Week Fifty-Three!

Hola Familia, 

If I had to describe this week it would be walking to the end of the earth and back. This area is huge!!! To help you find it on a map, it's Barrio Ayacucho Cordoba capital. It's the Cordoba capital of Cordoba it's the second or third largest city in Argentina. I have no idea how many people live here. The church is also very strong here in the capital. So my area is all city. I look from the top of our apartment and all you can see is city. There was about 80 people in church yesterday so it seems we have a lot of work with less actives that we can do. And a lot of incomplete families. For example we had a baptism on Wednesday, Ezekiel, a little 12 year old boy and the elders found him because his mom is on the list of inactives. His little sister Micaela went to the baptism and now she wants to be baptised to so we are helping her prepare for that. So sweet this family is, and when we talked to the mom Lorena, I really felt like the Lord sent us here for her. Oh and in the baptism the Elders told us it was all organized and it wasn't at all, so right before it started they asked me to give the talk about the Holy Ghost. Thank goodness for all the practice teaching people. We also had to teach the gospel principles class last minute. It was about the gathering of the 12 tribes. First off, I dont even know how to explain that in english let a lone spanish. All I can say is thank goodness for a latin comp. 

It also changed from winter to summer in one day I swear this whole week has been like in the 30's. Crazy huh? It's hotter here than back home and it's winter here. Bring on the heat. Things with the new comp are great. She is a convert of seven years and teaches really well. Plus together we did good this week to only get lost once because the street names and the map names were different. Anyways I hope you all have a wonderful week. 

Lots of Love Hna Potrie 

Week Fifty-Two!

Hola Familia! 

So the exciting transfer news, I'm in a new area in Cordoba Capiiiiiiiital (that's how they say capital in their crazy sing song accent). My area is called Ayacucho I have no idea where it is on a map really, but it's city! I'm with Hna Suárez she's from Chile and seems way awesome. We are also whitewashing, which means it used to be an Elders area but they took them out and we are both brand new in the area. Which is always fun and a lot of work. Our area looks huge on a map which means we'll be walking walking walking. 

Anyways to back track this week was good. We had an amazing intercambio I got to work with Hna Steward in Oncativo. It was so fun and we had a really amazing lesson with a less active. We also doubled on my bike because a memeber was going with a to a lesson on the other bike. Which was hilarious because Hna Steward and I aren't exactly small and I was on the back with my legs tucked up like I was riding a broom and we both just about died laughing. Por suerte we didn't have to go far. But sad news we were supposed to baptise José this week but on Sunday he didn't come to church so we went to look for him, and his sister answered the door and told us that he doesn't want to get baptised. But it was that she doesn't want him to get baptised. We spoke with her for a while and tried to explain everything but she needs time. So then finally Jose showed up to church for the end of sacrament meeting and we talked to him after and he told us that he still wants to be baptised but he just needs to wait a little to let his sister calm down. It was sad because I just know this baptism will continue to help him grow and change but I know that he will follow this path, just not while I'm there in Oncativo. 

It was hard to say good bye this week to the people that I have grown so much to love, but I'm also excited to go to a new area and meet more people. I hope you all have a wonderful week. I love you all so much!!! 

Love Hna Potrie 

Week Fifty-One!

Hola Fam Jam! 

Alright where to start. This week I thought the world was going to end. Okay not really but we had a crazy storm Thursday night and then in the morning as we were getting ready to leave we heard this tink tink and opened the door and it was hailing like crazy dry hail, meaning that it didn't rain first just straight to hailing and it was big like almost golf ball size. It was crazy and there were crazy birds flying through it. I have no idea how they didn't get hit and die. Anyways it just reminds me of the sings of the times thats all.

Anyways spiritual side of things, we had an amazing lesson with Rueben. His sister is a memeber and they are older but live together and have a tendency to fight like siblings do. But we were talking with Rueben and we started teaching him about prayer. We explained the difference between repeating a prayer like the Lords prayer and how we pray and just talk with our Heavenly Father. I shared with them an experience I remembered as a child. It was when I was with you mom and dad. Sharla had played a soccer game and had put her rings in her pocket and of course had lost them. So after we went back to find them the four of us. I think I was searching with Mom and Sharla with Dad. We had searched and searched with no success and it was getting dark. I remember kneeling down and praying for help to find the rings. As we finished praying we looked down beside us and there was one of the rings. And then we found the others as well. I'll never forget that moment of knowing just how much Heavenly Father listens, cares and answers. I shared this story and Rueben started to cry. I explained that Heavenly Father loves him to and wants to help him but sometimes we need to ask in a different way or need to be doing more on our part. I'm so grateful for the wonderful example of my parents that taught me to pray and to have the faith that He will answer.
 
We also had a lesson with Juan Carlos and his brother this week they both have problems with alchohol and we are working hard to help them. As we were finishing teaching a thought came to me. These men think of  themselves as alcoholics or borrachos and they are just stuck in that thought of thats who they are and they can't change no matter how much they want. But then I looked at them both and said "ustedes son hijos de Dios no son borrachos". You are sons of God, not drunks. You don't need to degrade yourselves, you are sons of God and He loves you. They both looked at me as though their minds had been open to a sweet truth. I think its something so important though, because Satan tries so much to degrade us and tell us we are nothing and to forget this simple relation we have with God. What ever weakness we have we can say the same to ourselves I am not (blank) I am a Child of God and He loves me. I have qualities from Him and He wants me to be what He knows I can be.
 
Have a Fabulous day todos. I love you all and my thoughts and prayers are with you. Please keep Jose in your prayers this week we are really working hard to prepare him for his baptism this weekend.

Love Hna Potrie