!!!!

Con mucho mucho mucho amor,
Hermana Moberly

PS Happy Birthday Ryno (: And congrats Jacie on your baptism!!