3/11/13

Let the rain fall down and make me crash...

...okay well I didn't crash, but almost.

 

Hello and welcome to a happy email!

 

It's been raining a lot this past week and let's just say it's hard to see when it's like that. I seriously still think about Daniel McConkie every time it rains. I think I said that a year ago too. Haha see! Anyway, Things are great here on "Pixie"...that's my purple bike that elder Gomm is letting my use. Holy Hannah I'm going to remember that bike forever. I'll send some photos :-)

 

So we can now email for as long of time as we want president just told us on friday! That means I can actually write you back to your emails! hahaha! So I'll take my time now :-) Not break a sweat jjajajajajaja

 

Alright so what I learned about the whole new mission thing. There will me 600 missionaries within the 3 missions. The new Bakerfield mission will have their new mission president announced soon, so be aware :-) Seriously the work is exploding here. Is that a good word to use? I wonder....the work is progressing rapidly....maybe that's better. Either way you know what I mean. It's so exciting, I get all antsy talking about it.

 

Elder Holland said that the greatest convert that should come out of the mission is the one that goes home, that's me. I should be converted the most when I get homw. There is a large percentage..I can't remember like 60? I don't know that go back from their missions and fall away from the church. That can't and won't be me. I can't believe everything I ddin't get before the mission. I want to come home and teach all the youth what I know. I wish I would have known...but that's what God wanted me on my mission. God knows what's best for us and He knew that when I went on my mission, my life would be changed forever because I would apply all that I have learn after the mission. I don't want to be one of the missionaries that comee back and don't read the scriptures or put God first. I get it even better know and I'm grateful God allowed me to be more fully converted. The Book of Mormon changes hearts, and I read that knowing that God will fulfill His promises.

 

The following mormon messages  I love:

http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#power-of-god

 

http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#mountains-to-climb

 

http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#the-will-of-god

 

Please watch them :-)

 

Did you know that we are IN the Second Coming already? I didn't actually realize that till this week. As I was tlaking to hna higley and allred and Sanders, they we telling us (since they just came from the MTC) that Elder Holland had said that. He also said that all the prophets in the scriptures knew they were going to fail, all those missionaries knew they were going to fail too, because they knew the apostasia was going to happen. Their only HOPE was this generation. He said that the missionaries of today are fulfilled those prophesies. I am someone's HOPE. We are the generation that will not fail. He said he doesn't know what we did in the pre-earth life or what we have done here on earth to be privilaged to serve as His representative, but we have been called and choosen to do His Work in His way. That IMPACTED me so much. I got chills as they were sharing that with me. There was more, but I'll save it for later.

 

Jacob 4:4-6 love.

 

WE have president interviews tomorrow! I'm excited! Let's see how it goes.

Love,

Hna Arguello

 

fotos: we went on a hike last monday, bad group zone pic but that's okay (Our Zone leaders are laying down), peace and a helmet,  My bici "Pixie", The Peace Crew haha (hna Sanders, me, hna higley, y hna Allred)

 

3/4/13 - From Erica

SOOOO,

 

I just read how they are changing our mission and everything and I'm going crazy....but it's a great crazy so don't worry about me. Haha who knows what will happen but I hope you take time to look at the map...because basically you'll see that my whole mission is gone except a little piece. There is so much work in that little area and I think that's why they did that. Wow it's simply amazing everything that is happeneing and that I'm even a part of it. I feel so greteful to be part of this work!!! I wish everyone could come on a mission!

 

"Ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search me with all your heart." I love this scripture! Seriously, we are the one that choose how close we are to God. We should ask ourselves if we really do believe in God and why.

 

 

Read this talk it's amazing.

"He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked.What this means is that, regardless of our current state, there is hope for us. No matter our distress, no matter our sorrow, no matter our mistakes, our infinitely compassionate Heavenly Father desires that we draw near to Him so that He can draw near to us.^9"

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/the-love-of-god?lang=eng&query="The+love+of+God"+uchtdorf

 

This week we found another person that wants to get baptized! It was amazing because at the door he said he had his church ect, and no he didn't want it. The spirit kept pushing me to keep trying. I did. WE finally got an appt with him. Then when we finally got to teach him, he understood. We we just have to see if he has more faith in God or man. His pastor friend could discourage him, but if we all just ask God, he'll tell us the truth.

 

Parent's I'm sending a box of book home, please put it in football's room. gracias!

 

I realized that a lot of people have such a fear or responsibility and they need to stop! haha let's have more faith, take on more responsibility and watch as God blessed us for our efforts. We just have to do our best. I know that as memebers of Christ's church we have something that will help others come closer to God yet we fail to share it with others. It's our responsibility and I'm happy to serve the Lord. God is so merciful to have allowed me to come and experience everything that he wants me too.

 

I pray you all have missionary experiences and "open your mouth" so that he can fill it with His word.

 

I love you all so much and so does God. Trust him.

 

Love,

Hna Arguello

 

PICTURES: creepy ice cream truck. So hna redondo the hna I just trained is next to me in the middle. Hna Sanders, the hna I'm training now is on my other side. (Bitter sweet) We are with the other hnas at city walk.

3/4/13 - Mission President Email

They are spliting our mission!!!!!!!!! I might get changed to a different mission and mission president if I get transfered up there! HOly cow things are CRAZY here!!

CHRIST is COMING!!!!! Check out the map.

 

READ bellow to understand more...it's President Hall email!!

Dear Sisters and Elders of the Great California San Fernando Mission,

In late December 1832 and early January 1833, a revelation was given through the Prophet Joseph Smith at Kirtland, Ohio. This revelation was given after high priests at a conference prayed “separately and vocally to the Lord to reveal his will unto us concerning the upbuilding of Zion.” We have that revelation recorded today in D&C 88. Two verses of this great revelation, which Joseph Smith called the “‘olive leaf’ … plucked from the Tree of Paradise, the Lord’s message of peace to us,” have great meaning to me today. You have heard me speak of this great prophesy being fulfilled today throughout the world, and specifically, in our Great California San Fernando mission:

“Behold, and lo, I will take care of your flocks, and will raise up elders and send unto them. Behold, I will hasten my work in its time.” (D&C 88:72-73)

Last week, the Church announced that some of the 347 existing missions will be divided to form an additional 58 missions, bringing total number of missions throughout the world to 405. What a great hastening of the work this will be, especially in the areas where the new missions have been created.

Among the 58 new missions, three were announced in California – Bakersfield, Irvine, and Rancho Cucamonga. The creation of the Bakersfield mission is evidence of the great hastening of the work that the Lord is preparing for our mission.

The new California Bakersfield mission will be created from the California Ventura and the Great California San Fernando missions. Specifically, the three Bakersfield stakes (Bakersfield, Bakersfield East and Bakersfield South) will be combined with the four northern stakes from our mission (Palmdale, Lancaster, Lancaster East and Ridgecrest) to form the new Bakersfield mission.

The Great California San Fernando Mission will reorganized to include the six remaining stakes – Canoga Park, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Valencia. I will send out an e-mail to your myldsmail accounts with a map of the current and new mission boundaries.

I have felt a great hastening of the work in this area with President Monson’s announcement of the lower age for missionary service. However, now with the creation of a new mission, even more missionaries will be sent to this area! The hastening will be accelerating at an even greater pace! The Lord is certainly raising up elders and sending them to us!

For some of you, this may be the first that you have heard of our mission being divided and a new mission being created and I am sure you have some questions about what will happen. Let me address the highlights.

The new Bakersfield mission will go into effect July 1, 2013. All the missionaries that will be serving in the Palmdale, Lancaster, East Lancaster and Ridgecrest zones on July 1st will be reassigned to serve in the new Bakersfield mission at that time.

I know that this may cause a bit of anxiety for some of you, especially around transfer times, but I want you to know that I will continue to seek inspiration and revelation from the Lord regarding transfers. Just as we Find by the Spirit in this great mission, I assure you that transfers are also done by the Spirit of revelation and prophesy. I will continue to fast and go to the temple as I finalize the transfers every six weeks. I commit to you that I will be obedient and will follow the Lord’s will as I make changes to assignments so you can know with certainty that they are the Lord’s will for you.

This is the Lord’s work and he is involved in the very details. I have witnessed too many miracles in my life to believe otherwise. We may not have known that a new mission would be created in Bakersfield when we received our calls, but the Lord did. He knew that some of you would serve in both the San Fernando and the Bakersfield missions. As a matter of fact, the Lord specifically called some of you to San Fernando so you would be able to serve in both missions.

How humbling it is to me to see such a prophesy fulfilled so completely in our day. The Lord is truly hastening his work in a marvelous manner. I want you to know that I know that this is the Lord’s work. He is in the very details. This is His Church and Kingdom on the Earth and nothing will stop this work from progressing. I know this Church is true. I really do.

With much love and the tender feelings of a parent,

President and Sister Hall

2/25/13 - NEW ADDRESS!

6835 Laurel Cyn. #408

North Hollywood, CA

91605

 

Send me some love ;-)

2/25/13

Bienvenidos a North Hollywood!

"When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power." Think bout it.

 

Well I got called to open an area here in North Hollywood 4th, training Hna Sanders from Utah, on NOT my big black stallion, but this purple elder's bike. haha well I'm out in the world again and have no idea where I am. It's great. Real great. All you have to do is rely on God and do your best and see what comes from it. Guess WHAT?!?!?!?!?! I get to live with HNA HIGELY!!!!! YAY!!!! Back together again...kinda. She is training too! Her companion is Hna Allred. Both her and Hna Sanders are waiting for their visas to be ready so they can go to Peru. They will probably leave in a month if everything works out how it should. We'll see!

 

The first 2 days we didn't have bikes, but we did walk to the furthest point of our area (I would) and it took about an hour. North Hollywood is kind of like my first area in Canoga Park. The church isn't in our area and we have to leave for church at 6:45 am to be at a meeting at 9am. Hna Zepeda is in my ward and she gives us rides! So I basically have the best of both worlds with hna higely y zepeda again. :-)

 

It was really hard leaving my old area. There are people there that I love so much and will deeply miss but I know that I have been called to this new big responsibility. I'll send some pictures. At transfer meetering, President told us he only picks the best of the best missionaries to be trainers. My first transfer when I first got here, I never thought I'd make it to where I am now. (I mean sure I knew I wasn't going to die, but it's humbling to see where I was when I first started, and who God has made me throughout this last year.) I grateful to serve. President said that all month they had been planning and arranging to have 11 missionaries come in, 2 sisters and the rest elders. On Wed, the mtc called to say they had 89 visa waiters and needed to get reassigned to go somewhere to wait visas. 29 missionaries came into the field that weren't scheduled. Seriously, they were all freaking out trying to get everything done. President said that at the end end of deciding who goes with who and where, he felt an assurance and peace and knew it was exactly what God wanted. Then he made the calls for training on last monday. They opened 13 new areas all on bici. It's crazy!!!! But it's all happeneing!!

What an exciting time to be a representative of Jesucristo! 

 

We were going to go out knocking doors and we both had the confirmation with the same person that came to head, "Let's go see a potentila Maria." I though great all the way over on the other side of our area and it's getting dark, I HOPE I DON't GET LOST! Was what I was thinking actually. Anyway we both knew we had to go there and we went. After about 30 mins of rejection, I told hna Sanders that God knows we are trying and we are showing our faith by working. Before we had left the apt I had prayed that we would find 1 woman that was prepared to receive the gospel that night. I told her we have to have the faith that it was going. The next door opened and the 30 yrs woman kindly let us in. She began to say that she didn't know what it was, but that she began to feel this peace. We sang and taught the Restoration. We committed her to be baptized. When I was thinking about the date, the one date that I had in my mind...was NOT what came out when I said it. I said april 7. She said yes and how that was a very special day for her because that was when her 7 year old son would turn 8. She was so happy and said that there was a feeling in her heart that she didn't know how to describe but that it didn't fit. I was so grateful to have that experience. I wanted to bawl the whole time knowing that God answers specific prayers with specific answers. She ended with a prayer and cried the whole time. Her name is maribel, and she was an answer to our prayer. She isn't married though...so we need to work on that challenge.

 

Other time, we had contacted someone and wanted to end with a prayer at her door. I really was doing all I could to get in, and we weren't. Then, when we asked to say a prayer to leave, she invited us in. After the prayer, she just looked at me with this look that I will never forget. she sighed and said "wow" and rubbed my arm in amazement. The spirit had born to her that what we have is true. We were knocking to help the elders find people so she wasn't in our area, but it was powerful. I love that hna sanders is able to have these experiences. It's amazing for her and for me. She started crying becasue she said that she didn't think God would answer our prayers so fast. 

 

Well I pray you all have a wonderful week! Stay strong and smile. We have it so good. Let's not frown. That's lame.

 

I love you!

Hna Arguello 

 

 

ps this computer can't send pics or something. :-( next time :-(

the email from pres

 

Dear Sisters and Elders of the Great California San Fernando Mission,

What an amazing time to be involved in missionary work!

This past week we welcomed 28 new missionaries to the Great California San Fernando Mission and I will pick up Elder Morales, number 29, today from the airport! Of the 29, we would like to welcome 13 missionaries that are waiting for VISAs to go to Mexico, Peru and Brazil. This last week we opened thirteen new areas, bought 15 new beds, and have reached the limit of what we can house without opening new apartments! We are at a total of 205 missionaries on our way to 250! To all of you, we extend a warm welcome to the greatest mission of the Church!

This great and marvelous missionary work is rolling forward! This weekend, The Church announced that some of the 347 existing missions will be divided to form an additional 58 missions. The new missions will function in the same areas covered by existing missions. No new countries or territories are opening to missionary work. These creations will bring the total number of Church missions to 405. Amazing!

Thank you all for your continued focus on Finding with faith. I have been truly humbled by the faith exercised by the missionaries in this great mission as we Love to Find. The Lord has been especially kind in opening the windows of heaven and working miracles as we seek to find Cornelius. Keep focusing on the Standard of Excellence of 4 New Investigators and 5 Investigators Attending Sacrament Meeting. I know that the Lord will continue to support us in this effort.

I am also greatly looking forward to visiting with each of you in the upcoming interviews. For those of you who were in the mission when Elder Clarke was here, please come prepared to discuss your goals that you set and wrote down on the 3x5 cards. I am very excited to see the progress that you have made over the last three months!

Elder Clarke also sends his warm regards and encouragement to everyone in the mission. Sister Hall and I had the opportunity to visit with him this weekend as he was assigned to preside over the Granada Hills stake conference. He looks forward to hear of our continued success.

We love you and pray for you each and every day,

President and Sister Hall

2/18/13

It's Time.

"I have blessings that money cannot buy." -Elder Ballard.  This is how I feel right now.

OKay well I'm here at the apple store again...super awkward hahaha but I'm embarcing it. Are you ready? NO seriously...are you ready?! Okay so I'm don't training Hna Redondo today. She is great! I received a call from President Hall today asking me if I would be willing to train again, open and area, and be on bike. BOOM! So here I come! AFter 7 months of being in Canyon Country, I've been demoted to bike again lol jk I like bike. Yay for rain. OKay I'm super excited! I have no idea what I should expect. We start with no investigators, I don't even know where I'm going or anything. I find out tomorrow. HAha sooo if you send something make sure it goes to the mission office. I'll let you know my address next week when I even know. I hope I'm ready for this...well actually I hope they're ready for this!! I'm stoked.

What an honor it is to know that God trusts me enough to finish training, and train again in a whole new area I've never been in. I hope I trust myself as much as He trusts me. What an honor.

Wow it was sooo hard to say goodbye yesterday to everyone. Hna Paez just bawled. She's been baptized now since sept. I'm going to miss this people like crazy. My favorite people here have won over my heart. I'm really going to miss them. I've made friends for the eternities and I can't wait to see them again. Pablo is still going strong, and him and the paez went to the temple and loved it. Next month 3 of my converts will go into the temple to do baptisms. HOw rewarding is this work? Simply undescribeable.  

I LOVED THE SISTER's TRAINING!!!!! I don't have time to write about it...but I will next time. It was all over Moroni 7:45 and what each word in that scripture means. I see love in a WHOLE new light. Amazing. I need and want more charity.

1Ne2:22 has such a new meaning to me as a missionary. See if you can figure it out :-)

I'll leave you with this.

Pray everyday this week and ask God to help you see yourself the way that God sees you. I promise you won't regret it. If you skip a day start over. OKay not really I'm kidding haha.

I love you all so much and pray that you help the missionaries with YOUR missionary work.

Love,

Hna Arguello

2/11/13

Valentine's Day.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. On Valentine's day, the sister's in the mission are having a special training! All to ourselves. Good call President Hall :-) I'll let you know what happens next week.

 

This week pablo's (my recent convert) roommate got baptized! Remember her? Last month we had invited her to sit in at the lesson we were going to teach pablo...even though she doesn't speak spanish and we taught in spanish...and some english. We invited her to learn more, and she accepted. A month and a half later or so, she got baptized. I'll send a picture. We sang at her baptism. Pablo went too even though it was in english. It turned out really well. The spirit was very strong. Pablo said that at home she seems like a weight has been lifted and is happier. That's good to know. Sure they don't speak the same language, but it all works through the spirit. "The task of converting is not yours--that belongs to the person hearing and the holy Spirit" (Pres. Uchtdorf). She was converted by the spirit. A sweet woman she is.

 

Then we were trying to find a house...but on the street it said, the house numbers skipped the one we were looking for. All the other house numbers were there but the one we were looking for....OBVIOUSLY. So we do what we do. We knocked on some doors and asked if they knew the person we were looking for. We got to a door and asked for help...then she said who are you looking for, we said her name. Then she turned around and said, THAT'S ME! She was a referal from the desert so we had never met her before. So we found her on sat. We taught her yesterday, and she accepted the invitation to be baptized. She received a priesthood blessing of strength too. She has great faith and is a very strong women. She reminds me a lot of my mom. We are very excited to teach her.

 

We then taught a new inverstigator, and the lesson was shorter than we expected, but the spirit was really strong. As we talked about how God loved this 50 year old woman and knew what she was going through she nodded. At the end of the lesson, she rubbed her face, let out a big sign and had tears in her eyes. She accepted the invitation to be baptized. There are prepared people, we just need to help them to grow their faith so they make it to church. Once they go to church for the first time, they long for that peace each week.

 

God knows each one of us by name. As I've been going through trials here, I realize that never are we alone.

This weeks been great. Everything goes by so fast too. A year ago I was making vday cookies with my trainer, and today I get to make vday cookies with the hna I'm training. This is Hna Redondo's last week of her 12 week training. It's simply a beautiful things to have been able to watch her progress so much. If she follows in my footsteps, she'll be great! Kidding. But no she is an amazing missionary. We've learned a lot together.

 

I'll find out on Friday, if I get transfered or if I stay. I've been here for 7 months, so has elder wood.

Anyway we just got back from having a FUN FUN FUN zone activity. A flour WAR! grrrr! some pics for you.

Have a wonderful week and happy Valentines Day!! The last pic is of Elder Babcock. He lives in highlands ranch.

 

All my looooove,

hna Arguello

2/4/13

Feb you are eeeeeee here already!

Holy cow it's crazy that I have to go home soon. Wonderful things are happening here in the CASFMission! WE are moving mountains! It is amazing to be prat of a prophecy that is being fulfilled. I always wanted to be part of the "missionaries" and what they went through...but I never really thought I'd go. Well, here I am and I've learned so many things. Two quotes I liked this week:

 

"Compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God." Pres. Uchtdorf

I love this because we are here to become the best we can be. It's true, we are nothing, but at the same time God's purpose is to bring us back to HIM...which means we are worth everything! (Sorry I hope I make sense.)

 

"The Lord can't drive a parked car." Some ensign somewhere.

Part of faith is taking action. If we want more faith...we must take more action. We have to start moving the car, and then the Lord can help direct us.

 

What we have been working on the most this week is to not just help our investigators grow testimonies, but to help them truly be converted. True conversion is needed if we want to get through our trials and not be subject to falling in a pit. If we do fall in that pit (maybe sin) then God gives us a ladder to get out...but we must ACT (climb up the ladder) and repent to get out of the whole we are in. FAith is required with everything here on earth. WE chose to come here by our faith, and now that we are here, we must walk by faith.

 

Elder Garns of the Seventy came to our ward...and I've met him before...but I didn't know who he was haha. Anyway after all the missionaries bore there 30 sec testimony, he bore his last. He expressed to the member of the church that missionaries come to certain areas to help THEM with THEIR missionary work. It's true....we help them. BUT many members think that missionary work is the responsibility of the MISSIONARIES. It is so much more. It is the member's responsibility to bring people to church, and it is through us (the missionaries) that they cane get baptized. I hope that all made sense.

 

Anyway, I love you are and I know that God's work is hastening....that means we need to change things now if Christ isn't the center of who we are.

 

All my love,

hna Arguello

 

ps on my exchange I got to see hna higley!!!! But this time she's on bike and I'm not! ha!

the calander I thought was funny. I'm not teach hna Redondo very good english huh? lol

1/28/13

God knows us better than we know ourselves.

Well, sad story I forgot my planner in the car and that means I have to try to remember everything that I wanted to write about........and....well...I can't remember because all my weeks mesh together! It's a problem ha.

 

Okay So tomorrow I'm going on exchanges again with hna Marquez, down to north hollywood, and hna Zepeda is coming up to my area to be with hna redondo. I'm excited! A little nervous with having to drive on the crazy highways down there...it's crazy here. I'd take I-25 over anything haha.

 

Anyway, this past week was good, but stressful. God sure is testing us, and giving up trials all at once. I have to keep remembering that I asked for it. One thing I realized that that He knows our hearts and He is mindful of us.

It has been so nice to be able to watch people I'm teaching be more relaxed, have more hope, and start to trust Go more. It's be faith that all that comes. I know that I've grown so much in the past year...I don't think I'll ever know how much until I actually go home though.

Sad story though, one of the missionaries in my distict (in the same ward) fell off his bike and got sent home for surgery. That was sad becasue he has only been out 3 weeks. He was a visa waiter going to MExico. He broke his ankle in 3 places. Rough, but tough elder. He'll be coming back.

Alright well I actually don't know what to say expect I love the last chapter of the BOM. You should read it.

 

I love all of you and have a great week!

 

Oh and the koreans had the first baptism in 3 years!! They have a branch of like 10 people or something. It was such a special and beautiful baptism.

 

Love,

Hna Arguello

1/22/13

This is real life.

Did you know that the mission is the closest thing to real life that we have? Yep, it's true :-) Yesterday the libraries were closed, hence the late email. Forgive me.

 

I've realized the humility and obedience go hand in hand. I never thought of it that way until just this week. It makes sense right? I think the more humble we are, the more obedient we are. Right? Anyway, it was just a thought. I've learned to trust God a lot more, and He has granted me more faith. Our motto for our companionship is "Give us trials so we can have the faith to move mountains"(going off the promise in moses 6) It's helped us with seeing so many trials....that God is answering our prayers...fast. ha! Want a prayer answered fast? Pray for trials, but then realize that he is actually answering your prayer to have more faith, more love, more trust, and more success in your life. I'm greatful for impressions and revelation that God has blessed me with that has changed my life.

 

We were going to go visit a family and I had an impression to stop by someone new we found the week before, so I quickly turned at the light that approached. We said a prayer and as we walked to the door, she opened it because she was leaving to go on a walk with her 2 kids. She invited us to walk with her. She said that she had just being praying because she felt so sad and alone...and when she feels like that she goes on walks. She just wanted to feel better, and then we showed up. It was so interesting to me that she already recognized that God had answered her prayers through us. I am grateful the I listened to the prompting so that we could be an answer to her prayers.

 

We had zone conference this last week, and I had a comfirmation given to me about a life decision I had taken in 2010 that obviously changed my life forever because I actually made it to my mission. I feel emensly blessed for that prayer answered that I gave soooo long ago. It shows that God still answers are prayers even if it takes years to do so.

 

2Ne2:28 We can choose eternal life...or not. Did you know though that it's a commandment to choose eternal life? Hmmmm.

 

OKay well I love you all! Have a happy week! Go make someone smile.

 

With all my love,

Hna Arguello!

1/14/13

Blessed

Well first off, it's COLD. Second off, it's COLD. Third off, it's great. Okay anway, What a week! It's really normal to think in a pattern of every 6 weeks...when I get off my mission...it'll be hard to go to like....days...woah. That was irrelevant.

 

So we had a 6 week follow up training for new missionaries. It went really well. President was training on companionship inventory...where we talk about our strenghts and conflits and such each week.We have it to help our actual unity in our companionship. Something Presidente said, "We want you to not have to say, 'I need a different companion,' but instead say, 'let's make this work.'" He said When you finally get married, He doesn't want  us to think "why did I marry them I need someone different," but, "we choose this and now we endure to the end." Anyway, it's true the things I've been learning here are impacting the rest of my life. You know we learn things everyday...but it is our choice whether or not we apply what we learn and become better.

 

When you write back this time, You should write a list of the blessings you have received this past year as I have been on my mission. Porfav? Gracias.

 

One of the miracles we had this week was wonderful! So we received a referal from Hna Higley in North Hollywood. We went to to find her, but realized that once we got to the apt. complex, that she hadn't given us the actually apt number. When we asked for it, she said there wasn't one. We said a prayer in the car and I told hna Redondo we were going to knock the whole apt complex until we found her. I think "okay where to start?" I thought to the right. I didn't tell her to see which way she though we should start. When I asked her, she said to the right. I comfirmed that. No was had 4 doors to choose from, we walked to the one we thought. A women answered the door. I asked for the referal, and she said "Oh that's me!" WOW. BAM. Just like that, the first door we knocked, it was her! I felt so blessed to feel the spirit and to know that Hna Redondo and I are united. I am just so grateful for that. She is prepared by God to hear our message. Her prayer at the end of our lesson was so humble and she understood the lesson. We set a baptismal date with her and she gladly accepted. God puts people in our path as we  are willing to do what He needs us to do.

 

It was a good week and this week we have zone conference! I AM SO EXCITED!!! 

 

 

I love these scriptures. My probation we'll say right now is my mission. With obedience bring power and bl

 

Mormon 9:20-22, 28

20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do^amiracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should ^btrust.

21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, ^awhatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this ^bpromise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.

22 For behold, thus said Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his disciples who should tarry, yea, and also to ^aall his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;

28 Be ^awise in the days of your ^bprobation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your ^clusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and^dliving God.

 

I love you all so much! I wish you a happy week. Remember to become who God wants you to be :-)

 

Love, Hna Arguello

1/7/13

Bienvenido 2013!

Holy cow can you believe that it's 2013?!?! I can't...well I guess I can...it happens...anyway, wow! Seven days into 2013 and it's so nice and sunny here in Santa clarita. There is a new sister missionary coming in by herself, so me and my companion have be assigned to stay the night with her with a senior couple and take her in the morning to receive her trainer. Sweet! I'm excited. Hope we don't scare her....she's an english sister.

 

OH AND WHOA! Shari Ramsay is on a mission?!?! What! She wrote me a letter and is waiting for her visa in the mission next to mine. She is going to Spain!! There must be so many things I don't know with everyone. It was expected. ANYWAY.

 

Wow I love my life. Did you know that? Things aren't easy, they are never supposed to be or they wouldn't call it a mission right? I love it though. Our area is progressing. We are working on finding PREPARED people that the Lord is putting in our path.

 

New year's even was spent with out district and the assistants...and the Jeppsons! We couldn't really teach that day because curfew. But we got back on the horse and are riding away this week! Okay well not my black stallion from my first area...he is long gone...but our red car lol

 

Hno Paez accepted a baptismal date! Oh that cita was so spiritual. I prayer all week, every prayer for him, and God answered my prayers. My faith has grown so much. If you want your faith to grow, as for trials. I did that last week, and BAM God answered that prayer the next day. I think sometimes He is funny :-) Hopefully I come back more as how God expects me to be.

 

Pablo, my recent convert said his first prayer in church today! It was so spiritual and amazzzzing. Seriously. He was so happy and he adds to the ward so much. What a blessing he is. He is going to go out with us and the elders to help teach! Such a sweetheart!

 

We has EXCHANGES!!!! I've only had 2 my whole mission, and it was such a great learning experience. I learned so much with hna Marquez. Hermana Redondo went with my favorite morenita, Hna Zepeda. It was wonderful to be with someone that has been in the mission longer than I have, finally!

 

I pray you all have missionary opportunities. Thank you for the prayers in my behalf. We really need them. HAve a hppy week!

When you want to frown, just don't. Smile and count your many blessings.

 

Love, Hna Arguello

12/31/12

Welcome 2013!!!

Hello!

Wow I can't believe I basically have spent a year on my mission already, This has been the fastest year of my life. I seriously feel like IJust got trained last week, yet here I am training. It's been great. I have no regrets. I love my life.

Something random. I realized the churches here have no coat racks. Weird right? I guess because it doesn't snow?

WE had so many miracles, like having the Paez come to church after not being able to communicate with them! I was smiling so big, I almost cried. Oh God is great.

We have families progressing and it is beautiful to see. I can't wait to see a family get baptized. 

Thank you to all those who sent christmas packages! It was very sweet and some were unexpected! Thank you for those that sent things for my companion too. That was the best part, watching her open her presents. 

With a new year, we all have goals right? Well let's actually do something about it this year? What do you think? :-)

Hna Redondo told me last night that she was impressed with my cooking, and that I'll impress my husband. Hahahaahahaha. At least my cooking didn't kill her.

Oh it was WONDERFUL to skype home...though the family looked a little like blobs, it is memorable. What a great experience to talk to you all.

I pray that you all have a wonderful and happy new years eve! 

I love you!!! Sorry this was short!

With all my love, hna argüello

12/24/12

Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas everybody!

I never thought Christmas would come, but it sure did come quick! That was very unexpected, yet here we are. Tomorrow we celebrate Christ's birth. We all know it didn't actually happen in the month, but this is how we'll celebrate it. Thinking about it, we all say "Well during this time, it's a time to focus on Jesus Christ and what he did for us." Really though, if you think about it...it shouldn't be like that. We should be focused on Him everyday. It shouldn't be at just a specific time. BUT since it is....right now, I just want to share that I know Jesus is the Christ and he was born with a purpose. He was obedient to His Father's commandments, and because of that we are Saved and Redeemed. Without Christ's birth, there would really be no point to this life. I mean He is the one that pays for our sins if we repent so we can be clean. If he were never born, there would be no "Plan of Happiness."

I am so grateful to be a representative of the Lord right now in California. I wouldn't want it any other way. It sure is different being away from home, but this is what life's all about: Giving. There is a christmas tree in the BOM it's in 1Ne 8. IN lehi's dream he sees a tree. That is my christmas tree, and because I have partaken of the fruit, I'm here to share with everyone else.

Jesus is wonderful isn't He? God the Father is so merciful. The Spirit will testify that They live.

I pray you all have a wonderful Christmas!!

MAS Christ!!!!! Get it?

Thank you for all your supports....letters, packages, love, prayers, and kindness.

With all my love,
Hna. Argüello

12/17/12

You Have to Pray to Receive an Answer

Buenas tardes!!

 

I had ganas to write this all in spanish and them remember that some people don't speak spanish...so yes, I'll refrain from doing that. First, those plaques of Mary and mi look so good huh? That's right. Thank you! Let's see I have such a wonderful story to tell everyone! It is something that really showed me how much God truly loves us. I hope you read the whole story! So don't get bored and not read all of it, got it? Good :-)

 

So we went by to see a new person we were going to teach, but he wasn't there. There were two men sitting on a couch with the door open though where the man lived. They said he went down to LA.  Shucks right? Well I started talking to one of the men. One was about  21, the other about 30. Then I asked if they had every seen missionaries like us, that we were from the Church of Jesus Christ of....and one of the guys finishes my sentence..."of Latter-day Saints?!" I looked at him like...uhhh yeah do you know anything about the church? And this is what he said...

 

"Yes, I was baptized in Mexico when I was 16, with my mom and sister. I would go out with the missionaries all the time because they wanted to help prepare me for my mission. I loved it. Then I came here about 4 years ago with almost nothing. But I went to a temple up north to do...what's it called....oh baptisms. But when I got down here, I couldn't find a church." We found out he is 22

 

We just looked at eachother and he said, "Wow I never thought I'd find the church again." His eyes were a little teary. I asked him if he had a BOM, he said no...so we gave him one. As he looked at it, he looked at it as if he were holding a gem. For my to see someone  look at the BOM with such love, it was a tender experience. I realized there at his doorstep that so many of us take the BOM for granted..the church for granted.

 

He told us that he had to go to therapy for his back since he hurt himself. We talked about blessings. He said he'd go all the way over to the church to get one last thursday. (It was Sunday) We said a prayer and left. To see someone that thought he had lost the church, and see it come back into their life, was something I'll never forget. We told him if he wanted too, he could still prepare to go on a mission. He smiled and said "Yeah?"

 

On Thursday he showed up! He told the elders that if they needed him to go out with them to call. My mouth was just dropped open.

It was wonderful. It's very hard to explain. Hopefully he can go on a mission soon. He just need to prepare and take the steps back into the church.

 

 

On another note. On Sunday, we were in the chapel and no investigators showed up. I was so sad because after how hard you work and they don't come...it's heart breaking. During the passing of the Sacrament I told God that I did my best and I needed Him to pick up my slack. When it was over and they opened the door, the Galvez family walked in! God had answered my prayers! Usually it's just the parents, but this time it was all 5 othem! I smiled and knew God heard my prayers.

 

I pray that you all are safe and well. Take time to smell the roses and realize the beauty God has blessed us with.

Give. Love. Serve.

 

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Hna Argüello

 

P.s. I went to a christmas cantata. Richard Rich, the producer of the Animated Stories...and more was the conductor. There are a ton of famous people in my stake. Kirby Heyborne was the narrorator. ha!

 

foto: 3 girls we are teaching!!

12/10/12

Knoweldge doesn't always mean understanding.

Hello!

 

Okay so this week was so busy because we basically had 3 days of meetings/trainings...but it was SO enlightening. Seriously, I didn't want the trainings to end. I truly love my mission. I know that I have so much more understanding about so much doctirne now, yet I still get to learn so much more the rest of my life. Wonderful. So to start out, there were many miracles this week, but I can't write about all of them...becauase...well...I just can't type that fast. I never took a computer class you know...all this skill I got from writing essays...I must have written a lot. haha. okay moviing on. What I'm going to talk about are thoughts I had about my trainings and how they have given me insight in how I can live a happier, fuller (more full? who knows hahah) life.

 

Sister Hall told us, "Do we UNDERSTAND Christmas, or do we just ENJOY it???" That hit me. Let's make a goal to actually understand christmas.

 

First, Repentance. What is that? What does that even mean? Repentace doesn't mean that we are doing it wrong, it means that we are doing it RIGHT. Sister Hall (President's wife) trained on this. Wow to look at it from the perspective changes a lot of things. I mean, we should be changing every day for the better, trying to become more like Christ. As we repent everyday, we are showing God that we need Him. Okay so...We are team Jesus okay? We were his name on our jersey. We are agents...which means we have a contract with him (baptism) we said that we would do such and such (sacrament prayer) and he would bless us with his spirit (our "pay"). Now, If we play on his team, we receive "our pay," if we don't, we get nothing. So (Hope no one's lost yet) if we repent, Christ says, "Okay I will pay the price for those sins, " but if we CHOOSE not to repent, we have to pay the price for our own sins, and we don't get paid. Make sense? It's honestly very simple, we jsut make it hard. We need to have a connection with the Atonement, or we are not built about a strong foundation. When those winds (trials) and storms (afflictions) come, we will either fall hard, or stay firm on the foundation we have built upon.

 

During personal study I realized, we are the only ones that deny ourselves blessings. We choose, "Go and Do," or not to. There is NO ONE to blame but ourselves if we aren't happy.

 

Next, Elder Clarke (a General Authority) came to train us for a Zone Conference. He is AMAZING. Wow I never wanted that to end. Anywa, he has all the sister missionaries stand and repeat after him, "I will only marry a return missionary." He he "commanded" us that when we find the man we want to marry, we must call his mission president and ask him what type of missionary he was. If he says, "good," drop him. That mission president needs to say that missionary was exceptional. You sisters deserve the best. Don't marry someone you know you shouldn't.  Then he let us sit down again. (There were only 6 sisters..me included.)

 

I had an interview after the conference with Elder Clarke, a MOM AND DAD, He told me to tell you, "You have an exceptional daughter as a missionary, you did a good job." I told him I would tell you. :-) Neat huh? I thought so. Totally unexpected. One of the best compliments I've ever received...we I guess it's your compliment...anyway... =D

 

Ready?!?! When you pray and you get an answer, it's not counsel from God, it is now a COMMANDMENT. I think of it that way and it completly changes things right? So promptings....commandments...answers to prayers...commandments...whatever God says...is a must do...not a maybe. Duh.

 

So this is what I'm trying to tell you...we can have a bunch of knowledge, but unless it is understood...it doesn't really help.

 

I wish you all a wonderful week. I hope you take time to not think about yourself and think of others :-) Why? I'm not going to tell you. ;-)

 

All my love,

Hna Argüello