Update #52

This week has been super chill but at the same time, it has been super hectic. I just love my area. Seriously. I am super spoiled here hahaha! For this reason I feel like I'm going to get transferred haha! I am enjoying my time with my companion and we are also working hard helping our brothers los argentinos in here. One of our investigators has been progressing so much. He read gospels principles so that he can participate more in class. LIKEWUT? Hes a rock star! One of our part member family too has been a little more receptive and slowly but surely things has been a bit more promising. So anyway, my district has been working a lot about our spiritual power. Like we promised ourselves that we will keep focusing about searching, teaching, and baptizing. So we said that we are not going to think about how many weeks left we have or marriage. HAHAHA! (Half of my district are on our way home and half are already engaged. welp there we go hahaha!) Sooooooo..... please please please please! I don't want to get trunky emails! hahahha! 

I love you all byeeee!

We went to Tafi del Valle. It's super gorgeous in there. Stress-free zone. Just what I needed.

My companion and I slept in our porch. It was amazing. Though we were freezing cold later on that night. It. Was. Worth. It.

We ate Domino's Pizzas. This family lived at California back then and they learned how to make bbq chicken. I was heaven.

Dont start the countdown.

Miracles that I saw this week: 

1. My companion and I got lost. Like so lost that we were outside of our area and in this sketchy place. We were trying to visit this family that lives outside of our area (long story) and we took the bus to get there. We were so proud that we got on the right bus but we failed at getting off in the right place. Its hilarious to think about it right now but we were so scared! But anyway, we are so blessed because there were people who helped us get on the right bus and the right track. The bus dude even helped us where to go. He dropped us where we should've been! Prayers are powerful, people. You just gotta have some faith and ask!

 

2. President`s revelations! Did I even mention how awesome my companion is? Well then, she is. She's just what I needed the most in my stressful season of the missionary life. I just got used to being the psychologist of the hermanas in my zone that I didn't even realize that I have been keeping a bottle inside me. Hermana Smith helped me a lot to just be truly happy and calm. Way to go President Chaparro!

 

3. The Sacrament. Well funny story. My companion and I live at the 8th floor. There were flyers at the ground floor where we can order delivery. So we did. Our food came exactly at 10:15 PM. We gotta sleep at 11 PM. So we ate like a whole bunch of fried potatoes and milanesas with green olives and melted cheese. It was awesome. But it was not awesome to wake up in the morning with a stomach ache and vomits (horrible image, I'm sorry. Rated PG please). But the next day was Sunday and we were like, noooo. NOOO! So we went to church sick. But right when we ate the bread and water, WOOOSH! We instantly got better. The power of the sacrament is legit! - sorry for my lack of vocabulary. I don't know how I can explain it even better hahaha! 

This week has been superb! My companion, Hermana Smith, is awesome. We were joking that we're like a married couple because we just gotta do everything together. (Its obvious since we have to stay together like companions, but you get what I am trying to say hahaha!) We just recently finished eating at this fancy place (fancy for Argentina) and my oh my it has been a while since I ate a good stake. Medium rare with melted cheese, bacon bits, and mushrooms. It was heaven. It was a bit awkward at first because I am just not used to eating at restaurants hahaha! But we just gotta treat ourselves sometimes, you know? 

At the mission office!

We made an Argentina t-shirts as a zone. It is wicked!

San Miguel Tucuman!

FOTOS THIS WEEK!

Sister Smiles :)

I do not know how I am still alive and full of energy. Miracles really do happen hahaha! Week 6 was just the most stressful, tiring, and wow. I am just happy that everything is done. 

Welp. Anyway, this is week 1 of our transfer. I have a new companion! Her name is Hermana Smith. Of course she's from Utah. I was joking that shes a direct descendant of Joseph Smith. It would be pretty cool if she is, right? I do not know her yet because shes going to arrive here in my area at night. The travel time is like 8 hours from her area to my area. Yup. We travel A LOT. But anyway, I am pretty nervous because I have to train her. Man, I just live training people. I talked to my mission President about it and I asked, "President, why do I always have companions like this? Not that I am whining. Lets get that straight. I just wanted to know, hahaha!" Then he said, "Because Hermana Garcia, you have the energy and the character to do so." Welp. There we go. Short and sweet. 

The members in my ward also have a nickname for me. La Hermana Sonrisa. Sister Smiles hahaha! Still living up to my nickname. SmileyPauline all the waaaaay!  

So anyway, this week was just so hectic. I wasn't in my area for almost the whole week because we were traveling to train other zones then have divisions with our sister missionaries. It was pretty tough. I felt so bad for our investigators because we haven't seen them at all! But yesterday we were able to see Jorge. Oh my. He is honestly the bestest. He started reading the Book of Mormon! He said that he liked reading the testimony of Joseph Smith! We left him to read Enos. I know that he will like this chapter too :) Also man, he is so different now. Different from the Jorge that we know when we first started teaching him. But not only him, his whole family too! His mom looked so healthy! All of them just have a brighter light. Right now we are working so that Jorge can be a worthy Priesthood holder :) 

Hmmm.... what else can I say? OH! Well, I have been eating Locro the whole week. Its a typical food here in Argentina. But more than likely Tucuman in general. I LOVE LOCRO. Its a weird kind of dish because it has cow stomach and all the fun. Its like Kare-Kare in tagalog. Like squash soup but with the goodies of cow organs ;) Sounds great, right? I am not even being sarcastic. I love it so much. We had an activity in church during 9th of July and the whole ward cooked this big bucket of Locro (I will send photos next week!). Then Hermana Garcia sin verguenza, (my other nickname of the ward hahaha) I brought my own tupperware so that I can bring some at home hahahah! My companion doesn't really like Locro so just more food for meee hahahaha! 

Even though this week has been hectic, it was pretty fun. The zone leaders in my areas were like, Hermanas are you even working in your area? What do you do in your life? LIKEWHUT. Hahaha :) 

I love you all. The mission life is great! So grateful for this opportunity! Pray for my new companion! We are in a big area and shes blonde so... well.... we are probably going to get robbed soon haha! KIDDING MOM! All is well in tierra de Gadianton!

Weekly Letter #2

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICAAA! 

Send me pictures on what you guys did this 4th of July! I miss the summer there in Philly! I want to play in the park! hahaha We are freeeeezing cold in here. It has been raining and the weather is just super depressing. I catched a bit of a cold but no worries! I have my inhaler, nebulizer, and medicine to keep me company! 

Well this week we have seen miracles. We were able to baptize 2 souls, Estefania and Jorge! It was a struggle to get Estefania to be baptized. Kasi meron syang epilepsy. Yung memory retention nya eh hindi masyadong magaling. Its easy for her to forget things. Then she was also not keeping one of the commandments so we were battling to keep her on shape to get baptized. But all is well in Zion kasi now shes able to repent and really live the gospel. Si Jorge naman, sya na lang yung nag-iisa na hindi member sa family nya. He didn't even want to get baptized or even think about getting baptized. Pero a month ago we had this lesson so spiritual with him. His mom cried and he felt to spirit so strong! Then he accepted the baptismal date! He attended church without fail for 3 weeks and he even participated in Priesthood meetings. Did I mention that he lives far from church and has to walk to church? YUP. Hes that awesome. His mom is also sick. Like REALLY sick. Pero his mom wants him to get baptized so that they can be together forever like a happy family. so his mom didn't mind the cold weather nor the distance so that his son can be baptized. We asked the Elders to give her a blessing. MAN! Priesthood blessings are legit! It worked to well and she was able to do the things that she used to do! She also can stand alone without help! This family is just so awesome. They invited us to eat with them the day of his baptism and they cooked this super meal to us. It was a humble meal but we can feel that every ingredient and steps were made with love. 

It was just so great to see Estefania and Jorge grow. It wasnt easy. But it was worth it. I feel like they are one of my kids hahaha! Kasi I took care of them, I sacrificed so many things to keep them going, I prayed for them, I cried for them. Man oh man. Missionary work is just so awesome and humbling.

Anyway, this week is the last week of transfers. I will be able to have a new companion. Id still have to talk to president about ending in October tomorrow. We are rushing things right now because we have to travel to the mission office and have a reunion for the leaders. This week is just going to be crazy because of 9th of July. The independence of Argentina! My area will be so crazy because the members said that roads will be blocked. The president of Argentina will be here and even the King of Spain. Like what? Spain has a King? And there are still kings reining? WHUUUUT? But anyway, we just know that it will be crazy. Ill also have the train 3 zones, have divisions with 2 companionship, then organized an activity. yay...... Pray for my soul hahahaha! This week will be hectic! 

I love you all! Keep being awesome! 

Weird question. What do you guys want for me to bring back home? Recuerdos! I cant remember what this word means in English! I AM FORGETTING EVERYTHING! 

PS- The struggle is real. I am seriously an argentine right now.

Weekly Letter #1

Welp. I was praying and meditating. Maybe I really should come back home in October. Its a bit hard to think about it kasi maybe I was just trying to run away from my responsibilities back home hahaha! Kasi the mission life we are only focusing on the problems and life of others. We are fully focused on the job that we are forgetting about our own needs and our own life. Hahaha to be honest kasi I am scared about what is waiting for me back home. Alam ko naman that you guys are there and all. Parang mahirap lang maka-adapt ulit sa surroundings. Ive heard about it with other returned missionaries hahaha. Pero I will have to talk about my mission president about everything. But more than likely I am going back home in October. 2 more transfers and I am back home!

Pho... BECAUSE I MISS EATING PHOO!!

We had a district activity where we wanted to visit this tourist spot in our area. Pero sarado kasi holy day!! HAHAHA! So naghanap nalang kami ng magagawa. May park so nagpicturan nalang kami. We gotta make the best of the moment diba? Hahahaha! 

Update #46

No Time For Meee

I have no time to write. I need to improve on this! Its horrible because i have to report to the president about the hermanas under my care. SO I DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH TIME FOR ALL! I'M SORRY! I WILL IMPROVE!

I LOVE YOU ALL BYEE!!

OH AND IN 2 WEEKS I CAN TALK TO YA'LL IN SKYPE!

Great power comes great responsibility. Or something like that...

Well. The day has come to pass. The day that I have been dreading. I was hoping that I am not going to get this calling in the mission but...well... Heavenly Father has bigger plans for me.... I am a sister training leader. 

I was super happy in my area with all of the members starting to work with us. We have been working a lot with future Elders in the branch and we've been getting great feedback from them. Some members too have been teaching with us (some that almost never accompany the missionaries). A lot of members has been giving us referrals too! They have been filling up our lunch calendar too. Like ALL DAYS OF THE WEEK WERE FILLED. Never in my missionary life have I seen members so excited to fill our lunch calendar. It was a great progress. We also talked to our bishop about the things that we wanted to implement in our ward. Like ward family home evening at least 2 times a month, train the home visiting teachers, and work with the presidents of each organizations about visiting that people who didn't attended church every Sunday. It was super great. We have been working a lot and we have been seeing a lot of progress and growth. We have been seeing miracles in our area. My daughter too has been improving so much with leading the area with me and finding new people to teach (because we pretty much started a new in this area with no knowledge of who are the members and the investigators) Its just a perfect area for me. But then my mission president called me and told me that I have to go to Tucuman and become a sister training leader..... my heart got crushed! I only had one transfer in this area and wooosh! BYE BYE HERMANA GARCIA! The stake president told me that I already finished the job that Heavenly Father sent me for. And now I am off to do another errand. Hurts but I know that they are people waiting for me. 

To be honest, I don't even know what I have to do now haha. But I know that I have my companion to help me. I also have time and more opportunities to learn. I also know that God will always be with me so I am not tooooo scared. But please pray for me! hahaha! 

I hope everything is going well over there! I am super stoked for the Philly Temple! Love you all byeee!

Update #43

Happy one year to meee! Can you even believe it?! I have a year outside of my house! Away from my family! And I am alive! At times I still wake up like I am in a dream. Like seriously? I am in Argentina? It feels likes I am just a couple of months in the mission. It doesn't feel like a year at all! A family threw this surprise party and let me tell you, it was fabulous! They baked a cake, they made asado, and also ice cream. LOTS OF ICE CREAM! I was rolling back to our apartment when we finished our lunch. It was that awesome. Man, I am just super blessed. I am super happy. But I gotta share this happiness to everyone, you know! So we went out and serched for souls! And with my hyper attitude, we were able to find a couple of people to teach. I realized that if you have a positive perspective on things, positive things will happen as well. Sure there are things that will not turn out well but press forward, do what you can, and God will always help us to do the rest.

But anyway, things has been pretty difficult in this side of the world. We have been battling to find people to teach. But we have been working a lot with the members and its has been going pretty well :) Working with members are super fun too because I can  also see their testimony grow as they share what they learned :)

We also went to Purmamarca last week. It was amazing in there. The hills have like 7 different colors. Ooh creaciones del Señor! But that also meant that I got burned pretty well. So hello again dark hermana garcia! hahaha

I lalalove the conference too! I particularly love Elder Hollands talk (like always haha) and Elder Christoperson, oh and President Monson too!

Tell me what you loved about the conference!

Update #42

I am doing fine! I just don't have too much time to write to all of you because I am traveling to the mission office to drop off my companion. She broke the ligament on her knee and she has to take like 2 operations. So anyway, I am having a new companion. A mini missionary! I am training all over again. Yikes! haha! But anyway pray for my companion so that she will be able to come back home safely! I love all of you! TOODLES!

JU...JU....JUUUUUY!!!

I don't have too much time since I was in the bus the whole time to travel to my new area. Jujuy is beautiful. For now I don't have any pictures but I will send some next week! So keep in touch! Also for the first time I was able to eat tofu! Fried tofu! Its super rare in here since Argentina is well known for its meat and all. But now I was able to finally eat TOFU! It was golden. I loved it. I haven't been eating pretty healthy in the mish but this Hermana who fed us wants us up and working so healthy food all the way with her! Love it! 

Yup. I got transferred. I am now away from my daughter. She is off on her own to put into practice what we have been studying during our training sesh. Hopefully I was able to help her adapt to the mission field and teach fearlessly. My compañera right now is Hermana Johnson. Shes from Chile and I am her stepmom. Well hopefully things will go well with us in here. I don't want to be a wicked stepmom!

Keep sharing your testimony. Remember who you are!

Hermana Garcia 

Why did the Lamanites cannot go on a picnic?

Hilarious thing that I encountered this week. 

I found Thor and Loki!!!! 

Naglalakad kami papunta sa church when I saw these two dudes! Nakakatuwa kasi parang si Thor at Loki lang din! Pero medyo malnourished sila hahahaha! 

Mushrooms can grow out of poop. 

My greatest scientific discovery this week was finding out that mushroom really can grow out of anything, even poop! 

A little piece of Heaven. 

Merong mga amish dito na galing sa Pennsylvania. Pero taga Lancaster sila. I am  super close friends with them. They gave me free ice cream! Parang Mr. Softy lang yung type. I forgot to take a photo with them, but I will soon and Ill send it to you! Pero more than anything, they have things from the states! BEEF JERKY. I repeat, THEY HAVE BEEF JERKY! And skittles too but I was more in love with beek jerky. I felt like I was back at home again. It was great. 

But anyway, tell me something about you!  Make a list of what we have to do when I get back home! Movies to watch. Food to eat. Nakooo!! Ang dami ko ng alam lutuin dito. Im super excited for you to try all of it! 

I miss you a lot

I am Alive!

I'm okay! I'm alive! All is well in Zion. I feel a little bad because it has been a good amount of time that I haven't wrote to all of you! Also my fans back home who are reading this right now. HAHAHA! Kidding! But anyway, life as a missionary has been great. There are up days and down days. Being an entrenadora has its difficult and happy days as well. Sometimes I wonder if I am helping her learn more and adapt to the missionary life. But to be really honest, shes helping me a whole lot (more than I am helping her, I think haha)! She have so many Christ-like attributes and shes helping me develop mines. I love being a trainer! But anyway, what has been going on in the life of Hermana Garcia in Argentina? A LOT!

So right now I am halfway through my mission. Though I feel like it was just a week ago when I landed here. I could still remember just smiling and saying "Si" to everyone that I talk to. Now they just cant make me shut up! hahahaha It has been pretty funny as well because right now during language study with my compañera, I have to speak English to her. Its pretty difficult because I have been saying como, pero, porque, and other small words in Spanish. I am also forgetting how to say something in English. The gift of tongues is legit.

But more than anything, I am learning so many things about the Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ. I am able to learn and grow too by sharing my testimony and helping my brothers and sisters here gain knowledge about Heavenly Father´s plan for us. It has been a pretty good battle against the world but with diligently seeking, strong faith, and confidence in our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, everything is possible. I know that its a bit like a broken record that's saying the same thing over and over again but its true. I experienced it myself and I am happy that I had the courage to go out here and help God build his kingdom here in Argentina. There are a lot more things to do, but little by little, things are starting.

One of the things that I miss the most would probably attending the temple. I am super stoked for the Philly Temple! Coming soon! Send me pictures! I am took for granted going to the temple when I was still there back home. People in my branch had to travel 18 hours by bus to get to the temple! They are our modern Pioneers! They sacrifice so many things too because they have to stay in Buenos Aires for a week! That's a lot of money and time spent. But what I liked so much about it is that one member told me, "We can gain the money again from the help and blessings of our Heavenly Father. We are not too concerned about that." They have such great faith and confidence! Such a great example to me! I always get choked up talking about temples. But I miss going to the temple so bad. And right now I have a temple like 10 minutes away from my house in Philly! What a great blessing and privilege that we have!

So I invite all of you to count your blessings and serve our brothers and sisters who didn't have the opportunity to receive the gospel here on Earth! Keep sharing your testimony, I love you all!

With all the love that I can give,
Hermana Garcia

Update #38 - Just pictures so far

Update #37

Update #36

Update #35