Happy AZ Statehood Day...yesterday!

So we just had cambios/transfers today! And I am still in La Calera! Hna. Brown left me and handed over the keys and the telephone. I´m kind of embarassed to tell you what happened next but here ya go… I was all alone waiting for my new comp and so I did some deep cleaning to make a good impresión for my new comp. Well, i went to take out the trash and tried to get back in. I got back in okay but it took me about five minutes to figure out what key it was supposed to be because the keys are trippy here. And then I had somebody call and I can´t understand a dime of spanish over the phone. So moral of the story – this is going to be a little harder than I anticipated. I now have a new companion, Hna. Widmer! She´s pretty much amazing but she doesn´t know anything about the area, the members, the investigators…so i´m going to have to step it up and not be so dependent. Yep, i´m way stoked for this next transfer…

So I have made a goal this past week to eat more healthy. I know that doesn´t sound anything like me but we had a sad realization this past week. We were calling for the last Grido (ice cream) that we would have as a companionship, so we got a kilo. Anyways, we called the number and they knew who we were by our accents and where we lived. They call us the ¨Gringas.¨ And to make it even worse, they know our favorite flavors. So yeah, it made me realize that I need to eat healthier food. Wish me luck!

But I´m way excited because we have a baptism this week!!! They have been waiting to get baptized for a while now but they had to get married first and marriages are kind of complicated here with money and paperwork. So they´re getting married Friday and then baptized Saturday. They´re very excited, more so for the baptism!! They are called Juan y Johana and they´re 22 and 20. They´re pretty much amazing people and I´m so excited for them!

Well, I hope all is going well and just know that I love you and miss you but I don´t miss you a ton because I know that I´m supposed to be here! I love being on a misión and helping the work of the Lord. I love that I can go to Church or a charla and not understand everything that is going on but still feel the Spirit so strong. That for me strengthens my testimony that the Church is true and that this work is the most important thing that I could be doing. I´m so grateful to be here in La Calera teaching the people the Gospel in my broken Spanish. And I´m grateful that the Spirit can carry the truthfulness of my words to their hearts. This work is real. I am reminded of something Elder Holland said, ¨I am not living a fairytale.¨ I am not dedicating eighteen months of my life to a gospel that is good and can bless your life. I am dedicating my life to THE Gospel of JESUS CHRIST that WILL bless your life. I KNOW that this Church is true and it is the ONLY true church of Jesús Christ. I am grateful for that truth and the knowledge. And I am grateful for your prayers.

Les amo,
Hna. Ellsworth

Que capo!

So check it! So you know that missionary picture in the hallway. The framed picture with the title Ellsworth Missionaries. In case you don´t know, There´s me and my four siblings and we´re all pulling these incredibly cheesy missionary poses. Well, i´m the first one (because i´m obviously the favorite.) and I´m doing this weird gangsta face or something but my hand is pointing to the Book of Mormon. I´m just kinda´ pointing to say, “You know you want this book!” Anyways, you want to hear something pretty much amazing. That hand sign has a meaning here in Argentina. It´s not like a gang sign or anything (not to say that wouldn´t be cool …) but Argentinos love to talk with their hands and the sign i´m doing means “¡Qué capo!” Translation being “How cool!” or “Amazing” How capo is that!! I didn´t even know but i was doing argentina things before i even got here! Anyways, I would like to share with you some “Qué capo cosos” in the misión.

Capo 1 - So you know that beautiful thing called home delivery where they bring pizza or food to your house. Well, here you can call for ice cream delivery! It´s probably the smartest thing I´ve ever heard in my life. So when we get back to the pension, we can have grido waiting for us (grido is pretty much the most amazing ice cream ever.) Anyways, i´m pretty much in love with it. And the cool thing is that it is helping me in my goal of gaining weight. No one has called me gorda yet but almost. One of the members told me that the Jody dress I was wearing made me look like I had a belly but she blamed it on my ugly dress. (yep, that´s exactly what she said.) I just love Latino honesty! But i digress…

Capo 2 - They have a beautiful yet frustrating thing here called the ciesta. Every day between they hours of 1 and 6, the entire city shuts down. They close all the stores and go home to take a nap because it´s so hot outside. It´s crazy! They have the idea, “Fiesta tonight, ciesta tomorrow.” Before the misión, i would be a huge fan of this. but during the misión, it´s a little frustrating because it´s hard to find people because they´re always sleeping and they won´t answer their door. But it´s all good, we can always find people, it´s just a little harder. Anyway, coming from a person that loves naps, I definitely think the United States should adopt this ciesta idea!

Capo 3 - So the hardest thing in the misión for me is the language so far, but I had a really capo experience with it this last week! So usually my companion starts and chats for a while and I sit there quietly and say one word commentary. (Small talk is incredibly hard for me!) Anyways, then I will say the opening prayer. After the prayer, without fail, they will ask where I´m from and how long i´ve been here. It´s like the nice way to say that I talk like a gringa. Well, I had one charla that didn´t go so well because i didn´t have the vocabulary to describe a story in the Book of Mormon. The lady went off on me that I need to practice more and yadda yadda. I felt pretty crummy but I said a little prayer and asked for help. And then the very next appointment was lunch with the members. These are the hardest for me because I can usually do pretty well with talking about the gospel but i don´t know every day life vocabulary. Usually the members will give me “pointers” on learning the language. But I went into the house and tried to say things here and there and I gave the spiritual thought afterwards. It was so capo because i was part of the conversation and understood everything that was going on. For the first time, the members complimented me on my castellano. They said they thought i was doing really good for only a month, better than other missionaries. I´m not letting it go to my head but I was grateful that the Lord answered my prayer and gave me that tender mercy! I love these capo experiences and I love being on my mission!

Les amo,
Hna. Ellsworth

I love the smell of burning garbage

So i have almost been here for a month and I´m still experiencing a lot of ¨firsts¨ this last week. Por ejemplo, this last week was the first time I used my American debit card, and it was also the first time that a machina ate my card. No big deal. But I would like to dedicate this email to the ¨firsts.¨

This last week, I experienced my first marriage proposal. My sister told me stories about this but I forgot. But thanks for the warning, Em! So we were in calle on our way to a charla and this drunk guy proposed to me and my companion. I didn´t understand him so I may have nodded my head. That´s usually my response, smile and nod. I´m just grateful that I have a companion that saves me.

Another first experience for me was teaching a former nun. That was one of the coolest charlas ever. I´ve never even met a nun before, not to mention a former nun. I´m not sure if she´ll progress but it was still pretty cool.

Another first for me in Argentina is that we reached the triple digits in the weather. Or in South America temperature, we hit the 40´s! It was so hot!! Good thing I´m from Arizona or I´m not sure I could hack it. But the good news is that I´m not longer the skinny, little white girl but the skinny, little red girl. Feliz día!

Another first was the day after, we got rain. Now, i normally love rain… Rain has to be one of my faovrite things in the world! The Carpenter´s song ¨Rainy days and Mondays¨definitely did not apply to me… until now. I still love rain and welcome it always, just as long as it doesn´t come on Sunday mornings. We had about 10 different investigators that were going to come to church with us but only ended up with 2. And each one of their excuses was the rain. It broke my heart! But it´s all good, we´ll just have to do better next week.

For the first time, I have seen an insect that is bigger than my face. Possibly the coolest thing ever and it comes with a funny story. It makes me seem like a heartless person but it´s funny so i´m going to share it with you. so we were in a charla yesterday with recent converts – a couple called Valeria and Ezequiel. I love these people so much! So my trainer has a huge fear of bugs, mostly flying ones. anyways, there was this huge moth about the size of my face. ( Quick sidenote: the word for moth and butterfly is the same in castellano – mariposa. Wierd!) anyways, i´m not a huge fan but i can tolerate them. but my trainer started freaking out and Ezequiel thought it was funny and wanted to get a video of it on his phone. So we had to go get our stuff which was right under the mariposa. And the horrible person that I am I only got my stuff and let my companion get her own bag because i wanted to see what would happen. (i´m still working on that whole thing called charity…) So right when she was right under the mariposa, Ezequiel throws something at the mariposa and it starts freaking out and then Hna. Brown starts freaking out. It was possibly the funniest thing I´ve ever seen.

Anyways, I´m just loving the many wonderful ¨firsts¨in my life! I´m excited because I´m understanding more and talking more and people are noticing it too. I love it because I´m actually part of the conversations now! And I love meeting new people and teaching them more about the restored gospel and the Book of Mormon. I love helping the work of the Lord. El Reino de Dios o Nada!

Les amo,
Hna. Ellsworth

The Roller Coaster of My Life

So another week has flown by here in La Calera. It´s kind of feels like a roller coaster here because of the constant change of events. So I´d like to share the high points and low points for me during the week.

High point – The food here is pretty much amazing! Best invention ever are facturas aka crescent rolls of deliciousness. They´re everywhere so I love getting a peso factura and chowing down. I´m also a huge fan of the criollos aka biscuits from heaven. You can get a whole bag for a peso and they´re amazing!! They also have the best ice cream ever here called Grido! I have no idea what flavor I am ordering but they´re always good, everytime!! My favorite meal choice are the empanadas. The only thing I can think to describe them is hot pockets but that would be an insult to the amazingness of an empanada! They have some type of meat and lemony goodness and other deliciousness stuffed in a bread pocket. Let´s just say I´m a fan.

Low point – I found some food from America!! I recognized that friendly rabbit on the cereal bowl of Trix. It was possibly the happiest moment of my life. So I brought it home looking forward to eating it with every meal. I had a bowlful the next morning and enjoyed it immensely. I then went to work and and didn´t get home until about ten hours later and the entire cereal box was ant-infested. I don´t know where they all came from but there were hundreds of ants eating my Trix!! I kind of lost all my charity and went on a ant-killing spree. Silly ants, trix are for me! It kind of broke my heart because an entire box of trix was wasted. :,(

High point – I gave an entire scripture thought in Castellano and said everything I wanted to say and they understood me!! Maybe not all of it, but I asked a question and they answered it without having to get a translation from my companion. (Yep, apparently I have a bad gringa accent. It´s really strong when I´m really nervous!) Yeah! I´m learning Castellano! It was a very happy moment for me!

Low point - This is going to make me sound like a bad person but I kind of dread Church. I love it and everything but it´s very stressful for me because I still have a hard time understanding everything and remembering who everybody is. It´s pretty much three hours where I am entirely lost. I can follow some of it but then they ask me a question in Sunday School and I am completely lost. But I was really excited because the Branch President asked me a question and I understood it and better yet I could answer it!! It´s a work in progress...

High point – We found someone yesterday who is pretty much amazing! She has wanted to join the Church for the longest time but she hadn´t been old enough and she kind of fell through the cracks. She´s now old enough and has been waiting for the missionaries to come by for about a year now. She´s awesome! Her parents aren´t very supportive so that might be a problem, but she has a sister who´s a member that lives in Cordoba. I´m really excited for her!

Well that´s my little roller coaster of my life. And the great thing about it is that a roller coaster is always fun no matter if you´re going up or down and so is the mission! I love it here!! The work is progressing and I´m learning more everyday! El Reino de Dios or Nada!

Les amo,
Hna. Ellsworth

Besos, Perros, y el Sol

I’ve now been in La Calera for 10 days!! It feels like a lot longer, sorta´. Days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days. It’s kinda of weird. I don’t know really what to tell you so I’ll try to tell you a little more about the life of Hna. Ellsworth. It’s not a lot, but it’s my life!

First, do you remember that thing I had before the misión called ¨my personal bubble? ¨ Well, it has officially been destroyed! You have to greet and say goodbye to every hermana with a kiss on the cheek. It is still a little weird for me but I am starting to get used to it. But Relief Society is crazy because you have to give everyone a kiss when coming in. Everyone is just so friendly and loving!

Another new thing for me is there are dogs everywhere! I’m not a huge fan of dogs but they’re pretty fun. We’re always being followed by a dog in the streets. But the useful thing about a dog is that they will bark when you’re at the front gate. You usually have to clap instead of knocking on the door. But a lot of people can ignore the clapping but it’s a lot harder to ignore a barking dog. Yep, the dogs are helping our missionary work.

Also, another weird thing is that it definitely summer here. I feel like its July not January. But I have realized the importance of sunblock because I’m getting sunburned in places that I have never been sunburned before. But I would definitely rather be hot than freezing in Florida or something. (JK Kris!)

Anyways, I just realized that I sound whiny but really I am loving everything here! Everything is new and exciting and I’m already addicted to Argentina! I am talking and understanding a little bit more Castellano every day! I can understand Gringo pretty good but Argentina Castellano is still too fast for me. Everyone is really nice about it, maybe even too nice about it. They don’t want to hurt my feelings by correcting me. But I’ve learned to make friends with the kids because they’re not too shy to tell me when I’m saying it wrong. So hopefully I’ll have the language down soon.

Well, I have one of the coolest experiences that happened this past week. We were teaching a new investigator and I wasn’t being too much of a big help. I was switching off with my companion teaching but then the lady we were teaching, Andrea, would ask questions or give her comments about it, and I would get lost. She spoke really fast! Anyways, it got towards the end of the lesson and Andrea had been talking for a really long time and my companion turned to me to talk. I had no idea what was going on so I just said a quick prayer for the Lord’s help and testified about prayer and the Book of Mormon. And I had no idea what I was saying, I was so nervous. And then Andrea started talking again and she would point at me and I thought I had offended her or something because all I could understand from her was ¨cosas malas.¨ (bad things). I still had no idea what happened until we left the charla and I asked my companion what she had said. She said that Andrea had felt the Spirit when I had talked and felt peace for the first time in a long time. We visited her yesterday and she prayed and felt that same feeling and she wants to learn more. Now I didn’t want to tell that story to brag because I know that I didn’t do anything. That was entirely the Holy Ghost teaching to her. It doesn’t matter what is said but the Spirit that is felt. It’s amazing because we really can be instruments in the Lord’s hands when we put all our trust in Him. So I’m grateful for the divine companionship of the Holy Ghost and the opportunity to be in an instrument in the Lord’s hands. I love my Heavenly Father and I know this Gospel is true! El Reino de Dios o Nada!

Les amo,

Hna. Ellsworth

No entiendo nada!

January 11, 2010 (First email from Argentina)

No entiendo nada!

I finally made it to Argentina!!! Woohoo! The plane trip was really long and I got no sleep but I finally made it to my area which is called La Calera. The people are nice and the food is great, but I can’t understand a thing that they are saying. This was to be expected but I hate not understanding anything. But I have learned three different things said about me in Spanish in the first five days I have been here (They tell my companion and not me because they know that I don’t know Spanish)...

1. La gringa is really tall and skinny!

2. How do you say la gringa´s name

3. Why is la gringa so white?

So just to summarize really quickly - pretty much “I’m the skinny, little white girl with the weird name.” Yep, it’s kind of catchy. I want that to be on my gravestone when I die.

La Calera is tons of fun and pretty big. We are walking all the time! My poor feet were not ready. Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re going to tell me that I should’ve broken my shoes in, and I tried! What I should have done is gone hiking in them because I have had them for months but they still tore my feet apart. I have blisters, mosquito bites, and a pretty bad sunburn covering my feet. But I came across a good scripture in my personal study that you should all look up – Isaiah 52:7. It brought a smile to my face when I read it.

Even though I don’t know Spanish, I am loving it here! My companion is Hna. Brown from Ogden, Utah and she has 15 months in the mission and she has been La Calera for over 6 months. So she knows what she’s doing. We’ve decided that we are kindred spirits because we love a lot of the same things, one being Anne of Green Gables. A quick, funny story about her. So I loved her the moment I met her, but I remember the first night when she put her toothbrush in the fridge. I thought it was kind of weird but I didn’t say anything about it. After a couple of days, I was joking with her that I thought I had a crazy companion who keeps her toothbrush in the fridge. She told me that she does it so the cockroaches don’t get at it in the bathroom at night. I couldn’t believe it! I asked her why she didn’t share this useful piece of information with me and she said she forgot. But I learned an important lesson. Don’t judge or you’ll be brushing your teeth with cockroaches. Needless to say, I threw out my toothbrush that night.

Anyways, besides the cockroaches I have a really nice pension aka apartment. It’s two stories with two rooms upstairs and a kitchen and a study room downstairs. I had problems with the stairs the first day because the ceiling is really short and I kept hitting my head. I learned quickly, thanks to the bumps on my head, and I practically crawl up the stairs. But it is really nice compared to most places that I have seen here so I am blessed.

Speaking of blessings... I got to witness a baptism my very first week here. It was amazing! I couldn’t understand anything that was being said but I could feel the Spirit so strong! Valeria was who was baptized and she had been taught the lessons for over a year. So it was really a tender mercy that I was there when it happened. She got to get married on Friday and then baptized on Saturday. I went to the marriage and it was interesting. I definitely enjoyed the baptism better. A few of her friends and family came, so we have more people to teach. I’m excited for that!

Anyways, we have a lot of awesome investigators. We have four with a baptism date and they are keeping their commitments! How amazing is that! The hard thing is getting married. They make it so hard with paperwork and everything. But they have the desire. It will be exciting to see the results in the next few months. I am trying to contribute and help with the teaching. I don’t understand much but we usually take turns teaching and I can usually understand what Hna. Brown is saying so I comment and testify on what she is saying. I am willing to do whatever she asks. I’m doing contacts in the street and knocking doors. It is so exciting! I feel like I am a lost puppy following my companion sometimes, but I am trying to be more of a help than a hindrance.

I have met most of the members in La Calera and they are really nice and patient with me. They asked me to bear my testimony in Sacrament Meeting but I didn’t even understand at first. I thought they were just welcoming me there and then my companion leaned over and told me that I needed to go bear my testimony. That might’ve been the scariest moment of my life! Just imagine me trying to talk in my broken Spanish to a whole room full of Spanish speakers. I think it went alright though. I didn’t get too many weird looks.

So you asked about the mission president and I don’t really know what to say. He’s amazing, of course, but I don’t know too much about him. We met him that first day and he explained our purpose to us and the Spirit was really strong. I’m excited to get to know him but he’s obviously a busy man so I’ll be content with getting to know him at a distance. His wife was really sweet and nice and their house is very pretty. Their house is connected to the mission office, of course, and right next door is where the temple is being built. Right now there are tennis courts, but they are tearing them down in two more weeks because they just bought the property for the temple. They are till in the planning stages but it sounds like we will be here for the ground breaking and building of the temple. I’m very excited!!

Anyways, I am excited to be here in La Calera. It has been a crazy first week but I hope that I am going to get the hang of it. It’s pretty scary to try to talk in my broken Spanish to complete strangers, but I just try to remember that you can’t have faith with fear. So that is my goal - to put all my faith and trust in God and to teach His gospel to the best of my abilities. I am grateful for the opportunity to be here and to do His work. I know the Church is true and everything is possible through Him. El Reino de Dios o Nada!

Love,

Hna. Ellsworth

Last Day in America!!!

So I don't really know what I should write you in my last three days in America. I feel like they should be words of wisdom and inspiration, but my mind comes to a blank. So we're going to have another installment of Top 10 Things. This time it'll be the Top 10 Things that I've Been Grateful for in the MTC!!! Yep! Be excited!

1. This is actually a shout out to my mother, so everybody else can ignore and skip to the next one. Mom, here is the moment you've been waiting for after 12 years of complaining and whining... I am grateful that you made me learn the piano. Yep, that was really hard for me to say, but it's finally out there. I have played in every sacrament meeting with my zone here in the MTC, which has gotten me out of plenty of singing duets and quartets. Gracias, madre, gracias.

2. I am grateful that I got to spend my birthday here in the MTC. It was my first day and a day I will never forget. It was one of the best birthdays ever and I never even heard the Happy Birthday song once. It was kind of exciting because I got to show around the new sisters who came in this week. That was me eight weeks ago. It's crazy how time flies when your'e having fun!

3. I am grateful to have spent Thanksgiving in the MTC. I love spending all the main holidays in the MTC because I got to focus on the true meanings of the holiday which are all centered around Christ. I loved spending Thanksgiving with Elder Holland and serving others.

4. Hna. Dickey aka my companion. Seriously tho. I have heard horror stories about companions and I am so lucky that I got a cool one for the MTC. We've already decided that we're going to be friends after the mission and watch Anne of Green Gables b/c we're pretty much kindred spirits. (We usually play the role of Anne and Diana whenever we are pretend investigators. i love it!)

5. I am grateful to have spent another holiday in the MTC. Christmas in the MTC was possibly the best Christmas I've ever heard. I missed my family like heck and I wanted to dress up like a Wicked Nephite so bad, but I was glad to be in the MTC.

6. Eating with the Natives was one of my favorite things to do. I never could understand a word they were saying, but we've decided we're going to be friends. We all wrote down each other names and they told me they want to add me as a friend on Facebook. It was possibly the happiest moment of my life!

7. I feel blessed to have heard from four different Apostles. I have heard from all of them in person from General Conference but it was so much more personal in the MTC. It felt like they were just talking to me and not the other 2,000 missionaries in the room. I loved it!

8. New Years Day in the MTC was tons of fun. Of course, I did go to bed by 10:30 and I couldn't find any Martinelli's to drink, but it was still tons of fun. Thanks to my sisters, I had the opportunity to kill about a dozen baby ducks. (Sorry for the inside joke, but shout out to Allison and Rachel). Thanks for making my New Year's Eve special!

9. I was also grateful to have 2 Days in the Field and then a Testimony Meeting with my District afterwards. A day in the field in the MTC is where you get to skip classes and such and just teach all day! It was so much fun! I got to teach the 1st and 2nd lesson about a dozen times each. I am so stoked to go to Argentina and do it for real! And the testimony meeting with my district and teachers was amazing. The Spirit was so strong.

10. And lastly, I am grateful for this opportunity to Come unto Christ. I have loved the chance to get to study hours everyday in the scriptures and Preach My Gospel and strengthen my relationship with my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I'm glad to finally be here on a mission!

Anyways, that is my last email that I send you from America!! How awesome is that! thanks for all your love and support and just know that I love you and miss you! The Church is true!

Le amo,
Hna. Ellsworth