Happy birthday and a wonderful baptism!

Dear Family,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOFIA AND SORAYA!!!

Priscilla the day of her baptism.

This has been a fantastic week!! I love serving the lord! I love the cold weather that we are having and the wonderful times I am having with my companion. The miracle of the week is that our friend Priscila was baptized this Saturday!! She was so excited for her baptism and couldn't wait to get the Holy Ghost on Sunday. Her whole family came to the baptism. Her family is coming back to activity in the church and were happy for Priscila!

Also, yesterday we were privileged to have Presidente Parreño and Hermana Parreño speak in our Branch. They talked about being focused on our goals in life and about the blessings of the Gospel. Here is a summary of my notes from Sacrament meeting:

• Faith in Jesus Christ causes us to want to change and we feel the need and desire to repent. Our sorrow for what we have done helps us remember that the Savior can help us. Through a purification process (baptism) we can start over.
  
• We need to trust in the Lord because everything will end up all right.
  
• We need to focus on the will of the Lord. He has no limits and will help us. There is hope even in the darkest of moments. If we focus our life on the eternal perspective there is nothing that is temporal. This is why we need to live the commandments, because everything we do has eternal consequences, for good and bad.
  
• In D&C 38:68 it has a promise that if we focus our life on the glory of God we can one day see him Face to Face!! What a glorious promise
  

I am so grateful for the wonderful process of Repentance. I am learning that as we confide in the Lord and allow him to help us we can have an eternal perspective. I am grateful for the Atonement and for the ability to see beyond the now and hope for a wonderful future with my family in the Celestial kingdom.

I hope you have a great week!!!

Love,

Hermana Susana Zubeldia

Three missionary flavors, commemorating the fútbol!

We had a storm this week.

Preparing the baptismal font for Priscila.

Hermana Burgos and me.

Us walking and our shadows.

Walking home we stopped to swing for a second! :-)

Tongue! A member gave us tongue for lunch! Yep....it wasn't that bad.

A picture of our area.

A big storm came in! A nice day into rain! It was fun!

First homemade alfajor!!!

A whole year serving the Lord

Dear Family,

What a fantastic week down here in Tandil, Argentina!  I can't believe how fast the time is flying. I feel that each day just goes by and the weeks even faster. This week I have been on the mission a whole year! In just 5 months I will be home celebrating with you all! Where does the time go? 

I have been reflecting this week on the past year here in Argentina. When I started the mission I didn't know what to expect. I knew everyone told me it was the best two years of their life and that they learned a lot. I knew it was going to be hard and that it was going to be a challenge. I started the mission expecting the unexpected and it truly has been nothing like I have imagined. It has been better than I had dreamed. 

This week I had an incredible experience that reminded me why I decided to serve a mission and the purpose to serve.  We were knocking on doors as usual and not many people were opening their doors to us. At one door we started talking to a young man (about 25 years old) about the restoration of the gospel. Because he was evangelical and a student in History we started to talk about the history in the Bible and the history of the prophets. My companion and I testified to him that there IS a prophet of God on the earth again and that he can know by asking our Heavenly Father in prayer. He said he would, and he gladly accepted to offer the closing prayer. After we left, my companion and I had the feeling that we should have invited him to baptism. We stopped walking, turned around and walked back to his house. I rang the door bell and immediately the young man opened the door. He looked at us and said,"¿si?" At that moment I felt the Spirit fill my body and my companion confidently invited him to be baptized if he received an answer to his prayers. He said no, but that he would pray and then see. Even though he said no, my companion and I left his house the second time feeling the Spirit in our hearts and we knew that we had done what we were supposed to do. Sometimes its hard to testify to people because of the fear of what they might say or reject our invitations. However, as we confidently trust in the Lord he will put in our hearts, minds and mouths what we need to say.  I am so grateful that we returned to this young man's house and testified to him a second time. 

We are teaching a lot of people. This weekeend, our friend, Priscilla, a 9 year old girl is getting baptized! Her family has come back to church and we have had the wonderful opportunity to help her prepare for baptism. I am really happy for this family and for the wonderful blessings they are and will receive.  The gospel has already been blessing this small yet wonderful family.  

This morning I was reading in Enos and I wanted to share with you all the last words that Enos writes. He says,

"Y me regocijo en el día en que mi ser mortal se vestirá de inmortalidad, y estaré delante de Él; entonces veré su faz con placer, y Él me dirá: Ven a mi, tu, que bendito eres; hay un lugar preparado para ti en las mansiones de mi Padre.´´

  

What a wonderful knowledge that Enos had as he was considering what was going to happen after this life. I think that each of us can also have this hope that if we do all that we can in this life and follow our Savoir by keeping his commandments we can have with a sure hope, just like Enos, that we can be with our family again in the presence of our Heavenly Father. 

I am so grateful to get to share this wonderful hope with the people here in Argentina.

I hope you all have a great week! I love you!

Hermana Zubeldia

The Rain, el Mundial, wind, and miracles in Tandil :)

Dear Family,

I am glad that Daniel and Levi are safe from their trip! I hope to see pictures next week!!! 

Hermana Burgos and I on a cold windy day.

Just like my dear sister Sarah, it has rained almost everyday this week here in Tandil. I just love it! Its kinda cold but its fun to contact with my companion. There aren't that many people outside but when there are we contact them! haha. 

Yesterday, Argentina played against Germany for the world cup championship. Because of the game, no one was outside. We didn't know what to do. We could either contact and have every door shut in our face or contact those in the streets (the few that there were). We had walked all afternoon and hadn't taught all day. 

 

The streets are totally empty. Everybody is watching the fútbol.

As we  walked we saw this woman in front of us walking slowly and we decided to talk to her. Talking to her was a miracle! Heavenly Father knows his children and puts us in the paths of those who need His help.  This lady told us that just 20 days ago her husband died and because she didn't want to be alone she had gone on a walk. We walked with her 4 blocks and told her of this wonderful plan of Salvation. I don't know if she will read the pamphlet we gave her but I do know that we were able to help her in that moment. Her tear stained face turned into a smile and a "Thank you-." I am grateful to be able to share this wonderful gospel.  

I am doing great!!!  This week was a great week full of miracles and wonderful people met. I find that each day on the mission is different. Its hard, actually, this has been some of the hardest two weeks here in Tandil. We have had a hard time helping our investigators progress and feel the desire to pray. Sometimes I wonder why becoming converted is so difficult, for us and for the people we meet.  I am realizing that the first thing people need to do to know if this is THE church of Jesus Christ is by reading the Book of Mormon. 

Yesterday during church the theme was baptism and the book of Mormon. A brother talked about becoming converted through reading the book of Mormon. I really liked what he talked about because it was what my companion and I needed to hear.  In the scripture guide it says that a testimony is to have knowledge.  However, having knowledge doesn't mean we have a testimony. The only way to have a testimony is to ask God in prayer. To strengthen our testimony we need to daily study the scriptures and then ask God if its true. Otherwise, our knowledge is just knowledge. As we read the Book of Mormon we will gain scripture knowledge, but its when we ask in sincerity and faith that that knowledge becomes real.  I know this is true. I have always had a knowledge of the Book of Mormon but its been through my study  of it during the mission that I have really gained my personal testimony. I have asked in prayer and I will continue to ask in prayer. I am grateful for this wonderful book because it has helped me see that my Heavenly Father has a plan for each one of us. Life does have purpose.

I hope that this week you all can continue to read the Book of Mormon. If you haven't read it before, I encourage you to start. After reading, pray to know if what you read is true. If you do, I promise you that you will know for yourself through the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon is the word of our Father in Heaven. 

I love you all! Have a great week! Thanks for your letters!!!

Hermana Zubeldia

 

 Tandil, our area.

Last P-day we went to La Movediza. It's a rock! jaja

Hermana Burgos and I

Some days are really cold in Tandil.

Tandil by night. It is so cold that nobody wants to step out on the street.

Even on Saturday, before the fútbol final, there was nobody on the streets. And yes... Argentina got second in the world cup... everyone broke the sabbath here to watch the game! bummer....

La familia Correa

This picture reminds me of Jerusalem!

This week.

Look! There is a licor named 8 Hermanos!! I had to take a pic!

Pictures of last transfer

Here are a few more pictures of the last transfer with Hermana Williams

Tandil - El lugar soñado (the dreamed city)

Dear Family,

This week was fantastic!! I love my new companion! Hermana Burgos and I are so happy to be missionaries. We have a lot of new goals this transfer together here in Tandil. We are learning a lot and have been getting to know each other. One of the things that I love about my new companion is her testimony of the gospel. 10 years ago her family was baptized after her sister met the missionaries in Arequipa. Her family was prepared to meet the Gospel and I know that the Gospel has blessed their life tremendously. Hermana Burgos has a brother on the mission in Mendoza, Argentina. 

Yesterday was really windy and cold.

This week we have enjoyed the rain and the wind. Yesterday and Saturday, we got all wet from the rain and our faces froze from the cold wind that blew all day! (Nos mojamos con la lluvia y nos congelamos la cara y las manos con el viento helado!) Everyday is such an adventure!! I will never forget all of the things we are experiencing! There are so many stories to tell! 

   

Yesterday we found a great family that let us into their house because it was raining and because of the wind. They didn't seem that much interested in our message but they listened and asked a couple of questions. There is a reason why they were the only people that opened their door to us yesterday. :) The Lord leads his servants to his children who are ready to hear the gospel... even if they don't know it yet! :)

My new companion, Hermana Burgos.

We also found another great family this week. Hermana Burgos and I were knocking on doors before a lesson. We knocked on a door and a man came out. He said he knew us (me and my old companion Hermana Williams) because he drove us one time in his taxi. I didn't remember him at the moment but I agreed with him anyways :) He let us in and we got to know his whole family! They are so wonderful and different from other families that I have meet here. They were very kind and told us they would love it if we came back another day. We couldn't stay for more than 10 minutes because we had another lesson to go to! I  can't wait to go back and share with them the wonderful blessings of the Gospel that can change their life!

 

We have to bundle up in layers. It is so cold!!!

The elders in our zone are really trying to help us stay excited for the work. Its funny some of the things that they do to help us! One morning, they called us at 8 am exactly (the time we are supposed to start studying). They told us that they needed all 4 of us to go outside because they needed to talk to us. My first thought was, why are they outside? They should be studying... We went outside and they surprised us with a gallon of ice cream and told us thanks for all the work that we do! Scriptures were written on the carton of ice cream! Yep, it was the best breakfast ever -- ice cream!!!

 

Not only ice cream, we eat real food too!

This week our District (stake) started a challenge to read the Book of Mormon in 45 days! Us missionaries are going to do the challenge too! This means that each morning I have to read 14 pages of the Book of Mormon! Its a challenge but it has been a great experience. I am so grateful to get to read the Book of Mormon and feel the spirit each day. This book truly is inspired and contains the words of a loving heavenly father who wants to help us.

   

I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that he translated this ancient record for our time. I know that when we read the Book of Mormon we can gain a greater understanding that we really are children of God. I know that this church is the Church of Jesus Christ and that we have a prophet on the earth today -- a prophet just like Moses and Abraham. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I am so grateful to share this Gospel with the people in Argentina. I love being a missionary!!!

   

If I can give you one challenge this week, it is to open up the Book of Mormon and start reading. If you haven't read it before, I promise you that if you do, your life will be changed forever. I say this because my life has been changed.

Have a great week!

Les quiero muchísimo!

 

Hermana Zubeldia

Even inside our apartment we have to do our best to stay warm!