Oh man I´m so excited about how the Hermanas are going to be living with you all, yay, treat them well!! Being a missionary can be hard, even though they have it pretty dang easy what with an air conditioned car and all that fun stuff!! But I can´t complain, the members here feed us so good everyday! All I have to worry about it breakfast, we don´t eat dinner at all... oh and we finally got a microwave!! That was really exciting!! Let's see what else, oh yeah we had a zone conference yesterday so I got 2 packages from you and a big envelope from the cub scouts, lots of letters, a card from grandma, which I am so surprised it made it to me, the Lord knew I needed to hear from her, because all it had was one us stamp on it and the address was really wrong, she wrote Buenos Aires North America missoin or something like that... but whatever I got it and it made me so happy!!
Oh one of the letters I got was from Adrian, which was so good, he wrote me about how he wants to serve a mission, but just isn´t sure!! So every time you see him encourage him to go on a mission, say hi to him or something, he needs support of the members, its prob really hard for him write now because the hermanas that baptized him have left and I'm not there and there aren´t many people his age, oh does Becky know him? Are they friends? Because if no, tell her to get on that... also what is she up to now that she is home from her mission??
So I sent the package last week, it is huge, and I hope you all enjoy it, but I forgot to put a couple things in it so I will be sending another small one today!! And I'm sending one for Paul and Andrea today, and after Christmas and stuff I will be sending one to Trish... so sorry Trish you will have to be patient!! The zone conference yesterday was so good! I got to meet all the sisters that are here in Buenos Aires, I like them all, I can´t wait to see who my next comp will be... I know who I would like it to be... haha, oh and one of the hermanas is from Virginia, and she told me her fam is moving to Louisville KY!! Her mom has a job in Ft Knox, and they are looking around, I told her the best place is Oldham county but that is really far from Ft Knox, I gave her your number mom to give to her mom, and she told me her mom would def call you, so be expecting a call from some random mom whose daughter is in my mission!! I hope they move into our stake, cause that would be awesome, hermana Winters is really sweet, she just got to the north part of the mission this transfer, she started her mission in the south,
lucky her!!
Well this week has been really good, Antuane passed her baptism interview, her son is being interviewed tomorrow, I hope all goes well, I may have 2 baptisms this week!! We did lose a baptism date though, that was sad, Rosa went to church and saw her friend paying tithing, and she got really upset and said all churches are the same all they do is ask for money, because she went to a church that always asked for money and she was sick of it, we explained that it is a commandment of God and it can be found in the old testament, we shared a few scriptures she calmed down, but still said she doesn´t want a baptism date! So oh well, we hope to see her again sometime to keep teaching her but who knows!
So our members here are amazing, we have this one new convert family, the Rodriguez, and they never cease to amaze me, they fed us lunch on Monday, they are feeding us tonight and I´m excited my comp said what they are making is fantastic Argentine asado... I can´t wait! In fact we just saw their 2 daughters in here, they were doing internet the same time as us! Well Hermana Rodriguez invited our investigator Silvia and her 4 kids to lunch tomorrow for Christmas, which is amazing because Silvia doesn´t have hardly any money to feed her kids, last week she asked us for 25 centavos so she could call the father of one of her babies so she could get money so they could eat that day, it was so sad, we did better than that we found her food so she could def eat that day, and 25 centavos so she could call for more. Also the Relief Society sisters are going to teach her how to clean and stuff like that and then find her a job that she can work at for 2-3 hours 3 times a week, because she can´t do much more than that with 4 little kids! But I just have so much love for hermana Rodriguez, because when you look at Silvia and her four kids your first reaction would prob be to not go and give her hug or anything, because her kids are always so dirty with snot running down their faces and dirt everywhere, but hermana Rodriguez always goes up to Silvia and her kids and hugs and kisses them, and holds the little baby and everything, the people here are truly remarkable, I am so blessed that the Lord would chose me to come here to Argentina and teach these people! I love it here, sometimes I get discouraged because it is so hot, I still can´t speak the language, but little things always happen to remind me how blessed I am! Thank you to all of you who love and support me! Every single one of you has blessed my life more than you know, I pray for you everyday, and I´m so grateful for the prayers you send my way, but even more grateful for the prayers you send my investigators way, Brian told me he prays for my investigators every night, that meant more to me than I can even express!! We can´t help them out in their physical needs, but we can certainly help them out in spiritual needs!!
Welp I know there is more I would like to write, but I guess it will just have to wait, I will be talking to you all tomorrow!! I can´t wait!! Oh and read the first 3 articles in the ensign for December, they are awesome, I especially liked the first one, because I have been a little sad that I will miss 2 Christmases because of my mission, but now I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary for 2 Christmases, what a grand blessing it is!! Welp I love you all and have a great Christmas eve, and I will talk to you all tomorrow!!
Love,
Hermana Gosnell
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Oh snow.... i miss snow... and cookies and banana bread, oh geez... I wish you could send me some too! Welp I was a bit surprised about the news about dad, I had no idea he had skin cancer on his face... well I'm glad everything is going well with that, I hope things heal fast for him!!
Now that I hear we are eating at Pondergrossa this year, I'm pretty glad I'm missing the Christmas festivities, next year is the last year you all are allowed to eat there... but when I come home, please no!!
So here is the deal about the phone call, at 4:00pm Buenos Aires time is when you need to call, I think that is 1:00pm Louisville time, so you call then, I will be there and talk to me for 20 min, then you get off the phone call Utah and tell them to call me asap, they call me ASAP I talk to them for 10 min they get off the phone and call Trish and tell her to call me ASAP and she calls me ASAP and I talk to her for 10 min and that should work, everyone just needs to be ready, so maybe before you call me you call Utah and Trish and tell them to be ready, and after you talk to me and Utah call Trish to tell her to be ready when Utah calls her!! I hope it all works out... we are going to be at our branch president's house, their number is: 011-4749-5791. That's all I know, follow the rules of that attachment i sent you last week!! I can't wait to talk to you next week, I'm not sure if I will be able to send email next week, but I hope so!! Welp I gotta go finish reading e-mails and then I will send my weekly e-mail, love ya!!
Hermana Gosnell
Now that I hear we are eating at Pondergrossa this year, I'm pretty glad I'm missing the Christmas festivities, next year is the last year you all are allowed to eat there... but when I come home, please no!!
So here is the deal about the phone call, at 4:00pm Buenos Aires time is when you need to call, I think that is 1:00pm Louisville time, so you call then, I will be there and talk to me for 20 min, then you get off the phone call Utah and tell them to call me asap, they call me ASAP I talk to them for 10 min they get off the phone and call Trish and tell her to call me ASAP and she calls me ASAP and I talk to her for 10 min and that should work, everyone just needs to be ready, so maybe before you call me you call Utah and Trish and tell them to be ready, and after you talk to me and Utah call Trish to tell her to be ready when Utah calls her!! I hope it all works out... we are going to be at our branch president's house, their number is: 011-4749-5791. That's all I know, follow the rules of that attachment i sent you last week!! I can't wait to talk to you next week, I'm not sure if I will be able to send email next week, but I hope so!! Welp I gotta go finish reading e-mails and then I will send my weekly e-mail, love ya!!
Hermana Gosnell
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Well it is officially Christmas season, December 8th is the day everyone puts up Christmas stuff (December 8th is the day of the virgin) I haven't noticed people here being all crazy about Christmas like they are in the states, but maybe that's because they don´t have Santa Claus as a tradition really.. this is how Christmas is, they stay up all night partying on Christmas eve and then Christmas day is like nothing for them, they get all their presents Christmas eve or something like that, I have no idea!!
OK so nothing really too terribly exciting happened this last week, just work as usual, and while you all are enjoying the beautiful snow please remember me here in the hottest place EVER!! OK well not ever, but hottest place I've ever been too! So Antuane has agreed to be baptized... all she needs is the interview, she has it tonight with President Agryle... she is sorta nervous but she is so ready, we only get to see her on the weekends because of her work schedule so we worry about her all week, because Satan's power can be strong. But you know what, with her we don't really need to worry... this past week she realized she was having a hard time believing Joseph Smith was a prophet, so she spent the whole week studying the Book of Mormon and one of the brochures we gave her to be able to understand more, and she told us now I know he was a prophet, when we asked her about Thomas S. Monson we showed her his picture and when she saw his face her whole face just lit up and she smiled really big and said yup that's our prophet today... wow I can´t even describe it... she is freaking amazing!! She also bore her testimony in Relief Society and it was beautiful... I love being a missionary!! José is still smoking, in fact we went and taught him the other day and he walked up smoking realized he was smoking and felt bad, put the cigarette down shook our hands then picked it up and walked away to finish smoking it!! I´m starting to lose a bit of faith in him, its hard... he doesn't try to give it up... but I still pray for him everyday!!
So church went OK, no drama there, and let's see funny story of the week:
We go to this bank all the time to get change for the bus, and somehow we always get the same bank teller this guy, well I always say please and thank you... mom raised me good :) well my comp, lets just say you can tell she is from Buenos Aires (they don´t have very good manners) well she never says please or thank you, well the last time we went he stopped her and said hey I don´t mind giving you monedas (coins), but at least be polite... haha I thought it was so funny because my comp always says she never says that stuff because its just silly... I'm like oh I always do cause if I don´t I feel weird, she was like really that is so weird... so a bank teller taught my comp manners.. haha
Welp that is all for this week I think, I can´t wait to talk to you all next week, I hope everything works out, I hope you all have a great Christmas!! And I'm hoping to get a box in the mail today to you all!! Love ya!!
Hermana Gosnell
OK so nothing really too terribly exciting happened this last week, just work as usual, and while you all are enjoying the beautiful snow please remember me here in the hottest place EVER!! OK well not ever, but hottest place I've ever been too! So Antuane has agreed to be baptized... all she needs is the interview, she has it tonight with President Agryle... she is sorta nervous but she is so ready, we only get to see her on the weekends because of her work schedule so we worry about her all week, because Satan's power can be strong. But you know what, with her we don't really need to worry... this past week she realized she was having a hard time believing Joseph Smith was a prophet, so she spent the whole week studying the Book of Mormon and one of the brochures we gave her to be able to understand more, and she told us now I know he was a prophet, when we asked her about Thomas S. Monson we showed her his picture and when she saw his face her whole face just lit up and she smiled really big and said yup that's our prophet today... wow I can´t even describe it... she is freaking amazing!! She also bore her testimony in Relief Society and it was beautiful... I love being a missionary!! José is still smoking, in fact we went and taught him the other day and he walked up smoking realized he was smoking and felt bad, put the cigarette down shook our hands then picked it up and walked away to finish smoking it!! I´m starting to lose a bit of faith in him, its hard... he doesn't try to give it up... but I still pray for him everyday!!
So church went OK, no drama there, and let's see funny story of the week:
We go to this bank all the time to get change for the bus, and somehow we always get the same bank teller this guy, well I always say please and thank you... mom raised me good :) well my comp, lets just say you can tell she is from Buenos Aires (they don´t have very good manners) well she never says please or thank you, well the last time we went he stopped her and said hey I don´t mind giving you monedas (coins), but at least be polite... haha I thought it was so funny because my comp always says she never says that stuff because its just silly... I'm like oh I always do cause if I don´t I feel weird, she was like really that is so weird... so a bank teller taught my comp manners.. haha
Welp that is all for this week I think, I can´t wait to talk to you all next week, I hope everything works out, I hope you all have a great Christmas!! And I'm hoping to get a box in the mail today to you all!! Love ya!!
Hermana Gosnell
Me at Puerto de Frutos on the river
View from my kitchen balcony
View from my kitchen window
Doing my laundry
A pic that my comp and I are giving to all the members and our investigators for Christmas!
A pic that my comp and I are giving to all the members and our investigators for Christmas!
This is me and my tennis shoes, yes I'm still wearing them!!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
I'm glad to hear that the sealing went well, I can't wait to get pics... but please don´t send them on a CD, I won´t ever get to see them, just print some out!! That's funny that everyone loves my letters... I don´t feel like I give anything justice... but maybe its the spirit helping me get my message across... or maybe its because its my one time during the week to actually be able to express myself in my language, that it just all comes out... haha who knows?
As far as Christmas goes, I just got more stressed, because apparently we choose a family to go to and use their phone, and so it doesn't cost them any money, you all call me... so we shall see how this will work, we haven't chosen a family yet, so I have no idea how that will work, or what time... it's stressing me out... but hopefully everything will work out!! It will help if you have in mind what you want to talk to me about before we talk, since I have very limited time!!
So I'm very surprised to see that no one wrote me about Elder Wirthlin, I heard last week at district meeting that he had passed away, how sad... but no one has said anything, so I have no idea if that's true!!
OK I have a lot to write about this week... I think this letter will be very entertaining!! So my top three things to talk about this week are first, as always Antuane... She really wants to be baptized but is just worried about her mom, because she is all her mom has here in Argentina, but I think she is basically decided to be baptized anyways... also she told us she has started paying off her debts because she heard that in a talk a few weeks ago at church, also she has started being more frugal in what she buys, she says she is trying to do everything she hears in church... I was so excited about that... she is truly like a preach my gospel story!! Her son is preparing for his first communion, and she wants to take him out, but she wants to give him the choice, so she asked him which church he would choose, and he said both because I like the catholic church because I get to play the whole time, and I like the other one too... so she is trying to figure what to do with him, because she said she went to mass, and she just doesn't like it because it is the exact same every week, she doesn't learn anything new!!
OK the second thing, I have learned a lot about being in the right place at the right time this week... there are so many times, when I think we are so late, why are we out here, no one is out here, and other bad thoughts, then someone who really needs us walks by and we are there to help them... it has really humbled me... here are a few situations: We went out to visit a new investigator, and she wasn't there, so we went to our backup, a new member who is a 14 year old boy, he has pneumonia, well he wasn't home, he was at school because if he misses any more days he has to repeat that year, but his grandma was there, and she really needed us, her husband of who knows how many years left her earlier that week, and she told us all about it and just cried, we were able to share a message of peace and comfort, and lift her up in her time of need, also Christian, her grandson had run out of medicine and they didn't have money to buy more, so we were able to get the prescription and call the branch president to ask his help about that! Then we were at the train station waiting for someone, when we saw one of our investigators we had been trying to visit that week... we ran over to say hi and see how she was doing and she said she had left town for the week because she was having problems with her husband he apparently drinks a lot, but it was good to see her, because we were able to make an appt and hopefully we´ll get to see her soon! Then another one was we went to our appt with Silvia, and she had just been in a big fight with her mom, her mom is always yelling at her and trying to make her look bad in front of us, which only makes her look bad... anytime Silvia asks us a question her mom mocks her... its so sad, Silvia wants to move, but she has no where to go, and no money! But we were able to help her feel better in her time of need! And my last example, is one night we were walking home after buying groceries, and we were stopped by a guy, which of course made us a little nervous, but he is a less active member, and wants to come back to church, and stopped to talk to us... so all I have to remember is the Lord knows all, even if I don't know whats going on!!
OK and my last major thing to share, and this will prob take the rest of the time, is, there is a huge war breaking out in our branch between two families, and we are about to be involved... so we have the family Pechor, they are less active, and get offended really easily, but I love them, we visit them every Sat and they are really good people, then we have Marcela, who is our branch missionary, she is from Peru, she has been a member for like 13 years, but she has been inactive for 13 years as well, she is now active, but she gets offended super easy, and is always acting better than everyone else... well she needed a place to live. The Pechors let her live in a part of their house, well she only lived there for 5 days, apparently there was a problem everyday, so hermano Pechor just said I think it would be best if you leave, well she left and found another place to live, and started telling everyone that hermana Pechor stole all her stuff, well last week she went to the police and led them to believe there were drugs at the house of the Pechors, so the police sent a whole swat team, broke down the door of the Pechors and all this stuff, made all them stand outside and held them at gun point, even the kids who are 18, 15, 11, 9, and 1 yes even the baby, and hermana Pechor couldn't hold her baby... and Marcela was there went in their house and pointed to a bunch of stuff that wasn't hers and said that's mine, and so the police bagged it all up and once they found out there were no drugs they calmed down... but in the process of looking for drugs they had thrown hermana Pechors garments and temple clothes all over the floor, and Marcela, knowing what they were walked all over them in front of hermana Pechor, when she told us this she started crying, which is understandable!! So after hearing all this we decided not to call Marcela to come out with us, well we went to eat at Gina Luz house yesterday as always, and Marcela was there waiting for us... asking why we hadn't invited her out yet... we were like well we haven't got set appointments, which is true... she is really upset with us, well while we were there she told us all about how one of the Pechor kids put a pic of her on the internet with her phone number saying free sex, which is really bad, and now she is looking for a lawyer and is going to send police over there again, if the kid hadn't done that then they would have been innocent, because the Pechors didnt steal anything... but now it is really bad, and they have both sworn to be at church on Sunday, and its testimony meeting... my comp and I are really worried about what's going to happen!! And about our investigators!! it should be really interesting!!
OK so I was right that story took most of my time, I don't really have much else to write, Rosa accepted her baptism date, she said I am decided I want to be baptized, now all we have to do is just get her to church on Sundays!! Oh my comps sister is pregnant, and when she told our investigator Silvia, her reaction was oh no how sad... hermana Riquleme was like no she wants to have a baby... yeah where I'm at the people I teach, pregnant is a bad thing... how sad huh? Oh we have been having fun, there was a concert and model show in the plaza right outside our balcony on Friday night, and another concert Monday night... haha yeah party!! I tried to sleep, but the concert was of someone my comp really likes so she stayed up to listen...
Welp, I gotta run, I hope you enjoyed my letter this week... I tell you all how Sunday is next week... hopefully our investigators wont be scared off!!
Love ya,
Hermana Gosnell
As far as Christmas goes, I just got more stressed, because apparently we choose a family to go to and use their phone, and so it doesn't cost them any money, you all call me... so we shall see how this will work, we haven't chosen a family yet, so I have no idea how that will work, or what time... it's stressing me out... but hopefully everything will work out!! It will help if you have in mind what you want to talk to me about before we talk, since I have very limited time!!
So I'm very surprised to see that no one wrote me about Elder Wirthlin, I heard last week at district meeting that he had passed away, how sad... but no one has said anything, so I have no idea if that's true!!
OK I have a lot to write about this week... I think this letter will be very entertaining!! So my top three things to talk about this week are first, as always Antuane... She really wants to be baptized but is just worried about her mom, because she is all her mom has here in Argentina, but I think she is basically decided to be baptized anyways... also she told us she has started paying off her debts because she heard that in a talk a few weeks ago at church, also she has started being more frugal in what she buys, she says she is trying to do everything she hears in church... I was so excited about that... she is truly like a preach my gospel story!! Her son is preparing for his first communion, and she wants to take him out, but she wants to give him the choice, so she asked him which church he would choose, and he said both because I like the catholic church because I get to play the whole time, and I like the other one too... so she is trying to figure what to do with him, because she said she went to mass, and she just doesn't like it because it is the exact same every week, she doesn't learn anything new!!
OK the second thing, I have learned a lot about being in the right place at the right time this week... there are so many times, when I think we are so late, why are we out here, no one is out here, and other bad thoughts, then someone who really needs us walks by and we are there to help them... it has really humbled me... here are a few situations: We went out to visit a new investigator, and she wasn't there, so we went to our backup, a new member who is a 14 year old boy, he has pneumonia, well he wasn't home, he was at school because if he misses any more days he has to repeat that year, but his grandma was there, and she really needed us, her husband of who knows how many years left her earlier that week, and she told us all about it and just cried, we were able to share a message of peace and comfort, and lift her up in her time of need, also Christian, her grandson had run out of medicine and they didn't have money to buy more, so we were able to get the prescription and call the branch president to ask his help about that! Then we were at the train station waiting for someone, when we saw one of our investigators we had been trying to visit that week... we ran over to say hi and see how she was doing and she said she had left town for the week because she was having problems with her husband he apparently drinks a lot, but it was good to see her, because we were able to make an appt and hopefully we´ll get to see her soon! Then another one was we went to our appt with Silvia, and she had just been in a big fight with her mom, her mom is always yelling at her and trying to make her look bad in front of us, which only makes her look bad... anytime Silvia asks us a question her mom mocks her... its so sad, Silvia wants to move, but she has no where to go, and no money! But we were able to help her feel better in her time of need! And my last example, is one night we were walking home after buying groceries, and we were stopped by a guy, which of course made us a little nervous, but he is a less active member, and wants to come back to church, and stopped to talk to us... so all I have to remember is the Lord knows all, even if I don't know whats going on!!
OK and my last major thing to share, and this will prob take the rest of the time, is, there is a huge war breaking out in our branch between two families, and we are about to be involved... so we have the family Pechor, they are less active, and get offended really easily, but I love them, we visit them every Sat and they are really good people, then we have Marcela, who is our branch missionary, she is from Peru, she has been a member for like 13 years, but she has been inactive for 13 years as well, she is now active, but she gets offended super easy, and is always acting better than everyone else... well she needed a place to live. The Pechors let her live in a part of their house, well she only lived there for 5 days, apparently there was a problem everyday, so hermano Pechor just said I think it would be best if you leave, well she left and found another place to live, and started telling everyone that hermana Pechor stole all her stuff, well last week she went to the police and led them to believe there were drugs at the house of the Pechors, so the police sent a whole swat team, broke down the door of the Pechors and all this stuff, made all them stand outside and held them at gun point, even the kids who are 18, 15, 11, 9, and 1 yes even the baby, and hermana Pechor couldn't hold her baby... and Marcela was there went in their house and pointed to a bunch of stuff that wasn't hers and said that's mine, and so the police bagged it all up and once they found out there were no drugs they calmed down... but in the process of looking for drugs they had thrown hermana Pechors garments and temple clothes all over the floor, and Marcela, knowing what they were walked all over them in front of hermana Pechor, when she told us this she started crying, which is understandable!! So after hearing all this we decided not to call Marcela to come out with us, well we went to eat at Gina Luz house yesterday as always, and Marcela was there waiting for us... asking why we hadn't invited her out yet... we were like well we haven't got set appointments, which is true... she is really upset with us, well while we were there she told us all about how one of the Pechor kids put a pic of her on the internet with her phone number saying free sex, which is really bad, and now she is looking for a lawyer and is going to send police over there again, if the kid hadn't done that then they would have been innocent, because the Pechors didnt steal anything... but now it is really bad, and they have both sworn to be at church on Sunday, and its testimony meeting... my comp and I are really worried about what's going to happen!! And about our investigators!! it should be really interesting!!
OK so I was right that story took most of my time, I don't really have much else to write, Rosa accepted her baptism date, she said I am decided I want to be baptized, now all we have to do is just get her to church on Sundays!! Oh my comps sister is pregnant, and when she told our investigator Silvia, her reaction was oh no how sad... hermana Riquleme was like no she wants to have a baby... yeah where I'm at the people I teach, pregnant is a bad thing... how sad huh? Oh we have been having fun, there was a concert and model show in the plaza right outside our balcony on Friday night, and another concert Monday night... haha yeah party!! I tried to sleep, but the concert was of someone my comp really likes so she stayed up to listen...
Welp, I gotta run, I hope you enjoyed my letter this week... I tell you all how Sunday is next week... hopefully our investigators wont be scared off!!
Love ya,
Hermana Gosnell
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
A full week, Antuane, and weather
editor's note
Last weeks letter got cut off at the end. Michelle resent the letter and the the end of her letter from Nov. 26th has been attached to the bottom of the last post.
----
So after p-day was over we went and visited Rosa as usual, and she was crazy funny as usual. And at the end of the lesson she said, "I want to be baptized, I need to be baptized where can I do that at??" Haha, I was like, "Um, what?" We didn't set a date, because we were going to wait to see her at church, which she didn't come, so maybe tomorrow!
Then Thursday it was a freaking HOT 40 degrees centagrade... I'm not sure what that is in Fahrenheit, all I know is it's hot!!
Also we saw Jose and hoped to get him baptized last weekend. Well no such luck, he had smoked the day before. He said he felt so bad. When he realized he was smoking he threw it on the ground and just felt bad. But we set his date for the 20th to give him some more time to give up smoking!
Friday it rained in the morning, I got so soaked... but at least it was cold, I loved it!! Then Saturday it was hot in the morning, but rained at night... and I mean rained... and it floods really quickly here, so we were practically swimming in the streets. I didn't mind, I prefer wind and rain, to extreme heat!! Then Sunday we didn't have very many people at church because of the rain. We only had about 20 people, which I guess was normal before I came, but now it is normal to have like 50-60 people!!
So the mission has this farewell thing at the end of every transfer for missionaries going home, and we are allowed to go to it as long as we bring investigators. It's really nice because the missionaries going home bare their testimonies. So we took Antuane and she really enjoyed it. Afterwards, we introduced her to President Argyle, and he talked to her for a long time about why she wasn't baptized. I didn't hear the whole thing because another hermana came up to me and started talking to me and Hermana Riquelme was talking to someone else. Afterwards, Antuane came up to Hna. Riquelme and gave her a hug. But she had to go, so we said we would stop by later that night.
I got to meet a lot of other hermanas in the mission on Sunday, it was awesome. I met an Hermana Ladd she is from Vermont and she went to BYUI before her mission and went on a Europe tour. Afterwards she wants to go to BYU and work at the MTC... haha sound familiar?? I really liked her, she really helped me feel good about my language ability and really helped me feel like I will learn how to speak it one day!
So after that we went to visit Antuane, she said on her way home she felt so good about being baptized, she wanted it so bad. She talked to her mom when she got home and her mom got really upset and was like that's all they want from you. Antuane got upset and just changed the subject. She said she doesn't know what to do. She loves the church and wants to join, but she is the only family her mom has in Argentina and doesn't want to make her upset. She said she would pray and fast about it. Also she said this last week was really hard for her and she didn't think we would come to our appointment Sat. night because of the rain. And she decided that if we didn't show up she would just stop going to church and stop seeing us and everything. And then we showed up... half an hour late, but we made it... She said when we showed up at her house that night she felt so good, and she knew she didn't want to stop everything! It made me feel glad we didn't cancel our appointment that night because of the rain!!
So then Monday nothing too big happened, it was transfer day, but neither of us got transferred, so we worked as usual!! There are a ton of mosquitoes here, and I think I'm the only one they like to eat... I have a ton of bug bites! But good news is, I'm not sure what happened, but I think my comp. is finally starting to like me... it feels good to not feel disliked everyday!!
Oh could you please send me the address for Ashley Day. I wrote her a letter and I thought I had her address, but I can't find it anywhere! And if you can find the address for Texas Houston South Mission, I would love that too!! Tell me what the plans are for Christmas... because I get to call home, but I only get 40 min to talk... so I'm kinda stressed as to how that will work!!
Welp I gotta run, I'm gonna try to send pics though! If I do there will be one in the mtc, with me and Hermana Harper, then one with Hermana Riquelme, and then one with Hermana Riquelme, and me and her other hija, and then one with me here and her hija, and her other old comp. Then one with me and Antuane and her two kids Christopher and Nicole. Enjoy!!
Love ya,
Hermana Gosnell
Editor Jeff's note: The family picture of Antuane and Michelle was really dark. Here's a new and improved (using the GIMP picture. Also, clicking on the pictures will give you a bigger (but not huge like the originals) picture.
Last weeks letter got cut off at the end. Michelle resent the letter and the the end of her letter from Nov. 26th has been attached to the bottom of the last post.
----
So after p-day was over we went and visited Rosa as usual, and she was crazy funny as usual. And at the end of the lesson she said, "I want to be baptized, I need to be baptized where can I do that at??" Haha, I was like, "Um, what?" We didn't set a date, because we were going to wait to see her at church, which she didn't come, so maybe tomorrow!
Then Thursday it was a freaking HOT 40 degrees centagrade... I'm not sure what that is in Fahrenheit, all I know is it's hot!!
Also we saw Jose and hoped to get him baptized last weekend. Well no such luck, he had smoked the day before. He said he felt so bad. When he realized he was smoking he threw it on the ground and just felt bad. But we set his date for the 20th to give him some more time to give up smoking!
Friday it rained in the morning, I got so soaked... but at least it was cold, I loved it!! Then Saturday it was hot in the morning, but rained at night... and I mean rained... and it floods really quickly here, so we were practically swimming in the streets. I didn't mind, I prefer wind and rain, to extreme heat!! Then Sunday we didn't have very many people at church because of the rain. We only had about 20 people, which I guess was normal before I came, but now it is normal to have like 50-60 people!!
So the mission has this farewell thing at the end of every transfer for missionaries going home, and we are allowed to go to it as long as we bring investigators. It's really nice because the missionaries going home bare their testimonies. So we took Antuane and she really enjoyed it. Afterwards, we introduced her to President Argyle, and he talked to her for a long time about why she wasn't baptized. I didn't hear the whole thing because another hermana came up to me and started talking to me and Hermana Riquelme was talking to someone else. Afterwards, Antuane came up to Hna. Riquelme and gave her a hug. But she had to go, so we said we would stop by later that night.
I got to meet a lot of other hermanas in the mission on Sunday, it was awesome. I met an Hermana Ladd she is from Vermont and she went to BYUI before her mission and went on a Europe tour. Afterwards she wants to go to BYU and work at the MTC... haha sound familiar?? I really liked her, she really helped me feel good about my language ability and really helped me feel like I will learn how to speak it one day!
So after that we went to visit Antuane, she said on her way home she felt so good about being baptized, she wanted it so bad. She talked to her mom when she got home and her mom got really upset and was like that's all they want from you. Antuane got upset and just changed the subject. She said she doesn't know what to do. She loves the church and wants to join, but she is the only family her mom has in Argentina and doesn't want to make her upset. She said she would pray and fast about it. Also she said this last week was really hard for her and she didn't think we would come to our appointment Sat. night because of the rain. And she decided that if we didn't show up she would just stop going to church and stop seeing us and everything. And then we showed up... half an hour late, but we made it... She said when we showed up at her house that night she felt so good, and she knew she didn't want to stop everything! It made me feel glad we didn't cancel our appointment that night because of the rain!!
So then Monday nothing too big happened, it was transfer day, but neither of us got transferred, so we worked as usual!! There are a ton of mosquitoes here, and I think I'm the only one they like to eat... I have a ton of bug bites! But good news is, I'm not sure what happened, but I think my comp. is finally starting to like me... it feels good to not feel disliked everyday!!
Oh could you please send me the address for Ashley Day. I wrote her a letter and I thought I had her address, but I can't find it anywhere! And if you can find the address for Texas Houston South Mission, I would love that too!! Tell me what the plans are for Christmas... because I get to call home, but I only get 40 min to talk... so I'm kinda stressed as to how that will work!!
Welp I gotta run, I'm gonna try to send pics though! If I do there will be one in the mtc, with me and Hermana Harper, then one with Hermana Riquelme, and then one with Hermana Riquelme, and me and her other hija, and then one with me here and her hija, and her other old comp. Then one with me and Antuane and her two kids Christopher and Nicole. Enjoy!!
Love ya,
Hermana Gosnell
Editor Jeff's note: The family picture of Antuane and Michelle was really dark. Here's a new and improved (using the GIMP picture. Also, clicking on the pictures will give you a bigger (but not huge like the originals) picture.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving? The work and more weather
So this is pretty sad, I totally forgot about Thanksgiving until Thursday night and I was like hey wait a minute!!! So no I didn't do anything at all for thanksgiving... just worked, and we didn't really eat very much on Thursday either because our lunch appt. bailed on us!! But that's OK, it was a good week anyways!! I´m so excited about the news that Sister Richins gave birth to a healthy baby, that makes me soo happy... the Richins are such wonderful people and deserve all the blessings in the world!! Give her a hug for me when you see her please and say congrats!!
Hermana Riquelme is certain Brock was in her ward, because she remembered him having a birthday on may 5th and that he has a little sister much younger than him and all this other stuff... but I'm excited to get a letter from Brock that would be awesome!! Bro Neal has written me a few times!
I love getting letters!!
Oh and also don´t forget this, my p-day next week is on Tuesday because it is transfers, and whenever there are transfers p-day is on Tuesday!! I don´t think either one of us will be transferred though!!
I think it is so funny that everyone loves my letters so much, I feel like they aren't very good and very spastic, but whatever!!
So apparently I slept talked again last week, and my comp was like yeah every time it's in English, its so weird! I was like um remember how English is my first language and I don't speak Spanish very well... she was like well all my other comps slept talked in Spanish, I was like yeah and all of them were either native Spanish speakers or had been out over a year... but whatever, she doesn't understand that I´m learning Spanish because they other day she made a comment like wow you've been here a month and you can't understand everything yet... that was a good confidence booster, but oh well its mostly just her I can't understand anymore!
Oh and so a member the other day said I was getting smaller every time she sees me... I have been losing a lot of weight I think... none of my clothes fit anymore... like my shirts mostly just hang on me... I might have to buy new clothes soon... hopefully not though!
Oh and I jinxed the weather last week, it has been so stinking hot here... I'm not sure in Fahrenheit, but it was 36 degrees centigrade (editor's note: that's 96.8º F) yesterday at noon, so who knows later on in the day!! All I know is I almost died of heat!! But don't worry we had a great day yesterday, only one appt fell threw and that was OK because we didn't have time cause we had gotten lost earlier that day!! One of the less active members, the one that went crazy after she was baptized came to church on Sunday... it was so awesome, she has been too sick before and everyone was so happy to see her, one of the members started crying during the closing prayer when she thanked the Lord for Milta being able to come!! It was so touching! Also José has stopped smoking, and will hopefully be baptized this weekend, but if we don´t see him today than prob not till the 13th because next weekend is stake conference!! Oh and Antuan is amazing!! We watched The Testaments with her and she loved it... at the end she was like oh I think this is so wonderful I'm going to cry! And when it showed Christ saying ye are the other sheep I talked about she was like oh yeah I've always wondered who he was talking about in the Bible! It was amazing, she also said she loves church, she feels so good when she goes, and she also told us she has stopped going out with her friends dancing and stuff and asked if there was anyone in the church she could be friends with, because she wanted to do the right things!! She also makes sure to go and buy everything she will need sat night so she won´t have to do it on Sunday, and we haven't even taught her about keeping the sabbath day holy... she is truly amazing!! Also our investigator Silvia, is so much happier every time we see her... it makes me so happy! And When we first started teaching her she didn't understand anything, but now she is understanding almost everything!! Its amazing to see the way the spirit works in people, I love it!!
So we had another weird street experience the other day... we were walking to the bus stop and this lady stopped us and said, "Hey I want you to teach my son, I'm a member but haven´t gone to church in 10 years, and I want my son to be a member." Well, I got all excited and we asked how old he was and he is only 6... so he can´t be baptized for another 2 years. But hopefully we can help this lady come back to church!!
This week has been a pretty good week, I´m loving being a missionary, I love Argentina and the people here! Every so often I will surprise myself when I start talking, but it's not a fluent thing yet... not even close. But every so often I will say something and wonder where it came from!!
Welp I hope all is well with everyone back home, I love getting mail so please keep it coming.
Welp, Love you all,
Hermana Gosnell
Hermana Riquelme is certain Brock was in her ward, because she remembered him having a birthday on may 5th and that he has a little sister much younger than him and all this other stuff... but I'm excited to get a letter from Brock that would be awesome!! Bro Neal has written me a few times!
I love getting letters!!
Oh and also don´t forget this, my p-day next week is on Tuesday because it is transfers, and whenever there are transfers p-day is on Tuesday!! I don´t think either one of us will be transferred though!!
I think it is so funny that everyone loves my letters so much, I feel like they aren't very good and very spastic, but whatever!!
So apparently I slept talked again last week, and my comp was like yeah every time it's in English, its so weird! I was like um remember how English is my first language and I don't speak Spanish very well... she was like well all my other comps slept talked in Spanish, I was like yeah and all of them were either native Spanish speakers or had been out over a year... but whatever, she doesn't understand that I´m learning Spanish because they other day she made a comment like wow you've been here a month and you can't understand everything yet... that was a good confidence booster, but oh well its mostly just her I can't understand anymore!
Oh and so a member the other day said I was getting smaller every time she sees me... I have been losing a lot of weight I think... none of my clothes fit anymore... like my shirts mostly just hang on me... I might have to buy new clothes soon... hopefully not though!
Oh and I jinxed the weather last week, it has been so stinking hot here... I'm not sure in Fahrenheit, but it was 36 degrees centigrade (editor's note: that's 96.8º F) yesterday at noon, so who knows later on in the day!! All I know is I almost died of heat!! But don't worry we had a great day yesterday, only one appt fell threw and that was OK because we didn't have time cause we had gotten lost earlier that day!! One of the less active members, the one that went crazy after she was baptized came to church on Sunday... it was so awesome, she has been too sick before and everyone was so happy to see her, one of the members started crying during the closing prayer when she thanked the Lord for Milta being able to come!! It was so touching! Also José has stopped smoking, and will hopefully be baptized this weekend, but if we don´t see him today than prob not till the 13th because next weekend is stake conference!! Oh and Antuan is amazing!! We watched The Testaments with her and she loved it... at the end she was like oh I think this is so wonderful I'm going to cry! And when it showed Christ saying ye are the other sheep I talked about she was like oh yeah I've always wondered who he was talking about in the Bible! It was amazing, she also said she loves church, she feels so good when she goes, and she also told us she has stopped going out with her friends dancing and stuff and asked if there was anyone in the church she could be friends with, because she wanted to do the right things!! She also makes sure to go and buy everything she will need sat night so she won´t have to do it on Sunday, and we haven't even taught her about keeping the sabbath day holy... she is truly amazing!! Also our investigator Silvia, is so much happier every time we see her... it makes me so happy! And When we first started teaching her she didn't understand anything, but now she is understanding almost everything!! Its amazing to see the way the spirit works in people, I love it!!
So we had another weird street experience the other day... we were walking to the bus stop and this lady stopped us and said, "Hey I want you to teach my son, I'm a member but haven´t gone to church in 10 years, and I want my son to be a member." Well, I got all excited and we asked how old he was and he is only 6... so he can´t be baptized for another 2 years. But hopefully we can help this lady come back to church!!
This week has been a pretty good week, I´m loving being a missionary, I love Argentina and the people here! Every so often I will surprise myself when I start talking, but it's not a fluent thing yet... not even close. But every so often I will say something and wonder where it came from!!
Welp I hope all is well with everyone back home, I love getting mail so please keep it coming.
Welp, Love you all,
Hermana Gosnell
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Investigators, travelling conditions and birds
Oh that is so sad about Brother Kidman and Sister Lowe, I loved them both! Brother Kidman was my Sunday School teacher when I was younger and Sister Lowe, well she was just so sweet and caring! I actually thought about her the other day! I'm so sad for them both, but I'm glad that Brother Kidman got to see his wife baptized before he died!! So I'm really shocked about the gas prices... that is so crazy!! So I'm glad that Noelle is still doing well with her pregnancy, that makes me happy... every morning and night I pray that she and her baby will stay healthy... and for Amber too.
Oh and you had snow... that is so crazy!! Well I think people have been praying for me to live through this hot weather because the past few days have actually been pretty chilly, I wore a sweater on Saturday and Sunday I had a sweater with me, but it fell off my bag somewhere, and when we went back to look for it, it was gone... so I was a bit sad about that, but oh well! I would like an umbrella to keep the raining bugs off that would be nice! Also my hymns made easy book, and if its possible Noelle has a book her mom made about learning to play the hymns, if I could get that that would be great to!! Also the recipe for banana bread and root beer, and well any other seasonal recipe... I'm missing that stuff just a little!!
Okay now for may past week, every night I write a few things that happened during the day, and then that's what Ii write from... so here is my past week:
First I don't think I've ever mentioned this, there are a lot of horse drawn carriages here... that is how people get around... now cars and bikes are much much more common... but still horse drawn carriages are seen a lot everyday!! Also I bought a water filter water bottle... I must say that is my life saver here... you can put whatever water in it and drink it straight from the bottle... I love it!! We ran into a less active member the other day and my comp mentioned I was from North America and she said really... she doesn't look like it... haha my comp then said, but when she talks you can tell!! Also if you want to compare what Tigre looks like to something in the states, the closest comparison is Florida... it looks a lot lot like Florida!! And feels like it to, because it is so dang hot!! So we have a little bitty gas stove, it makes me nervous to use... so my comp does all the cooking... I feel like the first time I use it I will burn down the whole building! But we got an announcement at our last zone conference that we all should be getting microwaves soon... which I'm way way excited about!! So the other day we contacted a family of 6 kids, who apparently attended church for 3 years, but never got baptized... that was 7 years ago... so we are teaching them now... their kids are CRAZY!! the youngest kept trying to steal my bag and water bottle... and when he wasn't doing that he was throwing rocks at my comp... very hard to teach in that situation!!
Oh and we had a lesson with a recent convert, right after she was baptized she went crazy... like running around the streets at night, she had to be hospitalized and stuff... she is a really sweet lady, and such a strong person, she has been through so much in her life, and she can't go to church because she has to stay at home... but she reads the Book of Mormon and the lesson manual for Relief Society... when we sang I am a Child of God she started crying, it was so very touching!! Oh and last week we taught this lady named Rosa, she is crazy... she was like I don't like commitments from anyone... and she told us she didn't want to learn anymore, but then invited us in anyways, and then invited us back for this week... she cracks me up!!
Ok a funny story from last week, we got home that night and I went into the kitchen to get some water and as I was filling my water bottle I heard a rustle from the shelf near the ceiling, I looked up and there were 2 pigeons there!!! I did a little yelp because I was startled to see two pigeons in my kitchen, and my comp thought I just saw a bug so she comes in and is like what? I was like there are 2 pigeons in our kitchen, we had left our window open during the day, and they came in to sleep on our shelf... so we showed them out, one flew right out the window, and the other one is pretty stupid and flew into the closed part and fell on the ground... got up to fly out again, and hit the window again... finally the third time the dumb thing flew out... it was really really funny!!
Oh so I love the food here, and the members cook so well, but it stresses me out so much to eat there... because they serve me enough food to last me a year, and I can't eat it all and then they are like oh you don't like my cooking, and get mad at me, and it is just so stressful... hopefully I will figure out a way to get around that!! Oh yeah before I forget, in Spanish to say to give birth is dar luz, which directly translated is To give light... I really like that!! Also just another random fact... I've been on my mission for 3 whole months now!!
So Jose, one of our investigators is really progressing, he says he can go days without smoking and not feel bad... we taught him about the law of fasting and committed him to do it, he said he will!! Oh we have 2 new members in our branch, one is a young couple, the girl served a mission in the LA temple... she seems really sweet, and the other is from Peru she moved here few weeks ago, and couldn't find the church then one of the people she lives with saw us walking down the street and said, I think missionaries from your church are on the street, so she ran outside and started yelling for us, I was like hey is someone yelling hermanas, so we turned around and she came over to us and was like hey I'm trying to find the church... haha she is so awesome!!
We had a fantastic Sunday this week... we had 5 investigators at church and almost 6, but Ana Maria showed up only for Relief Society... and we had 7 kids there from investigators!! Antuane is absolutely amazing, and has accepted a baptismal date of 13 dec, along with her son... he is really excited about it... and she says she loves church and she can't describe it but all she wants to do is read the Book of Mormon... it is great!! Also we have another amazing investigator, German... pronounced Herman, he is 26 and came last week with a member, and came again this week... he has 4 brothers, and we taught 3 of them this last week, they are all pretty fun, and German is just amazing, I'm sure he will be baptized!!
All in all we had a pretty amazing week, a lot of lessons and a lot of work... but these people are so good! I can't wait to start seeing progress and baptisms!! But for now, my time is up... I love you all and hope you have a great week... and don't forget to write me... I only heard from mom this week!!!
Love ya'll!!
Hermana Gosnell
Oh and you had snow... that is so crazy!! Well I think people have been praying for me to live through this hot weather because the past few days have actually been pretty chilly, I wore a sweater on Saturday and Sunday I had a sweater with me, but it fell off my bag somewhere, and when we went back to look for it, it was gone... so I was a bit sad about that, but oh well! I would like an umbrella to keep the raining bugs off that would be nice! Also my hymns made easy book, and if its possible Noelle has a book her mom made about learning to play the hymns, if I could get that that would be great to!! Also the recipe for banana bread and root beer, and well any other seasonal recipe... I'm missing that stuff just a little!!
Okay now for may past week, every night I write a few things that happened during the day, and then that's what Ii write from... so here is my past week:
First I don't think I've ever mentioned this, there are a lot of horse drawn carriages here... that is how people get around... now cars and bikes are much much more common... but still horse drawn carriages are seen a lot everyday!! Also I bought a water filter water bottle... I must say that is my life saver here... you can put whatever water in it and drink it straight from the bottle... I love it!! We ran into a less active member the other day and my comp mentioned I was from North America and she said really... she doesn't look like it... haha my comp then said, but when she talks you can tell!! Also if you want to compare what Tigre looks like to something in the states, the closest comparison is Florida... it looks a lot lot like Florida!! And feels like it to, because it is so dang hot!! So we have a little bitty gas stove, it makes me nervous to use... so my comp does all the cooking... I feel like the first time I use it I will burn down the whole building! But we got an announcement at our last zone conference that we all should be getting microwaves soon... which I'm way way excited about!! So the other day we contacted a family of 6 kids, who apparently attended church for 3 years, but never got baptized... that was 7 years ago... so we are teaching them now... their kids are CRAZY!! the youngest kept trying to steal my bag and water bottle... and when he wasn't doing that he was throwing rocks at my comp... very hard to teach in that situation!!
Oh and we had a lesson with a recent convert, right after she was baptized she went crazy... like running around the streets at night, she had to be hospitalized and stuff... she is a really sweet lady, and such a strong person, she has been through so much in her life, and she can't go to church because she has to stay at home... but she reads the Book of Mormon and the lesson manual for Relief Society... when we sang I am a Child of God she started crying, it was so very touching!! Oh and last week we taught this lady named Rosa, she is crazy... she was like I don't like commitments from anyone... and she told us she didn't want to learn anymore, but then invited us in anyways, and then invited us back for this week... she cracks me up!!
Ok a funny story from last week, we got home that night and I went into the kitchen to get some water and as I was filling my water bottle I heard a rustle from the shelf near the ceiling, I looked up and there were 2 pigeons there!!! I did a little yelp because I was startled to see two pigeons in my kitchen, and my comp thought I just saw a bug so she comes in and is like what? I was like there are 2 pigeons in our kitchen, we had left our window open during the day, and they came in to sleep on our shelf... so we showed them out, one flew right out the window, and the other one is pretty stupid and flew into the closed part and fell on the ground... got up to fly out again, and hit the window again... finally the third time the dumb thing flew out... it was really really funny!!
Oh so I love the food here, and the members cook so well, but it stresses me out so much to eat there... because they serve me enough food to last me a year, and I can't eat it all and then they are like oh you don't like my cooking, and get mad at me, and it is just so stressful... hopefully I will figure out a way to get around that!! Oh yeah before I forget, in Spanish to say to give birth is dar luz, which directly translated is To give light... I really like that!! Also just another random fact... I've been on my mission for 3 whole months now!!
So Jose, one of our investigators is really progressing, he says he can go days without smoking and not feel bad... we taught him about the law of fasting and committed him to do it, he said he will!! Oh we have 2 new members in our branch, one is a young couple, the girl served a mission in the LA temple... she seems really sweet, and the other is from Peru she moved here few weeks ago, and couldn't find the church then one of the people she lives with saw us walking down the street and said, I think missionaries from your church are on the street, so she ran outside and started yelling for us, I was like hey is someone yelling hermanas, so we turned around and she came over to us and was like hey I'm trying to find the church... haha she is so awesome!!
We had a fantastic Sunday this week... we had 5 investigators at church and almost 6, but Ana Maria showed up only for Relief Society... and we had 7 kids there from investigators!! Antuane is absolutely amazing, and has accepted a baptismal date of 13 dec, along with her son... he is really excited about it... and she says she loves church and she can't describe it but all she wants to do is read the Book of Mormon... it is great!! Also we have another amazing investigator, German... pronounced Herman, he is 26 and came last week with a member, and came again this week... he has 4 brothers, and we taught 3 of them this last week, they are all pretty fun, and German is just amazing, I'm sure he will be baptized!!
All in all we had a pretty amazing week, a lot of lessons and a lot of work... but these people are so good! I can't wait to start seeing progress and baptisms!! But for now, my time is up... I love you all and hope you have a great week... and don't forget to write me... I only heard from mom this week!!!
Love ya'll!!
Hermana Gosnell
Thursday, November 13, 2008
from the mission presidents wife
Dear Family,
Finally I am able to send you a photo of Hermana Gosnell. She is wonderful! She is growing and already developing into a powerful missionary. Her Spanish is impressive also. Thank you for your support!
With love,
Sister Argyle
Argentina Buenos Aires North Mission
Finally I am able to send you a photo of Hermana Gosnell. She is wonderful! She is growing and already developing into a powerful missionary. Her Spanish is impressive also. Thank you for your support!
With love,
Sister Argyle
Argentina Buenos Aires North Mission
Noelle, Laundry, Answers, and Ants
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NOELLE IS PREGNANTÂ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (editor's note: Michelle, the word is embarazada ;^)
Ok I'm done screaming... well ok maybe not, I will be screaming for the next 7 months, I absolutely can´t believe this miracle, it is just unbelievable!!! I'm so excited, I def started to tear up, I was able to hold in the tears though!! But this isn´t my doing, these miracles our fam has been experiencing isn´t because of me, it is because of the faithfulness of our whole family, and most importantly because of the Lord, I have nothing to do with it!! Ok so, I'm not sure what you should do about the camera, Next pday I'm going to look at cameras and then e-mail you what I think... So wait till next week, also I only get letters and packages every 6 weeks at zone conferences, >I just had one last week, so maybe next zone conference I will get it!!
Ok so remember how I'm doing my laundry by hand??? Crazy huh, I don´t really like it, but I´m going to take it to get done every other week or so, just to make sure its clean, but I have to wash my garments all the time by hand!! Oh and I´m going to be coming back a completely diff person, I am going to be way dark, b/c I already am way dark, also I'm going to be able to read maps... crazy huh_ And I will be walking everywhere!!
So here in Argentina I've found the true mark of poverty is not having a flat screen tv... yeah almost everyone has one!!
Here are some questions >I needed to respond to... I live in Tigre right next to the train station overlooking the river, it is gorgeous here, all the missionaries are jealous of us because of how beautiful it is!! We live in the twin towers and they are basically the only tall buildings near us, it is very safe we have to be buzzed in and out of the building, no one has keys there are always guards waiting to buzz us in and out! The food is great, I absolutely love milanesa, it is so good!! I don´t really know peoples work schedules, I imagine it is when they have work, they work when they don´t, they sit around and drink mate! And what i did for Halloween, I preached the gospel, they don´t celebrate Halloween in Argentina, so yup that is all I can think of as far as questions... If you have anymore ask away!!
Ok so last week a million big huge yucky flying ant bugs were falling out of the sky, when I asked my comp about it she just said yeah it does that when it rains... well it never rained that day... but luckily the bugs only fell in the morning and we were in zone conference all day!!
So Zone conference was very stressful, all in spanish and we had to do practices and of course people like to pick on me bc i don´t speak spanish! The Ap, I don´t think I like him very much, because I just finished doing a practice and he came over and said do it again, and stood there staring at me the whole time, I almost started crying... he didn´t do that with anyone else!! But other than that it was good, my mission president is AWESOME!! The food was disgusting, little bitty vegetable filled tartas, it was so gross and I was starving, but oh well whatever!!
Ok so apparently Argentina is mullet and rattail central... who knew?? My comp is great, but she is a bit of a me monster sometimes, I will start to say something and she will be like oh yeah but I'm this way, and she will start talking and not stop... but whatever that means I only have to listen to spansih!!
All our investigators are from Peru, Peruvians are amazing people!! So prepared by the Lord, one of them Antuane, is amazing!! She read all of 3 Nephi 1 and understood it all!! she came to church and her mom and her son are ready to be baptized but she feels like she needs a little more time to study, I really hope we can get her to commit to baptism!! Then we have another investigator who committed to baptism, she is the single mother of 4 who is 23 and has almost nothing... I´m not really sure she understands, she has the understanding of a child, but she is so great... I really hope we can get her to church!! We´ve been having a lot of menos actives coming to church... which is so awesome! Oh and apparently my comp says before I came they tried contacting Antuane a million times and never could, the first time was my like 2nd day here!! So cool huh??
Oh so apparently I've been talking in my sleep, something I haven´t done in a while... its only happened twice, I feel so bad... but what can I do??
Ok so it is still amazingly hot here... but I love it, I love the work my comp and the people! I´m understanding a lot more spanish but I´m having a hard time speaking it!! I had to bear my testimony 2 Sundays in a row, this last week everyone said I did so good and they felt the spirit really strong, I almost got my comp to cry, but I was reading what to say, so I don´t think I really did that great, but our investigator Antuane said she loved it!! So that's all that matters!!
That is all I have this week about the work, keep the letters coming i love it... oh wait today we had a reunion de bellotas, all the new missionaries, it was at the mission house, it was really good great food, a lot of fun... my mission president is truly amazing!! I´m so lucky to have him as my president!!
Welp that's all I have for now, I love everyone of you and love the letters keep them coming!!
Love,
Hermana Gosnell
!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (editor's note: Michelle, the word is embarazada ;^)
Ok I'm done screaming... well ok maybe not, I will be screaming for the next 7 months, I absolutely can´t believe this miracle, it is just unbelievable!!! I'm so excited, I def started to tear up, I was able to hold in the tears though!! But this isn´t my doing, these miracles our fam has been experiencing isn´t because of me, it is because of the faithfulness of our whole family, and most importantly because of the Lord, I have nothing to do with it!! Ok so, I'm not sure what you should do about the camera, Next pday I'm going to look at cameras and then e-mail you what I think... So wait till next week, also I only get letters and packages every 6 weeks at zone conferences, >I just had one last week, so maybe next zone conference I will get it!!
Ok so remember how I'm doing my laundry by hand??? Crazy huh, I don´t really like it, but I´m going to take it to get done every other week or so, just to make sure its clean, but I have to wash my garments all the time by hand!! Oh and I´m going to be coming back a completely diff person, I am going to be way dark, b/c I already am way dark, also I'm going to be able to read maps... crazy huh_ And I will be walking everywhere!!
So here in Argentina I've found the true mark of poverty is not having a flat screen tv... yeah almost everyone has one!!
Here are some questions >I needed to respond to... I live in Tigre right next to the train station overlooking the river, it is gorgeous here, all the missionaries are jealous of us because of how beautiful it is!! We live in the twin towers and they are basically the only tall buildings near us, it is very safe we have to be buzzed in and out of the building, no one has keys there are always guards waiting to buzz us in and out! The food is great, I absolutely love milanesa, it is so good!! I don´t really know peoples work schedules, I imagine it is when they have work, they work when they don´t, they sit around and drink mate! And what i did for Halloween, I preached the gospel, they don´t celebrate Halloween in Argentina, so yup that is all I can think of as far as questions... If you have anymore ask away!!
Ok so last week a million big huge yucky flying ant bugs were falling out of the sky, when I asked my comp about it she just said yeah it does that when it rains... well it never rained that day... but luckily the bugs only fell in the morning and we were in zone conference all day!!
So Zone conference was very stressful, all in spanish and we had to do practices and of course people like to pick on me bc i don´t speak spanish! The Ap, I don´t think I like him very much, because I just finished doing a practice and he came over and said do it again, and stood there staring at me the whole time, I almost started crying... he didn´t do that with anyone else!! But other than that it was good, my mission president is AWESOME!! The food was disgusting, little bitty vegetable filled tartas, it was so gross and I was starving, but oh well whatever!!
Ok so apparently Argentina is mullet and rattail central... who knew?? My comp is great, but she is a bit of a me monster sometimes, I will start to say something and she will be like oh yeah but I'm this way, and she will start talking and not stop... but whatever that means I only have to listen to spansih!!
All our investigators are from Peru, Peruvians are amazing people!! So prepared by the Lord, one of them Antuane, is amazing!! She read all of 3 Nephi 1 and understood it all!! she came to church and her mom and her son are ready to be baptized but she feels like she needs a little more time to study, I really hope we can get her to commit to baptism!! Then we have another investigator who committed to baptism, she is the single mother of 4 who is 23 and has almost nothing... I´m not really sure she understands, she has the understanding of a child, but she is so great... I really hope we can get her to church!! We´ve been having a lot of menos actives coming to church... which is so awesome! Oh and apparently my comp says before I came they tried contacting Antuane a million times and never could, the first time was my like 2nd day here!! So cool huh??
Oh so apparently I've been talking in my sleep, something I haven´t done in a while... its only happened twice, I feel so bad... but what can I do??
Ok so it is still amazingly hot here... but I love it, I love the work my comp and the people! I´m understanding a lot more spanish but I´m having a hard time speaking it!! I had to bear my testimony 2 Sundays in a row, this last week everyone said I did so good and they felt the spirit really strong, I almost got my comp to cry, but I was reading what to say, so I don´t think I really did that great, but our investigator Antuane said she loved it!! So that's all that matters!!
That is all I have this week about the work, keep the letters coming i love it... oh wait today we had a reunion de bellotas, all the new missionaries, it was at the mission house, it was really good great food, a lot of fun... my mission president is truly amazing!! I´m so lucky to have him as my president!!
Welp that's all I have for now, I love everyone of you and love the letters keep them coming!!
Love,
Hermana Gosnell
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
I´m glad you sent me an e-mail to tell me who won, I was wondering if I would get it or not? A ton of people here have been saying oh Tuesday is a big day for you North Americans huh? HAHA I'm just glad its finally over... hopefully the US won't be in complete ruins when I get home, but oh well things have to get worse before they can get better!!
So Argentina is... HOTTTTTTTTTT And the worst part is it isn't even summer yet!!! The hottest part of the year is in December and January, and it doesn't rain or have any wind where I am, and the locals tell us that Tigre is the hottest part of our whole mission!! Great to hear I will be here for all of summer huh? I'm told its usual to stay in your first area for 6 months, I'm not sure how true that is, but that is what happened to Hna Riquelme, so who knows!! At least her first area was Ushuaia!! I wish!! Don´t get me wrong, I love Tigre, it is gorgeous here! If I wasn't out on the streets walking a million miles a day at breakneck speed (because that's the only way Hna Riquelme walks) I would really love it here.... but what am I saying I do love it here, I love the people here too!! We got a couple of new investigators this last week, we have a old one, José who is amazing, he tells all his friends about the church and his family is now asking if they can come to, he just needs to stop smoking!! One of our new investigators is Antuane and she is so awesome, we taught her and she was so interested, she is from Peru and has 2 kids and lives with her mom. She tried coming to church on Sunday but there was a mix up with her neighbor as to who had the keys that day, and her neighbor left, and she was stuck locked into her yard until her neighbor came home... that sounds weird huh? It is hard to describe but sometimes there are several houses behind one fence, and the fence is kind of like the front door, we don´t go up to peoples doors even if the fence is open, we stand at the fence and clap. So hopefully next week she will be able to come, we are teaching her the second lesson tomorrow! We have another investigator, who is in great temporal and spiritual need. Her name is Silvia, and she is 23 and has 4 kids!!!! She lives in a house right behind her mom's and her mom's house is not much more than a glorified tree house, actually I've seen nicer tree houses!! It is basically 4 things of plywood on stilts!! Silvia's is a bit nicer, it is 4 pieces of tin on stilts! Just one room with a bunk bed with little bitty mattresses for her and her 4 kids!! The day before we came to teach her her little bitty stove thing caught on fire and if she hadn't stopped it it would have burned down her whole house! I feel so bad for her, all these people I wish I could help and bring them out of poverty, but I just remind myself that the message I´m bringing them is so much better than the temporal things they need!! She took the lesson well, her little sister was there for most of it, we gave them both a Book of Mormon, all though Silvia says she has a hard time reading because she doesn't have much schooling, and their mom can't read at all! We are going back to teach them Saturday. Hopefully the will read together the Book of Mormon, because I know that can help them out so much!! Another family we went and talked to is a less active family, they don't have any power anymore, and a lot of things are going downhill, I mentioned to my companion that they just needed to start going back to church, she said they did and that's when things went from bad to worse, so they stopped!! Apparently that happens a lot here!! I guess its hard to see the end when everything is going so badly right in that moment! The less active members here amaze me!! We go to visit them and some have their scriptures and Liahonas out on the table like they were just reading them, they just don't go to church!!! I don´t really understand it! My comp was telling me the previous branch president was the president when most of our less actives were baptized and active, but then they called a new president, and there is nothing wrong with him, but the reason they had to call a new one was because the old on went inactive, and apparently half the branch with him! I have no idea what happened! But there is this family, the Pechor family, they are so great!! They are less active, apparently they get very easily offended, but they crack me up I love visiting them,well the came to church this past Sunday!! I was so happy about that! Maybe things will start getting better with our less actives!!
Well that's about how the work goes here, I´m hot and tired every day, and by the time it is time for bed I fall in and sleep hard! I get to finally meet my mission president tomorrow! I hear he is awesome, I can´t wait to meet him! Welp I gotta run, I will talk to you all next week!!
Hermana Gosnell
Ok so a few things I forgot in my first e-mail to everyone! Last week I tried empanadas for the first time, they were good until a few hours later when I got really sick in the middle of the lesson... yeah my best lesson was spent on the toilet... the lady was really sweet but I was so uncomfortable because her bathroom was a little bitty hole in the wall with a curtain for a door, but the curtain didn´t cover the whole door frame!! Yeah def not what I'm used to!! There was something else really important I wanted to write but I can't remember.
Our branch president is so rich, we ate at his house on Sunday and it is a really really nice house! Like even in the states it would be really really nice!! And today for p-day we went to a place called Puerta de Frutas. Try to look it up, it was really nice! Oh and Elder Foye, we were just a really close district, I'm supposed to be on his, and I'm apparently on another one of my elders e-mailing lists as well!! I need you to add elder Lytle, but I don´t have his e-mail on hand so I will give it to you next week! I love you, but I'm running out of time, so I will write more next week!!!
So apparently my mission presidents wife told my companion I'm on a diet and I'm not allowed to eat pizza or ice cream or anything like that ever!! Which don't get me wrong, yes I'm on a diet, but that doesn't mean I can't eat anything ever! Argentina from what I hear has the best ice cream in the world, I wanted to at least try some! I told my comp that I can have it, but just
not everyday or even very often... but she told me that apparently that first meal you eat after they pick you up at the airport is really good with ice cream and all, well all they gave me was a little bitty salad and that's all! Hna Riquelme was really surprised that was all they gave me! It makes me a little sad, but whatever I guess being fat will always have things like this!! That's all!!
So Argentina is... HOTTTTTTTTTT And the worst part is it isn't even summer yet!!! The hottest part of the year is in December and January, and it doesn't rain or have any wind where I am, and the locals tell us that Tigre is the hottest part of our whole mission!! Great to hear I will be here for all of summer huh? I'm told its usual to stay in your first area for 6 months, I'm not sure how true that is, but that is what happened to Hna Riquelme, so who knows!! At least her first area was Ushuaia!! I wish!! Don´t get me wrong, I love Tigre, it is gorgeous here! If I wasn't out on the streets walking a million miles a day at breakneck speed (because that's the only way Hna Riquelme walks) I would really love it here.... but what am I saying I do love it here, I love the people here too!! We got a couple of new investigators this last week, we have a old one, José who is amazing, he tells all his friends about the church and his family is now asking if they can come to, he just needs to stop smoking!! One of our new investigators is Antuane and she is so awesome, we taught her and she was so interested, she is from Peru and has 2 kids and lives with her mom. She tried coming to church on Sunday but there was a mix up with her neighbor as to who had the keys that day, and her neighbor left, and she was stuck locked into her yard until her neighbor came home... that sounds weird huh? It is hard to describe but sometimes there are several houses behind one fence, and the fence is kind of like the front door, we don´t go up to peoples doors even if the fence is open, we stand at the fence and clap. So hopefully next week she will be able to come, we are teaching her the second lesson tomorrow! We have another investigator, who is in great temporal and spiritual need. Her name is Silvia, and she is 23 and has 4 kids!!!! She lives in a house right behind her mom's and her mom's house is not much more than a glorified tree house, actually I've seen nicer tree houses!! It is basically 4 things of plywood on stilts!! Silvia's is a bit nicer, it is 4 pieces of tin on stilts! Just one room with a bunk bed with little bitty mattresses for her and her 4 kids!! The day before we came to teach her her little bitty stove thing caught on fire and if she hadn't stopped it it would have burned down her whole house! I feel so bad for her, all these people I wish I could help and bring them out of poverty, but I just remind myself that the message I´m bringing them is so much better than the temporal things they need!! She took the lesson well, her little sister was there for most of it, we gave them both a Book of Mormon, all though Silvia says she has a hard time reading because she doesn't have much schooling, and their mom can't read at all! We are going back to teach them Saturday. Hopefully the will read together the Book of Mormon, because I know that can help them out so much!! Another family we went and talked to is a less active family, they don't have any power anymore, and a lot of things are going downhill, I mentioned to my companion that they just needed to start going back to church, she said they did and that's when things went from bad to worse, so they stopped!! Apparently that happens a lot here!! I guess its hard to see the end when everything is going so badly right in that moment! The less active members here amaze me!! We go to visit them and some have their scriptures and Liahonas out on the table like they were just reading them, they just don't go to church!!! I don´t really understand it! My comp was telling me the previous branch president was the president when most of our less actives were baptized and active, but then they called a new president, and there is nothing wrong with him, but the reason they had to call a new one was because the old on went inactive, and apparently half the branch with him! I have no idea what happened! But there is this family, the Pechor family, they are so great!! They are less active, apparently they get very easily offended, but they crack me up I love visiting them,well the came to church this past Sunday!! I was so happy about that! Maybe things will start getting better with our less actives!!
Well that's about how the work goes here, I´m hot and tired every day, and by the time it is time for bed I fall in and sleep hard! I get to finally meet my mission president tomorrow! I hear he is awesome, I can´t wait to meet him! Welp I gotta run, I will talk to you all next week!!
Hermana Gosnell
Ok so a few things I forgot in my first e-mail to everyone! Last week I tried empanadas for the first time, they were good until a few hours later when I got really sick in the middle of the lesson... yeah my best lesson was spent on the toilet... the lady was really sweet but I was so uncomfortable because her bathroom was a little bitty hole in the wall with a curtain for a door, but the curtain didn´t cover the whole door frame!! Yeah def not what I'm used to!! There was something else really important I wanted to write but I can't remember.
Our branch president is so rich, we ate at his house on Sunday and it is a really really nice house! Like even in the states it would be really really nice!! And today for p-day we went to a place called Puerta de Frutas. Try to look it up, it was really nice! Oh and Elder Foye, we were just a really close district, I'm supposed to be on his, and I'm apparently on another one of my elders e-mailing lists as well!! I need you to add elder Lytle, but I don´t have his e-mail on hand so I will give it to you next week! I love you, but I'm running out of time, so I will write more next week!!!
So apparently my mission presidents wife told my companion I'm on a diet and I'm not allowed to eat pizza or ice cream or anything like that ever!! Which don't get me wrong, yes I'm on a diet, but that doesn't mean I can't eat anything ever! Argentina from what I hear has the best ice cream in the world, I wanted to at least try some! I told my comp that I can have it, but just
not everyday or even very often... but she told me that apparently that first meal you eat after they pick you up at the airport is really good with ice cream and all, well all they gave me was a little bitty salad and that's all! Hna Riquelme was really surprised that was all they gave me! It makes me a little sad, but whatever I guess being fat will always have things like this!! That's all!!
I got this e-mail from Michelle
I got this e-mail from Michelle. Anyone who has had to learn a foreign language on their mission understands the challenges here. I am sure that Michelle would appreciate our prayers on her behalf to learn Spanish, as well as plenty of letters of support and encouragement.
Hey so I'm finally here, and it is hotter than hot and not even summer!! So I need you to tell me everything about your first 3 months, how the heck did you learn the language and survive until you did... my comp isn't used to dealing with someone who doesn't know the language and it is pretty uncomfortable!! Anyway sorry this is rushed but please I need help!! Oh and how the heck did you survive summer????? Other than that, I love it here, the people are great!!!!
Hey so I'm finally here, and it is hotter than hot and not even summer!! So I need you to tell me everything about your first 3 months, how the heck did you learn the language and survive until you did... my comp isn't used to dealing with someone who doesn't know the language and it is pretty uncomfortable!! Anyway sorry this is rushed but please I need help!! Oh and how the heck did you survive summer????? Other than that, I love it here, the people are great!!!!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Michelle's first letter from Argentina
Hey all, so I made it safely to Argentina!! It was a really really long flight, but so totally worth it!! I LOVE IT HERE!!! So, I´m in Tigre, which is beautiful, I'm right on the river my apartment is on the 10th floor of the twin towers, and it is a pretty nice apt!! Much nicer than I was expecting!! My companion is amazing, better than I could have hoped for! She is actually from Buenos Aires, which is very rare she from the west mission area, and she thinks Brock taught her sister-in-law but can't remember or not! Her English is so good, but we usually only speak in Castellano. I don´t understand hardly anything, the members try to speak slow for me, but I still have a hard time!! But man I love the people here, they are so freaking awesome!! The mission leader in our ward is so nice and his wife is so funny!! Then there is another family that has 2 little boys and they are from Peru, they are so cool, we had a baptism scheduled for this sat, but he has to stop smoking so we pushed it back, but he loves everything we teach, and gave us a reference and she is so cool I really like her, even though when we taught her she couldn´t understand anything I said so my comp took over! Whatever that was OK with me because I didn´t understand anything she was saying! My comp was confused because she said I was speaking really clearly and everything, but we just figured it was because she already thought she wouldn´t understand me so she didn´t really try! I don´t think I´ve had any culture shock, I guess it helps that I´ve traveled a lot, but of course I´ve never been in a place like this! The people live so humbly here, quite seriously I don´t even know how to explain it! Its something like what pictures of Hooverville looked like during the great depression!! It is unreal! But the people are all so kind and happy! I´m def in love with this place!!
So when I got here my comp was at the airport which is very odd, but since they had had the transfer the day before she had stayed at the mission home the night before, my mission president's wife and 2 of his kids were there as well, but not my mission president, which is odd too! So anyways as soon as I got my stuff and went through customs I was greeted into Argentina by my comp, she came right up to me and hugged me and kissed me on the cheek (Argentine fashion) I was a little confused because i had practically just gotten off the plane and all the instructions I had were to look for a guy named Alberto!! So then we went to the mission office and and I got financial orientation from some of the office elders, one of whose girlfriend was in my zone in the mtc! And I still didn´t meet the Mission president! Then we had lunch (a salad) and then they sent us off to our area, we dropped off my stuff and turned straight around and went to work, I didn´t get completely unpacked until like a few days after I got here! It was fun meeting everyone! So yeah I still havent´t met my mission president! Which is very very very rare! He called me this morning and said hey I just want to let you know that you do have a mission president!! HA HA we have a zone conf coming up so he says we will just meet then! He seems really nice! I like his wife she was really nice!
Hmm, what else to say about this place, there are a ton of stray dogs just wandering around, it is crazy!! Oh and I haven´t bought any food yet, I´m so glad you sent me snacks and those south beach bars, because every morning I´ve had the south beach bars and when those ran out some of my comp apples, we are going to shop today so I can have food, the members feed us lunch and they don´t really eat dinner here, just a really big lunch!! I seriously don´t understand how people gain weight on their missions here!! All we do is walk which I don´t mind, my ankle only hurt the first couple of days, and we take the bus sometimes to get to our farther areas but I don´t like it, so as soon as my ankle is completely healed we will stop taking the buses!!!
Welp, I hope you enjoy this letter, I love it here, my p-day is Wednesdays and I only get letters and packages at zone conferences!! Anyways, I love you all and hope everyone is doing great!!
Love,
*Hermana Gosnell*
So when I got here my comp was at the airport which is very odd, but since they had had the transfer the day before she had stayed at the mission home the night before, my mission president's wife and 2 of his kids were there as well, but not my mission president, which is odd too! So anyways as soon as I got my stuff and went through customs I was greeted into Argentina by my comp, she came right up to me and hugged me and kissed me on the cheek (Argentine fashion) I was a little confused because i had practically just gotten off the plane and all the instructions I had were to look for a guy named Alberto!! So then we went to the mission office and and I got financial orientation from some of the office elders, one of whose girlfriend was in my zone in the mtc! And I still didn´t meet the Mission president! Then we had lunch (a salad) and then they sent us off to our area, we dropped off my stuff and turned straight around and went to work, I didn´t get completely unpacked until like a few days after I got here! It was fun meeting everyone! So yeah I still havent´t met my mission president! Which is very very very rare! He called me this morning and said hey I just want to let you know that you do have a mission president!! HA HA we have a zone conf coming up so he says we will just meet then! He seems really nice! I like his wife she was really nice!
Hmm, what else to say about this place, there are a ton of stray dogs just wandering around, it is crazy!! Oh and I haven´t bought any food yet, I´m so glad you sent me snacks and those south beach bars, because every morning I´ve had the south beach bars and when those ran out some of my comp apples, we are going to shop today so I can have food, the members feed us lunch and they don´t really eat dinner here, just a really big lunch!! I seriously don´t understand how people gain weight on their missions here!! All we do is walk which I don´t mind, my ankle only hurt the first couple of days, and we take the bus sometimes to get to our farther areas but I don´t like it, so as soon as my ankle is completely healed we will stop taking the buses!!!
Welp, I hope you enjoy this letter, I love it here, my p-day is Wednesdays and I only get letters and packages at zone conferences!! Anyways, I love you all and hope everyone is doing great!!
Love,
*Hermana Gosnell*
Monday, October 27, 2008
She has arrived!
Here is the e-mail Patsy received and forwarded from Michelle's mission president. There was a picture attached, which is attached here, sans red-eye.
Dear Family,
We want to tell you that Hermana Gosnell arrived in Buenos Aires safe and sound. She met her companion immediately, Hermana Riquelme, and then we went to the offices to do some training. After lunch we sent them off to their area to work. Hermana Gosnell’s first area is Tigre in the Litoral Stake. She is very excited to get to work and serve full time. She has prepared well to serve the Lord full time. Thank you for all you have done to help her arrive to this point. We are very excited to have her here with us. We consider it an honor and blessing to serve side by side with the missionaries in this beautiful land of Argentina. May the Lord bless her and you as she sacrifices all she can give to build up the Lord’s kingdom.
Argentina Buenos Aires North Mission
Argentina here I come!!!
For those following the posts, I decided to let everyone know that Michelle was cleared to leave on Thursday October 23rd. On the day she hurt her ankle, she was instructed not to put any weight on her ankle. She was obedient and then the next day started trying to put a little weight on it. When she did, there was sharp pain that really surprised her. She asked an elder to give her a blessing and then on Wed. when she saw the doctor, he told her that he was going to delay her a week. She begged him to let her prove that she could walk. She had been using crutches, but put them down and walked with no limp for the doctor. I asked her if she was gritting her teeth in pain, and she said no! She feels that the blessing and all the prayers helped her heal faster. She called from the airport and was in very good spirits. She is traveling with 6 from the MTC, and one of the elders insists on carrying her duffel bag everywhere for her. The doctor did say that he was going to call the mission president and tell him that Michelle is not to do too much walking for awhile. She hopes that doesn't mean she will get stuck in the office. Anyway, she is now in Argentina. We won't hear from her until her pday, which we don't know when that will be. She will be able to send one email a week to me, and I will send it out to everyone. She can recieve emails from everyone and will probably respond to all emails in the one email she sends to me. Hand written letters can be sent to her and she will respond to those, but we hear that it can take up to a month to get those letters. We will let everyone know if we hear anything different.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Letter from Michelle
Remember how I sometimes break things!!!
Welp I'm at my old ways again! No the ER doctor says my ankle ISN'T broken just badly sprained and I can still leave on Thursday, but the MTC doctor I saw today thinks I will need to be delayed a week... when he told me that I started crying and begging him to change his mind I was on the verge of sobbing and I was like no I can walk no one has let me even try, please just let me go! He was like ok well I will put you in lacer and you need to come see me tomorrow! So you may be wondering how this happened... well let me tell you. I got all my letters and read the one from you in class, I wasn't very happy because of the news about Carrie, I was crying and my teacher said our closing prayer and blessed that Carrie will be blessed because of my service as a missionary. It was very sweet because he blessed her by name! Then I wanted to be cheered up so I opened my letter from Devon and was reading it as I was walking down the stairs (which is what I do every night) well I was so distracted by the news of Carrie and what I was reading, that i didn't notice I wasn't on the last step. SO I took what I thought was the last step and it wasn't, so I fell and amazingly hurt my right ankle and not my left!! I've hardly ever cried when I've done that but I was so done, I just started bawling, all these elders gathered around and asked if they could help, one person actually asked if I was OK, I laughed and said no I just like to hang out on the floor and cry every night! Good thing my sarcasm was still intact!! Well I wasn't crying because of the pain, even though it hurt like crazy, probably on a scale of 1-10 an 8!! I was crying because I was mostly still so worried about Carrie and then maybe a quarter of me worried about if I would be delayed. The rushed me to the er took an x-ray and I was out until 12:30am, and I had woken up early to see one of our sisters off, so needless to say a very long day! They gave me crutches and said not to put any weight on it! Well that brings me to today, I went to the doctor, and I've already told you everything that happened there, I'm supposed to start packing today and I want to be optimistic and start packing, but I'm just so worried, the doctor said I can start to put a little weight on it with my crutches, and start to experiment with walking, and I have appt. with him tomorrow at 9:40am!! When put a bit of weight on it, it hurt really bad which actually surprised me because it hasn't been hurting today! So I'm really really worried! I'm exercising all the faith I have that I can be healed by tomorrow morning! I'm asking my elders for a blessing tonight, please prayer for me with all the faith you have!! I can't be here in the MTC for another week without my companion, I will go CRAZY!!!
Ok sorry for that, please don't worry about me, just have faith that I will be better!! Other than that my week has actually been good, it flew by really fast and I've been looking forward to leaving and to calling you all!! I don't know what is going on now, but if I still get to leave on Thursday I will try to call you before we leave salt lake if I have time! I did get the calling card today! Thanks!! I have everyone's numbers, so I'm good, I made sure to write them all down before i left!! I probably won't be writing any hand written letters today because we really don't have any time because it is 4:30 already and I haven't done laundry yet!! Well I don't remember anything else I need to write, because I don't have anything with me or anything written down!! You will be getting a letter from me today prob. I'm sorry this letter is a bit depressing, but hopefully tomorrow will be great!! Well I gotta run, but please please please remember to keep Carrie in your prayers!! Her needs are so much greater than mine!!!! And if you have anymore details please let me know ASAP!!
Love y'all
~Hermana Gosnell
Edit: To those wondering who is Carrie, and what happened, Carrie Akemon is best friend of Michelle's from Paris KY. Carrie is also a good friend of Michelle's. Carrie was here for Michelle's farewell. Saturday, Carrie was in an ATV accident in Rexburg and broke her neck in 3 places. We don't know the extent of the injuries yet. She is talking and moving some. We hope and pray that there is no permanent damage, but only time will tell. Please remember her in your prayers.
Welp I'm at my old ways again! No the ER doctor says my ankle ISN'T broken just badly sprained and I can still leave on Thursday, but the MTC doctor I saw today thinks I will need to be delayed a week... when he told me that I started crying and begging him to change his mind I was on the verge of sobbing and I was like no I can walk no one has let me even try, please just let me go! He was like ok well I will put you in lacer and you need to come see me tomorrow! So you may be wondering how this happened... well let me tell you. I got all my letters and read the one from you in class, I wasn't very happy because of the news about Carrie, I was crying and my teacher said our closing prayer and blessed that Carrie will be blessed because of my service as a missionary. It was very sweet because he blessed her by name! Then I wanted to be cheered up so I opened my letter from Devon and was reading it as I was walking down the stairs (which is what I do every night) well I was so distracted by the news of Carrie and what I was reading, that i didn't notice I wasn't on the last step. SO I took what I thought was the last step and it wasn't, so I fell and amazingly hurt my right ankle and not my left!! I've hardly ever cried when I've done that but I was so done, I just started bawling, all these elders gathered around and asked if they could help, one person actually asked if I was OK, I laughed and said no I just like to hang out on the floor and cry every night! Good thing my sarcasm was still intact!! Well I wasn't crying because of the pain, even though it hurt like crazy, probably on a scale of 1-10 an 8!! I was crying because I was mostly still so worried about Carrie and then maybe a quarter of me worried about if I would be delayed. The rushed me to the er took an x-ray and I was out until 12:30am, and I had woken up early to see one of our sisters off, so needless to say a very long day! They gave me crutches and said not to put any weight on it! Well that brings me to today, I went to the doctor, and I've already told you everything that happened there, I'm supposed to start packing today and I want to be optimistic and start packing, but I'm just so worried, the doctor said I can start to put a little weight on it with my crutches, and start to experiment with walking, and I have appt. with him tomorrow at 9:40am!! When put a bit of weight on it, it hurt really bad which actually surprised me because it hasn't been hurting today! So I'm really really worried! I'm exercising all the faith I have that I can be healed by tomorrow morning! I'm asking my elders for a blessing tonight, please prayer for me with all the faith you have!! I can't be here in the MTC for another week without my companion, I will go CRAZY!!!
Ok sorry for that, please don't worry about me, just have faith that I will be better!! Other than that my week has actually been good, it flew by really fast and I've been looking forward to leaving and to calling you all!! I don't know what is going on now, but if I still get to leave on Thursday I will try to call you before we leave salt lake if I have time! I did get the calling card today! Thanks!! I have everyone's numbers, so I'm good, I made sure to write them all down before i left!! I probably won't be writing any hand written letters today because we really don't have any time because it is 4:30 already and I haven't done laundry yet!! Well I don't remember anything else I need to write, because I don't have anything with me or anything written down!! You will be getting a letter from me today prob. I'm sorry this letter is a bit depressing, but hopefully tomorrow will be great!! Well I gotta run, but please please please remember to keep Carrie in your prayers!! Her needs are so much greater than mine!!!! And if you have anymore details please let me know ASAP!!
Love y'all
~Hermana Gosnell
Edit: To those wondering who is Carrie, and what happened, Carrie Akemon is best friend of Michelle's from Paris KY. Carrie is also a good friend of Michelle's. Carrie was here for Michelle's farewell. Saturday, Carrie was in an ATV accident in Rexburg and broke her neck in 3 places. We don't know the extent of the injuries yet. She is talking and moving some. We hope and pray that there is no permanent damage, but only time will tell. Please remember her in your prayers.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
I'm leaving October 23rd
I leave Oct. 23rd!!!!
I totally can't wait to talk to everyone!! I plan on calling all my siblings, so make sure they are aware and ready to take my calls!! Don't worry I will call you first mom, and if I have time hopefully from the Salt Lake airport!! I forgot my flight plans so I'm not exactly sure but I know I fly out of here at 11:50 and land in Dallas, I'm not sure when but i have a 4 hour layover!! then I fly to Buenos Aires (it is a 15 hour flight!!) And I have some interesting news about that, so I'm on the same flight as my companion, but they put us into groups according to what mission, so we are in different groups, and the only one other person going with me had surgery a couple of weeks ago and if she doesn't get the doctors approval today then she won't be flying with me, so I will technically be flying solo, and once we get to Buenos Aires I'm on my own cause my comp will have to catch a bus, and I will have to find my mission president!! So I've been praying hard that sister Collinwood will get the doctors approval today!!!!
Flight Plan Friday was fantastic, I was a little worried at first cause my thing said I was leaving Monday the 20th, and I was like wait I won't have my visa, so I went to the travel office and they changed it for me, I was happy about that!! I'm a little sad though because the Neoquen mission in Argentina is delayed a week so they don't leave till the 27, there are 3 people in my district going there so I'm sad for them!! 3 people from my district leave Monday, then me and Hermana Blouin on Thursday, and then the last three leave the next Monday!! We are all so pumped and ready to go!! Your gum story made me laugh mom, I can't wait to get it even though I can't chew it in public!! I will chew it on the plane though so my ears won't explode!!
Give Becky an extras huge hug for me... I'm so happy for her!! It is so weird to me that life is going on. I feel like it is standing still!!
Sorry nothing much happened this past week, I have one more time to write you from the MTC, then I will be in ARGENTINA!!! I can't wait till then!! So start sending snail mail to Argentina, also I want to suggest only e-mails in Argentina, and if it isn't an e-mail or a package, then send it through dearelder, because it is so much easier because you can't send envelopes through the pouch system!! anyways that is all I have to write, I love you all and can't wait to talk to you next Thursday!!
Love,
Hermana Gosnell
I totally can't wait to talk to everyone!! I plan on calling all my siblings, so make sure they are aware and ready to take my calls!! Don't worry I will call you first mom, and if I have time hopefully from the Salt Lake airport!! I forgot my flight plans so I'm not exactly sure but I know I fly out of here at 11:50 and land in Dallas, I'm not sure when but i have a 4 hour layover!! then I fly to Buenos Aires (it is a 15 hour flight!!) And I have some interesting news about that, so I'm on the same flight as my companion, but they put us into groups according to what mission, so we are in different groups, and the only one other person going with me had surgery a couple of weeks ago and if she doesn't get the doctors approval today then she won't be flying with me, so I will technically be flying solo, and once we get to Buenos Aires I'm on my own cause my comp will have to catch a bus, and I will have to find my mission president!! So I've been praying hard that sister Collinwood will get the doctors approval today!!!!
Flight Plan Friday was fantastic, I was a little worried at first cause my thing said I was leaving Monday the 20th, and I was like wait I won't have my visa, so I went to the travel office and they changed it for me, I was happy about that!! I'm a little sad though because the Neoquen mission in Argentina is delayed a week so they don't leave till the 27, there are 3 people in my district going there so I'm sad for them!! 3 people from my district leave Monday, then me and Hermana Blouin on Thursday, and then the last three leave the next Monday!! We are all so pumped and ready to go!! Your gum story made me laugh mom, I can't wait to get it even though I can't chew it in public!! I will chew it on the plane though so my ears won't explode!!
Give Becky an extras huge hug for me... I'm so happy for her!! It is so weird to me that life is going on. I feel like it is standing still!!
Sorry nothing much happened this past week, I have one more time to write you from the MTC, then I will be in ARGENTINA!!! I can't wait till then!! So start sending snail mail to Argentina, also I want to suggest only e-mails in Argentina, and if it isn't an e-mail or a package, then send it through dearelder, because it is so much easier because you can't send envelopes through the pouch system!! anyways that is all I have to write, I love you all and can't wait to talk to you next Thursday!!
Love,
Hermana Gosnell
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Snail Mail Letter to Noelle
I received this letter from Michelle yesterday. (Hey, that's two different Beatles songs! "Michelle" and "Yesterday")
Noelle,
Thanks for putting the pics up on my blog! I really appreciate it! I'm gonna make a CD of pics to send home my last week here at the MTC, so if you want to wait till you get those pics that's fine! But tell me which ones you put on my blog, cause I don't know which ones I sent you! Just want to let you know how amazing you are! (Here Noelle blushes modestly.)
so I totally remember Rachel's screaming tantrum skills when she was just a bitsy baby, in fact I'm pretty sure my ears still REALLY remember! And I can only imagine she has perfected the tantrum! I'm sorry you didn't really get to enjoy conf., it was amazing! I truly loved loved loved it!!
Well that is all for now! Oh, could you explain on my blog that us missionaries here at the MTC don't go out in the real world EVER unless we have to get glasses or we are really sick! Some people have been asking me if I get Wal-Mart runs or if I got to go watch conference at the Conference Center. The answer is a no! I don't get to go out into civilization . . .EVER!!
(Noelle edits here to mention that Michelle never ever ever gets to leave the MTC unless it is an emergency, or in other words, never.)
Anyways, that is all I have! I love you and appreciate your letters a lot!!
Love,
Hna. Gosnell
P.S. Give Rachel a hug and kiss from me!
:)
Noelle,
Thanks for putting the pics up on my blog! I really appreciate it! I'm gonna make a CD of pics to send home my last week here at the MTC, so if you want to wait till you get those pics that's fine! But tell me which ones you put on my blog, cause I don't know which ones I sent you! Just want to let you know how amazing you are! (Here Noelle blushes modestly.)
so I totally remember Rachel's screaming tantrum skills when she was just a bitsy baby, in fact I'm pretty sure my ears still REALLY remember! And I can only imagine she has perfected the tantrum! I'm sorry you didn't really get to enjoy conf., it was amazing! I truly loved loved loved it!!
Well that is all for now! Oh, could you explain on my blog that us missionaries here at the MTC don't go out in the real world EVER unless we have to get glasses or we are really sick! Some people have been asking me if I get Wal-Mart runs or if I got to go watch conference at the Conference Center. The answer is a no! I don't get to go out into civilization . . .EVER!!
(Noelle edits here to mention that Michelle never ever ever gets to leave the MTC unless it is an emergency, or in other words, never.)
Anyways, that is all I have! I love you and appreciate your letters a lot!!
Love,
Hna. Gosnell
P.S. Give Rachel a hug and kiss from me!
:)
Snail mail letter dated Oct. 7th
So, something interesting happened this week. We did a class activity where we wrote our name on the top of a piece of paper, then passed it and the next person wrote what Christlike attribute they think I possess.... We keep doing that until it gets back to us! I was really surprised at the responses I got! So everyone wrote about how humble I am, how I have patience and charity! Which I find so interesting because I feel like those are the three attributes I need to work on the most! It is definitely interesting seeing how other people see you. because it is so very different how we see ourselves.
Now I will write a little bit about the devotional I just went to...it was AMAZING probably top 3. It was given by Tad R. Callister & his wife. Sis. Callister started by saying if she asked any of our Moms, what kind of missionary we are, all our Moms would say "the best missionary!" So she said we all need to become the missionary our Moms think we are! Just a few other points are: I need to change my nature, not just my behavior, because if we just change our behavior, we will stay the same person! It's not about what I want, it's about what the Lord wants! He said there is no retreat to our former lives no matter how difficult it may get! Then one of my favorite lines was : My weaknesses are Not greater than my potential! Which really struck me hard because some times I feel like I'm too week and I will never be able to reach that potential everyone says I will. So I really like that. And the last thing I will quote is "The Lord doesn't expect immediate perfection, but he does expect immediate progress!" So I shouldn't overwhelm myself with being perfect tomorrow, but I do need to be progressing! I'm pretty sure this talk was written just for me!
I struggle so much with the natural man! I always feel like I'm not doing enough or being good enough, but I don't know how to do more! I used to think it was such a compliment when people said oh, you will be such a great missionary, but now it stresses me out. How can they say that? How can they know? I try my best, I work my hardest, but always feel as if it isn't good enough! But we are always told as long as we give our all that is all the Lord asks us to give... So that is what I try to do everyday! Pray for me to have the strength to overcome the natural man and give my all! It is so much harder to do than I ever thought it would be! I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary, to be in the army of God, fighting to save His precious souls! It is so humbling to know that the Lord called me, called me in my many weaknesses so that he can make them strengths! I often wonder why he chose me, and I don't think I will ever understand, but all I need to know is He did call me, that is enough!
I will end this letter with a simple testimony! I know Christ is my Savior! I know He lives and He loves me! He suffered for all my temptations and sorrows, He understands me and wants to help me in every way I let Him! I know that I am in the right place at the right time! I love you all and thank you so much for all your love, support and prayers! I feel it! In the name of Jesus Christ Amen!
Love, Hermana Gosnell
Now I will write a little bit about the devotional I just went to...it was AMAZING probably top 3. It was given by Tad R. Callister & his wife. Sis. Callister started by saying if she asked any of our Moms, what kind of missionary we are, all our Moms would say "the best missionary!" So she said we all need to become the missionary our Moms think we are! Just a few other points are: I need to change my nature, not just my behavior, because if we just change our behavior, we will stay the same person! It's not about what I want, it's about what the Lord wants! He said there is no retreat to our former lives no matter how difficult it may get! Then one of my favorite lines was : My weaknesses are Not greater than my potential! Which really struck me hard because some times I feel like I'm too week and I will never be able to reach that potential everyone says I will. So I really like that. And the last thing I will quote is "The Lord doesn't expect immediate perfection, but he does expect immediate progress!" So I shouldn't overwhelm myself with being perfect tomorrow, but I do need to be progressing! I'm pretty sure this talk was written just for me!
I struggle so much with the natural man! I always feel like I'm not doing enough or being good enough, but I don't know how to do more! I used to think it was such a compliment when people said oh, you will be such a great missionary, but now it stresses me out. How can they say that? How can they know? I try my best, I work my hardest, but always feel as if it isn't good enough! But we are always told as long as we give our all that is all the Lord asks us to give... So that is what I try to do everyday! Pray for me to have the strength to overcome the natural man and give my all! It is so much harder to do than I ever thought it would be! I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary, to be in the army of God, fighting to save His precious souls! It is so humbling to know that the Lord called me, called me in my many weaknesses so that he can make them strengths! I often wonder why he chose me, and I don't think I will ever understand, but all I need to know is He did call me, that is enough!
I will end this letter with a simple testimony! I know Christ is my Savior! I know He lives and He loves me! He suffered for all my temptations and sorrows, He understands me and wants to help me in every way I let Him! I know that I am in the right place at the right time! I love you all and thank you so much for all your love, support and prayers! I feel it! In the name of Jesus Christ Amen!
Love, Hermana Gosnell
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Oct. 7, 2008
Hey Family,
Alright so since it was conference this last weekend we were able to write letters, so I actually wrote you a really really long letter and sent it yesterday, so... you should get it by Friday hopefully!! I sent you the package address as well, I don't know anything about mailing packages except it has to be to that address!! Also I suggest when you write letters to my mission only use dearelder, because the pouch regulations are very strict, you can't use envelopes!! Billie and Bethany are in my prayers, I just put Billie on the prayer roll here in the Provo temple today! I can't wait to find out what Brian and Amber's baby will be... I'm hoping for a boy... but another little princess wouldn't be too bad either!! Oh tell Lewis that I'm doing well, i think I lost another 3lbs but I"m not sure!! I still hate the food here, I seriously can't wait to leave and eat real food!! Oh and I have slightly bad news, I think I'm going to be here in the MTC for another week!!! We have to meet with the consulate before we can get our visas, and he doesn't come until Oct 21, and I heard a rumor that that means we won't be leaving till the 27th... i might go slightly crazy if that's the case!! But there isn't anything I can do about it so oh well! I'm sorry this letter is so kind of blah, I did send you a hand written letter which
should be better!!
Conference was seriously amazing!! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!!
Love you all!!
Hermana Gosnell
Alright so since it was conference this last weekend we were able to write letters, so I actually wrote you a really really long letter and sent it yesterday, so... you should get it by Friday hopefully!! I sent you the package address as well, I don't know anything about mailing packages except it has to be to that address!! Also I suggest when you write letters to my mission only use dearelder, because the pouch regulations are very strict, you can't use envelopes!! Billie and Bethany are in my prayers, I just put Billie on the prayer roll here in the Provo temple today! I can't wait to find out what Brian and Amber's baby will be... I'm hoping for a boy... but another little princess wouldn't be too bad either!! Oh tell Lewis that I'm doing well, i think I lost another 3lbs but I"m not sure!! I still hate the food here, I seriously can't wait to leave and eat real food!! Oh and I have slightly bad news, I think I'm going to be here in the MTC for another week!!! We have to meet with the consulate before we can get our visas, and he doesn't come until Oct 21, and I heard a rumor that that means we won't be leaving till the 27th... i might go slightly crazy if that's the case!! But there isn't anything I can do about it so oh well! I'm sorry this letter is so kind of blah, I did send you a hand written letter which
should be better!!
Conference was seriously amazing!! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!!
Love you all!!
Hermana Gosnell
More Pictures from the MTC
Yeah I made it!! Me and my companion!!
Me and my companion with our dork dots!
My first package from Trish
Yeah baby, I'm so ready!
Me being Moroni . . . :)
Yeah, Paul and Brian should be proud!
Hermana Strasser, Hermana Olmeda, and me
These guys are intense!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Snail Mail Letter to Noelle
Noelle,
Hey, I just figured I'd jot you a quick note! I wanted to get Rachel a b-day gift since she is now a whole year old! But unfortunately there isn't anything I can get for a 1 year old! I looked and looked and the best thing I could find was this Children's Primary Songs in Spanish! I figured as long as you don't already have it you could enjoy it as well. If you do have it I won't be offended if it gets re-gifted!
I've decided Rachel needs to be bi-lingual, so when I get home I'm only speaking to her in Spanish! So you may want to prepare her for her crazy aunt!!
I've really enjoyed your letters, but I've noticed they've tapered off a bit. I'm chalking that up to the crazy storm and living with my parents for a while, so you are excused!!
I love you all and miss y'all. Please give Ray Ray loves and kisses from me!!
Love,
Hermana Gosnell
Hey, I just figured I'd jot you a quick note! I wanted to get Rachel a b-day gift since she is now a whole year old! But unfortunately there isn't anything I can get for a 1 year old! I looked and looked and the best thing I could find was this Children's Primary Songs in Spanish! I figured as long as you don't already have it you could enjoy it as well. If you do have it I won't be offended if it gets re-gifted!
I've decided Rachel needs to be bi-lingual, so when I get home I'm only speaking to her in Spanish! So you may want to prepare her for her crazy aunt!!
I've really enjoyed your letters, but I've noticed they've tapered off a bit. I'm chalking that up to the crazy storm and living with my parents for a while, so you are excused!!
I love you all and miss y'all. Please give Ray Ray loves and kisses from me!!
Love,
Hermana Gosnell
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
E-mail to family
I GOT TO GO OFF CAMPUS YESTERDAY FOR TWO WHOLE HOURS!!!! It was so exciting to see something other than the MTC, it did feel a little weird being in a vehicle for the first time in 6 weeks though!! Let me respond to your letters before I talk about my life. I am sending my black shoes home sometime soon, just sell them, and send me my black sketchers... that will be fine!! I got a one sentence e-mail from Lewis, but I can't respond. I'm excited about Leslie and Ashley, I already knew about Leslie before my mission though I just wasn't sure if it was public knowledge, but I guess it is now!! Ashley wrote me and I'm so excited for her... and mom I agree with you about Ben ;) I sent home a package of pics and a tape for you all to listen to, and a little surprise for mom :) oh and a letter for Ambrian! I find out next Friday when I get to leave this place... we like to call that Friday flight plan Friday!!! I can't wait!! But as far as I know it will prob be that Mon the 20th! But I have no idea!! Oh I just found out it takes 4 weeks to get letters to Argentina, so if you want you can start sending me letters there now!! I will send you an e-mail later with my address on it!! But still write me here at the MTC!! I loved almost talking to you too... I wouldn't have been able to talk to you even if I had wanted to break the rules because the people here don't let missionaries break rules!! OH MY GOSH THE NEWS ABOUT ADRIAN MADE ME SOOOOO HAPPY!! I seriously am so happy!! Please keep me updated on all the missionary work in the Ward, have the sisters had an baptisms lately? When I left they had a few lined up... I want to hear all about it, because I feel like I'm not doing anything here... all I do is sit around and think I'm learning Spanish until someone actually talks to me in Spanish!! I've been very busy here but it is good, being busy helps the time fly by faster... I can't wait because I only have 3 weeks left here!! I pray that the time will go by fast!! I'm not sure if I've talked much about my friend Hermana Strasser, if not you will get to know her real well on the tape I sent home. She was like my best friend here, in fact I know i would have hated the MTC without her here... well, she just left for the field yesterday, it was really hard to say goodbye to her!! But I will see her in 18 months, if not sooner (she is in Buenos Aires South)!! I really don't think I have much to say in this letter, sorry if this letter is lame, everything is good here, I love my new glasses they are so cute! I hope you enjoy my package of letters!! And please continue to keep me updated!! (I'm going to check my e-mail later today cause I think i will have time!!) Love ya lots!!
~Hermana Gosnell~
P.S. I know the church is true :)
Alright so I only have 4 min left to send off e-mails, and i totally forgot my address, so I will send it to you snail mail... sorry!! also I was hoping you could try your very very hardest to get the sisters' address, and also more importantly Adrian's address, I really want to write him and congratulate him on getting the priesthood... I'm so excited for him about that!! I'm just so happy today because of that news!! I'm sorry this weeks letter is so lame and devoid of spiritual experiences, maybe I will write a snail mail letter to go along with my address to make up for my lame-o letter this week!! I got a lot of fun letters from random people i didn't expect this week!! I got a letter from Ashley Day, Barb, and Becky I was so happy cause i was wanting to hear an update from Ashley and I got a letter from her that day, and then I wanted to hear from Barb so bad, and I got a letter from her that day... so I was really happy!! Please keep reminding people about dearelder.com and how much I love getting letters, and good news!! I absolutely love letter time!!! Thanks so much for everything you do, I love you and miss you, but don't worry I will get to talk to ya'll in 3 weeks... so be ready!!!
Love ya,
Hermana Gosnell
~Hermana Gosnell~
P.S. I know the church is true :)
Alright so I only have 4 min left to send off e-mails, and i totally forgot my address, so I will send it to you snail mail... sorry!! also I was hoping you could try your very very hardest to get the sisters' address, and also more importantly Adrian's address, I really want to write him and congratulate him on getting the priesthood... I'm so excited for him about that!! I'm just so happy today because of that news!! I'm sorry this weeks letter is so lame and devoid of spiritual experiences, maybe I will write a snail mail letter to go along with my address to make up for my lame-o letter this week!! I got a lot of fun letters from random people i didn't expect this week!! I got a letter from Ashley Day, Barb, and Becky I was so happy cause i was wanting to hear an update from Ashley and I got a letter from her that day, and then I wanted to hear from Barb so bad, and I got a letter from her that day... so I was really happy!! Please keep reminding people about dearelder.com and how much I love getting letters, and good news!! I absolutely love letter time!!! Thanks so much for everything you do, I love you and miss you, but don't worry I will get to talk to ya'll in 3 weeks... so be ready!!!
Love ya,
Hermana Gosnell
E-mail to Noelle
Hey Thanks so much for the letter, they mean so much to me!! Sounds like you had such a crazy week with living with mom and all! I can't believe Ray is starting to walk, I specifically remember telling her not to grow while I'm gone . . . I'm gonna have to have a talking to with her when I get home ;) I sent y'all a package for her birthday, I sent it last Sat so hopefully you will get it sometime soon!! I can't believe you have finished that children song book . . . I can't wait to see it!! You asked if I had the first vision memorized . . . please that is so like 4-5 weeks ago!! I have it down so good that I always do that part of the lesson . . . I love doing it, it is my favorite part!! I also just finished memorizing DyC 4 and I sorta have James 1:5 memorized, Moroni 10:4-5 is my goal for this week!! Spanish is still super hard, I have this recurring nightmare that I'm home from my mission and everyone is talking to me in Spanish and I can't understand what they are saying because I never learned the language... hopefully that doesn't happen!!
Well I don't have much else to say, except I love hearing updates about Rachel and life, so keep those coming . . . oh and feel free to send pics of her anytime :) I love showing off my babies!!
Love ya,
Hermana Gosnell
Well I don't have much else to say, except I love hearing updates about Rachel and life, so keep those coming . . . oh and feel free to send pics of her anytime :) I love showing off my babies!!
Love ya,
Hermana Gosnell
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
snail mail letter dated Sept. 16th
I'm going to start off this letter with a quote that I really like by President Hinckley "Many young women are serving missions. Many are preparing to serve. Not because they aren't married or have nothing to do, but because they have a desire to serve and are therefore called to the work. The reason so many are going is because in the next generation Heavenly Father will be sending his priesthood army to earth and wants to send them to mothers who have been properly trained and taught in the gospel. What better training can a young woman have than a mission."
Well I'm guessing you've recieved my letter about Pres. Uchtdorf! Isn't that just amazing! I can't believe I got to sing for a member of the first presidency!
So last Wednesday as I was standing in line I started talking to a couple of new sisters. They asked where I was from and when I said Kentucky, they were like What? You're from there? That's where we are going!! They are going Spanish speaking even! I got so excited, I gave them hugs! I had so much fun talking to them and telling them how it is going to be for them! I told them to say Hi to you all for me. Then I found out we got a new district in our zone that is an advanced district and one of the sisters is going to Ky as well! She is a cute little mexican sister. Her name is Hermana Cruz. She will be there in 2 weeks! I'm so excited for her. I told her she would love it!!
So I had an interview with one of my teachers and he started off the interview by saying, I've been getting really good feedback from my practice teaching! He said all my reviews are fantastic! I was really excited about that! Except that I have only taught in English so far, and I won't be teaching in English in the field! The last time I taught, we taught the same teacher just 2 days apart, the same lesson, and at the end of the second time she said even thought it had only been a couple of days since she'd seen us teach, we had greatly improved our teaching! That was so good to hear! Now it is so weird because when I teach in "real" settings, I do great, but whenever I try to teach my peers or in "fake" sttings I can't seem to do it very well. I get tongue tied! I guess its good to know I am good in pressure situations!
I have this new teacher, Hno. De Leon, I mentioned him before, it is hard for me to describe how I feel about him... He stresses me out to no end and pushes me to my breaking point nearly every day and calls me out and pushes me harder than anyone else in the class! It is so frustrating, I don't hate him, but I get so stressed whenever he teaches! I even sometimes enjoy his classes, up until he pushes me over the edge! The other day he walks in and says ok you all are going to go teach the advance district the Word of Wisdon in Spanish in 2 minutes! WHAT!!! I don't know enough Spanish to do that! My comp did most of the talking and then when I did they asked me questions which of course I couldn't answer. It made me frustrarted and I feel like I will never get this language down.
Okay, and one last sad story. I had the worst Sunday morning ever! So every week we are given a topic and we are supposed to write a 5 min. talk in Spanish and then after Sacrament meeting, they announce 2 people that are going to give their talk, now usually the people who speak are the ones leaving that week or the next...well can you see where I'm going with this? Yes, they decided to switch it up this week and call on me, the one person in the whole branch who can't speak Spanish! and I hadn't put too much effort into my talk. becuase I didn't expect to speak for another couple of weeks!! I was so mad! I think my Branch President could tell because he didn't come talk to me at all that whole day. He usually says hi!!
So that is my bad experiences here for the past week, but it is amazing because this place is an emotional roller coaster ride! Because all in one day you can feel every emotion! So that same day we had our district meeting and we did this really cool activity where everyone took turns sitting in a chair in the middle, then everyone in the district went around and said something they liked about us! Well everyone said they liked that I spoke my mind and was honest! I'm not sure if that is good or not!!! Anyway, after that we went around saying how we each felt about Joseph Smith and President Monson & Jesus Christ! It was so awesome the spirit was so strong.
So here are some fun little tidbits about the fun times of my life here at the MTC:
First something I've been meaning to write about since my first day. I'm not the most directionally challenged person ever! HaHa, my comp is so much worse! I know my way around after like being here for one hour! She still gets lost. Well she starts to go the wrong way and I'm like, um where are you going? HaHa Silly Canadians! Then me and the one person who keeps me sane here at the MTC(Hma Strasser) and I have started jump roping outside. It is so much fun and we have a goal to make it around the track by the time she leaves (in 2 weeks) Then after gym we have shower races. we don't have much time to get ready so we try to race. HaHa we usually tie, having my head towel has really helped! There was this girl in the bathroom this morning who looked over at me while I was brushing my teeth (I had seriously just rolled out of bed) and said to me Wow you have beautiful eyes! I would kill for your features! She must not have had her glasses on yet, but still a nice thing to hear.... so early in the morning!
One last fun story is, we keep our window open because we have 6 girls in a room that is as big as my room back home and one has incredibly stinky feet, like you wouldn't believe. I have used a whole bottle of febreeze in 1 week. Today I'm buying foot powder for everyone to use & hopefully that will take care of it! Anyway, so our window is open and my comp went to open the blinds and goes "Oh my gosh, look at the huge bug!" There was a huge leaf bug in our room! I told her to shew it outside, well she tried but I guess our little frind thought she wanted to play because it landed on her! She started screaming. I started laughing and finally the bug flew to the floor. So, she runs to the door and I just bent down, picked up the bug and threw it outside! Yes, I was that brave!! HaHa, oh good times!
I haven't gotten the pictures printed yet, but I'm hoping soon! So don't you worry!! So you mentioned something about 3 new babies? I can only think of Bethany and Amber, is someone else haveing a baby? And what is this about Robert thinking about an open adoption? That is so crazy! I pray so hard for everything to work out, as I know it will, but I can't wait for it to be over!! I can't believe that I missed the great wind storm of "08, that is so crazy, Keep me updated on that! And I will definitly be looking out for Elder Hatton, It's cool, I will have a cousin here!!
So we watched a talk Elder Holland gave at the MTC a while ago, called Miracle of a mission. I encourage everyone to go watch it, not read it, but watch it!! It is truly amazing & has inspired me to be the best I can be! Also I'm thinking about doing a special musical number for one of the meetings, b/c apparently they tape it and send it home to the family! So who knows, maybe I will, maybe I won't!! Well I'm going to end this incredibly long letter now, but I'd like to end it wiht my testimony of Jesus Christ!
I am so grateful for how much Christ loves me! But at this time in my life, what I'm so grateful for is that he never gave up on me! As everyone knows I'm a very stubborn person! Well for the past few years I've had little thoughts pop into my head about serving a mission, I always pushed them away b/c I thought it was something I didn't want to do! I'm so glad the Lord didn't give up on me, but he kept putting those little thought in my head until that one day when He put that BIG thought in my head, you know the one that helped me decide to come. I'm so grateful for that, but even more than that, I'm grateful thatHe loves me so much that He didn't just leave me alone after I finall y gave in! Because making the decision wasn't the hard part, as everyone knows, it was actually getting to my mission that was the hard part! I know I couldn't have done it without Him carrying me through! Another way that He has blessed me more that I deserve, is the wonderful family He has given me! I couldn't have made it to this point in my life wihtout anyone of you! And I hope you all know how much I truly love and cherish each and everyone of you! I know this church is true, I know there is no where else better I could be right now! Thank you so much for all of your love and support! And keep the letters coming! I can't even describe the joy they bring me!!
I love you all!!! Love Hma Gosnell
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