Tan orgullosa de mi ojo!

May 26, 2015

Hola! :)

Wow! What a week!! :) It’s been a good one! :) 

We’ll start out with a miracle. Do you remember Miguel? Well, he has a baptismal date for the 6th of June. It turns out he has a lot of problems and is just a suuuuuuuper prepared investigator. We taught him a few times last week. We had stake conference on Saturday and Sunday and for him to get baptized the 6th he had to go to the sessions on Saturday and Sunday si o si. So we get there Saturday and find out that the water in his building had gone out and since he’s the owner he had to fix it and wouldn’t be able to go to the Saturday night session. I was heartbroken. We sat there for a few minutes in silence and I was like, what the heck do we even say? I just prayed that my companion would know what to say and find a way to get him to church. Well I looked at her, and she looked at me. Neither one of us had a clue as to what to say. So I just pray that Heavenly Father would help us. I just told him about how the Saturday night meeting was very special and didn’t happen very often and I expressed the importance of putting God in the first place and trusting him that everything would turn out and he would be blessed, but he first had to show God his faith. He then said "Give me 5 minutes and I’ll be out." What a miracle! Then we get there and I couldn’t sit still because it started later than we thought it did and I was like crap I only told him he needed to go for like 20-30 minutes and here he is an hour later. The whole time I just had a thought come to me to be calm and that everything would be okay. At one point in the Conference we told him he could go and fix the water and he said "No, I’m fine. When I walked in after talking to you guys my son in law came down and asked me if I needed to leave. I told him yes and he said he would stay and fix the water, so I’m not in a rush." I just died. I couldn’t even believe it! Every talk given was just for him, and he felt it. He then told us that he needed this and he is going to apply it in is life now. At the very end he said "Thank you so much for insisting that I come." It was beautiful. A pure miracle of God! (And he also went on Sunday so he’s progressing nicely towards his baptismal date!)

Another grand miracle. NESTOR GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!! :) It was so beautiful! When we picked him up on Sunday his hair was all cut and done up and he was just smiling so much! :) His mom, dad, and brother all went to his baptism! It was a beautiful sight! And while we was getting baptized I was watching his mom and I have never seen her so happy before! Ah, again it was so beautiful! :) Then after the baptism Nestor was probably the happiest I’ve ever seen him! We asked him how he felt and he was super happy and content. Que dia hermoso! :)

So remember I told you that we were going to have an activity as a mission yesterday? Well it ROCKED!!!! Ah it was so so so much fun! :) We had a Soccer Tournament between the zones and then we ate Hamburgers and watched Meet the Mormons! :) So I knew we would probably be playing soccer so I was like Hey I’ll wear my contacts. But then I thought nah Hermana Ayre will kill me. So I just went in my glasses. Well the first game in the tournament we won in penalties which was awesome. Then came the second game. We played against a zone of all elders. Not a big deal. Well at one point we’re just all playing (and my team was rocking it) when the ball comes flying and hits me in the face. My glasses are knocked off so I go and grab them quickly, see that they’re in fairly good condition and say "Let’s go let’s go let’s go I’m fine!!" :) Then an elder from the other team says "Hey hermana come here, your eye is bleeding" and I’m like what?!?! So I touch it and sure enough there’s quite a bit of blood. So walk of the field and tell them I’m fine and to keep on playing. I go to the bathroom with another hermana and the mission nurse. Sure enough I have a little gash in my eye. Nothing too intense, but quite a bit bigger than I was expecting. jaja! Not to the point where I need stitches so that’s a relief! I woke up this morning with a black eye. So I look pretty hardcore if you ask me. I’m going to tell everyone that I went in the villa. ;) Oh and as for me glasses, they’re kind of broken, but they still work. So that’s good. 

Well, I think I’ll wrap it up for today! How fun that we both had holidays yesterday! USA: Memorial Day ARG: Revolution Day (It’s a suuuper big holiday here!) Anyways, I hope y’all had a really great long weekend. I love you all lots!!! :) Have a great week! Remember, when we love the way the Savior does, miracle happen. And of course, Stay Anxiously Engaged!! :) 

xoxo,

Hermana Van 

PS. I’ll try to send pics of my eye today, but if I can’t,  you’ll get them next week!! :)

La Dedicacion del Temple Cordoba!

May 18, 2015

Hola!!! :)

Well, the time has just flown by in the Cyber today doing a lot of small little things, so basically I don’t have much time to write because we have plans to go to a street called Florida today. So....I’ll be quick.

Nestor is a champ a progressing super well towards his baptism. Basically, he’s changed a lot and been a huge example for other people where he lives. That dad of his friend said he’s seen a big change in Nestor and wants that for his own son and wants to learn more about the church. Miracles. Every single day. 

We did divisions this last week and it was incredible. The hermana I was with has a transfer more than me in the mission and I was able to learn so much from her. She is super amazing. I learned so much about setting personal goals, and how to make plans to reach those goals. (Not just goals like number of baptisms and lessons with a member) I feel like what I learned from her will serve me for the rest of my life. She is a huge example to me.

Saturday night we watch the Cultural Celebration of the Temple in Cordoba. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!! All the dances were so cool. I just died. I was smiling from ear to ear the entire time. I enjoyed it so much. I wrote down some of the dances they did in my journal. There was a super cool one that just the guys did called El Malambo. Look it up on You tube if you get a chance. I hope you appreciate it as much as I did. What I loved was the huge celebration to honor the House of the Lord. The whole time I was watching it I was just thinking about all this was for our Heavenly Father. It was a way to celebrate and thank Him for the beautiful opportunity He has given us to have another temple in Argentina where more saving ordinances can be made. Hermoso. 

Then there was the actual temple dedication that we went to yesterday. Even though it was a bummer that we couldn’t have investigators go with us to church, it was a great testimony builder for me personally. There are no words to describe just how I feel about the temple. With every temple constructed in the earth the adversary has less power. Argentina now has 2 temples. That is literally the greatest blessing for these people here in Argentina. I have taken for granted having like 15 temples in Utah. My testimony of the temple and its importance has been greatly strengthened this last week. I hope to never again take the many temples around me for granted. The temple is the most sacred place on this entire earth. For me personally, when I get back, there is no reason that I shouldn’t be able to sacrifice a few hours of my week and visit the house of my Lord and Savior and assist in His work. I love the temple. I love my Savior.

Well, life is good here in Argentina. Really solid all around. We’re seeing a lot of miracles. Time is moving by oh so quickly. I hope all of you are doing well. I hear it’s been raining a lot so I hope you enjoy that rain. That’s my life many weeks here in Argentina, no importa la temporada jaja. :) Well, Love you all with my whole heart! Cuídense! Remember, when we love the way the Savior does, miracles happen. And of course, Stay Anxiously Engaged!! :) 

xoxo,

Hermana Van Wagoner

Feliz Dia de La Madre!

May 11, 2015

¡¡Feliz Día (Ayer) a TODAS las Madres!! :) No saben cuanto les amo! :)

Alright, so yesterday was just so fantastic talking with the fam!!!! The time just passed by way too fast! It’s absolutely crazy to think that the next time we talk will be in 3 months and we’ll be together! #trunkimuch? But really where has the time even go. I don’t even know what time is any more. 

So I don’t really know what to say because I feel like I already said it all yesterday, but I still gotta write because I only talked with the Fam yesterday, not the whole gang!

Awesome news! We got Nestor’s mom to finally sign the permission slip for him to get baptized! It was a huge miracle! Thank you soooo much for your prayers!!! (We’ll be now working on her to get in the water too. Poco a poco.) Anyways, yesterday was a huge miracle because Nestor wasn’t going to go to church because his mom wanted to go to provincia to visit her cousins early in the morning. After praying and practicing how we were going to help them make the decision to go to church for a little bit and then go to provinica, they decided to change their plans. Not by much, but the still did it! Nestor was able to go to church for like 30 minutes, partook of the sacrament, and then headed off to provincia. It seems so little, but trust me, it was a huge sacrifice! And now, because of that, he’ll be able to get baptized the 24th without a problem (we’re still praying a full!!) We had to change his baptismal date because the Córdoba Temple Dedication is this Sunday and because of that there won’t be Sacrament meeting. So yeah, that kinda threw off the baptism, but its okay because it is an INCREDIBLE opportunity to watch a temple dedication here in Argentina. It is the second temple here in Argentina. Everyone feels extremely blessed. Oh how I love the temple! I’m so excited to see  the Córdoba temple get dedicated! :)

Hmmmm...What else happened? Well, we went to the Villa (ghetto) on Saturday because we had a capilla abierta. The elders from that area had to come and get us to accompany us into the villa because it was dangerous. Obviously nothing happened to us. We were just fine. It was really fun though going to the Capilla Abierta. I always love the Capilla Abiertas! :) I’m now the one that has to coordinate which of the sisters in the mission help out with the Capilla Abiertas where there are only elders in the wards. So that’s fun. :) 

Fun Fact: A ferocious dog bit me this week. Well....almost bit me. His mouth/teeth/tongue were on the back of my leg (I felt them) he just didn’t clench down. I honestly don’t know what stopped him since he was already there. It definitely scared me, but it’s all good. I survived #dogbitesurvivor

Well, it’s going to be on the short side this week since, I talked with them fam yesterday already. Those were the biggest things that happened this week. We’ve begun to see a lot of miracles in our area. I’ve learned a huge lesson this week. Work brings happiness. When I get out there and work super hard and focus on the area and the investigators, I’m soooo much happier. I’ve seen a real difference on a personal level this week. I’m excited to keep working and to witness more miracles. :) Remember, when we love the way the Savior does, miracles happen. And of course, Stay Anxiously Engaged!! :)

xoxo,

Hermana Van  

Bienvenidos a la Gran Mision Buenos Aires Norte!

May  4, 2015

Hooooola!!! Como Andan??

Okay, so sorry I wasn’t able to write yesterday! I was at the mission house welcoming the new missionaries to the mission! It was sooooo much fun! So what happens is the new missionaries go to the mission house to eat lunch and have interviews with President. Well, while President interviews the missionaries one by one, the assistants and a set of hermana entrenadoras start training the missionaries. We teach about health, safety, elegidos, 3 semanas, how to extend commitments, we do practices, chat get to know them, etc. It was suuuuuper fun. I absolutely loved it! The group of missionaries that just arrived is absolutely stellar! I can’t even believe it! Welcoming the missionaries just sent me right back to when I arrived. I can’t even believe so much time has passed! Never thought that a year later I would be the one doing the "training". Crazy. It was a really awesome experience. I learned a lot. :)

Okay, so as for transfers and my new companion. First off, I’m so incredibly sad that Hermana Palacios is gone. She is one of my absolute greatest friends. No saben cuanto le amo! Ah!!! It’s going to be hard not being with her. :( However, my new companion is awesome!! Her name is Hermana Urra!! She is from Chile! Fun fact: we were both in our training at the same time in Congreso. While I was in the MTC she had her first transfer in training. We both go home in September. It’s so so crazy. I can’t even believe that we’re companions. She’s so awesome. I love her. Oh! And obvio, I’m still in Chacabuco. I hope I die here. It’s an awesome area! :) (Die=finish the mission)

Another fun fact: My area is Korea Town. You know China Town? Yeah, it’s like the same thing but Korean. There are sooooo many Koreans that live in my area. They have a Korean Church in every block almost. It’s crazy jaja! Oddly enough, we don’t have any Korean investigators. I think it’s because they don’t speak Spanish very well. 

Hey so ya know when you don’t feel like you’re stressed out, but you really are so your body takes on the stress in weird ways? Well that is what is currently happening to me...I have dandruff!!!!! QUE ASCO! I found it like two days ago. Ugh!! Trust me, I wash my hair a lot so it’s not lack of washing my hair. My companion told me it’s caused by stress. I’m going to get some special shampoo. I don’t really know what to do to unstress myself because I feel fine. I mean, yeah stressed, but not like overly stressed. Meh oh well. That’s the mish. 

Hey fam, remember when we had Mexican jumping beans??? Yeah, I just remembered that today. Good times, good times. :) 

Um what more? We have a really solid little investigator named Nestor. He goes to all the mutual activities and church, and reads the BOM everyday and prays. He just does it all! He’s going to get baptized May 16th. I’m super excited. His mom, Nelsy, is a little hard. She said she supports him and everything and wants to go to his baptism, but she still hasn’t signed the permission slip and I don’t know why. Si o si we need that permission slip signed, so if you could all pray from her so that she can sign the slip that would be spectacular!! :)

Well, that’s just about everything I have to say for this week. Oh yeah, and I’m super excited for the Mother’s Day Skype sesh. I can’t believe it’s already time to skype again. The time has passed way too quickly. jaja! It’ll be fun seeing your beautiful faces! :) Well, love you all! Have a great week!! :) Remember, when we love the way the Savior does, miracles happen. And of course, Stay Anxiously Engaged!! :) 

xoxo,

Hermana Van