Week 10, July 27, 2015

July 27, 2015

where do i even begin??? Ahhhhh i dont even know how to start. but seriously there has never been a week where i have seen the lords hand more than this one. but first of all thank you soo much for the letters.. seriously they mean the world to me! they are answers to my prayers. 

Miracle #1: the baptism of baltasar was schedule to be august 1... we were soo excited and knew that he is soo prepared for baptism.. serisouly this guy knows more about jospeh smith than i do! he is killllllerrrr. anyways this week we have diligently been preparing him for baptism! teaching him the final lessons and he was recieving everything sooo well.. you could just see the light and the excitement in his eyes. but a requirement for baptism here is 3 asistences en la iglesia. what we didnt know is that he only had 2... sooo yesterday was the final! but we passed by his house in the morning and he wasnt there!!!!!!! seriously my heart sunk... i was soooo sad.. we thought lets just leave him a note and hopefully he will come late.. but he never did.. after church we went and visted him and he told us this story about how he was praying for comfort because he didnt feel like he was ready for baptism and that when we had to change his date (because of only 2 attendences) it was an answer to a prayer!!! sooooo cool. heavenly father seriosuly knows every single one of us sooo perfectly its crazy! now baltasar is getting baptized the 8 of august!! keep him in your prayers because the adversary really starts tempting them the week before!!!

miracle#2 luz took the sacrament!!!!!!!! ahhhhh we have been trying for weeks to try to get her to take the sacrament and she finally did!!! but before we went to her house and were going to pick her up for church but she said that she couldnt come because she was babysitting her nieces... we tried everything but there weas no way she could come.. we left heartbroken again... and after passing for baltasar and him not being there was walked the rest of the way to the church with our hearts hurting... but when we got there we walked in and luz was there!!!!!!!!!! ahhhhhhh i have never been sooo happy! but not only did she come but she was able to partkae of the sacrament!! it was amazing!!! heavenly father is just giving us things and they are just falling in our laps!! this work is soo amazing! 

Miracle #3 so we have been working with mauricio a menos activo that has a testimony but doenst feel worthy of the gospel and they help of jesus churst but this week we found out that they cant find his baptism record soo he has to get rebaptzied... sooo august 8 we have 3 baptism scheduled... luz baltasar and maurcio! its amazing!!!! this work is sooooo real...

but there were a million other miracles and tendermercies this week i cant even list them all but i know that god is in our lives everyday we just have to look... 

This mission is definitely one of the hardest things that i have ever done... walking everyday... swollen misquito bites... cold showers and permanent sand everywhere.. people making fun of me for not knowing what they are saying..... but i know that god is real. heavenly father is helping me through this! he doesnt give us anything i cant handle and it is through our savior that we can recieve help! he knows exactly how i feel! the book of mormon is the key to everything... we have to read it in order to learn more about the role of the atonement! but the atonement is the way back! it is humbling ourselves and making little changes everyday.. repenting in some way everyday in order to become just a little bit better.. i love the quote by john bytheway.... hahahah no idea how to speñll it but he said that we are learning heaven.... we have tolearn how to be heavenly and that is through the grace of jesus christ that we are able to do that. I know that this gospel is true and that is because of the book of mormon. IT IS SOOO POWERFUL!!!! seriously it is a durg to me right now!!! i cant get enough of the scriptures... but I am so grateful to be here and be able to share it with people.... ¡¡¡¡¡Yo se que ese libro es verdadero!!!!!!

disfruta su semana!

xoxox hermana pitts

 Hermana Pitts and Hermana Hartley

Week 9 July 21, 2015

July 21, 2015

I cant believe i have already been here almost a month.. it blows my mind because i feel like i was born here and that my life before was a distant memory. it has definately been an adjustment... its a different world in argentina.. different people, food, challenges, smells, living conditions... but it doesnt mean that its bad.. just takes some getting used to and everyday i wake up and know that i am going to be ok... which is a start hahahahhah

ok.. ITUZAINGO!!!!!! a small beach town about the only beach town in this area of argentina but it is in the province of corrientes along the playa de parana.... the people are sooooo amable... sooo nice and friendly!!! WHICH I LOVE!!!! there is a small rama there but it is strengthening every day!!! its crazy... the missionary work here is a bit slow.. there werent many strong missionaries here before so its slow but its improving!!! we have about 50 people that attend church everyweek and there are over 500 menos activos in the area... SO WE WORK A TON WITH THEM!!!!! its crazy... teaching someone that used to have this amazing knowledge and that fell away! but it doesnt mean that there arent progressing investigators too!!!

Right now we are teaching 3 people consistently that we hope are progressing but its hard to know.... hahahahha but yes!!!!

BALTASAR!!!!! he is our most promising... he is this guy with the greatest story!! i think i already shared it.. but he has done a 180 since we found him!!! and hopefully will be ready for his baptism next saturday august 1st!! pray for him!!! hahahhah but he is soo cool... lives in this tiny house 1 bedroom house and is the sweetest man with the sincerest desire to hear and live the gospel... our problem with him is that he doesnt learn when we talk.. he seems to learn most with reading!! ill tell you this guy knows more about jose smith than I do!!! its sooo crazy!!! hahahahha but because of him we are able to see the fruits of our labors!!! which is such a blessing!

LUZ!!! is seriously one of the most beautiful people!! she seriously is Luz!!!! she is a light!! hahaha but she lives with her sister because her mom passed away a few years ago!!! and she had a really hard time with it... so the plan of salvation is soo amazing to teach with her! she is young so its hard for us to know how to help her and what she is feeling!! but i love her i want her to have the desire sooo bad...

and the LAURA... she doesnt say much but she is young tooo only 17 and has the sweestest baby ever.. DIAGO. awwwwww but lives in the humblest of circumstances but its interesting...

the people here are very how do i say this nicely... lazy???!?!?! hahahhah nooooo.... lets just say they dont do much... hahahah everyday we ask laura what she did today.... SIEMPRE.. NADA. hahahahhahah its sooo weird... I LOVE BEING BUSY!!! and i have realized that on the mission!!! hahahhah

YES mom... we have a cell phone... hahahahh but its very chuchi... hahahha just a brick.. but we can call and text soo what more do we need!! hahahahh but ummm we work a lot with menos activos and have our few progressing and then try to find new investigators and contacts... but our other big responsibility is stablizing the branch!!! a sister passed away recently and its been really hard.. there arent many active members and we are trying to find ways to help them!! but we had this IDEA... HELP THE MEMBERS BY LETTING THEM WORK WITH THE INVESTIGATORS!!! we are trying it this week sooo hopefully it works...

IT SERIOUSLY IS TRIAL and ERROR down here! hahahha but that is what makes it fun!! just slow in ituzaingo... ummm OH YEAH!!! the power has been out hahahahhahahah soooooo thats been fun... most nights are pitch black and we have to pull out the flashlights its a good thing you sent me one last minute!!! hahahaha thank you mom!! but we have been taking cold showers in the dark for the past couple days and our laundry never dries... hahahah oh this is funny.... soooooo we do our laundry in a bucket and lets just say i am finding ants and nats in places that they should never be... hahahahhaha the bugs are starting to come out! its going to be interesting come summer here.

SOOO HERE... NEVER HAVE I EATEN SOOO MANY CARBS. bread. pasta. rice. potatoes. its really gross... i feel like i am trying to be careful about what i eat but there is no way to stop the weight... so if i look fat in pictures PLEASE TELL ME!!!!!! my jeans still fit soo that is good! hahahhaha but its a good thing that we walk a ton!!! we ride the bus to some barrios but usually we just walk!! which is really good... my shoes are already wearing through! soo crazy! plus we eat with members everyday and they cook everything in vegetable oil hahahahahah reallllllll greasy. but its all good... I am finding things i like!!! I LOVE TOMATOES and they eat those ALL THE TIME!!! sooo hey tendermercy right there.

but everything is good... i dont think it is bad and that is why its hard i think that it just takes some adjustment and its a change!! but this week I have realized alot again about the grace of christ... 

I am still learning the language the culture the people, missionary work... everything... but christ knows everything about us and how to help us i love in 1 nephi... the first chapter verse 20 that the lord is going to give tendermercies to those who show their faith and that he will strengthen them enough to deliver them out of bondage... I am here in the middle of a foreign country... lost and alone and scared and overwhelmed.... but I am here and that is how i am showing my faith.. by going out everyday and working... teaching, finding, strengthening myself and others... and i know that christ is going to help me he is going to give me the help i need.. its all about putting our trust in him!! I want to be the best missionary that I can be for him... The best representative that HERMANA PITTS CAN BE!!!! he is the reason that I am here... and that I am able to do this work... its HIS WORK!! that brings me so much peace to know that...

I know that we can all overcome any trial or obstacle we face if we are faithful!!! this is what we are teaching baltasar luz and laura that we are not alone in this life and that we can overcome guilt sadness, heartache, fear... anything!!! with his help!! and he is just dying to help us we have the door knob and are the only ones who can let him in!!!! IT IS OUR CHOICE!!! 

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

KEEP THE FAITH...

xoxo hermana pitts 

# 8 Week in the Mission (Week 2 in Ituzaingo, Argentina) July 13, 2015

Week 2 here at the beach.. the weather has gone from being soo cold that i never take my coat off to now being humid and calor... hopefully it stays this way because i like not having to carry my coat around!! but what to say!! hahahahahah its just been another week here.. every day gets a little bit better and a little bit easier! 

we have a slight problem here in ituzaingo! there are a lot of willing people to listen to us but the problem is that they never want to commit.. there is no progression! us being 2 greenies and excited to start the work are trying to come up with ways that we can strengthen the rama and our investigators.. 

where to start! well tuesdays we travel to posadas for district meeting... hahahah we are the only ones who have to travel and we have about a 2.5 hour bus ride hahahahah gives us a lot of time to think and pray!!! but its good..

here in ituzaingo there are about 4 strong member families and the rest are menos activos that take turns coming to church.. its really interesting... hahahahah but 

ahhhh ok soo this week i have felt the workings of the atonement in my life... its amazing!! mom thank you soo much for that letter!! it seriously has changed my perspective on everything. The strengthing power of the atonement is soo real i dont know what i would do without it!! 

at the beginning of this week.. i was soo overwhelmed. here i am in a small beach town in the middle of argentina, feeling stressed because i have no idea what anyone is saying.. and i am frustrated with myself.. but i came to this realzation with the help of the spirit of course... but missionary work is supposed to be fun! me and hermana hartley decided that everyday we were going to do something fun! whether it was a noche de hogar with a member... it was a game with an investigator... doing a small act of kindness for a stranger. 

ever since we started doing this.. i have realized that missionary work is supposed to be robotic.. teach the restoration. then the plan of salvation. then get baptize. PEOPLE ARE INDIVIDUALS. they have needs and desires and we are their friends. WE HAVE TO TREAT THEM LIKE FRIENDS!!!! hahahahah we are having fun!!!!!! and looking for something fun to do every single day and It makes the world of difference! 

another testimony builder this week is the fact that heavenly father knows us each individually and has a plan for each one of us!!!!! HE knows our talents and our weaknesses and what we need to keep us motivated and how much we can handle.. I have learned that soo much this week!! 

Heavenly father knew that I needed to go somewhere where there werent a ton of expectations because i would get down on myself.. that I needed a companion and trainer that was newer... he knew that i needed elders that were excited to work and work with us as sisters.. he knew that i needed an american trainer so i could work out my frustrations! he knew that this area needed new and fresh ideas that come from inexperienced missionaries that dont have set ways of doing things!! there is no doubt that it is hard.. but every night i get on my knees and there isnt a day that goes by where i am not grateful.. greatful for my investigators and their progression for luz and baltasar and laura and for their faith... as it strengthens my own!!!

its hard but I am here for a reason and i know that heavenly father knows me and what i am going through.. seriously there is no way i could be doing this without divine help.. from the misquito bites, lizards all over our pension... endless sand between my toes to a lumpy mattress and mystery meat in the food.. I know that my savior knows exactly what i feel and he is the only one who can help me

MOSIAH 24.11-15 - his yoke is light and through him we can recieve the greatest joy possible. (mosiah 25:8) 

I love you all and hope you have the best week ever

Im praying for you all!!

xoxoxoxo 

¡Guarde la fe!

  

hermana pitts 

 Working as missionaries- Sister Hartley and Sister Pitts

 Hermanas in Argentina

President and Sister La Pierre and Ali and Sister Hartley

July 7, 2015 First Week in the Field

HOLY COW. is this real or is it a dream.. seriously its crazy that I am here.. i feel like i am on a different planet where time is soo warped.. one second time will be flying by and the next i am counting the milliseconds! im hanging in there though. i feel like soo much has happened. I spent my last couple nights in the mtc and then prepared to head for argentina... woke up monday morning.. headed to the airport about 8 am and had a flight all day to atlanta where we eventaully took the red eye to buenos aires... with little sleep and a lot of excitement we took another smaller plane to posadas where we spent some time at the mission home..

here in posadas we have both argentina and paraguay.. so the first couple days were in the mission home working on visa paper work.... we crashed in a hotel for the first couple nights... where i just kept being told to enjoy it because other places werent as nice... but lets just say the hotel was close to a super 8... anyways... by thursday we were headed to ITUZAINGO!! a little beachy town about an hour away from posadas. my trainer is a greenie as well she is from west jordan and is seriously the best... i wouldnt survive without her! She is really quiet and feels a little out of place training.. but I am so grateful to be with her we have some big ideas to help the small branch in itzaingo. She only has about 5 months in the mission and just finished her training! but its fun its an adventure!!!

thursday night we were out teaching!!! she has been in the area her entire mission and knows it soo well... our spanish is a struggle but we learn more everyday!! the branch is really struggling because of the recent loss of a sister in the ward.. there are only about 3 strong families and lots of menos activos... pero there is a lot of work and we are ready!!! we have 2 investigators as well taht I just love!! luz and baltasar!!! im enjoying teaching soo much!!! 

I dont even know where to begin!! i feel like I am just jumping all over the place!! but we have just been out to work and doing our best to strengthen both the rama and the people in itzaingo!! we live in a little pension just outside of the central not many bugs but its freezing here... we luckily have a heater that we turn on every chance we get!!! but i am hanging in there... Its hard but everyday gets a little easier so dont worry... I dont even know what to say ahahahahah 

pension... area... members... rama... trainer... I saw elder ollerton he is my zone leader!! hahahah sooo fun!!! ummm oh there are 2 elders in ituzaingo as well and president wants us to work with them!!! its really fun we have some big ideas for it and I am really excited to get to work strengthening the branch and the members as well as the investigators that we have..

Oh food... hahahahhaah its really weird here!! the food is good but soo many carbs.. holy cow!!! but we eat with members almost everyday which is really cool and they are sooooo nice!!! i love them already!!!! but we eat a big lunch and then we dont have dinner here... which is good.. but there is a lot of walking to burn off the carbs!!! hahahahhaha 

Story!!!! hahaha we have been doing the same thing hahaha teaching and contacting and meeting with menos activos and members and the branch president.. the weeks go by really fast its crazy... (even though i only have 1 week hahahah) but to think that its already tuesday almost wednesday is crazy!!!

anyways we havent been able to get our funds and we have to travel the furthest for any meetings or conferences... but its funny we have just been living off what we got.. and we still havent really figured it out which is why I am writing today... hopefully in the future it will be on modnays.. but anyways.. I am almost out of time!! but I love you and hope you are doing well!! sounds like the 4th was fun!! and that you are doing good!!! 

Ive learned so much this week already.. the atonement is soooooooooooo real.. i need it everyday!!! i dont know how i would be here without the divine help of heavenly father.. i am sooo grateful to have the knowledge of that and to know that I can be with you guys forever that nothing can separate us... this church is soo true and i love sharing it with other people.. its hard but its worth it.. and I cant believe how much I have grown.. Its amazing! you guys are the best thank you everyone for everything you ahve sent me it means sooo much... I can feel your love!!! youre the best... and remember that I think about you guys everyday... I miss you but i am on the greatest adventure of my life!!! 

keep the faith!!! i love you

con amor

xoxoxxo hermana pitts