Season 1 Episode 17 "Going to the Capi" (9-26-16)

                                        Season 1 Episode 17 "Going to the Capi" (Capital)

Future Elder Artuche

Hello family and Friends, here we are at a cyber (internet cafe) in Montevideo. 

That's right we are here in the Capital city of Uruguay!!! It's pretty exciting and different than our normal p-day. We are here because I needed to sign some paperwork so that I am actually here legally and I will become a Uruguaya Citizen. I had to stand in line for quite awhile (at what is basically a glorified DMV system) 

The Trio

Monday - So after our p-day (last week) we had a district meeting. It was really incredible. Our District Leader Elder Medina (from Paraguay) was teaching us how important it is for all of us to put our all into what we are doing.  Then he talked about how sometimes we are just planting seeds "pero que en algun día esta semilla va a crecer" The seeds that we plant are going to grow whether we are there to see it or not. That was really cool because we do a lot of contacting and planting. 

Thumbs up to Missionary Work

Tuesday - We had a zone meeting and talk about some systems that we are going to put into place here in our mission called "open capilla" (church) and "autosufficiency" to help the people living here learn about the gospel and just better their lives in general, so that was amazing. We had lunch as a zone and that was really fun.

Wednesday - We made some invites to our activity that was on Friday, and handed them out to the members. Funny thing was that when we were leaving with Ponce we met him at the church and he was listening to Whitney Huston " I will always love You" and it was fantastic, we jammed out for a second all together and it was super fun. We then went and visited a less active member named Leo (his mom was the investigator that died) it was good to to talk about the plan of Salvation and see the 

 Wedding this week

hope that it can bring into the lives of those around us. 

Thursday - The big thing that happened was that a member got married!! Her name is Antonella and she is only 16 but she got married to a nonmember that we  have been talking to, Mateas who is 18. It was crazy and really fast but it was good to see that they want to have the church in their lives as they start their own little family... (okay so it was really weird and not normal at all for the states but people get married really young here)

Friday - We had our activity and it went really well. We played charades and talked about how important Prophets are in our lives. There were about 10 people there so that was a little disappointing, its not a great turn out but it is something and the people that were there are the people that are needing some help in being strong in the gospel so that was great.

Saturday - We had a chance to watch the Women's conference with Hermana Cabrerra and it was really cool. It was the first conference that I have seen in Spanish so that was cool, it was also insanely inspirational. There was so much revelation and really good talks in that one session that I am really excited for conference now... 

Conferecia de mujeres en la casa de hna cabrerra
(Women's Conference at the house of Sister Cabrerra)

con burritos que ricoooo
(Yummy burritos)

Sunday - We went to church and had two investigators there. Claudio, we have kind of lost touch with him recently so that is sad but he comes to church and that is really good. And a new investigator whose name is Ana, it was the first time that we met her and it was at church so that is cool.. 

Challenge - The challenge this week has two parts 

1 - think of a question, about life or a certain situation that you are in 

2 - then watch conference!!! 

    

     *I promise that your questions and doubts will be answered if you look for the answers in the words that our Prophets and Apostles have prepared for us. 

Love you, Hna Cassidy Sanovich 

13 months in the mission for Trujillo

Party on the floor for Trujillo 13 months on the mission

Agustina, Nicole, and Fatima Baptism from Paysandu with Hermana McMullin

Baptism in Paysandu - Agustina, Nicole, and Fatima  
Hermana McMullin shared with Cassidy this week!

Talents from the heavens Hermano Artuche draws so beautifully 
Drawing 1

Drawing 2 

 Drawing 3 

Season 1 Episode 16 "Can I get some Water?" (9-19-16)

Season 1 Episode 16 "Can I get some Water?"

Hermana Sanovich and Maxi

Monday - We had a conference with our zone and we changed our schedule a little bit so that everyday we now have two more hours where we are out of our house and get to talk to people and share the gospel... 

Tuesday - We had a lesson this week with a less active member and we were able to talk about astronomy with him a little bit because he teaches a class at the University. 
(this was cool because I was able to use what I learned last semester in my astronomy class) and have an intelligent conversation about it.  and then relate it all to the gospel and how amazing the stars and all of Gods' creations are. 

Wednesday - We went to the Veiga family house and it turns out that they moved to the other side of the country so that was disappointing. But we found a girl whose name is Macarena (just like the song) its actually a really common name here which is odd, but that is besides the point. We were able to visit her and talk about the temple and then she was talking to us about some pop culture songs that we didn't know so that was a little weird to feel disconnected completely. 

Maxi and Fran with Hna Trujillo & Hna Sanovich

Thursday - This day was crazy!! We were getting ready to leave to go to our lunch, we had made brownies and it had made us a little late, so we decided to call a taxi. We were waiting for it to get to our house and it was taking forever so Hermana Silva called back and the driver was telling us that our street didn't exist (which is impossible because we live on this street)  so she started explaining to him where we live and he wasn't understanding so we decided to go to the church because it is a focal point of the city and he was going to meet us there. We get to the church and are waiting for quite some time and decide to call again. At this point we are about an hour late for our lunch and the taxi guy was still lost. Finally, we decide to call one last time and he answers the phone by asking Hermana Silva where we are and it turns out that we called a taxi company that works in Colonia Centro which is about an hour bus ride away from our house... So we felt really really dumb but that's okay. So we ended up laughing at ourselves for quite some time.. 

Maxi and Fran with Hna Silva & Hna Sanovich

Friday - We had a crazy day that consisted of mostly contacting. One that was crazy was this guy that was outside of his house and we talked to him. He offered us some water because it was pretty hot outside. So we were talking to him with our water and he asked us if we wanted some beer instead, we told him we were good with just some water. Then his dog comes outside with his cat and he tells us that we are never going to believe their names. The cats name is Obama, only because it is a black cat and then the dogs name is Fidel. So when the US gets a new president he is going to get a new cat and name it based on that so we are going to wait to go back to see about that. 

Saturday - We did service, with an Hermana whose name is Virginia Fuentes. The pictures that I sent are with her two kids Maxi and Fran. 

Sunday - I got to speak in church this week about living our religion...

Challenge - Serve someone, its simple! 

But important to not only say that we believe in service but to actually do it!! 

Love you guys and have a great week!

The "Three Amigo's"

Backyard view of Virgina Fuentes home

Season 1 Episode 15 "When it rains it s'mores" (9-12-16)

Season 1 Episode 15 " When it rains it S'mores"

S'mores Uruguay style

So this week was a crazy one, it rained for about three days straight and we are currently waiting for the next rainstorm to come in so that is exciting. 

Hermana Trujillo

Welcome to Spring in Uruguay!!! 

Hermana Silva & Hermana Trujillo

Hermana Sanovich with Hermana Silva

Monday- So this was the day where we realized that it was going to rain all day and we needed to be wearing our rain boots. That made things really fun, the puddles are fun getting everything soaking wet is not as much fun, but my feet were dry and warm so all good there. 

Tuesday- It rained again, even more this time. The biggest thing that happened was that when we went to teach our new investigator Ezekial we found out that he is not actually an investigator but that he is a member of the church. He got baptized when he was 12 in Maldonado, Uruguay and then went inactive in a matter of weeks. So that was a surprise for us. 

Wednesday- 100 days as a missionary!! Wow that was fast; i have a feeling that time is just going to keep speeding up every single day goes faster and faster!! Today is also Dia de Brasil!! (I am still unsure if its an Independence day type thing but it was important) So we got to celebrate that this week with again a rainy day. Some really cool things happened today, for example we went back to talk to a contact that we had talked to last week and while we were there his neighbors came in to visit. We started talking to them a bunch and it was incredible, the mom had a ton of questions about the church and then told us that she has been looking and wants to find Salvation for her family. We were thrilled to talk to her!! Then we had the chance to visit our friends Pablo (who owns a butcher shop) and his son Juaquin  we visited with them in this butcher shop. We were surrounded by raw meat and other animal body parts (not the point of the story) but we were still able to talk about the gospel and feel the spirit testify of the truthfulness of the gospel and it was great. 

Thursday- We went to the farm today!! It finally stopped raining so we ventured really far into the party of our area where there are more cows than people and a bunch of open fields to visit this lady named Yanina. On our way to her house we came in contact with a group of not so friendly cows in our path and turns out that Hermana Silva is very afraid of them so we walked very slowly on the other side of the road so nothing would happen. Then when we got to her house we met her two sons named Thiego and Diego, we laughed about their names just a little bit because they are so similar and with her accent you cant tell who she is talking to. Then this afternoon we went and talked to Ezekial again and we ended up speaking in English and we were talking about the Book of Mormon and then he stops looks at me and says " And what about for you?" he basically was asking me for my testimony and it was the coolest experience to have him ask me directly what I believe and what I know to be true. 

Friday- We got a call today that the Crocketts were going to come to our house to see if it was clean and see how everything is working. So because our house was spotless we spent the morning cleaning it up a little bit (nothing major needed to be done, just tidy up a bit, we are not slobs...) so they came by in the afternoon and Hermana Crockett was giving us some marriage advice, that really is life advice for when you are friends or in a relationship with someone that if at any point they stop making you laugh and you get upset with them easily. That you need to take a minute and look in the mirror and evaluate yourself before you get mad. Also that its important not to yell unless the house is on fire... 

Saturday- We got to have breakfast with the Cabrerras, they live in the house next to us 

(our landlords) and their daughter who has been home from her mission for about a year. It was fun to hear her stories and see how much the mission can help people. Then we had the craziest charla (chat) ever. We were showing Ezekial around the church so that it would be more comfortable for him to come on Sunday. So we the three of us had planned on having our Branch President with us and all talk about the church, we did not plan however on having our good friend Ponse or a member whose name is Virginia and her two young kids but we were all there together. I am pretty sure that we talked about almost every gospel topic over the sound of kids playing, ping-pong and then the balance of about six people trying to talk at the same time. It was chaos, but we could see that even just being in the church was a huge deal for him and that he wants to return to church because he could feel the spirit strongly even just being in the church. 

Sunday- We went to church and it was awesome, it is crazy sometimes to listen to these people talking about all of these complicated or advanced gospel principals and then to remember that it all comes back to Christ. The funny thing that happened today was that we went to visit a family that cant come to church because the husband cant physically leave his bed ever, his name is Mario and his wife Pocha, they are such great examples and the spirit that we feel in their home with him is incredible. But we were talking about their life and Mario started to say something about Pocha and how they met, and she looks at him and says "Mario, shut up!" In English, we stared laughing. I love seeing the way that they find joy in everything that they have and they can still laugh at each other .. 

Challenge this week: If you have a chance read the conference talk by President Uchtdorf entitled "He will place you on his shoulders and carry you home" 

Quote from the talk that I absolutely love...  

"It matters not how completely ruined our lives may seem. It matters not how scarlet our sins, how deep our bitterness, how lonely, abandoned, or broken our hearts may be. Even those who are without hope, who live in despair, who have betrayed trust, surrendered their integrity, or turned away from God can be rebuilt. Save those rare sons of perdition, there is no life so shattered that it cannot be restored."

Love you all so much.  Thank you for your continued support. 

Hermana Sanovich

Season 1 episode 14 "Tortas Fritas and some Dulce de Leche" Am I Uruguayan yet? (9-5-16)

Season 1 episode 14 "Tortas Fritas and some Dulce de Leche" Am I Uruguayan yet?

Sunset in Colonia

Monday - We talked to a lady outside her door for about an hour and a half that was an Evangelist. She was absolutely crazy. Fun times to hear about some of our prophets from the bible that she didn't think we believed in and for her to tell us all the ways that we are wrong, but that there is a reason that we were talking to her and she wanted us to join her church. So that happened... 

Tuesday - I learned the reason that everyone makes tortas fritas (like scones but better) every time that it rains. I guess that a really long time ago when it would rain people didn't have money or the desire to go and buy bread so they would go and catch some rain water and then make this treat... They are delicious and they make rainy days way better.

Wednesday - We went to Montevideo and had a conference with about half the mission. President and Hermana Olsen, Elder Packer (his son), and then Elder Braggs. It was really fun. The only thing that was a little bummer was that we spent the entire night before getting ready. Because if there is one thing I have learned already with a Brazilian companion is that we are going to look our BEST if we are going to see anyone important.(hahaha)

Visit to Montevideo 

But highlight of the entire day was MCDONALDS for lunch!! Good old american food in the mall there, it was delicious (and I don't even like mcds) 

Thursday - So I now have 3 months in the mission!! That happened way faster than I thought that it would. That's exciting, the downer of the day is that Hermana Silva got sick. Well a bunch of missionaries in our zone got sick. They are pretty sure that they got a virus and that it is from the Mexico CCM...  In other words our good friend the double dragon has arrived!! So we stayed in for the afternoon and I got all caught up on my journal and big news, finished an entire journal!! And bigger news, I covered my planner with these cute pics from the Liahona (you have to do it, peer pressure ) 

Friday - We talked to our ward mission leader, he is funny and he is really willing to help us with the work 

Saturday - We cleaned the church this morning. Then in the afternoon btw funny/weird things happened...

1- We went to talk to a less active member in his Carniceria (butcher shop) and we were talking about dulce de leche and tortas fritas with him when all of a sudden he just gave us a hudge tub as a gift. The people here are just like that, they are so giving and loving of everyone. 

2- Later that day we were walking down the street and there was this guy just standing there looking at us (a little weird but not creepy). So we walk past him and he asks us in English how we are doing, and what we are doing. It took us by Surprise that he spoke English but it was cool. Turns out his name is Ezekiel. (the bible name) He wants to know what the purpose of life is???? He said that he always wakes up early on Sunday, so he is excited to see us at church. That never happens here, it was a crazy interaction with someone that was waiting for us to talk to them!! 

Jersey for Hermana Sanovich 2 month mark
It has been 3 months now... for those counting! 

Sunday - Church was amazing!! We had an investigator whose name is Claudio there 
(he is 10). Ezekiel was not there but he had come earlier and talked to a member that was there setting things up and told him to tell us that he wasn't going to be able to make it this week but that he wants to meet with us and that he will be at church next week for sure!! He is incredible, we are really hopeful and excited to teach him this week. Sad note, one of our investigators died this week and it took a toll on the ward because they were really involved with helping her progress... 

Jersey - Paysandu

Challenge: This week I want to challenge you to watch these 2 videos 

1- Caminos Equivocados 
(Wrong Roads by President Holland) 

2- Stuck on an Escalator (YouTube Video)

These 2 videos teach about decision making. the first one teaches us to trust in god and ourselves to make the right choices and the second one (is hilarious) and teaches us to act and not just be acted upon.

Thank you for all of your love and support and I hope you have a great week!

Hermana Sanovich  

Nice facial Hermana Silva

Getting Ready the Brazilian Way

The three Hermanas (Trujillo, Sanovich and Silva)

Kitchen Colonia

Front room in Colonia

Family Room Colonia

Kitchen continued Coloina

View from the Casa

Another view from the Casa

Watch DOG "Camello"