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