...and a Happy New Year! (Week 8)

Dear Family,

Happy New Year!

How was Christmas? I can't believe the lights and tree are already down, what is this?? You need to celebrate! I'm glad you guys all got to spend a lot of time together and see Nathan, Andrea, and Bailey. And one again, thank you for the pictures :) Are you excited for the new year? or will you guys even be staying up?... Remember that one year we didn't do anything hahaha.  It was so great to see and talk to all of you! I really enjoyed it.  And now back to work! 

Thank you so much for the package! It was perfect! And I even got a stocking to boot :) Really thank you.  I'm going to use everything up!! And thank you everyone for the letters!

We have 2 companionships living in the same house.  Hermana Rodriquez and I and Hermana Gines and Hermana Cardona.  It is great! And I actually like living with all of them, it's fun.  A lot of the time I have no idea what to eat so it's always a fruit and either cereal or toast.  And when we go to someones house to eat, well whatever they feed us! Infact I had cow stomach yesterday! And it was pretty good.... I can't tell if I'm gaining weight or not. I thought I was but the past couple of days my skirts feel really loose which isn't good. Oh well! I'll eat more! I drink a lot of water, and if they have coke or whatever I always choose the other drink that doesn't have caffine, unless it is the only choice.

Progressive Investigators: We don't have any. We had one sweet girl come to church, Lourdes, but she doesn't have a date so she doesn't cound.  To be a Progressive Investigator you have to have a date and go to church.

Lourdes: She is a 10 year old girl, and always loves our visits, she sings, she prays, and she has come to a couple of the activities. (I think she really likes me because she always sits near me and when we were walking to the church she grabbed my hand, she is so sweet) We are really hoping to get her parents and family invloved.

Carlos: Carlos talks so fast! And is great! But... he won't come to church and he wants to finish ´celebrating' aka drinking before he gets baptized.

Susana. We found her just yesterday and she is great too! Ah we showed her a 20 minute video of the Restauración that she wanted to see the whole one, so we found it for her on lds.org.  But.... She doesn't want to be baptized.

Mariela, Mauricio, German. We are trying to work with. It seems like none of our investigators want to come to church!

Carlos, German, and Mariela all have dates for baptism, and we are working on the rest.

Mama: and I finally found my shoe polish ha so I can polish my shoes now too! ( But I am grateful for you and dad because you packed it all and I would never have been able to do it without you.)

Dad: Ah thank you for sharing your spiritual thoughts. And continue to update me with Orem and BYU :)

Love you all so much!!! 

Love,

Hermana Louder

I was going to send pictures, but it is not working, so next time!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!! (Week 7)

Hello!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!

Ah family I love you so much.  I am here in Uruguay and it is so weird but I love it! I can't believe it! And I love you all so much!!! THANK YOU FOR THE PACKAGE!!!! I was told the very first day when I got here that there was a package but I didn't get it until yesterday at christmas concert and I held it on my lap the whole time! I didn't want to let it go ha.  BUT I'm saving it to open it on the 25th! :) Though I'm sure I'll love whatever is inside, I'm just so happy you sent me one because we had talked before and said that you didn't have to! THANK YOU. I LOVE YOU. Oh and thank you so much for all the pictures and emails from everyone!! I opened my email and saw 35! WOW. Ha I am so so so grateful.

Well to start out we got here and Presidente and Hermana Newsome were at the airport waiting for us all and we took a picture, which by the way he said he would send an email with the photos, would you send that to me! I want to see and read! And we got our companions.  It's cute cause we all go outside the temple and they come behind us singing called to serve and then we all turn around.  My companion is Hermana Rodriguez, she is from Chile Viña del Mar.  She is 22, and she has been out for 9 months.  This is her 4th time training.  I'm so excited! Already she is so humble and a hard worker.  She is very obedient, which is what we want! We are trying to be exactly obedient.

Christmas:: We are going to a members house at 5:30 to eat and call, and we can stay there until 10:30 and we can stay up until 12 to watch fireworks and open presents.

The days are hot and there are lots of mosquitos.  I seem to get bit a lot and they itch like crazy! But a good thing is is that I'm going to have sweet tanlines ha. We are in area Pando "B" and live with another companionship.  They say our house is the second best......

I'm really working on sharing my testimony and following every prompting I get.  Like two days ago I ran after a guy on crutches to share the gospel with him.  Sometimes it is so scary and to say what ever I feel or what the Spirit is prompting me, but as we do we will receive more promptings.

Already we have gone to the branch Christmas party, and we've had lunch with a member every day. ( here we don't really eat dinner cause we are not close to the house and because we are so full from lunch).  It's kinda funny though because you guys know how much I dislike tomatoes.  Well at the lunches with the salads there are tomatoes and well... I have to eat them! Ah, maybe I'll like them by the time I get home.

Today I read the Saviors birth in Luke 2, and I also went over Luke 1 a little and in Spnish in 1:28 it says El Señor es contingo" and there are two verbs for be estar and ser but in the scripture ser is used meaning the Spirit is always with her, pretty interesting. and then in 1:38 and Mary.  She submitted to the Fathers will and I am trying to do the same.

I know the church is true, with all my heart.  I know that my Redeemer lives! And I love him so much.  I know He atoned for each and every one of us, and because of this we are able to return to live with him and Heavenly Father.  I know Heavenly Father knows and loves each of us. I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I enjoy reading and learning from it so much.  I know Joseph Smith was a prophet and that through him the church was restored, that He really did see God the Father and Christ.  I know we have a living prophet who leads and guides us today, President Thomas S. Monson.  I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers.  He is always here listening and hopeing and waiting for us.  Pray to him.

I love you all so much, and can't wait to talk to you :) You guys are the best! The best family I could ever have, I hope you know that, I love you so so so so much.

Love, 

Hermana Louder

Hermana Rodriguez and I

 Katelyn with the package we sent

Katelyn and Hermana Rodriguez

The mosquito bites itch so bad!

Katelyn and Hermana Rodriguez

Departure (Week 6)

Hey Family!!

I depart tomorrow for Uruguay! I leave the CCM at 4AM and my flight leaves at 6:50.  My flight is only 30minutes so I will be there pretty quickly.  I can't believe it is already here and leaving, it feels at times like we just left each other.  I can't wait to talk to you on Christmas :) Love you lots!

Love,

Hermana Louder

Week 5

¡Hola Familia!

 

Ah Thankgiving sounds and looked so fun!! Oh and first off, Happy 1st Birthday Bailey!! I thought about her all day! And also thank you so much for all the pictures!!!! I love them!! I can't wait to hear all about your parties and the MOTAB concert! Wooooooot! My photo album broke this week.. so now the pictures are seperate from the cover but that's ok, cause the pictures are still protected, I don't think I'll want any stamps but I'm not sure. Ah I just realized today is my last time going through the temple probably for a while. It'll be sad but today will be good.

 

I received my first letters in the CCM after we emailed! I got one from Nathan and Andrea, and I received one from Sister Guymon, and I loved them! Thank you so much! (Please tell Sister Guymon thank you, I showed my companion and she's like, she's a really good visiting teacher, still visiting after you've left, and it's 100% true!) And thank you Nathan and Andrea, even though your other letter got returned, I got this one :)

 

I leave the CCM ON TUESDAY!!! THE 17TH!! I can't believe it is here.  I think I leave in the morning, but I could be very wrong, and I think I get to email one more time on Monday, but we'll see, that'll probably be very a short email. And can I just say, I have the best family and support! Truely, ah you are all so amazing and I'm grateful for each and every single one of you!

 

This week for us is all just a huge review, we still have classes but we aren't learning anything new, just going over everything, and still teaching our progressive investigators.  It'll be sad for when our district all leaves, because half are going to Uruguay and half are going to Paraguay. We have grown really close together, but we still get off topic ha, BUT we have definitely made improvement.

 

We went proselyting again on Saturday and it was good.  So crazy.  We're at this door and no one is coming, and a door opens a little farther down the street so we go to the girl and we give her a book of mormon and are just teaching her and everything we say she´s like I believe it yes I'´ll read and pray.  And when we finished me and my companion looked at each other and we were like, what just happened. Tender mercies of the Lord that´s what!! And another we were at at house and talking to a 16 year old and her little siblings and we gave her a Book of Mormon, and she said she read, and we leave and me and Hermana Lindsay look at each other and book say, we didn't get her reference! We go to the next house and the person isn't interested and the 16 year old girl calls us back over and asks if we want a cold drink and we look at each other and we´re like of course! and so it's a win win for us and her.  We get a drink AND her reference, and she gets the missionaries ;) and gets to serve us! It was perfect! Let me say it one more time, TENDER MERCIES OF THE LORD! Look for them in your lives every day.

 

We had an English fast yesterday and it was so hard! The only things we can do are teach the gospel and talk about the gospel and argue, but I guess that's good cause we can argue. Think about it!

All chocolate lovers read this: There is a delicious treat here in Argentina and it will be in Uruguay WOOT! and they are called Alfajores or an alfajor.  It is like an oreo. There is a cookie and then some sort of filling, usually dule de leche (carmel) and then another cookie (and there can be acouple layers) and  then it is all cover in chocolate.  It is so good! Research them, and you will want one.

 

Siblings! ha sorry I'm running out of time I Love you! and I am always so excited when I receive emails from you, though I may not always reply know that I love yo uand am so grateful and know I'm thinking about you!! :) :)

 

LOVE YOU!!!!!!

 

Love,

Hermana Louder

FAM BAM! (Week 4)

Dear Family, :)

 

How was Thanksgiving? It sounds like it was spent well, I hope you ate lots of food for me. And Emily, how was your birthday?! I hope everything was great! And I'm sure it was!

 

Another week has flown by, can you believe it? I have one more p-day after this in the CCM (MTC) and then I leave on December 17.  Does it really feel like I have been gone just about a month?? It doesn't, though I do miss you all (family, friends, and all who read this) a lot.  One quick thing, I'm not sure I want or need this but to do pouch mail I have to have american stamps cause they send it out of Salt Lake City, but maybe once I get to Uruguay I will just use their mail system cause I'm not sure I like the pouch mail yet. I'm a little skeptic.

 

I read a another wonderful General Conference talk that you should all try tö read, "Bind Up Their Wounds" by President Eyring. Every morning I am reading the Book of Mormon aloud in Spanish, one of the Latinas told me that they were given a promise that if they read the Book of Mormon in English they would be able to learn English easier and I'm trying the opposite, I know God will help me as I try to do this.  We talk a lot in English in our classes, but wejust want to learn Spanish so much that Hermana Lindsay and I are trying not to talk too much.

 

Saturdya we went proselything again and although it wasn't as "successsful" it was still great.  We talked to three amazing people, people who had already talked to the missionaries so we either gave them a Book of Mormon or re-testified of the things the other missionaries had said, I think they needed to hear from the missionaires again as a reassurance of what they should do.

 

"Pray like everything depens on God, work like everything depends on you." We all need to be working hard and pouring our souls out to God, and as it says in the quote, everything else depends on you.  When we work our hardest and turn to the Lord, after we have tried then He is able to help us.  I know this is true because I have witnessed and had this happen to me countless times.

 

It was fast Sunday this past week and honestly it was great! I REALLY missed having breakfast with you all that deliciousnes homemade and everything ahhhh and say family prayer, but it was still great.  I bore my testimony.  I know that from the moment I was set apart and left you and went through security until now, I have been able to see the Lords hand in my life, E V E R Y  D A Y. Think about it.  I know only have 17 more fast Sundays.... weird. We had a super super good lesson from an FBI sort of agent, President Echols and so ya heres what he taught us: "There is a direct correlation between success in the mission and success in life AFTER the mission. The same is true of failure." Give 100% of your whole will.  Submit 100% to the Lord.  We can always WORK HARDER. Serve a mission with NO REGRETS. Ah it was as superb lesson.

 

We had another rain/windstorm and the lights went out. (How someone really knows they're not in the U.S., the lights go out, a lot. jajaja) And so we had another great little district thing. 

 

I miss you all so much, but I also love the mission, so much! I LOVE YOU. Oh send me pictures of you guys, and of snow! and of whatever really!

 

Love,

Hermana Louder

 

Our district with our teacher who is leaving us.

 

Hermana Lindsay and I.

All the North American Hermanas (it's not a very good photo)

Me with the sign ha