Rejected Visas and Sickness

Well it´s been a slow week, becauuuse Monday morning we got a call from the Secretary, telling us that it´s Hermana Lawrence´s turn to go finish trámites for her visa!! So Tuesday we have a long meeting, lunch, and then we head out to Mendoza. All of Wednesday morning, we´re waiting in lines and running around to get her visa stuff worked out, annnd what happens? They reject one piece of paperwork. Why? Who knows, only the Secretary really understands, poor elder. Sooo we eat lunch, and get back on a 4-hour bus back to San Luis! That was the first half of our week haha. The second half?

Thursday, weekly planning. That was rough haha.

Welll I wake up Friday morning with my throat hurting. A little cough. Stuffy nose. Meh. That´s nothing. Keep on, keepin´ on! We get some decent work done, visiting recent converts and such. Contacting loads of people. Saturday morning? Ehhh a little rougher, but I can make it. We get all bundled up for the cold Argentina wind and get rejected a LOT. About midday, I´m fighting. Struggling. Head is hurting. We go to lunch, head back to the apartment to finish our afternoon studies, annnd I tell Hermana Lawrence that I´m gonna lay down for 20 minutes, and I´ll be good to go...

You know how when you´re feeling sicky, and you wake up all achey and the body just hurts all over? Yeah. A half hour later, and I´m waking up así. We head out to an appointment igual, WITH A MEMBER (MIRACLE), annnd it falls through. I´m done. Ready to crawl home and take cualquier meds I can find. So we stop by a couple houses on the way to invite them to church the next day, get back to the apartment, annnd we get to working on the fat, awful, messy area book. Bleh. Finally it´s looking half-decent. Then I took some meds about 8:30, planned for the next day, and I was out.

Sunday, we saw MIRACLES for our perseverance!! FOUR people came to church! It was incredible! ANNND we had a sick lesson with the Colombian family we´re teaching. (: They also are stoked to come to church next week. (:

Alright, that´s all for now. Someone asked if I was from Ecuador the other day because of my accent, so that was cool.

I was also told I´m an optimistic person, so I was STOKED. That´s been a life-long goal, I feel like. I´m getting there! Poco a poco. Alrighty. I´m out. Loves!

Soem photos are from the bus ride, the movie that was on (Meet the fockers or one of those? Meh.), the riot that made us stop, a sign outside a Baptist church from Elder Boyer´s mission hahaha I died...Annnd RUNTS! They were 35 pesos, but they were delicious. (:

Chau!

Independence Day = LOCRO!

Sooo I feel like all I ever say anymore is how tired I am haha, but that´s alright! I´m doing good, and we´re working hard! We did happen to be in Mendoza from Monday to Tuesday for Consejo (I just learned that the Consejo meeting in the states is called Missionary Lidership Council...So I apologize for never being able to explain that very well haha), so that took a good chunk out of our week, but we´ve seen a LOT of fun miracles this last week. (: A week ago we found a Colombian family who has lots of questions, but they´re really excited to learn about the gospel and see what it´s all about. They´re never heard of the church, but they´re curious. (: So we had a lesson with them last night, and we sat on boxes, because they´ve yet to get any kind of furniture haha. But it was good!

Then another young couple came to church yesterday! They gotta get married, but they´re also way excited to keep reading the Book of Mormon and see the blessings from the gospel. (:

Annnd there´s a gal who I ADORE. Mikaela, she´s 17. (: I´ve just got this thing with jóvenes (teens?), I´ve decided. They´re all just so prepared and searching for something in their life. So they all just EAT up the gospel. We went to visit her, and she started telling us how she´s been reading Joseph Smith´s testimony in the front of the Book of Mormon and how much she loves it, and FAH. She´s great. I love that gal to death. (: I´ll get a photo of her soon. (;

So! Independence Day here is May 25th, and Independence Day = LOCRO. Which is a type of food! Well...Soup, really. And the hermanas here in our ward made a TON. Ya see those two big pots? Yup. Locro. I can´t even explain it. Not the greatest thing I´ve ever eaten, but it definitely was tasty. (: So that is our Locro fiesta, singing the Argentina anthem and everything. (: Viva La Patria!

Annnd then we went and tried the most expensive alfajor of my life haha. 11 pesos, but it was SO good hahaha. We thoroughly enjoyed them. (:

Then we went to Consejo! San Luis is about 4 hours from Mendoza centro, so we enjoy our long, comfy bus rides. We were stoked to get our bus tickets after a long day of sitting in a meeting. (:

Annnd last but not least haha. Sooo I know everyone thinks that sisters don´t do stupid stuff, but you´ve also gotta remember we´re a little crazy, too haha. So we have an ELEVATOR in our apartment. (Almost getting to this 21st century (; ) Annnd it´s an old one with that little closing door. But an elder once told me that on the cement wall in between the 2nd and 3rd floor were some uhh...Names. And dates. Of other missionaries hahaha. Sooo we opened up the door, and the elevator stops. WHOA. So funny haha. So we had to join the gang! :P

Alrighty, well I´mma head out and go buy some warmer clothing. I´m struggling a little, because I started in California (nice and warm) and got here to Argentina at the end of spring in San Juan (almost nice and warm)...So this the first time in quite a while that it´s getting pretty chilly...Sooo we´re out! Gonna go get some warm leggings and long-sleeve shirts and such. :D Loves!

-Hermana Lybbert

TRANSFERS!...From LAST Week. (:

Whoops!! My bad! I completely forgot to get you all the deets about transfers and such haha. But that´s alright, I´ll do it now!

So this transfer is gonna be a funny one, because Presidente is leaving here in June! So it´s only a 4 week transfer, and then we´ll be having an 8-week transfer afterwards. So on Wednesday, my companion showed up, and we immediately started having a BLAST together! Meet my new, yet definitely well-known, companion, Hermana Lawrence!!! :D

Okay, well maybe you all back home don´t know her, but I sure do! Let´s think back about 13-14 months ago in the MTC...I had to wait for an extra week without a reassignment, as well as a few other kids. So we finally get our reassignments, and I´m headed out to California! Who is my travel companion? A cute little gal, Hermana Lawrence, whom I had met before the MTC through Facebook haha. Weird, no? So we spent some good time in Cali together, but I got shipped out a little faster than her. She finally made it here in December. And now we are LOVING our lives all over again, because...I dno. It has just been a really easy transition haha. I already knew her, and we never had that awkward couple of days, trying to figure out how the new comp works and adjusting. BUT, we were trained the same way in California, and we already had a good idea of how the other one worked. So what do we do? We head out and KILL it! We´re finding new people to teach, we´re talking with all sorts of people, and we´re laughing our heads off. (: Sooo it´s been a great, fast few days.

This week we really have seen some cool miracles, and we´re excited to keep seeing more! We are finding families, chosen people, and people who are ready and willing to listen to us! (:

-Just a couple photos of us hermanas. (: Before my beloved Hermana Hales left me. ):

-Elders Petersen and Palmer! Putting together their AlphsDogs...

-Elder Peters trying them out for the first time...Not half bad!

-My lovely Hermana Hales and Sabas haha. (:

-Yesterday we didn´t have lunch, so I whipped together some tasty german pancakes! Mmmmmm. So goooood.

-My cute comp and I! Cheeese (;

First Time Experiences

Bahaha sooo I´m still trying to push down my "vergüenza" for these photos, but whatever, they still make me laugh haha. So YES! Hermana Hales and I have had some really great first time experiences this last week. (: Y´all ready for this?

Last Monday = A Wonderfully Wicked Waxing Experience

Two words. I died. Hermana Hales is a filthy liar, and she talked me into believing that she had waxed people before. Nope. It was painful. Probably a good thing I can`t get the videos loaded, because I screamed at her. (: Bahaha but I`ll admit that what Hermana Hales said is 100% truth: "Hey I´m really glad we´re close enough that I can do this to you and know that you still love me." (Insert big cheesy smile of her´s. Bahaha. True story. It will be one for the journal. As will the photos.

The other photo of all the cash just busts me up. It was like 1,600 pesos...How much is that in dollars? Yeah, like 200 haha. But all the bills looks sick, so Hales and I labeled this photo: "Money in the BANNNK." :P Bahaha.

The other first time experience was the last-zone.conference-before-Presidente-Ávile-goes-home. Sad day, no? He finishes his mission the end of June, and Presidente Goats will be coming in! So nuts. Quite saddening. (Sadenning? I dno how to spell). I can truthfully say I`ve had 3 mission presidentes.

My First 3-day exchanges experience! Hermana Hales and I are over two companionships that are in another zone, about an horu and a half away, so this week was the week to do excahnges with them! So after the all-day zone conference on Wednesday, we headed out on the buses to Villa Mercedes and did exchanges all day Thursday and all day Friday. We then came home Saturday morning, back to our Home Sweet Home pensión (apartment) in San Luis. It was hard being outside our area for so long, and our numbers definitely showed for it, but I LOVE being a sister training leader. I know I`ve said it a gajillion times before, but it really is one of my favorite experiences of the mission. I have a wonderfully growing desire for the work of the Lord and for talking and teaching people about the Gospel, but I always am SO filled being able to serve and lift OTHER servants of the Lord. I love the fact that these hermanas have enough trust in Hermana Hales and I that they can come to us for help and advice. AND, they are all so humble. They always ask me, "Hermana, what can I do better as a missionary? What have you seen that I can improve?" I love it.

So yes, that`s what those random photos of hermanas are from. Exchanges haha. First, Hermana Flores (I`ve missed her so much!! My 3-week daughter who came to Hermana Cox and I in the middle of my last transfer of San Juan) and Hermana Chorolqui (ALMOST missed her a ton from San Juan! :D) in the mornings. :P Second, Hermana Jasso chillin´ on her bed. Check out those feet tan lines! (; And last, Hermana Smith, the cutest little missionary with lots of fire. As you can all see. :P

My last really great experience was the SKYPING! We had lunch with the WONDERFUL Mitillo family, and they introduced "mazitas" to us. DELICIOUS little dulce things of all sorts. These are like the Argentine-version of doughnuts haha. Just get the assorted variety, and ENJOY. (: Mmm. So good. Then Hermana Hales skyped with her fam, and even I loved just hearing that hahaha. Plus I was super stoked to finally meet the famous fam of Hermana Hales, since I`ve heard SO much about them. (: They`re kind of a nutty family, but I love it, because it reminded me of my own haha. Then later that night I got to talk to ALMOST all of my family! West was working, so that was sad. ): Then I got to see and TALK with my nieces and nephews and see them walking and EVERYTHING, AND I sort of got to talk to Christian on his way home to work. (: I loved it. Funny story, though...My dad took a photo of Hermana Hales and I on skype, and the genius Hermana Hales says, "Oooh! Can you send that to my dad in a text?!" My dad being rather mischeivious (don´t judge. I don´t know how to spell anymore) and loving the idea, "SURE! HA...I`m just gonna send the photo without anything else. We´ll have to see what he says..." Bahaha. So yeah. Hermana Hales and I have decided that our families and especially our dads would be best friends. Plus they both enjoy motorcycles, so that´s ALWAYS a plus. :P

Alright...I dno what else to write about from this week. It`s been fun, kinda nuts haha, but all-around good. (: I love you all! Chau!

Birthday Packages!

Sooo anyone remember that one email that we all got from the Argentina missions, telling our families to not send anymore packages, because they´d all get stuck in Buenos Aires, and they´d never get to us? Whelp, looks like my family sent out my birthday package RIGHT on time! :D Because when we went to Consejo with all the zone leaders and sister training leaders, y´know what I got in the mail?!!

MY SEAHAWKS SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS T-SHIRT!!! Whoooo! Probably my favorite thing EVER. All of the office elders DIED hahaha. I sat down RIGHT then and there and opened it up. Got all the tape off, and the first thing I see is a Superbowl trophy deal on a blue and lime green t-shirt. I was showing that thing off to EVERYONE hahaha. One of the elders walked in (one who had been rooting for the Broncos), and he hid his eyes from shame. (: I´mmm lovin´ it!

Oh yeah, I also had to take a photo of what we´ve got here in downtown San Luis haha. New York! :P

The fun things about Consejo every month? Since San Luis is so far out, we go to the offices the night before and stay the night there. Annnd we were hungry. So we went to go get some panchos. Hot dogs. Seriously, the hot dogs here at the GREATEST thing alive. It had been a 9 months since I´d had one haha. It´s not just a hot dog, bun, ketchup, mustard, and relish. It´s a giant hot dog, homemade buns, a little mayo, american cheese, ham, mustard, and ketchup...It´s glorious. (: And now I´m hungry hahaha.

The ice cream? Well the fudge-covered graham crackers are from my birthday package. (: So I had to show that one off. Yummm...

OKAY. Speaking of the ice cream. So, I love ice cream. But I definitely am not used to such sweet things anymore. Yesterday I got SICK. I changed haha. We had flan with a member, ice cream at home, and ROOTBEER FLOATS (does NOT exist in Argentina or South America) in our Sunday meeting with the elders. I left from there, and I was dead. I came to realize why health is ALWAYS included in my blessings. Like...A LOT. And it´s because if I feel like crap, I shut down. I´ll do the work, but I´m just bleh. Not me. I am SO grateful for being a healthy person and for having that great blessing in my life. Not once have I gotten sick on the mission **knock on wood*, and it is SO amazing to me. THAT is my miracle for the week.

Alrighty. I´m outs. (: We´re gonna go eat SUBWAY. Yummm. (: Chau!