Nori's email home on November 29th

¡Feliz Día de Gracias! So Thanksgiving was a huge success. We made turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, Jello salad, and apple pie. Pretty much we had all of the thanksgiving staple foods. But don’t worry; they had a little of Argentina in there. The turkey was deliciously
flavored with Argentina seasonings, the yams were yellow not orange, and the apple pie was more like a giant empanada. Yep, when in Argentina, do as the Argentinians do. Hna. Neff and I had a ton of fun preparing it, and even more fun eating it. It was definitely a Thanksgiving that I will never forget.

We also are very excited to work with the members. We have a new ward misión leader and we are seeing miracles. We now have the phone number of every member with a committed time that they can help us with appointments. We are so excited!! I have never seen the members so excited and aware of the misión work. We are going to keep it going and we’re going to start the month of December with some fun, new stuff. We’re going to keep folletos for the month of Jesús Christ and try to pass by their friends and neighbors to sing a Christmas song. We also are going to make a treat to a member every day so that we can get to know them better and get references. We also want to give a Book of Mormon to every member to mark their favorite scriptures, wrap it as a present, and give it to someone. I love working with members! They are the key to success. Go help the missionaries with a leccion this week, or pray specifically for their investigators, or make them brownies or something. Just do it! You’ll have no idea the impact that it will have!

So we kind of had a hard day Saturday and Sunday morning. It’s pretty much our fault because we prayed for patience and humility. And we definitely received that lesson. We had three lessons with our baptism date investigators and all of them fell through because of different excuses. One was sick, one was busy, one went to the dad’s house, and we even got turned down by a 12 year old girl who wants to be baptized, but she was too busy playing volleyball with her friends. It stung pretty bad! We were afraid to go to more citas because we were afraid to hear more excuses and receive more rejection. And then we had no one in church because of more excuses. It was pretty hard! But Hna. Neff and I went home and prayed. And let me tell you, there is power in prayer! We poured out our whole heart to Heavenly Father, and got up to go to work. We left to go knock doors with a member that is preparing for his misión, and we found 10 new investigators! It was pretty much a miracle for us. I definitely know that God loves us and sends us trials sometimes. But if we learn humility and patience, we will always see the blessings and the miracles that follow.

Well I love the misión and I miss all of you. But don’t forget the commitment that I’m leaving with you all. Go help the missionaries this week! Will you do it? If you will, I know you will have a better week and receive more blessings. I know that missionary work is important and that you can be a missionary without a name tag. I am grateful or all of the important things that I am learning in the misión. I love you all and have a great week!

Les kiero,
Hna.ellsworth

Never a Dull Moment

So we have had plenty of adventures this week. Let me just tell you that there is never a dull moment in the mission. There’s always something we need to be doing, and the unexpected always occurs. We started the week with P-day, and we got a special invite to the mission choir. I was pretty surprised because I don’t really know how to sing, and apparently you’re supposed to have some music talent to be in this choir. But I think it’s because I’m an hermana. There’s only about 6 hermanas and 25 elders. I’m the only female alto with four elders. Ya, I’m excited! But after the choir practice, we went and played some basketball with some of the elders. We played in our skirts for a little bit; and when we went to leave, all of the gates were locked. So Hna. Neff and I had to jump the fence… in skirts. It wasn’t one of my proudest moments. But I think we did it gracefully for the most part. We also are very blessed to have lunches with members everyday now. But I have learned that you have to work for your food. This week I was a little bit stressed because we ate with an old misión president, the bishop, and the stake president. I was a little nervous, but Hna. Neff and I won them over with a robbery story and misión work plans for the ward. We now have their support and offers for an asado in the future. ;o) We are welcoming in the seasons with a lot of rain and a lot of bichos. We have already found a ton of bugs, the highlights being a scorpion, slugs, and a huge spider. We attacked the scorpion with Raid, the slugs with salt, and the spider had a fiery death. Hna. Neff and I enjoyed ourselves. We have videos to show after the misión. Be excited!

All of that stuff was pretty fun, but the real highlight of the week was Maricel and other baptism dates we put. Rosedal will definitely be baptizing in December. We went and talked with Maricel with our zone leaders, and she had a ton of miracles that happened to her. She now is going back to church and is preparing for her baptism again. She said that she was pretty upset and wanted to drop us but then opened the Book of Mormon and opened to the scripture in 3 Nephi 11 about contention is of the devil. She felt like God was talking directly to her. And then she continued reading about baptism. I love miracles! Heavenly Father really saved us on that one. So she’s preparing to be baptized in a few weeks and went to church yesterday with a couple other investigators that are preparing for their baptism.

We are way excited for all of the miracles that are happening in Rosedal. Hna. Neff and I are just having a party teaching the gospel. Remember that Jesús Christ loves you, and I do too!

Les kiero,
Hna. Ellsworth

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade!

So this week, I´ve decided that Heavenly Father has to have a sense of humor. Because everytime I ask him a question, he always sends me the answer in a way that I´m not expecting. I´m not quite sure how I feel about that but at least I know that he´s listening to my prayers, just like he listens to your prayers. But this week, I wanted to understand a little more about the scripture that says, ¨There must be an opposition in all things.¨ I should have thought that question out a little bit better before I asked it because I definitely got my personal testimony of opposition this week. So I now know that are trials but there are also the miracles that come with. So here we go, come what may and love it!

Trials:

The Enfermidad

So since it is getting pretty hot, we have been pretty desperate for any water we can get. We ask for some sort of liquid at any house that will give it us. The basically means we have drunk some pretty interesting stuff. The most interesting we have been when my companion asked for water and they just handed us a mug from their table filled with a bright nasty yellow liquid. And of course she gives it to me first to try it. It was pretty funny. But it´s not funny because the water from the tap is pretty bad here. So Hna. Neff got pretty sick from the tap water this last weekend. So we lost a couple work days. I´ve kind of had bad luck with that with past companions. The assistant to the president accused me of poisoning my companions or they all just got sick of me. Hmmm… I wasn´t amused.

Maricel

So our investigator that was supposed to get baptized next week decided that she wasn´t ready to be baptized. I know her testimony and she has the faith and the knowledge to be baptized, but she wants more time. That´s fine because we don´t want to pressure anyone to do something that they don´t want to do, but it was just a hard blow that we weren´t prepared for.

The Robbery
It is only good when I tell it with my companion, purple = narration, green=hna neff, blue=hna ellsworth... so here it is:

So it´s a beautiful spring morning, the birds are singing, the sun is shinning, and the sky is totally clear of clouds. It´s 10am and we are leaving the pension to go to our District Meeting, we walk two houses down and then it happens.....

This moto (motorcycle) comes roaring down the street, with two men, both wearing black helmits. They come right up to the curb in which they were walking, nearly running over Hna Neff.

I am thinking "What a jerk! Who drives like that!??¨"
and I was thinking ¨Hna. Neff... why are you walking in the street! Don´t you know you could get run over?!¨

Then the one on the back jumps off right in from of Hna. Neff. He has his hand beneath his shirt, holding something and he begins to jump back and forth yelling something.....

I take a step back, not sure what he wants, but then I hear him say "SALUDAR!!! SALUDAR!!!!" (saludar= to greet someone)....so I awkwardly wave and say ¨hola?¨
and I took a step away and wondered "Why is he yelling "CELLULAR!!!CELLULAR!" and why is my companion waving at him?"

Suddenly it clicks!!!!!!

.....OOOOOHHHHHH he is yelling "CELLULAR!!! CELLULAR!!!" He is trying to rob us!!!!!! He wants our cell phone! He has a stick looking thing under his shirt! He is trying to make me think he has a gun!

Hna. Neff finally leeps in action..... she yells:

"NO TENEMOS NADA!!!!!" ("We don´t have anything!"...... aren´t you impressed with my spanish?! In this time of crisis I spoke in tongues!!!! I must be improving!!!!)
I was impressed with her spanish too...

Suddenly the Robber looks at Hna Neff´s name tag and freezes, then points and says "HERMANA?!" then he looks and points at Hna Ellsworth´s name tag..."HERMANA???!!!!".....then there is a slight pause followed by "OH PERDÓNAME!!(Forgive Me)" He jumps on the moto again, yells "SON MISIONERAS!"(They are missionaries) at his get away driver and they speed off... he yells back at the confused Hermanas... "DIOS LES BENDIGA"(God bless you)

Do you think he may have been an old investigador???
Or a less active member......???

Then the two Hermanas, serving a mission in the wild suburbias of Argentina, walked to their District Meeting...laughing and laughing all the way.

And they both lived Happily Ever After.....

MIRACLES

Hna. Neff

So my companion is just pretty much amazing. We just have a ton of fun together. Maybe a little too much fun sometimes. Did I mention that her aunt dumped Chuch Norris when they were in college. Pretty much the coolest things I´ve ever heard. Anyways, we´ve pretty much decided that we are going to baptize all of Rosedal with a roundhouse kick.

Ward Mission Work

So we have really been pushing the members to get them excited about the mission work. So we have been giving them pamphlets to give to their friends. And we have been verifying with them to make sure they have been doing it. And they are having some great experiences and we are getting a ton of references. Apparently there are three people that want to be baptized. We just have to help them to get to church and stay in church. But ya, we are seeing a ton of miracles because the members are willing to work too. We are going to start a competition with the Relief Society and the Priesthood to see who can give out more pamphlets and give us more references. We are way excited!

Bishop

So went to church yesterday and brought an investigator and had time to chat with our bishop. We have been working a ton to gain his trust and work more with the members. Anyways, he pulled us into his office, or wait, it actually was the nursery room, but we talked about missionary work. And he promised us a new amazing mission leader, four ward missionaries, and all the support that he can give. And then he ended our little chat saying that he completely trusted us and that he can see and feel that we are good missionaries that are excited and are here to work. So we are definitely going to be seeing more miracles. Because in my experience, I know that if the missionaries have the help of the members that is when there is success.

I love the mission! It´s the best time of my life and I hope it never ends! Hna. Neff and I are seeing a ton of miracles and we are learning and growing through our trials. But really, they don´t really even seem like trials because the blessings outweigh the trials. Well, just remember that Heavenly Father loves you and Hna. Ellsworth does too! El Reino de Dios o Nada!

Les kiero,

Hna. Ellsworth

Feliz Cumple!

Wow! This week was pretty exciting with birthdays, intercambios with zone leaders, cane dropping with stake president’s wife, and such. And then there were the Amazing things that happened with a perfect reference from another ward, a magically planned baptismo date, and people in the church! It’s probably been one of my better weeks. I have truly seen the miracles of the Lord and the hand of God in the work this week.

But ya, this week was pretty much an awesome birthday present for me. My birthday was way fun. We just played it like every other day. We went to appointments and invited everyone to come unto Christ. I have to admit that I was a little bummed because i didn’t get my package and nobody really knew or cared in Rosedal except for my companion, Hna. Neff who is pretty much Amazing! She made me a cake and we had a fun time together. And I got a phone call from Hna. Dickey, and Hna. Mortensen, and zone leaders, and district leader, and Hna. Peralta (my mini-missionary for three days)! I couldn’t believe that she remembered. And then at 9:00, we got permission from the zone leaders to run a mile to Grido ice cream place and buy a kilo of ice cream. It was pretty much delicious with the cake. But ya, overall it was a great birthday!

We also had fun starting this new program in the Ward. We are giving out the Plan of Salvation pamphlets to everybody to find references. And we gave them to some members during the week and then gave out the rest in Relief Society. And just to show how cool my companion is, she called out the stake president’s wife to see if she had given them out. She had forgotten but another member had a really great experience with it. Anyways, i think we have stricken the fear of God into the relief society, so i hope that we get some great results. And during our presentation, a former misson president was in the room listening. And he came up afterwards and told us that it´s a great idea and he wants us to come and tell the Elder’s Quorum next week. We are way excited. We also kind of dropped cane with the misión leader and the bishop after church, but all of it done with a smile. So we’re excited to see some miracles soon.

Speaking of miracles, Maricel came to church and loved it! She made a lot of new friends and she is definitely growing in her testimony and faith. She is planned to be baptized at the end of this month, so we are really looking forward to that. And other Miracle happened yesterday with Ana Luz. Her brother is an Amazing recent convert of 2 years and is preparing for the misión. And her sister isn’t baptized but goes every week. But now her mom wants her to be baptized this month. It’s crazy how miracles just fall right in front of us. We’re excited to see what else happens this week! But ya, the work is Amazing and I’m loving life! The church is true and we need to put our shoulder to the wheel and get to work. We need to do things that we have never done before, and that is when we see the miracles! We are really excited to get a ton of Books of Mormon this week and we’re going to have the members write their testimonies and give them out to a neighborhood. And then we’ll pass by after a week and try to teach them all. It’s an idea given to us by Presidente Salas, so we’re excited to go try it out and see what happens! We are committed as a missionary to grow in our faith and obedience to see more baptisms. It will take a lot of work but I’m excited for the changes that we are making. Well, I love you all! Siga adelante!

Les quiero,

Hna. Ellsworth

La Palada Inicial

This week was so amazingly awesome! I am so incredibly blessed to have been here for the ground breaking for the temple of Cordoba. And what more, we were able to have a misión conference with Elder Andersen. So I´m just going to give the highlights of the weekend.

So it started Friday night when some of the hermanas came to sleep over at our pension because they live far away. We had six hermanas in our small pension. The Assistants called it the Hermana Pajama Party (which interestingly enough, is translated the same in spanish.) But ya, we made a small little bonfire in the back pateo and ate smores, bon bons, and chocolate cake. It was pretty fun. And I got to catch up with Hna. Dickey, my companion from the MTC. I love that girl!

But the real highlight of the weekend was the Mission Conference. We all went to the church that is across from Wal-mart and there was about 200 missionaries there. It was crazy!! I saw all of the hermanas in the misión including Hna. Mortensen. And i saw all of the elders from my MTC district and from my other districts. But the best part was to hear the words of a prophet, Elder Andersen. He spoke in spanish and you could see that he struggled with it because he knows spanish, portuguese, and french but the spirit was so incredibly strong. He taught us that we need to focus on the little things to make the great things happen. He is confident in us that we can flouish as a misión and find more people to baptize in Cordoba, Argentina.

My favorite part was when he asked Presidente Salas to translate for him. He switched to english and started testifiying about the Book of Mormon in english. The Spirit was so strong. I know that he is an apostle of God and I was incredibly blessed to shake his hand and hear the words and counsel of him. And then afterwards, he left to go do the ground breaking for the temple. We watched it on the big screen. I honestly can´t believe that I am so blessed to have been here in this time and this place to see them build the temple. The Church is growing in Cordoba, Argentina and we are seeing miracles. We have to keep moving forward in faith and invite all of our brothers and sisters to come unto Christ.

We, Hna. Neff and I, are very excited for this month because it will be the month of families. We really want to focus on the families and teach about the plan of salvation, proclamation to the family, strength of youth, and family history to everyone in Rosedal! We are going to give a lot of resources to the members so that they can share it with their friends and families as well. And we want to finish the month with a huge activity and baptism. We are very excited to see the miracles. We talked to the bishop yesterday and he promised us that if we worked with all of our diligence, then we would see the miracles. And i know that is completely true. Just like one of my best friends always tells me- ( Faith + Work + Obedience = Miracles. )

I know that God lives and Jesus Christ lives. I know this Church is true and that Joseph Smit h was a true prophet that restored the true Church. I know the Book of Mormon is true and we call always find the answers that we need in this life to find peace and happiness. I know that Pres. Monson is a true prophet and that the 12 apostoles are men called of God. I am grateful for the opportunity to hear Elder Andersen and learn from him. I know there is power in prayer and I am so incredibly grateful for your prayers. I can feel your prayers and love here in Argentina. I love you all and I hope you have a great week. Be sure to eat a cake on Thursday for me!

Les kiero

Hna. Ellsworth