Week 72

Family!!!

Well, first things first. Today I had to go back to the doctor on account of my last kidney stone is passing. Let`s just get this thing over with already, yeah? Yeah. So I`m real short on time. TBH I`m not sure how Colin writes so much in so little time, cause I`m a pretty dang fast typer #2 humble, but I STILL can`t write that much in such a short amount of time. Impressed. 

This week was good! Can`t believe the change is over/I`m probably getting a new companion tomorrow. Time with Hna Torres has slowly flown!!! I`ve been doing a lot of reflecting on the mission this week on account of Baby Colin Boo is starting, and two of my best friends ever, Tessa and Hna Lundberg, are BOTH FINISHING. I can`t believe it! Like, literally I remember preparing for the mish with Tessa and NOW SHE`S DONE. Like, what the heck? How did that even happen? And I met Hna Lundberg when we were both in our training, and we were comps over 8 months ago. And today was literally the last time I`ll see her (for another month lolz #obessiveprobz). But anyway, I`ve just been thinking about how grateful I am for the mission, everything I`ve learned, and all the experiences I`ve had. And don`t worry, you`ll be getting some good reflections on that in the coming weeks. But yeah, I`m just grateful for la obra misional. 

I am doing really well and am super excited for the home stretch! It`s a super sweet spot of enjoying where I`m at but also being excited for the future. I just feel really happy like all the time.

Love you so much!!!! 

#Rossisboss

Hermana Ross

Jeison!

man vs. wild

the cutest baby child that ever was

Familia Pinto

hahaha a birthday card I got

Sion al Rescate

Fiorela <3

Our branch president locked his 1 yr old daughter in this on account of she is so hyperactive 

A pretty hi-sterical poem written by Hna Hilker

Week 71

Family!!!

Good news is, a picture is worth a thousand words. So I sent lots of pictures to make up for the lack of words lolz. ANYWAY, this week was good though! We met the new mission president (he seems like a cool guy. He is trying to remember Spanish haha. And his wife and son that are here with him don´t speak any, so that´s going to be interesting. I probz won´t get to know him too well, but he really did seem like a nice guy, so hopefully I´ll get to interact with him a bit before #theend.

In other news, this week was really exitosa! We found a lot of new investigators and were able to get a new baptismal date for Selva, Ramona´s sister! Way cool. So we´re going to keep working with the entire Pavon family and hope all goes well! #eternalfamnation

ALSO, it was my birthday this week! Real good. I got a sweet birthday cake yesterday, got some nice birthday calls, got to see some progressing investigators, and it was just a good time. And then today I had a birthday lunch thing and a FREAK TON of missionaries came. I invited like a few friends and my ex comps, but we ended up having more than a zone there hahaha #yolo. It was way fun though, and it was defs a memorable day (especially since it was also the 4th of July!!!) wooooo!!!! #AMERICA5EVER Really though, I enjoy the 1st world a lot.

So yeah, things are good! We are on week 6 of 6 though, so that´s crazy. The new mission president is LITERALLY going to be doing changes on pure revelation, so we´ll see what goes down #pray4Holly

Love you tons!!! Baby Colin is real cute as a missionary <3 So much excitings!

Con amor,

Hermana Ross

With our investigator, Nancy. She just moved to Argentina :(

Birthday stuff (please enjoy all the things the Elders wrote on the heart...)

w/ Hna Torres and Hna Pisco!!

 The new mish prez, Presidente Evans! 

Our hipsta field 

Our district meeting that was all about how as missionaries, we are the same as spiderman #whenyourdistrictleadersare18yroldboys #butiaintevenmad

With Ramona and David y Sergio

The Itaugua krew (one of the members from Itaugua came to the partay, and so we got a picture with all the missionaries there that had passed through Itaugua. turns out it was a lot haha)

Mi bebei, Hna Torres

Welcome to New York

Make it like your birthday every day

Week 70 (Birthday Week)

Family!!!!

Well, first things first is that I'm using Colin's missionary email for this, so that's weird. Life happens. 

Anyway, NGL this week was kinda a hard one. Maybe I was just having sympathy angst for Colin or something, but my animo was just kind of low and it was pretty hard for me to find the hecka intense motivation needed to be a missionary. I was just thinking about how apparent all of my weaknesses still are to me (you know, the sins that so easily beset me and such), and I was reminded of something the RaeBae wrote to me like a year ago back when I was having my charity probz lolz. Anyway, she said, "Maybe you’ve founda bit of a weakness, a force which you would need to motivate you beyond yourself on your mission. Well, no shame, no guilt, now is the time to develop it free of worldly distractions! Everyone has something/many many many things to work on and isn’t it such a blessing that for some of us, Heavenly Father intervenes and literally snatches us up and puts us on a little testing plate (like in those science labs where they grow bacterias and stuff) where we can just develop those Christlike attributes that will make us not only closer to living with our Father in heaven, but happier in this life too?? After this mission you will be SO SO SO much happier for the rest of your life. 

Do not overthink it. You have probably already grown leaps and bounds and will continue to do so. Honest. I swear there were things I struggled with (like personal weakness) my whole mish that I was like, um, I’m getting nowhere on this. But now that I’m home I can totally see where I have improved. Because the mish is extra hard, even though you might not necessarily see improvements out there, when you get home, it’s suddenly so much easier."

So I had shared this with Hna Lundberg back when we were comps, and we both really connected to the whole "mission is a science lab of Christlike attributes" concept. So I was talking to her this week one night that I was just feeling kinda down on myself, and I was mentioning to her about the fact that I feel like the mission brought out a bunch of weaknesses that I didn't really even know I had, and/or I knew I had them but they were pretty minor. And then she brought that example back to my mind and was like, "OF COURSE you see all of your weaknesses as so much of a bigger deal right now. WE ARE UNDER A MICROSCOPE!!" And it was a very good reminder, ya know? That GOD gives us our weaknesses (#Ether12:27), and that everything from God we will come to love (#Luke11:9-13). So I will come to love my own weaknesses. And I really really believe that. 

But the week finished out SUPER well on Sunday and we had FIVE investigators come to church. It was really awesome. And I gave a talk and it went well and it was just a good day. AND as of this past week, Hna Torres and I have OFICALLY contacted more than 1,000 people together!!! Much people. Many Spanish. 

So things are really good and today has been an awesome P-day. We bought some cool recuerdos and had lunch in my comp's old area and it was just a fun time. So I`m still doing super well and and so so so content where I am in life right now. Really tho. It`s extremely awesome and I hope I can have this feeling of contentment with me for like a large part of my life.

Love you so much!!!! Thanks for all your support and love. 

Harts,

Hermana Ross

p.s. It`s officially my birthday week, so things are getting real

P-day last week at the temple! We are all ex comps of Hna Lundberg. Aka as you can see she`s had pretty much all white comps 

That time my comp had like literally 10 calendars on her desk #nottrunkyatall

Week 69

Family!!!

Well this week was rill good! We had our last zone conference with Prez McMullin (he heads home in about a week or so), and we´ll be getting a new mission president. I´ll really only have about a month with the new one, but he seems pretty cool, and I´m excited to meet him. TBH probz the only time I talk to him will be in my final interview, but still... Then we said our final goodbyes to the McMullins and president shook my hand and said, "Hashtag hasta luego." Literally, those were his last words to me. He did the hashtag sign with his hands and everything. 

I also had to freaking arrange a musical number for the conference (they LITERALLY asked me 6 pm the night before), but I got to play piano for it and it went well. 

Also, it was Father´s Day this week (shout out to the Dad Master), so we had a cute activity for that with the branch. Some of the kids recited poetry and it ended in a mini dance party thing. My comp has been trying to teach me how to dance salsa and bachata and stuff, but I think I´m just too #free for that dancing lifestyle. She´s not giving up on me though, so maybe there´s still hope. 

Ramona is still doing super well, and two of her other sisters have started to seriously investigate the church as well, so it´s been really awesome to see them all progress together. I really think they´re all going to get baptized, I just hope it can be while Hna Torres and I are still here together. Updates to come.

Ok, well I love you tons! I LITERALLY can´t believe C-dawg is going into the MTC this week. Like I swear he is LITERALLY not old enough to be a missionary. But I´m STOKEDDDDDDD. Seriously, so excited. Getting his weekly emails will be the highlight of my next two years. Also, the family will be getting double blessings for the next two months, so you should all bask in that for a while. Hope you have a gr8 trip up to Utah. I miss you lots!!

Con amor,

Hermana Ross

Doing the devil´s own chore

#lifegoals

Paraguay

w/ Familia Baez

Ruth and Fabricio <3 He turned 1 last week

That time I tried to teach a baby how to wink and it worked #ladykiller

WEEK 68

Dear family,

Well, this week was pretty good! Kinda uneventful tho, ngl. We´re just doing our best out in Itaugua, but things have slowed down a bit the last week or two. Like, there´s still so much potential, so we´re just trying to do what we can to help people progress #agencyprobz.

Anyway, I´ve been reading the conference ensign again, and true story is that there was kinda a lot that got past me the first time. I guess it´s always that way/ x2 when it´s in a foreign language, but either way it´s been really good to read the talks again. And one specifically that got a lot of hype that I was able to re read was the one that Elder Holland gave in the Sunday afternoon sesh. It was actually really not overrated, and I loved it A LOT. 

He says, "Realizing that we all have to come down from peak experiences to deal with the regular vicissitudes of life, may I offer this encouragement... With the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the stength of heaven to help us, we can improve, and the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don´t always succeed... "Verily I say unto you, the gifts of God are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep my commandments, and for them that seeketh so to do." Boy, aren´t we all thankful for that added provision, "and seeketh so to do!" That has been a lifesaver because sometimes that is all we can offer! We take some solace in the fact that if God were to reward only the perfectly faithful, He wouldn´t have much of a distribution list. 

Please remember tomorrow, and all the days after that, that the Lord blesses those who want to improve, who accept the need for commandments and try to keep them, who cherish Christlike virtues and strive to the best of their ability to acquire them. If you stumble in that pursuit, so does everyone; the Savior is there to help you keep going. If you fall, summon His strength. Call out like Alma, "O Jesus... have mercy on me." He will help you get back up. He will help you repent, repair, fix whatever you have to fix, and keep going. Soon enough you will have the success you seek...

With the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can escape the consequences of both sin and stupidity - our own or that of others - in whatever form they may come to us in the course of daily living. If we give our heart to God, if we love the Lord Jesus Christ, if we do the best we can to live the gospel, then tomorrow - and every other day - is ultimately going to be magnificent, even if we don´t always recognize it as such. Why? Because our Heavenly Father wants it to be! He wants to bless us! A rewarding, abundant, and eternal life is the very object of His merciful plan for His children! It is a plan predicated on the truth "that all things work together for the good to them that love God." So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever." 

I just REALLYYYYYY love all of that #puredoctrine. Sometimes I honestly just feel like I just can´t do all the stuff I have to do in the way I need to do it in the time I have to do it, etc. And this was legit the reminder I needed that OBVIOUSLY I´m not perfect and that´s actually part of the plan. 

Anyway, I love you all lots and lots! I´m still doing super well  and getting HYPED for Colin.

Hearts and stars,

Hermana Ross

1. Mia, the cutest baby EVER. Seriously, such a happy baby

2. Me and my comp

3. Turns out this road was like miles long #2little2late

4. When your comp says "This is what you'll look like when you're a grandma!"
5. My former companion wearing the BYU the shirt I gave her 

Week 67

New change, same me.

Hey-o! Welp, looks like I´m staying here in Itaugua with Hna Torres for another six weeks! Hype!!! Honestly I was kinda surprised just because I felt like she might be leaving, but I´m pretty stoked we´re staying together! We work really well together and things are just super chill. But we have lots of good work going on RN in our area, so I´m glad we *should* be able to see it through together.

This week we´ve been working a lot with an investigator named Ramona Pavon. She´s a mom of two and is way cool and really with it. She has been coming to church for a while, but hasn´t been able to be baptized because her boyfriend doesn´t want to commit to marriage #paraguayprobz. Anyway, we set a couple of goals with her, so hopefully things there will be moving forward! 

In terms of other things, I´ve been reading Doctrine and Covenants the past few weeks, and I forgot how much I love it! Just kidding, I never forgot. Anyway, something that I´ve noted is that like almost every section of DyC was given as revelation in response to someone asking a question. Like every section heading says "yada yada happened and then someone had a question and Joseph Smith asked the Lord and receieved the following revelation." But really, look it up. So pretty much I was just reminded the important lesson of "ask and ye shall receive." But rly tho, I should ask more specific questions to the Lord. We all should. 

Well, I love you so much!!! I´m doing supes well and hope you all are as well. Can´t believe my baby C-dawg went through the temple. Crayzee. It´s going down for real.

See you soon! #tranquinotrunky

<3 Hermana Ross

Thx 4 da luv

 (I sent a birthday package to Holly that her first companion, Libertee Valenzuela hand delivered as she returned to Paraguay for a visit after being home for almost a year.  They were able to connect and feel the love!)

 Hna Torres was like "Ohmygosh, Hna Ross! It´s LITERALLY your twin. LIT-RALLY." Nunca tanto, nunca tanto. 

#terrifying

The Garden of Eden

Adorable kids

With Ramona!

Eating my hand

Cool Cat Photoshoot

Moar adorable kids

Week 66

Dear family,

Wait, is it Labor Day? I`m just now thinking about this. Anyway, true sad story is actually that freaking today we came back to Anahi and it was awesome and #worthit, but also I had to sacrifice my email time for it. Soo i`m sry, but I gotta go in like 10 minutes :`( 

But we have changes tomorrow, so that`s crazy #pray4Holly. The most likely thing to happen would be me staying with Hna Torres on account of the white wash, but also I feel like she`s leaving, so we`ll see about that. Stay tuned.

Love you tons and tons! Things are good and I am good and life is good!

Love, 

Hermana Ross