Season 3 Episode 4 " Our bad" (6-26-17)

Season 3 Episode 4 "Our bad"  

Random pic with a Random horse

This week was a little different, we had the wonderful idea to schedule our different appointments back to back  so that we would be using all of our time wisely while we were here. However, someone (me) forgot that we actually walk everywhere and that some of these people do not live close to each other. So every time that we realized that we were not going to be able to be in two places at once we would just look at each other and say "Our bad"...It is our little joke now... We did learn that we will not be scheduling things that way EVER again, but hey we did see a bunch of miracles so I would say that it was worth it. 

One of these miracles involved about an hour walk, lots of dirt, almost being hit by cars and lots of mosquito bites 32 to be exact... However, it was totally worth it! We went out to a neighborhood that I had never been to before to find our friend Silvia that was a reference from Alberto that we had taught a couple of times. So we get out to this neighborhood and there a ton of houses that are all basically on top of each other and we have no idea where to start. So we see a chicken that actually did not look like a dinosaur and we clapped outside the door in front of the chicken. The woman didn't know Silvia and then out of nowhere their neighbor comes out and just says "she lives next door" and points to the house to our right. So we were looking for her but turns out she was not home - but these neighbors wanted to know more...(how exciting) so we taught them about the Restoration in front of their house. At one point I looked and there were about 10 little neighborhood chillens listening to us. This neighborhood has so many opportunities and we are looking forward to going back and meeting more people. 

A different miracle was that I was finally able to do some service!! I have wanted to do something more than the dishes as a service activity forever now and this week we finally got our chance, TWICE!! We helped a family that just moved into the ward stain their window shutters, and later on in the week we helped a Hermana cut out some flags to make a banner for her little 3 year old daughters Birthday. I know neither of them are huge acts of service but we are moving up in the world here people. I guess you could also count the fact that we were in charge of the Nursery and Primary this past Sunday as part of our service too... We are getting there, small acts of service everyday. 

Anyways the big news this week is that CECILIA IS GOING TO GET BAPTIZED!!! We had the opportunity to have Elder Gomez and Elder Martinez come up to our little Bella Union and we had her interview and it looks like she will be getting baptized this coming Saturday. We are all really excited for her and it is even cooler because all of the young women have been so nice and accepting of her, she feels like she is part of the ward already. Ward members and their involvement with her has been huge, from Alberto telling us about her to actually teaching her. The Ward here has always supported us which is amazing. 

The ZONE

So as I said in total I have about 32 mosquito bites on my legs, and they may or may not be driving me absolutely crazy!!! They are itchy and usually they are just a huge distraction... Now what on Earth does this have to do with anything? Two very important words that even a 5 year old told me this week when he saw my legs "BUG SPRAY"... Now to be honest I know that bugs are everywhere, and I know exactly where our bug spray is in our house--- HOWEVER, I have been a little stubborn and have not taken the precaution of using bug spray recently and am now feeling the affects...SO your Challenge this week is to apply the "Spiritual Bug Spray" everyday, it will be our protection because, temptation is real, everywhere and hidden just like these lil mosquitos, but if we do the little things that will protect us everyday we can walk through life without as many bug bites and trust me if I could do it again I totally would use bug spray, its easy and 100 percent worth it...

One more of OUR ZONE

Thank you for all of your love and support that you give me, I can not say it enough!! 

Thank you for being the best people ever!!! 

I love you and hope that you all have a bug bite free week 

LOVE, Hermana Cassidy Sanovich 

Season 3 Episode 3 "It's Just a little hiccup" (7-19-17)

Happy Fathers Day

Season 3 Episode 3 " It's Just a little Hiccup" 

Hiccups... Could be one of the littlest things in the world that just drive me crazy, they stop you from talking, they are loud and everyone looks at you funny as you try to deal with them quietly. 

This week we were also blessed to see so many little miracles and to feel the Spirit so strongly. However, there were also a few moments that things didn't quite go as we had planned or hoped (the hiccups) 

We also had a bunch of opportunities to share the Gospel 
and to help those around us this week.  

* Starting off the week we met a less active mother of three who lives in our area and went to visit her and her kids this week. We were at their house and we asked her to pick a hymn and she just looks at us and says "I cant read", so we turn to her son who is 13 and ask him and all he says is "I cant either"... So we were a little taken a back and we decided to ask if there was a song she remembered and she found one that she remembered her mother singing to her when she was little. SO we are singing the song and she starts joining us. It was one of the most Beautiful and heartfelt voices I have ever heard. Then she prayed and the majority of her prayer was her blessing us and our families and thanking us for what we are doing here. By the end of the lesson we both felt the love of God for her and her children so strongly that it almost brought us to tears... Lesson!  I am so blessed 

* The next learning moment of this week was when we were helping a family clean their kitchen, just a small daily task. Let me set the scene for you, the "kitchen" is a slab of concrete that is underneath a wooden roof that has some metal to block out the cold and act as walls, there are spiders everywhere and there are more dirty dishes in a pile than I have ever seen in my life. However, with the help of an awesome member in our ward the three of us were able to help them clean enough to be able to actually use clean dishes and to have a more sanitary place to cook. Lesson! I am so blessed 

Ice Cream with Cecilia

This week I have seen all of these blessings that I usually would take for granted, like reading, writing, having a roof, running water, heating, safety, family, the Gospel... Just to name a few. Some of the little blessings of this week also came with some hiccups.. To start it all off I literally had the hiccups 6 times, that is right 6 times in one day -- after that the hiccups just kept coming. 

We went to a youth activity with our awesome investigator Cecilia and it turns out the activity was canceled...so we took Cecilia to get ice cream. Then we went to teach Alberto and Abuelo and found out that they have been smoking... We also had a day of a little sickness that kept us inside for a few hours. 

Lesson with all of this? Has to do with the challenge for this week. 

Random Selfie &
A Random Bone in the Road

Sometimes there are hiccups, physically and metaphorically. They are not the end of the world. While extremely annoying and completely irritating as far as I know its not the end if you get hiccups. Its the same way in life. Sometimes there are unexpected challenges or experiences that become like (hiccups) in our lives. However, it is through these moments that we are able to grow and learn the most. There were times where I freaked out because I had the hiccups and couldn't talk and it never made it better. Applying this to life (or trying to) When we use the hiccups and laugh a little and only have a positive attitude we are always better off.   So the challenge this week is to laugh through the hiccups, not sure if it is doctor recommended but it gets the Sanovich stamp of approval. 

Thank you all for being the best and for helping me live through the hiccups. 

***Before I go I just want to wish my Dad a "Happy Fathers Day!" 

Thank you for being my dad and for all that you do for us!! LOVE YOU!! 

Thanks to all of the Wonderful examples of Dads, Uncles, and even Brothers that I have in my life. (you know who you are...)

Uruguay won something important in Futbol
Party in the streets

Love you all and hope you have a great week, 

Hermana Cassidy Sanovich 

Season 3 Episode 2 " Hold your Horses" (7-12-17)

Season 3 Episode 2 " Hold your Horses"

Make a WISH!

We have seen so many horses that we decided that every time we see a horse we are going to make a wish. It is a little weird I know but with how many horses there are wandering around in Bella Union we are going to make a bunch of wishes and they are going to help us with the Missionary work here too.  Anyways enough about the random horses and the little things in life that keep us laughing here. 




We actually have had an amazing week full of a bunch of different experiences that have changed my life. 

We had a cool experience with an investigator where he taught us about prayer. We asked him if he had prayed and thought that God could answer our prayers and he grabs his work schedule and just hands it to us. At this point I was a little confused and thought that maybe I had said something wrong, so I repeated the question. He then points to the majority of his scheduled classes and says "This is new, this one too, a week ago I didn't have any of this." I looked up from the paper at him and then I understood. He had prayed, and not only did he think that God was listening but he knew that he was answering too. 

We taught this lady about the Plan of Salvation and we were talking about the knowledge that we have about life after death and she just kind of looked at us. Then I decided to ask her if she thought that there was anything after this life, she answered by telling us a story, not too uncommon here in Uruguay. However, this story was different - she had a dream where she saw her brother in law in front of two pathways, one clean and bright while the other was dark and thorny. She watched him as he then chose the lit path and went out of sight. She shared with us that she had had this dream a few days before her brother in law passed away. It was a great chance for us to be able to share more about the Plan of Salvation and how we know that we can make this choice everyday. 

We then had the opportunity to help an elderly man that is a less active member here in Bella Union move a few of his things so that the river that is growing and flooding the entire country would not ruin his things. But he only let us move them a little ways away and I am pretty sure that by tomorrow all of his belongings and the tent where he is living with his 10 dogs will be completely under water. Even though this is the case he is so confident and is trusting the Lord and has decided he does not want to bother anyone because he "has everything he needs". This mans house, that is more of a cardboard shack, is completely under water. The animals that he loves are dying because they are sick and do not have any food. He is living under a tarp with a bunch of wet and humid clothes to keep him warm. Yet he told us that there are other people that need our help and that he is fine because he is healthy and knows that God loves him. This mans Faith and trust in God has truly inspired me, and showed me how little the things in life actually matter. 

"1 YEAR"

These three experiences have shown me how much God knows us. I love that we have the certainty that he knows us personally and he knows exactly what we need in our lives in the moments that we need it. This is part of the challenge for you this week is to recognize the relationship that you have with Heavenly Father and as with any relationship, if you want to know how much he actually knows and cares about you just ask him. I know that he loves us more than we can even imagine and that he is looking out for us in our lives every single day. 

I love you!!! Thank you for being such amazing people!! 

I hope you all get to have some fun in the SUN this week!! 

Hermana Cassidy Sanovich

Season 3 Episode 1 " Uniquely Uruguayn" (6-5-17)

Thoughts for 365 days

Thoughts left - 183 days

Season 3 Episode 1

"Uniquely Uruguayn"

  
   
So people it has 
been a year. 
That is absolutely crazy!!! 

I can not believe that time has flown as fast as it has?!? 

    

I love being a missionary and I love Uruguay!!!! 

The night Cassidy was set apart!

I want to share a few things I LOVE about Uruguay... 

the FOOD - tortas fritas, mondongo, mayo, gizo,  milanesas, fideos con tucco, bizcochos. 

the CULTURE - vos, che, mate!!, gauchos, besos, talking, the LOVE they have for everyone        

the MOTOS - everywhere, 5 or more passengers, no helmets, no traffic laws actually exist

the ANIMALS - cows, horses, carpinchos, dogs, tero teros

the PEOPLE -  LOVE, service, humility, so giving... 

These are just a few of the many many things that I love about this country, where I get the chance to share the Gospel everyday. This week was crazy (as usual) because we had Conference and spent the majority of the week here in Salto and away from our area but nevertheless some really cool things happened this week. 

?????

The first being that we taught a little 12 year old girl, Cecilia who ended up coming to church with us this Sunday. She is a reference from Alberto and she is awesome!! Another awesome Alberto experience is that when we were talking with him and a neighbor of his he told us that " I can feel the presence of God and Christ when we talk to you". BEST moment of the week for sure.

HOME away from HOME

We talked about the spirit a bunch this week in conference and together as companions. It has been amazing to share the gospel and the spirit with others this week every chance that we have had. That is the biggest thing that I have seen and learned during my short time in Uruguay is that when we have the spirit in our lives we are able to enjoy so many different blessings. SO our little Sanovich Soapbox here... LOVE, it is not always easy to love one another. I think that I have truly seen the real meaning of loving others as I have seen people with nothing serve others and give them all that they have. That is true charity and through their examples we are able to love others more and more every single day. This gospel changes lives and it is amazing to be able to share it with everyone every single moment of the day. I LOVE being a missionary!! it has been a crazy 12 months of ups and downs and laughs and yes even tears. BUT every single moment has been so so worth it!! I love this gospel and I want to share it to others for the rest of my life!! 

And so that is my challenge to you all this week --- SHARE the gospel!  Share the blessings that you have with those around you. I use to think that it was hard and that it had to be everything all at once. But it doesn't work that way at all, sharing just the simplest of messages with others is something wonderful!! 

Hermana Sanovich & Sierra "Selfie"

I love you and hope that you have a 

wonderful week starting out the warm Summer out right!! 

Love, Hermana Cassidy Sanovich 

Season 2 Episode 26 "Rain brings out the best of Bella Unión" (5-29-17)

Season 2 Episode 26 "Rain brings out the BEST of Bella Unión"

So this week it has been raining every single day. That's right, water has been falling from the sky since last Monday and did not stop until early this morning. This has led to a few funny experiences for us this week and some funny quotes from the other missionaries here in Salto, this is how we feel about all the Rain... 

"Will it ever stop raining?" -E Silva

"The Sky is spiting on us" - H Harker

"People hide when it is raining"- H Sierra 

"It's like walking in mist" - E Heaton 

"They say it is going to rain until Wednesday" - E Gómez

"It's like Halloween!"- E Black 

Me with my Favorites "Carpinchino's"

ZOO day in Uruguay

So as you can tell the rain has been a really big part of this week. However some other cool things happened too!! We actually got to see the sun this morning and I was overly excited for sure. SO also something else that happened was that for p-day we went to a zoo, and it may have been the most exciting thing that I was looking forward to all week long and it was actually not as bad as I thought the Uruguayan Zoo was going to be. There were Bears, Lions and Tigers and some other animals that we would not put in a zoo in the states but its all good. 

ANYWHO this week was interesting.

We had some experiences with food.. We ate mondongo... What is that? Well I have been told that it is the intestine of a cow... Was it good? NO!! We were eating it and I wanted to barf the entire time. It is rubbery and there really is no type of flavor at all but the texture just kills you. We were able to finish it luckily - trick to eating things that are gross is to not chew and just swallow. So this made our lunch's that we made at home even taste better because we were able to cook some delicious tacos and some Alfredo chicken. I would say that this training thing is helping out my cooking skills because our food is actually delicious! 

Divisions in Salto

So aside from the rain and the food we were also able to teach some really cool people. Two of them were Silvia and Cirino... Silvia is a reference from our good friend Alberto who is actually living with her less active Grandpa. So we were able to visit her and to teach her and she wants to come to church and get baptized so that makes us really excited to work with her and get her to reach her goal. It was also one of the best experiences to hear Alberto testify and share all about how the Gospel has changed his life. It is such a blessing to be able to see how much the Gospel means to him and how much he wants to share.

Now onto Cirino - so he is a little different. He is about 65 and he is a retired veterinarian. He smokes, like a lot a lot... he also was really awkward talking to us the first time and I didn't think that we would talk to him again. BUT we did and when we had finished we asked if he had any questions and He goes " How do I become as certain as you guys" which is basically any missionaries dream question...We were able to explain that everyone is able to get their own response and have that certainty. He is really looking forward to having it for himself and it is awesome to see his desires pushing him to act and do everything to get his answer. 

Hermana Sanovich and Hermana Sierra

Challenge - So this week I actually have been looking back on a few things. I am not sure if any of you realized but this week will be my one year mark as a missionary. Wow has the time flown by. I would not trade it for anything in the world. One thing that stands out to me that I have been sharing with the people here in Uruguay is how important our communication with our Heavenly Father is in our lives. I have loved being able to teach people to be able to communicate with him and then in turn teaching them how he communicates to them. One of these ways is to be reading the scriptures.  Awhile back the challenge was to read the Book Of Mormon and to pray about it, did you do it???  Well if you did I want to hear about it and if you didn't I want you to actually do it this time!! 

I know that it will help you in your lives. 

Thank you for all of your love... 

and for your never ending support during this crazy Uruguayan Adventure! 

Love, Hermana Sanovich 

Season 2 Episode 25 "Haters gonna Hate" (5-22-17)

Season 2 Episode 25 "Haters gonna Hate"

Divisions

This week we had a fun time telling a bunch of people that the Gospel has been restored!! However, we had some people tell us, some not so nice things and that would be why the title of this week is "Haters gonna Hate". So on three different occasions we had people telling us that we are Americans here to spy on them, that I am from a country that is destroying the world... You know the average Trump and Government hatred that people are all about here recently. However, one of the ladies was not mean about that but mean about us as missionaries. We had talked to her spouse a while back and he was all about talking to us. Then she was not a fan as a matter of fact we walked in and she says "OH NO!!!!!!!!!!" That was a not quite the response we thought we were going to get all while walking into their house..... :(

Other than that here are some FUN things that I've learned this week about LIFE here on the mission...

* Agustina lives in Salto (shes a convert from Peru)

* Salto is close to Argentina

* I miss the city 

* I don't like Polenta

* A Hermana from Peru drinks cow blood warm

* Chile, Peru and Columbia don't really like each other

* ALWAYS be nice

* light sabers are 89 dollars here

* free shops are the best and the worst 

* I have the hiccups every day

* CO2 alarms are very loud

* Everyone thinks I am lost all the time (I really am not)

* Uruguayan asados (roasts/barbecues) are awesome 

* I can cook (contrary to popular belief) 

Asados - Roast/BBQ

The challenge this week is to stand up for what you believe in and to not be embarrassed to stand alone. A bunch recently people are focusing on the things that are not important and are judging others because of it. 
SO this week be you, the whole crazy weird you!! 

Love you all (sorry for the short letter this week, I will be better next time - I promise) 

Love, Hermana Sanovich  

Season 2 Episode 24 " Uruguayan Animals" (5-15-17)

Season 2 Episode 24 " Uruguayan Animals"

Hyrum and Joseph 11 months

So this week was a little different than we have had for awhile up here on our own little island Bella Union. We had a bunch of plans and about all of them fell through, this actually happened to us almost every single day this week. However lucky for us we were able to find people to teach and even some stray animals too!! 

The people first, I am learning that they are just as interesting as the animals that surround them. The top two people that we visited this past week would have to be Lydia and Maria. Hermana Heywood and I found them a few weeks ago.  Sierra and I went back to see Lydia and to see how things were going. We quickly learned about how hard her life has been and that she can not walk very far, use her left arm, or even read! All because of an accident that happened a few years ago. We were able to teach her about the Plan of Salvation and it was a great chance to help her see the eternal perspective of all of the bad things that are happening in her life. Then with Maria, the Elders started teaching her back in October before the Hermanas first went to Bella Union - she has had her fair share of lessons with the missionaries. However, this time when we got there the first thing she tells us is "I am going to get baptized. I don't care what I have to do... I am going to get baptized." This makes any missionaries day way better!! 

Loving my "New" Companion

Hermana Sierra - Raincoats and Rain Boots

    




















The only thing is that she works in a free shop. We love the free shops because it is basically an American mall all in one store! However, the only bad thing is that everyone who works there all have to work on Sundays. It was so eye opening to me that she wants to be doing everything right but, she cant because of the limitations of where she lives. These two women had a huge impact on my attitude and my perspective this week in reminding me that we can do hard things and that God is mindful of our circumstances. 

Now on to something that was a little funny but really just weird... So we have had a few interactions with some of the men that live in our area. Nothing scary or dangerous just moments where we would look at each other and just ask really? One of these times was a truck full of guys that offered to have us come and live in their house and they just kept hitting on us. This was followed shortly there after by a group of guys just staring at us and then telling us that we were really pretty. SO this was not really that important this week however it was funny because Hermana Sierra just says in English "Normal me would just punch them in the face, but I cant because I am a missionary." We laughed about that for a solid twenty minutes.

"Juliet" the roaming night "Cow"

So the animals --- This week we were able to see a bunch of dogs (not new but still cool)... We were able to see one in particular that was playing with a rock behind a contact that was going off about Trump, I was quite entertained watching it kick it back and forth to itself. Then we got to see the Carpincho!! So I couldn't let an entire week go by without showing her the carpincho that would be tragic. However, the best animal sighting was Juliet. SO our dear Juliet is a friendly cow that wonders the streets of Bella Union every single night. We saw her one night and just thought she was lost, but after seeing her in the middle of the busy street after that we asked about her. Turns out that she just comes and walks around all night and the town gave her the name "Manchita" however Hermana Sierra started calling her Juliet before we knew her name so now and forever she will be Juliet... It is the little things in life, like a cow wondering at night or SKYPING your family that keeps us missionaries going!! 

Yes it is true I had the wonderful chance to see and talk to my family yesterday and it was just FANTASTIC! I have such a wonderful family! 

So yesterday before skype I was listening to a story that one of the speakers mentioned during sacrament meeting about Thomas Edison. So he got home one day from school with a note from his teacher that he gave to his mother. His mother read the letter out loud to him it said "Your son is too advanced for our school and it is suggested that he studies with you under better attention than we can offer him here." He ended up being taught in his home by his mother and became an amazing inventor. Years later he was cleaning out his parents home and came across an old folded piece of paper that read " Your son is mentally ill and we will not be able to have him here". This story just shows what our perspective can do. His mother helped a young and unable child become someone great. We all have the chance to change the way we look at things. This brings me to the challenge this week take the negative "letter" and turn it into something positive. Use your skills that you have and become GREAT! 

Thank you for always supporting me during this crazy adventure here in Uruguay. 

I love you all, 

Love Hermana Cassidy Sanovich