68 + 69: Country Roads... Take Me Home...

The last two weeks brings us to a total of 2 zone conferences, 2 district councils, 5 exchanges, 1 power outage, and about 14 bowls of froot loops.

 

 

This week I got to go back to my roots and do an exchange with the STLs in my home town: Venado Tuerto!! My first area in Argentina!! It was so fun, we got to eat ice cream at the best place in the town, walk down familiar streets, and visit the FAMILIA LOCA. Those kids are still crazy, Brian is still trying to quit smoking, and Emilia is preparing herself to be baptized this week yay! Ahhhh I just have such a love for that pueblo and it was so good to go back and see it all again. For some reason, going there made me realize how much I have grown as a missionary. I just knew I'm not the same person I was when I was there last.

 

 

The other exchanges were a lot of fun too! I got to see how other zones in the mission are doing and what challenges they each face. It has been really cool to see why the Lord puts certain companions together in certain areas or zones or with a specific district. It has strengthened my testimony that God really does have a plan and that we are exactly where He needs us to be.

 

 

We also got to participate in a MINI MTC!! Basically, all the youth from the area came together to do a "day in the life of a missionary" and all the missionaries came to teach them things about missionary life. At the end of it, us and the APs got to take groups of youth out to street contact and knock doors with us and it was SO FUN!!! I have such a love for the girls I got to know. They opened up to us about the things they are going through in their lives and in their families and I just felt God's love for them so strongly. I'm glad I got to be there for them and remind them that they are beloved daughters of God.

 

 

As a final update, I just want to talk about Mariano. He is amazing. I want to tell his whole story so that I have it written down somewhere. So sorry if this gets a little long.

 

 

2 months ago, we found him walking down the street and started talking to him. He said he was looking for a church to go to and wanted to try ours if there was room for him. We got his number and gave him ours with the direction of the chapel but when we got home, we realized his number didn't work. We prayed SO HARD that we would be able to miraculously find this man again because we had such a strong feeling that he needed to learn more about the restored gospel.

 

 

Skip ahead a week, and we are walking down a new street and talking to an older man outside a verduleria. He tells us his wife and son are inside working, so we poke our heads inside to greet them and lo and behold there's Mariano!! We get his correct number this time and say goodbye.

 

 

Sunday rolls around, and Mariano said he couldn't come to church. But midway through the sacrament, the back door flies open and he walks in saying "PERDON. buen día." And goes to sit by himself in the back. He immediately started participating in Sunday school and told us that he had already read to 1 Nefi 5 in the Book of Mormon. 

 

 

Since then, he has just fully embraced the gospel. He constantly listens to the Book of Mormon in his earbuds while he bikes around Funes and works. He immediately stopped drinking his favorite black tea when we taught him about the word of wisdom. Yesterday, he walked 1.5 hours to church because he didn't have his bike but he really wanted to be in the chapel.

 

 

I always wanted to meet people like Mariano on my mission. People that God has prepared to come to church and accept the gospel and change their lives. He is such a great example to me of faith and I have such a love for him.

 

 

I love being a missionary. No hay nada mejor. 

 

 

I hope y'all are doing awesome! Let me know if there's anything I can include in my prayers for you. 

 

 

Hermana Thrasher

 

 

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