Hermana Sanovich in Uruguay: Season 2 Episode 2 " Where in the World is Walmart" (12-12-16)

Season 2 Episode 2 " Where in the World is Walmart"

So to start off I will just explain the title quickly... This week it was the birthday of this lady who is like a cute little grandma. So we decided last minute to buy her a little card and drop it by her house. HOWEVER, birthday cards are not really a big thing here so we went to the papeleria (the paper store, or where there should be everything that has to do with paper) And they didn't have any. So we looked in another store and even went to our little supermarket where we buy everything and nothing... We finally found a place where there were about 3 options and they weren't the best cards ever but, its the thought that counts. Also with groceries we have to plan what we need and then decide which store to go to that has ALMOST everything that we need for the week. I have thought to myself more than about 50 times this week that we need a WALMART in Uruguay that also sold some American food because the people here would love that. So if anyone wants to come start a Walmart here they could make the big bucks :)

So our week for reals went by really fast and it all started on Monday...

We had a great p-day and were able to do everything that we needed to get done. Then we decided to go and visit this less active young women who lives pretty far away. Well it turns out that she wasn't home so we turned right back around and ran (literally) to be on-time to practice for our choir performance this Friday. So we were able to practice, there are still ongoing jokes about me not being able to sing the right part but its hilarious and personally I think that I am improving so that is what counts. Then the Hermanas from "Real" came to our house because we were having divisions on Tuesday, so they came and slept over and we all got to sleep with the sound of some rain because there was a pretty big storm that night.

Tuesday - Luckily when we woke up the skies were clear and it started heating back up just like normal so that was fun. I spent the morning with Hermana Orán (she is from Perú) and we were able to go and talk to a bunch of people about the "Light the World" video and gibe them a challenge so that was awesome. Then we all met up and had lunch with the Suarez family, they are hilarious and every time we are with them we feel like we are at home so that is always nice. Then I spent the afternoon with Hermana Whitt (she is from North Carolina). We were able to visit Brian and his family with Hermano Ponce before coming back to the church to start making some decorations to put up outside of the church for Relief Society.

Wednesday - Pretty average day, we got to meet a bunch of new people and we had a funny mix up when we went to talk to this guy named Willy we found out that his neighbor is also named Willy. The Willy we were really looking for wanted to talk to us and this other guy did not want to talk to us at all so that was funny.

Thursday - The biggest thing that happened today was our last choir practice because the performance was on Friday. We left the church all feeling really good about it and excited to be able to participate in the community and share the Gospel with those around us.

Friday - We went out to the middle of no where and taught this lady named Yamima, and when we were leaving her house we ran into this weird old guy who was determined to give us a beso (HUG) (the way that they say hello) and he grabbed me and pulled me in and it was quite possibly the funniest thing to happen to us for awhile. We also went to visit Mario and Pocha so that was good to see them. Then the long awaited CHOIR. It was really different to enter in o a different church as a missionary surrounded by a bunch of different choirs from different religions. But it was one of the coolest experiences ever. We were all able to come together to celebrate something that means a lot to all of us, the birth of our Savior. That was a really neat experience. (And I think that our choir ended up sounding great so there is that too :)

Saturday - We are teaching this guy named Brahayan (weird name but he is cool). He is 21 and he is from Peru too so that is cool to hear them (my comp) both share about their different cities in Peru. We were able to talk with him about the Book of Mormon and answer a lot of his questions about prayer and the scriptures in general. We also were able to help Hermana Virginia Fuentes dig 2 holes in her yard and get a pool set up for her kids. This then may have led to a little water fight with her kids... It was good to help her out and to be able to laugh and have some fun too :)

Sunday - It was a really weird day here, so this weekend the town has been having their "Festival de cerveza" It is basically Oktoberfest here but it is December. SO not a lot of people came to church this week and nobody was home all day. The people we did find told us we should be at the party and they didn't want to take our time away from us doing that. Kind of ironic but it was all good, we ended up being able to visit a less active member that wants us to come by and teach his family so that was really good. Luckily we were able to avoid the craziness of the parade they had here because he lives on the other side of town.

Challenge Story - On Sunday there was a talk given about "Happiness" he told this story "There was a group of scholars and the wisest people gathered all together to discuss where to hide this precious gift so that nobody would be able to find it. One suggested to put it up high where nobody could reach. Another said to place it on another planet but they decided that they would build a machine that could travel there and retrieve it. Then an elderly man entered the room and suggested that they place it within themselves because surely then no one would ever find it." This gift is Happiness, we go looking for Happiness in a lot of different places, included in a lot of material things. HOWEVER, Happiness is a choice and we all get to choose to be Happy everyday because it is already inside of us to be that way!!!

The Challenge this week is to be HAPPY!!! Not just because of the Christmas Season, or the gifts, lights and glitter but to be Truly Happy. Then...(this is the tricky part) TO share that Happiness with someone else. I know that as we help and serve those around us we are able to find MORE Happiness and Joy than we ever imagined.

Have a fantastic week, Love Hermana Sanovich

Christmas has arrived for the Hermana's