Hey hey hey....hola hola hola! How is life on the homefront? Cold? Good. First off, I SURVIVED JANUARY. Now, that`s not to say that i didn`t enjoy January on the MISSION side of things, but January is in fact the hottest month of the year in Uruguay. And kids....I survived.
But speaking of, guys, where in the heck did January go? Time is going WAY too fast.
And okay...I would wait and make this all suspenseful and stuff, but I am way to excited so I`m just gonna get right to it:
GUADALUPE IS GETTING B A P T I Z E D.
You guys, this is my first baptism! I was there for Yeny and Sol`s in Rivera, but this is my first baptism of one of my investigators!!
So on Tuesday, we gave her the lesson on the Plan of Salvation. And you guys, she just eats this stuff right up! And she is so smart. She catches on so fast. She`s reading, she`s praying, she believes everything! We were going to wait until Lesson 3 to give her fecha (baptismal date), but we both felt like the time was right. So we gave her fecha for the beginning of March and SHE ACCEPTED. She left for vacation yesterday for two weeks (:() so it was going to be the 8th of March because she has to attend church at least 3 times, but then even though she was leaving in the afternoon yesterday and even though she told us she was up until 5 a.m. the night before (haha....i remember that life), she came to church! So now, we`ve moved her date to the 1st of March. Guadalupe is my little miracle. She just keeps saying things that are exactly what I feel or love or think. Sometimes I think to myself, "seriously, have we met before?" And then I remind myself "duh, OF COURSE WE HAVE."
She`s already a little member missionary too! We went to see her on Saturday for a lesson and the daughter of one her friend`s moms, Margarita was there (for you Americans, Margarita means Daisy in english. Don`t go thinking about alcoholic beverages.) Guadalupe told her excitedly that she was getting baptized, and then just looked at her and said "Do you want to be baptized?" And then Margarita said "I don`t know...maybe." And then Guadalupe said "You have to read the Book of Mormon and pray." So Margarita said "do you have more of that book?" To which we said HECK YEAH, and gave her a Book of Mormon. And turns out folks, that Margarita lives in our area! H O L L A.
My favorite night this week was when we went to Guadalupe`s house to make dinner. Her mom works at night and she told us she usually makes dinner, so we asked her if we could make it for her. It was her, her little sister Luciana (who is 11 and told us she wants to start praying and read the Book of Mormon that we gave her a couple weeks ago), and a friend of their`s named Darma (who is also 11 and stays with her grandma across the street sometimes) We cooked for them...wait for it....Kraft Mac n`Cheese! They had never had macaroni and cheese before (I know...sad) and I`m pretty sure it changed their lives. Thanks Millian and Lawn...you know who you are haha. Anyway, we watched The Restoration and Darma was also interested! She doesn`t actually live in our area, but we`re going to teach her when we can and get her address for the Elders whose area she lives in. It was such a fun night! We made mac n cheese while listening to The Piano Guys and talking about traveling (Guadalupe really wants to go to Hollywood....I promised her after my mish that I would take her.:)) And guys, this is so what being a missionary is about! Just being people`s friends. I love those girls. I LOVE GUADALUPE. I can`t even describe my love for her, nor can I describe how long these next two weeks will be without her. But she told us every time she saw us this week "I`m going to read the entire bus ride on my trip!" She has such an excitement for this Gospel and isn`t shy at all about sharing it with her friends! I am learning so much from her. It was so worth the wait to be able to have my first baptism be as unbelievably special as my sweet Guada. And I know that through her example, her mom and sister will come in their time too! Please pray for her these next two weeks. I know this time is when Satan really hits hard. But she`s strong and so prepared. She can do it!
We also FINALLY found Flia Aduezo again. We haven`t been able to find them at home for two weeks, and yesterday we finally did! We met their daughter finally too, and she is so great! She is 14 (same age as Guada...PERF) and she is so sweet! We invited her to the Movie Night`s we do on Thursdays and she said she`ll go, plus we set up a Family Night with them! They are a wonderful family and we really want to teach them!
As far as other investigators....we are still stuck with Maria. She says she doesn`t know why there has to be a true church, why isn`t believing in God and Jesus Christ enough. We are praying really hard to know how to help her, because she so deserves this Gospel and it would make sweet Miguel so happy too! They are seriously my Uruguayan grandparents. Even though we`re having a hard time with her, we love seeing them. They are my joy. I can`t even describe how much I love them or the smile that is plastered to my face the whole time I`m in their house because they`re just so darn cute.
We also haven`t been able to find Saul this week, but we know we will find him! He is just too prepared to be lost. If you could give all of these people a shout out in your nightly chats with Padre Celestial, that`d be swell.
Also, I LOVE MARY. She`s that awesome woman who is basically a sassy black Latina woman who shares the Gospel with everyone and their dog. She is going through a real hard time right now. She has a son in jail and all of her kids are inactive, and one of them doesn`t even believe in God. But despite all she is going through, she is always looking for references for us and always making sure we`re okay. We call her Mamà Mary. I love her so much. She is such an example to me! We are working hard with her kids that live in our area, because we know how much it would mean to her (and the Lord...duh) for them to return. She is my favorite!
Next week, we`re getting SENIOR MISSIONARIES! They are going to live across the street, and the husband will be the new branch president! HOLLA. We know he is going to make a lot of really awesome changes to this branch! He`s from Uruguay but has lived in the states for forever. And his wife is American. WE know what that means.... AMERICAN FOOD. Por fin. And, Sunday the 16th President Smith is coming to sustain them. He told us that that Saturday is going to go visit some people with us to help get them to church. We are of course going to make sure he meets Guadalupe, and we also want him to meet Maria! So we are really excited about that.
Okay so....funny story from last week that i forgot to tell. We`re doing divisions, and Hna Simpson and I are just walking down the street in Centro and talking. Then, this drunk guy walks past, takes off his flannel t shirt, goes WAPOOSH and whips it in my face. And I mean, he LITERALLY said "WAPOOSH" as he did it. At first I just kept talking, but then Hna Simpson goes "did he just whip his shirt in your face as he did that?" And I said "yeah....I think he did." And then we died laughing. Hahaha, people here are so special.
I am so thankful to the Lord. He is slowly molding me into who I want to be. He`s been trying to teach me patience, and as I`ve finally started to figure that out, I`ve started to see the four of us missionaries changing Colonia Centro for the first time. Guadalupe is my angel sent straight to me from my Father in Heaven. March 1 can`t come fast enough!
Also...you are probably wondering why my subject line says that Jumanji has come to Uruguay. That is because it has been raining cats and dogs, and the rain brings in mosquitos the size of Jumanji in from the beach. I`m pretty sure i already have some rad scars on my legs from mosquito bites. Haha, livin`the dream.
I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU! Keep your chins up and your knees dirty!
Hermana Dolan
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