Dec. 14, 2015

1.... que los cumpla feliz a mama mel!!!!!!! woohoooooooooo getting older and wiser and all the more beautiful hahahahah but..... 

Well im spending christmas in encarn!!! im soooo happy! but this week has been strangely fast... its always that way when changes are coming... BUT PRESIDENT SUPRISED US! soooooooo crazy... ok im sorry im every where!

but lets take it day by day.. hahaha

bueno. Lunes and Martes we were in posadas for consejo. WOW. I love consejo... we had elder salas from the seventy talk to us through skype... about ideas of how to help the mission progress. IT WAS AMAZING... HE TALKED ABOUT ANIMO AND FE! How connected they are! when we have faith we have this vigor for life and for living the gospel or for us missionaries sharing the gospel! but how when we exercise our faith we develop this excitement for everything!  It did get me a little stressed hahahahh but one day one week at a time. my animo and fe wont come all at once!

but wednesday thrusday and friday were awesome work days.. i forgot my old planner sooo i couldnt tell you what we did hahahah its true when people say that the days are long but the weeks are a blur. i seriously dont know exactly what we did other than contacting BECAUSE WE FOUND 7 NUEVOS!!!! and 7 BOMB NUEVOS!!!! im freakin pumped!!!! ahhhhhhhhh ANIMO ES REAL. pero.... saturday we CAROLED as a ZONE!!!!! it was really cool! hahaha we went down to the coastanera and spread a little christmas cheer by singing loud for all to hear hahhahahah!!!! but we made posters and sang and i wish that i had taken pictures but i had forgotten my camera... but we had tinsel around our necks and santa claus hats... SOOOOOO lets just say we were a sight to see. hahahah a bunch of greengos.... singing noche de luz a billion times.

SUNDAY...... WAS seriously the biggest rainstorm that i have ever seen. Sunday morning was rough because with soo much rain there was hardly any buses and no way for people to come to church.... it was soo humbling to see people sacrafice sometimes walking without an umbrella all the way to the chruch.. it makes me so grateful that in my small town in utah we never have this obstacle. But anyways it was soooo sad because by 3 it was clear skys and sunny... but god has a plan. anyways! we got to watch the christmas devotional later that afternoon. I LOVED IT.... Making me a little bit homesick looking at all the christmas decorations. but Igual. ahhahaha

but the reason that i didnt write yesterday is because the power was out in the whole city almost the entire day sooo no cybers were open. hgahhahah the life in paraguay! but anyways WE HAD A WEE BIT OF A SURPRISE!!!! yesterday was cambios!!!!!!! but...... president decided that he wasnt going to change people until after the navidad... sooo he only did enough changes to fill in the spots of misisonaries leaving and coming... so in the entire mission there were only about 5 missionaries that changed companions... THE RUMOR IS... that he is going to do a big "emergency change" after the navidad. SOOOOO... WE ARE STAYING!!!! WE will be staying here for the navidad! which will be good.. but im nervous to find out what is going to happen in just soo little time... 2 more weeks... and then we will have another short 4 week transfer! hahhah but its crazy... but it was weird... this is weird... but it will be good! me and hermana woolf are already planning our navidad!!! hahahahhahah IM SOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!

this time of year is seriously the best... we have the chance to reflect so much in our savior. I was reading the conference talk by elder lawrence today.. in spanish it is called que me falta pero i have no idea what it is called in english! but its super good... i was reading that along with alma 56 about the armies of helaman. I really like them... talking about. This talk was about how we all have a something that we lack... that impedes us from progressing and sometimes we have to humble ourselves and ask heavenly father and through the spirit he will tell us! I was connecting that to the story in alma 56... these young men were soo faithful and sooo strong haciendo milagros because they were completely open and willing to change for the lord... they didnt let anything stop them... they were humble and willing to do what the lord asked because they knew that that was the only way to be freed and to be" delievered" The end of the year... christmas... its such a time of reflection! This year this week i am going to find that thing that i can sacrifice for my savior... as i remember his birth and all he did for me! my invitation is for all of you to do the same!!!! pray ask heavenly father and find that thing that we can sacrifice to be a little bit more like our savior and i pray that all of you will be willing to change it! That is the purpose of this life!!! TO CHANGE!!!!!!! to become more like our heavenly father!!!

i love you all have the best week ever!!!

xoxoxox keep the faith and a happy merry christmas

feliz navidad y feliz cumpleanos a mama mel y aunt merilee this friday!!!

xoxoxoxo hermana pitts 

Dec. 7, 2015

HAHAHAHAH I cannot believe that it is december... seriously there are chirstmas lights and arboles de la navidad por todos lados... but there is one thing missing.. SNOW. hhahahha we are here just sweating. hahahah but I love it. WHAT IS UP?? CHE ZU(mom in guarani)...CHE RU.( dad in guarani) ..Mis hermanitas...  family friends... aquatinances... hahahah This week has been seriously AMAZING! 

Its weeks like this where i absolutely love being a missionary! hahahah surprisingly it was another heavy contacting week but i think what made the difference is that we decided to sing christmas carols this week for EVERYONE! We did have some really interesting experiences with some drunks...but igual. hahahahha thats a story for when i return! hahahh but we found 2 amazing nuevos that i am just dying to meet with again. BOTH ARE 19!!!!! I AM 19!!! its perfect! hahahha but seriously... i have never felt a spirit like that before. 

Numero 1.. MARIA! We found her tocando puertas when we had an extra half hour before una charla. anyways... We testified and left. It was seriously such a powerful experience. hahah but she is living alone in encarn and hasnt seen her parents for 8 months... i just thought are we living a double life??? ahhahah she kept telling us howmuch she missed her mom... and i just kept thinking...wow.... WE ARE THE SAME PERSON! hahahha we are going back tomorrow! 

numero 2- Tamila. Wow.... lets just say that unlike maria we are living complete opposite lives... hahahha she is19 and living with her novio and their son...that is only 2 months old and is seriously the prettiest baby i have ever seen!!!! ahhhhhhhhh but She has never been to a church and never prayed in her life. its amazing... and for here in encarn that is likefinding a needle in a haystack....SOOO RARE!!! someone whose realtionship with our heavenly father is just starting togrow! We are going to return on wednesday! 

Anyways... today and tomorrow we are in posadas for the consejo de los lideres!!! so right now we are in posadas writing! hahahah i miss paraguay. 

but 

One thing that i have been thinking about this week...is how are experiences really shape who we are! Its crazy... like they shape our personalities our outlooks... our opinions. Its crazy! but looking at these 2 new investigators that are the same age and are sooo completely different.They have experiences that have made them the way they are! It is the same for me. MY EXPERIENCES HERE ARE CHANGING ME FOREVER!!!! It soooo crazy tothink backto where i was a year ago...I was getting my mission call!!! and now i am in paraguay! hahahhhh but i have changed... my relationship with my savior is stronger..I understand the importance of listening to the spirit.. and how powerful the book of mormon is. Like seriously we can never stop reading that book. IT IS THE KEY!!!! but i still have a long way to go...a long way until i am like my saviorand i am the type of person that i want to be.BUT ITS OUR EXPERIENCES!!!! This week hermana woolf and i were talking about things that have happened in our lives..learning about who she was completely changed my view ofher! I know that she has been through things that i willnever understand. BUT SHE IS AMAZING!!!! She has so many talents and abilities and experiences that make her the person that she is! I know that heavenly father shapes us through our experiences into the type of people that we need to be! I challenge all of you to look at your experiences your trials that you are experiences andjust think...how can I learn fromthis?? 

I love you all! have the best week ever. 

keep the faith always.

pray like you never have before

xoxoxoxo hermana pitts 

November 30, 2015

Well lets just say about the fastest slowest week of my life..... 

But that is really honestly the mission.. This week lets see since i wrote you all nothing great has really happened other than a killer shopping spree and an almost mental breakdown hahahah... no just kidding. ( i did buy some stuff... hahhaha a speaker and a killer granny jammy set i know you would love it mom.)

first of all shoutouts!!!!!! 

SHOUT OUT to sare.. WHO IS KILLING IT IN CAMBOYA!!!! Im sooo proud of her.. made it out of training and will be getting a new comp allllll khmer. soooo cool.
ANOTHER SHOUT OUT to BIG GREG. HAPPIEST OF HAPPIEST BIRTHDAYS!!! I love you and am so greatful for you and all you have done for me. the example that you have set and for always being worthy of the priesthood. i am soo grateful to have grown up in a home with the priesthood.
. but hahahhah SHOUT OUT to Mike and Cheryl too. I am sooo excited for those missionaries to have mission presidents like you! that is amazing!

ahhhh i am all over the place today
But lets see.... ITS ALMOST THE NAVIDAD!!!!!!!!!! Im sooo excited to talk to you all and really honestly give you the down low of this place there is just not enough words to put it in a letter! but lets see we had divisions this week... soooooo awesome.... and really other than that is was a week of a lot of knocking and a lot of no´s.

I now know what a full week of contacting feels like and for all you missionaries that have been there before. I FEEL YOU. hahahha but chin up the sun is out.. its warm and its almost the navidad so the only thing i can do is look on the bright side. But on the bright side we had 4 new investigators this week! MIRACLES!!!! ahhahaha and 50 asistencias which is a record here in rama 1 heavenly father is slowly but surely doing his work! 

this week i have been studying a lot about joseph smith in JSH. I love how he expresses his experiences. He talks about how really he wasnt perfect and that he was far from it...he had a lot of trials that came his way... a lot of temptation from satan and still he was firm in his faith..

He knew that he had seen a vision and he knew that god knew it and he could no deny it!!!! THAT IS HOW I WANT TO BE!!! Even when the trials come... to never doubt my experiences that i have had... never doubt the spiritual witnesses that i have been given. AFter the vision... heavenly father left joseph feeling like he was on his own.. I love what happened... after years of feeling abandoned by heavenly father... jospeh knew that he was in the wrong and that he needed to repent... so one night is september he prayed... prayed for forgiveness and a knowledge of where he stood with god. This week that is my challenge to all of you. I hope that we can all pray and know where we stand with god... that we are able to feel how much he loves us and that he can bless us with the ability to see how much he is truly in our lives! but jospeh smith afterwards wasnt relieved all all his trials they werent all just taken away after that moment... but he was given a promise..... as long as he did everything that he could in order to build the kingdom of god all would be well... he would have the strength to overcome!!!!! that is the purpose of the atonement!

I know that god loved us enough to give us his son.... seriously can you imagine watching someone you love suffer... especially how our savior suffered????? heavenly father knew it was the only way! I know that he loves us and he is always there even though sometimes we feel abandoned. just like jospeh smith HE WAS ALWAYS THERE! guiding him and giving him the strength to withstand! I know that joseph smith was called to be a prophet and to bring us the fullness of the gospel! I love sharing this message with the people of paraguay!

The mission can often be a time where you wonder... WHERE DO I STAND WITH GOD???? Actually life is that way! but I know that as we have faith in him WE WILL FEEL HIS LOVE!!!!!

I hope you have a great week...

love you tons and KEEP THE FAITH!

xoxoxoxox hermana pitts 

November 23, 2015

while snow is falling near highland utah and you guys are snuggling inside drinking your hot chocolate...There is an small american girl that is a long way from home for the holiday season..... actually all the way down in the heart of south america hashtag paraguay! sun burnt....and bug bitten. but still with the christmas spirit. hahaha

But what is up family? I miss you guys and seriously cant believe that this week is thanksgiving! its soo weird. My mind is telling me its november but i feel like i am getting to the middle of july... THE HEAT. All the kids are out of school now. Its kinda like a mind warp. Telling me that its getting into the holiday season...but really its not. hahah

This week has been crazy. hahaha WE HAD OUR FIRST DIVISIONS!!!!! ahhhh it was crazy. i had my first experience really being the senior companion... Its crazy.. I still have no idea what i am doing as an hermana lider with little but no experience. hahahah but It was a lot of traveling their area being about 2 hours away. We went came back went and the came back.... 4 bus rides.... and lets just say the buses in paraguay are nothing special... Hot and smelly. hahah but igual. I love divisions it really opens my eyesabout really how much i can learn from a missionary that only has a little bit of time. but it did make it a little hard to be in our area... a lot thisweek.which is really hard. 

then we had our zone conference this week.It was soo good. I love hearing from president.HIS COUNCIL IS ALWAYS SOOOOO GOOD! but I one of the lucky ones....(said sarcastically) to give a capacitation in this conferencia.... on just one of my all time favorite themes... OBEDIENCE! hahahahhahah but It actually was awesome because as always the teacher is the one who learns the most.... after about a week of studying I learned a lot.... But before i go off on my obedience rant...hahahhahaha this week was good...I love being obedient.really i think i am one of those weird people that gets satisfaction out of being obedient but knowing that i did everything that heavenly father has asked whether is something as small as waking up at 7 si o si....hahhaha suprising that is really hard for a lot ofmissionaries....to following the promptings of the spririt in a lesson. I want to do everything..... leave it all here! every effort. But yeah I loved something that someone said. Before this life WE ALL WERE OBEDIENT! WE LOVED BEING OBEDIENT! and we chose to follow oursavior we chose to be obedient! and that is what is going to make us most happy because that is what we are created for!!!!! hahahahha LETS BE OBEIDENT!!!!!! read our scriptures go to church say our prayers thelittlethings that is where the happiness willcome! hahahah 

Christmas iscoming and i can hardly believe that thanksgiving is this week..Thank you to everyone andtheir letters I sadly wont be celebrating much ofthe pilgrims and the indians but i will be giving a lot of thanks. 

1. my family really honestly your support means everything and your examples are what keep me going. I loveyou all. 

2. the gospel This is what makes us happy...living the gospel. being obedient and trying to live how heavenly father wants us to. 

3. THIS MISSION. seriosuly thank you to everyone who recommended it...because it is soooo worth it. It isthe best decision i ever made! It is definitely hard..... not going to lie., there are times where i think what the heck did i do.....why am i here. but there is nothing better. 

today we sat on the beach here in paraguay i just thought about how lucky i am to be in a beautiful place with beautiful people and an amazing languaage! I amsoooooooooooooo excited for KATE NEELEMAN!!!!! ahhhhhh soooo amazing girl! you are going to be amazing! xooxoxoxoxoxo and SHOUT OUT TO BIG GREG... IO wont be there to celebrate turkey day with you or your birthday next sunday!!! but Ill eat some cakefory ou still...

I love you all sooomuch! and hope you have a great week. 

xxoxoxoxooxoxox keepthe faith 

hermana pitts 

 Sister Leaders

November 16, 2016

is it sad to be sad that i only have one year left? holy fast..... THIS WEEK WAS CRAZY!!!! sooo to catch you up.... tuesday was our pday and then tuesday night and wednesday we were in consejo! 

wow..... Consejo, its pretty much a big meeting for all the hermana leaders and zone leaders which was really great!  i felt completely out of place... having little casi no experience but overall it was amazing. Once a month they have the leaders come in from all over the mission to posadas and the hermanas get to sleep in the mission home... AND HAVE A NOCHE DE HOGAR WITH PRESIDENT!!!! soooo cool.... So pretty much i loved every second of it... because there were so many of my favorite people that were hermana leaders this transfer. Hermana ehlert, hermana murphy, hermana salcido... and THEN ON TOP OF THAT!!! ALLLLLLL my comps from the mission field were there. Hermana hartley, hermana wilson, and hermana woolf. So it was pretty much bomb. hahahahha but anyways.... After a long day of crossing the border (sounds real posh right) hahahah we had our noche de rama in the capilla. I was exhausted... (shhhhh dont tell anyone but we did stay up late hahahh hashtag slumberparty.) but  thursday little did we know would be a crazy day too. hahah 

Thursday hermana woolf and another hermana from argentina went to posadas and soooooooo I HAD DIVISIONS!!!! woooooo with Hermana Cannon. Wow. if there is anyone in the mission that is just like me it is her. we pretty much spent the entire night talking about our madewell obsession. sooo there is that. But hahahah im so excited because she is at byu! so ill be having friends after the mission woooohooo. but anyways... crazy week because we didnt get into working in our area until saturday. But igual.... sometimes that is the life. but 

this week... being crazy...we didnt have much time with our investigators which makes me really sad. Although we have little investigators... everyday away from them is hard. I love teaching the gospel. I love watching someones reaction when they feel the spirit there is nothing like it. I know that this is where i am supposed to be. 

hermana cannon and i had a heart to heart one of the nights... hahahah about how the mission is hard... and that even though i may not love it 100 percent of the time. That doesnt mean that i dont desire with all my heart to glory in it. and who better knows my desires than my heavenly father. He knows that i want to love every second and when i dont that i am frustrated with my natural self. But hermana cannon told me something really profound that made me think....

do you think the savior loved every second of his suffering?? do you think he enjoyed getting spit upon, and laughed at and bleeding from every poor? But even though he didnt enjoy every second he still did it. he endured... and that is what i am tasting just a teeny tiny bit in my mission. That is how our lives are... we are here to learn how to rely on our savior. That is the purpose of this often difficult earth life. I know that the way to rely on my savior is through this gospel. It is only through the true and living church that he is guiding.... this is the chruch of jesus christ of latter day saints. I love this gospel. and i love you all remember you are never alone! have the best week ever and KEEP THE FAITH!!!

xoxoxox hermana pitts 

November 10, 2015

what happened this week... it flew... AGAIN. hahahhah CHIQUI and no go hugo... CAME TO CHURCH!!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

hahahaha ok... from the beginning. 

Miracles this week! we had lots of contacting this week.... like a lot... and its starting to get really hot here. HOT AND MUGGY. wow... im not sare in cambodia biking through car washes but i do trudge through a bit of mud... and am sweating like crazy! burning those calories hahahhah but yeah...

monday tuesday wednesday were just normal days... we found some nuevos which is such a miracle here! I am soo happy! and they are looking really good. I am hoping that we can continue to work with them and help them progress in the gospel. but friday is when the best thing happened...

WOW. ok so we were walking down the street near the terminal and off of one of the buses was an investigador antiguo that we had dropped like 2 or 3 weeks ago... He was soo excited to see us! ahhhh sooo cool. IT WAS CHIQUI!!!! ahhhhh

sooo backstory... chiqui the hermanas from like 3 transfers ago found him and started teaching him... he really honestly is killer.... but for some reason he just cant come to church (welcome to 99 percent of paraguay. ) anyways... they dropped him and started again...and kept teaching like once a week until i got here... and we finally decided to leave him for good. BUTTTTTTT Wow.... we started talking to him and he was telling us how much he missed us.. and we decided we would go back one more time just to see....

WE WENT BACK. and never eben mentioned church... when all of the sudden he said. yo necesito venir a la capilla..... WHAT THE HECK????????? HE NEVER SAID THAT BEFORE!!!! AND GUESS WHAT?!?!?!??!!? HE CAME!!! sooo many answers tooo sooo many prayers... and then hugo... so hugo was this snake that we started teaching... it was really bad. we only went 1 time and he was really different and i had a really bad feeling soo we didnt return. but he came to churhc. hahahhaha SO NOW THE ELDERS HAVE ANOTHER PROGRESSING INVESTIGATOR!!!! hahahahahah QUE SUERTE! 

hahahahh but it was such a blessing. This week is going to be crazy fast. the reason that i didnt have the chance to write yesterday was because we have our pday today due to CONSEJO! so tonight we are headed to posadas with all the other leaders to stay in the mission home and have a meeting tomorrow! Im really exicted! but seriously we arent going to get back till tomorrow night... but we worked all day yesterday and then had a partial pday today before we cross the border to posadas! but yeah.... the weeks are just flying i cant believe that its already november and double digits in november. Next thing i know we are going to be skyping home for christmas. WHAT THE HECK????? hahahhah but yeah. 

The mission is weird. but so is life. HARD WORK PAYS OFF!!!!! we have been working hard and now the miracles are starting to come! HEavenly father is in our lives!!!!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhh he is soo good... he is soo o merciful! seriously i love counting my blessings and just seeing that i have so many! hahahah but i hope you all are doing well. i really miss you. I heard about the church news. and really honestly i just want to say that I KNOW it was inspired. THAT THOMAS S MONSON is a prophet. I love this church. and love this gospel. One thing that i have seen while being down here is the countless people that have been upset by something or were offended and let that affect their testimony.... it makes me so sad. because in all reality we all have our problems and the church isnt for people that are perfect. we are all going to church to better ourselves and improve our lives... No one is perfect except our savior and he is truly leading this church through his profet. I love this gospel and am so grateful to have a living profet who can lead and guide us. I know that the book of mormon is true. WITHOUT A DOUBT. and seriously i love having the opprotunity to share my testimony everyday! it is such a blessing and it strengthens it everyday! i love you guys and I hope you have the best week. 

remember to keep the faith... the way to do that is the little things.. Prayer, scriptures, and church, but with a sincere heart! 

xoxoxo hermana pitts 

 Micky D's

 The ruins

 My yellow umbrella

 The zoo and all the monkeys

 Hermana Woolf after her allergic attack

The Elders thought my cinnamon rolls were the bomb!

November 2, 2015

Well im staying in encarn with hermana woolf! Its so crazy next transfer will be right before christmas! i cant even believe that its already november and while you guys are hunkering down for the colder weather... its just getting hotter here. hahahah the summer is coming! but what is new... hahahha 

Im excited to be staying right where i am and keep working here.. me and hermana woolf are starting to get a groove down so it will be nice to stay right where we are! buuuuuutttttt...... there is a twist! we are going to be a set of hermana leaders! sooo that means a crazy transfer with more divisions and changes! but im excited! 

this week... well really it was just another crazy week here in encarn... lets see monday tuesday wednesday we were busy in the capilla because there were missionaries GALORE... hahhaha everyone had to come to encarn to cross and i am sure that it is going to be about the same this week with transfers.. hahah that is one of the interesting things about this area is that everyone comes to encarn.. and needs a place to stay and they come to the capilla in centro.. and Guess who has the keys hahahah but anyways...

TUESDAY!!! a miracle happened. Our investigator mario... was at home WITH HIS WIFE!!!!! ahhhh she was back from asuncion and so when we stopped by we had the chance to talk with her! but anyways it gets better.... we were sitting and chatting with her when she told us that she didnt have a lot of time because her son was coming over... so we asked her if we could do anything for her... if we could pray with her... during this entire little charlita i just kept having this thought... PRIESTHOOD BLESSING... but problem... as an hermana i dont have the priesthood. so anyways i was about to explain that we could come another day and give her a blessing of salud with the elders... when i turned my head and the elders were speed walking past us.. I JUMPED UP and rannnnn to them... hahahah it was such a miracle... heavenly father directing every path...we were in the right place at the right time and so were the elders! anyways they came in and gave her a blessing and i seriously have never felt the spirit sooo strong! I know that the priesthood power is real and that is the same power that christ used when he preformed countless miracles! it can bless lives. 

Anyways wednesday thursday and friday passed with a lot of frustration and a lot of trust.. the mission is weird. sometimes you feel like you have a million things to do and not enough time.. and other days you look at an empty planner at the end of the night and just think... Wow. who can we visit. BUT THIS WEEK WE FOUND 4 NUEVOS!!!! a record here in encarn hahahha not really but i am really excited to see where they go! but yeah... 

Sunday is when it got weird.. hahahhaha hermana woolf... dont tell her mom. but she has a ringworm... hahahahha its kinda crazy. randomly she will have these breakouts of red itchy blotches and she will start swelling up. So anyways... she hasnt had a break out for about a month now and so we were just happily working until sunday at church her hands started swelling up... the next thing we knew her feet seriously looked like a pregnant womens. bright red and really swollen... then her entire body started flaring up... lets just put it as... SHE LOOKED LIKE HITCH. Her poor face is swollen and she could hardly see or walk.. SO we spent sunday night in the pension. It was good because i redid the entire area book. but it made me realize how much i like being outside and working. althought sometimes its just walking from house to house and having people tell you no.... i really like being outside! but wow... what an experience. hahaha the elders were dying when they came to give her a blessing. she doesnt even look like herself. its crazy. 

But today she is still really puffy in her face but her feet are completely fine so we are going to see how she feels tonight! but yeah... that was about my week! 

This week again i have been studying the new testament! SOOO COOL. the life of the savior is so cool. im serious. I LOVE IT. i love that the four gospels are the same story but everyone has a different take on different events.. matthew elaborates on one miracle john on another. its really interesting. but i was reading in acts this morning about the apostles... thinking about how they felt.. their savior had just died and they probably felt alone... they felt like they didnt know what they were doing... and that sometimes their efforts were a little unfocused. sometimes i feel that way as a missionary as a disciple... but christ sent the comforter... he sent them the spirit... and through the spirit they were able to preform miracles. 

THERE ARE MIRACLES IN OUR LIVES. we just have to see them! i love you all and i hope you have the best week.. pray for me.. i need it! hahahahahah but just know that i am always praying for you. 

keep the faith! 

xoxoxxo hermana pitts 

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