Week 16

Dear Family,

How is everyone? I hope everything is going great and having fun with school and work and everything!

If you could send me a family picture through email that would be great! I need it for a zone/stake activity, and also a picture of Jason!

Well this week has been great! We started the week out a little rough, and nothing was going too well, and then we had an interchange.  Let me tell you, intercambios bring miracles! I stayed here and Hermana Berríos came here to work with me, and it was amazing! She taught we many things and just reassured me that I'm doing great and being obedient!

So after the interchange we have had miracles and things are going really great! Yesterday we had a lesson with an investigator, Aldo, and he is amazing! He is living in the refugio right now because his mother in law kicked him out but he has a girl friend and two children, and yesterday we committed him to live the law of chastity and he said YES!!! We are so excited! We are helping him in every way possible! We are trying to figure out how to get them married, and a date, and also a house, and he wants us to meet his wife and family, and everything is just going great! I'm so excited for him and want to stay here and see everything happen! See him get married and baptized! I'm hoping and praying that everything works out! his baptismal date is the 11 of march but that could change depending on when he can get married. (it is so different than in the states to get married) And then we have another great investigator of the refugio. nicolas, and he is 20.  We have committed him to live the word of wisdom and he has a baptismal date for the 5th of march. Can't wait for them and we are working hard with both of them!

We had a great zone activity today! (We do activities on p-days) and we played soccer and volleyball and we ate lots of food of course! Personal opinion, we have one of the greatest funnest zones ever! They are great.

Oh!! The scripture cases! Ok so each case for BOM and bible cost 50 dollars and then for the hymn case it's free if I buy both.... what do you guys think? And if I do want to, I will probably be taking more money out to give, cause you have to pay before and we buy when there are changes, march 12/13 if I change.

Megan I thought you would like this: I found out my companion loves Nancy Drew, and has all of the games at her house, and when she isn't there her parents play it.... she is 22.  I think I'll have to try playing it when I get home :)

I love you all so much! I hope you are still reading the Book of Mormon as a family and of course praying ha.  I love you and pray for you lots! Have a wonderful week!!! :)

Love,

Hermana Louder

Week 15

Dear Family,

Well nothing too interesting happened this week... so sorry it's probably going to be a really boring letter ha. Oh and random question, mom or dad, do you know if I have more floss? Cause I have used one and found another, but if not, I can buy :)

Congratulations Chad!! Wow! Ah that is so exciting, and actually I think that is the same mission Wilson is in. (Mexico, Mexico City South, June 25 Provo MTC).  So if so, I can tell him and forward his family letters to you guys for Chad, that willl be fun if it is!

I have been studying some of the Liahonas and I absolutely love them! I took advantage of all the church magazines when I was at home, when I wanted to or had time then I would maybe read an article, but they have helped me so much and are always exactly what I need to hear and read. And I have things I want to share, but I will probably send them a different time, one because I forgot the Liahonas at home, ha and two because I want them to be personal!

Well our recent convert Mateo, receive the priesthood on Sunday! And he has been helping us so much! He actually live in the refugio right now, so he meets a lot of people, right now we are teaching 4 other people from there.  All of them are so great and prepared.

This week we had a challenge put by our district/zone leaders to get 8 new investigators.  Well we really wanted to get this, and so we committed to do everything we could to achieve it.  We talked to everyone, tried to be exactly obedient, follow all the mission rules, listen to the Spirit.  And let tell EVERYONE.  When you do everything you can and promise to the Lord, he will help you and he will bless you for your work when you keep your side of the promise. This week we found 8 new investigators.  Tender mercies of the Lord, this truly is HIS work.  We found our 8th investigator at 7:30 last night and we have to be in our house by 8 on Sundays.  It was awesome! No matter our challenge or problem, the Lord will help us, but your trust in him and work! And also, he will never give us anything we can't handle (1 Cor 10:13 ? I think?)....

Oh and to answer some of your questions... The weather here in Uruguay is actually very strange, the people say it has never rained this much ever, but we have had a break for a couple days now which is nice! I'm pretty sure we only get to go to the temple once a year, so yeah! We walk everywhere right now, because we actually don't know our whole area, which is huge and we have to take buses to places.  They have the same fruit here or at least the fruit I eat hahahaha... My Spanish, is coming along! My new companion corrects every mistake I make which is really nice, and I'm saying things I didn't even know how to say or think I could! It's coming a long!

Thank you for your letters and prayers and for everything you all do.  I love you so much and pray for you! Remember to still enjoy the time, even though I'm not there to make your live hectic. ;) 

Love,

Hermana Louder

Week 14

Dear Family,

WE WENT TO THE TEMPLE TODAY!!! Ah I miss the temple so much, but it was so great! That's actually why our p-day is on Wednesday because if we ever go to the temple it has to be on a p-day and the temple isn't open on mondays, anyways this is the month for the mission to go, and it was amazing.

Congragulations Katelyn and Tessa on your mission calls!!! (Katelyn:Argentina Córdoba Mission, Provo MTC May 21st, Tessa:Thailand Bangkok Mission, Provo MTC June 25th)! I'm so excited for you two!! Serving a mission reallly is the best and hardest thing I have ever done in my life.

This week was quite eventful. We have had so much rain lately it is crazy.  On Friday we were at a members house for lunch and we barely made it there because of the rain, but the street we were suppose to take to leave was flooded.  So we walked around with her, and we got to an intersection and there was a bulldozer  taking people accross.... SO naturally we got a ride!!! Ah it was a little scary because it was sliding, but it's all good.  Then on Friday we had ANOTHER BAPTISM!!! Lorena was baptized, she is 10 years old, and literally everyone in her family is a member except her immediate family, which some of them are getting baptized too in different areas! And it was so sweet, she bore her testimony at her baptism.  Well that night our phone wasn't working and we kinda forgot (Our district leader calls every night for numbers and to see how we are).  So we all go to bed, and at 10:30 , completely dark there is pounding on our door.  We are all freaked out because we're not suppose to open the door.  Well it continues and finally we figure out it's one of our really good member friends who is talking to our branch president to see if we are all right because our district leader couldn't get ahold of us! So we opened the door and called them. ha but it was so scary.

Well everything is going great here! I literally have so many bug bites, my legs look so ugly and they itch like crazy, so I need to figure out what to do... but other than that! :) Being a missionary is the greatest thing, but know I do miss you all so much! Thank you for your support! Love you!

Love,

Hermana Louder

Miracle Baptism (Week 13)

Dear Family,

Well things are great here! And it has rained almost every day the past week, I'm so glad I brought all this rain gear, really a blessing.  I got my new companion and trainer, Hermana Ahern and she is great! She is 22 and from Kentucky, and was attending and will be going back to BYU she has 14 months in the mission (so maybe I'll kill her! meaning I'll be her last companion). She is so great and so fun! We do so many crazy and creative things and I'm learning so much! And Hermana Gines and Hermana Cardona are still here! Oh and yes, I do remember Brother Clive (Wynn/Winn?) He is great! So many changes are happening for our ward and stake.

This week we had a miracle. We came back from transfers and went to meet Pedro who was to be baptized on the 31, well we found him and he wanted nothing to do with us.  So we were really down.  Well the next day we were coming back from a lunch and to go study language when we met Mateo in the middle of a down pour.  He wanted to have a lesson with us so we said in 2 hours we could meet.  Well we got back to the house and we had the strong impression that he was to be baptized on the 31, the next day.  And we start thinking of everything house it's so fast, he has only gone to church once and needs to go twice, but no.  So we called our district leader and told him what we felt and he called the zone leaders and they called the assistances and they called the president.  Well inbetween all this me and Hermana Ahern are planning a lesson and getting ready.  We go to met with Mateo and ask the baptismal questions and teach him everything he doesn't know.  We asked him if he would be baptized and we all just sit there, and then he's like, yes! And then he says the only problem is is he just got a job two days before and wasn't sure if he could leaver work early.  Well we sat there and then he just says well my baptism is more important, yes I'll will be baptized tomorrow! so we call our district leader and he says we have permission and he can be baptized the next day! Our zone leaders came that night and interviewed him and he passed! The next day was his baptism, and it was wonderful. Side news: When he called to tell his mom that he was meeting with missionaries and was going to be baptized he found out that his dad served a mission in Uruguay and that his parents are less actives! His mom came to his baptism and I talked to her and just the whole time she was thanking me, and saying how this was a miracle and how God is watching out for her son.  And now she is going to go back to church.  Really so amazing.  He was confirmed yesterday and that night we had a lesson with him about the Spirit and Hermana Ahern, a member, Veronica, and I all shared stories about the Spirit and during that lesson the Spirit was SO strong that we sat there just listening and filling the Spirit.  And he wants to also serve a mission! All around He was so prepared and ready for the gospel.  We never know who is ready so always share the gospel with everyone. Miracles are everywhere, I can see the Lords hand in my life every day.

I love you all so much! Thank you for your support and love.

Love,

Hermana Louder

Us! And pictures of the baptism! And my new agenda that we did! 

 

Breaking Records:

PS we reached and succeeding the mission goal of 130 baptism and we put a new goal to break the mission record 152 and we broke that! 155 baptisms in January!!!