:D

I'm just happy today :) We had a toughish week haha this whole World Cup thing really throws a loop into doing any sort of missionary work!! BUT we had 2 investigators that FINALLY came to church yesterday! One is a little girl who her mom was inactive a long time and she decided to be baptized Cathloic and when her mom got active she keeps going to the Catholic church but she's knows the Book of Mormon is true. . .she's 8 haha but SUPER smart and special :) Her name is Valentina so we're gonna work with her and her family :) Then the other was the father of an investigator we've been teaching off and on for awhile and he came for the last 20 minutes and liked it but he doesn't wanna commit to listening to us or changing religions, but we'll see where we can get with him :)

Me and Hna Castleman had a really neat experience last night knocking doors. We hadn't been having any luck all day long, and on top of it she got bit by a wasp and we weren't even sure it was a wasp so we were trying to figure out if we needed to go to the hospital cuz it was BAD. . .but then we went to a memebers house and put on some Aloe Vera (it grows EVERYWHERE here) and it got better right away :) so anyway, last night at like 8:30 right before we were going to start heading home, a man, Said (it's Arabic!) came out of his nice big house and talked with us and he was cold so I asked him if his wife was home and when he said yes i offered to go inside to talk, and normally the richer people never let you in cuz they're scared of getting robbed. . .BUT HE LET US IN!! It was the first time that's happened I think my whole mission :) They are a religion that believes in reincarnation and all that fun stuff, but we ended up talking about the Plan of Salvation and our doctrines are so simliar they just kept getting more and more excited. The coolest part was it got to be 9:30 (Hna Castleman like hit me and pointed to the like and I was like OH FLIP haha cuz that's when we should be in the house. . .) we told them we had to go and they both were so excited to inviote us to come back another day :) It was such a neat experience and I'm not sure where they are gonna go, but it was so neat to see the spirit testifying to them of the truths we shared :)

I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ on the earth and I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to share these truths with the whole world so they can be blessed like we are <3

I love you all so very much!! I have transfers this week, I think I'll be sticking in Villa FLoresta, but we'll see what happens!! Home stretch and I'm giving it my all!!! :D Have an awesome week!!!! :D <3 LOVE YOU!!!!!

A SUPER FAST BUT GREAT UPDATE! :D

First off, I love you guys so much :) Thank you so much for all of your support and love and prayers <3 I'm in need of them!! haha

my newbie Hna Castleman is the BOMB!! We work really hard together and we laugh a ton so it's been a great week! The poor thing was kinda sick so we stayed in a day. . .we got to know each other really well :) She speaks VERY well for being straight out of the MTC but she still gets frustrated. We're having a hard time finding people and helping the people we have progress, but if we keep being positive and working and praying hard with a lot of faith I know the blessings will start pooring out :) I LOVE being amissionary and I'm doing all I can to love and serve the Lord with every second of this short I have left here in Argentina <3

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!! Have an awesome week!!!!
MUAH MUAH!!!

Mi Semana!!!

I'm gonna be so grateful when I can just put pictures on Facebook in like 5 seconds and don't have to spend 10 minutes fighting with the computer just so I can't send anything haha and then I don't have hardly anytime to WRITE!!! But Oh well :) haha

so I have a new companion!! Hermana Castleman :) Straight out of the MTC! She's super fun and we have a ton in common wich has been fun. She's got a lot of big ideas which I just love too and we're gonna see what we can do to get it into action :) We had a SUPER tough week, whcih is normal but it was rough for her. We're just gonna keep working hard!! Well, I've gotta go now!! I just love reading everything from you guys so much I don't do enough time updating you about my week haha but I'll try to do better :)

I love you all so much!!!
Have an awesome week!!!
xoxoxo

Happy Mother's Day!

 

 

Sacrifice :)

Man it's been an awesome week!

I wish I had more time on weeks like this so I could explain well everything that happened, but that's the way the mission is I guess!!! We had some just crazy experiences as well as some miracles.

The most memorable was we were knocking doors and one answered, a guy about 23 years old (who side note looks a lot like Frodo haha) and we started talking to him and he was kinda interested so we asked if there was a woman and he told us his mom, but she had company and we said that's ok we'll just talk with you! So we sat down and the mom came to see who we were and we recognized her but weren't sure from where (we get to know so many people here haha) but turns out we had contacted her just a couple nights earlier, and she is WAY evangelica. She was with some of her friends talking, but they all decided to come talk to us, which I had a feeling was gonna be something interesting. . .but we began to explain the Restoration and they listened and I got to share the first vision and I have on rare ocasion felt the spirit as strongly as I did sharing it this time. . .there was silence for about a minute and I began to testify of Jose Smith and that's when they attacked haha for the next about hour we tried defending every attck they threw at us and I truly can't remember anything I said, but what I do rememebr is that they were truly confounded like the scriptures promise :) I've obviously felt the miracle of the gift of tongues being able to speak spanish. . .but this experience testified to me that this truly is the Restored gospel of Jesus Christ and I am so grateful to have the knowledge that that I have felt that witness over and over again :)

I read a cool scripture this morning about Sacrifice in D and C 64:23 and you can look it up but the quote from gordon B. Hinckly in Stand a Little Taller was awesome "Our willingness to sacrifice for this the Lords work reminds us that this is the very essence of the Atonement, the ultimate sacrifice made by the Son of God in bahalf of each of us" I hope we all can remember every day when we face struggle and challenges the Saviors sacrifice for us and know that He understands us, but as His brothers and sisters we have to experience a little of what He has in order to love like He did :) I love you all so very much!! Have an AWESOME week!!! 

Larissa <3

An Awesome Week!!

Well, I wrote like a million people today. . .but we had an AWESOME week!! I have never been so happy on the mish and seen so many miracles :)

 

WE have 2 investigators with baptism dates that are just SO happy and excited and they both came to church yesterday!! Dominga is 87 years old and has a lot of health problems but she is so excited to be baptized as we were leaving the church yesterday she asked to see where she'd be baptized <3 it was so sweet :) The other is named Rosa and is the mom of one other investigator whose been up and down for about a year. . .Hna Tolman started teaching her here when she first got to Argentina haha but Rosa turned up in Wednesday after being gone for a year. . .and she has a lot of stuff she needs to get straightened out but she came to church and told us she feels like this is it :)

 

Alright my time is up!!! I love you all so very much!! HAVE AN AWESOME WEEK!!!!! I'll get you all a longer one next week haha

 

 xoixoxo

your Larissa <3

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Haha yeah. . .so I dunno if I mentioned this, but one of the girls in my house has like all Christmas music on her music dealy and so I get all excited psyching (?) myself out cuz it's APRIL haha BUT this week was SOOO cold!! It rained a bunch and it was almost snow, I think it's just to humid here so it can't be snow. . .but yeah, I'm a bit frozen haha I got sick cuz the change was SO fast and out of no where. One day it's like 90 degrees then the next day BAM 15 haha it was nuts, but really I like the cold weather better so it's all good :) The only bad part is my favorite boots that I brought with me broke yesterday :( I'm gonna see if I can glue them together but it's not looking so hot haha partly I think is broke cuz we've been working so darn hard!! 

Hermana Alvarez is soo awesome. She really gives it her all and when

she does it makes it so easy to give it my all, it doesn't feel like I'm forcing the other one or make me more prone to want to be done too. The whole companion thing is such a good marriage preparation seriously cuz, like I told her, she has been the companion that has helped me fulfill my full potential as a missionary, just like we should look for a spouse that will help us fulfill our full potential as disciples of Christ. I'm super grateful I'm found someone that helps me want to give and do my best always <3 Oh my word, I just realized how much this darn man is charging us for these computers!!! Oh well I guess haha

Sorry this is short and kinda whimpy. I've been freaking out a little about classes and stuff and I messed around trying to sign in and find my password and reading FAQ to see if there were tips for missionaries haha but I sent an e-mail and hopefully next week I can get it all figured out.

I've been thinking a lot about purification and I know that it comes when we are converted, and really both of them are a life process, but I love a scripture in Omni verse 26 that talks about giving our whole souls as an offering to Him, then it says that's achieved through much fasting and prayer. Before my mission I definitely didn't have a testimony of fasting. I just felt hungry haha but on my mission I've been able to feel how really, it brings us so much closer to Christ spiritually. I'm so grateful that we as members fast so frequently, because it's a selfless thing, and we have to practice being selfless. I felt very close to my Savior yesterday and I know it's because I was fasting and had the intentions of becoming more like Him :)

Ok I gotta go! LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

Have a great week ok?!

xoxoxo

Larissa

A LONG and AMAZING Weekend :)

WOW!!! Haha I don't think I'll ever get used to or like the rushed feeling I have on Monday Mornings trying to get all of the e-mails sent that I need to or keep you all in on the loop of my crazy world over here in Argentina, so just forgive me that I can't do it like I would if I had a couple hours on here haha but I know I need to do better and follow the example of Aaron <3 He does so awesome!! 

But ok as for me and what's up?? :) 

I love Conference. It's seriously so incredible everytime even though they all teach the same basic priciples and doctrine, it's exactly what this world needs <3 We also had transfers this weekend, at the same time, so some poor people missed out on Conference. I thought that was a big bummer, but we've gotta do what we've gotta do sometimes I guess! I'm still here in Villa Floresta, but my comp switched to be the comp of another Hna in the Ward and Hna Alvarez, one of the Peruvians I lived with in White is my new comp! She still hasn't met up with us, but I think we'll meet up around 4 my leaders told me, but who knows with them sometimes haha :) I also got to see all of the White families at Conference which made me way happy <3 I think that's where my heart will always be from the mission here in Argentina just cuz I was there SOOO long haha

I felt so many things during Conference, but as I prepared for Conference this time, I felt the impression to start reading the Book of Mormon and mark EVERY time it talked about obedience or repentance. I felt SO grateful for that revelation because, at least for me, that was ALL the prophets encouraged us to do better. Be more obedient then ever before and when we make our human imperfect state mistakes to have complete trust and faith in Christ that he will heal us and help us be strong so we don't ever have to make the same mistakes again. One of the quotes that really stuck with me from President Packers talk is that there are things in this life that can't be taught, but only learned. I feel like the meaning and truthfulness of that statement has really hit me on my mission. I really started internalizing gospel principles that I had been taught my whole life because I relied on and was worthy of the spirit to teach me in a way only he can help me understand, apply and change. I think the real learning comes when as we follow the spirit and do those things most basic to strengthen spiritual growth: Praying Daily, Reading the Scriptures daily, and then sharing the knowledge and truth we receive in Family Home Evening or our church meetings :) 

Click above to read, watch the whole talk from General Conference!

I'm so very grateful for the simplicity of the plan our Heavenly Father has prepared for us and the incredible blessings He promises to us and our families <3 I know it's the ONLY plan of happiness and we have to give 110%, even though our Faith in Christ and His Atonement is like 109.9% of that effort <3 Trust in Him and love Him enough to keep his commandments :) That's all he has asked <3 

I love you all soo very much!! I'm praying for you all and thinking about you and can't wait to all be together again <3 

xoxoxo 

Larissa

One Year Celebration! :D

Well, I'm TRYING to get some pictures sent. . .but I had a good week this week! 

 

I can't believe I've been a missionary for a year. . .that's just nutso haha I DO feel the growth that I've experienced and the changes that have made me a better person and if I keep working at it will continue to help me become the person my Heavenly Father needs me to be <3 Haha ugh I've been trying to get one dumb pic sent for 20 minutes and it's just not working. . .but here it's tradition to burn a shirt once you've hit your year mark (it was a white one I've had since I was like 14 so I think it's time had come. . .) but it was way funny :) I also had a cool experience this week where we were out contacting and came across a lady from Tahiti and she only spoke English and I tried my best to remember how to talk in English!! Haha I NEVER thought I'd forget, and obviously I haven't cuz I can write it just fine, but making English come out of my mouth was proven to be more difficult than I thought!!! I felt way silly, but it was a cool experience nevertheless :) and my comp was like "Now I know what it feels like to be you. . ." haha so yeah :) 

I also gave a talk in church yesterday about Charity and everyone told me thank you and that it was good. They also told me they were impressed with how well i speak (they all think I'm brand new to the mission cuz that's what happens when your a "yankee" - you're new everywhere you go haha but I'm used to it ;) but it was good I learned a lot. I'm seriously so grateful for all your support and all the love I feel from you all :) Oh and yesterday in the combined Relief Society/Priesthood meeting Bishop used a Lord of the Rings analogy and I was one of the only ones who understood what he was talking about and it was SO good!! He was talking about being careful with the little snares Satan has put out in the world that seem harmless or even good but can really mess you up in the long run (too much time on the internet, remodeling homes and new cars every year. . .) which he compared to the Ring, which I think we've talked about that before. . .but yeah it was cool and made me think of you all <3 

Well, I'm outta time. I'll see if I can get a picture sent!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!! Have a great week ok and smile a ton and make the most of every precious beautiful minute our Heavenly Father has given us <3 I LOVE YOU 

xoxoxo 

Your Larissa

Christmas in March!

I've got less than a minute haha but I needed to thank you all for the packages!!! I recieved one big one from the Ward for Christmas which was a treat :) THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Also I got Beth's birthday card :) Thank you!! I'm gonna write you next week Beth ok?? And I got the white shirts mom :) LOVE THEM! But your letter was the best part :) I LOVE YOU ALL!!! Aaron, I'm not sure how big your package was, but I still haven't gotten anything, I'll let you know when i do :) 

Have a great week! 

I LOVE YOU!!! 

xoxoxo 

Larissa