Probably going to die in Argentina

Hi everyone!

Yes, I'm staying in Palermo with mi hijita, Hermana Ruiz! I'm stoked to stay with her but don't ask me if im excited to stay in Palermo. I mean I love this area but I have no idea what to do here for 6 more weeks. But when it comes to the point where its time for me to leave, it's going to break my heart. 

This was a weird week. I honestly don't have much to say when it comes to la obra misional... Just that Andres FINALLY got baptized on Thursday! After a TON of drama and confusion, he was finally baptized and it was the sweetest thing. I love that kid and that family. 

Then on Friday we got to travel for an hour to get shots for Gripe A. It was only a little uncomfortable with everyone together because the elders basically had to take off their shirts and the sisters had to show a little more skin than should be allowed in the mission, but in the end everyone had their lives saved and no ones going to die. There were only a couple missionaries who were terrified of shots (which honestly was a little funny. And sad).

Then that day after getting shots, we were given this liquid to put on all of our proselyting clothes to prefent dengue. After asking what it was, they told us it was venom. And if it gets on you, it will eat your skin. I was in the offices when all this stuff arrived to the mission and I watched President smack his hand to his head and say to himself "Im giving venom to a bunch of missionaries... What am I thinking".  We´re probably all going to die here. So yesteray we had to go take all of our clothes to the church where we hung them outside and sprayed venom. We only looked a little stupid dragging a suitcase around Buenos Aires but hey, it happens. We also had nothing to protect our eyes, so that explains my ridiculous outfit (see below). And then the elders who for some reason have no common sense when it come to saftey (see below.. again). Yesterday was supposed to be a normal day for working but we had to spend time cleaning the apartment for transfers, and then had to so the stuff with our clothes, so we had one appointment that lasted about 20 minutes. 

My attitude about the mission has changed so much. Honestly there are days (or weeks) where I would rather be anywhere else. And then there are moments that show me just how lucky I am to be here. I am so incredibly happy. It's hard and it breaks you little by little, but it is the biggest blessing. Seeing the little blessings that the Lord leaves us throughout the day just show me that He really is watching out for us. When we´re frustrated or don't know where to go and he puts someone who´s super kind in our path, or giving us a family in the ward that makes us feel like we´re at home, or having a super cool or spiritual interaction with someone, or even the moments where I'm crying from laughing so hard with my companion.. I just can't imagine my life without the mission. It has shown and taught me so much. I love the mission.

I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Prestwich

1. Saftey first

2. Oh elders. 

3. Andres! 

4. President y Herman Ayre



5.  Oregon!

Sorry in advance for this email....

I'm gonna start off apologizing. I really try to be honest in my emails, and honestly, this was one of the hardest weeks in my mission. And if you asked me why, I probably couldn't tell you. 

This week we finished up the teaching of Andres. Our 10 year old investigator. He is the sweetest kid, and his family is the most amazing. I honestly have never loved a family so much so fast. He is so funny. He tries so hard to remember what we teach, but he just can't really do it. For example.. we taught about tithing the other day. Literally RIGHT after we finished teaching we go, "okay, Andres, what is ´tithing´?" and he goes "um... God?" ....yep. But he had his baptisimal interview and passed. The elders came to his house to do the interview and as we were finishing up, we were talking about how his dad was going to baptize him, and his mom goes, "we can't find his records. We don't know if his dad is a member" We kinda just stared at her, wondering why she waited until the night before to tell us. So we called one of the members of the bishopric. He was heading home from the temple, and decided to yell at us for not knowing before hand and a lot of other stuff that didn't make any sense, and hung up on us. Not sure what happened in the temple to put him in that mood but. Either way, whether his dad is a member or not, it has nothing to do with the baptism of Andres. It was like the last thing we needed on top of a hard week. 

Anyway, Sunday. Mar was confirmed! It was so cool to watch her and to think that 4 weeks ago she was unhappy and had no idea what to do in her life. And then to watch her be comfirmed as a member of the church was amazing. 

The member of the bishopric came up to us at church and said they found the records of his dad, but we´re still going to postpone the baptism. And then decided to continue to blame us for the confusion and then to stab the knife even farther, say "I know your purpose is to baptize, but you´re not doing your job well enough. Why do you think Jose Antonio isn't coming to church anymore". That was kinda like the last thing I needed to her, especially because he doesn't actually know the situation. 

But ANYWAY. I'm done complaining I think. So Andres will be baptized this Thursday. We´re going to figure out how to improve the communication between our leaders, and just try to make this week a better one. 

Yesterday, we were super discouraged. Our plans fell through for like the millionth time that week, and we just were pretty much exhausted. So we prayed, literally said "look, we honestly dont want to work anymore, but we´re going to. So please help us" and God led us to a less active/convert who hasn't accepted the missionaries in about half a year. We walked in, and about 10 minutes later her brother, another less active, and two friends, one a less active and one a non member, walked in. Her brother I had only met once, but he quickly became one of my favorite people her in Palermo. But we just talked, go to know each other, and shared a scripture. Then shared testimonies and that lesson was one of the most spiritual lessons I have had in my mission. 

Then we walked and walked and walked and got home probably the most tired I have been on my mission. 

It's interesting to look back at what happened at the end of the day or the end of the week. This week was one of the hardest, but we worked hard and reached most of our goals. When we were ready to give up, God blessed us with the lesson we needed to keep us going. It's just little ways that God blesses us that really shows He´s aware and is helping us. 

I'm a little bit exhausted, and have been somewhat really homesick this week. I don't really miss my family or home that much, so I guess homesick might have been the wrong word. But it was really hard to focus on the work. I'm not sure why. 

But let's see. Today really isn't P-day. We´re getting 2 hours to write emails and then we have to work. Our p-day is swtiched to wednesday because it's a holiday here. The scariest thing that happened this week.. We saw a couple people fighting in the street. I have seen fights at school and stuff, but nothing like this. They were just covered in blood and we had to walk right by them. It was probably the first time I was actually scared in the mission. And even scarier when one of the guys tried to run away and ended up running right towards us (and scarier that he made eye contact with me as he was charging us). It's probably nothing as there are elders here who have seen people kill other people, but for capital, I was terrified. 

Anyway, this is about all I have to say. Again, sorry that it was boring and I complained, but, that's life. 

Love you all!

Love,

Hermana Prestwich

Andres and his little sister Maria :) 

16 May 2016

Going to be completely honest.. I can't really remember what happened this week. It went by sooo fast.

I think I'm just gonna bullet point the highlights because I don't really remember much.

A ver..

- Friday we did divisions. I stayed in Palermo with none other than... Hermana Sanchez! My trainer. hahah It was interesting to be back together again after all the things that happened in Escobar, but it was actually awesome. She really is such an amazing missionary. We got a message from Mar, who was set to be baptized on Sunday, telling us she had a ton of doubts and fears. So we dropped our plans and ran over to meet her at the church. We just listened and shared testimonies and helped her. She left there feeling way better. She had her baptisimal interview on Saturday and passed!

- Sunday a whole bunch of things happened. I was asked to speak on missionary work in sacrament meeting. Now I absolutely LOVE giving talks.. but in Spanish, not so much. But I think it went fine. I spoke on the importance of members in missionary work. And what we did was as I was speaking, Hermana Ruiz passed little papers out to all the members, and I invited them to, as I was speaking, think of family or friends that might need the gospel. After the meeting we got a whole bunch of references. It was awesome :)

-Then we got to go eat Brazilian food with a new couple in our ward. They don't speak a ton of Spanish, but the also invited someone who speaks Portuguese, Spanish, and English. It was again, one of the funnest lunches I´ve ever been to on my mission, and some of the best food I've ever had. It's pretty sad when Argentine´s ask me what my favorite food in Argentina is and I tell them Peruvian food, and now Brazilian food. Oops. 

-Then at 6 that night, Mar got baptized! It was one of the most amazing things. I have never met someone so prepared before. She was so ready and so willing to give up so many things to be baptized. I don't know if I´ve ever given any basckground on her so let me do that real fast. 

   Mar is 26, and the girlfriend of a member of the ward that shares the building with us. She is (was, haha) SUPER catholic her whole life. She did everything, and even taught in the church. She then strayed a little and made some not-so-good choices in her life. Then she met Elias, and he introduced her to the church. Eventually she decided to come, and that's when it all hit her. She felt so happy and welcomed.There were things as we were teaching her that she didn't love, like the no tatoos and piercings and all that.. but she just said "ya fue" which in a rough translation I take to be "I'm over it" we were laughing so hard. But really, Mar has changed my life. She has become such a good friend in these 3 weeks we´ve known her. We gained confidence so fast. It's more like friends than missionary/investigator. We´re laughing all the time. She´s the best. 

Her baptism was amazing. She was incredibly happy after. It was super stressful, as is every baptism, but eventually she did it and left glowing. 

The time has started to fly by. I only have 8 months in the mission but I know one day I'm going to open my eyes and I'll have 18. I know I say this all the time but I'm so thankful for this opportunity. Especially to meet people like Mar, who have changed my life. To see someone go through the repentance process and change completely. To realize that we, as missionaries, aren't doing anything on our own. To realize that we are literally just tools in God´s hands as He uses us to bring about His work. 

I love you all so much! Thank you for all the emails and support! ¡Que tengan una buena semana!

Love,

Hermana Prestwich 

Mar's baptism

Casa Rosada

El Obelisco 

Brazilian food :))))

Stress and Miracles

I know I literally just last week said that I wasn't going to start my emails off with "this week was crazy.." but... This week was crazy. 

Now that I´ve gotten that out of the way, I´ll start. 

This week we were super super busy with mettings and traveling and a temple trip and we had like no time to work in our area. So that was super stressful. We got to our area around 4 or 5 every day, and then had those 4 hours or so to work. Remember the girlfriend that showed up to church on Sunday? Yeah, so her name is Mar. We met with her Monday night, and she accepted a baptisimal date! She´s set to get baptized this Sunday :) She´s super catholic, but really loves how she feels in the church, and her testimony is growing every time we meet. She still has some doubts because changing a religion is a big decision, but she´s ready :) She´s so awesome. She´s more like our friend than our investigator. Our lessons are just filled with laughing and stories and jokes. She´s great. :)

Then by Saturday, we were a little stressed about how our numbers were crappy, our members kept canceling, and we had no idea what to do. We had had a new family that just moved into our ward in our plans all week but never had time to go. They weren't in our plans Saturday, and we were on the complete opposite side of the area, but we felt we should go. So we get over there, find them, and sit down with them. The mom said they got baptized 3 years ago in Peru. I asked if everyone in her family was a member, and she said just her and her husband. I asked her son how old he was and he said 10... So obviously you know what we did. We shared a scripture, then talked to her son, names Andres, about baptism. We invited him to be baptize and he said yes "because he loves church". It was so cute. So he´s set to be baptized on the 22nd :) As we were leaving the mom said "I dont know how you guys did that. He´s said no for 2 years" It really is all on the Lords timing. 

Friday we had the opportunity to go to the temple. President goes home in about 6 weeks so for our last zone conference with him, we got to go to the temple. Even though we had to wake up at 3 in the morning to do it, it was so worth it. I love the temple and the opportunity we have to go on our missions is super awesome. To feel that peace and feel so close to Heavenly Father is just incredible. 

Then on Saturday, the general Young Men's President and Sunday School President came to visit us. It was just for the missionaries in my mission that are in Capital, so it was a pretty small group. Maybe of about 100 missionaries. Then they split us up into 2 groups and we had to teach them. It was super cool and I learned a ton about how to improve as a missionary, person, in my area, and with my investagators.

Then Sunday, I got to skype with my family :) It was awesome. It was hard to hang up and all, but about 10 minutes later I got over it (no offense fam, love you) But honestly as much as I miss them and miss home sometimes, I'm super thankful for the time I have to dedicate everthing to the Lord and serve Him with everything I have. 

Today I hit 8 months. Almost halfway done. Not sure how but.. here we are. 

I love you all! Hope you had a fantastic Mother´s Day! 

Love,

Hermana Prestwich 

fotos:

 Sisters from my zone at the temple :)

 Me and Hermana Doughty :) 

3 generations

Me and Herman Chichia. She is like my best friend here.  

JWs, Jews and Mormons

I´m officially done saying "this week was crazy" because I'm pretty sure I've said that every week... because every week was crazy. So im just going to start writing.. 

Normally I write my subject line and then completely forget to explain it haha pathetic. But this time I'm going to! So Argentina is like infested with Jews. It's actually kind of awesome. Haha They have temples on like every corner. And there are apartment buildings where only Jews can live. And they´re very much practicing Jews, with their clothes and culture and everything. So many that the mall has a "McDonalds Kosher". No joke. My goal is to baptize one. 

Second, there are a crap ton of Jehova´s Witnesses. But like, a ton. On Saturday, we had a whole list of people we were going to visit. Less Actives, Old investigators, and people who spoke to the missionaries once but maybe never had a follow up. We were SET on finding on Saturday. So we go get our member, and start on our way. THERE WERE SO MANY JWs. No joke. We would get to a house on our list, and they would already be there. We were literally racing. Like passing each other on the street. Then my comp decided to contact someone on the street and he's all "yeah I know a little about your religion! Something about Joseph Smith. I'm actually really interested, do you think we could meet up on Tuesday here to talk?" It was a little weird. So I was all "what church do you go to?" And he said he was a Jehova's Witness. Just then his comps came up and he was all, I'd love to discuss the gospel and change opinions. So, Tuesday?" We were all "yeah, okay see ya then bye"

We're not going.

So by Saturday at 9:00, we were a little sad that we hadn't found anyone. I prayed so so so hard that God would give us a miracle like He has before and that someone would be waiting for us in church. I remember waking up and I thinking, "There's going to be someone there today." So, we show up, and... no one. But I still had faith. We get to sacrament meeting, which is last, and someone calls us over. He introduced us to his girlfriend, and said she's interested. So, we set an appointment and we're meeting with her tonight. God really does bless his missionaries. 

I'm sure I've said this before, but I've seen the hand of God in the work more than ever in this area. But there have also been times where I´ve doubted. What I've noticed is God pushes us until we can't go any farther. Where we walk and walk and get rejected over and over again for weeks, and then when we´re exhausted, and can't go any farther, he blesses us with a miracle. I´m so thankful for this opportunity to be able to see the hand of God so clearly and so often, and in the simplest or biggest ways. To be able to teach God's children, and in return be taught by them. 

My comp is amazing. I dont have to teach her anything. She´s teaching me. She has so much faith and diligence and is so ready to learn and trust in God.

I can't believe this Sunday we´re already skyping again! I remember ending the call on Christmas and thinking that 5 months is an eternity and I'll probably be dead before that comes. But, here it is! Crazy. 

I love you all so much! I hope you have an amazing week!

Love,

Hermana Prestwich 

Me and mi hijita :) 

Favorite Zone from last transfer



One of the best/funnest lunches I have been to!