….And a Happy New Year

Well, this week was great! I was blessed with the chance to see the greatest people ever! I loved Skyping for Christmas! I  hope you all had a great Christmas!

Wanna hear a funny story....?

Once upon a time yesterday, It started POURING OUT OF NO WHERE. So me and my comp start booking it home to get some umbrellas and baggies for our scriptures!!!!!

We finally get there.... and our house is flooded.

So we hurry and sweep all the water out! (SAFE!)

Then we get up to leave, and find that a group of young men decided to get wasted right in front of our door. So we cant leave. No way! Two white girls, in skirts, trying to leave through a group of 6 drunk guys. NO THANK YOU. So, we had to stay inside and wait for the to leave... We spent this two hours listening to a conference session on CD that I got for Christmas (THANK YOU FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). It was super great:) ha ha eventually, they walked away from our door, so we left!

Also, this week, we had the wonderful opportunity to see 6 people be baptized into the ward!  We showed up, and there wasn't a single dry baptism dress! and they needed three! Luckily, our house is only a few short blocks from the chapel, so we RUN HOME, and grab my blow dryer, and blow dried the dresses!:) It was such a fun day! Blow drying the dresses... I knew my blow dryer would come in handy!:)

Welp, I hope you all are safe this week! Put some great new years resolutions!:) Love you all!

Hna Arave

OOPS

SO last week I ran out of time before the picture finished loading, so the email never sent! so here is the part from last week!

Welp! This week was interesting! Last night we were in the middle of our planning, and our zone leaders call. We aren't allowed to answer or call anyone in our planning...  We decide to wait.. they call again... three times, and we figure it is something important! So we answer, and they tell me that I have an emergency transfer. I´m leaving Santa Cruz (in the city) and I am going to Tarija! which is about an hour´s plane ride away from the city. it is another part of Bolivia. There was an hermana there who got sick, so they swapped us places so she could be next to the doctor. WAH. It was so sad. So, after packing up, at 5 this morning I left for the airport... and now I am writing from TARIJA!" It is so beautiful! it reminds me of a Utah summer! hot, but not very humid! AND THERE ARE MOUNTAINS. So I am in HEAVEN. haha I love mountains...

There was more... but I dont know where it was lost at... So! ha this week was good! I love my companion! We have had so many opportunities to serve! We also had a baptism of an adorable lady, Elva. Her son baptized her! he has been a member for a little less than a year, and now his mom is a member! THEY WERE SO HAPPY! I have never seen so much joy! I cant wait till they can go to the temple together!

I am so grateful as well that I worked in physical therapy before my mission! My comp, Hna Davenport, has trouble with her knees.. and So we started having a bit of physical therapy time each day, and she says the improvement is incredible! I learned so handy dandy exercises for knees (Thank You Nate Goff!) and it has been so cool! Her knees still bug her a bit, but not to the point we need to stop and rest! So i am happy!:) She only has a small bit of time in the mission left.... she goes home at the beginning of march. She is from Idaho!

This week we also got to help an investigator prepare for her wedding... woo! it was so great! haha :) I love when i see people here changing like that. It is pretty common to be talking to an old couple and ask "how long have you guys been married?"

"oh, we aren't married. we have just been living together for 52 years."
".............."

I am so happy when I hear of a wedding of someone outside of the gospel. YAY

 I LOVE YOU ALL. I hope you all have a great Christmas! Please, remember the reason for the season and serve others!:)

Love, Hna Arave













Note from mom... sorry this should have been posted last Monday I found out our internet was too slow to skype her and spent several day getting  our internet upgraded (harder than you think when you only have a couple days) I forgot to post this.

 This week, we had such an amazing experience! We were supposed to go with a sister in the ward to visit a man investigator, and LAST MINUTE  she backed out. We tried calling other members to see if they could come, and no one could! finally, we call hna Miriam. She said she couldn't, she had a ton of stuff to do and her mom was sick.... which has been normal since i got here. her  mom is super sick. ha I had the strongest impression that she needed help, so we went to go help her instead... Luckily, all of our appointments fell through for the rest of the night. As we showed up to her house, it was a wreck. three week old dishes, laundry up to the ceiling, dirt caked on the floor... and Miriam was in the  middle of a breakdown. AS we sat down to talk to her, she said she feels so horrid, because she feels like God is begging for her time, and she has no way to give it. Her mom had fallen down the day before and started throwing up blood. she cant leave her mom! As she tried telling us how sorry she was, how badly she needed to help the Lord bring souls unto him, we told her that that was not the case!!! Sometimes, the Lord needs to correct US. He needs to show us that we need to be somewhere else, doing something else, so bless the lives of his children. This was his way of telling us what was really important...We spent the rest of the day helping her clean, wash, fold, scrub, throw stuff away, while she sat with her mom and talked to her. It was such an amazing experience to be able to be the Lords hand in the life of someone else. as we left, we could tell that Miriam was feeling so much more peaceful. She told us that missionaries really are the angels send among the children of men. I love being on the mission! 

We are in the process of decorating our house for the wonderful season of Christmas!!! We have snowflakes... that is it! haha but they are looking good!!! :) i hope you all have a wonderful week! serve others, it is wonderful!!:) haha Love you all! 

Hermana arave

He is the gift!

Please, if you haven't heard of He is the Gift (I dont know how it is in English...) PLEASE SEARCH FOR IT! Please share it with everyone!!

This week was good! I am excited for the transfers this week! We shall see what they bring! 

I hope your thanksgiving was good, and that you all had great luck on Black Friday! I hope you all are preparing greatly for Christmas. 

I am so grateful for the Gift of Jesus Christ in my life. This week that has been the greatest impact. Being able to share the message of his birth in a new light, because it is Christmas! I want you all to know that I have a testimony of the infinite power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. May we all remember the reason we celebrate Christmas as the day draws closer. Please, share this message with everyone. Let everyone know of the greatest gift they can ever receive!

It has been super hot here, and super rainy! I hope you all are enjoying your snow! ha ha I love being here. The mission is the best! 

Please, share the message of Christ's birth with everyone!!! 

I love the church! I love the gospel! I love being a missionary!!!!!!!:)

Love, Hna Arave