Hola from the increasingly cold Buenos Aires! It´s funny because Argentina really can´t decide what kind of weather it wants right now. Some days it´s totally hot, and others it´s nice, and other it is bitter cold. It´s worse than Arizona weather!!

I head out of here in 5ish days. Next Tuesday we head out to Uruguay, which is ultra scary! I don´t feel prepared at all. Okay, it´s not that bad, but I just don´t feel like I have enough Spanish yet. I know it will come, but I want it now! ;) It´s weird to think I´ve already been out two months. It´s true what everyone says that a mission goes by so fast!!!

It´s been like a roller coaster this past week. Our threesome is still trying to adjust to everything. It´s getting better some days, and other days it´s tough, but we are learning that it´s all about attitude, or that´s what I´ve learned so far.

Hna Kubly and I haven´t been feeling well today. Thankfully today was P-day so we both took long naps to work it out of our system. We both feel terrible, so please keep us in your prayers so we can keep our minds on the work.

It´s ridiculous to hear what Jen is doing. I don´t understand her at all. She just keeps digging herself a deeper hole, and hopefully one day she´s going to have to dig herself out. I pray that things will move along so everyone can move on in their lives.

Give Jojo and Josiah kisses and hugs for me! I miss them so much!

Sorry, there´s not much to write this week, life it pretty much same old, same old in the CCM. Because I´m leaving on Tuesday, I get to write you all again on Monday! I love you all, and I know that the Lord is protecting you because I´ve asked Him to. Please keep me in your prayers, and that the hearts of the people of Uruguay will be softened.

XOXO Hermana Grow

¡Hola! Today has been great! I got three packages (from Heather, Mrs. Bruce and Mom and Dad), and three letters! It is so much fun to get mail! Thanks for keeping me in mind. My companions are both really excited to share in my packages!!

So i had one of the most exciting experiences last Saturday during proselitismo. The only appointment that went through was the best ever. So let me back track. Two weeks ago we were out proselyting and we walked past this older woman shuffling along on the sidewalk. She didn´t look like she was in the best of moods, so we just walked past her and said hello. Well a few minutes we were walking, and we walked past her again as she was unlocking her gate. We took this as a sign that we needed to talk to her. She was a little wary of talking to us at first, we were about to give her a pamphlet and leave, when she just looked like she was in a lot of pain. I asked if she was alright, and she just started to tell us all these things that were wrong, like she has really bad arthritis, and a few other things. We didn´t understand most of it, but we were able to pick out a few things. We asked if there was anything we could help her with, like housework or something, and she said not that week, but we could come back and help her the next week. So we got her phone number and her address and set up an appointment and gave her a pamphlet to read in the mean time. Her name is Nora. Anyways, we came back to her house last Saturday, fully ready to just help and do house work and stuff. When Nora saw us, her whole face just lit up, and she was so excited to see us. She brought us into her home and sat us down, and we asked what we could do for her, chore wise. She was like "No, no, no...that stuff isn´t important. Only the word of God is important" or something like that. How exciting! She just wanted to hear us teach and share the gospel with her! We asked her how she was and what life was like. It was hard to understand, but through the Spirit, we were able to understand way more than what we could have by ourselves. She told us how she has been hit twice (2 separate instances) by the buses that drive crazy around the neighborhoods. She said that she´s in pain a lot of the time. We were able to teach to her the love that God has for her. We shared 1 John 4:7-9, which she had memorized, and really seemed to love. Then we shared a scripture from the Book of Mormon, Ether 12:27, about how we have weaknesses, and through Christ, our weaknesses can become strengths. The Spirit was so strong! Nora loved the scripture we gave her, so we introduced the Book of Mormon to her, and what it was, and that it was Another Testament of Jesus Christ. We read the last two paragraphs of the Tilte page with her and and challenged her to read Moroni 10:3-5. She was so shocked and grateful that we would give her a book about Jesus Christ. She insisted that she read Moroni 10:3-5 with us there. She was soooooooooo excited. We all were able to testify and to share our love of the Book of Mormon with her. The light in her face was just beautiful! She promised us that she would read the Book of Mormon right after we left. She wanted to know if we would be back, and we told her we were not going to come back to that area. She was so sad to see us go, but she gave us her address to give to the Missionaries, and she wanted us to write her about our adventures on our missions. Can you believe it! It was the single most thrilling experience of my life. So exciting!!!! After that, my testimony of the church was completely solidified!!! It is amazing, this love that i feel for a woman that i hardly know. I know that she will fully accept the gospel!

Family, I love you, and i just want to let you know that through the Lord we can do all things. Life is hard, but if we rely on the Lord, we can do all things!!

XOXOHermana Grow

Hello mi familia! so today my MTC experience just got rocked. Every three weeks we have a group of people leave, and then a new group of people come in. So we were expecting two north american sisters, and then today come to find out that one is going to be in the Latino group because she knows a lot of Spanish, and the other one was going to be in another district but she was going to be our companion during free time and what not. Now that was shocking enough, because Hna Kubly and I have really become close these past few weeks, and to add a new person was going to be weird, even for a few hours a day. But Hna Kubly and i decided it would be fine, and we would love her no matter what. Then in the middle of our class this morning, we got introduced to our new companion, who was going to be in our class, and our companion all the time...Let´s just say it´s hard working with three people. I thought it was hard working with the wills of two people, but three people is just nuts, and we´ve only been together for a few hours. Our new companions name is Hna Kelly, and she´s from Utah. She is so full of energy, it´s shocking, and she just is so excited to be here doing the work. She also knows a ton more spanish than anyone of us, so it´s intimidating, because she is not afraid to give answers in class. Everyone in our district is still trying to get used to the new personality. I think the Lord has sent Hna Kelly to teach me and my companion love, and patience, and understanding, and i don´t know. These last three weeks here are going to be interesting. Please pray that this companionship will work out. I know it will, but it´s hard to see that when i´m so stressed out.

So life here is going pretty good. Slowly but surely spanish is coming. We just learned Subjunctive and Direct and Indirect Object and i think my head is going to explode. Seriously, i don´t think i can fit anymore spanish into my head!

So you know how we go out proselyting every saturday? Well last week, we went out, and we were able to make three appointments for this Saturday!!!! Three appointments! we are so scared!!!! Oh my goodness. Now we are preparing ourselves to teach them, and hopefully they will be able to feel the spirit. I´m so excited though. Please pray that their hearts might be softened to our message. Their names are Norma, Emilio and Maria. It is going to be interesting, especially now that we have a third person that we are working with.

Well life at home sounds as though it´s going pretty well. Good, that´s what i like to hear. I pray for you all every day. Did Prop 101 pass? How are the wards doing? Anything exciting?

I am so relieved to hear that my FBI clearance came through. So many prayers have been said, hoping that it would come. I did not want to stay here any longer than i had to. I´m getting serious cabin fever here!

Well I just want to say that I know this church is true. I know that the Lord sends us trials in our life to make us stronger, and that He won´t send us anything we cannot handle. Please pray for our appointments this weekend, pray that I may have patience, and pray that I can be prepared for the day when I leave the MTC. I love you all and I miss you!

XOXO Hermana Grow

Hey guys!!! So I am so glad you guys write me!!! It makes my week!

So things are slowing down here, but also speeding up if that makes any sense. I am really comfortable with everything. My teachers are great, my companion is great and I just love it here. Slowly I understand a little bit more each day, but it´s all gospel vocabulary I´m learning. When we go out proselyting, I still can´t understand a word the people say. It´s so frustrating. Last proselitismo, we went out on Friday because there was a world cup soccer game on Saturday, and Argentina was playing. Just think about it, the whole country of Argentina goes and watches the game. It´s nuts. The whole world comes to a stop just so everyone can watch the game! Well we went out on Friday and it was going pretty okay. Hna Kubly and I are slowly becoming more comfortable going up to complete strangers and talking to them. Well we ran into the Hnas that taught in that area. We were so excited to see them, and one of them was from Utah, so we were able to talk to her. We got to go around with them for a few hours, and we got to go to a lesson with them. The lesson was with this cute old man named Luciano. He lives in a little shack that´s probably as big as our living room. The sisters were telling us that he had all this porn up on the walls when they first started teaching him, and now he has pictures of Christ. It´s great. I got to say the opening prayer, and halfway through the lesson I got to bear my testimony. It was so hard, but I truly felt the spirit fill in all the gaps in my Spanish. It was great!

So everything seems to be going well at home. I wish I could be there to see Jocelynn walking, and Josiah´s big boy bed. Can you guys e-mail me, or send me some pictures of our family. I forgot to bring some, and I want to show my companion what you all look like.

Elder Anderson from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came to the CCM on Tuesday, and it was awesome! We all got to shake his hand, and I got to sit on the front row. He did most of his talk in front of the pulpit, so he was just feet from me and my companion the whole time. He looked at me straight in the eye. It was so powerful. He related, that he really struggled with the language (he went to France) and that he didn´t feel like a strong missionary, and that he struggled at times. It was so nice to hear that even Apostles are people too. It was so nice, and I just feel so eager to get out in the mission field!

Winter hasn´t hit quite yet here in Buenos Aries, so I´m good for now. It was funny Mom, I told my companion about how you found 5 unfinished blankets in your sewing stuff, and she was like "She should finish 2 of them and send them our way!" Hahaha! I thought that would be a great idea! (j/k we don´t need blankets). Well I need to get off now, but know that i love you guys, and you are all in my prayers. This is the true church, and I am so glad to be out here doing the work. Please pray for me and the people of Uruguay!

XOXO Hermana Grow

¡Hola mi familia! how´s it going? The internet is working! Woohoo!! I hit my half way mark here at the CCM. We have 4 and a half more weeks here! Time has been going by so fast here! It´s amazing the things that i have been able to achieve here!

So Mom wanted to know what my schedule was like here at the CCM. Here´s what 95% of my days are like here.

6:30 Wake up and get ready for the day

7:25 Breakfast. They give us cereal, but it has 1/2 of the sugar of American cereal, so most of them taste like cardboard. Haha! But there´s this one cereal that my companion and i love. It has grains and some other stuff and it´s healthy and filling and yummy so we eat it every day! Sometimes they make doughnuts, that they fill with Dulce. They are addicted to dulce here. It´s in every candy or pastry here. We try to not eat it so we don´t get fat! ha ha ha!

8 We have personal study

9 We have companion study

10-12:15 We have class. In all of our classes we learn spanish at the same time as we learn to teach the gospel. It´s tough but interesting. The grammar is the hardest thing to work at. There´s tons of way to conjugate the verbs, with all the tenses, so we get really frustrated.

12:15 Lunch. Thankfully they haven´t fed us anything weird lately. We love the food here!

1 More class

2:30 Physical Activity

4 We have more personal study time to focus on language skills.

5 More class

6:45 Dinner

7 More class

9 Planning for the next day/practice teaching lessons to the Latino missionaries

10 return to our rooms to get ready for bed

10:30 Lights out and in bed.

I really enjoy the schedule we´re on. It´s nice to have my whole day planned.

This coming Monday Elder Anderson from the corum of the 12 Apostles is comming to speak to us. There are workers everywhere fixing up the CCM for his visit. It´s kind of annoying, but necessary to leave a good impression.

Well I can say that I love being out here! Thankfully I haven´t been homesick at all. I think about you guys alot, but i don´t feel like I need to be home. I know that I need to be here, doing the Lord´s work. Everyday my companion needs help, and I am able to help her, I know that I´m here for her. I know that when I get out to the field, I´ll be there because I am meant to be there. I love you guys and I miss you. Please pray that I will have the confidence to do the Lord´s work!

1 Nephi 3:7

XOXO Hermana Grow

ps-Has my FBI clearance come through yet?

pps- Could you possible send me the conference ensign. I gave out my copy at the airport to a recent convert who i felt really needed it. And some chocolate if you can!! :) Send it in a padded envelope. I love you guys!!

Letter #2

¡Hola mi familia!

I´ve been here two weeks, and at times I feel live I´ve learned so much, and then other times I get reality checks that make me feel as though I´ve learned nothing.

I have to say i feel blessed to have been sent to the Argentina MTC. I have to learn quicker, because all our teachers speak mostly spanish to us.

So this past week has been pretty exciting for a few reasons.

First off, last Saturday, we had our first proselitismo. It´s where we go out into Buenos Aires and share the gospel with what little spanish se have. It´s tracting is what it is, but we´re totally handicapped! I was so scared! We (me and my compañera) had a handful of phrases to use, a few pamphlets (they´re called falletos), and a sack lunch each. So usually your first few times, you only go out for two hours. Yeah, so right before we were going to head out, they told us that our district was going out for the full 7 hours, like everyone else. At first we thought it was a mistake, and then we thought it was a joke. Nope! We were going to be out talking with people for 7 hours! I think I started hyperventilating!! I had psyched myself up for 2 hours, but 7 hours just seemed far beyond what i could handle! Anyways, thanks to my wonderful companion, Hermana Kubly, I kept from falling apart.

We were put in an area in the middle of a city! What a culture shock! So many things are different here! Like they don´t have trash cans here. They just have baskets they put their trash in. They don´t really have a trash pick up system, so they just burn their trash on the streets! We were walking around, and there were just piles of burning trash! No one was watching them or anything! And there are so many dogs here! Everyone pretty much has a dog, and then there´s all these strays that go around in packs. It´s scary sometimes! Well no one picks up after their dogs, so there´s dog poo everywhere! I mean everywhere. So gross! The houses are pretty nice. my companion says their kind of like the houses in San Francisco. Tiny, but nice. The people drive so crazy here! think of California drivers times 100! so scary, but interesting to watch!

The people here are different too. My companion and I were so scared to try and talk to these people. Children speak better spanish than we do! So we decided to say hello, how are you to every one we passed. Most people wouldn´t even look at us! it was so frustrating! Finally this man who was smoking outside of a building smiled at us and said hello back, so we talked to him. He was patient while we slaughtered the language, and listened to our message. He took a falleto, and then he started talking to us in really fast spanish. I´m pretty sure he told us to pray about the trinity! Looking back on it it was pretty funny! The day was progressively better as we got used to saying hello. I don´t know, it was pretty frustrating though. At the end of the day we ended up with 6 contacts, and we gave out a Book Of Mormon to this homeless guy along with one of our sack lunches! he was so forlorn! anyways, that´s a long story. So i did´t die, which is good, so i hope proselitismo is better this week.

So this week i probably ate two of the grossest things ever in existence. First was cow tongue, and the other was cow stomach!!!!!! I almost threw up both times. Don´t get me wrong, they tasted fine, it was just the texture that had me! Eating both was like chewing on silly-putty with sand that was mixed in. Apparently they are both delicacies in Argentina and Uruguay. I might die! just to let you know!

Well i have to go, but know that i love you, and i love all the prayers in my behalf. Please keep all missionaries in your prayers! I love you all!!!!!

Hermana Grow

Her first email home!

¡Hola! ¿Como esta? So I feel like I have been here at the CCM (MTC in Espanol) for months!! Not because its boring or anything, I`ve just learned so much in just a short amount of time! Mi Compañera (my companion) is Hermana Kubly. She`s from salt lake, and a convert of two years! She`s amazing! We have so much fun together, and though we are two completely different people, it works really well for us. Her strengths support my weaknesses and vice versa! We can talk about spiritual things, but also take a moment to talk about sill things. We have a really great relationship. We are very open about our feelings and our fears and the things we want and need. I couldn`t ask for a better compañera.

So things here go so fast. Our first day here we were surrounded by español. We had no idea what was going on, where we should go or what we should do. All the forms and schedules they gave us were in español. It was frustrating the first few days becasue during our orientation they didn`t tell us all the rules and everthing, so we would do somthing, and it would be wrong or against the rules.

Many of the teachers speak English really well, and teach well. I love being in class! Our teachers speak mostly in Español to us to "get us used to it." The first few days I`m pretty sure I just sat ther and took as many notes as I could. Thankfully my campanion is willing to work on Spanish even when we`re not in class, so I`m beginning to understand alot of what is going on. We are learning a branch of spanish clalled castisllano (cost-a-shan-o). It`s a bit different than what i`m used to, but we`re working on it. This morning was a good day for me in spanish. I was amazed at the words that were put into my mouth. The Lord has truely blessed me. I`m pretty sure I`ve learned more spanish in one week than i had in the 2 semesters in high school. It is amazing!

Well you`ll be happy to know that i`m eating really well here. The food here is so good! they serve really strange, new things, but it is always so tastey!!!! I`ve even eaten fish. TWICE and it was so good! I think i`ve only not liked two dishes. The servings are so huge here, my compaion and i share a plate and we never are even able to finish! It`s nuts how much they give us to eat!

So my espñol is coming along pretty well. I try to talk to the Latino Hermanas as often as possible. We have a hard time understanding each other, but most of the time we can get across what we are trying to say! There are only 7 Hermanas and 40 some elders it`s kind of overwhelming!

You know, the Lord has blessed me so much already. He has seen and heard my needs, and has blessed me with the strength and knowledge to do his work. I hope you have all felt his blessings too! I know, with all my heart, that this church is true! Every day i am slowly coming to know more and more of His love! I miss you all and i hope you all stay safe and happy!!

I love you!!!

Hermana Grow

ps-you can`t send packages to me, but they said that you can send me stuff in padded envelopes to the address you have! I love you, and just so you know candy is as good as money in this mtc! just to let you know!!!