Thrasher, Evelyn T

This week had a lot of lasts. Last pday, last district council, last interview, last time saying the first vision in a lesson, last comp inventory haha. First and hopefully last time a crackhead grabs my hand and kisses it in the middle of a crosswalk in Rosario.      After 18 months of service, I can say it wasn't easy but it was so worth it. All the hard things of a mission can't even come close to comparing with the absolute joy that comes from being a representative of Jesus Christ.      I'm grateful for the people I met in Oregon and Argentina, including members, companions, leaders, investigators, and random contacts. Each of them taught me something and changed my life in some way.     I'm grateful for the lessons I learned while serving my mission, like how to love and be loved. How to fully depend on the Lord. How to pray with sincerity. How to work harder than I thought possible.     I'm grateful for the way my testimony has gr...

This week was SO full.      We had a zone council to help the missionaries know how to better help their friends progress in the gospel. I gotta train them on what steps they need to take to help their friends who have a date to be baptized, and it was so fun haha.     Unfortunately, that day Hnermana Neuffer also got bit by the meanest dog I've seen on my mission. It drew a little blood but she was mostly just sad that it broke her favorite bead bracelet.... rip.     We visited some of my favorite people this week, including Tamara, Olga, Mario, Maricel, and more. When we went to visit Olga she was busy making homemade pasta, then invited us in to see the process. Long story short, we left with a half kilo of freshly made pasta. That's a Christmas miracle.     Mundial fever is still in full swing. Everywhere you go it's blue and white. Messi's face is plastered on EVERYTHING. I mean billboards, t-shirts, graffiti, bags of sand, posters, bott...

Argentina is simply the best.     We have permission to watch the world cup with members, so this Saturday I was sitting at the Gamboa's table, sipping my terere, and yelling at the TV with an Argentina flag draped around my shoulders. I never really liked futbol before, but I understand it now.      Plus, since Messi is from Rosario, the people here are going CRAZY. I'm in a little town on the outskirts of Rosario, but we go into the city at least 4 times a week and the people are just going wild. I love it so much. I did buy a jersey and snapped a picture of his childhood home. No shame.     Even though it's hotter than hot and our pensión is literally full of cucarachas, I have such a love for Argentina. I have been working on developing charity this transfer and I think it is paying off, which I love but also hate because it's making it harder to think about leaving.     This week, focusing on gratitude really helped me keep working hard....

I said it was hot last week. I was kidding. THIS week was hot. We had a couple 98 degree days. Throw in about 5 million mosquitos, 80% humidity, and then go walking for 5 hours. But actually, it's not awful, The watch tan line makes it all worth it. I MET MY MTC COMP! Hna Stokes had to come into the Rosario mission from the Santa Fe mission to do visa paperwork in the government office here and I happened to be in the church building 5 blocks away from the bus terminal, so we got to meet in person for the first time. It was so weird. She's real haha!  We also had a zone conference, exchanges with the hermanas from Echesortu, and met a lot of new friends. We had a video call lesson with our torta frita man from last week... We were a little apprehensive when he answered the call without a shirt on, but felt a little better when he stood up to put on some sweatpants. Franco is pretty interesting to say the least.  At the zone conference, I had the opportunity to b...