Week #20 - Where is Hannah?

Hannah wasn't able to send pictures this week, so a special
THANK YOU to Heather Robson Dunford.  She shared this picture
of her daughter........Hermana Mikayla Dunford and Hannah.  When I
told Hannah that Hermana Dunsford's mom "found me" on Facebook, she said
this about Hermana Dunsford, " i loveeeee her!"

Note from Heather:
Sorry, but I don't really have a letter to post from Hannah this week.  She had about two minutes to email today and all she really said was:

"MOM I NEED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SKYPING.   I AM SO GOSH DARN EXCITED---------- BUT I NEED USERNAMES AND PASSWORDS FOR WHAT I WILL BE USING PLEASE RESPOND!!!!! But really........I don't remember any of my passwords or usernames so I need to use yours or dads or Collin's or Maddie's.... whatever will work fine. But I have Pday on Christmas next week BUT i am able to get on the internet and talk on Monday and figure out plans for skyping or talking. We are trying to find a computer to talk on because I think we will be moving houses..... I can't believe I get to talk to you in 9 days. I am way too excited. BUT I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEED A USERNAME AND PASSWORD AND INSTRUCTIONS OF WHAT TO USE AND HOW TO USE IT!!!!  HELP!!!"

So......that's it folks.  Nothing too much this week.  Obviously something was up because:
1.  Yesterday, she didn't email on her Pday.  
2.  Today's email was SUPER short. (But good....so I knew she was at least okay.)
3.  She has to move BEFORE Christmas next week.  

Sounds like some last minute changes are in action, so I can't wait to hear the "full story" next week WHEN WE GET TO TALK TO HER ON CHRISTMAS!!!!!!! (I am SOOOOO excited I can hardly contain myself!!!)

Week #19 - ¡tengo 20 años en argentina!

this is one of my favorite families here in argentina.
 the familia balbuena! they made lunch for me on my birthday!

WOW. Thank you all for the emails. You have no idea how happy that made me. I shed a few tears not going to lie... I just love you all so much!

birthday celebrations in AR! ice cream from hector... haha

This week has been GREAT! We had transfers and I was super nervous because I had to leave my mom (my trainer hna moreno.) My new companion is Hermana Tapia! She is 31 years old from Argentina! I have already learned so much from her just in the 6 days that I have been with her. i just love her already. 

Anyways we had a cool experience this week. Yesterday I studied about how we can have more service opportunities in the streets. I prayed and prayed that Heavenly Father would send me a family that needed help so that we can teach them......Heavenly Father sent me a sweet birthday present because there was a family that needed our help. They were walking in the street and they were carrying a bunch of stuff. We asked if we could help them and they said "no, it's okay", but they were touched about our willingness to help them. We are going to teach them this week!

me and the cute hat i have to wear

It was such a good birthday and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present! I am just so happy to be here and to meet so many new people! Never would I have thought a year ago from today that I would be spending my 20th birthday in Argentina!

Thanks again for the love and support and for all the emails! I love you all so much!

Hermana Murphy

familia balbuena again... because i love them

hermana gonzalez went home this week. i love her!

this picture was shared to me by the cute Hermana that Hannah is standing next to.  THANKS!

Note from Heather:

I want to thank EVERYONE from the bottom of my heart for sending Hannah so many fun birthday emails.  You can tell from her message above just how touched she was.  It's the little things when you are so far away.  On another happy note, the small package that Rick and I sent her about five weeks ago arrived safe and sound.  She now has some music, new crocs and sour patch watermelons to enjoy for the next six months until we can send her another package!  WOOT!

AND........In case you were wondering........we also had a fun night celebrating Hannah's big 20th last night in downtown Portland.  Hannah and Maddie were able to "be there too"........kind of!  We had fun carrying on our yearly tradition with the Schnell, Francis and Batten families!  

Here are a few pictures from Hannah's big night........PDX Style........

Elder Michael Schnell, Maddie and Hannah at Chipotle for a birthday dinner

We sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Hannah.......and ate Cheesecake Factory
Cheesecake, Cake Balls and Hannah's all time favorite....Rice Krispies Treats!

Maddie and Hannah heading down to Santaland.......(get it?  "Head"ing down?)
(That is really for Hannah........I am sure she misses my puns...)

Collin is a good sport!! (This is actually why I made "Flat Stanley's"
of Maddie and Hannah.  I didn't want Collin to be alone in the picture.

Hannah Batten........being Hannah Murphy

Here are all of the kids......except Maddie, Hannah, Ben, Hailey & Luke
(I am glad there are some littles still around.......because otherwise it would
make me cry that everyone is growing up ......and leaving!)

Awww....we DID get a family picture this year after all!!

Week #18 - Life Here in Argentina........

If pictures are worth a 1,000 words.........then Hannah blessed us with many WORDS today.  Well.........actually, she wasn't able to write very much, BUT she sent quite a few PICTURES for your viewing pleasure.  ENJOY!

From Hannah:

I am not going to write a large letter this week... just lots of pictures with details! Look on my blog for more. I love you all SO much!

4 months down! i had my 4 months yesterday!

Hermana Hannah

these are my sweet grandparents ramona and mario :)

 i love them with all of my heart. i just wish you all could meet them! 

these are the three people that got baptized this weekend!
Ramona Pereyra, Mario Pereyra, and Johanna I LOVE THESE PEOPLE

before johanna got baptized! johanna cantero and hermano rios!

after the baptism. how darn cute is she?

guess who is done with 12 semanas? 

guess who is officially a normal missionary?!! hermana murphy!

today i said bye to hermana anderson! i love her and i am going to miss her so much!

 ZONA POSADAS:  we work hard but play hard too :) 

Zona Posadas!

we were without power for 10 hours so we had a little sleepover :)
with hermana larzo and hermana gonzalez :)

Another note from Heather:

Hannah has transfers this week and she found out that she will be staying in Jardin (where she has been since she arrived.)  She will be getting a new companion and therefore her sweet companion Hermana Moreno is off to Paraguay!  That is exciting for her.  Hannah will be sad to see her go because they have had a great time together. Hannah is excited about meeting her new companion, but is a bit nervous too because suddenly, "i am in charge of our area now!" (I told her she was "Charles in Charge" now.  haha!

Week #17 - Cockroaches, Rats and Lots of Laughs.......

Note from Heather:

**There was another holiday yesterday in Argentina, so Hannah's Pday got moved until today......luckily I looked it up BEFORE I overreacted.........so I wasn't worried this time. Shwew!

this is our chapel

number of cockroaches seen this week: 12

number of rats seen this week: 3

number of laughs shared: TOO MANY TO COUNT :) 

Honestly, I am creeped out everyday by all of the weird creatures of Argentina... BUT... I love my mission more and more every single day. I love my mission and the people here. I love my companion. 

We did 2 service projects this week. One with the familia Martinez and we painted a gazebo and then we cleaned out Ramona and Mario´s front room. Yep... that is where I saw the rats and cockroaches... this mission is really helping me face my fears... haha

This week we did not have our baptism with Johanna. That will be this upcoming Saturday with the parents of hermano Pereyra! We are SO looking forward to this weekend. I cannot wait to share this experience with these people. I just love these people. 

This week has been REALLY good and we got 4 references that were awesome. We taught this one lady named Fabiana. She is a doll. She is fun to teach because she was interested in us and our message. She has had a tough life. She has 7 children-- all of which are darling-- and within the last two years her husband and dad have died from cancer. She has the most faith in the world though. She KNOWS that there is a plan for her family. It was fun to teach her about the great plan of our Heavenly Father because I too have so much faith in that plan. 

I really love teaching people about Christ because every time I teach my testimony grows so much more! 

this is hermano jose and this is how he grills things

Thank you for the love and support. I miss you all dearly and cannot wait to hear from you all next week! :) 

Hermana Hannah

Another note from Heather:

Hannah let us know today that exactly ONE MONTH from today.......we get to SKYPE with her on Christmas!!  SO SO SO excited to see and talk to my Hanzee!!  Best Christmas Gift EVER!!!

Week #16 - Hola from AWESOME Argentina!

This week has been way cool! It has been a normal week, but we have made some great progress with investigators so I am one happy hermana! I have some exciting news as well...... we have a baptism this weekend!!! The baptism is for a girl named Johanna! Johanna is 18 years old and she is dating one of the sons in the familia Rios! She has been taking the lessons for over 3 months so we are all excited about her baptism! She always tells us how happy she is. I can really see the change in her as well. That is probably one of my favorite parts of being a missionary! Seeing people change for the better! It is so fun! Anyways, I am just really excited for this next weekend!

Okay... time for a gringa moment. Every night we get into our apartment at 9:30pm to plan for the next day. On Thursday night I look over and saw a HUGE RAT! It totally freaked me out! Hermana Moreno just laughed because it is totally gringa to be afraid of rats! Anyways... it was a cool moment... kind of... do you think they would approve a cat as a pet?... haha

We had zone conference this week as well which was so fun! President La Pierre said something that really stuck out to me. He said, "our testimonies yesterday, are not sufficient for today." I totally believe that. We need to constantly be learning and improving. I challenge all of you to strengthen your testimonies daily because I know that we will become happier if we do so! 

missionaries of barrio jardín :) hermana moreno, elder duke, elder muñoz.

 i love these people! they are awesome! 

this was taken at zone conference!

craft time at zone conference! 

elder prince and elder duke are 6´8. they are pretty much the coolest too! 

in one more week i will officailly be the tallest sister missionary

 in the Argentina Posadas mission! haha

This past week was AWESOME and I am really looking forward to this next week. Thank you for all of the love and support. I love you all! 

Hermana Murphy

Note from Heather:

Hannah sent her emails much earlier today so I sent her an email and asked if she and Hermana Moreno were doing anything special today.  This was her reply:

"YES! we are taking naps.... hahahaha. We wanted to write early this week. I LOVE MY COMP SO MUCH. She is a doll."

For those of you who REALLY know Hannah........you know that girl loves a good nap.  I am cracking up that she would wake up early to get everything done........so she can take a nap today. Another thing I asked is if the Argentine people took siesta's.  She said YES........EVERY.SINGLE.DAY........so they can't visit during that time.  Isn't that funny?  Too bad they don't let the missionaries observe that local custom.  haha.  If they did.......Hannah would be all over that one. 

Thanks for all of your love and support for our Hannah!!  

Week #15 - LAS FAMILIAS SON ETERNAS!

Can you spot Hannah?  It's kind of an Argentine "Where's Waldo"

Hi my sweet friends and family!

 

This week was by far one of my FAVORITE weeks. On Tuesday night we got a call from the office that I had to do some visa work in Resistencia and I was so excited because that meant that I GOT A CLEAN SHOWER AND A CLEAN BED FOR THE NIGHT. Yes, we got to stay in the mission home for one night and YES,  I HAD THE NICEST SHOWER IN THE WHOLE WORLD. It needs all caps because it was that nice. AND! I GOT TO SHOWER BAREFOOT! (it’s the little things...)

ANYWAYS.... i also got to see Hermana Wilson, and it was so much fun. We spent the day traveling and laughing (in English) IT WAS THE BEST :)

Okay one of my all time favorite moments this week was meeting my favorite investigator, Norma. She is so spiritual and I love it! Her father died 5 months ago and she has been looking for something more in her life. She said that we were a gift from God. It was the best and I was so grateful to have her and be able to teach her.

The primary program was on Sunday and it was so darn cute.  It will never be the same because it was missing my favorite people of all time (my triplets...) But, it was still way cute. The theme was families can be together forever. I have been thinking a lot about my family and how much I love and miss them! I am so glad that I get to be with my family forever and bring people to that here :) I love that about the mission!

Today we had a fun activity with 3 zones of the mission! we played games and had lunch. It was the best. I love these people and the missionaries here. 

Three Zones gathering together for some P-day activities!  Good times in Posadas!

(sorry this letter is lame, other missionaries need the computer!)

I love you all and am so grateful for the emails and support! I love you all so so so so much! :)

Hermana Murphy

More photos from Hannah this week:

Zona Posadas!  my zone! i love them!

i saw my baby brother of the mtc at our activity today and it was one happy moment. he is so awesome!

the hermanas of zona posadas

hna moreno y yo!  :) me and my trainer!

do the bidets come standard?  haha we have a bidet. it is awesome

me with astrella pereyra :) i love this little one!

WEEK #14 - ¡YO NO DOY DOS HIGOS! (I don't give two figs)........

missy, will you insta this? thanks! :) 

Hola!! I hope all of you are well and happy. This week has been a really good and happy week. I hope you all had the BEST Halloween in the world :) It is weird to think that last year I was Gilly (hahahaha)

Oh Gilly!!  

Anyways, I had such a fun time with Hermana Moreno, so it is okay. Argentina is not the biggest fan of the USA so they celebrate Halloween on November 1st to be different. 

This week was so fun! We had a fun meeting with the zone. I taught a 10 minute lesson in Spanish! Holla!!! I was so nervous when I was preparing the talk but when I went up to speak and share I was not nervous at all! Woo!!! Also, cool thing. Our zone found BURRITOS! So, we had burritos in our meeting. It rocked. 

This week we started contacting in a different area called Bº Latino America. We contacted 10 new people and have a lot of families interested in our message! It is so exciting. Hermana Moreno is such a great example to me of a missionary. I am so happy I get to finish my training with her. We have SO much fun together. 

This week we were able to teach Ramona and Mario a bunch of times. (In case you haven´t read my other posts.... they are the parents of my familia here in AR! So basically they are my grandparents. they always give us food and clothes. I love them.) 

my investigators/grandparents that i love so dearly!

We changed the date of their baptism to the 29th of November! They are looking forward to it and have attended church 3 times now! Hermana Moreno and I feel like proud parents :) It is so much fun to teach them. 

rain storm!!!

So yesterday was fast and testimony meeting and since my ward is HUGE we don't have to bear our testimonies in the big meeting which is kind of a relief. I kept having this feeling that I need to share my testimony and I did not have the chance. BUT.... Heavenly Father works miracles and one miracle that happened was we had a testimony meeting in relief society. I got up and bore my testimony that I know that Christ is our Savior and He is always with us through every problem! 

I teach this principle everyday and I truly believe in Christ and His power. I know His grace is sufficient for us and I know that through Him we can feel peace and joy. 

Throughout this week I challenge you all to make Christ the centerpiece of your life because I know you all will be so much happier! I love and miss you all. Thank you for the support and prayers-- they are felt and appreciated greatly. 

Chao chao! :)

Hermana Murphy