THE FAT LADY HAS NOT SUNG YET!!!!!!

My dear, beloved family:)

WOW. WHY did this week go by so fast? I dont understand why time is flying now when I need every last precious second! 

OK.. well we are seeing sooo many miracles in our area. Hermana Espinosa always says: 

¨THE MISSION IS ALL ABOUT RECOGNIZING THE MIRACLES THAT GOD PUTS IN OUR EVERY DAY LIVES.¨

 The little miracles that lead us to finding the escogidos and its what I call. FINDING GRACE. ONE DAY this morning I woke up with the words sooo clear in my mind: WHERE THE IS LOVE YOU WILL HAVE MIRACLES. I realized right then that I needed to be grateful for everything that God has blessed us with and reaallllyyyy try to focus on our beloved investigators. My only job for the next couple of weeks is to help people feel the Saviors love.  Cause isnt that how we are converted? Its that BIG SMACK OF LOVE that God gives to us and we get that sinking feeling in our hearts when we finally realize.. WOW. WE HAVE A GOD OF PERFECT PIERCING HEALING LOVE. HES BEEN THERE WITH ME THE WHOLE TIME!! I JUST NEEDED TO OPEN MY EYES AND REALIZE IT!! And then through his generous loving grace he allows us to grow and allows us to make decisions that lead us up to baptism.

 

 Id like to give a big shoutout to our three almost 4 investigadores that our progresando.

 

 Jose- peruvian capo that is a married dad to 4 kids. Ive never met anyone SO interested in the Book of Mormon!! MIRACLE NUMBER 1! JOSE IS SO OBSESSED WITH THE BOOK OF MORMON!! and now theres.......

 

 Lautaro and Brisa- they are two kids from a family that we are working on. HERMANA TERRY DID YOU JUST SAY FAMILY?!! YES I DID. A single mom with four kids. The mom and her other kids all felt sick Sunday when we passed for them.. BUT GUESS WHAT. LAUTARO WHO IS 15 AND WHO DRINKS AND SMOKES AND BASICALLY LIVES EN LA CALLE CAME TO CHURCH. MIRACLE NUMBER 2!!

 

 And our lovely miracle NUMBER 3 named Gabriel.  Theres something that keeps giving us this faith and love to keep going with him. He is our miracle because he finally opened up the Book of Mormon and READ. But read like 5 chapters!! Hes gonna be an amazing convert.
 

ITS AMAZING WHAT LOVE CAN DO. LOVE BRINGS MIRACLES. LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING. JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT BELOVED FAMILY.  YOU DONT HAVE TO SERVE A FULL TIME MISSION  TO ARGENTINA TO KNOW WHAT I KNOW.  LOVE CHANGES ANY AND EVERYTHING.
 

So I realize I am slowly ripping out my heart for the next month as I prepare to leave my beloved Argentina.  I am going to sing at the top of my lungs "Dont cry for me Argentina" as I go to the airport.  Im typing out the poem mom wrote for me to remember at the end of my mission.  Its my heart savoring every last day.

Walk a little more slowly, as you take your final walks
Tape record conversations in your mind, as you have your final talks,
Close your eyes when the wind hits your hair
and remember the smells and the feel of the air.
Pray for your friends, and speak love unrestrained
As much as youve given, theres much more youve gained
You saw Gods children, you know the truth about grace,
you saw it in every Argentine, and when the sun kissed your face.

Dont cry for me Argentina, the truth is I'll never leave you
All through these teaching days, this mission experience
Gods kept his promise, theres been no distance.
Dont cry for me Argentina, the truth is Ill never leave you
Ill leave my heart in the sun, Ill leave my song in the air, and you will feel me
And feel that God cares.......Argentina, I wont leave you.  My hearts stays with you.

alright here i go with my in love list:

i love hermana dafne espinosa with all of my heart.

 i love la boca.

 i love the members that make me stop breathing from laughing so hard.

 i love pure arentines that have the most amazing beautiful accent.

 i love talking like a porteña.

 i actually love eating pasta and bread every day although not the best diet

. I love waking up in the morning and hearing the busy taxis and collectivos in the city.

 i love milenaesa. i love facturas.

 i love being able to go to church and seeing all these faces that i knew in the premortal life.

 i love that as im writing this  God put Isnt she lovely on the radio in the kiosco.

 I love the little messages God sends me. 

I love running home to our pension to be home by 9 punto.

 I love being obedient.

 I love listening to our investigadores.

 i love looking at the big famous city of buenos aires and see so many people and then pass by a window and see in the reflection that i have a placa on that says: HERMANA TERRY: LA IGLESIA DE JESUCRISTO DE LOS SANTOS DE LOS ULTIMOS DIAS.

 I love realizing that even though we have a million people who live here.. and even though Im a litte girl who only has 20 years old.. THAT I GOTTA BIG TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST AND THEYHAVE HEARD ME ROAR AND I HAVE GIVEN MY HEART TO THESE PEOPLE.

 

 I LOVE YOUR ARGENTINA. Be ready for these next few weeks.. HERMANA TERRY IS NOT DONE YET PEEPS. :)

IT IS NOT OVER TILL THE FAT LADY SINGS AND SHES NOT SINGING TILL MARCH 25TH!

love, hermana terryble:)

THERE CAN BE MIRACLES WHEN YOU BELIEVE:)
CARRY ON CARRY ON CARRY ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be on time or Wait? Always Wait!

 My new Companion.  Folks, she is my soul sister.  We are just made to work together!

Dear Beloved family,

Life is going so good in LA BOCA! I have a story for ya! Last Monday we were so pumped to look for new investigators. We started being multidimensional and started sharing everyone WITH THE MEMBERS. :) . OKay so we found this chico named Gabriel. Hes 21. Gabriel has a baaaad attitude about life. But for some reason... I really feel a tender love for the kid. I see a lot of me in him! We invited him to church and didnt think much about it..

But Sunday comes around and somehow Heavenly Father helped me remember I needed to make an effort for him. SO I went with a member.. The fabulous Maria Stigliano and we went to find this kid Gabriel and bring him to church. Well we get there and its already 9:30.. and church starts a 9:30. I started getting nervous.. because I DID not wanna miss the sacrament. It really the one moment of the week I wait for.  I was panicking.  I prayed LIKE CRAZY and asked WHAT should I do?... LEAVE HIM and go to sacrament or WAIT for him. And a little answer floated into my head and said something like this. ¨¨He is my child. He is my son. WAIT for him. Marie always wait for my precious children.  Its so much more important than time limits.¨¨ SO.. we waited. We missed sacrament. But for the first time in my life.. I didnt feel bad? I did what GOD told me to do. We were able to bring a child of God to church. Gabriel accepted a date! And guess when it is... March 1.  Ahh pray for Gabriel. HE NEEDS A LOT OF LOVE.

Yesterday was really special. It was fun seeing all my old friends. They were all like... WHY ARE YOU BACK?! Is it because all of the other areas got sick of you??! haha:) Anyways yesterday we went to visit to recent converts that I had met back in June. Their names are Mica and Marianela. The brother of Mari died about a week ago. It was realllly hard on them. But they came to church yesterday cause they wanted to see me!! So we went to visit them after church. Guys.. we had the MOST INCREDIBLE VISIT. The spirit was sooo strong. I told them that I REALLY felt like GOD had prepared them before to be baptized and have a knowledge of HIS PLAN. Now that her brother has passed away, they are puting this knowledge to the test. I TESTIFIED that God knows his two little daughters in La Boca and maybe that was the reason why I came back. Was to help them REALIZE and make sure that they know and remember who they are and they know the purpose of life, and the reassurance that there is life after death. It was honestly one of the most heartbreaking things to see Marienela cry about her brother.. But what was amazing.. was the spirit that was in that room. IT WAS SO QUIET AND SO PEACEFUL.. NO ONE COULD EVEN MOVE. When one of us would talk it felt like pure power from God. It was one of those moments where I realized.. GOD really does watch out for his children and the spirit can heal all wounds.  WOW. I wish you guys couldve been there. I love these two precious daughters of God. Please pray for them by name, Mica and Marianela.

 I just have to brag about my companion. She is seriously soooo fun. Shes soo so nice to me!! Its the best to have a comp who really cares about me and bonus we can speak English for the first time in seventeen months! We work like gold together! Im sooooo blessed to have Hermana Espinsoa. Shes going to do amazing things on this mission. It rips me apart to think I will be leaving it next month, but oh what beautiful reassurance that it is being left in the hands of this sweet angel and so many like her.  I swear that girl has a gift with people. SHE TALKS TO EVERYONE. EVERYONE! I swear we give away like 100 invitaions a day. By the end of this year all of Argentina is gonna know who this chica really is. SPREAD THE GOSPEL LIKE ESPINOSA LO HACE. YAA.
:)

loves!! Work with me this last month of my mission and lets all do somthing miraculous in the next forty days.  I DARE YOU!  LOVE YOU GUYS!  Carry On!

MY FINAL TRANSFER

HELLO FAM!!!!!!!!!!!! Im kind of freaking out right now. GOD DECIDED TO PUT ME PUT ME BACK IN LA BOCA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CRIED SO HARD LAST NIGHT BECAUSE MY HEART TRULY BELONGS IN LA BOCA!!!!!! Im realllllyyyyy gonna miss Tigre. Im thankful for that sweet little branch and for all the sweet people I was able to teach. Bruno, Edwin and Norberto... You will be missed:):) 

Pero.. MAN... LA BOCA?!!! THIS NEVER HAPPENS IN THE MISSION. WHEN YOURE DONE WITH AN AREA.... YOURE DONE. NO MORE GOING BACK. YA ESTA.

Its just so amazing because ILL NEVER FORGET the sweet words I heard in my mind when I was praying for this next transfer. God had told me that he had a very special place and a very special companion prepared for me. :)

MY COMP ES UN AMOR! HERMANA ESPINOZA from MEXICO CITY, MEXICO!!!! Ahhh shes just so chill and so amazing and speaks in English. WHAT? Did I just say english? YA THATS RIGHT FOLKS. MY WHOLE MISSION IVE HAD LATINA COMPS THAT DONT SPEAK ENGLISH.. AND POR FIN GOD BLESSED ME WITH ONE THAT DOES! hahahaha but id rather talk in spanish cause ive forgotten alllll my english. :):)

SOOO tons of  CRAZY things have happened this week. But I just wanted to share something awesome that happened this Sunday. :) My sweet mother, Hermana Quintana had her farewell along with 42 other missionaries on Sunday. Its a crazy time in our mission because sooo many people are going home! But Hermana Quintana wanted me to sing in her farewell:) So I had the opportunity to sing Joseph Smiths first prayer.  THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE AT THE FAREWELL. I thought I was gonna die. But I reallly prayed and asked Heavenly Father if i could sing Joseph Smiths experience with these people and really tell it with all my heart.:) When I sang it .. it felt more like I was bearing my testimony. THis song is beautiful because it really captures everything what Jospeph Smith was going through. Im so happy I had the opportunity to sing to my Argentine friends about the restoration of this church and the testimony Ive gained on this mission. THIS STORY SCREAMS TO US THAT GOD IS NOT A SILENT GOD AND HE REALLY DOES ANSWER OUR PRAYERS. Joseph Smith tenia 14 anos. Nada peeps. Era un jovencito. But God loved this little boy so much and he loved allll of his children so much that he gave us his SON and his true church. Im thankful for this humble boy and for his sincerity and for his desire to hear from God.  I really hope we can remember him and know that we can talk to God about anything and we can ask him anything and he will answer our prayers. :)

I feel so so so grateful God put me in the best area for my last transfer. I KNOW there are people in La Boca that are waiting for me and Hermana Espinoza. Ahh I honestly couldnt be happier. Today is a good day. :) 

love you all!!!

LOVE,HERMANA TERRY   CARRY ON CARRY ON CARRY ON!!!!

Hold on! He will come.

Buen dia familia!!

So I went to EFY this week. haha isnt that so sad! My first time at efy and Im on the mission:)YOU NEED PACK YOUR BAGS AND SIGN UP FOR EFY NOW cause it will change your life. Bueno.. President asked me to share my testimony on the age change and how I got my answer to serve a mission. QUE EMOCION! Ill never forget the feelings I felt when President Monson announced the age change. That day changed a lot of our lives. I shared my testimony about how God had a better plan for me and that was to serve a mission. I TESTIFIED that GOD IS PREPARING PEOPLE IN THE WORLD TO HEAR THE SWEET MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL FROM OUR MOUTHS, AND FROM OUR UNIQUE PERSONALITIES.  WHAT I WASNT EXPECTING TO SAY at the end of my testimony was that I told all of the WOMEN who were in the room to say a prayer and ASK BOLDLY God if they should serve a mission. It was so interesting because I felt sooo strong that WE NEED MORE WOMEN MISSIONARIES.

I love speaking in front of people.especially in Spanish. Hey future husband..if youre out there somewhere and  reading this... lets serve a mission in South America together someday OK? . thanksbye.

 This whole transfer weve been working with the members to find eligidos por medio de ellos.  We havent seen the fruit from our labors.. But this week we did!!! You guys know Ale:) Bueno! Ale has a sobrina that is 12 years old. Her name is Melina. I have almost 4 months here in Tigre and Ive seen this little girl on her bike every day since Ive been here. She invited us in her house and taught her and her mom about the plan of salvation because her 14 year old son just passed away. :( It was one of the most spiritual lessons I have had The mom is not quite ready because she still feels mad at God for taking her son. But were gonna keep working with her! MELINA her daughter.. asked us if she could be baptized. She was so happy cause she told us she feels like she needs to change and be better. Mi amor. Little 12 year old girl who literally RAN to ALe´s house to tell him that shes gonna get baptized. And then she ran to the her friends and told the whole world shes gonna get baptized. :) It was seriously the sweetest thing. I honestly feel bad I had never talked to her before. But Im happy that God trusts us with his children. It makes me s happy that as we strive to work more with the members... we can bring their whole family to the waters of baptism. I know that Ale´s sister and his sobrina will be baptized and will return to their beloved family member someday.:):):)Eternal families are the reason I came here.  Gracias Dios.

You know what I love? Listening to people and really trying to understand them. I love that everyone has their own story. I think thats the biggest most rewarding thing we have as missionaries, and that is the gift of listening. And when we listen, we will know exactly what to say. We know how the gospel can be applied in their lives. We know, BECAUSE WEVE LIVED IT. As a missionary Ive realized that God has truly given us the opportunity to really feeeeeeel the pains of the people we meet. Its 100% necessary. Our Savior, Jesus Christ knows our pains perfectly thats why he has perfect empathy and as representatives of Jesucristo, God gives us the tiniest slice of what Jesus felt. Yesterday we talked to a man who has been having suicidal thoughts. Guys, this man is SO successful. He has everything going for him, and yet he feels so inadequate. He cant forgive himself. for his life mistakes.  He cant love himself.. He just started crying in front of us. Ive never seen a grown man cry so hard in my life. It was the saddest thing. Me and HM really tried to comprehend this mans pain. At the end of this visit ,he told us that last night he was standing in the middle of the railroad.. waiting for the train, he heard the words come into his head.. ¨¨"ITS ALL JUST A PROCESS"¨¨ Now he is trying hard to trust in our loving Heavenly Father who put these words in his head. I testify with all my heart that OUR LIFE IS A PROCESS. All I could tell this man was, WAIT! WAIT ON THE LORD!! I PROMISE HE WILL COME. HE WILL NOT LEAVE US COMFORTLESS HE WILL COME TO US!! Everyone has different timing in their process.. BUT I KNOW in the end.. everything is fair and that Gods grace covers ALL.  This man has so much worth. He is a son of God. And God has not forgotten him. We have to trust that it will get better. So many times in our lives we feel like we need to fix it all at once.. but its a PROCESS. And when we feel like God has abandoned us, we need to remember that our own Savior, Jesus Christ felt the same way while he was on the cross and said,¨¨My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?¨¨I know that we all need to go through this feeling in our lives IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE ATONEMENT. HIS LOVE AND HIS GRACE CAN BRIGHTEN THE MOST DARKEST PATCHES OF OUR LIVES. ONCE AGAIN I TESTIFY THAT GOD WILL NEVER LEAVE US COMFORTLESS.. HE WILL COME TO US -- IN HIS OWN TIME.  But I promise you, form the bottom of this little missionary heart, HE IS COMING TO YOU! 

:):) love you!! have a good week!!

HAPPY GROUDNHOG DAY,

love,hermana terryble :)  CARRY ON CARRY ON CARRY ON!!!!!!!