Week 33: Priorities

March 20, 2017

aka-- You guys!

I`m writing to you all first because there`s a lot to do today and I don`t know if I`ll get to it later :D.

Big news!!

Once upon a time there was a sleeping missionary who dreamed that she was entering into the poorer part of their area with two other missionaries-- her companion and another one. As they entered a dog bit her heel. Annoyed, she called out to her two other companions to come back.

A few weeks later, they received the transfer call. As expected, she and her companion stayed in the area, and as dreamed, they received another hermana! 

I`M IN A TRIO!!! :D

This week was great! You know you`re doing a good job when at the end of the day you`re walking back to your apartment and you still feel like singing and dancing and doing a heel click, but have to contain yourself because you`re in public :D. It`s so much fun!

We found a less active member looking for her sister-in-law (also less active) and she said she wanted to come to church with us AND SHE CAME! Some of the members remembered her and with other it was a little awkward, because they asked if she was an investigator :S. But she enjoyed it and afterwards downloaded the gospel library app and we have an appointment to visit her!

Junior and Morena are going to be baptized this Saturday. Two members are going to do it-- a return missionary and a recent priest. We`ve been coming up with schemes to start teaching there mom and activating their sister, so it`s going to be fun (and now we have another brain to help :D)

I don`t really remember much else that happened this week... so I just opened my journal `cause I remembered that I`d brought it :D

This week we built a dog house with a less active that we`ve really been working with... but then a few days later she asked that we stop visiting until she calls us :(. But she said we could still stop by to say hi, so that`s fine. 

We`ve got the members working with us more. A member of the bishopric explained to Junior and Morena about the bishopric and a less active family offered to have lessons with us! I`m going to be helping the YWs with their song in the ward conference, so we`ll be inviting all of the less active YW to come, too. 

Woohoo! I love you all have a great week, get ready for General Conference, the Womens Session is this Saturday-- enjoy it!

Love you all!!

Sister Tova S Biesinger

Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

 (Presents Hermana Biesinger bought herself with money sent from home...a Rubik's cube? Imagine that :D.  Now the cat could use a little explanation...)

She wanted to go tracting in her tiger blanket in the crisp autumn air :D

Celebrating St. Patty's Day, Hermana Biesinger's style!

Week 32: Yeah!!

March 13, 2017

Great news! When one can`t upload photos because one doesn`t have a computer that has a usb opening one has much more time to write to ones fans :D

This week I`ve been thinking a lot about the role of service in missionary work.

We were able to talk with an elderly man as he was walking slowly with his cane and his bag of groceries. I offered to take the bag for him, and he handed it to me and then put his free hand around the shoulder of my companion. ... :S. So we walked him around the block to his house and left him with his groceries. My companion commented later that he really needed us to come along, because he was using her as support to continue walking, so we were super happy to serve him :D.

We met again with our new investigator-- Claudia. She has a lot of very good questions, all of which we can answer! She has a strong testimony of the Bible, but still doesn`t completely trust the Book of Mormon, so we`ve invited her to read it and pray about it and promised that she could feel that it was as true as the Bible. She accepted everything that we`ve taught so far, but said that she did it because we`ve been using a lot of references from both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. But she`s a really good person and we`re excited to be working with her.

This week I tried passion fruit ice cream... and... woow..... it`s..... super...... yummy..... mmmmmmm...... We have an amazing icecream shop in town that has a killer deal every Tuesday so we`ve gone the past two weeks after district meeting to pick up icecream to go with lunch ... for the entire week :D (it`s 2 kilos of icecream, so it takes a while :)).

We`ve taught our little investigators the laws--- chastity, word of wisdom and tithing. We gave them a tithing slip and when we passed by a few days later they said that they hadn`t received money so still couldn`t pay their tithing.... so cute.... :D

Oh! And a crazy day thursday!! (close your eyes and plug your ears elder Biesinger) We had three appointments before lunch, lunch, study in the park for half and hour (because we didn`t have time to go home to study), then five other appointments in the afternoon-night!!!!!

Woohooo! (well... only two of them actually happened, but they kept us busy running from house to house :))

Yesterday was also crazy, with an apointment at 6:30, 7, and 7:30! (all of which fell through... but...) then we were able to watch Legacy with an inactive family and we think it really helped them feel the spirit of the church and the importance of the gospel. We challenged them to renew their testimony of the Book of Mormon, and will be visiting for follow up.

Oh, and Saturday and Friday we did divisions because the one of the hermanas that live in the complex with us broke her foot and can`t walk, so we helped them work in their area for two days. I went with her comp and we walked all day contacting until our appointment at night that was with a less active member they`d found contacting, and when we knocked at the door an active member of MY ward answered. Apparently the less active is his son, and he was taking care of his grandson. :D What a small world!

The next day I stayed with the hermana that has a broken foot and finished a project I`ve been making for my companion. Don`t tell her, but it`s a huge collage of pictures of the temple, because she`s going to be finishing her mission with me :D

And Saturday morning, before divisions, we walked past a girl and I thought "What a pretty dress." and we continued on our way. Then we went to set up an appointment with a less active that lives on our street, and her husband answered and he said she wasn`t there, so we were setting up a time to return when he said, "Oh, there she is!" and lo and behold the girl that we had passed.... :S. Lesson: Talk to everyone. We`re going to visit her today and have a great time :D.

Woohoo!! Have a great week everyone and enjoy your lives! Smile and say hi to everyone you pass this week!

Love you all!

Sister Tova S Biesinger

Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

Week 31: Apologies

March 6, 2017

Sorry, the internet was slower or something, becuase I ran out of time and didn`t get to write about all of the awesome things that happened this week like

--missionary sleepover

--interviews with president

--new investigator with great questions

--cleaning with a member

and things like that.

Love you all! I promise to write more next week :S

Sister Tova S Biesinger

Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

So there a couple of random pictures of me, then there are some coloring books I made for three kid investigators for sacrament meeting, and then the presents I bought myself with the money Mom sent. :D​

Week 30: Hola!! Tanto tiempo :D

So a few weeks ago I got my first "Hola Señora". What`s different about
this greeting? The word Señora. If you get this greeting in the mission,
you`re officially old. :D

This week has been amazing. I`ve been really trying to push myself and
say the uncomfortable things that need to be said (like commitments to
live the law of chastity :S) and making more contacts!!! It`s been
awesome, and I feel a lot more like I`m actually making a difference
here :D.

A member asked us to teach his grandson, and we`ve taught him twice,
he came to the ward FHE that we organized and to church yesterday!
We`re going to be teaching him a lot in these weeks to help him really
understand and be prepared to be firm in the church. We also found a
great family of less actives that are super friendly, but go out of
town every weekend, :S. But we`ll be working with them, too.

We had a good talk with an investigator that doesn`t want to change,
but we shared a scripture from the bible and shared that we`d be
passing by every now and then to see how she is. We also found yet
another family of less actives. They love it when we come and the son
(who`s 6 years old) always runs up and hugs us :). We were able to do
service for her, and teach a few lessons, and she`s going to start
reading her scriptures again!
We met another old investigator from the last hermanas, and she`s
really confused. She`s doing a daniel`s fast in order to receive the
Holy Ghost. :S We`re going to teach her more about that, becuase she
really wants to feel the spirit in her life.

Oh, and we organized a FHE for the ward, but only investigaotrs came,
and the bishop and the YM counselor :D. But we had fun and there was
lots of good food.

It was an amazing week! Love you all!
Sister Tova S Biesinger
Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

(January 30, 2017)

Week 29: Great Week!

We had an amazing FHE with a less active family last Monday. We talked about Nephi´s boat and filling our boat with good things in order to make it to the promised land. Then I taught the youngest how to make chocolate chip cookies and my companion played ¨Porque?¨ with the rest. We didn´t get to try the cookies because it got late, but it was super fun!

I was under doctor´s orders to relax, so instead of cooking I took a nap during P-Day. Everyone in the district was a little confused and lots of people didn´t believe that I hadn´t brought anything. :) Silly elders. But the meeting was great, we had a good practice and my companion and I used my yarn in our presentation.

We´ve had so many amazing lessons this week with less active members. And it paid off, because we were able to do three services and three inactives came to the sacrament meeting along with about 5 less actives!!! Yeah!!

This week I started teaching violin to one of the members, which is fun. He has a great ear for music and just needs to master the posture (which is one of the hardest parts :S). 

The youth got back from their EFY this week, and one of the moms (who´s a little less active) came up to us afterwards and shared how she normally has a hard time waking her daughter up on Sunday, but that morning her daughter got up and immediately knelt to pray. That inspired her mother, and they´ve both received stronger testimonies!

There was a ward baptism this Sunday, and it was so sweet. We were also able to find another less active family right before she left for vacations, so that was a miracle and a blessing.

I love you all a bunch! Give your best effort and the Lord will recognize it. Have a great week!

Sister Tova S Biesinger

Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission