Feliz Navidad!

Queridos Amigos,

¡Feliz Navidad! I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas. I am sorry that it´s been so long since I sent a group email.

I had a wonderful week. It was jam packed full of lessons, activities, choirs, and all sorts of wonderful things.

The best part of my week was getting to Skype my family. It was so wonderful to see and hear from them. It´s crazy how much they´ve changed in 7 months.

I laughed pretty hard when Rochelle said that my accent is cute. I didn´t realize that I had an accent, but I´m glad that I have one haha.

Rylee apparently doesn´t miss me too much because after about 5 minutes she said, "I´m going to go play now, bye!" Haha she did come back and talk with me though.

Family is so important! I honestly don´t know what I would do without my family. I hope that you all take the time to show your appreciation for each of your loved ones. We experience the most joy (and sorrow) through our families. We learn the most from them. Our Heavenly Father has a wonderful plan that includes a way to be with them forever. Happily ever after really exists. Through Jesus Christ we can be with our loved ones in this life and the next. I know this with all my heart and I will do all that I can to receive this promise.

I wish you all a happy new year!

Con amor,

Hermana Chaffin

Hola Amigos

Mis queridos amigos,

Happy late Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a wonderful time and that it was well spent with good people and good food. My thanksgiving was great. I am grateful to have such wonderful people like you in my life.

I have a spanish phrase for all of you to learn : No me gustan cucarachas

I´ll let you google translate that and let you think why I need to use that.....

This week was an amazing week! We have 5 new investigators! One is named Carmen and she talked to the missionaries 23 years ago! How crazy is that? She started reading the Book of Mormon and came to church yesterday! She is so sweet and eager to learn. I´ve grown to love her, and we´ve only had one lesson with her.

This week will mark 6 months in the mission. I can´t believe how fast the time has gone. I´m loving every minute and doing my best to make the best of every moment and experience I have.

I´m short on time, so I´ll just say that I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Chaffin

The Puddles in San Vicente Are Deeper Than They Appear

Queridos amigos,

Wow! Que loca semana!

San Vicente is pretty and tranquilo. It is a lot like Salmon, Idaho minus the sagebrush and mountains. Throw in a few palm trees an put everything in spanish and you´ve got San Vicente.

I miss seeing Oscar everyday, but I know that Hermana Medford is taking good care of him.

To explain the heading of my email, first I need to explain that San Vicente is very country. So, we use bikes. Sometimes, Hermana Chaffin thinks she knows everything and decides to take the shortcut instead of follow her companion around the puddles when riding to the next appointment. Sometimes these puddles are rather deep. And sometimes bikes get stuck...

Hahaha it all worked out well, and I got to baptize my shoes :)

Hermana Chappell is super sweet, hard working, and funny! We are enjoying our time together and working hard in the area.

Yesterday, we had a meeting to practice some songs that we are going to sing in a choir. We ended up singing in the train on the way there and the way back and then we handed out cards and talked with the people in the train. It was super awesome, and I hope I have the opportunity to do it again.

I find the greatest joy in sharing my testimony with others. I hope that this week you can all set aside some time to share your thoughts on our Savior, Jesus Christ with someone.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this.

Con amor,

Hermana Chaffin

San Vicente

¡Hola!

¡Otro día glorioso en Argentina! This week was fantastic. It was also my last week in Banfield. It was a pretty laid back week after a crazy one preparing for a baptism. So, it was nice to focus on lessons and finding new people.

Saturday I had a "last supper" with the Hermanas in Banfield. We cooked hamburgers and fries and had icecream. It was the best way to end the transfer. I love those sisters so much, and I had wonderful times with them in Banfield.

Yesterday I said goodbye to sweet Hermana Medford (who will be training a new missionary in Banfield) and headed to my new area. I´m sad to leave Banfield but I´m also excited for my new area and my next adventure.

My new area is San Vicente and is so pretty! It´s very calm and peaceful. My new companion is Hermana Chappell (Chappell and Chaffin isn´t confusing for the people at all haha) from Phoenix, Arizona. She is super sweet and funny. I can´t wait to get to know her more and to work hard together.

That´s all for now!

Gracias por todo!

Hermana Chaffin

"Worry a little bit every day and in  alifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything" -Ole Helgerson

Bautismo!

Queridos amigos,

This week was truly a week of miracles!

Tuesday I had exchanges with Hermana Walker and then we had a lesson with Oscar. He was still struggling with smoking, and we had a great lesson on faith. We discussed showing our faith with actions.

Faith is not waiting for the Lord to help us and then doing something. First, we need to act, showing our faith, and then we receive the Lord´s help.

During this lesson, I received the strongest impression to ask Oscar to be baptized this Saturday. I would have thought I was crazy if I didn´t know that this thought was from the Holy Ghost. I could not deny that the Lord was telling me to invite Oscar to be baptized.

Oscar said that he would pray that night and then let us know the next day.

Wednesday I was reunited with my sweet Hermana Medford and when I told her what happened Tuesday I think she thought I was a little crazy. When we went to talk with Oscar, we could sense that something was different. He told us that he´d gotten his answer and that he wanted to be baptized Saturday! We felt the Spirit confirm that this was the will of the Lord, and we were so grateful that so many prayers had been heard. Oscar quit smoking from that moment on, and we began to set up everything for his baptism.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf said that a sacrifice is when we give up something good for something of far greater worth. I´ve been in the mission for 5 months now, and up until 6 days ago, I was sincerely questioning if the mission was worth it. Not that I wanted to go home, I simply felt like I wasn´t fulfilling the purpose God has for me. I couldn´t see the "far greater worth". I felt stuck. I was obedient and trying to be humble, buty I wasn´t seeing the fruits of my labors.

My experience with Oscar has been nothing short of incredible. The Lord is truly working miracles here, and I´m deeply grateful to be a part of those miracles.

I´ve come to realize my weaknesses and all my falts. I´m quick to doubt but just the same I´m quick to ask the Lord to sustain me and strengthen my faith.

I don´t know what the future holds for me here in Buenos Aires, but I do know that the Lord has great plans and I´m going to do all that I possibly can to help Him fulfill those plans.

This is His work, and I´m going to do it His way because His way is the best - and only way.

I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ and that it was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that we are led today by a prophet of God and I know that the Lord has a plan for each and every one of us. Jesus Christ is our Savior and only through Him and His Atonement can we return to the presence of our Heavenly Father.

I love you all, you are in my prayers.

Con amor,

Hermana Chaffin

Sabrina the Teenage Missionary

Queridos Amigos,

Wow, I can´t believe that another week has come and gone.

This week was really busy. We had a lesson with Oscar that went really well. He committed to stop smoking, and he is progressing little by little. He started smoking when he was 11, so it is a difficult process.

This week we had interviews with the mission president, and they went really well. It´s great to know that he cares for us and the mission and wants to help us in the things we need so that we can have a lot of success.

Two days ago, we were walking near the border of our area when we found a secret street that isn´t on our map. We named it Narnia because it is seriously the most beautiful, peaceful street we´ve ever seen. We knocked a few doors, and several people asked us to come back and visit later this week. We are super excited about that 😀

This week is going to be super busy because we have lots of appointments, which is awesome.

I´ve come to have a love for the scriptures in my life. Every day I have 1 hour of personal study, and I´ve learned so much. I´m incredibly grateful for all that we have to learn from the Bible and the Book of Mormon. They are more than just books full of stories. They are proof of God´s love for us and His willingness to give us guidance and direction in this life. I hope that you all can find some time in your day to read a verse or two and see what the Lord has for you to learn.

I love you so much, thank you for reading my emails and for supporting me.

Con amor,

Hermana Chaffin

Note: For some reason the exlamation point key wouldn´t work today, so if it sounds like I´m not excited, it´s because I could only use periods.....

Happy Mother's Day!

Queridos amigos,

Buen Día! Man, it is super hard to type in english after a week of total spanish. Haha hopefully you all can forgive my spelling and grammar mistakes.

This week was absolutely amazing!!! I seriously love my companion. She is a rock star! I love her so much. I love her work ethic and I love that she is super diligent in the work. We´ve seen a lot of success these past 2 weeks, and I´m excited to see what we´ll have this week.

We had 2 lessons with Oscar this week. He is progressing a lot, and making changes in his life. Yesterday he went to church again! I think it´s still a little uncomfortable for him, but he always asks if he can come, so there´s something that he likes.

Yesterday was Mother´s Day here. It was really weird to be walking among the streets and seeing all of the families walking together and not being with my family. My companion and I felt really guilty that we hadn´t contacted our moms yesterday when we realized that it wasn´t really mother´s day for our mothers. Haha the mission changes a lot of things. So, once we realized that our mother´s weren´t at home awaiting a phone call, we were able to focus more and continue sharing the happiness of our message.

Today we have district activity. Somehow I got put in charge of it, and I´m sure it will be a blast. We´re going to eat pizza and everyone is bringing a dessert. Then, depending on the weather, we will play soccer or volleyball and then pool and ping pong. It should just be relaxing and fun.

My companion and I made chocolate chip cookies for our dessert. This was the first time that I made cookies in the mission and they turned out pretty good considering brown sugar really doesn´t exist here. So, we added a little dulce de leche to the dough, and I think they´re pretty tasty. I´ll try to send photos if this computer decides to work.

Hermanas Walker and Hernandez moved out of our apartment yesterday, which is bittersweet. I had such good times with them. It will be nice to have more time in the bathroom and more one on one time with my companion, but I will miss them.

That´s it for now! I love you all!

Keep smiling,

Hermana Chaffin

"My people must be tried in all things... he that will not bear chastisement is not worthy of my kingdom" D&C 136:31

"Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties" - Walter Spurgeon

¡Semana fantástica!

Queridos amigos,

This week was absolutely amazing! It passed so quickly, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I appologize that I didn´t have time to write last week, hopefully that won´t happen again.

First off the stuff that´s new with me:

I have a new companion! She is absolutely amazing! Hermana Medford is from Pleasant Grove, Utah and only has 6 more weeks in the mission than I have. Everyone was surprised that they put two new, North Americans together as companions, but the Lord knows what He´s doing.

We´ve seen many miracles this week, and are working hard. Hermana Medford is super sweet and is kind to everyone.

I´m still in Banfield, and I´m loving every minute of it.

Oh, Elder Belnap that was in my district in the CCM is in my zone! It was so good to see him and catch up on how the mission is so far. It´s good to run into old friends.

Our investigator Oscar went to church this week!!!!!! Words can´t express the joy I felt when he was there learning more about the gospel. We had a lesson with him Saturday, and he accepted to be baptized! He´s not sure he´s ready yet, but he´s praying to know if the date we set for him is right. He´s changed so much, and I´ve really felt the Lord´s love for him and the other people I´m teaching.

I know that the gospel can change lives. It´s changed mine. I wouldn´t be here, walking all day in the hot streets of Argentina if I didn´t know it was true. I´m so grateful for the opportunity that I have to share the gospel with others.

My time is passing so quickly. I only have 14 months left, and I want to take advantage of every moment.

Thank you all for reading this email, I hope all is well with you, you´re in my prayers.

Sigan adelante,

Hermana Chaffin

¡Les amo!

"It is for us to make the effort. The result is always in God´s hands" -Mahatma Gandhi

"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" -James 2:17

Holy Guacamole!

Queridos amigos,

¿Cómo le va? I hope that you are all doing great. This week was crazy. We had so much stuff to do that when today rolled around I couldn´t believe that a week had already passed.

Monday we had a district activity in my area. In our district we have missionaries from Idaho, Arizona, Chile, Mexico, Bolivia, Utah, Brazil and yours truly.  We made "completos" which are basically hot dogs on steroids. You start with a bun, smother it in ketchup (and mayo and mustard if you desire), place the hotdog and then the fun begins. Elder Bautista (from Mexico) and Hermana Walker (from Arizona) made guacamole (which up until this point I´d never tried) while I cut tomatoes, cilantro, and onions. Sister Villavicencio (from Chile) made mini fries. We topped our hotdogs with all of these amazing toppings, and my life was changed. I can´t believe it took me nearly 20 years of my life to eat guacamole! It is fantastic! Y´all need to try it. After eating til we could burst, we played ping pong and pool.

Monday evening, we taught a lesson to two new investigators named Elsa and Juan Carlos. They are an elderly couple that liked our message, and asked us to teach them more. We have an appointment with them tomorrow.

Tuesday we had our district meeting, after which, I had my last exchange with Hermana Menezes. We had a blast and talked with lots of people. We even had a lesson together!

Wednesday exchanges ended and in the evening we had english class. It´s so fun to watch people improve in the language. So many people want to learn english, and I´m glad I have the opportunity to help them.

Thursday we had zone conference, which was great. We got to hear from our leaders and from President Calquín and his wife.

Friday we planned for this coming week and knocked a lot of doors.

Saturday we were invited to a baptism in another ward. The girl being baptized asked all the missionaries in this area to sing at her baptism. It turned out really well, and the spirit was so strong.

Sunday we had church. Yay! I seriously love Sundays! They are the best! It´s so wonderful to spiritually recharge for the week. The sunday school teacher didn´t show up, so somehow I got picked to teach the lesson (I always get asked to substitute teach and yet I have the least amount of time in the mission and the least amount of spanish). It turned out really well, and I learned a lot. Later that night we had a ward activity that the other sister missionaries were in charge of. It turned out really well and everyone had a good time.

I´ve learned a lot this past week. I´ve had a lot of difficulties spiritually, emotionally, and physically these past 11 weeks. I´ve yet to have a normal week, but each one is better than the last. This week is the last week of the transfer, and I don´t know where I´ll be, but I know that I´ll be where the Lord needs me.

These week we´ve talked to a lot of people about prophets because this Saturday and Sunday we will have the opportunity to hear from a living prophet. I want each of you to ask yourselves "If I could talk to the prophet what would I ask him?". Then, write down your questions. I promise that if you listen to general conference with this/these question/s in mind, you will receive an answer. God still talks to His children through prophets. He will answer your questions. I promise that there will be something for you each to learn from these talks.

I love you all and want the best for each and every one of you. Thank you for your support and your prayers.

Besos,

Hermana Chaffin

"But I way unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you." Matthew 5:44

"A kindness put off until tomorrow becomes only a bitter regret" -Anonymous

"Heaven is the consciousness of having made the world a better place to live in " -Elaine L. Jack

The Hotdog Boutique

Queridos amigos,

I can´t believe another week has come and gone! I hope that it was wonderful for everyone.

First, to explain the email heading. Here in Argentina, they have interesting names for restaurants and stores. For example, "The Hotdog Boutique", and my personal favorite, "Your Majesty the Cow". So, if you´re thinking about opening a restaurant anytime soon, I´m sure these aren´t taken in the states and you should take advantage of such creativity.

Our zone activity last Monday was fantastic! I had a blast, and ate a lot of good food. The best part was getting to hang out with other missionaries and hear about their experiences. It´s so wonderful to be surronded by such great people. I can only imagine what they are going to do with their futures. During the activity, I had several sisters tell me that I look like Hannah Montana..... hopefully they are comparing me to Miley Cyrus pre-wrecking ball 😊 Haha

Tuedsay, my companion and I along with the Elders in our ward taught an english class. It went really well, and we had a pretty good turn out for the first class. We are going to start doing this every Tuesday, and I´m excited to see how it turns out. 

This Thursday, we invited the wife of the mission president to go tracting with us. It was so fun to share our testimonies with the people of Argentina and have her joining us. She is soooooo sweet and loves missionary work. She is like a mother to all of the missionaries, and gives the best hugs.

My companion and I get asked a lot by members and other missionaries how we are doing, and "bien" just doesn´t seem to cut it, so when we get asked, "¿comó está?" we respond with the spanish version of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, which is SUPERHIPERARCHIMEGAFABULOFANTASTICO. Try saying that 5 times fast 😊

I love you all and hope that you are doing well. Keep smiling!

Haz lo justo,

Hermana Chaffin

"Temptations and worries are a bit like the birds of the air. You can´t prevent them from flying around your head, but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair" -Martin Luther

"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city" Proverbs 16:32

Time Marches On

Dearest friends and family,

This week was another glorious week! I am so blessed to be here in Buenos Aires working for the Lord. It truly is the best job, the hours are long, the stress is high, but the joy is immense.

We haven´t found a lot of people to teach, and the ones we do find aren´t home at the times we make appointments.... There are many wonderful people willing to hear our message, they just never seem to be home.

We visited Soledad this Tuesday, and discussed her baptism. She is excited for this, and committed to stop smoking entirely. She says that she wants to be a better example for her children and show them the right things in life. She has changed so much in her life since she met the missionaries. We had an appointment with her on Saturday, but she wasn´t home. We called her, and she said that something came up, but that she would see us at church on Sunday.

We traveled (bus, train, and walking) for an hour on Sunday to help her make it to the chapel on time, but when we got to her house, she didn´t answer our knocking or phone calls. We waited for 40 minutes but she never showed. It was a very long trip back to the chapel. It is so sad when people miss out on opportunities to feel the spirit more in their lives. Hopefully we can meet with her tomorrow and see what we can do to help her attend church.

Last Monday we had our district activity, and it was a blast! We played ping-pong and foosball (not sure on spelling) and then ate pizza! After everyone had eaten, we played soccer, and I made a goal! It was so fun to relax and spend time with other people. My companion is great, but sometimes I need to hear other people. Afterwards, we shared photos of our families and ate icecream. It was perfect.

Friday, we had exchanges (where we trade companions for a day) and I went to a different area with Hna. Latoja and Hna. Menezes (they are in a trio, so I got to be with 2 new people!). I had a blast! It is so fun to meet new people and see how they do things in the mission. I can´t wait for my next exchange. Hna. Latoja is from Chile and Hna. Menezes is from Brazil. They both speak a little bit of english, and were showing off what they know. My favorites were "Jesus is my friend and God is my bestie", "Don´t make me come over there!", and the endearing, "Good-night buttheads". I don´t know who´s been teaching these sisters, but I guess you´ve gotta start somewhere.

Today we have a zone activity in Lanús. We  are going to eat asado!!! Asado is what Argentina is famous for. It is basically barbecue, but better. The meat is AMAZING! We will also be doing some form of physical activity and then go about doing the rest of the things we need to do (groceries, etc).

While this week has been fantastic, it has also been incredibly difficult. I´ve gained a greater appreciation for leaders, hard work, and patience. I hope that everyday I´m improving and that I can return better than I left. I know that God is aware of our needs and that He will support us in our trials.

Besos,

Hermana Chaffin

photos

1 Hna Menezes y Latoja

2 The dolls Hna. Menezes put above my bunk to scare me

3 Silly smiling sisters

It is better in prayer to have a heart without words, than words without heart. Mahatma Gandhi

God is greater than your greatest need

C. Mervyn Maxwell

If ye are prepared ye shall not fear

Doctrine and Covenants 38:30

10 Minutes

Dear Friends and Family,

I only have 10 minutes.... I had so many lovely emails from my family that I ran out of time!

This week was great! We had interviews with the mission President and they were wonderful! He is so funny and loves the work. He truly wants what´s best for us.

Today we have a district activity, which should be fun. It is my first district activity and I´m super excited. All I know is that pizza is involved.

We taught a woman named Soledad who lives alone with her three adorable children. The Elders were teaching her, but couldn´t always get a member to accompany them, so they passed her on to us because sisters can teach single women. She is so humble and kind. She accepted our invitation to be baptized!!!! She is working to stop smoking and desires to follow the Savior.

I know that God knows each of you personally, by name. As His representative, I testify that He loves you and has blessings ready to pour upon you if you follow Him.

That´s all I have time for!

Lot´s of love,

Hermana Chaffin

D&C 122:9 ...Fear not what mlan can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever

Photos- Our apartment

P.S. 2 MONTHS DOWN!!!

The Streets of Argentina

Queridos amigos,

Another week in Argentina! The funniest things seem to happen on P-days and then I have to wait a whole week to share with you guys!

Last Monday, a family in the ward invited us over for dinner. After dinner, we were rushing home to make it back to our apartment in time (dinner is at 8 here). It was dark, and the few street lights that we had didn´t cast a lot of light on our path. My brain was focused on speaking spanish to my companion, not getting hit by a car, avoiding dog poop, and walking as quickly as possible. All of this seemed to be too much for my brain to handle, because with all the grace that I contain (which I´m sure comes from my dad´s side) I tripped and fell on the cold hard cobblestone sidewalk.

I had tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard. It took several seconds for my companion and I to calm ourselves and walk (slowly now) back to our apartment. I guess Argentina is giving me the opportunity to perfect my tuck and roll.

This week was much better than last week. I was more comfortable with the area, my spanish, and my purpose being here.

Thursday we taught our first lesson! We taught a man named Gustavo who is a lawyer. He first came in contact with the missionaries in 2012 and hasn´t talked to them since 2014! I didn´t talk a lot, but I was able to share some of my thoughts and feelings with him. He is out of town this week, but we have another meeting with him the first week of August.

Saturday was a great day. We had more success in that day than we had our whole first week. We went to a house of a lady (Luisa) who had listened to the missionaries a few years ago and had stopped for some unknown reason. She invited us in, and brought her son (Gabriel) into the conversation as well! It turns out that her son is a member of the church, but he hasn´t been to church for 4 years. We talked about the restoration and invited them both to come to church.

On Sunday, we got to the chapel, and Gabriel was there! We were so excited to see him! The members were so welcoming and many told him how good it was to see him again. After church the bishop pulled us aside and said he couldn´t believe that Gabriel came to church. They´ve apparently been trying to get him to come for a while now. The bishop really wants to help us with our missionary work. He is a convert (he was baptized 8 years ago) and loves sharing the gospel.

I love the people here, and I can´t wait to progress and really be able to converse with them. I hope all is well with you and your families.

Con cariño,

Hermana Chaffin

"...The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the eartrh, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regulasr form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator" Alma 30:44

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm" -Emerson

Please read John 17:3

"If you want your neighbor to see what Christ´s spirit will do for him, let him see what it has done for you" -Henry Ward Beecher

Por fin!

Dear friends and family,

It`s finally P-Day!!! I don`t know if I`m more excited to have a break or have something to read in english!!! It has been so great hearing from all of you (especially my dear family).

So much has happened since I last wrote!

I left the CCM on Tuesday, had lunch with President Calquin (he is from Chile) with his wife and the other new missionaries. After lunch, and a little debriefing on our mission and our goals, we went to the church to meet our new companions!

My companion is Hermana Medrano and she is from Bolivia. She has been out now for 14 months! I feel like a toddler around her when it comes to knowledge. We are in an area called Banfield 2B. Normally, when you come to your first area, your companion has been there for a while and knows the area. However, that is not the case with me (I always knew I was special). We are in what is called a "white-wash", we are both new to the area and are learning together.

Our area is super nice and the members here are so sweet! They`ve fed us a lot of delicious meals that I`ve enjoyed immensely.

The missionaries before us were only teaching 2 investigators before we got here, and we`ve only been able to contact 1 of them. Hopefully we will start teaching people!

Fun fact, I bought some new perfume before I left on my mission, and I`m allergic to it!!! I broke out in a nasty rash on my neck. I guess I`ll stick to lotion for a while :(

Haha no worries, it cleared up in 3 days and I just used makeup to cover it up.

This week has been pretty rough, but I`ve had the strength of the Lord. The scriptures have especially helped me. I love you all so much!!! I can`t even express how much I love you all.

He lives!

Con cariño,

Hermana Chaffin

Scripture that helped me: Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many, but endure them, for lo, I am with thee, even uto the end of thy days - D&C 24:8

Last P-Day at the CCM!

Queridos amigos,

This week has been wonderful! I can´t believe I only have 4 days left! I have no idea what the future holds, but I´m sure it will be great!

Last Saturday we went proselyting in in area called Moron. It is in the Buenos Aires West Mission. It is much nicer than the first area we went to. I had my first empanada! It was so amazing! Words cannot describe how magnificent it was! I can´t wait to get some more this Saturday.

The first two hours it was overcast, but the last three it rained steadily (fear not, for Hermana Chaffin is always prepared with an umbrella and thermal tights). I stayed perfectly toasty and my toes didn´t feel a drop (shout out to the dansko shoe company). Around 3:30 we came across a very frinedly man. He asked us who we were, and we talked to him for a while.  He tolds us that we were too pretty to be missionaries and that it was too bad that we couldn´t have boyfriends (this man was about 50 yrs old).

After about 5 minutes, his friend showed up with 2 teenage boys. All but one boy went inside, and we started talking to him. He told us that his name is Ian (he is 17). We ended up talking to him for almost an hour in the rain. The poor kid was shivering! I offered him my umbrella but he wouldn´t take it. We had a wonderful conversation and he ended up giving us his phone number and address. After talking to him for several more minutes, everyone came out of the house and he left with them (he and another man took a book of mormon and they both promised to read it).

We wandered around our area for about half an hour, clapping doors and talking to people to no avail. Hna. Warnock had to go to the bathroom, so we started heading to a gas station near our drop off spot. We were one block away from the station when we heard someone yelling "chicas!" We turned around to see Ian running after us! He told us that he had been driving around for several minutes looking for us. He asked if we could talk to him longer. We of course said yes, and went into the gas station where there was a dining area to sit down at. When we got inside, all of the Elders from our district were there! It was so strange! Everyone had something to add to the conversation, and we gave a short lesson to Ian.  Elder Bednar was right when he said, " There´s no such thing as a coincidence when you are on the Lord´s errand"

I was seriously smiling for the next two hours after our bus picked us up. The gospel is true! All of it! I can´t wait to go out again on Saturday and then after Tuesday it´s my full-time job!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

No pierda la fe,

Hermana Chaffin

Our only concern should be to do better than we did yesterday. Step by step is the law of growth. God does not expect the acorn to be a mighty oak before it was a sapling. -George E. Carpenter

D&C 64:33

p.s. please enjoy the photos from our rainy Sunday at the temple

Una Otra Semana Bonita

Queridos amigos,

It has been another beautiful week here in Buenos Aires.

Let me start off by saying that I love my district. Even with the 3-6 sister to elder ratio I love it. We´ve been practicing memorizing the baptisimal invitation, the missionary objective, and the first vision. I am the only one so far that has them all down. We were practicing as a district, and Elder Belnap noticed that when I recite them, my right eyebrow twitches! I practiced saying them in front of the mirror, and it really twitches! I am now working on saying them while controlling my facial expressions! Everyone thinks I´m a hoot!

The Elders also love to comment on my hair. I don´t think that it is that humid here, but my hair does. I have beautiful curls every morning when I wake up. Elder Hazelgren´s quote of the week is "Hermana Chaffin must be stressed, her hair is poofier than normal"

Saturday we went proselyting in Banfield. We got dropped off at 12:15 and around 12:30 we saw a guy riding his bike. We shouted a greeting across the street to which he waved, paused, started to turn towards us and then decided against it and continued on. We were sad that he rode away because he had the biggest smile on his face. After 4 more hours of walking and talking to people, we came across this man again! This time he rode right up to us! We were soooo excited!!! He told us his name is Jorge and then talked about himself and his family. He said that he´d never seen sister missionaries before and was very interested to hear about why we would give up everything to serve missions. He accepted a Book of Mormon and said that he would read it. He even gave us his phone number so that some other missionaries (that can speak spanish better than us) could come visit him. It was such a wonderful experience. I was able to understand everything he said, and I was able to give (simple) answers back.

It was just amazing! My companions did great as well! Their spanish has improved so much!!! After we said good-bye to Jorge, we were talking about how well our discussion went. Hermana Wunderli shared something so sweet with me. She said that while I was talking to Jorge she was praying that I would be able to understand him and be able to respond to his questions. I feel so blessed to have a companion that loves me so much. She is so wonderful. I´m sad that after the CCM I won´t have the opportunity to be her companion because she is going to the Bs. As. Norte Mission.

My comps and our roomates

Sunday was wonderful (as usual). Elder Lambert (a new norte americano) was conducting and asked me the night before if I would give a talk in sacrament meeting - IN SPANISH! It is so fun to write a talk in spanish when you are given the topic at 7:30, don´t get done with class until 8:00 and have to shower and then have lights out at 10:00. Just kidding, it was great. It was actually a fairly nice talk.

Tuesday we taught a fake investigator (all investigators are based on real ones that the teachers taught on their missions). The teacher that was acting did a fabulous job! He was pretending to be drunk and was very believable. At one point in our lesson, he was sharing how hard his life was. His family didn´t want to see him, he felt that his parents´divorce was his fault and that he couldn´t be forgiven because of all of the things he´s done. He then started to tear up! This teacher can cry on demand! We were able to testify about the Atonement and forgiveness when Hermana Wunderli shared a scripture. Unfortunately, she shared the wrong scripture...... She shared Alma 32:3 (I´m not going to type the scripture because I´m almost out of time, so look them up!) when she meant to share Alma 36:3. The teacher went with it, and it turned out really well. When we got back to class and looked up the scripture in english, we were dying laughing! At least we are making mistakes here and not in the field.

District of goof-balls

Yesterday, we watched a recording of Elder Bednar giving a devotional at the Provo MTC. There are not words to describe how wonderful it was. It wasn´t a topic that I´ve ever really thought about, and it made me contemplate a lot. He then shared that for several years he´s been writing a song in his head, and recently he worked with some people to make it into a song. At that devotional, some primary children and some missionaries sang it. That was the first time the song has been sung. It will be appearing in next month´s New Era magazine, and I implore you all to look it up.

Well, time´s up. I love you all!

-Hermana Chaffin

I love Thursdays!

Dear friends and families,

How is everything going? Everyone seems to be busy! Today has been crazy! This Tuesday all of the missionaries (except for the americans that arrived with me) left for their missions, and the CCM was empty. It was soooo nice having it to ourselves. Today the new "shipment" arrived. It is super funny to see how confused everyone is 😀 . I cannot believe that I was ever like that. So much has happened these past 3 weeks. I cannot believe that I am halfway through my time here at the CCM.

Buenos Aires Temple

I never fully appreciated Sundays until I came here. I have been in dire need of a day of rest. Our days here are so spiritual, but Sundays seem to be especially motivating spritually. Also, it is really nice that we get cake every Sunday. Haha.... I love the food.

My companions and I the third time we visited the temple

Proselyting on Saturday was AMAZING!!! We had such a great time. Even with our small vocabulary of spanish, my companions and I were able to share a lot of messages. We ended up giving away two Book of Mormons, several pamphlets, and all of our pass along cards. I have no fear when it comes to talking to people, but I am sure that the more I get rejected the more that will change. The gospel is real people! Jesus is the Christ!

My district at the CCM

On Sunday, President and Hermana Benton were visiting the Buenos Aires West Mission for a new stake that was being created, so Elder Hazelgren and I were in charge. Two of President Bentons counselors were here, but we conducted everything. Because of that, I had the opportunity to teach the Relief Society lesson. It was sooo great! I learned so much while I prepared, and I loved every minute of it. It was on the Atonement, and everyone should read Bruce R. McConkie's (YAY I JUST FOUND THE APOSTROPHE KEY!) talk called The Purifying Power of Gethsemane.

My companions and I have been playing volley-ball with the sisters from the other district this week. It has been a blast! I have actually been getting in a lot of spikes! Who knew?

That's it for now. Lots of love,

Hermana Chaffin

"You can live the impossible dream, or you can live an excuse. It's all up to you" -Paul Kane

p.s. Everyone should read Alma 16! It's my favorite!!!

Hermana Chaffin at it again

Hola todos!

This week has gone by soooo much faster than the last one. I feel like I can actually put in everything that has happened this time.

Last Thursday after I email all of you, my district went to the temple. It was a wonderful experience and I am so glad that we get to do that a few more times before we leave.

Friday was pretty mellow, it was hard to focus after having a day off, but it was so nice to have a schedule again.

On Saturday, Hermana Rios (my morning spanish teacher)  took us over to the temple hostel where people stay if they have traveled a long way to go to the temple. Each companionship had to talk to 5 different people and share a short message. It was awesome! We were able to understand so much after just 2 weeks of being here! All of the Latinos (and the one group of norte americanos that has been here for 3 weeks) got to go out proselyting. So, it was just two districts of norte americanos here at the CCM for several hours.

On Sunday, we got to walk around temple grounds again (I did take photos, and I will send them when I am able to).  That evening we had a devotional with the President of the CCM and our district did a musical number. We sang Nearer my God to Thee in Spanish for the 1st and 3rd verse and then Hermana Warnock and I sang the second verse in English.

I did not write down what we did Monday and Tuesday, and I do not remember what happened, so I will move on to Wednesday. The two norte americano districts that arrived June 2nd made a goal to speak only in Spanish on Wednesday, and it was amazing! I could not believe how much everyone has progressed. The Lord is truly blessing our efforts.

Today has been wonderful as well. We went to the temple at 8 this morning and afterwards had lunch. The food here is amazing! I love it so much!!! They leave two bowls out in the cafeteria at all times, one with Argentine rolls and the other with assorted fruits. The bread is soooooo good!

Before I go, here is a quote a fellow sister shared with me last week,

It comes from the Ensign in 1995. A talk given by Harold G. Hillam titled. 'Sacrifice in the Service'. In response to the question why missionaries serve:

"It's because they have a testimony of Jesus Christ. And when they know Him there is no bed too short or too hard, no climate too hot or too cold, no food too different or language so strange that they are unwilling to serve Him. No sacrifice is too great to serve the Master, who sacrificed his all to provide the way for His brothers and sisters to return home to their Heavenly Father. And because they are faithful to their callings thousands will revere their names throughout the eternities."

I know that I am where I am supposed to be.

Love,

Hermana Chaffin

John 16:33

Primera Semana

This week has been the longest but best week of my life (so far, I am sure that I will say that again).

My flights to Argentina were great and I made it here safely. The first thing I saw when I made it to the airport here in Buenos Aires was a poster of Simon Baker for some cologne. That made my day honestly.

The MTC here is called the CCM (Centro de Capacitacion Misional). My group of "norte americanos" is the third group of Americans to ever come to the CCM, so that is really cool.

I am in a trio because we have an odd number of sisters. Hermana Warnock is from Salt Lake, UT and Hermana Wunderli is  from Alpine, UT. They are both wonderful girls and I love them to death. My district is amazing and we have a great time together. There are 6 Elders and 3 Hermanas in our district. I am the sister training leader for our district (sister equivilant of district leader) and I conduct my first district meeting later today :)

My other two roommates are great. Hermana Muñoz is from Buenos Aires and Hermana De La O is from El Salvador. We were able to have our first real conversation with them two days ago. It was amazing how much we could talk about Lord of the Rings :)

All of the Latinos think it is really cold here (50 degrees) but this Montana girl thinks it is great.

I am not able to send pictures on this computer, so when I am out in the field I will send all that I have taken so far. 

That is all I have time for, so I will email all of you next week!

Con Amor,

Hermana Chaffin

Topsy Turvy

Well, it happened again, the game plan changed.

This week has been fantastic. Monday was my last day of work at Chinook Dental and everyone surprised me with flowers and pizza.

Tuesday was even better! I got my braces off! It's an amazing feeling that I can't even describe. I'm so happy with how my teeth turned out and I'm grateful that my dad was willing to do it for me. Putting up with all the pain and inability to eat really paid off. Below are the before and after shots of having braces.

 

Wednesday (today), has been a bit different. I got up at 6:00 (still sleepy with my bed strongly calling my name) and read my scriptures. Whoop whoop for mission prep. After showering and eating a breakfast of champions (delicious blueberry pancakes smothered in syrup). 

I decided today was going to be super productive. I gathered all of my mission supplies and suitcases and began sorting, folding, vacuum-packing, and organizing. I separated my stuff into the following categories: Stuff I'd need in the Provo MTC, Stuff I wouldn't get into until I made it to Argentina, and Extras (toilitries, towels, laundry stuff).  Guess what? It was all under weight!!! Yay! 

Once that project was done, I moved on to packing all fo the stuff in my room that I won't need while I'm away so that it's out of my family's way. Sometimes I can't believe how much crap I have, although it was nice to reorganize my college stuff.

After boxing all but my bedding, I ate lunch and took a well deserved break. And that's when I got the phone call....

President Pfile is the sweetest guy ever and I love him to pieces, but when I get a call from him it's usually a little life-altering. For instance, telling me that my reporting day got pushed back like he did a month and half ago, or that my MTC had been changed, which is the news I got today. That's right folks, I'm now going to the Argentina MTC (or should I say CCM a.k.a. Centro de Capacitacion Misional). So yay! Stress level went up a bit, but no biggie. I'm just rolling with the punches :)

I'm supposed to get a call from the MTC soon, so I'll let ya'll know what's up later.

Gracias for reading!

-Soon to be Hermana Chaffin

Tres Semanas - Three Weeks

This week has been wonderfully crazy and fun. Monday, my stake president called me to let me know that the MTC had contacted him and moved back my reporting date. Apparently after I called for my spanish evaluation they needed to place me in a different class than what they had originally planned. So, now I'll be in the intermediate class and reporting June 1st instead of May 11th.

When I first got the news I was incredibly upset and devastated. I finally got my call and then it got pushed back! I couldn't believe that this was happening! So, after 20 minutes of self pity and grief I blinked back the tears and looked at this as an opportunity to prepare more before I go to the MTC. Now I have an extra 3 weeks to study my scriptures more in depth and to study PMG more.

 

Temple Trip

This weekend was wonderful! We started off leaving Chinook at 4:00pm on Thursday and arriving in Rexburg at 11:00pm that same night. On Friday, my parents and I went to Deseret Book to buy temple stuff. After I had all of the things I needed, we met friends and family at the temple for my endowment. It was such a wonderful experience, and I can't wait to go again.

Here I am with my grandparents

And here I am with two of my "aunts"

Temples really show how important family is, and I'm so glad that I had some of mine with me!

Along with receiving my endowment, I also bought necessary supplies for my mission. Especially clothes! I had a blast picking out blouses, cardigans, and skirts. Doing it all with my sisters and a girlfriend made it even better!

I even got to have lunch with my favorite uncle!

This weekend had the perfect ending-with friends! We had Easter dinner with the Bear family and had a blast! I love hanging out with all of these crazy folks! I'm sure going to miss all of them, but I know that time will pass quickly and I'll be back with them before I know it.

Follow Him—An Easter Message about Jesus Christ

Easter is quickly approaching. Easter seems to be about candy, bunnies, and eggs in today's world, but that's not what it's really about. I challenge you to remember the reason for this holiday. Christ died that we might all live again. Through His atonement, we can be be forgiven for our sins and strengthened through His love. I challenge you to answer His call to follow Him.

62 Days

Since I forgot to post about me getting my call, I'll make it official here. I have been called to serve in the Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission! I'm so excited!!! I secretly hoped that I would go to Argentina and I actually got called there! I am so glad to have my call. It is such a relief to know where I'm going and to be able to prepare to go. It is also wonderful to be able to put my Spanish to use.

Until next time,

(soon to be) Hermana Chaffin