Hanging in over in Argentina

Hola!

I´m still hanging in here over in Argentina! I´m so grateful for all of your love and support, like really. You guys are my anchor. I´m really sorry I can´t respond to everybody specifically, I´ll try harder but know that I print out your emails and treasure them all week! I love hearing about everything you’re doing.

I´m way excited for grandma and grandpa Rawlins! The mtc is one of the best places in the world and I honestly miss it a ton.

I´m feeling better, the health concern of this week is that the mosquitoes appear to only like my legs out of everybody else here. Really I´m the only person with bites even though I wear repellent and no one else does. I don´t think the mosquitoes are too dangerous in town so don´t worry. 

I love hearing about everybody´s Christmas and wedding plans!! Christmas here should be pretty nice, the ward is having a big dinner together the week before, a special sacrament meeting, then on the 23 the Moraga’s are taking us to some big factory thing for our pday (preparation day). The 24 we get to go to posadas for a devotional with a bunch of the missionaries in the area, and then the 25 we don´t have any specific plans yet but we asked the Moraga’s what their traditions were and they said "have the misioneras over" (which is funny because we´re the first :)

I keep forgetting to tell you that Hermana Zapata told me she was in the same district as Elder Lugo in Colombia and that he was a really great guy. Also that padded envelopes currently don´t count as packages, but that might not be the case forever.

This week has been both bad and good, as I´m sure is normal on a mission. I´m still trying to hang in there and have patience with the language, the hardest part is that I feel like I don´t have a personality in Spanish. I don´t know how to be Amanda in a different language because I can´t say the things I want to. My companion can joke around and have better relationships with all the members and I have to trust that my smile and bad Spanish is enough for them to feel the Spirit and my love. I know it is, because that´s what Heavenly Father would have me do right now, it´s just kinda tough.

One thing I´ve been thinking about is how if Christ wanted to, He could have everybody know about the Gospel in one mass meeting or however would work best. That feels like it would be a lot easier a lot of the time. But that is not His way. He works on an individual basis, showing love to each of us individually. There´s a song one by one on the youth lds site that I found during the mtc and meant to tell Kayla to look up. It´s been playing through my head the past few days. We are to do what He would do, and that is to work and walk and sweat for each individual at a time, inviting them to come to Christ. I´m thankful that He loves us enough to do that for us, and grateful for the opportunity I have to participate in His work. 

I think that´s everything I wanted to say for this week! Sorry if I missed questions or left anything out.

Love you all a ton and I am so grateful for you!!

Hey I´m working on pictures I´ll try to get you guys as many as I can!

oh I forgot to say that there are 11 hermanas coming in on the 18 and so that´s up and coming and scaring us all because most of them are American and there are only 11 areas for sisters in Argentina now, where they would have to be placed. I would die if I had to train and neither me nor hermana gonzalez want to leave, so we´re hoping to get an extra and be in a trio if something really does have to happen.

Just landed in posadas!

My thanksgiving alfajor - yes I’m really sweaty and disgusting all the time :)

I took this in the area that´s the most campo of my area. But if you ask the people if this is the campo, they say no. they live here, and people go to work in the campo farther out in the country. I´m fine with never visiting there haha