Hola!!!

 

So news from the south. I am now officially one province away from the end of the world. Did you receive my last pictures? or the ones I just sent?

 

So Rio Gallegos is kind of a mix between Mesquite, Nevada and Logan, Utah. It´s still pretty cold during the summer and the most windy. Hermana Milmont was here during the summer for two weeks and said that often the wind blew her against a wall it was so strong. I guess I lucked out when I came here in the winter. All of the missionaries here are telling me that hardly anyone comes to Rio Gallegos. Evidentally President Gulbrandsen said that only those the Lord trusts greatly are sent to Rio Gallegos. I don´t know what He wants me to do here, but I am grateful to be here. Yes, it is an opportunity to learn what it will be like in Logan, and I think that I will enjoy myself. I am sooooooo grateful for the coat you sent me. I would die without it. I am using my ski gloves so we shall see how that goes. So far I seem to be doing ok. I do need to buy some earmuffs, though. Which reminds me, I took out 25 dollars from my account. There are penguins here, but in the summer. One of the Elders here has a picture of one. I would really like to see the glaciers here. Sometimes President Gulbrandsen, during interviews, takes us to the glaciers. I would love that.

 

There are 10 missionaries in our area. There are so few of us that we are a zone and a district. We don´t have a district leader, we have zone leaders. I´m back in the same district/zone as Elder Haws. I wish that you could have heard his voice when he found out that I was here. It was hilarious. Also, Elder Ocares just got here too. He is in an area really far away, so they are on skype during our district meetings, because it would take them about 3-4 hours to get here. The areas are called Gaucho, 6 de Abril, Calafate, Centro, and (ours) Belgrano Sur. This is all of Rio Gallegos.  We play fútbol every P-day after internet until 5pm and then we buy food and work for the rest of the day. This district/zone is really close.

 

So about Hermana Alfarro. I have no idea about her cooking. She is more the athletic type. I am teaching her cross stitch and she is loving it. Never did she think that she could or would do things like that, but she really wants to learn things about the home (cross stitch, cooking, sewing in general, etc). She is from La Serena, Chile and returns home in October. She doesn´t speak very much english and her other companions from the states didn´t want to practice with her. She is excited that I want to help her learn english. Both of her parents are converts and she is an only child.

 

The Branch here is pretty small. The church is young here, but they have great leaders.  We are working on growing the trust between the members and the missionaries. There are two new converts named Virginia and Iris. They are the sweetest two young women you will ever meet. They are 23 and love music from the 70´s. They accompany us every day to visits and Iris really wants to be a missionary. We´ll see what happens. We do have our own church building and it is kept warm all the time (just like our pension).

 

I´m glad that you are all doing well. It´s not that mail doesn´t arrive in the mission, it´s just that there is not really anybody to bring the mail to us. It´s ok. I have a feeling, though, that I am going to be in Rio Gallegos for a while. The senior missionaries here have all been here for a while, so the idea is that next transfer, all the senior missionaries are going to leave and the junior companions will be the next generation. We´ll see what happens.

 

I love you all and wish you a happy Independence Day!!

 

Love

Hermana Alvey

This post was from June 25, 2012

Hola!!!

So, yes, transfers were yesterday. I was not transferred yesterday. I was transferred last thursday. I have been in Rio Gallegos for 4 days with my new companion Hermana Alfarro and her old companion Hermana Lobos. Hermana Lobos just left on the plane back up north to a zone called Zaratte. Yes, I have now officially made it to the south. ^_^

It´s pretty cold here. It´s kind of like a colder Vegas. It looks like a desert, has a lot of wind, but is a dry freeze. I like it. Hermana Alfarro is from Chile and so is Hermana Lobos. I´m excited to work with her.

So I am living in my thermals right now until I grow accustomed to the weather. Yesterday was a warmer day. It got up to 32 degrees.

Just so you know, we don´t get visits very often from the north so I probably won´t get my mail for another 3 months or when I go back up to the north, which means I may miss the open house of the temple. I was so sad about that when I found out.

I can´t believe that I am officially halfway through my mission. I really can´t believe it. It´s going by way too fast. I don´t know  what I´m going to do when it´s over. I am going to miss Argentina. The desire to talk to people is growing and I still can´t talk 100%. I have more voice than before, but a stubborn cough that has not gone away. I want to talk to people without problems of having to pause every five minutes and also, not being able to say some things I want to because of the language. I´m finally learning how to be a missionary and now I am given another challenge to overcome. Oh well, such is life. I am excited to be here, though.

We were supposed to get 28 new missionaries from the states, but they had visa problems so a few of the areas in our mission were closed. I wonder if Vicente Lopez closed.

I´m glad that you are all doing better and enjoying your trip. Where did Colten serve again? Keep going strong. I love you all so much and always pray for you. I love you and I´ll talk to you soon.

Love
Hermana Alvey

An alfajor from the bread shop.  9 pesos

L-R Hermana Alfarro (my new companion), Me, and Hermana Lobos (both are from Chile)

 

This is the June 18, 2012 post

Hola!!!

 

How´s everything going? Things here are moving along, especially with transfers this coming weekend. We have a lot to do right now. So some interesting news: the missionaries are having a hard time getting visas so we have missionaries leaving and almost nobody coming in. Because of that, we are now having to spread missionaries out further. The elders that were with us in Vicente López are now in other areas and we have the entire area to ourself again since wednesday. We are excited to start again, but it´s going to be hard. Our area is huge. The Lord would not give us something that we could not handle.

 

I´m hoping that my voice will come back soon. We have too much to do and I have been without it for over a week now.

 

We just got back from having helado with the elders. It wasn´t the best, but it was good to spend time with them before transfers. We are so excited for the temple to open. We just found out who is going to be here: President Eyring, Elder Ballard, Elder Christofferson, and a member of the Seventy (I can´t remember which). We really hope that we will be able to go. It´s so amazing to be here at this time with the temple so close to opening.

 

I have not received pictures of Benjamin´s graduation or answers, but I know that you are busy right now. It sounds like the trip is going rough; I´m sorry about that. I hope that it goes better. Congratulations to Jennifer and best wishes to Alice.

 

We are still working with the less actives and the new converts and we are working towards finding new investigators. We are struggling a lot with finding, but we still move forward with the promise that we will find with these families.

 

I bought a new note book and pen this week and had to write, so in church yesterday, I wrote some things that I have been thinking about for a long time. It´s not finished, but I´ll send you what I already have.

 

¨I´ve never been so tired in my life; spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally. In times like thse you learn a lot of things.

1. How deep your well of faith and testimony is.

- It´s times when you feel like you have no more to give htat you find you still have more. When you´re most tired, that´s when the adversary attacks you the hardest, telling you that ´You´re wrong. You don´t really know.´ If you don´t have a sure foundation of faith in Christ, you will fall.

2. You grow closer to God.

- If you turn to God in these times of trial you can grow closer than ever before. It depends on if you turn to Him or not. He´s always waiting. When it seems like you have nothing and you have nowhere to turn, when you want to give up, He is still there waiting for you. He is constant and never changes. As much as you love your friends and family, they won´t be there always; but He will. If you offer Him that broken heart with all your cares and worries, you will draw closer to Him and He will heal the hurt and help you become stronger.

3. You find out how strong you are and what you are capable of doing.

- Until you are stretched, how do you know how far you can stretch? Until you keep stretching further and further, how do you know your potential? We are called to do hard things, but we are promised that we will not be tested above our ability to resist. The Lord knows what we can do; we need to find out what we can do. The key is to look for His hand and His help. Somthing that will help is looking for the small everyday blessings and expressing gratitude for the tender mercies of the Lord. A grateful heart is a happy heart.

4. You treasure up the Word.

- We talk with our Heavenly Father through prayer, and he often talks with us through scripture. Elder Scott taught that memorized scriptures and hymns can be wondeful friends and counselors in times of difficulty. We are also promised many blessings from treasuring up the Word. In the very hour, you will be given that portion which shall be meted unto every man. You shall be able to teach with power and authority. You shall not be confounded before men. There are many more promises given and God does not lie. There is much counsel and consolation in the scriptures, again, it depends on if you turn to them or not.

5. What exactly is a broken heart and a contrite spirit.¨

 

And that was as far as I got, but I hope this helps you think some. I have to go, but I want you all to know that I love you and am grateful for all your support and love. Stay safe. Mom, please go to the doctor. Dad, please don´t stress. I love you sooooo much. I´ll talk to you all soon.

 

Love

Hermana Alvey

Hola!!!

 

Shoutouts: Happy Father´s Day!!!! Love you Dad

Happy Birthday Elaina!! You´re awesome

Happy Birthday Breeanna!! You´re old!!! Nah you´re still cute ^_^

 

 

So another week has gone by. I´m very glad to hear from you all. So you will be interested to know that I am in the same boat as you health wise. I can´t talk. ^_^ I have not been able to talk for two days. The doctor said that it´s just a virus and that it should be done in another 3 or 5 days. It´s really hard to be a missionary when you can´t talk. We´re doing ok, though. Got a blessing yesterday so we will see what happens.

 

We just had zone conference and we got mail. Thank you sooooo much for the package. I have been using the thermals already and I took out about 50 dollars from my account today. I got sick almost as soon as I got the package, so sadly we have not eaten the chocolate yet. We are very excited for it. We also have all the ingredients for texas sheet cake and Hermana Milmont has never had it. I hope she likes it. It is getting cold here (except for today) and I am looking for a good pair of gloves. My ski gloves are not practical for up north. They would be good in the south, but here, they aren´t the best. I´ll keep my eyes open.

 

Transfers are coming up in two weeks and we have no idea what will be happening. This transfer is a real wild card. Hermana Milmont has 3 transfers left but has already been here for 3 transfers. The thing is, I´ve already been here for five. We are interested to see what happens. Everytime we bring up tranfers, though, everyone (investigators and memebers) say that they will pray so that we don´t leave. ^_^ I really do love this area and the people in it. It´s hard, though. There isn´t really any new news. We still have two investigators and they are still waiting for legal things to be worked through. They are progressing, though, and we are very excited to be working with them. Our leaders are working hard to help the missionary work here and we are focusing our efforts on working with them.

 

Right now, we are supposed to almost be in Helaman. I can´t believe how close and how far the temple opening is. I´m very excited to see if we get to go at any point. I also can´t believe how time works on the mission. I have come so far as a person and as a missionary, but still have a veeeeeeeeery long way to go. I reach my halfway mark in two weeks (end of transfer) and I still remember my first week in the field very clearly. It´s been another rough week, but I wouldn´t trade the mission for the world. I need to push even harder every day and I am working towards worthy goals. I have not been reading in my spanish Book of Mormon, or writing in my journal every day, but I am keeping up with the mission goal of reading in the Book of Mormon. I´m happy to hear that you all are reading too. I hope that you are reading together. How are your goals coming?

 

So the family history meeting was just an introduction for the couple and I will be showing them how to use the different computer systems the 23rd of June. I am very grateful for the Holy Ghost. He truly brings all things into remembrance in the very moment that you need them. I´m still going to do my part, but I know that he will help me. I´ve been thinking of all the stories and recipes I have not received from Grandma Houston and Grandma Alvey because I failed to take the time. Please take the time for yourselves. I love family history, not just geneaology. It´s more than dates, it´s stories and traditions. I would encourage everyone to seek for the spirit of Elijah. It has made such a difference in the lives of the members here who have received it. With the temple opening soon, the spirit is even stronger.

 

Oh, Anthony, I believe that you are going to the same mission as my friend Amanda Blake. She is in the Atlanta, Georgia english speaking mission. I really am so excited for you. Enjoy every moment, because it all counts and will enrich your life forever.

 

Questions:

I still haven´t heard if you´ve received some of my questions (because occassionally I put them in seperate emails) so I will write them really fast.

Do you know if Larry Bagley has a cousin that lives in Wyoming?

Were you able to send the other package? If not, can you send the Conference edition of the ensign from this last conference?

Did you hear from Gonzalo?

How did the graduation go?

Can you put the pictures from my church history tour onto a disc? I don´t know where the card is and I was hoping for a backup in case the computer crashes.

 

 

Thank you soooo much for updating me on the family. I am very grateful to receive letters from all of you. I love you all so much and I´ll talk to you soon. (Sorry for all the questions.)

 

Love

Hermana Alvey

Congratulations Anthony!!!

I´m so excited that you got your call. It must have been a wonderful experience opening it. Which mission in Atlanta? It´s so amazing. You´ll do great!

 

I am a little distracted right now because I am remembering how to do family history on the internet. A couple was just called to be the family history consultants and asked for my help. I am so excited to use some skills I have acquired before the mission here.

 

Thank you all so much for your support and love. I know that you pray for me and those prayers help me a lot. Last week was another hard week, but we have a lot of hope for this next week. Our two progressing investigators right now are Juan Carlo and Mario. They are still having the same legal difficulties, but we are teaching them all we can to fortify and grow their testimonies in the mean time. Juan Carlo finally came to church!!! So funny story with that. We passed by their house saturday to see how they were doing and if they were coming to church. Juan Carlo was at work and said that he had to work sunday too. We were so disappointed, but we told Erika that we would stop by to walk her to church. We got to their house sunday and nobody answered, and nobody answered, and again nobody answered. We were so worried, but finally someone answered the door and guess what. It was Juan Carlo!!! Turns out that his boss told him last minute that he didn´t need to work. He got home and 2am and still came to church with us. Everyone flocked to talk with them and it was a wonderful experience. Next week, we are aiming to be at church before the sacrament. ^_^

 

I also found someone who knows how to tat!! I know that´s a little thing, but you make the little things big and it makes your day. We are working really hard and finishing planning before 9:30 so that we can write in our journals. That is one of my main goals. I have not done too good again with language study. This is a new week and we will do better. How are your goals coming?

 

Well, I have to go, but know that I love you and will talk with you soon.

 

Love

Jessica

Gift from a member ^_^