Temple blessings

Dear Family,

¡Hola!

I LOVE being a missionary! This week was super busy. My companion and I have been so busy that we get home so exhausted...it might be that we walk a lot! I think we walk like 10K each day! I wouldn't be surprised actually.

This week we have interviews with Presidente Parreño and then we have Stake Conference on Saturday and Sunday. And then the next week after that is the last week of the transfer. The weeks are flying by really fast.

This week we had some amazing experiences.  First of all, we have two investigators (Belén y Fernando) that are getting baptized this Friday! They are a married couple who have been meeting with the missionaries for a year or so. They are really prepared but the wife is a little nervous. We are praying that she and her husband can make the wonderful decision to get baptized this Friday!

And then, after contacting for many days we found this amazing family on Friday. The mother and her son came to church on Sunday. We are hoping to meet with them again and talk to the husband. They are very receptive to the Spirit and the son and mom both accepted to get baptized! Heavenly Father really has people prepared to hear the gospel! I love serving here in Santa Rosa! It truly is a city of miracles. My companion is also amazing. Each day I learn from her as she does her little acts of kindness. She is always willing to lend a helping hand to everyone we meet.  I hope that I can learn from her!

It rained the other day, after a very hot day.

The weather this week was hot and humid! I can't imagine what summer is going to be like here. The summer hasn't officially started yet either!  Its great though because I am getting a nice tan line :)

This week we have been teaching a lot about the temple. Yesterday in church my companion and I taught about temples and family history in the gospel principles class. I am so grateful for the temple. The blessings of the temple are available to all who change their life around to be worthy to enter. As we keep ourselves worthy to enter the temple we are preparing ourselves to return with our Heavenly Father again. The temple is the house of The Lord.   I love the temple and can't wait to enter again. If you haven't been to the Temple lately I invite you to do so. If you haven't been inside the Temple, I invite you to prepare to enter. It will change your life. Thanks to the restoration of of the Gospel and the restoration of the priesthood we can be sealed as families forever!

I love you all so much!

Alma 37:46 (last line) actually you can read Alma 37:38-47

Hermana Susana Zubeldia

La Pampa is different from other areas in Argentina

It is Spring time!

Typical Santa Rosa road

Santa Rosa streets

No mountains here. Tandil was all mountains.

Santa Rosa....i love it heres

Dear Family,

I love Santa Rosa so much.  I am so happy here. I am excited to continue to work this week and see miracles.  We are working a lot with the members and are finding many great people who are willing to hear our message.

This week we are going to refocus our efforts and align our work with the vision to help those who want to learn more.  This week is going to be amazing.  My companion is great. I didn't mention this two weeks ago but I am staying here another transfer haha.

This week we worked a lot with the members to visit many of our investigators.One of our investigators is named Sofía. She went to the General Conference session on Sunday and loved it. She had accepted to get baptized this last Saturday but for some reason she has postponed it for another week. We were a little disappointed but we know that she is feeling the Spirit more and more each time we meet with her. This week we talked with her about the temples and showed her a lot of pictures of the different temples. A member, her friend and neighbor, shared with Sofía her testimony of the temples. Sofía loved the temples and said that she would love to be sealed to her husband who passed away 4 years ago. I know that Sofía is progressing. Her daughter, is also warming up to us. Her daughter's name is Sofía too and she is in her early 20s.

I love you all so very much. I know that this Church is true. I now that the Book of Mormon is another testament that our Savior is the savior of the world. I know that as we have faith and keep working miracles happen. I know that happiness really is when we share the Gospel with those we love. I love Argentina and I love each one of you.

Love,

Hermana Susana Zubeldia

Una abuelita nos dió rosas! :)

Me and my companion!

Last week Soraya said it was princess day! So for my birthday we went to the park and I took these pictures in honor of Princess Day! :)

HAPPY PRINCESS DAY!!!!

Happy Birthday from Argentina!!

Dear Family,

Sorry that this letter is going to be short. I spent my time talking to Mami and Soraya through chat!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I can't believe that I am now 22 years old! Where does the time go by? Yesterday it hit me... in 8 years I will be 30! Yikes! :)

Conference was absolutely amazing! I felt that the talks were all for me. I really liked the talk about staying on the boat and holding on with both hands and the need to wear a life jacket! The gospel is the only thing that will keep us stafe and on the course to our heavenly father again. We are on a journey here on earth and need to stay on the boat so that we can live in the Celestial kingdom. As we trust in the Lord we can know that everything will be okay. This week I have learned a lot about Faith and trust in the Lord. I can't wait to read the talks from conference!!!

I love you all! Thank you for all your support and birthday wishes! Dont worry, I will celebrate a great birthday!!

Hermana Susana Zubeldia

Tuvimos divisiones con las hermana entrenadores!

Our ward mission leader has a sign outside of his house. He named his property: Helamán and Teáncum. What a great missionary family!!

It rained a little yesterday during Conference.

We had a little trouble trying to cross the streets.  Haha :)

My umbrella broke yesterday... Goodbye umbrella!

The garbage containers here are really creative! :)

My birthday this morning.

It's not a two on my head but a Z

She made all the crowns and the flower for me!

The flower of paper my companion made for me

Me hugging my companion this morning :) She is a great companion!

Miracles in Santa Rosa

Dear Family,

Well, this week has been wonderful. Yesterday, Sunday, was a very special day for me. All the talks in church talked about our purpose in life and about the reason as to why we need to continue our life with faith and hope.

I love being a missionary! I love sharing the Gospel and I love helping people come unto Jesus Christ. The work here in Santa Rosa, Argentina is moving forward really fast. We have been seeing many miracles and have been blessed in so many ways. Our investigators are progressing and moving forward.

My companion is wonderful. I'm so blessed to work with Hermana Godoy.  She teaches me everyday. I admire her desire to serve and her hard work. She had a lot of challenges before the mission and yet she was determined to serve the lord. I pray that one day her family will see what a wonderful daughter they have! I love her so much!

This week my companion and I talked a lot about the purpose of baptism.  During my study time yesterday I was studying about Sin and the need to be baptized and to receive the holy ghost.

Why are we baptized? This is a quesiton we ask many people. Many people are "baptized" when they are babies. Baptism isn't an inauguration ceremony into a certain church. Baptism is for the remission of sins.  Jesus Christ was baptized because he wanted to show us they way to  how we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again. When we are baptzied we are cleasned from sin! After are are baptized we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost sanctifies us. The Holy Ghost is also refereed to as baptism by fire.

For example, when we want to clean a pacifier we put it in water. But if we want to purify it we put it into boiling water. This cleansing process purifies the pacifier.  Just like this process, when we are baptized we are cleansed, and when we receive the Holy Ghost we are sanctified.

I know that our Heavenly Father loves us so much. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. It is because of him that each of us can change. It doesn't matter how old you are or where you live, we all can change and repent and try harder tomorrow. I know that people can change. I have seen miracles happen.  All it takes is faith in Jesus and determination to change.  Just like my brother Pablo said, The gospel is for everyone!

I love you all so very much! Have a great week!!

Hermana Susana Zubeldia

Hermana Godoy and me in the locutorio writing to you this morning.

Celebrating Hermana Williams' birthday

Summer is now here in Santa Rosa!!!

Dear Family,

This was a great week! My companion has been sick with the flu the past 4 days but she is doing a lot better today. We have been staying inside so that she can sleep because she hurts all over. I hope that she gets better!  Besides her being sick we have had a fantastic week!

We have been trying to work really hard with the investigators that we have. None of them could come to church yesterday but we are still going to work with them. Here is a summary of what we did this week:

Lunes (Monday)
For P-day we went to the laguna and spend a few hours strolling and talking. It was such a beautiful day and there was almost no one at the "lagoona" (English spelling?).

Martes (Tuesday)
We had district meeting! Hermana Loza was able to accompany us to two lessons and was able to bear amazing testimonies. One of the people we visited is a man who said that he has been on the search his entire life for the true church of Jesus Christ. Hermana Loza bore her testimony as to how reading the Book of Mormon changed her life and helped her find the true church. The man invited us back this next week to talk more about the Book of Mormon! I know that if he has a real desire to know if the Book of Mormon is true he will find out. His life long search is about to end!

Miércoles (Wednesday)
We had Lunch with a recent convert and she made us meat bread. It was really good! It was just like eating hamburger. We also were able to visit our investigator Sofía who is progressing so much! She loves reading the Book of Mormon and always reads what we leave her. We are now helping her recognize the spirit and the answers to her prayers.  We also had a beautiful lesson with our young investigator couple, Romina and Francisco! Francisco accepted to be baptized and now we are helping them get married! I love seeing their desire to get married.

Jueves (Thursday)
We had a beautiful FHE "Family Home Evening" with a family in our ward and Rosa and her family. Rosa, our investigator loved the FHE, specially the movie on the Restoration.  I hope that she starts to recognize the spirit and starts to read the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is the key to everything we do! We can't help someone become converted if they don't read the Book of Mormon.

Vienes (Friday) Sábado (Saturday) and Domingo (Sunday)
We stayed home because my companion was sick

During my study time yesterday I studied Alma 31-33. Read it and think about how you can increase your testimony.

Hoy (Today)
This morning we were able to go out a bit and visit a less active and an inactive family that we are trying to reactive. Its was great! We went food shopping and now I am emailing you!

I love you all!  Have a great week!!!

Hermana Susana Zubeldia

Me and my district

Me and Hermana Vera! I can't believe she finishes her mission today!!

Do you think we look good with these glasses??

Me and Hermana Williams

Me and my companion when we found out we have another transfer together!!! haha my companion is actually sick and wasn't looking at the camera :)

Good morning! This is us this morning!

May we never tire of doing good

Dear Family,

This has been a great week!!!!  I love being a missionary! This week is officially 15 months on the mission!! Where on earth does the time go? It definitely goes by way too fast! Each day on the mission is a miracle. Each day my companion and I go out and talk to everyone. One may say that we do the same thing everyday. "How crazy!? Don't you wish you could go home and take a break?" Honestly, no. I love being a missionary and I love studying, teaching, testifying, finding, talking to the members, and walking everywhere we go!!

This week my companion and I saw many miracles!! Yesterday, after weeks of working, 5 investigators came to church!!! I want to share with you one miracle that happened on Tuesday. After lunch we asked the hermana who invited us over to go out with us. After 40 minutes we didn't find anyone home or interested in listening to us. As we walked the hermana home she said she wanted to introduce us to her son's friends, Francisco and Romina. Romina is a less active and she and Francisco are about to get married. They were very happy to see us and accepted to listen to us. On Sunday they came to church!! They loved it!  Miracles happen when we work with the members.

Yesterday, after talking to a member about a reference he gave us told us to never tire of doing good. In D&C there is a scripture that says, Por tanto, no os canséis de hacer lo bueno, porque estáis poniendo los cimientos de una gran obra. Y de las cosas pequeñas proceden las grandes. (D&C 64:33)

May we never tire of doing good. Every act we do for good will one day be compensated. From the little acts each day miracles will happen. Its like the parable of the 12 virgins, little by little, drop by drop we add oil to our lamps for when the time comes that the Savior appears we will be ready. De las cosas pequeñas proceden las grandes!!!

Have a great week family!
I love you all so very much!

Hermana Zubeldia

We made cinnamon rolls y Sopa Paraguaya

From Hermana Williams

EMERGENCY TRANSFER...and I got caught right in the middle haha

Good day everyone :)

My new companion, Hermana Morgan

Well the story goes like this...we were grocery shopping in Bahía Blanca and we get a call. Hermana Asencios answered and I thought the Elders had told her that Jose Luis was going to be baptized at 6:00....wahhoooo! But no. Hermana looked at me with red eyes and tells me I'm leaving to Santa Rosa, La Pampa at 6:00. Seriously? I couldn't believe her for a while because there were still 3 weeks left of the transfer. And now here I am, in La Pampa- area Santa Rosa 4th ward- with a new companion Hermana Morgan, from Kentucky! We lived together my first transfer in Bahía Blanca (the house with 6 Hermanas) and here we are again together as companions.

So this week has been SUPER interesting and exceptionally difficult. I don't know what it was but when I left, of course I was super rushed and sad (I almost missed my bus and 5 of us missionaries were running to wave it down J oops) But when I arrived here and got all settled, the next morning I was super tired but super pumped!! I just felt that God wanted and needed me here for a purpose.
What has happened is that:

1. I am Senior companion and I was freaking out about that. But I have already learned so much in this position and also learned more that the title "Senior" doesn't mean I have to do it all by myself. My companion still is learning the language but shares thoughts that really help me feel the spirit and teach me. It is super amazing. I am really trying to help her learn the importance of contacting daily and inviting people to baptism!

With Hermana Zubeldia again!

2. We live 4 Hermanas in this house and guess who lives with us....HERMANA FREAKING ZUBELDIA!!! hahaha I can't describe how much of a joy it was to see her and it is to be with her again. Wow, I tell you it just made me even more happy to be here! Her companion is Hermana Godoy from Paraguay.

3. We had a baptism on Saturday and confirmation Sunday!! Her name is Betiana and though I did not teach her much before her baptism I already love her and her 4 cute kids. They are a handful but if you know me, you know I love kids and it's just fun J haha So she is 23, single, with 4 kids and was an investigator for like 5 years before she decided to be baptized. WHAT A MIRACLE. And I was able to be a part of it.

4. There are also 3 other couples listening to us from before I got here that just need to get married and they are good to be baptized! They obviously need more lessons but they have the most important part: the DESIRE. It is amazing! We just really need to be in tune with the spirit to know how to touch them so they can get married now! Because there is NO reason to prolong the day of our repentance, the day we receive so many blessings.

5. All I will say is that our ward has a lot of difficulties. Things that make our work as missionaries VERY hard, and made a lot of members inactive. But one thing I do know is that I'm not going to give up. Because (not by chance) I was talking to Hermana Asencios before I left about focus. She gave me to counsel that I should pray for more trials so I can notice the miracles even more and learn more! Well that is what I did... and a few days later I got transferred here. I know I am here with my companion for a reason and we are going to kill everyone with kindness! We are already finding lots of prepared people and working a ton. I have so much faith and I am so grateful for my trials.

Through leaving a great area, coming in to an area needing lots of work, getting super lost in the area many times, and having people give me sad faces because they want the other missionary that was here instead of me has really just made me understand the importance of this work even more. I understand the Atonement and am really learning how to apply the love and sacrifice of the Savior for ME into my life and my teachings.

I love being here! I love this work! And I am going to continue in it ALWAYS...it is a part of me and I know my life will be forever changed for the decision to serve my Lord and for the people that have come into my life since then.

Jesus only asks:

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Follow Him:)

Amo a todos… que tengan una semana buenísima!

Hermana Williams

With Hermana Godoy