Last Zone Meeting

Hellooo everyone!

Time is flying. It's already Monday! What?! Mom! I received your Valentine's Day package. Thank you! That was quite the package! Hermana Rodriguez and I were really excited.

We had a really great week, and once again we witnessed many miracles. On Tuesday we had a Zone Meeting, and since it was the last zone meeting of the transfer, all of the missionaries that finish their missions at the end of the transfer were asked to bear their testimonies. That was such an incredible experience. There are six of us in our zone that finish their missions this transfer. The spirit was incredibly strong and it was neat to see how converted we have all become as a result of trying to invite people to come unto Christ. (Hello, run-on sentences! Sorry. That's how they speak here in Argentina.) It truly was a moment I will never forget. It was neat to reflect on the progress that we have made in every aspect of our lives. One Elder talked about how we go home as different people. It's true. I'm still Brittni Vawdrey. But, I'm not the same person I was when I came on my mission. But I'm the new and improved! And as horribly sad as it is that our full-time mission is coming to an end, our missions don't end. As members of the Church we are missionaries every day of our lives. It's just time to change the location. The Lord needs us to be in other places, doing other things so that we can continue to help Him bring all of His children unto Christ.

Another day this week we had quite the adventure because there was another big storm. It didn't rain much, but the wind was out of control! Which isn't that pleasant when you have to walk around in a skirt all day. haha. Because of the wind it ended up cutting out the lights! We got to our apartment one night and had to plan by candle night. :) It was funny because the lights came back on at about 10:25, and we go to bed at 10:30. So we had 5 minutes of light before we had to turn it out again. :)  But it was a good experience to realize just how blessed we are to have light and electricity. For example, instead of taking the elevator we had to hike all of the windy stairs. God has a funny sense of humor sometimes to help us remember just how blessed we are, right?

We found several great new investigators this week. And N came to church! It was such a miracle! I wish I had time to tell you all the details. I just have to say that when we give the Lord our hearts, when we do absolutely everything in our power, He does the rest. :)

I know the gospel has been restored. We have the fullness of the gospel on the earth today, and it will never be taken away again! I love my Savior. I know He lives. I know the Lord hears and answers every prayer. We are children of God and we have so much divine potential that we can't even comprehend it. Only because the Lord loves us, and wants us and trusts in us to accomplish great things. So. Keep doing those great things that you're doing. You're making the Lord proud!

Family, I love you! I hope you have a great week! Les quiero mucho!
-Hermana Vawdrey

As a request from the Mama, here are some fun facts/quirks about Argentina:

• People here in Barrio Pueyrredón love Backstreet Boys. And AC/DC. ha Dad, it makes me think of random times driving in "Gus" when we would listen to AC/DC on the way to the boy's sports games. Good times!

• Floppy hair! Oh my. I've never seen so many loose, floppy ponytails in my life! And it's always right on top of their head! ha I get a kick out of it.

• Umm Fashion, (because I naturally notice that) saggy crotch pants are every where. "Pantalones feos" is what I call them. They're so ugly I got a pair because they'll be fun to use for some costume parties in the future.

• Argentines LOVE stickers! They put them on everything. Phones, computers, cars, wallets, etc.

• Pan. Argentines cannot live one day without eating their pan (bread)/ They eat bread every day. And it's funny because when it's served they almost never put it on their plate, it always goes on the table.

• They are so direct! If you look fat, have a bad hair day, etc. they tell you! It's like Grandpa Jon. hahah No filter. ;)

But I love these people. I want you to know that.

Brian Edwards! HELLO!! I got your letter! How great to hear from you. :) I meant to write to you quite a while ago, but I figured you had moved already from the previous apartment address. I hope you're enjoying your internship-trip thing in New York!

Hermana Rodriguez and me

Thanks for sending new socks, Mom. This is what I was wearing!

So pretty before it rains. The sky is huge here without mountains.

The Lord takes care of his missionaries!

Family and Friends,

Wow, family, new ward huh? That's really exciting. I love change. After 12 years of living right on the borders of the ward boundaries, I guess it's about time that we get bumped into another ward, right? AH! And did you hear! They opened up 58 new missions in the world! TWO in Argentina, EIGHT in Mexico, and many more. It's so neat to see the gospel spreading throughout the Earth. :) I'm still anxious to see when a mission will open up in China. :) Ty: I can see you serving your mission there!

Mom, Happy belated birthday! And M (one of the members here) says Happy Birthday too! I showed her a family picture the other day and she called you the young, rubia, movie star. haha It's true. You're beautiful. I hope you had a wonderful birthday.

Yesterday we witnessed something truly remarkable. MG, one of the members has been working on coming back to church. Her son has been inactive for years and years, but he agreed to have a Noche de Hogar (FHE) last night. He got baptized when he was 14, and he is now 35. He's got long hair, a beard, and he's covered in tattoos. Ha! We decided to keep it simple, and we taught about the faith. We read in the Book of Mormón when Alma compared faith to a seed. It was incredible to watch how the spirit brought all of the gospel topics to his remembrance. He truly had a repentent heart and said he wants to change, and he wants to come back to church. We gave him a new Book of Mormón and he started to cry. He told us about how he felt when he got baptized, and how he wants to feel that way again. It was such a blessing to be able to witness that. The Lord has been preparing him to come back, and we are feeling so blessed to be able to help him.

We heard some interesting news the other day: Remember how we used to live in another apartment here in Barrio Pueyrredón? Shortly after we moved there was a huge fire that badly damaged the 11th floor (where we lived) and several other apartments. The Lord takes care of his missionaries!

The church is true! And it always will be. I love you all! Have a good week.

-Hermana Vawdrey

His way is perfect!

¡Hola Familia mía y amigos!

It sounds like you all had a fun week. I'm glad to hear that all is well back at home. Here in Argentina I'm doing good too. :) This past week our mission president challenged us to have a "semana celestial," or a celestial week to strive to be the best we can be, the most obedient, diligent, faithful possible. It was a really neat experience. Yet again, we saw so many miracles. For sure Satan was trying his best to discourage us with the heat and the "never-ending siesta," but as we endured to the end each and everyday we were able to see the Lord's hand in our lives. Sometimes the miracles didn't come until the very end of the day, but Hermana Rodriguez and I had some really neat experiences. Have I ever told you that I love being a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Well...I do.

The beautiful little girl we baptized last week

One of the cute members we've been focusing on lately had a neat experience. She was living with her mom and her son, but her mom is really against the church and would try to do anything possible to create distractions when she tried to study the scriptures or pray. Finally she decided that she wanted to move and find her own place to live so that she could have a place where the Holy Ghost could dwell. We taught her earlier in the week about prayer and how you should always pray to counsel with the Lord before you do anything. (Alma 37:37) A few days later she sent us a text message saying that she prayed to the Lord for His help, and through a big miracle was able to find a new place to move to! It makes me smile so big to see her growing so much spiritually. I can see in her countenance now just how much more she confides in the Lord. It's a beautiful thing.

This cute little abuelito (grandpa) got baptized this weekend en el Barrio Villa Serra de los Élderes Adkin y Whiteman. He's 76 years old, and a 77 year old member baptized him. :) Poor grandpa can hardly walk, and he can't bend his knees very well so it made it hard for him to get baptized. I think they had to try 7 times to get it right! At first he didn't go completely under the water because he didn't bend his knees. Then he finally did, but the cute old member baptizing him mixed up the words of the prayer. I was sitting next to an investigator at the time. She was super worried about this poor old man that had to keep trying to get baptized. But the spirit helped me teach a profound lesson as I was explaining to her that baptism is a very sacred thing. It's a covenant that we make with our Father in Heaven. It is the door to enter into His presence. And His house is a house of order! You can't just go through the motions, get part of it right, and expect to go in. It has to all be perfect. He is perfect, and His way is perfect!

Elder Atkin, Member, Convert, Elder Whiteman

I was also humbled this week by the example of one of the members here in Barrio Pueyrredón. Presidente Detlefsen's mother-in-law has been really really sick and was hospitalized. A medication she was prescribed to take had some really bad side effects, and after time her stomach was all perforated and infection had spread through out her entire body. She's in her seventies. The poor thing! She was in a medically-induced coma for about a week so that the medics could control the infection and help her body heal. This past week she was making lots of progress so they took out the breathing tube and everything and now she's on bed rest. Her calling in the ward is to make the calendar for the missionaries so that they can eat with the members. They said the second day that she was out of her coma she was already worrying about the missionaries and how she hadn't been magnifying her calling for a week. That woman is a die hard example of someone who wants to serve the Lord. She is always focused serving others. Now don't worry, we've been fine. We just filled up the calendar ourselves while she was in the hospital, but it was so sweet to hear how quickly she remembered her responsablity to serve the missionaries. :)

All right, I'm out of time. But I hope you know that I love you all and hope this letter finds you well :)

-Hermana Vawdrey

Juli J! I got your dearelder! It made my day. Thank you! I can't wait to be your friend in the real world. Don't worry, I'm working hard, but I'll be home soon. Hope you're enjoying institute! Love you Hern.

Sergio: Recibí su carta también! ¡Gracias! Espero que disfrutara sus vacaciones y que todo esté bien. Mi buena amiga la Hermana Squire está ahora en Barrio Puerto. Cuídela para mi, bueno? Mande saludos a su hija y la famlia Greco!

ESTEFANIA HENRIK!! Felicidades por su llamamiento misional! Estas nocitias me pusieron re contenta :) Será una misionera de diez!!