This transfer has already been a totally different experience for me in a lot of ways, the main one being that I'm no longer the baby girl! I feel the responsibility of directing the area, making many of the decisions, and making sure that we're in the right place at the right moment and that we take good care of our investigators. As we were walking along yesterday afternoon, I jokingly turned to Hna. Bird and said, "Okay senior comp, it's your turn to make the decision." and she said, "No way, I'm loving being the junior companion!" But seriously, our companionship is so great because there literally is none of that, we are just the greatest TEAM working together to do Heavenly Father's work.
So here's some of the great things that have been going on this week:
Hna. Bird really is the greatest. The first fews days were kind of quiet and "official" as they always are when you get with your new companion. But we became great friends super quick and are always laughing about something. She reminds me ALOT of Hayley (my dearest roomie) with her kind of "serious" outward appearance, who's actually one of the funniest people ever underneath the intimidating face. It's so interesting to me how two companions can be so different (she and Hna. Castillo are SO different in so many ways) and yet both can be so amazing and so loveable. The goal is for us to stay 3 more transfers in San Justo together until Hna. Bird goes home (I don't think it's going to fly with President because I'm getting kind of old in this area). But seriously, we both have this wonderful, exciting feeling within that the two of us were meant to do incredible things here in San Justo together.
And serioulsy, Heavnly Father has great things in store for us. This weekend we have the baptism of little 8 year old Brisa, the daughter of Stella, a recent convert from August. Stella is kind of like another 8 year old in a 35 year olds body, and she has really struggled to stay active, but we absolutely adore them and they are two of my dearest friends. Preparing Brisa for her baptism has been an incredible experience for Stella and it's really helped her get active in the church again. And Brisa is just the cutest thing! She always has to help her mom say the closing prayer at the end of our lessons, it's funny how kids just grasp onto gospel principles so much faster than the adults sometimes. "Of course we should talk to Heavenly Father! It's not hard mom!"
We're also still really working with Rosi, Jesus' little sister. She is just SO ready, and she knows the church is true. I think she just got scared off by the stake youth activity that she went to. So pray for Ros and for us that we will be able to teach with the Spirit to touch her heart. We're also working with Ruben, the guy that's in Berta's baptism pic. He is THEE greatest, and the most loveable little Argentine ever, and he too knows that the church is true. But Ruben has intense fear of this little thing we call commitment. And yes, Heavenly Father is a God of commitments and the Church of Jesus Christ is a church of commitment. So we're taking baby steps with him kind of like they do on "What about Bob." Seriously, he kind of reminds me of Bob!
Super cool experience. On Saturday, we went to the huge main park in San Justo where people are just swarming everywhere, listening to the bands, shopping in the little craft fairs because we wanted to invite alot of people to church. Hna. Bird went down one side of the sidewalk, handing out cards, and I went down the other, but I had this little problem in that I kept getting stopped by little grandpas who would sit me down and want to tell me their whole life story. And you know me, I could sit in a park listening to Argentine grandpas all day, so I was definitely behind on doing my part of the "contacts." Side note about contacts: we invite 100s of people to church every week and I've never know any one to actully come. But Sunday morning, we were sitting in gospel principles with our little class full of investigators, and the Bishop knocked on the window. We went out, and he said "Theirs a man here looking for you guys." We went out to the lobby and there was sweet little Roberto, one of the grandpas I had been talking with the day before! He was covered in sweat from walking 45 blocks in the blazing 10:30 sun, but it was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. He came to all the classes and Sacrament, and when I asked him how he had liked it at the end, his eyes filled with tears and he just said, "Gracias, gracias. Te agradezco." Obviously little Roberto was really needing the light and peace that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings, and he found it in the bright little San Justo chapel.
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