May 28, 2012- Letter

Dear Mom and Dad,

School is out! Let the games begin! If by games you mean, the dance,
the work, the travel, the all that other stuff you people have to deal
with in the summer time. Haha. Good luck with that.

I did not realize that Summer was leaving tomorrow! That is so
exciting! And I admit, I am a little jealous as well! She is going to
have such a good time. And Tanner goes into the MTC?! He is already
there? That is so crazy. You know, I was thinking. It will be really
cool for Kami, Tanner, and Daniel to all be on missions at the same
time. Those three have always been so close, and that will be fun for
them to share.

And Kami is done with her papers. That is so crazy. I´m not quite sure
what to think about that. Weird!

This week was pretty good. Still exciting, although, not in the same
sort of way as last week. Thank goodness. I don't know if I can handle
that again.

There were some major events this week. One was the 25 de May. This is
the day of the beginning of the revolution. If I remember correctly.
Anyways, we had a big activity in the ward, where we ate very
traditional (and delicious) empanadas and pastalitas. Don´t worry, I
am doing my best to collect all the recipes, since right now I can´t
really describe what everything is. At the activity, they had the YSA
do a folk dance, and there was a couple who folk dances professionally
who came and did some dances as well. And yes, I did take some video
so I can show them to Holly and Summer. Sorry girls, it won´t let me
send it over email, so you´ll just have to wait.

The first picture is Gabriel and I eating empanadas.
The next one is Romina and I.
 Juan Ignacio and I
And Jesica and I (she came for the weekend again! Yay!)

And then, the next day we had, da da da! Andrea´s baptism! Yay!!!! It
went so good! Although, as always the day of the baptism was
stressful. 1) we didn´t have baptismal clothes, and the zone leaders
were supposed to bring them, and they never showed up and 2) the hot
water in the church wasn´t working. Stressful, no?

So we had to fill the font with cold water and we tried to heat it up
as best we could by heating water on the stove and then dumping it in.
Unfortunately, it didn´t work as well as one would hope for and the
water was freezing. Seriously though, I was freaking out. We got to
the church at about 1pm, and we were there until after the baptism tht
evening. We do have a pretty awesome district leader though, and he
and hs companion came to the church to help us haul the water to the
font, since they are "men" Haha. It was very sweet of them. We did
find some giant pots to heat the water though, so we were able to heat
up lots at once.

There is a picture of me with the pot. It is HUGE!

Everything turned out just fine. The water was really cold, but we did
have a lot of members come, and everyone brought something to eat, so
we had another  mini party afterward! It was great. I was so so so
grateful to have so many members come and support Andrea. She
certainly has a lot of trials in her life, and I know that the Gospel
is going to bless her so much. We also did the musical number, and
that was really fun.

Cool fact about the baptism, Fernando did it. His first baptism!
Yeah!! It was so cool!!!
There is also a picture of us with all the RS sisters that came. It
was so great.

And on Sunday, she got confirmed! It was great. Other really exciting
things about Sunday, Gabriel came to church again!!! Holla! Ezequiel
(an investigator) came to church! Fernando got his first calling! He
is going to be the 1st councilor in the YM presidency! He is going to
do so awesome! We ate with Gabriel´s family, and his mom told me that
she had a surprise for me. I have been searching for a recipe of
Dulce De Leche pretty much since I set foot in Argentina, and everyone
knows what goes in it, but no one know the exact recipe. So Hna
Gutierrez spent a couple of HOURS making dulce de leche on Friday, so
that she could give me an exact recipe. And she gave me the dulce de
leche. She is so awesome!

After lunch with them on Sunday, we went straight back to church to
refill up the font, because the Elders were going to have a baptism,
and we share the church with them, but their area is pretty far away,
so we went to help them get started. It turned out to be basically the
same as the day before. Water pretty darn cold, but the baptism went
flawlessly, so I guess you can´t ask much more than that.

There is a picture of the elders filling the pot. We got really
creative trying to get everything figured out. Haha. Interesting
times, that is for sure.
And there is a picture of Hna Carson and I!

Overall things here are going pretty good. We are going to do out best
to find some more investigators! We feel like we can very likely have
3 or 4 more baptisms this transfer! Holla! We are really trying to get
to the point where we can have baptisms every week. It really is
possible!

Can I just say that it is super crazy that we are almost done with
May. It still doesn't feel like May to me. Maybe because it doesn´t
feel like May in the states, and it doesn´t feel like the same as when
I got here last year. Last year it was freezing, and it is cold kinda
some days, really cold others, and then warm others. Super weird. And
its humid, I am still not used to that. I suppose that I am just a
desert kinda girl.

But you know what? I love Argentina! It is so great here. And I love
Pueyrredón! I am really happy here, and I hope that I can finish my
mission here. I don´t want to have to say goodbye more times than
necessary!

Okay, I gotta go. I hope you have a good week. Summer, don´t be
nervous, I love flying, it is possibly my favorite form of travel.
Take some good pictures while you are there, okay? I hope you all
enjoy your summer! I love you!!!

Corinne

May 21, 2012- Letter

Dear Mom and Dad,

Wow. It sure sounds like you have had quite the crazy week! Yay!!!
When does school end? Its got to be soon, May is about to end. (Does
that blow anyone Else's mind?)

This week was potentially one of the weirdest weeks I have had on the
mission. Which unfortunately for me also means one of the most
emotional. Haha. Do you ever wonder how you ever got such an
emotionally distraught child?

Okay, starting with the really really weird stuff. I think last week I
talked about , right? I sent the picture because it was his first
time at church. Well. this week things got interesting.

We passed by on Wednesday to se how he was doing, and to set a cita.
We didnt´have a girl with us, and since he lives alone with his
brother, we didn´t go in. But we just talked for a little bit, and I
started to get the feeling that he was not just interested in the
church...if you get my drift. So when I talk to my district leader that
night, he counseled us to always go with a member, even if it is just
to talk outside for a second.

So the next day, we went to the cita with one of our YSA girls, and
the lesson started out totally great. (This is Thursday by the way) So
we were talking about the Plan of Salvation, and we started talking
about how important this life is, and all the things that we need to
do while we have the time to do them. And he again starts to talk
about how he feels like everything that has happened has happened to
that he could meet me. And that he loves me. And that he understands
that right now I can´t do anyhing about that, but that he would be
willing to wait. And a ton of other things. It was very very
uncomfortable. Awkward if you will.

Thank goodness we had to leave right then since Emelia, who had gone
with us, had to leave, and we couldn´t be there with out her. So we
left.

I called Elder Howard, my district leader. He said he didn´t know what
to do, and neither did I. Keep in mind that he is still interested in
all the things that we are teaching. He had been reading, and had gone
to church. Big steps. So he called the zone leaders. Who called the
Assistants. It was so EMBARRASSING! I didn´t want anyone to know, and
we had to call everyone! So they finally said not to go over without a
girl and a guy.

So on Saturday, with the next cita, we went with Noelia and Jeremias.
We finished lesson 2, and the whole thing went great. He said he would
come to church.

So on Sunday he comes to church, and Gabriel, on of the YSA boys
becomes his friend, at our request. They got along great, and we set
up a cita and Gaby´s house for the afternoon. What we didn´t realize
is that he had told Gaby his, interest, and so Gaby talked to us,
and told us that he would talk to him, and explain that I am a
missionary, and all that that entails.

We had the lesson at Gaby´s house, and it went really well. Except for
one part. It was really spiritual, and I know that everyone there felt
the spirit, and that Ivan felt it too. But he told us that again,
where his main interests lie, and that without the possibility of a
future, he wasn´t really interested in continuing. That with a lot of
other things that he is doing right now in his life. After we
testified a little bit more, he asked if he could leave. So he said
the closing
prayer, and left.

When he left, I started to cry. I was feeling a little mix of guilt,
not knowing if what had happened was my fault, or if I had done
everything I could without crossing the line. And again Gabriel was
great, he had a similar situation on his mission, and he just helped
walk me down, and realize that what had just happened was probably for
the better, at least at this point in time.

The GREAT thing that happened this week is this. Andrea is going to
get baptized this week instead of next week! She is going to be
travelling the week of her original date, and so when she told us
that, and we started talking about when we could move her baptism,
after a minute, she asked if she could be baptized a week earlier
instead of a week later. Ahd she was so excited when she found out
that it was a possibility!

We are so excited for her! I know that this is going to help her so
much it isn´t even funny. If anyone was just prepared to listen to the
gospel, and to be ready to accept everything, it is Andrea. I feel
like she just fell out of the sky, and was ready. I am so excited to
see all of the blessings that she is going to recive. I know how much
she needs this gospel.

So next week I´ll send pictures! I am excited for that.

Okay, I don´t know if Kami will be able to send the pictures, so if it
doesn´t work, please remember to send them next week!

Also, I don´t know if you´ve already sent the package I asked for last
week, but I thought of some more things that would be nice...hehe.
Contact solution, and more contacts. And a white undershirt. But more
than anything, the eye care products. That would be great.

I think that is all. To the girls, I am sure you did great in your
concerts, and I am sad that I missed them, but I sure love you!

To Zac, congrats on being Drama Pres next year! You are going to be great!

To Kami, I love you! Thank you for your email, I will print it out and
read it tonight!

To Rocky, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! The big two oh! I love you!
And to Mom and Dad, I love you! Thank you for everything that you are
doing for me! I couldn´t be where I am without you!!!

I love you!

Corinne

May 14, 2012- Pictures

May 14, 2012- Letter

Dear Mom and Dad,

It was so good to talk to you yesterday! I do apologize for the slight
breakdowns, but just be rest assured that I am doing well. Next
important item of business I´m sorry. The frosty Frog. What is that?
It is new, that is for sure. Weird how things like that are so normal
for all of you, but that to me they are completely foreign.

Well, a quick recap of the week, since I have realized that of all the
things that we talked about yesterday, my week wasn´t one of them. It
was actually really good. We had a blitz in our area, so we had three
other companionships working and it actually went really well. As you
know we have had a hard time finding new investigators. But with the
blitz we found 9! It was really exciting. I was very pleased that Hna
Bingham and I were able to find as well. Of those nine, we have
already had to drop two, but I have high hopes for the seven that
remain.

The two that we talked about yesterday are great. Ivan, who I have a
picture of that I will attach. And Andrea, who I will get a picture of
this week. They are so great. Ivan is still trying to figure out what
it is that he wants, and I think that he is scared to know that he
wants to know if everything is true, but that is okay.

Andrea has the most adorable son named Jeremias, and he is three years
old, and has Down Syndrome. He is so sweet, I just love him, and I
know how much the gospel will be able to help them both. Poor Andrea
feels so alone, and the wonderful relief society sisters are really
going to be able to help her, and they have already started! I am
thrilled, the whole relief society presidency really has all of a
sudden found all these desires to work and to help us, and I am so
grateful. I am going to do everything I can to make sure that we see
some big results really quickly so that they can see how essential
they are to what it is we are trying to do.
Anyways Ivan and Andrea both went to church yesterday, and I think
that they really enjoyed it! The members were great, you could tell
that they were really excited to have investigators at church and that
they waned them to feel comfortable and to come back. So we are hoping
that that trend will continue!

We were also able to work a lot more with the members this week. We
can´t go to Ivan´s house unless we have one of the Hnas with us, so we
have a great great need for them now. They are stepping up to the
plate splendidly. We always have one, and when we go see Ivan, we
almost always have one of the YSA with us, so that Ivan isn´t thinking
that the church is only made up of old people. I think it has been
good for him. They invited him to a FHE that they do with all the YSA
in the ward, and a couple of other things, and Ivan said that he was
going to go. And the RS sisters have been really great at going with
us to see Andrea, and they are doing fantastically with Jeremias.
Everyone was so patient with him on Sunday, and I think that they are
excited to have him coming. It is going to be so great!

My new companions name is Hna Carson, and she is from Midvale, Ut. She
seems really great. She got here this morning at about eleven. I think
that we are going to get along great. We still don´t know each other
very well, but I am excited to see what this transfer brings. We were
able to end the last transfer with a good setup for success for this
transfer. I´ll be attaching a picture with her at the end as well.

Well...I normally write some of the things that I want to talk to you
about, which I did to talk to you yesterday, but I didn´t do it for
today...So I¨m not quite sure what to say.

I do hope you all have a good week with the concert madness. I hope
you can send  me pictures!!! I am glad that you are all happy and
healthy. It was so good to see you yesterday and to be able to talk to
you! Definitely worth all of the stress and worry to find a computer
that was going to work etc... I am glad that you are still planning on
going on your mission Kam, I know that you are going to do great!
Congrats Zac for getting chosen to do that cool thing at UVU, and good
luck Holly and Summer with all your dance concert stuff!!! I am so
excited for you!

Oh, Kami asked if the YW have the personal progress and for the
  strengthof the youth books, and the answer is yes, they do. Its all
the extra cute stuff that they don´t have, stickers, pictures, all
that.

Well, I am out of time. Next weeks email will be better! I love you
all! I hope that you have a great week!

Corinne