Hola!!!

 

How is everything going? It sounds like things are moving along great.

 

Answers:

 

So I do believe that the mosquitos have died for the winter (even though it is still autumn). I am very happy about that and yes, it has been raining a lot here. Right now, it´s pretty foggy outside and has been heavy overcast for about 4 days now. I do love this weather, though.

 

I am still behind on the Book of Mormon reading, but it has definitely been an experience. I have learned so much from going back to what I highlighted and then writing notes in the margins. It is such a spiritual feast and I have learned things that I have truly touched my heart and expanded my understanding of the scriptures. I would invite each of you to take the time to fulfill this challenge. It is the same challenge and a little more than the one that President Gordon B Hinckley extended to all of us back in 1997. It is wonderful and your testimony will grow so much.  I am very excited for the temple to open up in august. So I was mistaken. The open house is August 4-August 25 and the rededication is September 9; Happy anniversary mom and dad. ^_^

 

It sounds like a great idea to help each other with goals. One of my goals is to read one chapter of the Book of Mormon in spanish every day during my language study. What are some of your goals?

 

Thank you so much for sending a package. I appreciate it every time and can´t thank you enough. I believe that I have everything I need and a lot of what I want. The only thing I can think of is chocolate chips. They are very hard to find here. Thank you for everything you do.

 

 

It´s been one of those weeks that you can tell you were meant to learn something hard fast. We struggled a lot this week with having lessons with members present and people coming to church. I believe that I have finally caught the vision (as of yesterday) and I want to use it. I am hoping that it will help me overcome the last of my fears and I can finally become the missionary I know the Lord knows I can be. I guess I should specify. I believe that I have caught the vision of the mission. I am now working on the vision for this specific area: Vicente López.

 

Through all the President´s letters, he has been trying to help us obtain the vision the Lord has. To sum it all up in one word, I would use the word ¨Broken¨. I know that sounds bad, but let me explain. We are commanded by God to sacrifice a broken heart and a contrite spirit. I want to be a broken missionary. When you are broken and put all the pieces into the Lord´s hands and let go, He can make you into what He knows you can be. When you are broken, you trust and lean on the Maker. You ask: ¨Why am I here in Vicente López? What do you want me to do and to learn?¨ You trust His choices and His time. You always look for His will and trust that as you do your best, He will guide you and make up for your shortcomings. He will fill in the gaps, so to speak. As you are letting the Lord heal you, you are experiencing the atonement every moment of every day and can more effectively share that with those around you. You know what it´s like and can recognize what each of them needs to hear specifically to come unto Christ. You allow yourself to be closer to the Spirit and open to be guided by it.

 

There is a great danger in being in one area for so long. You get complacent and let the little important things fall through the cracks. It is a great danger of everyday life too. I am so excited that you want to start reading together in the scriptures as a family every day. I don´t think you realize how much family prayer and scripture study made a difference for me growing up. I would encourage you to make that one of your goals as a family. I have also learned that Preach My Gospel isn´t just for missionaries or for the mission. I exhort you with all my energy of soul to purchase one and apply the teachings inside. Do companionship inventory. Make goals. Have a schedule. Please know that it is with all the love of my heart that I ask these things of you. Every invitation I have given, going to the temple together, reading together, doing visiting and home teaching, etc. has been from the Lord. You can find all of these invitations in Preach My Gospel, Conference Talks, and Manuals. The changes that these things are making in this ward and in the lives of the people we teach are amazing. Preach My Gospel was written on the other side of the veil and has come forth at this time for us. The Book of Mormon has come forth at this time for us. The Lamanites and the Nephites did not have the Book of Mormon. It was compiled after their destructions. I encourage all to find these invitations from the Lord. I don´t want you to make the same mistakes I am making right now, by being complacent and letting the small things fall through the cracks. I have seen these blessings and want them for you too.

 

I love you all so much and will write soon.

 

Love

Hermana Alvey

Hola!!!

 

So yes, it is transfers and guess what!! I´m still in Vicente López with Hermana Milmont!! LOL I know that it´s a little unexpected, but I´m not surprised and interested to see what the Lord has in store. I have been here in Vicente López for almost 6 months (my entire mission) and by the end of this transfer I will have seven months. I do love this area and the people, though. There is a lot to do here and maybe we will even get bikes. That will help with the traveling. The buses aren´t always reliable and take a while, so bikes will make it easier to be on time and to have more appointments in the day.

 

So, I told you pretty much everything over Skype yesterday. It was great to see you all. I´m excited to find out where Anthony goes on his mission. It´s definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

 

We just dropped off Hermana Gonzalez who goes home tonight. It´s hard to send someone home. You have to say good bye and then it reminds you of when you leave. ^_^ I don´t really like it. We also went shopping a little bit and I did get some boots. It turned out to be pretty hot today. The weather has certainly been acting strange.

 

I´m really at a loss to talk about.  President Gulbrandsen encouraged us to give our mothers a special Mother´s Day present. Work this week for our mothers. Mom, I wanted to let you know that I thought of you all week as we worked with our investigators and you know what, we had the most lessons with member present than ever before. I do love you and I hope you know that. I know that this is the Lord´s work and He is letting us help Him in it. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and in our time now, President Thomas S. Monson is the prophet of God. I konw that the Book of Mormon is true and I learn more and more every day. This is a great and marvellous work and I am excited to be a part of it. You both have raised me well. Now is the time for me to best utilize what you have taught. I will make you all proud. I love our Heavenly Father and I am growing my relationship with Him every day. He loves you. He loves us all.

 

I love you all soooooo much. I will talk with you soon.

 

Love

Hermana Alvey

Hola!!!

 

So we received some amazing news this week. The temple open house will be the 25th of August 2012 until the rededication the 9 of September 2012. I am soooooo excited and hope that I get to go. President Gulbrandsen had a special reunion this last thursday and gave us the good news. I can´t wait. It´s in Buenos Aires West Mission so we shall see what happens. President Gulbrandsen gave us all a challenge; before the opening of the temple we will read the entire Book of Mormon in our own language from cover to cover. There is also another challenge. Using three different color colored pencils we highlight 1. Every reference of Jesus Christ (pronouns, names, etc) 2. Every reference to the Doctrine of Jesus Christ (Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End) and 3. Every scripture that fortifies your testimony. We started Friday and I´m in page 40. I have learned so much in such a little time. As I write notes in the margins I receive personal revelation and insight that I had not had before. I receive even more as I go back and ponder on the things I higlighted. The meeting was very special. Not only did President talk about the temple, but also about obedience and sacrifice. Hermana Gulbrandsen spoke on Mother´s Day and that was such a touching talk. I left my notebook at home, but I took 5 pages of notes and wanted to take more. It was a wonderful experience. I will write it down and send it home, but I can tell you about Hermana Gulbrandsen´s talk. One of their sons died 9 years ago at the age of 21; 3 days before mother´s day and so this mother´s day was very special. Through her own personal experiences she learned that the greatest gift any of us can give our parents is our testimony.

 

Ok, so we set up everything for skype. I will be calling at 7:30pm our time which is 2:30pm your time. We will be at a North American´s house so hopefully all will go well. So turns out that this family that we are going to do skype with is from Hermana Milmont´s home ward. She grew up with the dad´s family. I can´t remember if I told you that or not. They are a great family. I am also excited to talk to you all and introduce Hermana Milmont to you all. She is amazing.

 

It actually warmed up again this week so it was hard to dress for the weather. In order to clarify, when I said that we were in tights and thermals, I meant that I was in tights and Hermana Milmont is in thermals. The weather is truly not being kind to us. In the mornings and the evenings you need a light jacket and during the day you need a sweater or no coat at all. Because it hasn´t been cold long enough, the mosquitos have not completely died. I do need to stop talking about them, though. I talk about them alot and you are probably sick of them. We were told that it doesn´t snow here up north, but a member of the ward told us that it snowed in Hawaii recently. I´m not taking the weather for granted; it will be bright and sunny in the morning and pouring rain by 5. I really do like it here, though. We have tile flooring in the entire apartment so it´s a little cold. We have a localized gas heater that is not functioning right now and our small electric heater can only do so much. I think that we are going to talk with the office elders about that. We have been using blankets for a little bit now and it´s sometimes hard to get up in the mornings because it´s so cozy. ^_^ We do, though, and work hard.

 

Transfers are this coming sunday and I don´t feel like I am leaving. I could be wrong, though. Hermana Milmont leaves in three transfers so one of us will most likely leave this next transfer. I only have one area, but because of the Centro de Visitantes en la Capilla, I have seen several different places: Tigre, Tortuguitas, Leon Suarez, Villa Adelina, Villa Baillester, Munro, San Fernando, and a couple more. Argentina really is beautiful.

 

We have started doing an exercise we call the Introduction with all of the members we come in contact with. It´s the Introduction of the Book of Mormon and it is how we help investigators know what the Book of Mormon is. I will have to show you some time, because I don´t think I can type it. We believe that we have received the vision. We are calling members and setting appointments 3 days in advance and utilizing the Introduction. We are really progressing and we have a long way to go. Change is a part of life and nothing can change ¨change.¨

 

One of the hardest things for me on the mission is that I cannot hold or pick up children or babies. I love them and when they are crying I want to hold them. That has been the hardest thing to change. I can still play with them and talk with them, but I will have to wait to hold them. There are several adorable children here too. I can only imagine what Alejandro looks like. I am learning a lot about myself from the children and I can´t help but see how the experiences earlier in life are helping me now and how what I am learning now will help me in my life to come. The examples are innumberable. I am using things from the young women´s manual, girl´s camp, family home evening, and so much more. I can see how everything I am learning on the mission is preparing me to be a good mother, wife, leader, and member of the church. You cannot take anything for granted when you are on the mission.

 

It´s getting late and we still have to go buy food. I love you all and will talk with you soon. (literally)

 

Love

Hermana Alvey

Hola!!!

 

How is everything going? Things here are going pretty good. This last week, we went to a place called El Talar and did what´s called: Centro de Visitantes en la Capilla. You might remember it as Capilla Abierta. It was a lot of fun. El Talar is about an hour and a half away from Vicente López by train and bus. The whole ward helped out and they even had an extra tour of the chapel with all the different auxillaries. They had so much fun. There was one young man that the bishop brought in from the street named Ignacio. He is a young man that doesn´t have much religious background and is having a rough time right now. It was so hard to see him with his hopeless, lost expression. I knew that I needed to sit down and talk with him. We talked about the Gospel and how it can bless and change lives. It is such a wonderful experience when the Lord works through you. It truly is a priviledge to be on a mission. The Lord has given us this opportunity to help Him in the work. Everything went pretty good and we were able to get home on time (which we weren´t sure about).

 

We still haven´t had a baptism and two of our people with baptism dates we needed to drop because they have not been progressing for a while. President Gulbrandsen talked with us about letting go of our investigators when they aren´t progressing. We need to have the faith to do so, and we will be open to find the people who are already prepared to receive the Gospel. It´s tough, but I am growing a lot myself. I don´t know what I´m going to do when I need to leave Vicente López. I´ve been here my entire mission. I know I´ll be ok, though. There is always an adventure waiting out there for me, and people waiting to hear the Gospel.

 

So as you know, it´s getting cold here.  I have started using my heavy jacket and nylons. Thank you so much, again, for sending me them. The humidity really makes a difference. It feels like late fall in Logan, Utah here, but I know that it´s only because of the humidity. It´s just fall right now. We´ll see what the weather does soon. It rains a lot though, but because it´s so cold, there are no mosquitos. I am so very happy about that.

 

I don´t have long or heavy skirts, so I may need to look around for them. I have lost about 25 lbs now (healthy pounds) and some of my clothes are loose on me now. Hermana Milont is going to help me alter them. It´s not too dramatic, although, there is one skirt that is pretty close to falling off. I will need to get new shoes this next transfer. You know how much walking we do. I am also looking around for some simple gloves. I only have my snow gloves here and those are a little bulky for every day use. There isn´t a place here, really, like the stores at home. they are all ¨mom and pop¨ shops so you need to find a shop with the specific things you want.

 

I am also excited for Mother´s Day. It looks like we will be doing Skype at 7pm on sunday my time. Sunday seems to be the best day for everyone and I like it because it´s actually Mother´s Day. We don´t know who we will be with so we will have to let you know when the details are more secure.

 

I am so excited for Nick Hardy. He is going to like it here. It really is a beautiful place. He is in the West Mission right now. He will actually most likely meet my old bishop: Fernando Gomez Paz. Another person in our ward works at the MTC as a teacher. His name is Hugo Alvarez. If he sees them, please let him know to say hi. They are wonderful helpful people. It´s so awesome to hear about everyone. People leaving for missions, people coming home, others getting married, and others still having children. It is an odd feeling.

 

The ward is really moving forward with the missionary work and I hope that they keep moving forward. We have wonderful leaders and they are all excited about everything. Us as a companionship are getting better with teaching and helping people move towards baptism. We still have a lot to learn, but we have come a long way. She is a good cook by the way, she just doesn´t want people to know. We had Peruvian food at a member´s house this week and it was amazing. The people here are all really good cooks. I love this ward and the people in it. They try so hard and are so kind. I´m going to miss them. I don´ feel like I´m leaving though. Oh well, I´m not worried. There is too much to do each day. ^_^ I have been talking about recipes with people and realized that I don´t have nearly enough of my recipes from home. Did you ever find the recipe book on the computer or my memory stick. Which reminds me. We have portable DVD players and we can put a USB card in it and listen to the music that´s on the card. Just a thought. Well, we have to get to work. I never seem to be able to say everything I want to and we do internet for almost an hour. Oh, well. Just know that I love you so much and look forward to seeing you in two weeks.

 

Love

Jessica

Hola!!!

 

¿Cómo están? I hope all is going well. Things here have been cooling down a lot. We are wearing tights and thermals here. So the infection is better and I will be so happy with winter when it gets here. No more mosquitos!! Things really are going great.

 

We now have 5 progressing investigators and 3 with baptismal dates! They are all doing great. We are working hard with all of them and preparing them for their baptisms and a clean slate. They each have their own difficulties and doubts and you really learn how to use the gift of discernment as a missionary. You cannot be an effective missionary without it.

 

I first want to apologize. I am trying really hard to answer questions and I am so sorry if I miss one. So its answer time. I remember when we received a talk from, I believe it was Elder Christofferson. He told us that we were companions with the Twelve Apostles. I was caught off guard by that. I left all my notes at the pension about that, but what I do remember was that we have a great responsibility. One thing I learned with interviews this week was that my calling is to baptize. The calling of every missionary is to build and fortify the church through baptism and confirmation. This is the only time in my life when I am set apart from the rest of the world to fulfill this specific calling, in this specific place, at this specific time. It is also a very short time. I have been on the mission for 7 months and have so much left to learn. A year is not sufficient. It sounds like a lot of time, but it isn´t. I love the less actives, and we will continue to work with them, but I cannot put all my efforts there. We will support and help them, but I need to fulfill my promise to the Lord to share His Gospel. The more you open your mouth and talk, the easier it will be. It´s scary sometimes, but the more you practice, the easier it is. I have also learned something veeeeeeeeeery important.  UPDATE THE AREA BOOK NEATLY AND WITH DETAILS!!! We are still learning how to do that, but it´s amazing the difference it makes. These are children of God and we need to take care of them in every way for the missionaries now and to come. It is a very important calling and it should not be taken lightly. We are accountable for the time here and everything we do.

 

We are still trying to receive the ¨Vision¨ for our area. We just received a new bishop and had ward council. The work here is going to explode. Our responsibility now is to find people. The ward will take care of the ward. We are comfortable with that now. We are focusing more of our efforts outside the ward and are praying every day to know, that in reality, ¨el campo blanco está ya!¨ There is not a word in english for ¨ya¨, but basically it means ¨right now; at this moment; at this second¨. That has been one of the hardest things to believe. You always believe that all the other areas are prepared and that all the other missionaries are better, but part of receiving the vision, is realizing your own potential as a child of God set apart at this time to find those people He has prepared in a way that no one else can. We are fulfilling promises here that we made in the premortal existense and we can´t let everyone, especially our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, down. I believe that I have just scratched the surface of what can and will happen here and in this world in regards to the Gospel spreading forth as a stone cut out without hands. I truly am starting to see that man is nothing and yet has a divine light that will grow greater than anything we can imagine in this life. We are Literal Children of a Loving All Powerful Heavenly Father. There is not greater knowledge than that.

 

The spanish is still coming every day. As you speak you learn new words and phrases. When to use certain words and verb tenses becomes familiar as you listen and practice. I have not been as effective in my language study and need to get better at that. You´re right: you can´t be too fluent. The Lord is also not just preparing us for these 18 months to 2 years. The skills we are developing here are going to be used throughout our entire lives and He has a purpose for everything. Take advantage of every moment and every experience and enjoy it. One other thing I have learned is that you have to plan and hope for the future, but if you aren´t happy today, the future isn´t going to make you happy either. I´m not saying that you will be happy every moment, but you choose how you react and if you are happy with the things you have now. Happiness doesn´t come from the outside; it comes from the inside. I believe that we underestimate the power of agency. President Gulbrandsen spoke to us a lot about agency during interviews this last week. There are two kinds of creatures in this world: those that act and those that are acted upon. One of Satan´s greatest lies is that you are a creature that is acted upon. That you are ¨just lazy, just unhappy, just.....anything¨. You are not just anything. The amazing miracle of this life and being human is that you are constantly changing every moment of every day. You choose how you will react to situations. You choose to be mad, sad, happy, loving, etc. Satan wins if he can convince you to get discouraged or angry. He also wins if he can convince you that you are a creature to be acted upon, because that idea brings with it, the idea that you aren´t responsible for your feelings (aka choices). President Gulbrandsen talked a lot about agency, and I can understand why. We have been studying Lesson 2: Plan of Salvation a lot this week for our investigators. The war in heaven was fought over agency. Satan fell because he wanted to take away agency. One of the greatest gifts of God to His children is agency. You have the capacity and the power to choose what you will do, how you will feel, and how you will react every moment of every day for eternity. It is a great power and responsibility. We used our agency wisely once; we are all here with bodies. The trial now, is to see if we will use our agency wisely again and choose our Heavenly Father. We are also given the responsibility as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to share the Gospel so that others may use their agency to the greatest effect that they can. This was a promise we made in the preexistence. We will be held responsible for all the times we were asked to open our mouths and did not. That brings me to a most amazing gift that changes eternity as much as agency. I have often not opened my mouth when called upon and for that I need to repent. We are all imperfect, we all fall short, but it is through the Atonement that we can be clean and try again. We can try again. We have been called as Saviors on Mount Zion. What a wonderful calling. How great is God´s love and trust in us that we have been given this calling. I testify with all the love and gratitude of my heart that Jesus lives! He suffered so that we wouldn´t have to suffer the pains of sin. He knows every hurt, every angry thought, every trial. He knows how to succor His people and will do so. All we have to do is turn to Him. Take His hand. The road to the tree of life is rough and we fall down, but He will never leave us alone. He never leaves, it´s us who walk away and He is always waiting. Waiting with arms stretched out and boundless love. You are never too far away for His love to reach you. Come home.

 

I apologize that I did not write much about my week. In reality I have learned a lot this week personally and for my investigators. I wrote what the Spirit inspired me to write. I love you all so much and my testimony burns so strong that I have to share it with you. There is so little time in this life and even less now with the Second Coming right at the door. The Lord is pleading with us to fortify our testimonies, because it is the foundation that we will stand on in the last days. You are a chosen generation. Everyone who is alive right now came at this time to prepare the way for the Lord. You showed exceedingly great faith in the preexistence and have a potential that you cannot even imagine. We have been constantly encouraged and reminded of our great calling to come to the earth at this time. Please do not take it lightly. You, each of you, are a great and marvelous work. I love you. Your Heavenly Father Loves you. I don't know who needs to hear this right now, but please know that you are so special in His eyes. Every single one of you. Don´t give up. Never give up. You´re so close. He´s waiting for you to welcome you home.

 

I love you.

 

Hermana Alvey

Hola!!!

 

Another week has gone by. There were no storms during the day, but the ones at night here are pretty awesome too. Things are starting to cool down here. In the mornings it´s nice to have a sweater, but the middle of the day and evening are pretty hot. It´s odd weather here that can change in less than an hour. It sure keeps you on your toes though.

 

We started teaching Carlos again. We also have 3 other people that we are teaching. They are Darío, Danny, and Adrian. They are all awesome. I have also learned a lot from each of them and hopefully they have learned something from the Spirit as well. Darío likes high math and science. Danny is good at studying even if he doesn´t like it. Adrian is a very hard worker. It´s hard when you love the people and they turn away. We had to drop 2 more investigators this week. You share everything and know it´s true and they don´t care or refuse to listen. That happens sometimes and you still love them, but you realize that they have their agency and others need your help.

 

By the way. I am never living where there are mosquitos ever again. The doctor said that with my type of skin and allergic reaction, I am more likely to get infections. I have another one on my left leg. It doesn´t matter that I am very clean and use OFF. The new doctor here said that he will help me find a different repellent. Hopefully it works.

 

This last sunday we had 135 people at church. That is so amazing. It was sad, though, because we only had one investigator and no less active. We are still working hard with them and they are so wonderful. I wish they would see their own worth. That is the greatest challenge with most of the less active. They feel as if they have sinned too far or they aren´t important enough for God to care about. That is probably a world wide thing. I hope that I am sharing God´s love with them. I try. They are very good people.

 

So to answer some questions. We don´t get to cook a lot because we are out of the apartment so often. It´s pretty much sandwiches and pasta. (not together) The people here are amazing cooks. I don´t think I can pick which one is the best. The main meal here is lunches. We usually have a light breakfast, heavy lunch, and not really anything for dinner because we get home at 9pm and are tired.

 

Thank you for the skype account. I´m excited to talk to you May 13th. Don´t worry, I´m not letting it distract me. I have too many things to think about here. We are even cutting our P-day short because this was the only time we could visit one of our investigators.

 

I´m sorry that you are getting sick. I hope you all feel better. Take care of yourselves. I have to go, but know that I love you all very much. I hope to have more time next week. I´ll talk to you soon.

 

Love

Jessica

Hola!!!

 

So what a week! Last monday and Tuesday we had a couple sisters go to and come from the south. They stayed in our pension until they could catch their plane or get their new companion. For everyone that is in Arizona, one of them was Hermana Shelley! She is so funny and cute. We ended up staying up late or waking up in the middle of the night. One came at 1 am. Another left at 3 am, so to say the least we were tired at the beginning of this week. We just split our area again, because as of Wednesday, we have two elders!! Wednesday we also had a gigantic thunder storm. The lightning show was gorgeous and the thunder was so loud it hurt our ears and shook the roof. The streets were flooded so much that it almost came up to our knees. I had a lot of fun, but then again I´ve always liked storms.

 

I am attaching some pictures because it didn´t work last week. The first two are of our area. I want you all to be able to see how big it really is. Remember that the blocks are about the size of Vegas blocks (if not a little bigger). We can walk from one end of our area to the other but I would probably take half the day or so. Our area is called Vicente Lopez but it really has about 6 mini cities inside it. They are Acassuso, Florida, Martinez, Olivos, La Lucila, and one other that I can´t remember. I guess they are more like towns than cities, but it´s still big either way. There are not any large scale companies here. Everything is personally owned. There is not a walmart or anything in my area, but it still is a large city. We have two mission presidents living in our area along with the area doctor. One of the Argentine President´s houses is in our area too. We don´t do tracting very often. The greatest way to find people and help them stay active is helping the members invite their friends to hear the Gospel.

 

It was absolutely amazing this last Sunday! There were three complete less active families that came to church. They had´t been to church in about 5 years. We had been working so hard with them and I cried when I saw them. The Lord is so happy when we go to church. It doesn´t matter if we are active or inactive or new. We are making a wonderful choice when we go to church and the Lord is always happy with us when we do. We are working so hard with the less active and they have several friends and family members that are not members and as we help them remember the love they have felt, they want to share that with others. References are everything to missionaries as well as members who are willing to accompany them. I never realized what my role was as a member. I feel like I can be a more effective member when I get home. Now I just need to go a little further and be a great missionary. ^_^ The Lord has blessed me so much with all the work here. The ward is moving forward and the work will grow so much here.

 

I am out of time, because we still have to go get food for the week. I love you all and will talk to you soon. Please remember that no matter how dark the Friday is, Sunday will come. That is the promise of Easter.

 

Love,

Hermana Alvey