Haha no not really! But by the photos it sure looks like it, no? Haha Wednesday was an adventure.
So guys, remember my hand that got slammed in a gate? Well, it kind of sort was really swelled up and I couldn`t bend my pinky without it killing. But, typical me....didn`t want to go to the doctor. Until like five people, including my comp, convinced me to. So on wednesday, we decided to visit the member who lives in front of us in the hospital. Which is on the other side of Rivera. So we took a taxi, but when we got there, they told us she had left in the morning. SWEET. Which, by the way, this woman is 85 years old, had an operation where they removed FOUR cysts, and she had the operation the night before and they released her the next morning. Which makes me understand now all of the rumors about the doctors in Rivera....haha pray that i never get sick here. So anyway, we were like "well crap, but at least i can get my hand checked out while we`re here." Sike, we had to go to the other hospital that´s back in our area. But we weren`t about to spend money on a taxi again, so we walked. Did we know where we were? You bet your bottom dollar that we didn`t. But between my companion who remembers landmarks and me who remembers street names, after much time, and crossing about 4 other companionship`s areas, we made it back.
So then we had to get my hand checked out. Uruguayan hospitals aren`t the most efficient places on earth, so we got directed back and forth to about five different places. And they took an x ray of my hand. And ladies and gents, I have.....nothing wrong. Haha but they gave me some pain meds and cream for the inflammation, and now I have a cool x ray of my hand, so we got something out of that.
And then the next day my comp fell down in a super hilariously embarrassing way. Not as bad as it looks, it`s just that she had nylons on. Just so everyone is aware, Hna Leiva is secretly hilarious. To everyone else she`s quiet, but once she opens up she turns into a sassy black woman, just Chilena version. We laugh all the time.
We also met a super cool investigator named Jakaline. She was a reference from the other hermanas. She had been taught for awhile by the hermanas there, then disappeared for a couple months, then last week sent them a message apologizing saying that her son had passed away, and that she had moved to our area and still wanted us to go teach her. So we went on wednesday, and that woman is rockin! She never stopped reading the Book of Mormon or praying. She immediately walked in and sat down and told us she knows this church is true and that the Book of Mormon is true and that this is the path she needs to be on. Holy cow! Only typical Uruguayan problem is....she`s not married and living with someone. But we`ll work on that! The testimony is the foundation. So pray for Jakaline!
Remember Raul? So he`s kind of always been on the side because he really just ALWAYS forgets to go to church. It`s just his old man-ness, he forgets. So we put a big not on his wall with the hour of church last week. We were going to with a member to pick him up, but when we called, his son told us he had already left. So we waited and waited, and he didn`t show up. When we went to see him the next day, he told us he had went, and gotten almost all the way to church, but then said to himself "if there`s no power, there`s not going to be church, how silly am I!" (the power was out the last Sunday). But the progress here is that he REMEMBERED, folks. Big step. So, we`re still working on Raul! Keep him in your prayers.
WHO ELSE LOVED CONFERENCE. To answer your questions, we do get to watch it here with everyone else in the stake center. They even have an english room for all the gringo missionaries. Except we were SUPER stoked for the two speakers who gave their talks in Spanish. So we ran to the other room to hear those in Spanish instead of listening to the english translator. Also, WHO LOVED ELDER ROBBINS TALK. He is such a boss. He`s the one who came to Uruguay in June where both of the missions all went to Montevideo to hear him speak. "Which way do you face?"
There were two things that stuck out a lot to me that were really focused on: strengthening the home, and sustaining the prophet. Both things that are getting really attacked these days. All I can say is that families are forever, and I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. I love him so much. All of us missionaries talked about how we`re a little sad to see how old all of the brethren are getting. We grew up with all of them. They are truly called of God to lead our church.
Also, loved Elder Bednar`s. I hope everyone is having the desire to go out and share ALL of their ointment and bandaids with EVERYBODY! And I hope that those who aren`t members are recognizing how it can heal their spiritual wounds.
Conference goes by way too fast! I love it, it`s a missionary holiday!
