November
17, 2014
Dear
Family,
The
cambios (transfers) are......drum roll please.........The sector is being
closed. It was unexpected and rather shocking. Santa Sabina B is
being closed, there will now be 4 missionaries in the ward, rather than
6. My companion will be going to Talcahuano, a nearby city, and I will be
going to the countryside, the town of Parral. It is a branch with 6
missionaries, has hot weather, and it is a bike sector. So that should be
fun. I estimate it is about 4ish hours north of the mission office.
For 10 and a half months I have been here in the city of Concepcion, so it will
be neat to go out and see what is out there. If you can google maps
Concepción, you can probably find out where Parral is, it is between Concepcion
and Rancagua.
I
apologize for the short letter. And will write with a million more
details next week. I love you all a million times over. The sector
is being closed because only 7 sisters are coming this transfer, and 7 sisters
and 7 elders are leaving, so they had to cut somewhere. We have been
obedient, I promise.
I love
you all so much, more than the number of snowflakes it takes to fall on the
streets of Boise to cause a snow day.
-Elder
Withers
Dear
Family,
Congrats
on your new assignment Chad! You will also love serving in the
boonies. I have spent the majority of my mission serving far away from
everything, and it’s a good experience! I hope you love your new area and
companion.
This
week was another good one for me! There isn’t actually anything crazy or
unusual that happened, so I am struggling to think of what to write.......but
something will come to mind! Transfer news is that........neither one of
us is going anywhere. Sweet!
What
actually is happening in Galvez, are lots and lots of miracles. What
Galvez has really needed is a great faithful family or somebody, or anybody, to
move here. Someone who understands the doctrine and how the church should
function, and our prayers were answered. The other day we were
outside contacting (in that beautiful but ever-intense Argentine heat!) and a
nice man stopped us in the street and asked us where the chapel is. We
quickly told him, but we were also curious as to who he was....so we asked
him. And he told us that he is a member from Santa Fe, but has been sent
to Galvez for a year-long work contract. He is about 30 years old, he
doesn’t have a wife or kids....but he is a returned missionary from Bahia
Blanca. And, he said.....whenever you need a member to go visit someone,
I am free every afternoon, after 5pm. We couldn’t believe it! It
was truly a miracle. Our prayers were answered, and another source of
divine help has been sent here to Galvez, such a blessing.
The
other day I saw a family of gypsies for the first time. They were sitting on
the side of the road eating a picnic lunch and drinking mate. They all
had really long skirts on, with their fingers and wrists full of jewelry, and
in super high pitched voices asked us if we wanted to buy something from
them. We told them no thank you, but it was interesting to finally see
one for the first time. I don’t really know their culture or what it is
they do or live like, but I do know that here in Argentina they like to have picnics
under the shade of a tree and drink mate.
Good
news, is that here in Galvez....otter pops are 1 peso each. Ha...they
aren’t actually otter pops, but they are a popsicle type thing and you eat it
like an otter pop and it comes in all the flavors. 1 peso is like the
equivalent of 10 cents. It really is dreadfully hot outside, and when you
throw in humidity.....it makes life even more interesting. We are
drinking what feels like gallons and gallons of water, and eating tons of
fruit.
On
Tuesday there was a terrific thunder and lightning storm, it’s been a long time
since I have seen so much lightning......and it was incredible. It was
kind of a scary walking home, because it was super dark outside and like every
10 seconds a huge ray of lightning would flash what felt like right in front of
our eyes. It was crazy, but we made it home for the night right before it
started raining which was a tender mercy.
I
have been trying to take lots and lots and lots of pictures (actually my comp
is the professional...she takes pictures of everything, and I am so grateful, I
forget!) and I am saving them all on my thumb drive. Trying to make the
most of each day, look for the blessings, work hard, stay focused and obedient,
and keep on keeping on. Sometimes life feels like a long distance
marathon, but I am happy. A sweet stressful happy :)
The
other day we spent part of the afternoon contacting, and it was
incredible. We felt like we were on fire........because every single
person who answered the door, every single one...100%......we were able to
convince them to come outside, accept a pamphlet, and we committed them to read
it, and made a follow up appointment. We felt like professional saleswomen....
because we did everything to get them to be interested, to want them to
read...to peak their interest, and commit them to read and pray. Most
days aren’t like that, you do your best to introduce yourself to everyone, or
offer to give them a free pamphlet or card with Jesus on it, and there is
always at least some irritated person, or insanely devout Catholic....or
somebody who rejects us. But this day no. It was an incredible
feeling, I really felt like the plaque that I had on my shirt had an
extra-ordinary power that day. We ended the day with 9 return appointments
to brand new people, from only 1 hour of contacting......absolute
miracle!
This
last Sunday, we had branch conference, and it was so good. We had the
highest assistance (attendance) we have ever had......20! And it was
great to have several of the stake leaders (there were 7), so in reality the
assistence from Galvez was only 13....but it felt great to have the chapel more
full! We had to clean the chapel (we always clean it every Saturday
because we are still working on getting some member to have that assignment)
but while we are all there is, we do it. The Sunday services were
excellent. The stake leaders really made quite a sacrifice to make the 2 hour
drive to be there, and afterwards we had a potluck lunch. We learned lots
and it was good for the members to hear from the Stake leaders.
Everything
really is going well here in Galvez, and things get better and better each
day. I love being a missionary, and I love all of you! All that cold snow
looks beautiful. I love you more than the number of Christmas trees that
are up for sale, being cut down, or getting put together in preparation for
Christmas all around the world!
Hermana
Withers
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