Week 2

So a quick apology to those who aren{t my parents or siblings. I originally wrote the last email for them, and then decided that it was what I was sending to everyone else, anyway, so I just sent it to all of you. Then looking back, I realized there were some references that may have been confusing. Sorry for that. I{ll do better this time :).

Hello everyone!!

So I told my mom im my letter that I wasn{t homesick... famous last words. I got super melancholy that night, and ended up sitting on my bed singing my dad´s favorite hymn and pretending to play ¨Come THou Fount¨¨ on a violin. But after that everything was good. :)

Right now my favorite song is Äbide with Me¨because I found it again that night, and it was like a message from Heavenly Father to me. 

I got a blessing a few days later to get rid of my cold and help guard my mind. I feel a lot better now, and only cough at night. 

I haven{t ¨Journalled¨as much lately becuase the main event is studying. Studying all day. 

In a couple days we´re going proselyting!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! We will be shipped out in buses to different parts of the city and set loose on the people. We were given a sheet of paper to write goals on. At the part that said ¨Baptism¨ my companion suggested we pray before setting a number. We did, and both came back with the answer of 3. So in two days we will invite 3 strangers to join the church-- and we will do it in Spanish :D.

For practicing here, our teacher pretend to be investigators, and we prepare a lesson for them every day. Right now we´re teaching Cecilia who is an aethiest with a mormon friend, and Sarah who´s daughter is baptized but is living with her boyfriend. In our last lesson with Cecilia we asked the right question and she opened up about her reservations. Her experience was much like my companion´s experience coming into the church so she was able to share her feelings. We cried a few times with her which was amazing!! It gave us a taste of what it´s really like. 

In my scripture study I read about Ammon converting Lamoni and his entire household. The enirety of his success was hinged on 2 things: love and service. Witnessing that love is what made Lamoni´s father become interested. I remember a story about a man who very rudely rejected the elders when they came to his door. As they left, he watched through his window. He expected them to joke or argue, but what he saw was the older companion reaching over and putting his arm on the younger one´s shoulder to comfort him. This touched the man. The next time the missionaries knocked on his door, he let them in.

On Saturday night we played ¨Scripture Roulette¨where we all thought of a question, prayed, and opened up our scriptures to find the answer. Everyone found something. The spirit was super strong. Then the next morning, in Fast and Testimony meeting, the spirit continued to be powerful. It was sooooo cool. I feel like we´re all pushing through the wall Satan kept setting up to block us. 

Sunday night we listened to a powerful devotional by Elder Holland where he told us just how important missionary work is. It was powerful, powerful, powerful!

Since coming here I{ve discovered the taste for two different smell: the doTerra oil ¨OnGuard¨ and menthalaetum (sp??). They were both coughdrops that I was given to help with my cough. The on guard one was okay, but the other one was disgusting. It was effective, though. 

I get plenty of opportunity to play the piano. This Monday I was playing ¨Nearer my God to Thee¨from the book Mom gave me and Sis. Adams was singing from the spanish hymn book. Half way through, Latinos started coming and joining in. They have amazing voices and an incredible ability to harmonize. When we finished, they wanted to sing again, so I played it again. Then we tried to find a song that was in my book and the spanish hymn book and that I could play. Unfortunately we weren{t successful. But this Sunday I´ll be played the ¨Nearer my God to Thee¨with my district for a musical number and playing ¨We´ll bring the world his Truth¨ with Sis. Adams and a Latino sister--Sis Fernandez. 

We went to the temple again today, and I was able to do a family name that I accidentally brought with me. It was amazing. 

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Sister Tova S Biesinger

Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission