The miracle of working with the members

Dear family,

Sorry that this letter is going to be short. I tried to email all of my cute little siblings individually today and so it cut my time writing you all collectively.

My companion, Hermana Godoy

I am doing great. My companion is amazing. She pushes each day to try hard and to work every moment. She is very diligent and is helping me a lot. Haha, I think she is training me.

This week we saw miracles happen. We were able to work with the members in our ward each and every day and they gave us many references. We have been blessed to find many families who are ready to accept the gospel, families who once had listened to the missionaries but for one reason or another stopped. They all have accepted to allow us to come back and to start over. My companion and I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to work with them and the members together.

This week my companion and I are trying to Work diligently and obediently. We are learning that as we work diligently each day with Faith, that we will find and we will be able to continue to see miracles. I know that miracles happen and I know that there are people who are ready to hear the gospel.

DyC 122 verses 7-8

Thank you so much for all you have done for me. I am grateful to have been born into this wonderful family.

Santa Rosa is a lot warmer than Tandil

My companion is amazing!

Spring is starting. This place is beautiful!!!

They even have real churros, like in Spain.

The other day it was hailing. From hot hot hot to cold cold and wet.

It was fun for Hermana Godoy with tall boots.

Our area was flooded and it was definitely fun to try to figure out a way to cross and not get my shoes wet.

As you can see, it rained A LOT!!!

Santa Rosa!

Dearest Family,

Bueno, Santa Rosa is a beautiful little city in the middle of the Provincia de la Pampa. Truly we are working hard and seeing lots of miracles.  Santa Rosa is very different than Tandil in many different ways.  First of all, the weather here is really hot! Today, after 5 months of wearing my heavy coat and thick tights we left our apartment in short sleeves and our hair tied up. Haha, yesterday I got sunburn because of the sun. Its only spring and I can only imagine what summer is going to be like here :) Also, La Pampa is known for the wind and it has definitely been windy here! I love the wind though.

I'm glad to hear that Sofia and Daniel like their braces! I can't believe that Soraya is now is Kindergarten! Please send pictures! Also, Levi have fun at Fairfield next week! Daniel, good luck at Davis! Guess what? The other missionary in my ward just got here to Argentina and he went to Davis. He knows Brianna Barlow. His name is Elder Swenson! Ask Brianna if she knows him. :)

Just like Pablo, I have been blessed to go to a city where a lot of Zubeldias live. In just my area there are about 2 Zubeldia Families. I haven't contacted them yet but don't worry, I definitely will be getting to it. Papi, next week can you send me a genealogy chart and names of your grandparents and their siblings? I want to contact the Zubeldias here and see the relationship! I am really excited! There is a Pablo Zubeldia here who is teacher to two youth in my ward!

This week we had a great experience with our Ward mission leader.  We went with him to contact a couple of his neighbors. We were able to find a young married couple who just over a year ago almost got baptized but didn't for some reason. With the mission leader we were able to enter and teach them again and they agreed to meet with us again.  We also were able to give one of his neighbors a Book of Mormon and they accepted to read it. We are seeing miracles here in Santa Rosa as we are starting to work with the members. There is such a Spirit here in the ward. We have already recieved many referrals from members of family and friends. This week we already have planned to go out with a couple of members.

I love being a missionary. Each day my testimony is strengthened of how wonderful the gospel of Jesus Christ is. This week, for the 12 week training program of my companion we have been studying the importance of the Book of Mormon.  I bear my testimony that when someone reads the Book of Mormon with real intent and prays about it that they WILL receive an answer. I confide in the promise given in Moroni 10.

The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God's dealings with ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains the fullness of the everlasting Gospel.

The crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after His resurrection. It puts forth the doctrines of the Gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come.

We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moroni 10:3–5.)

Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is His revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the Second Coming of the Messiah.

I bear my testimony that I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that he restored the gospel of Jesus Christ back to the earth. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only church on the earth that holds the priesthood and has the AUTHORITY of Jesus Christ to perform the saving ordinances that help us return to live with our Heavenly Father again.  I know this is true because I have prayed about it and felt the peace of the spirit confirm to me that it is true.  I invite you all to continue to read the Book of Mormon and ask in prayer if it is true. If you do so, I promise that you too will know that Joesph Smith was a prophet of God.

I love you all so very much and I hope that you have a wonderful day!

Hermana Susana Zubeldia

Good bye Tandil and Hello Santa Rosa!

Dear FAMILY!!

I've been transferred to Santa Rosa, Province of La Pampa! I am in Barrio 2 and my amazing new companion is Hermana Godoy from Paraguay! I am going to help finish her 12 week training. However she doesn't need it because she such a focused missionary and has such a love for the work. I am so excited to work with her and see and make tons of miracles this transfer.

My companion Hermana Burgos and I

Right now I am in the cyber cafe and the music playing is from the musical Wicked. The song is called "For good."  Listening to the lyrics it reminds me of each of my companions. The lyrics say, "I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason... bringing something we must learn to help us grow if we let them and help them in return."  Truly this is how I feel about my last companion Hermana Burgos. She truly taught me a lot through her service and humble character. Even though we were only together for a transfer I will always remember her and her service she rendered to the people of Tandil and to me.

I loved Tandil. It was hard to say goodbye to all of the wonderful members that made me feel like family and goodbye to our investigators. Tandil really is a LUGAR SOÑADO.  I want to come back and take you parents to visit all the wonderful people here. The 6 months I got to serve in Tandil taught me a lot about my purpose as a missionary. It tried me at all points but it strengthened my testimony as to the divinity of this wonderful work.

This week, due to some illness I wasn't able to work as much as I wanted to however, the time I was able to work was incredible. We were blessed to find many people to teach and blessed to have members accompany us in almost every lesson this week.

Walking to our lunch with the Romero family.

One of the many miracles that I witnessed this week was finding a referral given to us by a member. On Monday we had scheduled a FHE with a member and upon arriving she told us not to take off our coats because she wanted to introduce us to her neighbors. We met her neighbors and found out that this family 5 years ago almost got baptized but because of family challenges stopped meeting with the missionaries. The sons, five of them, were excited when we invited them to church. The member bore her testimony to them and the mother of this family started to tear up. She said that she was now ready to hear the missionaries again and go to church. I am so grateful to know that even when it seems that no one wants to hear our message there are always people who are willing to hear... we just need to find them and WORK WITH THE MEMBERS. In Tandil, I learned how to work with the members.

I love you all so very much. I am grateful to be a missionary to share this gospel with everyone I get to meet.

LOVE YOU.

Hermana Susana Zubeldia

Me, my companion and Alejo :)

The cutest little dog ever! He is 4 months old.

Last meal together with Hermana Burgos!!!

Look! I cooked this :) 

Tandil - The gospel is wonderful

Dear Family,

My week working with Hermana Zurita!

What a fantastic week!! This week we did Super Divisiones! I worked in another area for a week with another sister (Hermana Zurita). We worked really hard and found tons of people to teach! Truly, wherever we go there are people who are ready to hear the gospel. I have learned a lot this week from Hermana Zurita.

This week I have been thinking a lot about the reason behind why we do missionary work. Hermana Parreño and Presidente Parreño talked with us last week about how to keep our focus on the why of missionary work. During or zone meeting with our district leaders they also shared with us the purpose behind all the work that we do. In a talk called, "Why do we do missionary work" by Elder Oaks it says:

The doctrinal basis of missionary work is contained in the Savior’s statement to Nicodemus: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).

The “kingdom of God” referred to here is the celestial kingdom.

We do not preach and teach in order to “bring people into the Church” or to increase the membership of the Church. We do not preach and teach just to persuade people to live better lives. We honor and appreciate the many ministers and others who are involved in the kind of ministry that makes bad men good and good men better. That is important, but we offer something more. One can qualify for the terrestrial kingdom instead of the telestial kingdom without the aid of this Church. We are concerned with a higher destination.

The purpose of our missionary work is to help the children of God fulfill a condition prescribed by our Savior and Redeemer. We preach and teach in order to baptize the children of God so that they can be saved in the celestial kingdom instead of being limited to a lesser kingdom. We do missionary work in order to baptize and confirm. That is the doctrinal basis of missionary work.

What a wonderful calling it is to share the gospel with the people of Argentina!

I hope you all have a great week! I love you and pray for you everyday! Thank you for all your letters!!!

Love,

Hermana Susana Zubeldia

We worked in Hermana Zurita's area until late.

Look: my hair has grown a lot on the mission!!!

My companion and I made lunch... I'm learning how to cook! :)

 My companion caught me playing the piano.

We use the planner all the time.

Hermana Martinez and me.