Week #35 - 8 GREAT months!

Yes, today is 8  months! How fast! Ah! This week we are preparing for conference and I am getting SO excited! There are a lot of North Americans here so I will be able to watch it in English too! I am super excited!

Anyways, I have been thinking about all the things I have learned in my time here and I have learned that I love LEARNING! There are so many cool things to learn. Like a new language. Or a new culture. OR how we can be a little bit better. I have been reading a lot of conference talks and I know that those talks are inspired!

This week I will be writing down questions and I will see how conference can answer them! I know I will receive my answers! I am excited.

This past week we received a bunch of contacts and contacted them! Some of them are really great! I am excited to work with them more!

Have a good week!

Hermana Murphy

Week #34 - Baishapa! (How are you in Guarani)

This week was SO exciting. I have been oh so happy this week because I am working with Hermana Gonzalez again. I just love her. Here are some exciting things that happened this week:

1. IT IS FALL! (I finally survived my FIRST and LAST Argentine summer!)

2. Hermana Gonzalez asked to extend her mission a whole 30 days.... and guess what??? SHE IS GOING TO BE MY COMPANION FOR THAT LONG :) I am so excited. 

3. We are teaching some really really cool people. 

4. I AM LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE. I do not know very much (Di Quei Guarani) but I am trying! 

This week was a good, and a little bit stressful. I am learning a new area, and a new language. I have come to realize that God will always give us small miracles and blessings to help us through things that are sometimes a little hard and uncomfortable. That is kind of how I have felt throughout my whole mission. My mission is a little hard, it is certainly a little bit uncomfortable but, He is helping me. He knew that I had to serve here right now and that I had to learn a new culture and a new area... but, he gave me Hermana Gonzalez again. I truly believe this opportunity was a gift from Heavenly Father. & I am grateful.

So, I have been learning a whole bunch this week. I am learning an area that is HUGE! We have to take the city bus and taxi’s everywhere because it is just that big. We have been teaching some really cool people, and we found this reference from a lady in our ward named Angela. She is 17 years old and she goes to high school and watches her nephew every day. She is super cool. She asks us a bunch of questions and she really has a desire to learn, it is awesome! We gave her a Book of Mormon and we are so excited to work with her some more! 

I am in a ward with about 200 people, IT IS HUGE! This ward is amazing. It is so organized and the people love working with the missionaries. We have already received 8 references this week and it is just amazing. 

I am excited to work here and learn more! yayotopata (chao en Guarani!!!)

Besos,

Hermana Murphy

Week #33 - Goodbye Argentina.......HELLO Paraguay!!

Sad to say goodbye to Hermana Retana

Monday morning I received this quick email from Hannah: 

Guess what?

NEW area. NEW country.  OLD companion. This weekend I was sleeping over with some sisters in Eldorado and I received a phone call that I will be emergency changed to PARAGUAY! Guess who is my NEW old companion? HAHAHA Hermana Gonzalez! She wanted to finish her mission with me :) So now she will be able to!

I am going to

Map of where Hannah started in Posadas, Argentina then moved to Puerto Rico, Argentina
(part of the Iguazu zone) and then moved to Ciudad del Este, Paraguay.  SO CLOSE to Brazil
as well!  CRAZY!!

Cuidad del Este in Paraguay! I don't know what my area is called. But, I don't have much time this morning. So hopefully I will be able to email you more tonight or tomorrow! BUT I AM SO EXCITED! I saw President La Pierre yesterday at branch conference and we had a little interview.... I asked him why because I didn't want to leave Hermana Retana NOR Puerto Rico :( he said..... because the Lord said so. He needs you in Paraguay. So that is that. I am headed out soon!

This afternoon I received this (even shorter) email from Hannah:

"Hi there sweet mumsie. I arrived safely to my spot in Paraguay! I have a zone meeting right now but I want to let you know I will be able to write more this afternoon! I am SO happy. Hermana Gonzalez and I were in tears because we were just so happy.  I am so happy here. Paraguay is SO different but I am so happy. I will fill you in on more details after. But I love it here. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!"

REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD:)

my old district!

hermana heck!  we would speak in german together! what the heck hermana heck! haha

fhe with familia sandoval!  i love this family. they are some of my favorite people in the world!
those kids are the sweetest kids in the whole world! 

familia celles. they are from buenos aires. 

we taught darian and he was sad that i left because i cannot go to his baptism :( 

i am sad too! i love them!

hermana dempsey, me, hermana anderson, hermana retana

Yay!  I've been hoping that Hannah would serve where the three
countries in her mission meet!  And now she's there!  SO COOL!

This change was quite unexpected (especially since it isn't transfer time for another three weeks.)  Hannah wrote to us that she is super excited about this new challenge.  She is happy to serve anywhere and everywhere she is needed!  Love that attitude!

Week #32 - Dare to be a Mormon, Dare to make it known!

my new companion, Hermana Retana and massages!!

This week was a crazy week! I have a new companion. Her name is Hermana Retana from Costa Rica. She is a doll. Fasted and prayed and prayed and PRAYED for Heavenly Father to send us people that are prepared for the gospel.

.... Guess what?

He sent us Hector. We were walking down this super long road... and Hector pulled us over. He said: "I need what you both have. I need the light of Christ!" He talked and talked and talked about how much he wants to change his life and he just feels like this is what he needs. We are SO excited. We feel so blessed that we can teach hector. He is so great!

.... Guess what else happened?

We taught a great lesson with a dad in our branch! He just moved here from Buenos Aires but all of his family lives here and we taught his mom before! (I taught her with Hermana Gonzalez a lot!) His mom is SUPER catholic. I mean super. But, she never goes to church. it is tradition for her. Her mother died and so she feels like she needs to stay in the church because of her mom.  Anyways, we went yesterday with Hermana Retana and guess what!? Hermano Espindola was there! We taught about forever families and he testified in his tears that families can be together forever. His testimony was so spiritual. It was great!

We had such a good week. We work SO hard. We pray with so much faith. We are seeing miracles.

Love,

Hermana Murphy

Week #31 - Short and Sweet......

YAY!!  Statue posing is alive and well in Argentina!!  Some family traditions
can just never be forgotten!!

I'm not kidding when I said this week's email was "short and sweet"!

This week was crazy, but I do not have much time! Next week! So sorry! I love you all and I am so grateful for your support and emails!

Love,

Hermana Hannah

I have it on good authority that she sent her Uncle Mitchie a good email along with one for me (her Mama)....and then ran out of time. Since her time was limited,  this quick sentence plus three pictures was what we got this week!  

Enjoy the pictures!

-Heather

this is hermana anderson. i love her

this is hermana olvera. one day we will be companions. in paraguay. i love her so much