*Disclaimer from Amy - Jessica has asked me not to post her emails as frequently for the time being, but since this email mentioned a number of her friends by name (who have blogs as well), I figured this one was okay to post. Now, on with Jessica's email:
Hey! Okay, we are on for skype!!! That means we will get to talk FACE TO FACE!! Almost. And sorry about the time mix up, I meant 2:00 your time. So that should be good right? I´m not exactly sure about how skyping works but I believe you need to set up an account and add the heath´s to your list or something so maybe you could email them or something.
Well I am unceasingly spoiled. I left district this week with FIVE packages! The elders gave me a hard time but it was all just fun and games as they helped me carry them out to a taxi. I got two big ones from mom plus the little cake one with my medicine, I got the birthday one from amy and paul and I promise I didn´t read the thing, I ripped it off and threw it away but I love the party hats and stuff. We had dinner with the Heath´s yesterday and her birthday was this week, so while she was getting dinner ready we set the table with a party hat and whistle on each place. It looked really cute and she was so suprised when she came out and saw it. She thought it was pretty hilarious and we also put a candle in the dessert and I gave her a little hand sanitizer, very useful here with taking buses all the time. I also got a package from the ward. We have such a great ward! The little notes from the primary and relief society were so nice and they really stuffed the box with good treats, I will try to get a thank you note sent to them. This morning I had lots of fun making little baggies for all of the hermanas. I put in a little card, some treats, and a hand sanitizer or lotion. Mom, those were such an awesome idea and you sent so many! I even had a couple leftovers! Thank you so so much! They turned out really cute, I will try and send you some pictures. Also tomorrow we are having interviews and Hna Heaton wants everyone to bring a white elephant gift, I am going to take a notebook from the package I got from our ward that has a kitten and flowers on the front and in the corner of every page, I can´t wait to see the look on whatever elder´s face that gets it! I am also tying it up with a box of mac n cheese and some cookies though.
The new change is going okay. Hermana Humphries is really fun and sweet but I do not like being senior companion. It is no good. I don´t know what to do and feel so stumped when it comes to making all the decisions. But we are still alive and healthy so I guess it´s going alright. Today we went over to the mission home to help Hermana Heaton bag up cookies. THis week is interviews and she has been very busy making cookies to give to everyone for Christmas. There were two elders there who are ending their missions this week and also a senior hermana so while she and hna heaton baked us for missionaries bagged. They had these long skinny bags and they were originally going to but a small banana bread and cookies on a plate and then in the bag but it didn´t really fit with the plate, so I came up with a better idea. We put the bread in and then tied it with curly ribbon, then we put a stack of cookies in the rest of the bag from where it had been tied and tied it again with a another color of ribbon. they turned out very cute, you would have been proud of me. It was fun too and I taught Elder Pacheco how to curl ribbon and told them how I used to be able to curl ribbon on my braces. It was funny. They also asked me where I learned to play soccer, apparently word spreads fast around the mission. It´s embarrassing though since I really don´t even play that well.
THis week we at with a lady named Alba. She is kind of different and doesn´t make the best food. But this time she gave us so much rice and milanesa I don´t know how I stuffed it all in me. Then she brought out dessert. I don´t know what it was but it was gross. I promise we have never done this before but we put napkins on our laps and put our bites there when she wasn´t looking. I felt bad throwing it a way after we left but probably not too bad because we were laughing pretty hard. WHat are all of your Christmas plans? Are you going to have a Christmas party? Can you send me pictures of the Christmas tree?
I got a letter this week from Lanae Carmichael, she is waiting for her mission call! Wonder where she will go. Also, Rochelle had been putting in her papers a while ago and I´m wondering if she got her call ever, I haven´t heard from her for a while.
Just to remind you, next week Pday is on Christmas so I will not talk to you until that night, but please email me before monday so that i can read your emails on tuesday anyways! I don´t know how I´m going to go so long. I did hit my nine month mark this week so that has been kind of a nice feeling but I still can´t believe I have nine more to go...ugh. I try to be positive but sometimes I don´t feel like ever made that adjustment that I was waiting to happen when I was in my first few changes. I try to take solace though in knowing that I am well on my way though now. I realized on tuesday when I was talking with hna garnder and flores at the bus terminal that after this change I will be the fourth oldest hermana in the mission. Hopefully the second half goes faster than the first.
Well I am out of time, I can´t WAIT to talk to you next sunday. I am sorry I didn´t get Christmas cards sent out to you but thank you for all of the Christmas packages that you sent to me! I love you all so so much! Try to think of questions or write down ahead of time anything that you want to talk about next week. I love you! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Love, Jessica
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
You even put in wired ribbon!!
It seems a lot longer ago, but last Tuesday we had our zone conference. It was pretty good and president heaton talked about gathering sheep and brought a big bell that you would tie around a sheeps neck and kept ringing it, then later he grabbed hna heaton around the neck with a sheperd´s staff. We also did a three legged race. It was pretty good.
We had a really good thanksgiving day actually. We had a really awesome day of work, tiring, but awesome. Everyone we talked to was really receptive. We had seven lessons and found six new investigators just in that one day. I asked Hna Gardner if she was fasting without telling me or what she had said in her morning prayers because the Lord was blessing us! Hopefully we can get these people to progress! That night we ate Thanksgiving dinner with the Heaths, the senior couple in our ward. The hermana went all out with mashed potatoes and gravy, a big beautiful chicken since there is no turkey to be found here, delicious yams, stuffing, rolls, and a really good carrot pie that tasted like pumpkin pie. It was so nice of them to have us over and we really enjoyed talking with them and spending the holiday there. It sounds like you all had good thanksgiving days too. And now we have less than a month until the Christmas phone call. YAY!
Yesterday was our ward´s primary program. There aren´t that many kids, maybe 12-15, which I guess isn´t too small, but they realy did a good job. They sang loud, said there lines, and just looked cute. There were these two Americans that came to Sacrament meeting that have just been traveling around South America. The guy didn´t speak Spanish and the girl just barely did so he asked Hermana Gardner to transalte for him. It was funny and kind of weird for some reason, I guess just because they were so obviously americans but not missionaries, maybe it just made me realize how out of place we probably look. It also made me think of Amy and Paul because they were carrying big packs, you know amazing race style.
Later yesterday we were walking own the street and Hna Gardner had a little outburst. We were passing by these guys and as always they started to say things to us that we hear a billion times a day and Hna Gardner just lost it. It was so funny because she has never even come close to doing this before but she just wheeled around and said ´´can we we just have a little bit of respect please?´´ It wasn´t really all that bad, mostly just funny because it came out of nowhere. The guy looked pretty taken back and sheepishly pointed at his buddy as if he had said it. I wonder if he will ever say anything to sister missionaries again or if he will just be worse than ever. It was pretty hilarious though.
This morning we played soccer with the zone, it was fun but I am super out of shape. It is time for me to diet! Did you happen to make the Christmas treats low fat? Haha, oh well I´ll just have to make it a new years resolution. Next week is changes and I really don´t know what will happen so I will let you know, cross your fingers that I don´t have to be a senior comp!
Talk to you later!
All my love, Jessica
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
5 weeks to Christmas phone call!!
Hey everyone! Thanks for the great letters and emails I´ve been gettting from you! Dad and Ryan...I´m waiting! I really really liked Amy and Paul´s emails about their missions, Amy there are tons of testigos here, jehova´s witness, and they do missionary work too and a lot of times people think we are them. It is annoying and I am just like you, when they say they are testigos i say bueno chau. they always want to argue and even if you make a good point they just pretend that they don´t understand or something. I actually get really annoyed when my companions even try to talk to them, it literally is pointless because they just won´t listen even though they often times realize that what you are saying makes sense and what they are saying makes no sense at all. But i got to hand it to them, they know their bible, although it must be a lot easier to learn since they have crossed out a lot of the verses that don´t correspond with what they believe.
I´m glad you have gotten a lot of letters from me, I really hope you know that I try to write regularly, I´m sorry that come so sporadically. What are your plans for thanksgiving? Yesterday we had lunch with the Heath´s, the senior missionary couple, and they invited us to have thanksgiving dinner with them, yay! I would say my big news for the week would have to be my eyes. Hear me out. Since my second change I´ve had really dry skin on my eyelids, which I have had multiple times before in my life. But the last month it has been worse and worse. I tried vaseline but my eyes had an allergic reaction and I woke up with them swollen and puffy and flaky. then at the training this week I asked hna heaton for any tips and she came the next day with a cream for me to try which was way to strong and on saturday i just wanted to cry because my eyes were like red leather. The skin had no elasticity, i looked dumb and it hurt to blink. So I called hna heaton which i really didn´t want to do since she always gets a billion calls a day about stupid things like cold sores and elders who are craving sweets and therefore must have a parasite. But anyways she told me to go to a pharmacy and get a hydrocortisone cream which seems to be helping and then she told me to send a picture to the doctor today. I have also been having spring allergies which is pretty annoying, mostly just sneezy and runny nose.
Well, the good news is Martin has fecha! He should be getting baptized on November 28th if all goes well. ´We are have high hopes though. What else is new at home? What are all your holdiday plans looking like? I don´t think it will even feel like Christmas to me. It seems so weird that it is november and summer is just starting.
I hope you all have a great week and that I hear from each of you next week! or tomorrow i guess. Love you lots and miss you tons, I am counting down to my nine month mark-I will be the first to confess that I am a trunky, unfocused missionary. Keep on keepin on!
All my love, Jessica
I´m glad you have gotten a lot of letters from me, I really hope you know that I try to write regularly, I´m sorry that come so sporadically. What are your plans for thanksgiving? Yesterday we had lunch with the Heath´s, the senior missionary couple, and they invited us to have thanksgiving dinner with them, yay! I would say my big news for the week would have to be my eyes. Hear me out. Since my second change I´ve had really dry skin on my eyelids, which I have had multiple times before in my life. But the last month it has been worse and worse. I tried vaseline but my eyes had an allergic reaction and I woke up with them swollen and puffy and flaky. then at the training this week I asked hna heaton for any tips and she came the next day with a cream for me to try which was way to strong and on saturday i just wanted to cry because my eyes were like red leather. The skin had no elasticity, i looked dumb and it hurt to blink. So I called hna heaton which i really didn´t want to do since she always gets a billion calls a day about stupid things like cold sores and elders who are craving sweets and therefore must have a parasite. But anyways she told me to go to a pharmacy and get a hydrocortisone cream which seems to be helping and then she told me to send a picture to the doctor today. I have also been having spring allergies which is pretty annoying, mostly just sneezy and runny nose.
Well, the good news is Martin has fecha! He should be getting baptized on November 28th if all goes well. ´We are have high hopes though. What else is new at home? What are all your holdiday plans looking like? I don´t think it will even feel like Christmas to me. It seems so weird that it is november and summer is just starting.
I hope you all have a great week and that I hear from each of you next week! or tomorrow i guess. Love you lots and miss you tons, I am counting down to my nine month mark-I will be the first to confess that I am a trunky, unfocused missionary. Keep on keepin on!
All my love, Jessica
Good letter week
Hi there! How´s it going? I am so glad that you got my tape and so fast! I hope that you liked it and since amy isn´t close and cant listen to it I have one that I am going to send to her and another that I will send to you hopefully for Christmas. It is really nice that Hna Gardner has a tape player and I´m going to try and take advantage of it while I can. I have seen some here but that kind of stuff is expensive here, $50 for just a basic tape recorder. I haven´t tried to get any money out because last time i took out enough to last me for a while but I can try again and let you know next week. So as it says in the subject line this week was a really good letter week. I got a really cute Halloween card from Jennie, several emails from hna salisbury that the offices hadn´t been printing, a written letter from hna salisbury (so weird to hear about her being on my old stomping grounds at byu), and a letter from Becca Lane!!!!! Her letter was so good too. She is a really good letter writer and always so uplifting. If you will recall she is serving in Russia and all of her companions have been Russian, only her trainer spoke english, she said her president is from the ukraine and the only english is knows is ´´Big Problem´´. It sounds like she is in a really hard mission but taking the challenge like a champ. I really have appreciated how our friendship is growing through sharing our missionary experience together. I can remember the night I got my call she had received hers that same day and I called her and we were so excited to tell eachother where we were going. She also told me about the excitement the Russian church members felt as the Ukraine temple was dedicated and they participated by satelite. ´´It´s practically on Russian ground´´ they kept saying. She aslo has told me that because of the history in Russia just how the culture is and it´s general attitude toward religion. It is really interesting and as the church has only been there since 1991 she really has to do a lot of work to just strengthen what they already have and work with less active members as much as looking for new ones. I cant wait to hook up with her when i get home and exchange stories. And judy i sent her the article you sent me from the deseret news about 1 nephi 4:1 and she said she really liked it and made laminated it onto the from of her missionary planner for one of her changes. Thanks again.
So some happenings from this week, we went to a ward activity one night for one of the elder´s wards and taught CPR, my lifeguard training came in handy. Last monday we went to an artisan market that had a bunch of really awesomehand made things and pottery type stuff. I bought a pretty candle holder that has a little hallow in the top to put scented oil in with a tea candle underneath. It is actually the first souvenier type thing that I have bought here. I also made some pretty good baking powder biscuits this week, so nice to have an oven. And one night I almost couldn´t sleep when I realized that I get to call you next month!! Six weeks....
So I do have some questions...for dad...who I haven´t heard from for a while. wink. I never knew before what to ask you about your mission but now I do have some questions. I would also be interested to hear responses from Ryan, Amy and Paul. So I was wondering if you ever had any companions that were not american, like from austria or germany and didn´t speak english. I know you had an office job that you liked, were you ever a district leader or any thing like that? Did you have any really memorable baptism experiences? Did you do most of your contacting in the street or knocking? And Ryan how did you find people where you were in a sign language mission, did you work mostly through references? How often did you have conferences or interviews, what was your president like and where from? Did the members work well with you, did you have a lot of member lessons each week? What change did you move to senior comp? Did you do divisions a lot, did you live with other companionships? What was it like for you to learn a new language (ps for all who have asked, my spanish is not perfect but I personally think i am rocking it) And anything else you would like to tell me. I am just asking all of this out of curiousity, don´t get me wrong when I ask if you were ever a district or zone leader or when you became senior comp. Our district meeting this week was changed to thursday because tomorrow and wednesday we are going to a training, just found out today. So if you (all four of you) hurry and email me back before wednesday I should get it and that would make be a very happy hermana.
Mom I am very much looking forward to your Christmas packages, you need not worry because I know you and I am sure it´s going to be awesome regardless! I love you so much, all of you! Talk to you next week...
All my love, Jessica
So some happenings from this week, we went to a ward activity one night for one of the elder´s wards and taught CPR, my lifeguard training came in handy. Last monday we went to an artisan market that had a bunch of really awesomehand made things and pottery type stuff. I bought a pretty candle holder that has a little hallow in the top to put scented oil in with a tea candle underneath. It is actually the first souvenier type thing that I have bought here. I also made some pretty good baking powder biscuits this week, so nice to have an oven. And one night I almost couldn´t sleep when I realized that I get to call you next month!! Six weeks....
So I do have some questions...for dad...who I haven´t heard from for a while. wink. I never knew before what to ask you about your mission but now I do have some questions. I would also be interested to hear responses from Ryan, Amy and Paul. So I was wondering if you ever had any companions that were not american, like from austria or germany and didn´t speak english. I know you had an office job that you liked, were you ever a district leader or any thing like that? Did you have any really memorable baptism experiences? Did you do most of your contacting in the street or knocking? And Ryan how did you find people where you were in a sign language mission, did you work mostly through references? How often did you have conferences or interviews, what was your president like and where from? Did the members work well with you, did you have a lot of member lessons each week? What change did you move to senior comp? Did you do divisions a lot, did you live with other companionships? What was it like for you to learn a new language (ps for all who have asked, my spanish is not perfect but I personally think i am rocking it) And anything else you would like to tell me. I am just asking all of this out of curiousity, don´t get me wrong when I ask if you were ever a district or zone leader or when you became senior comp. Our district meeting this week was changed to thursday because tomorrow and wednesday we are going to a training, just found out today. So if you (all four of you) hurry and email me back before wednesday I should get it and that would make be a very happy hermana.
Mom I am very much looking forward to your Christmas packages, you need not worry because I know you and I am sure it´s going to be awesome regardless! I love you so much, all of you! Talk to you next week...
All my love, Jessica
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Happy Halloween
Hey everyone, i am going to tell you now that i got stuck with a not so great keyboard so punctuation will not be great. Thanks for all your emailsª Jennie I tried to look at the pics but they wont come through, i think it is the computer so i will just try again next week. sounds like the party was a big successª yay, good work. and mom i just cant wait to see you dressed up as the queen of hearts, what made you decide to use that costume+
Well I dont have much to tell this week, it was kind of a dull downer week but no big deal. I dont know if i told you already but we made some little halloween baggies to send to some of the other hnas. hna gardner had some cellophane bags with ghosts and pumpkins and then we filled them with some halloween pencils, glowsticks=thanks amyª, some candies including eyeballs and teeth, and a cute halloween card with pumpkin stickers from judy and renita. ´They turned out so so cute. we also took some extra teeth to district and put them on. Also for district i made a yellow cake with a recipe amy sent me at the beginning of my mission. it turned out really good and i made chocolate frosting and sprinkled the fall leaf sprinkles from renita and judy on top. our district was very happy and i was too because it was so fun to be able to make a cake and have an oven in our apartment. plus it turned out super delicious and cute. halloween is kind of a new thing here. some people think it is evil but we did see some little kids trick or treating last night. amy i also gave some glowstick bracelets to the little barcia girls, they really liked them and hna sol if you are reading they are starting the temple prep class. whoo hooª
so in other news yesterday right before sacrament the first counselor asked me to speak or share my testimony. Luckily I carry some fotocopias of talks that i like to use and so i pulled one of those out and took up my scriptures. i assumed that someone who was supposed to speak had not come so i tried to take up some time. they said about five minutes. i was super nervous but i felt like i did okay and probably spoke for about 8 minutes. everyone gave me very sincere compliments and thanks and said they really liked my talk but what surprised me the most is that hna garnder says i spoke for over 15 minutes, some said 20, others 45. so i am not sure how long i really spoke but i thought that was kind of funny. the talk i used was from a conference a couple of years ago, in english i think it is called joseph smith prophet of the restoration.
I hope you all have a great week, les quiero muchoª
all my love, jessica
Well I dont have much to tell this week, it was kind of a dull downer week but no big deal. I dont know if i told you already but we made some little halloween baggies to send to some of the other hnas. hna gardner had some cellophane bags with ghosts and pumpkins and then we filled them with some halloween pencils, glowsticks=thanks amyª, some candies including eyeballs and teeth, and a cute halloween card with pumpkin stickers from judy and renita. ´They turned out so so cute. we also took some extra teeth to district and put them on. Also for district i made a yellow cake with a recipe amy sent me at the beginning of my mission. it turned out really good and i made chocolate frosting and sprinkled the fall leaf sprinkles from renita and judy on top. our district was very happy and i was too because it was so fun to be able to make a cake and have an oven in our apartment. plus it turned out super delicious and cute. halloween is kind of a new thing here. some people think it is evil but we did see some little kids trick or treating last night. amy i also gave some glowstick bracelets to the little barcia girls, they really liked them and hna sol if you are reading they are starting the temple prep class. whoo hooª
so in other news yesterday right before sacrament the first counselor asked me to speak or share my testimony. Luckily I carry some fotocopias of talks that i like to use and so i pulled one of those out and took up my scriptures. i assumed that someone who was supposed to speak had not come so i tried to take up some time. they said about five minutes. i was super nervous but i felt like i did okay and probably spoke for about 8 minutes. everyone gave me very sincere compliments and thanks and said they really liked my talk but what surprised me the most is that hna garnder says i spoke for over 15 minutes, some said 20, others 45. so i am not sure how long i really spoke but i thought that was kind of funny. the talk i used was from a conference a couple of years ago, in english i think it is called joseph smith prophet of the restoration.
I hope you all have a great week, les quiero muchoª
all my love, jessica
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Updates
Hi! How´s it going? Amy your picture is sooo awesome! I love Paul´s costume, wow his knees are looking good! Haha,
Well good news! My neck fungus is gone. I have just been having really dry skin for so long and I think it was just dead skin turning black or something and after scrubbing really really hard and having a lot of skin flake off, my neck is back to normal. Sorry that is kind of gross. I have had weird skin in general is Uruguay. My eye has really dry rashy stuff on the lid also, Hna Garnder gave me some vaseline to put on it and that is helping but now it is itchy and bumpy and puffy like I´m allergic to the vaseline, ay que cosa. And lately my lips are super chapped and dry but today i finally found some good chapstick at a farmacia, but you could stick some in a package if it´s not too late :). Also, mom thankyou so much for figuring out my debit card. I don´t really get it though, did you arrange it so the one i have works until the new one comes? Because Friday night we went by an atm and i decided to try it again just in case and it worked! I was like, oh my gosh my mom is AMAZING! Seriously though there are so missionaries who can´t get their families to do anything for them which is kind of hard when you are in Uruguay and you just can´t do some things for yourself and it is so frustrating. But not me, my family rocks! And now I have another task to ask of Judy and Renita. There is a 16 year old girl named Varinia that accompanied us the other day and she was telling me that her mother was baptized about 34 years ago by an elder who later in his mission encouraged Varinia´s father to reactivate himself and serve a mission. Years after her parents married they realized that it was the same elder who had made such an impact in both of their lives and they wanted to let them know how much he had done for them and that the two had married in the temple, but they don´t know how to find him. BUT, he is from Pocatello and he is know about 54 years old. Do either of you know a Glade Gunnell? Could you look him up in the phone book or something and let me know if you find anything? If you do maybe you could even call him and get his email and send me that and his address so they can write to him. I just know how happy it would make me to hear that my converts are still strong in the church and their children are now sharing the gospel and marrying in the temple because I served a mission. Anyways, let me know.
Yesterday was stake conference, it was a satelite transmission and Elder Costa spoke along with Jean A. Stevens and Elder Ballard and President Packer. It was really good and Elder Packer told some interesting stories, one about an experience he had as a soldier in Japan and another in Peru. In japan there was a young boy he saw from a train that was starving, he tried to open the train window to throw his some money but the window would not open and then the train started to move, the little by ran alongside but the train started to pick up speed and he could not keep up. Elder Packer cried as he told of the sadness that he has carried with him for so long about not being able to ease the suffering of that suffering child. It was really touching.
Now that we have an oven I was wondering if someone would send me some more recipes. Maybe for pizza dough, lemon cookies, chewy brownie cookies and anything else that you can think of that is quick, easy and requires basic ingredients.
Mom, I like the dulce de leche spread on soft white bread with bananas cut up on top. Also good on any kind of cookie or I imagine graham crackers. And I think that the office Elders read an email that hna salisbury sent us titled ''urgent'', so they might have started the rumor or i think hna ung wrote something about it to hna crofts, we didn´t start the rumor though. It´s just dumb mission talk though. That´s cool that jerica is going on a mission, do you know when she leaves?
Yes I am taking my premarin and I still have a lot for a while. No I don´t think Hna Gardner has a blog.
Amy, justo I am writing a letter to you and paul that answer a lot of your questions and I will try to deliver on the pictures.
I gotta go, and I didn´t get that suprise sent yet but I will today, it´s just a tape. Okay, I love you so so much! Halleluja I am almost at my nine month mark. Miss you!
All my love, Jessica
Well good news! My neck fungus is gone. I have just been having really dry skin for so long and I think it was just dead skin turning black or something and after scrubbing really really hard and having a lot of skin flake off, my neck is back to normal. Sorry that is kind of gross. I have had weird skin in general is Uruguay. My eye has really dry rashy stuff on the lid also, Hna Garnder gave me some vaseline to put on it and that is helping but now it is itchy and bumpy and puffy like I´m allergic to the vaseline, ay que cosa. And lately my lips are super chapped and dry but today i finally found some good chapstick at a farmacia, but you could stick some in a package if it´s not too late :). Also, mom thankyou so much for figuring out my debit card. I don´t really get it though, did you arrange it so the one i have works until the new one comes? Because Friday night we went by an atm and i decided to try it again just in case and it worked! I was like, oh my gosh my mom is AMAZING! Seriously though there are so missionaries who can´t get their families to do anything for them which is kind of hard when you are in Uruguay and you just can´t do some things for yourself and it is so frustrating. But not me, my family rocks! And now I have another task to ask of Judy and Renita. There is a 16 year old girl named Varinia that accompanied us the other day and she was telling me that her mother was baptized about 34 years ago by an elder who later in his mission encouraged Varinia´s father to reactivate himself and serve a mission. Years after her parents married they realized that it was the same elder who had made such an impact in both of their lives and they wanted to let them know how much he had done for them and that the two had married in the temple, but they don´t know how to find him. BUT, he is from Pocatello and he is know about 54 years old. Do either of you know a Glade Gunnell? Could you look him up in the phone book or something and let me know if you find anything? If you do maybe you could even call him and get his email and send me that and his address so they can write to him. I just know how happy it would make me to hear that my converts are still strong in the church and their children are now sharing the gospel and marrying in the temple because I served a mission. Anyways, let me know.
Yesterday was stake conference, it was a satelite transmission and Elder Costa spoke along with Jean A. Stevens and Elder Ballard and President Packer. It was really good and Elder Packer told some interesting stories, one about an experience he had as a soldier in Japan and another in Peru. In japan there was a young boy he saw from a train that was starving, he tried to open the train window to throw his some money but the window would not open and then the train started to move, the little by ran alongside but the train started to pick up speed and he could not keep up. Elder Packer cried as he told of the sadness that he has carried with him for so long about not being able to ease the suffering of that suffering child. It was really touching.
Now that we have an oven I was wondering if someone would send me some more recipes. Maybe for pizza dough, lemon cookies, chewy brownie cookies and anything else that you can think of that is quick, easy and requires basic ingredients.
Mom, I like the dulce de leche spread on soft white bread with bananas cut up on top. Also good on any kind of cookie or I imagine graham crackers. And I think that the office Elders read an email that hna salisbury sent us titled ''urgent'', so they might have started the rumor or i think hna ung wrote something about it to hna crofts, we didn´t start the rumor though. It´s just dumb mission talk though. That´s cool that jerica is going on a mission, do you know when she leaves?
Yes I am taking my premarin and I still have a lot for a while. No I don´t think Hna Gardner has a blog.
Amy, justo I am writing a letter to you and paul that answer a lot of your questions and I will try to deliver on the pictures.
I gotta go, and I didn´t get that suprise sent yet but I will today, it´s just a tape. Okay, I love you so so much! Halleluja I am almost at my nine month mark. Miss you!
All my love, Jessica
Friday, October 22, 2010
I have a neck fungus. Yuck.
Hey mom and everyone else! How are you all doing? Well I always feel like I have business like things to say before typing all of my email, so here goes:
Mom, I tried to use my debit card today and it wouldn´t work. I called the 1800 number and got a ways into a conversation, put on hold, and then my phone died. But right after it did I realized the problem, silly me, my card expired in july. I don´t really know what I can do about that, any ideas? Okay well that was the biggest thing.
So, changes, I´m staying here with Hermana Gardner! Yay, I am really glad for that. this next change will be seven weeks too so I am glad to know that I will have a good comp that I get along with. I have high hopes for what we will be able to accomplish together this change. This week we contacted an earlier made contact named Beatriz. I was a little wary to actually pass by her house because frankly she kind of weirded me out the first time I met her, but i think it was her brazilian accent and the fact that she tried to sell us underwear and showed us the top of her bra for an example. But turns out she is super cool. After the opening song and prayer she suddenly told us she wanted to cry because she really misses her family in Brazil. told her i could relate. She also asked us some good questions, such as ``what do you believe happens after death, the testigos say the pbody and spirit sleep but i think the sirit goes to some world of spirits, but i don´t know why i think that´´. Yeah, we can work with that. And Martin who is progressing with quitting smoking says he is seriously considering being baptized...at the end of the year. that we can work with too though.
Today for pday we went to the temple since it is usually closed on our normal monday pdays. it was really nice and later we ate at mcdonalds and bought peanut butter. i love being in montevideo. We also bought some halloween stuff to send to the other hermanas.
Guess who got a haircut? me!!!! It was so long and hna smith came for a dentists appt and I had her cut off 10 inches!!! I have SHORT HAIR!! Just kidding, just got a trim!! haha did i get you? It is still super long and I like it. It was fun to see her and hna halladay too. I worried about them together but they are actually really compatible and also didn´t change.
Dear Amy, Happy birthday! I love you my beautiful still very young and hip sister. I look up to you so much and tell my comps all about you. Hope you went skydiving and got the card I sent. Also I got your package this week! I read all your blogs aloud to hna gardner and we both enjoyed them a lot. And glow sticks!! you know me well. love you!
Judy I also got your articles, they were so good, especially kloved the austin collie one and so did the elders who now think i am a colts fan. but maybe I am, it is pretty cool that they have team bible study. mira.
SO i have a neck fungus on my neck under my ears. I don´t actually know what it is but for a few months I have had some discoloration and dryness but this morning it was a dark color and looked like dirt. It doesn´t bother me but it is really gross.
Mom I don´t really want to ask for anything for christmas because your ideas are usually better and you already have done more than enough for me...but..hehe...my journal is almost full and I would like a new one. Hna Gardner has some from shopko that i really like. the brand is markings and I like the one whose picture is attached to this email. i like journals that lay flat when you open them too, not spiral. sorry i know i sound really picky and rude. some other ideas would be short sleeve summer shirts, and they can actually be really casual, mission dress is way more lax than i thought it would be. And I may have mentioned this already but i would really really like just a basic straight edge cutter if you think that would be possible. these are all just ideas though, don´t stress over getting packages to me, you are amazing and that is confirmed to me all the time because I see a lot of missionaries who don´t have the home support that i do.
Well I am out of time, I hope you like the pics and I will email again soon, monday, thank you for your letters and emails they were super good this week! I love you all!
Jessica
Mom, I tried to use my debit card today and it wouldn´t work. I called the 1800 number and got a ways into a conversation, put on hold, and then my phone died. But right after it did I realized the problem, silly me, my card expired in july. I don´t really know what I can do about that, any ideas? Okay well that was the biggest thing.
So, changes, I´m staying here with Hermana Gardner! Yay, I am really glad for that. this next change will be seven weeks too so I am glad to know that I will have a good comp that I get along with. I have high hopes for what we will be able to accomplish together this change. This week we contacted an earlier made contact named Beatriz. I was a little wary to actually pass by her house because frankly she kind of weirded me out the first time I met her, but i think it was her brazilian accent and the fact that she tried to sell us underwear and showed us the top of her bra for an example. But turns out she is super cool. After the opening song and prayer she suddenly told us she wanted to cry because she really misses her family in Brazil. told her i could relate. She also asked us some good questions, such as ``what do you believe happens after death, the testigos say the pbody and spirit sleep but i think the sirit goes to some world of spirits, but i don´t know why i think that´´. Yeah, we can work with that. And Martin who is progressing with quitting smoking says he is seriously considering being baptized...at the end of the year. that we can work with too though.
Today for pday we went to the temple since it is usually closed on our normal monday pdays. it was really nice and later we ate at mcdonalds and bought peanut butter. i love being in montevideo. We also bought some halloween stuff to send to the other hermanas.
Guess who got a haircut? me!!!! It was so long and hna smith came for a dentists appt and I had her cut off 10 inches!!! I have SHORT HAIR!! Just kidding, just got a trim!! haha did i get you? It is still super long and I like it. It was fun to see her and hna halladay too. I worried about them together but they are actually really compatible and also didn´t change.
Dear Amy, Happy birthday! I love you my beautiful still very young and hip sister. I look up to you so much and tell my comps all about you. Hope you went skydiving and got the card I sent. Also I got your package this week! I read all your blogs aloud to hna gardner and we both enjoyed them a lot. And glow sticks!! you know me well. love you!
Judy I also got your articles, they were so good, especially kloved the austin collie one and so did the elders who now think i am a colts fan. but maybe I am, it is pretty cool that they have team bible study. mira.
SO i have a neck fungus on my neck under my ears. I don´t actually know what it is but for a few months I have had some discoloration and dryness but this morning it was a dark color and looked like dirt. It doesn´t bother me but it is really gross.
Mom I don´t really want to ask for anything for christmas because your ideas are usually better and you already have done more than enough for me...but..hehe...my journal is almost full and I would like a new one. Hna Gardner has some from shopko that i really like. the brand is markings and I like the one whose picture is attached to this email. i like journals that lay flat when you open them too, not spiral. sorry i know i sound really picky and rude. some other ideas would be short sleeve summer shirts, and they can actually be really casual, mission dress is way more lax than i thought it would be. And I may have mentioned this already but i would really really like just a basic straight edge cutter if you think that would be possible. these are all just ideas though, don´t stress over getting packages to me, you are amazing and that is confirmed to me all the time because I see a lot of missionaries who don´t have the home support that i do.
Well I am out of time, I hope you like the pics and I will email again soon, monday, thank you for your letters and emails they were super good this week! I love you all!
Jessica
Monday, October 11, 2010
Emailing from the mission home...
Hi! How's everything going? We have had a pretty good week and today we got our oven! We are excited but it was a bit of a pain because last night they called us to tell us that we would have to stay inside today and wait for it to be delivered to us. It didn't come until 3:30. So most of our pday we were stuck inside which was no good because we actually had a lot of things to do today. Hermana Gardner needed to come to the mission home today to show Hermana Heaton the health powerpoint presentation and we also needed to do our laundry, so we brought that with us to wash while we were here. It's almost seven now though and our pday ends at six so waiting for the ovens kind of threw everything off. This week was good because we felt like we were not only working hard but our numbers reflected that hard work. for the most part. We found some news, although none of them have been there when we go back, and we were getting more lessons from our knocking and we were getting all of our contacting done. The biggest frustration this week was that none of our investigators could meet with us. They all cancelled their appointments and would not answer their phones and weren't home when we went by. So that got really annoying because everything that we plan falls around our appointments with them and when they cancel it just kind of messes us up.
We went to the offices again this week to work on that health presentation. When we got there we put down our stuff and went into one of the other rooms where one of the elders has his desk to grab an extra chair and there was this picture of a girl on his desk and Hermana Gardner asked "hey who is that?" but she didn't it in this really intense way that got a funny look from the elder and then she's like, "i think i know her, what's her name?" and she didn't know the girl in the end but then we go back out where the other elders have their desks and another one of them has a picture of some girl and Hermana Gardner said, geez, did you all get pictures of your girlfriends this week, then we look around and sure enough the other two elders had pictures of girls by their computers too. Turns out they forgot we were coming so they didn't get a chance to hide them this time! It was so funny, Hermana Gardner and I cracked up about it. When we go back this week we are going to take some pictures of our own to set up while we work.
So before forget, next week is changes because President has to go to Argentina, so I won't be emailing next monday, I'm not sure what day it will be. Also, Amy I was wondering if it's not a bother, could you maybe start sending my the text of your blogs to the mission email on a weekly basis? And Renita I'm sorry I haven't been sending my emails to your address, I wasn't sure of what it was and I just figured you would get forwards, but I have you in my address list now. And thanks again to both of you and grandma for the wonderful package, we are going to put those mixes to good use now that we have an oven! And I'm going to throw in a package suggestion for maybe christmas or something, I would really like a straight edge cutter. If you could maybe find a cheap light weight one that would be really nice. I make a lot of notes by cutting out from colored paper to give to members, investigators and other missionaries. And you. And sometimes I just really wish I had a straight edge cutter. But nothing urgent, just an idea.
Oh I also wanted to tell you that last week I got a letter from the priests and from Sister workman. It was really nice of them and I wrote them back today and will send it off tomorrow. And I am hearing rumors that Hermana salisbury is getting close to engagement. Hermana Gardner and I have not heard really anything from her and we are gettin a little upset so if you talk to her tell her to write us. And did she ever give you the package i sent?
Okay my time is short and I didn't get pictures sent. Sorry, but tomorrow I am sending a suprise in the mail that I hope you enjoy. I love you so much!!!!!!!! Keep writing, I need to hear from you! Love Jessica
ps amy will you please send to the mission email a copy of president monson's talk in the women's conference and a copy of the talk by elder holland cast not away therefore thy confidence? you might need to shrink the font, if it is too long i may not get it. thank you!
We went to the offices again this week to work on that health presentation. When we got there we put down our stuff and went into one of the other rooms where one of the elders has his desk to grab an extra chair and there was this picture of a girl on his desk and Hermana Gardner asked "hey who is that?" but she didn't it in this really intense way that got a funny look from the elder and then she's like, "i think i know her, what's her name?" and she didn't know the girl in the end but then we go back out where the other elders have their desks and another one of them has a picture of some girl and Hermana Gardner said, geez, did you all get pictures of your girlfriends this week, then we look around and sure enough the other two elders had pictures of girls by their computers too. Turns out they forgot we were coming so they didn't get a chance to hide them this time! It was so funny, Hermana Gardner and I cracked up about it. When we go back this week we are going to take some pictures of our own to set up while we work.
So before forget, next week is changes because President has to go to Argentina, so I won't be emailing next monday, I'm not sure what day it will be. Also, Amy I was wondering if it's not a bother, could you maybe start sending my the text of your blogs to the mission email on a weekly basis? And Renita I'm sorry I haven't been sending my emails to your address, I wasn't sure of what it was and I just figured you would get forwards, but I have you in my address list now. And thanks again to both of you and grandma for the wonderful package, we are going to put those mixes to good use now that we have an oven! And I'm going to throw in a package suggestion for maybe christmas or something, I would really like a straight edge cutter. If you could maybe find a cheap light weight one that would be really nice. I make a lot of notes by cutting out from colored paper to give to members, investigators and other missionaries. And you. And sometimes I just really wish I had a straight edge cutter. But nothing urgent, just an idea.
Oh I also wanted to tell you that last week I got a letter from the priests and from Sister workman. It was really nice of them and I wrote them back today and will send it off tomorrow. And I am hearing rumors that Hermana salisbury is getting close to engagement. Hermana Gardner and I have not heard really anything from her and we are gettin a little upset so if you talk to her tell her to write us. And did she ever give you the package i sent?
Okay my time is short and I didn't get pictures sent. Sorry, but tomorrow I am sending a suprise in the mail that I hope you enjoy. I love you so much!!!!!!!! Keep writing, I need to hear from you! Love Jessica
ps amy will you please send to the mission email a copy of president monson's talk in the women's conference and a copy of the talk by elder holland cast not away therefore thy confidence? you might need to shrink the font, if it is too long i may not get it. thank you!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Package, General Conference, and Ciudad Vieja
Hey there! I really loved my emails this week, sounds like good stuff going on at the home front.
Well we had a pretty busy week, not so much for missionary work but on thursday we went to the mission office because hermana gardner who is a nurse was asked to put together a health presentation for the next zone conference so we went to work on that and while we were there I got a suprise package from Judy!! Wow that was an amazing package, thank you so much! THe candy is delicious, the stickers are awesome, and I loved the hot dog singing card, typical. And we should be getting our ovens in a couple weeks so I will be able to make the cake and sugar cookies! It was kind of weird to see the fall stuff that you sent though, its spring right now to me, but candy corn tastes just as good!
General Conference was so enjoyable for me. It was partly just nice to be able to sit and listen to someone else talk about the gospel in a much better way and also of course the talks were really good too. Mervyn Arnold that told about his wife and the cow that broke through the fence and ate week was the man that spoke to us last change and told us that same story. Hermana Garnder and I had fun taking our matching study journals which we have decorated so they are obviously hermanas notebooks and I really enjoyed taking notes from the talks, we didn{t watch the r.s. session because they are rebroadcasting it next saturday for a r.s. activity in our ward and we are going to watch it then. I really liked Elder Christoffersen and President Uchtdorf{s talk, wasn{t he so funny?
Today for Pday we got up and cleaned and studied then we took a nap then we went and ate lunch at the church with the elders, and then we went to a place called Ciudad Vieja. It was so cool. THere are just lots of vendors selling really cool things and lots of large buildings with really cool architecture and just an old charm to them. Oh english translation-Old City. While we were there we also went to the tomb of Jose ARtigas and saw the changing of the guard and we got our shoes shined by a guy in the plaza. He told me he didn{t have any grey polish, he was joking because my poor shoes were in such desperate need of polishing. It was fun and kind of a random thing, but worth in because 30 pesos later, or a dollar and half later and my shoes look like brand new.
Well I{m sorry that my letters took so long to get to you. I always send them early but I think sometimes the office elders don{t always get the bolsas out like they should and sometimes misplace things and then they resurface later. Today I didn{t and probably won{t have time to make some halloween cards to send out, let alone write letters, so sorry about that, I will try to get some letters off next week. I love you all so much, thanks for your letters, packages, emails, love and support.
All my love, Jessica
Well we had a pretty busy week, not so much for missionary work but on thursday we went to the mission office because hermana gardner who is a nurse was asked to put together a health presentation for the next zone conference so we went to work on that and while we were there I got a suprise package from Judy!! Wow that was an amazing package, thank you so much! THe candy is delicious, the stickers are awesome, and I loved the hot dog singing card, typical. And we should be getting our ovens in a couple weeks so I will be able to make the cake and sugar cookies! It was kind of weird to see the fall stuff that you sent though, its spring right now to me, but candy corn tastes just as good!
General Conference was so enjoyable for me. It was partly just nice to be able to sit and listen to someone else talk about the gospel in a much better way and also of course the talks were really good too. Mervyn Arnold that told about his wife and the cow that broke through the fence and ate week was the man that spoke to us last change and told us that same story. Hermana Garnder and I had fun taking our matching study journals which we have decorated so they are obviously hermanas notebooks and I really enjoyed taking notes from the talks, we didn{t watch the r.s. session because they are rebroadcasting it next saturday for a r.s. activity in our ward and we are going to watch it then. I really liked Elder Christoffersen and President Uchtdorf{s talk, wasn{t he so funny?
Today for Pday we got up and cleaned and studied then we took a nap then we went and ate lunch at the church with the elders, and then we went to a place called Ciudad Vieja. It was so cool. THere are just lots of vendors selling really cool things and lots of large buildings with really cool architecture and just an old charm to them. Oh english translation-Old City. While we were there we also went to the tomb of Jose ARtigas and saw the changing of the guard and we got our shoes shined by a guy in the plaza. He told me he didn{t have any grey polish, he was joking because my poor shoes were in such desperate need of polishing. It was fun and kind of a random thing, but worth in because 30 pesos later, or a dollar and half later and my shoes look like brand new.
Well I{m sorry that my letters took so long to get to you. I always send them early but I think sometimes the office elders don{t always get the bolsas out like they should and sometimes misplace things and then they resurface later. Today I didn{t and probably won{t have time to make some halloween cards to send out, let alone write letters, so sorry about that, I will try to get some letters off next week. I love you all so much, thanks for your letters, packages, emails, love and support.
All my love, Jessica
Here we go...
Hey hey! How´is everyone? THings are okay here, just another week, kind of slow with a lot of knocking and contacting. I am really looking forward to general conference next weekend the watching the women´s session saturday morning and then we watch the other two sessions in the afternoon and evening. The time here jumps forward one hour on sunday, when do you guys change again? The investigators that we are working with right now are martin, victor, and lucia. They are all middle aged. Martin is really upbeat and excited but he is trying to stop smoking, victor is too but not doing super well with it and we are kind of at a stand still with him. Lucia is good but here daughter who was living in switzerland was killed in a car accident at the beginning of the year and that has been hard for Lucia, she has a lot of questions but I think she is looking for an easy answer and is having a hard time doing the work to really allow the gospel to help her. We had a good lesson with her this week though about the atonement and then we shared nobake cookies with her-have i mentioned that there is peanut butter in montevideo? its is pricy though. anyways she liked them a lot.
I haven´t heard from susie yet about her visit, how did she hurt her ankle and who is taylor? I´m glad that grandpa had a good birthday, sounds like fun, i wish i could have been there. did seth every go visit them like he asked, or have you heard from him at all?
Jennie I got your letter this week with the pictures, thank you! I love the one of emma´s big smile in her brown shirt with the flowers, so so cute. Mom you really don´t need to send another package, i was just going to tell you that in case you had one that you were going to send.
My key board is not working very well so i´m sorry if this email is kind of weird. Today we are planning on going to a botanical garden so i´m pretty excited about that i miss the way that in utah there azre landscaped yard everwhere not to metnion parks and other really pretty planted areas and mountains. So i´m interested to see what the garden that we go to is like. I will let you know and try to take some pictures. I made some sandwiches and we are going to have a picnic too. should be fun. Next week we might change our pday to another day so that we can go to the temple since it isn´t open on mondays, but I am not sure so monday i may or may not email. also they are making this transfer only 5 weeks long instead of six because president heaton has to go to argentina for something so that will throw thing s off later on. and the change after will be seven weeks long.
Sorry I really don´t have very much to say again this week. Missionary work has just been kind of boring lately...I miss you all a lot, I love fall time in utah, it is fun to read about the drivesyou have taken to enjoy the colorful leaves and the nice weather. Give sally some loves for me.
Until next week, All my love, Jessica
I haven´t heard from susie yet about her visit, how did she hurt her ankle and who is taylor? I´m glad that grandpa had a good birthday, sounds like fun, i wish i could have been there. did seth every go visit them like he asked, or have you heard from him at all?
Jennie I got your letter this week with the pictures, thank you! I love the one of emma´s big smile in her brown shirt with the flowers, so so cute. Mom you really don´t need to send another package, i was just going to tell you that in case you had one that you were going to send.
My key board is not working very well so i´m sorry if this email is kind of weird. Today we are planning on going to a botanical garden so i´m pretty excited about that i miss the way that in utah there azre landscaped yard everwhere not to metnion parks and other really pretty planted areas and mountains. So i´m interested to see what the garden that we go to is like. I will let you know and try to take some pictures. I made some sandwiches and we are going to have a picnic too. should be fun. Next week we might change our pday to another day so that we can go to the temple since it isn´t open on mondays, but I am not sure so monday i may or may not email. also they are making this transfer only 5 weeks long instead of six because president heaton has to go to argentina for something so that will throw thing s off later on. and the change after will be seven weeks long.
Sorry I really don´t have very much to say again this week. Missionary work has just been kind of boring lately...I miss you all a lot, I love fall time in utah, it is fun to read about the drivesyou have taken to enjoy the colorful leaves and the nice weather. Give sally some loves for me.
Until next week, All my love, Jessica
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
I'm a city girl!
Hey there! Mom you met Hermana Salisbury!!!!! She better send me some more details about the guy who came with her. Me and Hermana Garnder are really feeling in the dark.
So my first week has gone really well. I like Hermana Garnder SO MUCH! We are having a lot of fun, we get along, we have a lot in common as far as our personalities go, and she is a super hard-working, dedicated missionary. If anything I feel like I have a hard time keeping up with her but I am definitely going to learn a lot this change. Being in the city has been good, I was really nervous because I had heard that the people here are a lot harder to work with and just not as receptive or nice, and it´s true, contacting is harder and it´s hard to keep your numbers up and I am really having to adjust to practically running along side people shouting about the gospel over the noise of the cars while they try to get away from me, but it´s coming for me. And I really do prefer city to campo (country). Life is just more exciting and busy. Time just seems faster altogether for some reason and I like it. But I will have to be patient with missionary work here because it seems to be a little more fruitless for lack of a better way to say it.
Hermana Gardner and her companion before had found an awesome 16 year old kid last change who got baptized yesterday. He is really cool and asked if he could take a minute at the end to stand and thank everyone for their support and helping him. It was so sweet. Also, President and Hermana Heaton showed up in our ward yesterday and drove us to our lunch appointment. I love them so much! We also have a senior couple in our ward-the Heaths from Idaho Falls. They are great and I am SO excited to have them in our ward and that we will get to work with them. I think we are going to have dinner with them this week too-homeade american food yeah baby!
AMy I love the pictures of your house, it looks so nice and the decorations are absolutely darling. Houses here, or apartments rather, are alot nice that in other parts of uruguay so that has been pretty interesting. Our church building is pretty normal and nice and we have a nice apartment too. We are really close to the beach but it isn´t the most beautiful beach but still pretty. We actually ate lunch on the beach our first day together. I will try to write some good letters today and get them off with some more detail, I´m pretty much out of time. I love you all so so so so much! I miss you and am glad that time in Montevideo seems a little faster so that I will be home a little sooner than I think! Until next week,
All my love, Jessica
So my first week has gone really well. I like Hermana Garnder SO MUCH! We are having a lot of fun, we get along, we have a lot in common as far as our personalities go, and she is a super hard-working, dedicated missionary. If anything I feel like I have a hard time keeping up with her but I am definitely going to learn a lot this change. Being in the city has been good, I was really nervous because I had heard that the people here are a lot harder to work with and just not as receptive or nice, and it´s true, contacting is harder and it´s hard to keep your numbers up and I am really having to adjust to practically running along side people shouting about the gospel over the noise of the cars while they try to get away from me, but it´s coming for me. And I really do prefer city to campo (country). Life is just more exciting and busy. Time just seems faster altogether for some reason and I like it. But I will have to be patient with missionary work here because it seems to be a little more fruitless for lack of a better way to say it.
Hermana Gardner and her companion before had found an awesome 16 year old kid last change who got baptized yesterday. He is really cool and asked if he could take a minute at the end to stand and thank everyone for their support and helping him. It was so sweet. Also, President and Hermana Heaton showed up in our ward yesterday and drove us to our lunch appointment. I love them so much! We also have a senior couple in our ward-the Heaths from Idaho Falls. They are great and I am SO excited to have them in our ward and that we will get to work with them. I think we are going to have dinner with them this week too-homeade american food yeah baby!
AMy I love the pictures of your house, it looks so nice and the decorations are absolutely darling. Houses here, or apartments rather, are alot nice that in other parts of uruguay so that has been pretty interesting. Our church building is pretty normal and nice and we have a nice apartment too. We are really close to the beach but it isn´t the most beautiful beach but still pretty. We actually ate lunch on the beach our first day together. I will try to write some good letters today and get them off with some more detail, I´m pretty much out of time. I love you all so so so so much! I miss you and am glad that time in Montevideo seems a little faster so that I will be home a little sooner than I think! Until next week,
All my love, Jessica
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
This country girl is going to the city
Hi Mom and everyone! Before I forget Judy, yes I can get all of those things. Explanation?
Well as I already told you I am going to Montevideo with Hermana Gardner, the one I took the camera for remember? Hermana Salisbury was her trainer and the area I will be in is where Hermana Salisbury started her own mission. In ways I am really nervous because I hear a lot that Montevideo is one of the harder areas of the mission. I actually went to pocitos, the area, when I went to the hermanas conference with hna moreno my first change but we just went and visited with one of her old converts for two hours until our bus left, but it will definitely be different than what I am used to working in. It´s city. the people are always on the go and you are in more apartment type places as far as I can tell. But there are also things I´m looking forward to. For one thing, next monday for pday I bet we will be able to go to the temple! Yay! And I think Hermana Gardner and I will get along really well and work well together. I´ll also probably get to see the president and hermana on occasion. So there will be good things and bad things as always. I will be glad to have a change though just to give me some new stuff to see and think about. I really do love hermana halladay though and I´m glad that I got to be her comp, but I still don´t think we made the most effective companionship. Her new companion will be hermana smith. I was hoping that I would be in a zone with hna smith but still no luck. I really have missed her and I am in need of a haircut. But I talked to her today and apparently the mission pres. wife and temple pres wife have her come to deo to cut their hair sometimes and she will probably be going this next change so I will get to see her and she will cut my hair too. Woo hoo!
Well, in short, this week was long. I was really dragging last night and Heavenly Father definitely worked things out so that a change would come just in time for me. AT the beginning of the change I felt really strong about dealing with the halt of the work and all, but it has really worn me down. Although we have had some progression. At a member lunch we met hermana chivel´s 18 yr old grandaughter who wanted to her the discussions. We have been teaching her and have been able to answer a lot of questions she has had. She has a baptism date for the 24th and came to church on sunday as well as a couple who is progressing extremely slowly but surely nevertheless. So I am glad hna halladay and hna smith will have a little something to work with. Today I mostly got packed and we went to the zoo and a museum and ate ice cream in the plaza. Tonight i have to go say goodbyes.
BIG NEWS: THe mission is getting ovens!!! for all of the houses! It will probably take a month or two but yes you heard right we are getting ovens. Hoo-rah! I am very excited about that. Let´s see I forgot to bring my list of things I was going to write about so I can´t really remember anthything else at the moment, but...only IF you have a package that you are going to be sending, please include some of those footies that you wear so that you can´t see them because we don´t have to wear tights in the summer now when it get´s super hot but i don´t have footies and they are hard to get. Although maybe hold off, I might be able to find them in deo, I´ll let you know next week.
I haven´t heard from hna salisbury yet about your meeting but she had sent me a couple of other emails before that. I´m sure she is busy trying to keep up with all the boys that are wanting to take her out. : ) I hope that you will be able to hook up again soon though. ANd i´m glad that you are getting my letters! Did jennie get hers too? I sent to all of you, I don´t think I will have time to write today though. Mom did you and judy ever get your bday cards?
I leave to go to montevideo tonight at 12:30. I will be on the bus all night entonces. We are going to go to the other hnas´ house before so they can come with us and hna halladay will stay the night with them. It will be really tiring to travel all night but I am excited to be going somewhere, it is just nice for some reason although I may eat my words after a week of trying to work the streets of the city.
Well I am about out of time. I love you all so much! I´m excited about this change because we will have general conference, interviews, and temple on mondays, so it should go really fast and when it´s over i will just have a month and a half left until my christmas phone call! I will email next week and let you know about my first week in deo. Oh! and on thursday i get emails at district so respond to this to the mission email before wednesday night and then make sure you write new emails to me before monday so I don´t get the same ones : ) I love you!
Jessica
Monday, September 6, 2010
I ate a hot dog for lunch
Hola, how is everyone doing? We have a had a rainy cold week but yesterday and today have been beautiful and warm. I am so glad to hear that you met susie! I can just imagine the two of you cruising around in the corvette. How fun. Did she show you pictures from her camera or any videos? try and send me the pictures that you took in your email next week! Did she remember to give you my little package? It had some little flower clip ons for amy and jennie, wondered how they liked them. did she drive the corvette? haha
Before I forget, yes mom next week is change week so we will be emailing on tuesday. I am really not sure what will happen for changes. I thought that I would probably be going but at our conference they said they are going to start trying to leave us in each area for about 8 months, which sounds like a lot to me. For us hermanas that would pretty much mean only serving in two areas so I wonder if they will be a little more loose with the hermanas. We´ll see though. Whatever happens I am hoping to be in a zone with hermana crofts or hermana smith. I am hoping to see hna smith soon because I need a haircut! Well and because she is just awesome.
Hey mom, did you ever get your knee looked at? has it still been bothering you or is it doing better? how has it been doing for your exercise classes and everything? What are you doing today for labor day, anything special?
Yesterday we finally had some investigators in church. the llovet family and coca. The llovet family were a reverence, they are really poor and the mom has been having really serious health problems and the dad has been having to do everything as far as working and cooking, washing clothes and taking care of the kids. the boys didn´t come, they are super shy, but i think the parents had a good experience. I hope that they will start progressing faster and be a little more proactive.
Last week we did a noche de hogar with the familia de lima and we made my box cake and talked about obedience and how you have to follow the directions on the box. the cake turned out really yummy and i made chocolate frosting for it, people here don´t really have the custom of putting frosting on cake but I think that they liked it. I got your package on tuesday with my premarin in it, so that got here really quickly. Thank you for sending it and for the treats! I am making good use of the stationary. I was really missing home this week, tuesday and wednesday were especially hard for some reason. I have really appreciated hna halladay though, she is very patient and understanding and good to talk to. I just keep trying to tell myself that I am only days away from my six month mark. It still just seems like a really long time and I miss you all a lot.
I´m glad you had such a good week, sounds like you are preferred first grade teacher as always. Did you happen to get my letter yet that talks about my recent thoughts for a career path? I want to know what you think when you read it. And did you ever get my birthday card? I am sending one for grandpa tomorrow so I hope that it will get to him before his birthday is long passed.
I guess I don´t really have anything more to say. Just that I love you so much and I really miss you. The next time I email I will be more than 6 months along and maybe headed to a new area. I´ll be letting you know!
I love you to the moon and back! Jessica
Before I forget, yes mom next week is change week so we will be emailing on tuesday. I am really not sure what will happen for changes. I thought that I would probably be going but at our conference they said they are going to start trying to leave us in each area for about 8 months, which sounds like a lot to me. For us hermanas that would pretty much mean only serving in two areas so I wonder if they will be a little more loose with the hermanas. We´ll see though. Whatever happens I am hoping to be in a zone with hermana crofts or hermana smith. I am hoping to see hna smith soon because I need a haircut! Well and because she is just awesome.
Hey mom, did you ever get your knee looked at? has it still been bothering you or is it doing better? how has it been doing for your exercise classes and everything? What are you doing today for labor day, anything special?
Yesterday we finally had some investigators in church. the llovet family and coca. The llovet family were a reverence, they are really poor and the mom has been having really serious health problems and the dad has been having to do everything as far as working and cooking, washing clothes and taking care of the kids. the boys didn´t come, they are super shy, but i think the parents had a good experience. I hope that they will start progressing faster and be a little more proactive.
Last week we did a noche de hogar with the familia de lima and we made my box cake and talked about obedience and how you have to follow the directions on the box. the cake turned out really yummy and i made chocolate frosting for it, people here don´t really have the custom of putting frosting on cake but I think that they liked it. I got your package on tuesday with my premarin in it, so that got here really quickly. Thank you for sending it and for the treats! I am making good use of the stationary. I was really missing home this week, tuesday and wednesday were especially hard for some reason. I have really appreciated hna halladay though, she is very patient and understanding and good to talk to. I just keep trying to tell myself that I am only days away from my six month mark. It still just seems like a really long time and I miss you all a lot.
I´m glad you had such a good week, sounds like you are preferred first grade teacher as always. Did you happen to get my letter yet that talks about my recent thoughts for a career path? I want to know what you think when you read it. And did you ever get my birthday card? I am sending one for grandpa tomorrow so I hope that it will get to him before his birthday is long passed.
I guess I don´t really have anything more to say. Just that I love you so much and I really miss you. The next time I email I will be more than 6 months along and maybe headed to a new area. I´ll be letting you know!
I love you to the moon and back! Jessica
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