Week #30 - Peter.......and lots of Pictures again! Happy Day!!

we had a party for hermana rupe! she leaves the mission tomorrow! :( she is the best!!

This week was super-fast….Super, super fast! Hermana Gonzalez is changing areas for her last 6 weeks in the mission! I am both happy and sad. I really loved working with her a lot and learned a lot about being a missionary and serving others. I am also excited that she will be having the chance to work in a new area! 

i love hermana gonzalez! :)

My new companion is from Costa Rica and her name is Hermana Retana! I do not know much about her; only that she is super sweet!

Okay, I have been thinking a lot about Peter this week. This week I got really nervous when I found out about transfers. I do not like transfers that much and I felt like I was a terrible missionary and that I could not face this new challenge well.

Then, I thought about Peter. Peter was normal. Peter was a fisherman. He wasn’t famous, just normal. BUT, Jesus Christ knew the potential that Peter had. Peter was invited by Christ to become a fisher of men & he followed.

I thought a lot about how I feeling in adequate --relates to Peter and the potential that all of us have. This week, I did not feel that special. I was super overwhelmed with all of the tasks that I needed to accomplish this next transfer without Hermana Gonzalez. I did not feel special. I did not feel great.

I then thought about how we have transfers to learn new things & how God knows that we can do it and He knows our potential. All we have to do is follow Christ and have faith that we can accomplish the hard things before us. I feel a lot better and more confident that I can do it. I just need to be like Peter and follow faithfully!

i am going to miss taking pictures like this one! hermana larzo leaves tomorrow :(

I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission. I am learning so much about how I can follow more faithfully.

this picture is of the succulents a sweet mom gave me in the ward. she knows how much i love plants 

 (This picture above will make Grandpa Murphy proud.......)

look who came to spray our apartment for cockroaches! 

hermano chavez and hermano pereyra! 

my two favorites! they took us to get food haha

hermano chavez...... one of my favorite people in the whole world!

food with hermano chavez and hermano pereyra!

everything is so good. i am so happy. i really am happy. i love being here. 

a lot of rain :(

i love being a missionary!!!!

Below is the following excerpt from another email Hannah sent me.  I thought it was funny.  A little insight into her day.....I had written to her that we had 4 weeks until Spring Break.  Then we head to California for a week of sunshine and some yummy food.  Her reply was.......

"While you are eating those lovely things please remember your daughter who is eating pizza with hardboiled eggs and fish on it :)"

My reply, " GROSS!!!!!  Are you serious??? They put eggs and fish on PIZZA????  That honestly makes me gag a little bit.  For real??  YUCK!  At least you have other good things to eat there, right?

XOXO"

Hannah's reply: 

"mom... the pizza here is so gross. it is not like it is at home! there is no MOD PIZZA here! yeah super yuck. could you send me a few simple recipes with ideas for food? like with rice or noodles or other things. i am sick of eating the same thing every day! HELP ME"

So now, a mother's request....if you have a few simple recipes that you would like to email to Hannah she would absolutely LOVE it!!  THANK YOU

Her email address is:  hmurphy@myldsmail.net 

Week #29 - Cute Pictures Alert!!

 being missionaries :)

FIRST HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET MAMA! So excited and happy for her :)

I JUST WANT TO WISH YOU THE HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS! i am so glad that you are my mom. i wish i could be celebrating with you... just know i am partying hard here for you!! i love you so much! have the best day! TE AMO MUCHO MUCHO MUCHO

This week I am going to try and send a lot of pictures so I am going to keep this short.... last Monday my mom sent me a quote that I thought about ALL week. It says All missionaries, young and old, serve with the sole hope of making life better for other people. Yep, I read that every day, I even wrote it all cute so I could look at it EVERYDAY.

my week was so good.  i love my area. i love being a missionary.
i love life right now. i am one happy camper.

I have MANY New Year’s goals this year. Every single one has to do with how I can focus my life more on the Savior. I know, it is a hard task. I know I fail every day, but I am trying. I know for a fact Jesus Christ is the best at this. He always left people better than He found them. That is one of my goals this year.

Yesterday, I tried to do that with one of my favorite people here in Puerto Rico. Her name is Hermana H and I adore her. She has lots of problems in her life and is usually way negative when we visit her. Anyways, I prayed and prayed and PRAYED with so much faith that I could help her. And guess what, we did! We talked with her. She laughed, and talked to us! (Sometimes when we teach her she doesn't even smile!) We shared a scripture in Isaiah and it totally helped her.

I know that we can all be positive influences and help people have better days. We have that power. Try and do something nice for someone this week and make their lives a little happier :)

 

we had a party for sweet hermana rupe 

(she goes home next week) and we decided 

to paint our faces with the flags of our mission! :)

hermana larzo and i! she goes home next week :(

my sweet Primary class.  (my companion is the RS
pres, so this is a good calling!)

ZONA IGUAZUUUUUUU 

with hermana anderson and hermana zambrana!

Week #28 - Well.........That Was Scary...............

(be prepared for the best story of your entire life.....)

SO, this week was full of traveling. I went to Posadas TWICE and it was fun. It felt like home. We traveled alllllll day on Friday and at night we both decided that we should go and teach MARISA (one of my fav investigators.) Anyways, we walk to her house at 8:15 ish in the night and we were really nervous that her husband would be there! (her husband works a lot so he doesn't like it when we come to teach when he has a break...) anyways when we got there he wasn't there!!! 

As we walked up to her house we noticed that she was smoking and we were a little bummed... anyways we sit down and talk to her for a little bit and then we start teaching. We taught her about the Book of Mormon and how she can use it as a protection. As I was speaking my companion flipping leap frogs over my body and screams SPIDER!!! (if you don't know, I am not the biggest fan of spiders BUT I have gotten used to spiders here and I am not too afraid of killing them. I was expecting to see a little one...) 

NOPE. It was a full on tarantula..... we both ran and screamed inside her house. It was probably the scariest moment of my entire life!!! Anyways, we finished teaching and talked about how Satan uses SPIDERS to ruin our teaching..... darn tarantulas.... 

Other than that, this week was full of many beautiful moments. I had the opportunity to work with Hermana Cardenas from Mexico and I love her! We had such a fun time teaching and talking.

Thank you for the love and support. Have a good week! I hope you do not see any crazy spiders :-)

XOXO

Hermana Hannah

A quick note from Heather:  

Hannah said that they were having a zone activity today, so she wasn't able to send pictures and could only write real fast, because they had to get going.  She sounds great still!!

Hannah at a Zone Conference

Week #27 - Seis Meses. Six Months.

my companion made me this cute note for my 6 month mark!

Can you believe it has been 6 months? I CANNOT EITHER! WOW!

This week I have been doing a lot of reflecting and I am just so darn happy. I have been thinking about everything I have learned in the past 6 months. I have really come to know my Savior Jesus Christ. Every day we teach, we talk about His love for us. I really know He lives and we can be made clean through Him.

pretty park in Monte Carlos,ARGENTINA

I have been teaching a TON better in Spanish and I can finally say I love teaching! I love teaching so much I even teach in my sleep! Hermana Gonzalez tells me every morning that I teach in Spanish and say prayers in Spanish! One of my teachers in high school told me that if you are dreaming in a different language-- you are starting to become fluent! ¡POR FIN! But really,Ilove Spanish and Argentina.

We have been teaching 3 kids that are 9, 10, 11. Their names are Octavio (9), Rut (10), and Darian (11). Let me tell you. THEY ARE THE BEST. And I have such a testimony that kids are so pure and sweet. Anyways, they all have similar situations. They all come from less active families, but all of them have members in their families who want to come back and live the gospel! One of the families we have been getting really close with is Darian and his mother Mabel. She is a doll. She told us that she got baptized when she did not really have a testimony, so when her family went through a hard time, she fell away from the church. She is from Buenos Aires and she came to church one day and told us she wanted to change and come back!

She is such a sweetie and we love teaching her and her family. We had an activity (family home evening with the branch), and Darian came and loved playing with all of the kids! I am so happy to teach these people. I just love my mission and Argentina :)

Hannah and Yanina

making kites! Sara and Yanina

Branch Party -making and flying kites in the park

I PROMISE that I am trying to enjoy every single moment and experience of Hannah's mission (and not trying to focus on "when she comes home...")BUT, I have to say I just LOVED IT this past Saturday, when my countdown clock officially reflected that Hannah has ONE. YEAR. MORE.

This was a happy sight for mom and dad this past Saturday, January 31, 2015!
It marked Hannah's "6 Months" and also means that Hannah has ONE YEAR LEFT
to make the most of her mission!!  COULDN'T BE MORE PROUD!!

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...........