Week #26 - Happy Week!

This week was such a good week! I taught English class for the first time and it was so fun! 

We had a pretty good turn out, but this week I am hoping for more investigators :)

We have new rules in the mission where we need to work with the members more to teach lessons and work more with references. This branch is amazing. They are so great! They always want to help us and they give us great references! I am so grateful to work in this branch and know these people better. they are great people. 

Here are a few of my investigators. They are great people!

Mariza Flourentin:

Okay she is so cute. She is a grandma and her daughter is in our branch! She was a reference from her family. On our first visit with her she told us that she wants to be a good example for her family. She LOVED church and she loves singing the hymns. She is going to be baptized on the 14th of Feb. She really is an answer to prayers and she is just a sweet person. 

Juan Pablo:

Juan Pablo is a reference as well. He is 45 years old and has a son named Fabrizio that is 5. He is super interested in the gospel because he wants a protection for his son. They attended church yesterday and I taught his sweet son! We had a lesson with him in the night and he told us that he doesn't care if his family won't support him, he feels right about this decision and he loves the gospel! I am so grateful to teach him and help him!

Octavio:

Octavio is 10 years old and he is just as sweet as can be! He is super smart too. We met him for the first time this week and the first thing he said to us was, I love reading the Book of Mormon and the Liahona... they are the best! His mother is a member and she is coming back to the church and she wants her son to be baptized because she knows it is good for him! They are such a sweet family. 

I am so grateful to work with these people. They are so sweet and so spiritual. Most importantly, they are ready! Thanks for the love and support! 

 chao chao! 

Week #25 - One Happy Hermana........

LOOK!! I AM A DANCER FROM BUENOS AIRES :)

What a week!  For all of you that didn't know, I was transferred out of my first area! I was really excited to leave, but I wasn't ready to leave some of the people. I am not going to lie, it was really, really hard leaving the people I love so much. It was really sad. 

this is jeremy. his mom is one of my favorite people and they are the most beautiful family

 i have ever seen. they gave me a dress when i left! 

the dad is a pastor of another faith but we became really close with them! 

this is rianna of the family that i love love love. she always kisses me on the cheek and i miss her. :(

hermana primo de peru :)

I cried when I left the familia Balbuena, Hermana León, Hermana Gonzalez (one of my favorite people currently serving in Lavalle 2), and of course my sweet Hermana Tapia. Hermana Tapia was one of my hardest goodbyes, but I know I will see her sometime before she leaves! 

My new companion is Hermana Gonzalez:

AAAAAAAAND...... my companion is tiny once again and she's from Nicaragua

Okay,  my new area is the BEES KNEES. Seriously I love it. It is so clean here, I do not have mud all over my legs at the end of the day! That is a nice plus! 

my apartment is perfect!  view from my apartment!

new apartment... it is huge and really pretty

(Hannah's new area is called Puerto Rico, Argentina.  It is three hours from Posadas, Argentina.  It's in the "Iguazu Zone", but is still three hours from Iguazu Falls. It's right on the Rio Parana river and directly across from Paraguay. She can see Paraguay, but still doesn't have her visa to go there yet.)

GUESS WHAT?? THERE ARE GERMANS HERE! I am contacting the houses in German so that people will want to hear a message from us. There are so many people that have been speaking German to me! It is so fun!

(I was SO HOPEFUL that her four years of German would come in handy on her mission........well, look at her now!!! Sehr gut!!!)

There are a ton of hills here, which is the only bad part. I thought that the Overlook hill in Lake Oswego (by grandma and grandpa Murphy's house) was bad, but if you think that hill is bad, you need to come to Puerto Rico. haha. 

I am a teacher for the PRIMARY here! It is so fun! (I thought it was hard teaching primary in English, but it is a lot harder in Spanish....hahaha) That is my calling here. We are in a branch and it is so small and my first experience in a branch. (there are like 40 people in the branch. YES! It is a great areaI) I love it. I gave a talk yesterday in church for 10 minutes! I think it went well too! I spoke about this gospel being a protection for us and how we need to all be missionaries and invite our friends to this protection! 

I love my new area a whole bunch and I am super happy here! 

....... and we had tacos!!!

XOXO

Hermana Hannah

Other Random short email's from Hannah:

**OH MY GOSH THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE HAPPINESS I FEEL IN THIS AREA. THE BRANCH IS AMAZING AND THESE PEOPLE ARE JUST GOOD MEMBERS. I AM SO SO SO SO HAPPY........And my companion is awesome. I am having withdrawals of Hermana Tapia... I miss her like CRAZY but Hermana Gonzalez is great too! 

A quick email from Hannah to her Papi:

**DADDY!!!! HOW ARE YOU? I absolutely love my new area. GUESS WHAT? There is a famous person in my very, very, very, small branch. He played soccer professionally for the Team River (CARP) in Argentina! I thought you would like that! I might buy a jersey and have him sign it for you:) he is SOO awesome. You would love my new area!  It is so clean and nice. no dead rats, just A BUNCH OF COCKROACHES!!!! HAHAHA

Week #24 - Dead Rats, Sergio, y Transfers.......Oh My!!

crazy rain storm!

Yes, I know you all are excited for this letter judging by the title.... 

Hermana Tapia and I had a dumb moment this past week. If you did not know,  before we have had a problem with rats in our house. We think there is a family of rats--and I mean a BIG family like with cousins too-- living in our house. Anyways, our dumb moment was giving them poison... so yes... we have a ton of dead rats in our house and yes, it smells awful. If you never have smelled a dead animal before, come to Barrio Jardín and you will...

this is hermano chavez.... my hero the past week. he is the best!

scared about the rats in our house.... :(

We have had a LOT of sleepovers with the sisters in Lavalle.....so that has been fun! Luckily, we have the best dad in our ward, Hermano Chavez that has helped us almost every day this past week. 

hna gonzalez is my fav (no this is not my new companion. there are a lot of gonzalezs here....) 

i want to be her companion though!

Today, I saw the Argentine Sergio.... and for those who do not know who that is... you need to. (sorry this is more for my mom, Marissa, Maddie, Megan, and daddy.) 

Don't you worry, I have a picture with him so be excited! 

THE PIC YOU ARE WAITING FOR WITH SERGIO! yes we were seranaded by sergio!
 hahahahahahhahahahahahahaha .....sergio!!

Sorry,  I just had to share some funny Hannah moments with you all because they are so "typical me" it is not funny. Anyways, we have had some really good progress with investigators and I am really excited to see what will happen with them. I will be changing my area this week...... VOY A AREA PUERTO RICO! It is in Iguazu! I am so excited to go to my new area! 

This is where Hannah is moving on Wednesday......AMAZING or what???

On Sunday I had a really cool spiritual experience. We went to eat lunch with a family that is in the area of the elders. It was a really pretty morning so we decided to walk. (just letting you know this walk is a good 4-5 miles and a lot can change in the weather in 4-5 miles....) We were caught in a crazy thunderstorm. We ran to the family's house and made it there just in time! It was crazy. After we finished lunch, we waited for the rain to die down so that we could leave. Once it died down a little, we headed to our house. We were walking as fast as we could when we got caught in another bad part of the storm. We waited on a little porch for awhile and I was scared not going to lie.....I said a prayer to Heavenly Father to send me a car with one lady driving it so that we could get home safely. 

We decided to walk a little farther. We thought we were on the right street but we were lost. I did not know what to do. A few minutes later I saw a car and noticed that there was a lady in it! We waved her down to ask for directions and she said we were super far away and that she would take us home! My prayer was so answered! 

Later that night i thought about my experience with a lot of gratitude. I thought about how I was far from home. I was scared, and that I needed help. God helped me on Saturday and I am so grateful for Him! 

This week was a really good week. I am excited for a new area, but I am really sad to be leaving my best friend Hermana Tapia! I love her so much! 

i love hermana tapia!

Thanks for all of the support and love. I love you all so much! 

XOXO

Hermana Hannah

i love hermana gonzalez so much. she is from paraguay!

look! i have a BOM in guarani! i will never be able to read it-- but i have it! 

In case you are wondering........

here is the ORIGINAL Sergio...........

Week #23 - Short and Sweet

Hannah was only able to send a quick message today and was super limited on time.  She sends her love.......as usual. 

She was able to include 5 pictures for our viewing enjoyment:
  

this cute little boy is in my ward and his name is angel. 

ASODO! ASODO! ASODO! this is the yummy food we eat at ward dinners! 

This is a sweet sister in Hannah's ward!

my poor legs and feet : (

osso and manchies. these faces greet me EVERY morning!