Week Twenty-One

Hola

For all of you who are freezing cold just trying to think of 45 C and roasting in the sun. Maybe together we can find a happy medium. By ravioles I meant raviolis, sorry I was typing fast. But you know the pasta stuffed with cheese and cut in little squares. So good! Oh and we had homemade cannelloni they make them like crepes and then spread a spinach, chicken and cheese mixture on them and once rolled up, they put them in a pan and put sauce on them. So delicious! And yes the, rabbit really did taste like the dark meat of chicken. Pretty good really. Oh and 90 pesos is about 20 dollars.

Mom, you're going skiing? That's awesome. Be safe and dress warm. Oh and tell Eric congrats on the engagement. I'm sending him a letter today but it'll take a couple months. So happy for that guy. He's so awesome and what I hear she is pretty cool too.

The teaching is going good. We haven't been able to find Eliana since last Saturday and I just want to find her and figure out where she's been. That is the hard part when people are progressing and then something happens but we can't find them. Umm the best lesson for me is the plan of salvation because it's so true and so many people have questions that can be answered through it. And it's a chance to speak about how Jesus Christ is the center to that plan. It's so true that we are all just sons and daughters of God and He is trying to help us return to Him. This work is such a blessing as I have seen miracles happen. We needed the permission of Dulces mom how she had said no for the last year and then she finally said yes. It's amazing.

I love this work. I know that I'm here because of my Savior and His atonement that changed my life. I know that blessing is available for all if they follow his example. There is more peace and love than they could ever imagine in this life.

I pray for all of you and know that the Lord will bless you. Please strive to always do the small things of reading and praying everyday. They are the spiritual nourishment we all need.

Love Hna Potrie

Week Twenty

Hola!

I Love the mission!!!!!!!!

I just thought you should all know. It's true that some days aren't that easy, but it's so worth it everyday. I had an interview with President Salas this week and he kept asking me if I was happy to be here and this week I truly feel like I am. I'm feeling more joy in the work everyday as I forget myself more and think of the work and the people more. I love the people here and we've been working with some very great people. It's amazing how much people let us in and I feel so much love for them and want to just help them come unto the Savior and find rest. Everyone has a story that the Savior can help them with. That's why this gospel is so perfect. I love it.

We also had to cook lunch for President Salas, his wife and our district of 12 in total and we had ravioles which are so delicious here with cream sauce and fed everyone for under 90 pesos it was way cool. I also got other letters but kind of worried because in a letter from Bree, she's sent other ones but I haven't received them. So warning - I don't know when I don't receive letters because it takes so long to get them and then it takes even longer to reply and if it's lost in the mail I'm sorry. I still love to hear from everyone and I promise I also write back it just takes time for me to get them and the mail service is very slow going back. I'm sorry, I'm trying to do all I can but I can't help the slowness.

Also this week Monday was roasting hot so we had a water fight for p day. But then the next day it just poured rain in the evening which was a nice break from the heat. The water was up to my pedals on my bike as we biked home it was crazy, so I jumped in a few puddles along the way.

It finally clicked that my mission relates a lot to sports. Right now I have a coach and she is trying to prep me everyday and help me improve so I can play better. It's changed my whole attitude and I love it. You all know I'm jock at heart and it all just makes more sense to me and I'm so grateful for that. It's helped our companionship a lot, but mostly me.

We are teaching this one lady Eliana who is 21 and has a little girl, but also recently lost a baby and it's been such a blessing to teach her. The first day there was a lot of tears but as we've helped her turn to her Savior, I've seen her pain change to more understanding and comfort from a loving Heavenly Father. It's amazing, and I know our Heavenly Father listens and cares.

I'm trying to learn the difference of having faith and accepting the will of the Lord because I want faith for the miracles for this work but I also know that it's always the will of the Father.

Ah so much to say but no time. I ate rabbit this week and it was actually pretty good and couldn't tell the difference really. Lo fue muy rico it was really good.


I love you all and I hope all is well!

Love Hna Potrie

Week Nineteen

Hey!

The mail finally came!!!!! Oh what a happy day! This is supposed to be me with a picture of pure excitement and joy, but I'm not really sure what happened haha! I got the packages from mom and Sharla plus the photo book for Christmas and the bank card. I LOVE THE PICTURE BOOK!!!!! It was so great to see pictures and read the letters thank you so much. It means so much and I love showing it to people here. Oh and I have the cutest nice and nephew in the world hands down no contest they are adorable in the pictures! Give them lots of love from me always. Muah Muah Muah. The shirt is perfect too mom, you couldn't have picked a better style or size, gracias. All of the candy is gone and I forgot how great jelly bellies are yumm. I either want to buy soccer shoes, an Argentina soccer jersey or a leather cover for my scriptures. We'll see what I decide.

Anyways sounds like your New Years was kind of a bummer with being sick but I hope you are feeling better. And the weather there sounds crazy what is happening to the cold snowy winters? The dogs have yet to bite but they keep chasing this week was a group of them. But it's okay, just an adrenaline shock and then it's fine. Ya I don't know what it is with tuna and Christmas here but I ate more nasty tuna things in that week than I would like to experience again. I think the cake tuna roll is a Holiday thing or at least I hope so. The greatest thing though is even with the different food I have yet to get sick from it. Knock on wood. It's a great blessing. That's so exciting Naomi is making Argentine food with the YW you'll have to let me know what you think and what she makes. The drink we can't have as missionaries is called Mate and I don't know why exactly we can't drink it. I think because it's so strong that we would get sick especially with the heat. Hna Ada was teaching me how to serve it though and I was serving them. Hahaha it smells just like tea and here it's a symbol of friendship when you enter someones house if they welcome you as a friend they share mate with you. It's all in the same cup with the same metal straw. That's one thing here sharing cups and things like that doesn't matter. It's a good thing I'm okay with that.

The missionary work hit a hospital road this week as our appointments kept falling through and then when we got a hold of them later every single one was sick, had a loved one sick or pass away. So hopefully we'll have more success next week and be able to help these people through these hard times for them. One of our converts, Osualdo is having problems coming to church so we're working really hard to help him come back and be active. It's sad because I know it's Satan that puts the thoughts of unworthiness to enter the church, but like we say the church is like a hospital. It's for those who need the cleansing power of the Savior not for those that are perfect. We've been working with the ward missionaries to help teach our new members as well and I see the great blessing of having the help of members fellowship these people.

It's also been a week of great humility and learning. I'm striving to become the missionary the Lord would have me be, but that's not always easy to know how to do. I'm striving to know how to use change my personality but keep it the same it's hard to describe. Because in English I love getting to know people on a very personal level but I don't like doing this in a large group so and I don't always know how to ask these questions or understand all they say. I like to listen and think and then speak but when this happens in Spanish, it often appears that I don't know how to say or what to say which is half correct but it's also the way I think and talk in English. So I pray to find a balance of doing this in the Lords way.

I hope all is well. My thoughts and prayers are with you always.

Love Hna Potrie

My companion and I in the park singing Christmas carols and handing out Book of Mormons with our santa hats!

This was my district in the MTC with our amazing teacher, Sister Andreade in the black dress in the middle.

On the bottom right, is the baptism of Elena and Enzo with their family, myself, my companion, and the Elders that serve with us in Belle Ville.

I finally got my camera working with the computer here and was able to upload some pictures this week! From right to left, our Mission President, President Salas, my companion, Sister Tejada, myself, and President Salas wife.

Week Eighteen

Feliz Año Nuevo!

So I have this really weird spam like email from you guys but that's it so I'll just write about this week I guess. Ummm well happy new years! I hope you all had fun welcoming the new year. I know the people here sure had fun with all the music and fireworks. We were in our apartment like a normal day and I thought I might wake up to just watch the fireworks, but I was so tired I just fell back asleep. We did have an early toast at like 7AM with the Cordoba family. They have this delicious sparkling pineapple juice, it's the bomb really. It was super good and the Boggero family had an asado for lunch really which is good BBQ.

Lets see what else is new. Oh I had to give Hna Tejada a shot this week for the pain in her back. I've never been so nervous to give a shot in my life, I don't know why. And for anyone medical I realized I'm in a second world country because it was drawn up from an ampule which is a glass little bottle. Usually you have a filter needle for any glass shards and then you change the needle to smaller one for injection but nope all the same needle. I've also been to the hospital here to visit other people and let's just say I don't fancy going there for treatment. In other news, I got chased by a dog for the first time but it didn't get close enough to do anything. The number of dogs in the street is how you tell what kind of an area you're in. The more dogs, the lower the income area more or less. Oh and remember that nasty cake roll with tuna? Ya well it seems to be raining pan dulce con tun here! I had it twice more last week oh and this weird tomato stuffed with tuna, mayo, and canned peas. I don't know what it is about tuna that they love but they sure put it in a lot of strange things.

Missionary work has been a little bit slow with all of the holidays and trying to make appointments is almost impossible. But we got to take the Book of Mormon in braille to Gabby who is 13 and blind. It was so amazing to feel the spirit as she read for us. It's also been amazing to hear our investigators describe how the spirit feels to them as they recognize it for the first time. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father listens to, and answers our prayers. I hope that next week we can really teach these people and help prepare them to feel the blessings of the atonement through baptism. The other family has 6 kids with 2 year old triplets! They are so cute and this family seems so prepared for the gospel. The triplets had health issues at birth and the plan of salvation means a lot to them because they realize how special their family is to them.

Hope you all had a great new years.

Love Hna Potrie

PS that is me on my awesome bike. It's not really that awesome, but I love it!