Hermana Romeril's Update 10/13 & 10/20

Hola! Today is going to be a busy day. Hopefully a good one too. We're sitting in the chapel, eating lunch that Hermana Fino, A member in the ward made. It's this rice, with herbs and lemon and some chicken! She is such a good cook, we've only had lunch with her one other time and last time we had grilled chicken with grilled onions. I didn't eat the onions though – surprised?

Hola! Today was a good one. We started off with our district meeting and then we had lunch with the Roldan family--The daughter of President Perusia. They are seriously so awesome. We had the salad stuff for lunch with green olives and I ate everything except the green olives and Hermana Perusia said "you don't like olives?" I said to be honest I don't… And she said… I remember you told me you're trying to grow your hair out – this helps it grow. So I ate all of the olives and afterword they were talking about how it wasn't really real. They just wanted to see if I would eat olives. So… I did!

Yesterday night was really good we had a fireside with all the youth – we actually had a fire pit! The four missionary shared our conversion story and after we sing a song that was in Spanish. elder Toledo and Hermana Amaya did great! Elder blotter and I were just trying to figure out how to pronounce all the words! Ha. Plus other blotter was sick so he sounded a little bit like he was hitting the highest point of puberty! But the whole night was really good. Spiritual. With mosquitoes. A lot of them!

So two days ago we went to contact a reference and the reference wasn't there, but his dad pulled up to visit him and he started talking to us and asked us where we were from. Hermana Amaya told him she was from Mexico and they started talking about Mexico and how cool it was and what not. And then he asked me where I was from and I set the United States and he said why don't you go back to your own country and serve? Why do you think we want someone from your country here preaching God's word? And then he continued for a while and said, do you think we are that much more inferior you can come here and preach? Yeah, I don't think he liked me too much. It's sad that people have to be like that but what can you do? We are having little success in finding people. A lot of people want to listen but not let us come visit them again.

Every day I learn more about who God is and the value this church has. People ask me why am on my mission and I told him because I've been blessed to have my family for eternity and I want other people to have there's forever too. The mission is crazy, the events you have in your life don't just go away… They are more emphasized. I don't even know if that makes sense. But to answer your questions no I haven't been sick lately! We run every single morning except Sundays.  And yeah! I'm getting faster! In my ward it's actually a branch… But an average of 60 people come every week. My favorite part of my day is the evening when we visit people and teach them and get to know them. I love my calling! I haven't gotten your package… I will one day :-)i'm so excited to get it.

I want to give a shout out to Jessica for the email! And grandma Romeril for the card! I love you both so much. My family is my motivation to keep going :) thank you all for everything you do… Have the best week ever! Seriously :-)

You were all in my heart, Hermana Romeril 

First Week in San Fancisco!

Well, I’m in San Francisco!  My companion is Hermana Amaya and she’s from Mexico.  She has 11 months in the mission.  She runs every morning, gets up exactlyat 630am, turns off the lights exactly at 1030 pm, starts studying exactly at 800am.  She is super disciplined and I am so grateful for that!  Seriously.  It makes me feel so happy and productive and exactly obedient!  I really like her.  I have a feeling we are going to have a really good transfer!  Yesterday we visited our ward mission leader.  Hermano Lorenzo, to figure out lunches for October.  In our ward the missionaries are me and my companion and then our district leader, Elder Blotter and Elder Toledo.  We have lunch every single day!  Our mission leader said “You’re like my kids.  I have to make sure you’re taken care of!  I’m very grateful for him, and my companion, and Heavenly Father.  This morning was really hard to get up because I knew we had to run—so I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to help me get up and have the energy…and it worked!!!  One of the members from Catmarca, Javier, put some piano guys music on my pen drive so I listed to that while I got ready.  I loved this morning!  I love listening to music!  Sorry, I’m just really happy!!  Anyways, we were riding bikes in this area and guess what?!  My bike is pink!!! I’m so serious, it is so AWESOME!

So yesterday was really hard.  We rode bikes the second half of the day and we were on our way home and the house we were at was 3 or 4 miles away from the apartment.  The beginning of the bike ride was good, then 1 mile into it I got so tireed. We’d been walking and riding bikes all day (this area is so much bigger than my last area).  I literally felt like I couldn’t go anymore.  My companion was way ahead of me and I was so tired.  My legs were hurting so bad.  I prayed to HF and I think that was the most desperate prayer I have ever said.  After I said the prayed I really wanted to give up, get off the bike and start walking.  In that moment, I could almost feel someone just pushing my bike, helping me along the way.  My legs stopped being tired, my breathing got lighter, and I was able to keep going until we got home.  Seriously it was the coolest thing I have ever experienced. Really, when we’re doing our best, and when we go to HF when we can’t think we can go any further, He will make up for the rest.  He doesn’t expect us to do everything on our own-nor do we have to.

We have about 200 referencias (referrals) and we started contacting them and so many of them don’t want anything to do with us.  A lot of doors were shut in our face today.  There was a lady named Elena that we talked to and right when she saw us she’s said “NO! I don’t want anything to do with you guys.” I said “Oh, it’s only an invitation.” After I said that she gave us a disguisted look and she said “I know who you are. No I don’t want anything to do with you.” After that I was ready to leave but Hna Amaya just kept talking to her.  Amaya is the best.  When we were planning our day today she said “Do you want to do something crazy, something different?” So when we knocked on doors we talked wit hthe people and sang a hymn to them!  It was actually so fun.  I love my comp. She is so spiritual and fun..and super positive.  I’m teaching her English words—she already knows a little English from other companions. But seriously I am so grateful for her. We just click.  It’s just me and my companion in the pension.  We don’t have anyone else living with us which is nice—not as many distractions and we are more focused on the work.  I miss Catamarca.  Catamarca will always hold such a special, special place in my heart.  This is a new chapter of my mission. 

Week of October 6th

Hola! Tomorrow is Mitchell's birthday! I can't even believe he's already 16! I remember when I was 16… Mitchell is going to be 17 when I come home… Okay that's super weird. In like two months I'm already one third done with my mission! I can't believe Rachel Formica is almost done too. It's so nice being able to write in English. We talk in Spanish all day! So grateful you guys speak English :-) guess what? We ran today like we do every morning, but today I really didn't like it!  Hermana Amaya is funny though. She knows when I don't want to run anymore and so she starts singing these really funny songs – ha ha I don't know how anyone could be in a bad mood listening to the songs she sings.

Mitchell! Happy birthday! I miss you like an albino person misses the shade when he's outside in the sun! :) but seriously I hope you're having the best day ever. I was telling people today how it was your birthday and yeah they sat Feliz cumpleanos a su hermano! Yay you are famous in San Francisco Argentina :-) but seriously I hope you really did have a great day. I've been thinking about you all day. I love you. I also wanted to tell you that you have an Argentina twin here… Seriously. We had lunch with a family today and they have a 15-year-old and he looks so much like you! And talks like you – except he talks in Spanish. It's crazy though. Can you tell I miss you? I'm so proud of you bud… I hope you got my card and I hope you like it.

I'm so excited for general conference. As a missionary conference feels like Christmas! But it's not Christmas – because if it was, I'd be super close to talking to you guys! Mom! I got your card! And Mitch and Kate's cards. First off I wanted to say thank you all so much and thank you mom for the $30. Haha elder Toledo was with me when I opened it and he was even excited to see American money! He's also excited because he wants to go buy grido ice cream with it. I want to use the money to buy a camel back for my backpack. Anyway thank you so much for sending it. The cards from you three… Were delivered the day I needed to be uplifted the most. I'm so grateful for you all.

I wanted to tell you about my not so good bike talent! I was riding my bike and my companion was going really fast so I was trying to catch up to her and we were crossing the street and I looked back for cars and forgot to look in front of me and I hard-core ran into a huge pole and my bike handle Gashed into my leg and A really good part of my leg is bright purple and blue. Whoops! I don't understand why bruises can't be pink!

Anyway, I am so happy to be out here on my mission! This is my first Gen. conference session in Argentina! And in Spanish! It started here at 1 o'clock to 3 o'clock and then5 o'clock to 7 o'clock at night. We all met together – all of the members in San Francisco and watch general conference in the chapel. I was so excited! We watched the first session in Spanish and then the second session we watched in English with the gringo elders.  It was so nice to hear English! It felt  like a little bit of home.

I figured out how many miles we walk a day and it's about 6 to 9 miles each day. That is unless we have our bikes – when we have our bikes it goes by a little bit faster – but that's when I usually have my accidents! It's been really rainy here for the last few days – yesterday we went to go visit a less active family and they live on a dirt road and let me tell you it was incredible how much mud and frogs there were! I've never seen anything like it!. We finally got to the other side of the dirt and we had already passed the house so we couldn't turn back and backtrack into the mud so we went home because it was almost 9 o'clock. As we were riding our bikes in the street I forgot to look down and I guess there was a step when we were trying to get on the sidewalk and I totally ate it on my bike… And I'm pretty sure all of the cars at the red light saw it! I only scraped my knee so that's good!

Anyway I have to go. I love you so much. Remember you are always in my prayers and I think the world of you. Thank you for everything you do for me. You're in my heart always.

Hermana Romeril