October 26, 2015

well its pretty much just been raining cats and dogs here. but while everyone else is inside... its the perfect time to be a missionary.. I recently bought a bright yellow para agua. you better believe that i am a sight to be seen. hahahahha but i feel like a clompy sister missionary walking around in rain boots a big backpack and a big yellow umbrella but hey you got to do what you got to do... but this past we worked hard... and although we have nothing to show for it but wet hair and muddy boots! heavenly father knows. hahahhah thats all that matters. 

but these past few weeks have been a big test of my diligence. That is we will spend everyday going to every single person in our contact book, every person we can think of... and have no luck. its a lot of walking hoping that someone will agree to talk to us. The first few weeks i will admit i was getting down on myself... everynight i would ask myself what i did wrong and what i could change in order to talk to more people the next day and have the success that i had in ituzaingo... but this week i was studying a lot about it... and i love how heavenly father is so merciful! 

I was reading one of my favorite talks by elder holland and i just had the greatest realization of my life... hahhahah or of my mission... well i guess just of this area. 

that it doesnt matter what i do... it doesnt matter how hard i work.. this mission isnt for me.. Our lives arent ours. we are only here to learn how to love heavenly father and to show him that love.. yes that doesnt mean that we have to devote 24 hours a day 7 days a week for that hahahah (i guess thats just about what i am doing hahah) but all he asks is for a little bit for a little bit of our agency to follow his son and to be obedient. 

I love this talk by elder holland its one of my favorites.. se llama the first great commandment. I was reading in the new testament about the 12 apostles and their experiences as they are out preaching the gospel... in all reality their savior had just died and they were nervous and people wanted to kill them they were lost... they couldnt see all the success that was coming from their missionary work.. the little church that christ had established was barely keeping afloat... but with all the afflictions they kept going... to show their savior that they loved him more than they loved fishing... more than they loved anything else. THEY LOVED THE WORK! 

I was thinking ok... i havent had many lessons this week.. our investigators.. emi, chiqui, mario havent been progressing (mainly faulting coming to church) but i am here.. i am showing my love for the lord and his work. this week has been slow monday our noche de hogar fell through tuesday was busy... but wednesday through saturday were realllll slow... and we walked all day. but that is ok! i worked my hardest. and heavenly father knows... he is going to make up for the things that i didnt do... he knows everything and through my savior he can be as merciful as he wants. I am here and i am showing them that i love him. that i am his instrument. 

but to bring up a good note.. WE HAD CONFERENCIA DE DISTRITO!!!!! which was sooo cool... all the ramas from this area came to rama 1 to have their conferencia and president and hermana la pierre came and spoke to us. I LOVE THEM. seriously. I LOVE THEM. i cant even imagine my mission without them.. them leaving my last six months is going to be really sad. tears will definitely be shed. but I loved the feeling of seeing everyone in one chapel.. all these people who love the gospel just as much as i do. 

But I love you alll.. i hope that you all are doing soo good. thank you so much for everything. your examples... your letters... I love you all and know that i know without a doubt this gospel is true. I had an experience this week with some christian priests from another chruch that got into a little scuffle with us... wanting to know how we know that we dont have errores... becuase every chruch says that they have the truth.. when they kept bringing up fault after fault... i started to doubt.... but there is one thing that i couldnt doubt... and that was my testimony of god and of the book of mormon. I KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT that god is my heavenly father... DIOS EXISTE. El es nuestro padre. somos hijos de dios. and the other thing that i can never doubt is the book of mormon. I may not know much about everything that is in it... but i know that it is true and that it has changed my life. so now i want to say to all of you that I KNOW THAT THIS CHRUCH IS TRUE! that the book of mormon HAS changed my life and that we must find those eternal truths... even if they are small and hold onto them because we will always doubt... but that is ok... it just cant overcome our faith!

i love you all have a great week! keep the faith! 

con amor

xoxoxo hermana pitts 

October 20, 2015

I seriously feel like i am in the movie groundhogs day... hahahhah but dont worry my life isnt going by super slow... its pretty much doing the opposite! 

the same life the same day lived over and over again... with a few bumps in between... But WHAT IS UP.. how is everyone i feel like i am so out of the loop... just sitting here in a little cyber in the middle of south america (literally the heart.) and my life is about the same hahahah

there isnt much to say this week other than i am almost through another transfer which blows my mind and christmas is coming so fast i can hardly believe it! time is so crazy on the mission.. you literally do the same thing everysingle day! hahhahah but its crazy! I LOVE IT!  even though i walk around everyday and sometimes have to ask people como 18 times... i LOVE THIS COUNTRY. I am happy. there are times where life is hard. i think wow.... what have i accomplished this week. but i am trying and that is all that matters. heavenly father is working somehow even if i cant see it. hahahahah

but yeah what happened this week i did get to go to obligado for divisions and i was with herman johnson WHO IS AWESOME!!!!! ahhhhh i love her.. she is from idaho and hilarious.. so we had the chance to speak some english.. oh how i miss english. hahahha and walk about 15 km throughout there gigantic area. but yeah... then it was back to my area...

but other than that we pretty much had every single appointment fall through this week. taught a mon ton of menos activos... and then sunday was back! its soo crazy.. our schedule here is jam packed monday tuesday wednesday and thursday... sooo my weeks are on fast forward for a few days... then it slows back down for the next 3 days and next thing i know i am back at monday. its crazy!

but yeah this week with the help of heavenly father we found a new investigator. his name is mario.. he is soo cool... but wow. his life has been full of hardships. i sometimes feel so inadequate to teach him because i really honestly have no way of helping him other than telling him that i admire his strength. but he is so open and receptive, his wife was recently diagnosed with melanoma and it isnt looking good.. and then he also is father to his ninetas whose father passed away about 2 years ago... and then on top of that his youngest son is severely handicapped. he is such an example for me. but he gets it so much more than i do so its even harder to teach him cause his experiences are amazing. but im excited to continue learning from him.

but we are working... thats what i tell hermana woolf.. really to reassure myself hahahah that we are doing the best that we can. i trust heavenly father is helping even though i sometimes cant see the miracles. really we have emi and chigui who are eternal investigators... and that is about all we are teaching.we walk a lot and contact a lot...  its been really hard. a mental mind game. BUT I CANT LET IT GET ME DOWN!!!!!!! hahhahahah

that is what i am starting to learn here. that even though not everything can go my way.. i can be content. i think it is the same with our lives. that we cant control everything but we can control if we are enjoying it! I know i am here for a reason! i love this gospel and am praying for the ability to see the good in everything! i know that heavenly father has a plan and that he is doing his work... whether he is molding and shaping me or the people that we are helping! i love this work... i love my savior... and i love the mission... even though its hard.. I DONT WANT TO BE ANYWHERE ELSE!!! I love you guys.. i pray for you every single day! have the best week ever..

keep the faith!

xoxoxo hermana pitts 

October 12, 2015

hahhaha BUEN DIA FAMILIA! 

Things are about the same here in encarn.. another week is behind me. Its so crazy how fast the weeks really do pass. I will admit... when you said you feel like you are living a groundhog day life mom... i am living one. Everymorning its about the same i get up study a bit... teach a bit... study some more.. teach some more... walk a MONTON... inbetween and then head to bed. hahahhah you want to know what life is like as a missionary.. its just about that hahahha.

BUT THIS WEEK SALINA GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!! sooooo cool. we got to help her get dressed and everything.. which is something that i never got to do with baltazar hahhahah but anyways! I love the spirit that is at baptisms. there is something so special to see a single mom or a sweet old grandpa pitts like man that steps down into the waters of baptism and promises to follow christ. I LOVE IT! Espeically knowing that they have sacraficed so much to be where they are at!

But with lots of blessings this week there were lots of trials.... we have so many menos activos here. hahahah encarn is just full of them. But with being in paraguay... we dont have any dirrections or addresses of people. SOOOOOOO...... its been rough we are still trying to figure out a groove to work with them. but lets see where do i begin...

Our investigators that we have been working with are ORO, but they struggle with the fact of coming to church just about like every other paraguayan.... for some reason sundays are a real challenge to sacrafice a little bit of time... but we are getting there! Emi and Chiqui i am hoping will one day realize the importance... all i can do is have patience.

Funny experiences this week... i had a nice mexican tell me that he was in love with me and that he wants to marry me... I tripped and landed on my face... annnnnnnnndddddd....... i dont know. hahahhahah the mission is just funny... I HAVE LEARNED THAT I HAVE TO LAUGH EVERYTHING OFF! 

hmmmm really nothing is new... except my attitude! hahahah this week i had my interview with president la pierre. PRETTY MUCH HE GAVE ME THE BEST ADVICE. hahahhahahahahha that was to enjoy. For those of you who know me.... hahhah i sometimes have a hard time of letting things go if they dont go my way... truly i am the red type a personality if you have ever met one. but this week as i was explaining how i was frustrated because i dont feel like i am progressing, i dont feel like i am the misisonary i should be... i feel like i am not living up to my potential... president simply said... AND WHY DOES THAT MATTER??? hahhahahahhaha its sooo true. I will never regret my time as a missionary! because i am trying... i am learning... and i am growing... I cant stress about that we are improving with our metas and with my testimony and skills as a teacher... really i am trying and that is all that matters... EVEN IF EVERY SINGLE CITA falls through... like it has almost everyday this transfer! I AM TRYING! GOD IS THERE!!!! I AM DOING THE BEST THAT I CAN!

Anyways... hahahah I just went off on a tangent.. but I love this gospel. The mission is definitley not what i imagined! hahahahha as i am sitting in a cyber in the middle of paraguay.. listening to 80s top hits... h(hahhahaha not my choice, its simply playing in the background hahaha ) I want you all to know that i am happy. I am serving. I know that even though its hard heavenly father is taking care of it. I love this gospel and i love serving my savior. I FREAKING LOVE PARAGUAY! ahhhhh but There is stuff to be learned from these people... I love that! this culture is AMAZING!

I love you all keep praying for me... the language.. the area... the comp... but I love you guys soo much! keep the faith always!!

xoxoxox hermana pitts 

October 5, 2015

Family. what is up. wow its already october and general conference has passed... im going through withdrawls. SERIOUSLY THE PAST TWO DAYS WERE LIKE CHRISTMAS! i love general conference as a missionary. YES WE GOT TO WATCH IT IN ENGLISH.  soooooo rad. there were about 10 of us english speakers.. hahah that all huddled in a room to watch it in english! missionaries came from all over to encarnacion to rama 1 (my rama) hahah to watch it! but it was fun to be back in america for a time CASI. but where to begin this week...

hahahah the mission is a blur. its like what you said this week mom its seriously groundhog day hahahhaha everyday... with spiritual experiences in between.. but this week heavenly father has been working on us. The past few days... weeks. i dont even know in this new area have been interesting. i have found myself often discouraged. sooo let me just give you the low down on this new area. i am sure i shared a little bit last week.. hahahha but yeah so we are in the city center of encarnacion! when i first got the call i thought AWESOME!!! a city!!! but what i didnt realize is that i was going to a place that only had a few investigators and so we needed to contact a fullll... BUT.... there are no houses. there are only apartments that you have to have a key in order to enter... you would think great STREET CONTACT! no. there are no addresses in paraguay.. so if you want to find someone its going to be a little difficult to find there house. so with no houses and no investigators and yo no conozco the area... its been a lot of walking... and a lot of contacting with noooo luck. So ive been a little stressed and a little discouraged with myself. but that is ok. 

Transfers are going to be like that... weeks are going to be like that... hahahhaah but enough about the bad news. 

WE HAVE SELINAS BAPTISM!!!! my investigator that only can speak in guarani! she is going to be baptized this saturday! im soo excited for her. you can tell that even though she doesnt understand everything.. she can feel it. its another testimony that the spirit is so real. the spirit is the teacher... thats all we have to do is be humble enough to recognize it! i loved what president eyring said about the spirit... i dont remember word for word hahahha my mind is sooo scattered. but that the we have to look for the spirit have the eyes to see and the ears to hear. that is what selina has. and that is what i am striving for! the ability to know the language of the spirit. But with her only knowing guarani and her coming to conference we were able to put it on in guarani for her... which meant that me and hermana woolf took turns watching it with her so she woldnt have to be alone... soooo i missed some of the talks... hahahha sooo dont tell me what president nelson and a few of the others from sunday morning session said.... shhhhhhhh dont ruin the surprise no im kidding.

but what else happened this week.. oh yeah soo its been a little crazy.. i went to asuncion. hahah no wonder i am so tired and my mind is soo crazy.. thrusday night we travelled all night to asuncion for tramites. BUT the only other hermana that went WAS HERMANA MURPHY!!!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh she is soo good. we practically spent all day running around asuncion together seriously needed it! hahahah i am hoping that one day we will be companions... seriously we clicked from day one. she was hermana wilsons comp in the MTC. but i love her. anyways... so after a whole day in asuncion we travelled and arrived late at night friday night. but THEN... CONFERENCE

wow conference was just what i needed! i loved all the talks and the feelings that i felt during them... i cant pick a favorite! but i loved president uchtdorfs and devin durrants about ponderizing! LETS ALL DO IT!!!! ahhhhh Im starting this week with 1 nephi 8 10 12 sooo good! but i love conference. it made me realize that the reason that this chruch is soo different from any other church is that we have a living profet today! we have someone that leads and guides us.. helping us know exactly what gods will is for us! its amazing! we have the gospel in fullness because we have a living profet! we can do the ordanances that are required to make it to the celestial kingdom because we have a living profet today! i loved that.

There were so many things that i could comment on! there isnt tons of time and i forgot my notes hahahhaha but really i want to hear your comments. i love you all. i know that this chruch is true. that heavenly father has a plan for us! I know that the trials... the areas... the comps... the experiences that i am having in the mission and all the experiences in life are for our good! I am learning how to trust our father in heaven. Its definitely hard... hahahhah faith and trust are something that you have to actively exercise every single day... i have faith that i am going to understand people when they speak spanish. i have faith that my efforts arent going to waste. i trust that god is going to use me as his instrument. i have faith that my savior through his divine sacrafice is going to help me. Sometimes when we have nothing... we can have faith.... Even when i feel like i am nothing and that i have nothing... i have faith. i trust that god is molding me into the person that i need to be! I love this gospel and i love the teachings. i am here for my heavenly father. i am not here for myself. for my family... even for the people i am teaching... hahahhah i know that sounds kinda weird but i am here for all those people... but really its not their mission... its not anyones mission but the lords and that is why i am here. its his work!

i love you all and i pray for you everyday! hope you have a good week!

keep the faith because there may not be anything else.

xoxoxo hermana pitts 

September 28, 2015

seriously... this week has been a whirlwind. Im in a big city... i have no idea where i am or where i am going.. haahhaha its soooo crazy. its definitely been a transition.

I dont even know where to start... but lets see... monday tuesday wednesday were spent crying... hahah not really but my last moments in ituzaingo are always going to have a special place in my heart. the members.. baltazar. It breaks my heart. But i know that changes are for our benefit. heavenly father doesnt need me in ituzaingo instead he needs me in the heart of ENCARNACION. soooo thursday morning we travelled to posadas and said our good byes. lets just say hardest 5 mins of my life  (next to walking into the mtc hahahahah just kidding!!) but me and hermana wilson just kept saying how sad we were that this transfer was ending. it was one i am going to remember forever! but then i got in the taxi and headed across the river! my first moments in paraguay....

wow.. its different but not too different. I can find kit kats and extra gum if that says anything! hahahah but I have mickey ds and burger king in the area sooo i think ill survive hahahah but we are in the centro... so you would think that would mean a lot of contacting and a lot of apartments but no.. its all stores.. and pensions above that we cant get into... and the city is soo tranquilo there isnt hardly anyone outside. so if any of you have any ideas of how to get into locked apartment buildings let me know! hahahhaha but yeah the rama is small but there are toooonnnnssss of conversos recientes! which is AWESOME... and GUESS WHAT?? we have a baptism next week!!!! 

continuing on with my week... sooo thursday, friday and saturday were getting to know the area... helping the elders get to know the area hahahhaha but i finally made it to sunday... I LOVE CHURCH ON THE MISSION! its where i feel at home! but anyways...

THE BAPTISM!!!! Celina! soooo my first lesson here... was in guarani. WOW. seriously i was having nightmare flashbacks to my first few weeks here. it was nuts. i didnt pick up anything.... its just sounds like mumbling. but celina only speaks guarani but she is amazing! has such a desire to be baptized.. but with the language barrier you would think.. oh  just have her read and she will get all of it.. but that is one of the things about this area. is that lots of people arent able to read. but that is when you just rely on the spirit. hahahah an some members that speak both spanish and guarani! but yeah... so anyways she passed her baptismal interview and she will have her baptism a week from saturday

BECAUSE GENERAL CONFERENCE IS THIS WEEK!!!!!!! ahhhhhh im sooo excited!!!! we are going to be able to watch it in english! which is AWESOME! but yeah its almost like christmas! i am sooo excited! 

soo the next couple weeks are going to be really busy! but this week i have been studying patience... i love the story of the sons of mosiah in alma 26 it talks about the blessings that came from enduring their afflictions with patience! i think that one of the greatest blessings from patience is that heavenly father knows that he can trust us.. that we are going to continually strive to do his will even when the circumstances are hard! he is going to give us more blessings and we will be able to be instruments in his hand! 

I love that... I love the scriptures they are amazing....... wow. I love this gospel. THE SAVIOR IS THERE... change has been hard.. and i know that he knows! 

I love you guys and thank you soooo much for all the letters...

keep the faith! 

have a good week xoxoxoxoxo hermana pitts 

September 14, 2015

well it wont let me put a subject.... soooo what a week! hahaha this transfer has just blown by.. i cant believe that i have almost lived here in a foreign country for 3 months!!! but this week has been crazy busy and not how i would have liked it hahahah! but igual. since tuesday i have spent wednesday thrusday and friday in posadas doing divisions! but yeah... this week has been a lot of traveling and a lot of changing of companions! which makes me kinda sad... hermana wilson is Amazing! i freakin love her! but all good things come to an end... hahahah CAMBIOS are next week.. WHAT???? its soo crazy. this transfer has flown! and i seriously have no idea if i am going to stay or if i am heading to the other side of the river... #paraguay but yeah we will be finding out here in another week! 

but i really hope that i am staying one more transfer in ituzaingo.. we have some really cool people that we are teaching and i havent even had a chance to teach them this transfer with all the traveling! but yeah..

we have been learning alot. 

this week we had some really cool experiences with our investigators! 1st of all.. wow where do i even begin! MARIO! ok soo i dont know if i ever told you the story of mario.. i really hope i have but we found him working one day and passed by his house he has recieved a dream about the truthfulness of the book of mormon.. #everyonehasdreams... anyways. so he has a baptismal date but he lives 7 km from the church soo that is the obstaculo right now! but he is so good!!!! and he is going to come to church this week!!! im so excited! 

Carlos now has an answer too!! which is soo cool! he is the one that we contacted and he runs in his house and brings out a book of mormon from who knows how long ago... but we found out this week taht the missionaries were teaching him back in the 90s hahahah and that he kept his BOM! soo cool... anyways yeah soo mario and carlos and then there is mauricio we are still working with WHO NOW HAS A MOTO!!!! woot woot! i was soo pumped! it was such a miracle and blessing because he has been working soo hard and now he can get to work AND to CHURCH really easily! well soo we told him hahahah but yeah! 

its crazy... ituzaingo.... its such a weird crazy place where when i first arrived we were lacking preisthood holders and now that is all we are teaching its so cool... because in this mission that is a rarity to teach men and that is all we are teaching! but seriously if anything out of this crazy week... i have learned that god is in our lives! i love that. he truly is in our lives all the time! I hope all of you are doing well in your crazy lives! 

OH COUPLE OF cool things that happened this week.. hahah 

1. I SAW A MONKEY!!!!!!- sare is probably seeing them everywhere but it was really cool!!!

2. WE MADE A BOMB PIZZA. im talking one of the best pizza i have ever eaten... just wait.. 15 months from now im going to be cookin them pizzas..

3.i went on divisions with an hermana woodwell that came with me.. hahahah AND I UNDERSTOOD THE LESSON!!!!!! WE HAD A LESSON WITHOUT OUR MOMS!!!! it was killer!! 

4well thats all hahaha there is more... but my mind is soo scattered! hahahah 

but i really want you guys to know that i love this gospel! the last 3 months have been a complete whirlwind and I often look at the end and think wow... 15 months is a long ways away.. but i know that i am supposed to be a missionary. I have learned so much and i know that heavenly father has a plan! you guys are part of the plan he has for me! i love you all and i know that somedays are hard but really its when we look for the little things and the tendermercies that we realize how blessed we truly are! i love you guys soo much and i miss you everyday! it sounds like everyone is doing good! but i love and miss you all and know that this church is so true. that heavenly father is so loving and merciful! he loves us so much!!! ahh i just want to tell the whole world hahahah that there is no reason to fear because heavenly father and christ are walking this life with us! 

youre the best and keep the faith as always

xoxoxoxo con mucho amor y felicidad

hermana pitts 

Sept. 21, 2015

IM HEADED TO THE PROMISE LAND.... PARAGUAY. Am i freaking out?? a little. am i sad to leave hermana wilson?? devistated. BUT AM I PUMPED OUT OF MY MIND?? YES! Its soo crazy how fast this transfer has gone, i swear that i was just switching moms... and now im flying outside the nest all the way across the river... TO ENCARNACION, paraguay. Transfers are tal vez wednesday or thursday.. but im leaving my birthplace. Im going to be sad to leave. but another adventure is coming my way! 

here its as simple as once you go to paraguay.. there is no turning back. rumor has it that it is an entirely different place, im crossing the river... but another chapter is starting in my mission! 

Im really sad to be leaving here.. i have learned an grown soo much.. i wont be able to see my investigators like mario.. be baptized.. or carlos. but that is part of the mission and part of life i guess! its going to be another chance to learn and to grow.. but i dont even know where to begin with this week! honestly me and hermana wilson have just been enjoying our time together. hahahaha but lets see what happened! monday and tuesday we were in posadas.. AGAIN. hahahahah and then Thursday as well for tramites and zone meetings! but with all the traveling we still managed to have 2 of the most incredible lessons.. both with less actives. I have never felt the spirit so strong as they bore their testimonies about how the are recognizing the need of repentence. 

REPENTENCE is EVERYTHING! i think that that word has such a bad connotation.. but ITS SOOOOOOO GOOD!!! we have to repent. We have to change. that is what repentence is CHANGE! i love that.. i need to change every single day.. We all need to change a little everyday. repentence is not something that we can do all at once. its a process like change! its a process that allows us to be better.. become a little more like our savior and it is through him that we do that! 

Sunday we had conferencia de estaca! WOW. its was so cool.. we travelled again to posadas from ituzaingo and elder resek and president la pierre spoke! I loved what president talked about.. he spoke about the spirit. it was exactly what i needed to hear. That we as missionaries are going to say something that touches people and that people are going to remember from the preearth life! 

I love this misison.... its hard. everyday i am tired.. and its getting hot.. and soo im sweaty and there is sand in all of my shoes and in my bed.. i doubt my abilities as people laugh at me for saying something wrong. but i love the spirit!! that is why i am here... so that people can feel their lord and savior through his spirit! 

I love you all.. keep the faith

xoxox hermana pitts