Can I Just Tell You I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY?!

Hola Posterity!

Thank you mom for the nice message about my confidence and stuff! It´s weird that even my district leader realized my lack of confidence through my fear of making mistakes in Spanish and what not but he’s helping me be better as well and I have god and you all. I can do this!!! I already feel more confident than before my mission. I mean today I didn’t even wear makeup.  My companion told me when they called my name to be her companion she didn’t want to be my companion.  She said “You just look so perfect and proper and you’re timid when people first meet you so it makes you look intimidating.” So I’m not wearing makeup today.  I don’t want people to think I’m rude or intimidating!

So, the water heater breaks A LOT so we don’t usually have warm water.  I couldn’t shower today or yesterday…so for sure I’m going to shower today—COLD OR WARM.

Good luck everyone as you start school! I know it’s not for another week I think? Or 2? But really enjoy it! The time goes by so fast and I know during the school year things can get stressful and overwhelming, but try to take time every once in a while and do something fun!! Y’all are amazing; I keep you in my thoughts and prayers every day! You are all a perfect example to me. By the way dad <I have already read your letter 4 times ha-ha and counting. I will reply to it ah I love you so much and im so grateful to have you. Kaitlyn I miss you so much!!! Ah and everyone. I love you alll mauahhhhh.

Hermana Romeril

25 Julio 2014

Yesterday was a good day, except I found out that a recent convert, Dario, has cancer that he’s been fighting for 3 years and the doctor told him he has a few months to a year to live.  That was really sad and put a huge damper on my mood.  Dario is the first person here that I have a connection with.  It’s such an honor to be in Dario’s presence.  Up to this point, he’s don’t almost all that he promised he would do on this earth and he’s almost ready to meet God again so he can tell Dario “well done, thou good and faithful servant.” God has a plan for Dario, and it’s still really said, but I feel so honored to have the opportunity to spend the last few months of his life with him. 

Yesterday we had a reunion de distrito and I taught the lesson!  Ask me if I was scared-‘cuz I was!  But it was just my district of me, Hna Rivera, Elder Ruiz, and Elder Thaxton.  Elder Ruiz es de Mexico and Elder Thaxton is from Arizona.  They’re both way nice.  Elder Ruiz has the funniest sayings. They might not be funy to y’all, but I’ll tell you anyways!  He ALWAYS says, esta bien after like every sentence. And he says “pero, si! Okay maybe they don’t seem funny but take my word for it!  But ya, yesterday after the reunion, went went and picked up lunch – I had some pasta!  I had that and ham yesterday to eat!  This is my problem  with eating here—I’d rather have an empty stomach than to have all that grease in me and feel sick!

27 Julio 2014

Being here in Catamarca, hearing so many different life stories and conversion stories really makes me think how much of a blessing this gospel is.  I mean, a lot of people here weren’t born and raised in the gospel – in fact, most of them weren’t.  People here were looking for some way to better their lives, some way to, in some cases, find their purpose in life.  A lot of these people aren’t just teenagers either.  Makes me think this gospel literally is for everyone.  I love Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 which says “the worth of the souls is great in the sight of God.”  That includes the life of the person you dislike most.  Their life, their goals, their needs matter to God.  In fact, Heavenly Father loves them just as much as he loves you-and that’s a lot.  I challenge y’all to remember that this week.  I know it’s hard, but we want to become more like Christ, right?  We need to turn outward to love and service and charity when it’s so east for the natural man to turn inward. 

Today is Sunday!  I love Sundays.  Tomorrow we are going to take it easy because every p-day we are so busy.  Tomorrow I definitely think we are going to take a nap!  Holla Big Balla!  The people here are really super Catholic and a lot of people like our presence here but aren’t looking to be baptized.  It’s been kinda frustrating.  I prayed all day yesterday to let us find at least one person we could teach.  It was almost the end of the night and we found a menos active house so we clapped (which is what you do instead of knock) and the menos active didn’t live there, but a different family did and there’s an old lady there named Erika and we have a lesson with her on Tuesday.  I’m so excited! Tender mercy of H.F.

Yesterday we had a lesson with Alejandro finally! That’s not even the best part!  We had two members in the lesson with us-Angel and Javier. Javier’s like 29 and Angel is in his early 30’s.  Anyways, the lesson was going really well, the spirit was really strong, and I felt like I needed to ask him if he would be baptized- HE SAID YES!  He’s getting baptized August 15.  Legitly I am so excited!  The two members who were in the lesson really helped a lot with bringing in the spirit.  It’s my first baptism and my first invitation!

The lesson was supposed to start at 8am, but it Alejandro didn’t show up until about 850 am. In the mean time, I was talking to Angel and he was telling me he wasn’t always active and told me about how he has two kids and is now divorced—and he told me how things are really bad right now and he said he suffers for his kids.  He wants the best for them and he’s trying his best. I told him “Angel, I’m speaking from experience and clearly I don’t know your whole situation.  But I throughout my whole life, when my dad left, etc, my mom was always there.  She did the best she could and it was enough.  Angel, I feel like that’s the same for your kids.  You are such a good dad.  You love them so much and you wnt them to be so happy.  Altough things are happening with their mom, they have a dad who will always be there for them.”  I said some other things and he started crying, telling me thank you so much and telling me he needed this.  It’s so cool to be able to help people like that.  I told him I don’t know why he’s been given this trieal, ut I know everything is going to make sense sooner or later. MIGHT I ADD I SAID ALL OF THIS IN SPANISH!  I also told him that I  was blessed with the dad I have now, Gary.  And now I’m sealed with my whole family for eternity.  I told him that  HF is so  aware of him and just like Angel wants the best for his 2 little kids, HF wants the best for Angel because Angel is so special to him.  CAN I JUST TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY?!  I love it.

Dario! Recent Covert! Coolest Guy Ever!!

Sometimes I like to take aloe vera leaves from a plant and make a face mask :)

Finding Faith in Myself

Kelby has limited time to write each week so she came up with a brilliant way to really tell us about some of her awesome experiences by taking pictures of some of her journal entries.  We will include some of the e-mail letter she writes along with some of her weekly experiences from her journal. 

15 Julio 2014

There is the Elder in my zone and his name is Elder Salcatierra and he is like my favorite elder here! He is from Lima, Peru and he is trying to learn English. So every time we see each other and talk he tells me to talk to him in English so I teach him some words in English and when we play futbol, he teaches me some phrases in Spanish. MY favorite phrase is “Friking Chango”. You say friking like free-king and change is like a slang word for dude….I think. It’s a ton of fun though! A lot of the missionaries in my zone are from South or Central America so they think it is cool that I am from California! Two of the elders want to learn how to speak like me, it’s awesome! Today we are going to an Argentina Festival as a zone.  It’s called “The Poncho” and I might get a llama jacket!  Afterwards we are going to play FUTBOL and I’m going to wear my Messi jersey that you got me :)

16 Julio 2014

Yesterday was a really good day.  We went to “The Poncho” and we planned on walking around and doing some shopping but we first decided to eat lunch and we waited for casi una hora! Triste, right? We eventually got our food so I guess that’s the important part, right!  We went to the shops afterwards and they were so legit! They had handcrafted jewelry and it was all so beautiful. I may or may not have gotten something for my family there. I wanted to buy so many things but I am trying to be SMART with my pesos so I can only get a few things at a time. 

After p-day ended last week we had a lesson with Darrio, a recent convert who is in his late 30s. The lesson was seriously so good! We talked about temples and that families can be together forever which is seriously my favorite topic to teach! Darrio wishes his family could be baptized because he is scared about what is going to happen when they die- will they be able to be together forever? This topic is one that I hold so dear to my heart. I’m part of 2 families—my family here on earth and my family in heaven with Heavenly Father. Really, its one big family. We talked about this for a while and then we talked about some personal experiences from blessings our families have through the temple.

Today we have the cambios with the sister training leaders and I’m going to be with Hermana Perez all day!  Ask me if I’m so nervous!  She’s from Buenos Aires and legitly she only speaks Spanish.  We’re going to teach people today and some of them are investigators I’ve never met and y’all know me with directions—I don’t know where I’m going in Hemet, let along Argentina!  At first I thought, there is no way I can do this!  That was last night, but this morning I remembered that  Heavenly Father will not give me anything I can’t handle.  I have been called to do this work by God, so I just have to keep having faith all day that Heavenly Father has faith in me and so should I!

17 Julio  2014

I don’t know why I was so nervous—I learned so much.  Hermana Perez sincerely was an answer to my prayers.  I had so many doubts and I didn’t really believe in myself.  My day started off with an interview by Elder Ruiz.  We were talking about everything and he asked me why I wanted to serve a mission and I told him that because of the concept of my family being together forever has changed my life.  I want the people here to know that they can be with theirs too.  He asked me if there has been anything in my life that has made me feel so grateful for eternal families and I told him my personal story.  And I said, without temple work and this gospel I wouldn’t be able to be with them forever.  Elder Ruiz said, “hermana, that right there was a confident missionary.  Have confidence in yourself.  You are a daughter of God with a divine purpose.  He has a plan for you here and I’m not sure of the whole plan—what his whole plan for you is, but I know we need you in our districut.  You are a blessing to our district and to me.  Have faith in yourself—because I have faith in you.”  I’ve always struggled being confident with myself—and we said a prayer together and in the prayer he blessed me with the confidence I need to be the best missionary HF needs me to be. 

Yesterday with Hermana Perez I decided I was going to have a really good day.  I was still super nervous—but I didn’t speak English at all yesterday and I understood Hermana Perez!  WOOO!  I spoke in lessons and Oh! We were trying to look at the map to see where we should go next and this lady walks out of her front door just looking and smiling at us and I felt like I needed to talk to her so we both did.  I told her who we were and introduced ourselves—her name is Juana.  Juana was telling us about herself and she’s Catholic, but she’s really good friends with one of our menos activos, Evita.  The one who w as having a hard time with her business.  I asked her if we could come visit her one day and she said “Si Si! Cualquier dia.  Los noches son mejores.” So we have a cita with her on Friday.  She’s my first investigator that I helped contact!!

21 Julio 2014—Part of the e-mail to family

Hola!

So I took some more pictures this week with some of the people we´re teaching! You’ll read about Isabel in the journal entries but we went to their house today and holy gina their house is so huge!! I have been gaining more confidence in myself I guess by just not thinking so much about myself. I don´t know actually, I think it´s a blessing from heavenly father honestly. I think he knows its a huge struggle for me and because I’m from America people aren’t used to seeing a white girl walking around and they think I’m so cool so maybe that has something to do with it too! haha. A lot of the guys here on the streets are gross though, they say sexual things to me that I can’t even understand but my companion tells me stuff like about me being...I don’t know hot is a close word to the word in Spanish but she doesn’t tell me what they exactly say so that’s good.  Chango I was fat before my mission! I showed my companion that picture of me before and during my mission and she said you were gorda! I said haha ya I know while I was laughing and she said that doesn’t even look like you now! Dad, What did you do for your birthday by the way?? I want to know all about it! I celebrated your birthday and did something cool so ill send pictures haha.

Okay so food! Umm I just really don´t like the food here, literally everything I eat doesn´t sit well in my stomach and I go diarrhea every time I go pee. But I heard its normal for missionaries. But ya that $15 dollars got me 3 bananas and some yogurt! I had that for breakfast this week, things are pretty expensive here, I just don’t buy food I guess and the food makes me sick so I don’t eat much .. once a day is good for me. Suuuriously though!  That members house where I accidentally told her that her food was ugly...I have no idea what it was called all I know is I literally couldn’t eat it because I felt like I was going to hurl.  I’m not very hungry up here and I can’t stomach any of the food. And no one eats dinner up here basically just lunch and breakfast!

My branch is lovely! There’s about 50 people and yes I have had to bare my testimony my first Sunday! It was okay haha I mean with my broken Spanish I spoke what I could:) I’m sure people understood what I was trying to say! I just tell myself that so I can feel better. We don’t have a bishop, just a leader who conducts the meeting! And our leader of the missionaries is ironically inactive. But I love them. Its so small and I’m really getting to know all of them pretty well and there is one guy in the barrio who is named Daniel and he speaks super little English so everything he knows he says when he sees me its kinda funny actually. Makes me laugh! Ah so I was super sad about the baptism it didn´t work out and you’ll find out about it in my journal entries, but I was way sad and bummed, but it´s okay HF has a plan for him. Oh and his name is Alejandro!

The weather has been pretty normal- not to hot and not too cold. I guess this is the desert area of Argentina haha so that’s good. My companion is great, sometimes we can get annoyed with each other, but I try not to focus on that and stuff because I don’t want to remember only the bad things about my companions but yeah sometimes its hard but I’ve felt like I’ve been really able to practice so much patience!! Yay dad good job for not opening your card early wooo!!! haha sorry about the usted! They engrain it in our minds to only use usted as a missionary and it’s hard to remember I can use tu with family :)

Love you all sooo much! :) Yáll are in my heart always and everyday! Have a FANTASTIC Week! And dad, enjoy your week as a one year older man :) Don’t forget to tell me how your birthday was!!

So it was dad's birthday last Saturday and I didn't want to be homesick from missing y'all, so I bought some balloons and made a balloon family and there's all of us!  By the way dad, your birthday cake from Argentina was really good.  The shiny thing in the middle of it says Feliz Cumpleanos. Cool, right!  You had a birthday in the states and Argenina. Holla!

I like to punch my comp, so what? Just kidding i love her!

Sometimes we need a break from studying!

Two month mark today!

This is the back yard of Isabel's house.  So beautiful. And my Ariel pose because I have always wanted to be Ariel since i was little :)

We are hoping for a baptism in the next couple of weeks!

This is one of our investigator's granddaughters!  Her name is Isa, like EESA and we were waiting at the bus stop today to get to her house and she was showing me all of these signs to do with your hands and kept correcting me because she said that I looked like I was from American when i did them!  Ya, she's 6 years old--what a champ!! :)

Me and my comp and Isa and her cousin, Antonio

Another one with Isa.  She's adorable.  Oh my gosh, she kills me.  She said to Hermana Rivera "Saca un foot de eso!" Gotta love Isa :)

"Life is Like a Math Problem"

July 14, 2014

We sent Kelby some questions that we wanted to make sure she addressed in this week’s email –she only has an hour to write an email and try to download pictures, and often time she can’t tell us the details of her week.  Last week she wasn’t able to download pictures and this week she took a lot of the hour trying to figure out how to send us pics—and she finally figured it out! Her time was running out so she could only send us a few—but at least we got some!  

Some of the questions we sent to Kelbers:

1.     Have you been chased or bitten by a dog yet? I hope not! No, I haven’t been chased or bitten by a dog yet!!! The perros here are muy nice!! There are more dogs here than people haha.

2.     Do you like your missionary companion? I love her! She is amazing! 

How are you feeling physically (with your asthma, etc)? Physically I am feeling great!! My asthma doesn’t bother me here!

3.     Are you getting enough to eat?  I’ve been worried.  What have you been eating?  eating...hmm haha i eat a piece of chicken a day, members don't feed us in our area really but it´s okay!! except my clothes are getting too big haha no me gusta

Hola Hola Familia!!

Catamraca is so beautifull! I have some good pictures that ill have to obvi wait to send you because this computer doesn’t accept my adapter. The place I live in is called a pension in a Spanish accent and it has not a normal toilet, not anything lie I expected and we wear shoes everywhere because there’s no carpet and hmm sometimes our water doesn’t like to turn on but hey that’s alright! Actually one of our investigators owns the building but he´s not really liking the church right now.

Argentina!! Yes they lost yesterday so we never ever bring them up and guess what? People thing I’m from Germany alllll the time and they don’t believe me when I say I’m from America haha. <I’ll walk down the streets and people just stare! And whistle and follow me with their eyes but luckily we have some good zone leaders and district leader who watch out for us so its really safe.

Im glad you had a fun time at the beach!! How fun did you get tan?? Or burned haha. :) Mitchell is 6 foot?? What the gina!!! Wow mom you and your Spanish are doing great!! Wooooooowooooo hahaha durmiendo, got the conjugation right and everything!

Mitchell you are looking good how was efy and what not??! Dad HAPPY BIRTHDAY on Saturday!!! I made a recording but it won’t send but know that I’m going to be thinking about you and I love you soooo much!!! And you can open my card on Saturday tambien:) what are you going to do on Saturday??

8 Julio 2014

today is...martes! I think. If martes is Tuesday then I’m right. Today should be a good day! One scripture I studied today was 2 nefi 2:23. It talks about Adam and eve and their partaking of the fruit - if they didn’t eat it they wouldn’t have been able to know joy - because they wouldn’t know what misery felt like. I’m out here in Argentina and everything down to the toilets is new to me and so foreign. I love it here and sometimes it is a struggle. But if I don’t go through this change, if I was just automatically perfectly transitioned,  wouldn’t be able to feel as much joy from this experience. I think Mr. Ortiz, my old math teacher said, ¨"life is like a math problem. When you’re given a math problem and you don’t know how to do it, but you try anyways and you find every wrong possible way of doing it, there will come a time where you find out the right way and you’ll never have to turn back." it reminds me so much of life. Think of your new things you have to tackle in life. Mine is my mission. Being a missionary. I have made mistakes in lessons of gibing the wrong scriptures as commitments and other mistakes. But through these mistakes, I can perfect my weaknesses. Brother Ruche always told me, good better best. Never let it rest until your good becomes better and your better is best. I don’t like to look at mistakes as failures because I think I live, I learn and I grow and my mistakes can become some of my biggest strengths in life if I really want them to and if I really have the desire to make them become that way.

8 Julio 2014

Today was a hard day. I got sad about not being able to speak Spanish perfectly and went in the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror and said öutloud to myself seriously but like a whisper outloud haha and said  "Who’s your mom? Kim.  And I said it a few times to myself and then I said, "can Kim do hard things? Yes. So can I.  So don’t judge me. That’s probably weird hahaha but it helped me so hey:)

We had lunch today with Hermana Martinez a member in our ward but she didn’t actually eat with us she ate in another room and she gave us this food but seriously I ate some but got to the point where I felt so sick and couldn’t eat anymore and she walks in and says something in Spanish that meant, is my food ugly? and I didn’t know what she said so I was like, ya ya of course!! And she got real sad and my comp had to explain to her that I didn’t understand and then Hna Martinez walked out and Hermana Rivera was like, eat your food! I said no puedo!! So she took 3/4 of my food and she said I had to eat the rest but I literally had to say a prayer so would be able to eat the rest of my food hahha. I ate it by the way!

11 Julio 2014

Is it bad I can’t remember the last time I shaved my legs? At first it was because I didn’t have alot of time to shower now its become lie a contest to see how long I can go without shaving my legs hahah. I think its been somewhere around a month or 2.

We went to a recent converts house Jorge and he made me eat a laxative Hahira why I have no idea but he ate it lie candy and luckily it hasn’t done anything to me yet so I’m safe for now :)

As for our baptism on Saturday, Alejandro, he is so amazing. He has such a hard life but he wants so bad to do the right thing. His mom just died and he’s in his 30s and his brother s are alcoholics and he doesn’t get a lot of support with this and this decision is purely because he wants to change his own life. I am so proud of him and so excited for him tambien :) ether 12:27 is still my favorite scripture. It applies literally to everything in life and I read it every morning.

Okay one more experience then I have to send this off because of time. yesterday we were at a members house with 2 other Hermanas’ and I was cutting some kind of pig part haha I didnt ask what it was but I was cutting it and literallly the knife breaks in half, like how? I have no clue but my face was so red and I felt so bad! And the mom says, oh it's okay! Pulls out another broken knife, we had another elder break a knife too! Except he was trying to butter his toast hahahhaa. So that was interesting. :) :) I will do great things.

Okay everyone, thank you for all of your love and support!! I love you all so much and am so grateful for every one of you. And sorry about the pictures, this computer is in Spanish and I have no idea how to work it hahaha ill try to ask one of the elders to come here and help me next week. They’re from all over the place! Honduras, Peru, Chile, Otras Paices.  I love you so much everyone.

P.S.I learned some cool frases de español! Like chango.  Chango is super slang for dude but we only use it on p days when we are with other missionaries J

OOkay chow everyone, i love you! You are in my heart.

Hermana Romeril:)

On the way to Argentina!

Cordoba temple site with my companion

Me in my pension  :)

It was freezing today!!