Getting Adjusted (and Electricity!)

Hola!! Okay wow a lot of questions! I hope I can get them all. Luckily the keyboard this time is way more normal so it´s easier.

There´s actually more than one paved road here, I think the google images must be old. Most of the centro is paved but the neighborhoods branching out of it aren´t. The moraga family, who emailed you, is a really great family. He´s the branch president and since there´s so little priesthood support here, has been in various leadership callings in the branch and district for years and years. They have two 18 year old twin girls who are planning on serving and go out with us a lot. Plus they´re learning English so I really like working with the two of them :)

Here are mom´s questions:
How is it going with the food and the whole drinking the water thing?

It´s fine. The missionaries say the water´s okay, but President LaPierre doesn´t drink the water even in posadas, so it depends on who you ask. Some of the ward members like the Moraga family only drink filtered water and others either don´t or can´t afford it. I´ve been trying to be careful, though I haven´t been perfect, and my health was doing just fine until the past two days when I´ve started to get a little sick. I called this morning and talked to the nurse to get permission to take something (we´re not allowed to self-medicate). So I’m fine.

Did you get electricity yet?

Yes! That was a tender mercy on Saturday. I´ve finally been able to shower in semi-warm water and we have a refrigerator hooray!

Are you soo hot? (Kayla thought you looked really hot in the pictures at the Morago family. And we could see you've had some sun!)

Yes I am. I should apologize for how disgusting I look and will continue to look in all the pictures, glad Kayla could tell :) However everyone here says that this is spring. Apparently there´s still verano and "verano verano" to come. hashtag save me. We don´t have an air conditioner but our fans finally work so that´s nice. our schedule will change hopefully soon to avoid the hottest part of the day outside. And all of the sisters here are so worried about my skin it’s hilarious. They all ask if I have protector and when they think I can´t understand them they ask my companion about it and say "Ella is taan blanca" hahaha

Do you have cell phones or phones at all?

Yes we have a cell phone but I think it´s hard to use cause it´s all in spanish 

Are you walking everywhere? Has it rained?

Yes and yes but only once yesterday, things are pretty red and muddy!

Is your companion a convert or life time member?

Life time member

Laundry?

hna moraga does it for us for now, otherwise it would be by hand, but I think they´re gonna buy us a little lavador thingy for our apartment. which I probably won´t know how to use haha

So I´m doing well. this week has been a struggle of spiritual endurance, but I´ve really found comfort in the scriptures and the adjusting to missionary life resources we get, and yesterday in church I received the thing that´s helped the most so far. I wouldn´t be here if Heavenly Father didn´t believe I could do it. It´s that simple. He called me here because He trusted me to manage and do it well (eventually) and so He will help me along the way. Thinking "I can´t do this" isn´t being humble. I need to be nicer to myself. It´s ok to realize that my best right now isn´t going to get the job done. That´s why I have a companion who actually speaks Spanish. If I keep trying I will eventually be able to communicate in Spanish the way I need and want to, but right now I can´t expect more of myself than my best. And right now sometimes my best is just trying to manage a smile. 

Also a big blessing has been the fact that we've had to travel to posadas twice this past week and once more this Wednesday. It is SO good to talk to American sisters and elders who are going through or have been through exactly the same thing. It´s hard with a native companion to think ¨"you have no idea how hard this is for me" when they were just able to jump right in and start testifying. But that´s not right. It’s also way difficult to have companionship unity when you don´t speak the same language so that’s a little difficult at times. I really have discovered the power of hymns, and my new favorite thing to do is sing the verses to where can I turn for peace, and then continue with the tune but sing the verses of come ye disconsolate. It’s amazing. I got the package!! The elder said it arrived before I even came to Argentina so if don´t know how that even happened. I´ve skimmed through it, love it all, am saving the notes and stocking for Christmas but think I’ll decorate a little today in keeping with our tradition. :)

I love you all a ton and am literally SOO thankful for all your love and support. 

much much love!!