I Don't Know How I'm So Happy, But I Am :)

 My little Peruvian Hermana Carrasco!

 This week I got to work with our sister training leader for a day.  She actually finishes her mission after this transfer.  She's not excited to leave!

 Hermana Barrone!  This was at a relief society activity.  agh! it was so fun.  Hermana Barrone is like our mom out here haha

 Just cuz i'm in Argentina doesn't mean I don't got my eyes on you!

 

I got really sick this week and don't worry, that's definitely booger on my sweatshirt!

Hola! so after I break my fast today I officially start my purification it's for 40 days and I wrote about it already a little bit, but basically during your fast to make a list of all of the things you want to better and change as a missionary and as a person in general. And you end your fast and start your 40 day purification. Every time you do something in contrary to what you wrote down, you start the 40 days all over again. It'll be good. We are doing it as a district but at the same time, it's personal. I'm excited for those changes. It won't be totally easy but I know it will be worth it!

Yesterday I had to spend the whole day in my pension. I had a cold, then a fever, then we called The mission nurse and she told us a bunch of medicine to buy so I'm taking those now and I feel better. Today's going to be way busy! We have studies from 8 to 10 then we have a lesson at 10:30 with Monica and Samantha our new investigators. Monica is the mom of Samantha and I'm really excited to teach them. We're going to teach them the plan of salvation – my favorite lesson to teach by far! telling people that there's this amazing and perfect plan for them – that they have a heavenly father who loves them and really wants the best for them –gah! I'm so excited!  After lunch were going to visit this old man named Juan and he has dentures –. Full set on top, full set on bottom – only his dentures broken now he's waiting to get new ones made. In the meantime he just doesn't have teeth! I thought understanding people with teeth and Spanish was hard – understanding Spanish without teeth is so much harder!!

We have an activity with all of the relief society today – they told us what we're going to do but I couldn't really understand so really I'm just going with the flow. My Spanish is coming along – I can understand more people and they understand me. The people that mostly can't understand me are older people and that's actually my goal! I could do a lot better with how much I speak Spanish. It is so easy to speak English but I just need to be more strict! I need to speak more because my accent will get better, I'll be more confident speaking the language and my vocabulary will expand.

So we have the best time with Monica and Samantha. At first we were just small talking and then I can't remember how this got brought up – oh I asked her if she was stressed out with all the work she has to do. She runs her printing business basically all by yourself – her daughter Samantha helps her with orders, but as far as all the finances, it's just her. She told us that she was really stressed out and really opened up to us with her feelings and what not. She told us her husband just died this year in February… He was really sick and she told us she's trying to do the best she can with her shop and her family. And then she started to show us pictures of her family on her phone, of her husband and then I showed a picture I always carry with me of the six of us and she asked me if I missed my family. I said I really do miss them, but I love the work I'm doing. Being far away from them makes it all worth it when I get to see people find happiness in their lives. We talked a little bit more this morning. I had written a message for Monica in the book of Mormon we were going to give her and she read it and then looked at me with watery. I was, and kissed both of my cheeks and said "much as gracias querida mija." She opened up the book of Mormon and read my note again. After that we gave her a picture of Jesus Christ and I told her it's incredible that there are so many differences in religions and beliefs, but the one thing that is universal is Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. Today was such an amazing experience. I love Monica and Samantha.

I miss you guys. I miss home and a lot of things from it, but I don't know how I'm so happy up here. Really we don't have a lot. My shower is cold most of the times and there's cockroaches in our kitchen, but I am seriously so happy it doesn't make sense to me :-)

Heavenly Father Trusts Us

Attention! I think y’all should know that I eat tomatoes and onions now! The onions are a little bit scarier to eat than the tomatoes but I eat them (cool right?).

You wanted to know about the other hermanas that I live with so here it is! Hermana Brown is my favorite and is someone who loves everyone! She is from Washington and has like 9 months in her mission. She always has a positive attitude and we talk a lot during the day. I’m really grateful she is here. Her new companion is from Peru and she just got here yesterday. So, I don’t know her very well but she seems way nice. A lot of the time I can’t understand her Spanish but one day I will!!! Hermana Rivera, my companion is a really good missionary and she teaches me a lot. We have a lot of good moments too!

Yesterday I got really sick to my stomach all day and I didn't eat anything… Which is really weird. We called hermana  Silva and she told me what medicine I needed to buy and what to do. Today it hurts really bad too. I'll keep taking my medicine and see what happens. But you wanted to know more about the other Hermanos I live with. I'm really glad I'm out here on my mission. I love being a missionary and I love helping people realize their divine purpose here in this life. Seriously it's the best.

Yesterday my district and  Hermana Brown's district played card games! We played spoons and Hermana brown was always the first one out!  Pobrecita! but after that we played a card game version of Monopoly only there was one too many people so it was a little bit hard. But it's okay I still had a Ton of fun! After that we wrote emails and came home and I rested for a little bit and use the Bano and then we went to our 7 o'clock appointment, only he didn't show up at the chapel so we had a lesson with Dario. Oh my heck he's so funny. Dario told us one time he grew his hair out when he was a teenager and her monitor Rivera and I were laughing so hard, thinking of how Dario looked with that hair!

Fun fact. Elder Ruiz' first name is really elder! And his family were not members that when he was born! How awesome is that? Kinda really awesome if you ask me!

Yesterday we visited a lot of less actives. One that really stuck out to me was hermana b. She's a single mom and has a little five-year-old named naum. Her story is so inspiring… When she was a little girl her dad left her and her mom and her mom raised her. When she was like 11 years old, the missionaries knocked on the door and her mom to be wanted to start taking lessons. Her mom literally wanted nothing to do with it. So every Sunday hermana b would walk to the collectivo stop and took the collectivo by herself… As an 11-year-old and go to church. Eventually she got baptized and she found out that her mom was baptized in our church along time ago. Her mom never told her anything about it. She went in active for a while and she's now coming back. But moneywise, she doesn't have a lot. At all. One thing that really got me was she told us "it's obvious I don't have a lot of money but I've realized in my life that money doesn't make me happy. I find happiness when I have the spirit with me.  I look back at my childhood and it didn't matter that we didn't have a car to get me to church. Money isn't important."Isn't that amazing?! She is such an amazing person. We're going to have family home evening with her on Monday at 8 o'clock :-).

We had a district meeting today and I had an interview with Elder Ruiz he asked me what my goals were specifically for me. I told him a few things and he talked about the purification we're doing as a district where you fast for a day and think of things do you feel you need to change and so, it's for 40 days. Every time you do something in contrary to your goal you have to start all over with the fast and yeah so elder Ruiz  told me "Hermano Romeril, I only want you to focus on three faults at most. I don't want you to overwhelm yourself." I was thinking oh Bueno!!!

At our district meeting yesterday it was awesome. Elder Ruiz talked it and we talked about her calling as a missionary. One of the questions he asked us "why would heavenly father call such young and perfect missionaries to work with his children?" He told us it's because he trusts us. It got me reflecting on my life and it was a super motivating meeting. I feel like I know a little bit better what I'm going to do to better myself as a missionary. Oh and yesterday we found for new investigators! And three of them are family :-) really it was a miracle. It is so hard to find new investigators here – everyone almost is really Catholic and a lot of people don't really want to listen. But we were so humbled to have those for nuevos.

Mitchell has his permit!? I'm glad that I have the white Honda my senior year. Yeah it's old but it felt like a huge privilege to drive it. I mean, it has so much history! 1998 when you guys bought it. That was like close to the beginning of our new family. I'm so glad I drove that over a brand-new car! I can't believe Addison is already home from her mission wow !I'm Thursday I have my three month mark. The time is already going by so fast. I'm 1/5th done with my mission. But know there are days when I really miss you guys… But I just have to always remember my purpose as a missionary.

You are in my heart. 

 Day of transfers

 Elder Barrios from Guatemala

August 11, 2014

Trip to Cordoba

Hola! 

So to answer your questions:

Chango, I don’t know if my bed is super comfy or if im just so tired at the end of everyday because i go to bed and its literally heavenly! cielo en la tierra. wheewwww. And im warm enough!! my area is actually super hot and humid right now. i slept the other night with my pjs wet so i wouldnt sweat to death haha you should try it some time. Hot showers and baths, heck to the yes do i miss them!!! hot water in general haha.

Yesterday was a hard day (31 Julio).  I really missed my family yesterday.  But. I can do this!  Dad, I read your letter 3x before I went to bed.  Even though I don’t have you guys physically here with me, I have your emails and letters!

President Alliaud is coming up to Catamarca to interview my zone today.  It’s 8:30 and interviews start at 10:00.  I’m excited.  It’ll be nice to be able to talk with him about everything.  Well, not everything—I’ll just be nice to talk to him.  The mission president is like my mission dad!  Doesn’t take the place of my dad though.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you about the lunch date my companion and I had last week.  It was with the same lady that I accidentally said yes to her question “Is my food ugly?”  Ok. So. She brings out this pasta with carne and it looked way yummy! I started stirring the pasta after she left the room and ba sically it was oil soup with some noodles and carne.  I kid you not—I have never seen so much oil.  I told my companion—Hermana, no puedo hacerlo.  She’s like ya you can.  Just eat it.  So it took me a while to get brave enough to try it and I finally did and I literally threw up in my mouth.  The bad part is, right as I was throwing up, the daughter who’s like 25 years old walks out and saw..and heard it and she kinda just looks at me and walks out of the room again.  Hermana Rivera was dying laughing because it was so awkward and then she says “ok, I believe you. You really can’t.”  So she ate her food and my food.  That’s not the end of it—don’t worry.  Hermana Martinez walks out and was like “do you want some fruit?”  I was thinking “Perfect!” You can’t go wrong with fruit.  So she comes back out with some of the brownest bananas I’ve ever seen.  Hermana R. and I were like, no way can we do this!  So we hid the uneaten bananas in our backpacks and told her we had to go.  Whew.  Dificil!  The food here is SO hard to eat.  I’m definitely not on my mission for the food. 

Tomorrow night at midnight, Hermana Silva and I are traveling to Cordoba to get my papers for Argentina finished.  And guess what!?  I get to see Hermana Woolley, Hermana Morris, and Elder Royster.  They’re my buddies.  Legitly I am so excited!  I’m a little nervouse to go with Hermana Silva mainly because she speaks no English. 

So I decorated my planner the other day and guess how I decorated it? SPARKLES! My companion told me she’s pretty sure she’s never seen a planner like mine.  Making a Kelby impression in Argentina—one planner at a time J

Good luck with school and stuff everyone!!! Keep in mind how amazing yall are that yall are in my prayers every night and day.  Sorry this is so short! Love you all!

Mexican dinner with hermanas!!!

I got to hang out with Hermana Woolley today!!!

Update on the Cordoba Temple!

My best friend...literally!

my district! the other elders. elder ruiz is the hispanic and elder thaxton!

I made a fresh fruit salad. Well...not fresh but close to it!!!