Christmas greetings

FAM!

How are we all doin?? I hope you guys had a wonderful christmas. It was so nice to hear your voices again. :) 

So this letter is really short but I first just wanna tell you guys that I received a letter from Antonio and hes doing so well! He LOVES the temple!! And he wants to go visit the temples in the UNited States and HES EVEN SHARING THE GOSPEL WITH HIS FAMILY that live in the states. Wow. His letter was so touching. He said he will forever be grateful that we found him and helped him be baptized. :) Antonio is so special to me. 

 

Hermana Traverso went home today.  I will miss her.  We really grew to love each other and have fun.  My new companion is from Honduras and she is a total sweetheart.  Tigre better watch out because we are coming after them. (Sidenote) Mom, everyone is Tigre is saying you speak excellent spanish.  Mom, what on earth are you telling these people?  You and I both know this little red head does not speak Spanish.  Im terrified what you have been telling Argentina.  Ok, deep breathe. 

I am so ready to work hard and give it my all this transfer. Its time to start working even more with the members and find these souls TOGETHER IN UNITY. PLease never forget the STRONG IMPACT MEMBERS HAVE IN MISSIONARY WORK!!!!!

I looooove being a missionary!! life is so great in tigre!!! :):) 

love hermana terryble :):  Carry on friends!

Oh that I were an angel

Merry Christmas precious family.  I just wanted to bear my testimony on this letter.  I want you to know that I know God is real.  I feel him in my life and heart so frequently on my mission.  He leads me along green pastures and gives me the things I stand in need of, exactly at the moment I need it.  He loves me from the inside out.  He heals my wounds and fears and insecurities, and teaches me how to heal my beloved Argentine friends wounds and insecurities.  We all have them.  We all need him.  He loves us most in our humility and our need.  He created a world of endless needs, so that there would be endless reasons to break down to our knees and come to him.  I come to him when Im rejoicing over good things.  I come to him when Im crying over pain or dissapointment.  I am not a little girl anymore, but when I pray he scoops me up as if I were, and holds me and loves me and tells me I will be ok.  He gives me many gifts, most importantly my seven from heaven.  Our family.  Thank you precious family for walking my life with me, for loving me, and always forgiving the dumb things I say and do.  I feel like on my mission I have officially joined purpose and hearts with Alma.

Alma 29
1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!

 2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.

 3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.

 8 For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.

 9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.

Oh sometimes I wish I were an angel and could have this wish of my heart, that Tigre would accept our Savior and come to him.  Sometimes when I walk the streets I hear the words in my heart, calling to me and all my Argentine friend "Come to me, Come to me."  I try to look people in the eye and smile at them in the way Jesus would if he were here in my shoes.  It makes me love them more.  I wish one little missionary could do more than Im doing.  I wish I could soften hearts and teach more and walk farther, and give money away to the poor I see.  Oh if I were an angel I would do all those things and more.  But family, as you well know, I am not an angel, I am a human girl, trapped in a human body only able to do such a small amount.

But it does not change that I have a big heart of love for my Savior Jesus Christ.  He lived for me he died for me.  And guess what?  I decided that I will live for him and I will die for him too.  We are partners.  We are best friends.  And we are in love with the people of Argentina.  Im so thankful Im spending this last Christmas of my mission here.  I am going to sing on Christmas at the top of my lungs.  Silent night, Holy night, all is calm, all is bright.  If you could see the sky in Argentina at night, you would love these words even more.  There is somthing magic about the Argentine sky.  Mom and Dad I cant wait for you to see it.

So Merry Christmas you precious people.  Fall on your knees this week, and hear the angel voices.  They call to you in this season especially.  They tell you of your worth.  They tell you that you are his and he will take better care of you and your life than you ever could.  And they tell you you are an angel voice on earth, please use it for good.  Put hope out there.  Put love out there.  And everytime God touches your heart and soul, pay it forward.  I love you guys.  Carry on!!!!!!

Dont hate this face!

Dear Family,

COMO ESTAN??!! :):) HAHAH the picture of Emma with her date and paul and luke and the kaangas is hilarious. Luke is taller and skinnier and Paul has more hair and Emma is absolutely GORGEOUS. AHHH. Little brothers keep you humble.  Period.

OKay so we had an interesting week. We worked so hard and found nothing. Just testigos de jehova. And some evangelicos. And a lot of catholics. The funniest part about our area is that every house we come to.. there is always a person inside HIDING FROM US. HAHAHAHA but its sooo obvious. HAHA and were like umm we see you! And they always respond no ones home!!! HAHA. Yesterday we had planned to pick up this guy named Cesar and we thought he was golden! HAHA and he sent us the funniest message saying he wasnt gonna be able to go to church because he broke his ankle playing soccer. WELL WE SAW HIM that same day and he ws outside running around with his son and were like CESAR YOU HEALED! And he freaked out, looked at his ankle and screamed ITS A MIRACLE. hahahaha. idiots.

WE HAVE A LOT OF HATERS and I dont know why. But thats not stopping us. Were gonna keep working even though every single freakin person in Rincon knows the hermanas and los mormones... it doesnt matter. WE WILL FIND THEM.  People how can you hate on a face like mine?

We had stake conference yesterday and it was super awesome! Our stake president talked a lot about forgiveness. Personally I´ve learned the more I forgive, the more I learn of Gods mercy towards me and how fast he truly does forgive me. Its time to give back! FORGIVE! LIFE WILL BE BETTER!! 

SORRY ITS SHORT BUT I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT HERMANA TERRY IS SO HAPPY AND KNOWS THAT JESUS CHRIST LIVES.

love, terryblemente felizzzz.  Carry On!

turn every curse into a blessing

FAMILY!! COMO ANDAN!

ITS DECEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WILL LITERALLY KILL YOU GUYS IF YOU'RE NOT BLASTING CHRISTMAS AND DAVID ARCHULETA (FUTURE HUBBY) CHRISTMAS IN THE HOUSE. OKAY THANKS BYE:)

Well we had another wonderful week! 38 degress celsius.. 100% humidity. Im pretty sure that beats Chile. So tell Max I win in everything. Period.  Sorry Max:) But Im pretty convinced that this is the hottest most humid place in the world. haha:)

EVERYONE AND THEIR DOG NEEDS TO GO ON THE INTERNET AND SHARE EL VIDEO.. EL ES LA DADIVA O DIGAMOS HE IS THE GIFT.THE CHURCH IS MAKING IT HUGE AND WE{VE BEEN SHARING IT WITH ALL OF ARGENTINA! LITTLE BY LITTLE THE WHOLE WORLD WILL BE ABLE TO FEEL THE SPIRIT FROM THIS POWERFUL MESSAGE!!!

We received 50 references and contacted 48 people and 15 new investigators this week. And no one came to church. Oh my stars.. I can honestly say I felt a lot of peace yesterday because I knew I gave it my all last week. This really is Gods work and we just have to trust with him.. And when things dont go our way.. just go with it and keep working! THE MIRACLES WILL COME.

Ya know.. our area is super great but super different from capital. There are a lot of people who nos chamuyan. THE WORD CHAMUYAR means  SWEET TALK. Ya it bugs me like crazy when we have so many people tell us.. YES THEY WANNA BE BAPTIZED! YES YES YES! Theyll come to church... AND ITS A MENTIRA. Liars. All liars! HAHA. Its ok, I can deal with sweet talkers.

So I was studying this morning and I would like to share with you guys some scriptures:

 24 Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another.

 

okay so i looked up the footnote for all things will work together for your good and this is what i found:

Deuteronomy 23:5:

 5 the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee,because the Lord thy God loved thee.

Whoah. Que profundo. Sometimes what may seem like a curse to us.. is actually a blessing. I know that cause I've seen it with the people here in Argentina. Broken people who have lost everything in life... but it made them open their hearts to God, join the church and their whole lives turn upside down. These scriptures testify to me that EVERY SINGLE THING HAPPENS TO US FOR A REASON AND FOR OUR GOOD. If we didnt have trials in life.. HOW ON EARTH WOULD WE BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE ATONEMENT? It would be impossible!! If we got along with everyone HOW ON EARTH WOULD WE BE ABLE TO LEARN TO LOVE? We have to go through these uncomfortble times para que la expiacion obre in nuestras vidas. And so that we can learn to understand the love and mercy and grace of our loving Savior and Heavenly Father.

Another scripture folks:

2 Nephi 28: 30

,for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more

WHOAH what a great promise. For those that receive.. HE WILL GIVE US MORE. WHEN MUCH IS GIVEN MUCH IS REQUIRED.... BUTTTT WHEN MUCH IS REQUIRED MUCH IS GIVEN!!

 

Jeremiah 24:7

And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

We all will have our time when we [find god[ and for each of us its different timing. But Im pretty convinced that God is the one who gives us this new heart to know him. Im convinced that HE COMES to us... not the other way around. I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you.   I totally respect free agency but I also have a testimony of the power of God. HE knows his children and hes not gonna leave anyone  behind.  His job is to address our life wounds and heal them.  When we really feel his healing power, we cannot help ourselves but to come to him.

 Thats why I try not to judge people because GOD KNOWS THEM PERFECTLY. NOT ME. GOD KNOWS WHEN THIS PERSON IS GONNA COME TO HIM.. NOT ME. God knows when all the lost and suffering in the world are gonna find their way back to him... NOT ME. OUR STORIES ARE DIFFERENT, WE ARE ALL BEGGARS. SO LETS ALL DO GOD A FAVOR AND SHUT OUR MOUTHS AND LOVE EACH OTHER! :) K sometimes it just needs to be said ;)

LOVE YOU ALL!!!

HAVE A FANTASTIC DECEMBER IN THE SNOW WHILE IM SWEATING MY BUTT OFF!!!

love, hermana terryblemente PUMPED  carry on!

Feel love Give love

May I have a moment of your time pup, to share a life changing message with you?

 Hola familia como estan! 

SO this week was so fun! I had divisions with the Hermanas in Mateu! Its a lot like LIMA. I went with hermana De la  Cruz:) It was a really great day! The area seriously looks like the deserts of Africa. ITS GORGEOUS!!! But when we came back at night... THIS INVESTIGATOR is clapping outside of the house. AND IT FREAKED us out because he shouldnt know where we live. So then we went to bed. :) AND THEN AT LIKE 3 in the morning this dude is pounding on our door. HAHA IVE NEVER BEEN SO FREAKED OUT in my entire life. REMEMBER.. the flashlight incident Max outside my bedroom window at midnight at the tender age of 14??).. but were not gonna talk about that. hahahha. Hermana de la cruz was sleeping and I was like.. oh fliper WHAT DO I DO? We left the window open because it was so blazing hot!!! And I was scared that we would climb in. HAHA. And then I prayed mightily, I was like  HELP ME. YOU KNOW HOW SCARED I GET. And then I got the coolest answer. God told me.. Marie. You are more than protected. He whispered in my heart that there were angels all around protecting us missionaries. Nothing happened. He left. And I sat in my bed thanking God all night for watching over me. It was an experience Ill never forget. 

Well well well I had a friend from acting up email me and ask me why and how did i get my testimony in the church. Ive never had anyone ask me that so it really got me pondering. 

I wrote it all down this week and Id like to share it with you guys:

I think it takes a while for people to have a true testimony of something. I think God knows that and thats why hes so unbelievably loving , long suffering and patient with us. My testimony started out with the small and simple things. For example: my mom telling me that she loved me, my dad hugging me, you know just the things that make you feel loved. Then it led me to ponder and then really pray if GOD really loved me. My parents told me when I was little that they loved me sooo much but God loved me even more. That really got me pondering. So then I decided to take it to the test. When I was 13 years old I asked God if he truly loved me. and I got an answer. I felt this fire come over me and felt the powerful, wild, undescribable love of God fill my body. From that moment on, I promised God that I would FOLLOW him for the rest of my life. Its the little things that made me fall in love with Him. Kind acts from others, singing about Jesus, being with the family, going to seminary, running, praying, reading in the scriptures. everything became spiritual to me. Little by little my heart opened up to God and he poured me out his blessings. I KNEW I had to give back what he has given me.. So I decided to serve a mission. To tell the truth I really didnt know ALL the doctrine in the church, but that didnt really matter to me. I had a strong personal relationship with God that was real and alive and what I didnt know, I trusted would come with time.  Preparing for the mission was not that easy.  One day I went runnning and somehow it led me to pray. I felt this big tug and I stopped in the middle of my run. I heard God tell me, ¨I forgive you for your mistakes in life.  I love you for always trying hard.  Now I need you to serve this mission.¨¨ It was so quiet but with so much power. At that moment I gained a better knowledge on who God really is. He knew I wasnt perfect, but he also knew MY POTENTIAL. It made me realize the stupid little things we do, doesnt really matter to him, he just wants us to come to him and he will forgive us and tell us.. I HAVE SO MUCH IN STORE FOR YOU. Now I know that God truly has a plan for everyone of us.. and its BIG! AND ITS BEAUTIFUL! I learned that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God. I learned that as hard as repentance is or trials are, or burdens can be,.. its worth it because God will always, always take us in his arms and love us. Because he is our father and we are his children. This is why Im a member of the church of Jesus Christ of latter day Saints. Because its the power of the atonement that has always brought me to God and given me more light and strength to keep going in life. Its the unconditional, uncomprehensable, wild love God has for me. And thats why Im here in Argentina. TO SPREAD SOME OF THAT LOVE. :)

So this week I was talking to a Hermana and she was telling me how she was really feeling down on herself and she really just wanted to know WHO SHE IS in the eyes of God. I was praying so hard throughout this week to know what can I say tp genuinely comfort her. AND THEN IT CAME TO ME!! Its what helped me understand my worth! PRAY AND ASK FOR A COMPLIMENT FROM GOD! I remember my mom told me that she did the same thing and told me I should try it. So i did.. and he gave me the answer. Its amazing how God works. So I told her, like my mom told me that she should do the same. Well she did. I didnt know until yesterday she told me.. Hermana remember when you told me to pray and ask God for a compliment? Well I did it and he answered my prayers through another person. She told me that her comp had given her a compliment and it hit her so hard and pierced her heart so strongly that she realized that it was the answer to her prayers. I was so happy that my mom could help me understand my worth before God and then help others do the same. :) 

well well well my friends. i love you all. :) hope all is well. Carry on you party animals!

AND TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF DECEMBER. HOLLA YALL.