Season 2 Episode 17 " Houston I think we have.... GRIPE!!!" (3-27-2017)

Season 2 Episode 17 " Houston I think we have.... GRIPE!!!"

So this week we actually had something that we call gripe. It is basically the same as the flu, so nothing really huge but it was a little adventure for us... So because we were sick we were in our beds all day Wednesday and Thursday, and for the first half of Friday. However, there were a couple of things that did happen that were funny. 

So as usual we were able to have an adventure with Alberto. This time he decided to come to the door in just a towel wrapped around his waist. However it was a special towel considering that it had a Lion and a bunch of jungle animals on it... We just looked at each other and laughed and then I said a little prayer that he would put more clothes on before he sat down and we started a lesson. Luckily he did and it was a good chat but we started out laughing our guts out... 

We also got to visit our friends Yesica and Walter, as well as their crazy kids. Their son is about 7 and is crazy, he has so much energy and just runs around all the time. However, this time it got a little intense because he had a knife. So he was running around and then he was throwing this knife at the ground. It didn't really bother us until he grabs their puppy and puts the knife up to his throat.. Needless to say I LOST IT!! Then the family starts laughing and they all start telling me its not real and to prove it they start pushing it against their fingers... It was quite the experience to start out a lesson, and it also happened to be Tuesday afternoon when we were starting to get just a little sick so it was great. 

We went from their house to the Ward Council and the Bishop always says this saying and I love it "Thank you for all that you do and for all that you don't do because it saves me a lot of work." Just a little encouragement from Bishop Molina... 

We have "Gripe" (flu) YES WE DO!!!

Once we had recovered from our FLU/GRIPE we went out and contacted a bunch of new people. There were not a lot that were ACTUAL PEOPLE. (hahahha) So needless to say we will be visiting that area again! However, there was this one lady who told me that she knew me. Then she says "I've seen you before somewhere I AM sure of it" When I explained that I had not been in this area for very long and that I had never been to that part of town she told me that she was sure "that I was famous and that she saw me on TV or something like that..."  We are not sure what will happen with her but it was a little sign that we needed to be doing what we were and contacting at her house, now we just have to convince her that I'm not famous... lol

Birthday brownies for Heywood's Birthday
 Happy 20th - with Loana y su familia!

In all the sickness and craziness I almost forgot that this week was Hermana Heywood's Birthday on Tuesday right before we got sick. We were able to party a little bit with a family and they made brownies, well we started to make brownies and then they ran out of gas so we went searching for a neighbor that had some gas we could use to cook the brownies and pizza. We ended up finding her Grandma in the end we did actually get some Birthday pizza and brownies. Happy 20 BIRTHDAY Heywood!!!! 

This week we were also able to start off the Conference time of year!!! We listened and watched the women's conference on Saturday and we were even able to do so in English!!! This leads me into the.... 

     CHALLENGE for the week, Conference is this weekend (in case you have forgotten) so you know what that means. WATCH IT!! It is a simple challenge, it takes a little bit of time but it is also online and you can watch it wherever you are going to be and when you have time. Isn't technology cool? The most important part is that you WATCH IT because, I know that we are going to receive a bunch of direction that we all need to keep moving forward that will come through the words of the Prophet and Apostles.. 

I love you all and hope that this week will be a great way to SPRING into April!! 

Con Amor (With Love) - Hermana Cassidy Sanovich

Season 2 Episode 16 " The wheels on the Bus go round and round" (3-19-17)

Season 2 Episode 16 " The wheels on the Bus go round and round"

"DA CREW"

So this week we were able to travel A TON!! It was crazy and overall we logged about 36 hours in different buses. It was a great way to spend the week but by Sunday morning we were absolutely exhausted. Our first trip was to Montevideo and the other was to Paysandu and then as usual to Salto for the Monday meetings... 

Cheers to being out 9 months

BRASIL con Elder Higly y Elder Villsanti

Trip to Montevideo - So we left on Tuesday night and got there super early Wednesday morning. It was a little challenging to get any sleep on a bus but it was well worth the 9 hour bus ride because everyone from our group in the mission was there. We were all united and we got to get our Uruguayan cedulas, which basically means that we are all legal Uruguay citizens and we have cool licenses to prove it. One of the best parts of this little adventure was that we all ate some Burger King Brunch, what else are you gonna do when you have 10 Americans chilling in a terminal. The funniest thing was that we were all sitting there and this Elder goes " We have been in URUGUAY for about nine months now, so I say we raise our Burger King glasses in a toast" That's when we all started to laugh really really hard. Then we all had to go on our buses and go to our own areas, which was all good until we had to change buses in Salto. We had been in the terminal eating some dinner when we realized that Heywood did not have her wallet. So we just started to panic a little and in the end we had to go to the storage warehouse luckily we found her wallet...all good... 

LAS HERMANAS DE PAYSANDÚ 

The calm day - Thursday we were at home so it was a little more calm than the other days. However, we had a couple of funny things happen, for starters we got to teach Alberto and he gave us the advice to marry someone in the church that does not drink or smoke because he wants us to be happy. It was kind of random but it was awesome to hear him being so positive... When we went out in the afternoon we taught Yesica and that was a really good lesson because her kids were just chilling and we talked with her about her personal progression. It was going great until we looked up and saw her son BITING the dog!! He grabbed the dog with his teeth by the back of its neck and had it in his mouth... It was gross and sad and the poor puppy was in pain... From one crazy house to a FUN crazy house, we went to have a family night with Zully Trouche and her kids. It was so much fun and we were able to share with them how important sharing the Gospel is.... AND we ate some of her empanadas and they are DELICIOUS!!! 

 Zully Trouche - Yummy Empanadas

Trip to Paysandu - We went and visited my old friends in Paysandu!! It was a fantastic trip and I was able to teach with Hermana Hunsaker, we were able to find two new investigators for them to teach so that was awesome. Then I was able to visit Guadalupe and her mom which was fantastic because they are having a hard time right now, it was fun to be able to lighten their spirits a little. Then I visited Ricardo and his family, they are doing as good as ever and Ricardo is working on his mission papers so that is really cool too... All in all a great trip and it was fun to be the 5 of us together... 

Hilarious Hermanas - So when we got back home from Paysandu we had a little surprise. The door would not open with our key, and this was about at 2 am... So we talked to our landlord and she couldn't help us. Then we went and tried to get in from the back but it didn't work either. SO we went to the police and they came and opened our door for us. They could not get the key to work either and were going to break our door down, but it ended up working just the one time to get in and then after that it was not working at all... We laughed but we really just wanted to go in and sleep.... 

What???? We are wearing SWEATERS????? It's Fall here!

Super Saturday - We went to Brazil with the Elders for lunch because they came for Alberto's interview. Then we had a RS activity and it was by far the coolest activity ever. We all came together to celebrate 175 years of the RS and we were ready to have a nice dinner but the presidency had something else in mind. We all split into groups and went and visited some of the less active sisters that were not able to come to the activity. It was awesome to see them want to help each other and to hear and share about their experiences when we all got back to the church... 

We love our RS Activities 

Desafio (Challenge) This week the challenge is to take some responsibility. I had the chance to talk about this today in District Meeting. We are all 100 responsible for everything that happens in our lives. Granted there are some circumstances out of our control but how we react is 100% on us... So take some responsibility - if that means a new perspective, changing you attitude about something, doing something that you have been putting off, helping someone else in need. Take life by the horns here people, it only happens once. I hope you all get to make the most out of this week and I wish you all the best. 

Have fun and know que les amo mucho!!! 

(I LOVE YOU ALL VERY MUCH)

Hermana Cassidy Sanovich 

Season 2 Episode 15 " Perseverance Pit-Stop (3-13-17)

twins - como siempre

Season 2 Episode 15 " Perseverance Pit-Stop

So this week has been an interesting one...We have had a couple of different experiences with food, us being silly, our pit-stops and of course our real lessons so here are a few stories from this week..

FOOD - We had lunch with a very nice sister from our ward who decided that we needed to eat as much as about three normal people. This led to me wanting to puke my guts out trying to finish all of the food. Heywood had to take a breather and we both walked home wanting to die. Then later on we were able to have lunch with Alberto (the pic with the guy without a shirt is Alberto). He was prepping everything outside and needless to say a bunch of dirt got all up in our food. I was grossed out and did not want to eat any of it, luckily he started throwing all of the bones to the dogs so that was a good way out of actually eating it. On about Thursday this week we clapped in front of an investigators door and instead of her coming outside her chicken walks out the front door. However, that was not the funny part, the funny part was when I saw that this chicken had a fried egg in its mouth. That is right folks we have a cannibalistic Chicken on our hands... It was realllllyyyy weird. 

no shoes, no shirt, no PROBLEM

SILLY SISTERS - So we did some weird things that might be somewhat silly or just funny to us. Either way, it all started when we went to find our investigator Candi. We got to her house and her dad told us that she had moved, but then he gave us the address where we could find her. So we go and are looking for the Ancap (a gas station) and we cant find it and so we decided to ask these two guys that were sitting out front of a store. Turns out that about five feet away, meaning that we should have been able to see the sign for it when we asked where it was but we didn't. To make it even better when we got to the 'house' it turned out to be a gym where she was working out and not an actual house. This week we were able to watch "Meet the Mormons" and we both just started crying and laughing... Have no fear there were a mixture of happy tears and trunky tears (you try watching the missionary leaving his family without shedding a few tears)... 

Then in a lesson where the lady tells us that she is actually a member she also gave us water with gas - IT IS THE WORST!! I do not see how they could make water gross but they did. SO she gives it to us and then goes back inside, so we might have dumped our water out in the bushes so we didn't have to drink it... We cleaned the church again and this week we had 2 frogs in the church with us. We went to push what we thought was the dead frog into a trash sack and it jumped - so we screamed like little girls. Then when we took it outside to throw it away we saw the biggest TARANTULA I have ever seen just hanging out at the church... 

PIT-STOPS - So we have a new tradition and it is called the Perseverance Pit-Stop. There were a few different times this week where we needed to just take a little break. The first one was when we needed some more water because we were both really dehydrated and it was really hot outside. Then the next one was a day where none of our investigators where at home and we bought an alfajor and some more water. Then the next one came when it started to be really really stormy outside and we got really wet so we stopped at a bakery and bought some bizcochos. 

FELIZ CUMPLE - RENZO

LESSONS - We had  stand out lessons this week. The first was with a less active family, they have a son who is our investigator that has autism and his little brother. We were able to talk a lot about our weaknesses becoming strengths, because they have a few things that they are trying really hard to overcome with no success. But it was a great experience to be able to tell them that they are always going to have the Savior helping them and that they can overcome anything they try hard enough with. The second was when we met this guy without any beliefs in anything and we were able to tell him about our beliefs. It was really sad when he told us that his parents had passed away and that they were gone for good. I have never felt the Saviors love stronger for anyone than I did in that moment when I saw the saddness that he felt based on his belief that they we are separated forever. I was so glad to at least testify to him about what we know to be the truth. The best one by far was when we were able to talk to Alberto and he was able to tell us that he is happy and loves God. Seeing his change has been absolutely incredible and being able to see the light in his eyes when he talks about the Gospel is so great... 

The challenge this week is to just take a pit-stop. Take a few minutes today, tomorrow, whenever and think about where you are. Maybe this means turning off the phone or the TV and being able to appreciate where you are and the lovely things around you. Also being able to remember the things that you know and the truths of the Gospel that can help you through all of the hard times in life. And of course the best types of pit-stops include a snack. 

I love you and hope that you all have a great week and that you can persevere through all of your struggles. 

Until next week....Hermana Sanovich 

Season 2 Episode 14 "OHHH We´re HALFWAY there!!" (3-6-17)

Hermana Sanovich 9 months

Season 2 Episode 14 "OHHH... 

We´re HALFWAY there!!"

So this week as some of you may have noticed we completed 9 MONTHS in the mission. So that makes us mission OLD! No, it just means that we are now on the downhill slide of the mission. Its just a little weird but its all good. This week has been a crazy one so I'm going to give you some highlights and a few fun facts.

The one with 9 months - meaning our HUMP DAY! We were able to go to Brazil and we ate some really really delicious Brazilian Buffet where they walk around with all of the different meat on skewers. I have really no idea what kind of meat it was, but it was delicious and I somehow feel like that works better. We then bought a cake that is by far the closest thing to cheesecake (my favorite) that I think they have here in South America, it was delicious. The day ended by us burning a skit. (NO skirts were harmed in the making of this video). Okay so none of OUR skirts were harmed but ya the other one did die... All in the name of good fun. The next day we traveled to Salto for our interviews and we were able to celebrate with the other Hermanas as well our 9 months with some really good pizza. 

Burning of the SKIRT - No Video attached :(

Salto Conferencia - Thursday we were able to have our Zone Conference with President Olsen and it was a good one. He talked to us about all of the different rules that we have but then he taught us a little bit more about the Atonement and how we are all able to use it every single day in our lives. It was a great conference and I learned a lot from our President, he also gave us a bunch of advice to help us all stay motivated and enjoy the mission. When I talked to him in my interview we talked about how his biggest piece of advice for me in these next 9 months was to just be happy and enjoy it. So that is the plan - I am going to enjoy every single minute of the mission and of life in general because we are here to be happy! FUN FACT: we were waiting in the terminal and then out of nowhere we saw President Olsen and his Assistants walk in to go to Subway. He offered to buy us lunch and a drink but we had already eaten. Then he came back and bought us all fries from Burger King. 

The Hermana's

The ongoing joke for us is that the success that we were able to have for the next couple of days comes from the magical french fries. Its the little things that we find funny here.

Newbies - We were able to take the challenge of President Olsen to find new investigators and we were able to find four in just one day!! That is something that we have never done and that doesn't happen often. They are great! It really just goes to show that when you put your mind to things and have a goal and plans to reach it anything is possible.

Experience - One of the new investigators that we met this week is actually married to a less active member that we found by accident one day. We were looking for a different house and had not planned to be anywhere near this area, however I am convinced that God works in mysterious ways and there are no coincidences. We got to there house and they told us that earlier that day they had talked about them both wanting to go back to church. We were able to talk with them and then the husband Walter just looks at us really seriously and says "If someone were to come up to you on the street and held a gun to your face saying that if you denied the entire church you could walk away unharmed but if not they would shoot you... What would you do?" This question was a little starling at first however we were able to tell him that we are hoping that we all can have the faith and testimony big enough to stand up for what we know to be true even in these circumstances.

This leads me right into the challenge of this week--- I was reading the Liahona from Conference in October and I found a talk that I love!!! I would love it if you have the chance to read it "To Whom Shall We GO?" It talks about how there were some of Christs followers that walked away and decided to leave him after they had seen all of the miracles and had been there first hand. He makes a comparison that is incredible he says " Brothers and sisters, accepting and living the gospel of Christ can be challenging. It has always been thus, and it ever will be. Life can be like hikers ascending a steep and arduous trail. It is a natural and normal thing to occasionally pause on the path to catch our breath, to recalculate our bearings, and to reconsider our pace. Not everyone needs to pause on the path, but there is nothing wrong with doing so when your circumstances require. In fact, it can be a positive thing for those who take full advantage of the opportunity to refresh themselves with the living water of the Gospel of Christ. The danger comes when someone chooses to wander away from the path that leads to the tree of life. Sometimes we can learn, study, and know, and sometimes we have to believe, trust, and hope."
This is my challenge to all of you, remember your testimonies that you have and to grow them even more. I know that this church is true and that we are part of the restoration of the gospel in the latter days. Elder Ballard reminds us that the Restoration of the Gospel did not end with the prophet Joseph Smith, nor with the pioneers crossing the plains into Utah. BUT that we all can be part of restoring the gospel in our own lives, in our families and even in the lives of those around us. I could not be happier about the choice that I made about a year ago when I opened and read that letter that told me that I would be serving a mission in URUGUAY!! 

I will be forever grateful for this experience, I plan on enjoying every minute of it. LES AMO!!! (I love them)

Hermana Cassidy Sanovich