Folletos...

Hey yall!

I hope everyone had a great week and yall are enjoying fall! It's starting to feel more like summer everyday here! 

The days are flying by and it's crazy to think this adventure is almost over:( I have been reflecting on my mission a little this past week and I am SO thankful for all that I have learned. It hasn't always been easy, but I can look back now and see that God was always there with me. He has helped me through every stage of my mission and I have grown closer to Him. Anyways, here are some things I can remember about the past couple of weeks:

- I finally decided to let Hermana Norris cut my hair...she cut like 3 inches off!

- Hermana Petersen and I went to the court house this week to be witnesses for the marriage of our amigos Yessica and Mario. They have to wait 3 weeks now to get their date to be married....it's a process here in Uruguay. They are also struggling with their living circumstances, so please pray for them.

- On Saturday we had a day full of hard core rejection....people weren't even trying to be nice. We went to visit two of our amigas that are in their 80s. When we went to the first lady's house she came out with the folletos in the her hand that we had given her. We were thinking it was so cute...but then she stuck her arm out, looked away, gave us back the folletos and said, "No quiero nada..." We were standing at the gate for a solid 2 minutes thinking about what happened. Then, we decided to go visit our other amiga. When we got there the folleto we gave her was by the door with a note saying she didn't want to have any more lessons. We got a good laugh out of it and left her another folleto and note:) One thing I have learned on the mission is the power of Satan....he works so hard on our friends.

- We had a couple intercambios. I got to be with Hermana Wilson (my old comp...fun to see how much she has grown) and Hermana Norris (homie from bama).

- I had my last zone conference this week! I got to see my amiga Hermana Finch one last time! It was an uplifting conference, but I'm glad I won't be participating in interviews 2.0. 

- Everytime I walk into the kitchen Hermana Valesquez (from Mexico) is making tortillas...this week she showed us how to cook Mexican!

- Our friends Melisa and Alina accepted dates to be baptized! We are helping Melisa drop smoking. She is escogida and has come to church the last two weeks! Alina is also so prepared we just need to help her feel ready for her baptism the 11th of November. They both need lots of prayers!

- A part member family we are teaching came to church this week. We are going to invite their son to be baptized this week! 

That's all I can remember. I'm just trying to soak up ever minute here in Uruguay. This week I read a good talk called "Finding Joy in the Journey." I love this quote from it, "Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future." Life can be stressful sometimes, but we can find joy in the journey no matter what! Enjoy today and do something that makes you happy!

Have a great week!

Hermana Neuberger

 

 

chaco tan

Hey yall!

It has been a good week here in Colonia. We are having so much fun and seeing so many milagros. I am amazed every day by how God is helping us in this work. He is blessing us so much and deserves all the glory. Here are some highlights from the week:

Alina: About a month ago while I was at church in our branch in El Real I met a 15 year old girl named Alina. Her dad is in the bishopric, so she comes with him occasionally, but is not a member. I talked to her and got her phone number. Sadly, she was leaving to travel to the US for a couple of weeks and we were never able to have a lesson with her. We texted her last week and invited her to church and she came. This week we finally had a charla with her! It was so cool, she basically knows everything about the church and feels so much peace when she comes. We think other missionaries just never knew she wasn't a member. We are probably going to invite her to be baptized this week! 

Melissa: We woke up on Tuesday with a text from a member that said he has a friend that wants a visit from the missionaries, so of course we "make room" in our schedule to go visit her. We were able to have 2 lessons with her this week and she is amazing! She told us she feels peace when she reads the Book of Mormon and we are going to invite her to baptized this week. Sadly, her daughter was sick so she couldn't come to church this week.

Familia De Leon: Last week when we were at church I met a member that moved back into our branch. I asked him if he had familiy and he told us he had a partner and 3 kids. We set a time to visit them. His partner wants to get baptized, but they need to get married first. He also has a 9 year old son we are going to try to start teaching.

Yessica and Mario: Yessica and Mario are an incomplete family we met last transfer. Mario is a member and Yessica wants to be baptized. They moved to Colonia and are starting a new life here. They have made some big changes. They also have come to church every week with their 2 kids, but they need to get married. This week they went to the court house and are moving along in the process. It normally takes about 3 months to get married here, so we are praying there will be a a milagro and it will be a little faster. 

Daniel: Sadly, we only had one lesson with him this week and he didn't come to church. We will have to move his date to be baptized, but we are trying to have faith.

Other highlights:

- Hermana Petersen is so funny and I am literally laughing all the time. It's bad when we are knocking doors or calling people and I can't hold it together. Her Utah accent doesn't help.

- Studying outside in the sun to work on our Chaco tan...I'm winning rn

- We had intercambios this week. I was with hermana Valesquez from Mexico. It was a good day full of milagros. 

- Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch everyday....without the cheese because I'd rather buy alfajores.

- Runs to the beach in the mornings

- We went to Ciudad Vieja last pday with the hermanas!

This week I have been thinking a lot about the scripture, “For after much tribulation come the blessings” (D&C 58:4). On the mission I have learned the truth of this scripture. We have days, week, transfers that are hard. Nobody wants to listen, all of our lessons are canceled, or other struggles but if we push through the trial of our faith blessings always come. I have seen that this week, we have had lots of weeks of only finding here in Colonia and after the test of my faith I have seen milagros. It's the same for real life, God gives us trials to test our faith. If we keep going with faith, there will always be blessings! God knows what He's doing!

Have a great week,

Hermana Neuberger

 

 

 

 

Last transfer.....

Hey yall!

This week we had transfers. Hermana Armijo and Hermana Fowler got transferred. It was a sad night when they left. My new comp is Hermana Petersen, she is from Utah. She is such a good missionary and loves to work hard. We both don't have that much time left on the mission, so we are giving it our all everyday. It's going to be a fun transfer. 

Here are some highlights from this week:

- Our friend Daniel accepted a date to be baptized. His aunt told us he takes his Book of Mormon with him everywhere he goes and she has been reading it with him...so tender. Sadly, he didn't come to church this week. Please pray he can be baptized on October 22!

- We went to el real for pday and took pics with the plaza de los toros.

- We had a spa night the night before transfers. We did face masks and masajes.

- Alejandra and Andres made us an asado! It was my first one in a long time.

- Two of my old comps are comps are comps now in my district, so I'm excited for intercambios with Hermana Barlow and Hermana Wilson!

I started my last transfer on the mission this week. It's so crazy to think about the things I have learned these past months. I have come to know my Savior and rely on Him. I tell my comps this all the time but I love the mission. Its so funny to think about the things we do as missionaries. We go around talk to random people, invite ourselves into their house, and help them come unto Christ. Our only stress is helping people get to church. Although sometimes it can be hard, I have learned to remind myself that it's the Lord's work so all we have to do is our best and He does the rest. I love the quote, " It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us." I am excited for the things God is going to teach me these next few weeks!

Have a great week!

Hermana Neuberger 

 

 

the week of vacaciones

 Hey yall!

I hope everyone had a great week! I have been living a vacation this past week. I have traveled to Montevideo three times, we watched general conference, and have enjoyed being tourists in Colonia! 

Last Monday we decided to have a relaxing pday and go eat lunch in the touristy part of Colonia. While we were eating we decided to rent bikes. So much for our relaxing pday...we were all dead after riding bikes on the path by the beach for two hours. It was my first time on a bike in a year and a half and it felt so weird. It was best pday of the mish! 

On Tuesday, Hermana Fowler and I went to Montevideo for a conference. It was fun to see a lot of my friends. We had interviews with president  and zone counsil on Wednesday. Hermana Fowler and I made fruit cabobs for the zone...fruit ninja 2.0 and Colonia 2.0. We also had english class on Wednesday. We started it in our area two weeks ago, we have seen miracles, and it has been helpful for finding people.

Thursday night Hermana Armijo and I went to Montevideo. We spent the night with some hermanas and then on Friday morning Hermana Armijo worked on her cedula. (Originally Hermana Armijo was going to travel by herself, but she asked pres if I could go with her!!) We had to wait for our bus to come back to Colonia, so we took advantage of our time in the city and went to my old area. We went shopping at Punta Carretas, walked on the rambla, and got lunch. It was a much needed girls trip. 

This weekend we continued our vacation with eight hours of tv....#General conference. It was a spiritually uplifting weekend and so good to hear the prophet and apostles speak. Plus, Hermana Folwer made her famous mac n cheese, we had a cake, cookies, and iceceam. It was a fiesta.

This week was way different than any other week on my mission. I only had one full day in my area working, but I'm excited to get back to work for 6 more weeks. 

Other highlights from the week:

-We have a friend named Daniel that we found through English class. His aunt is in our branch. He came to the church this week for a couple of lessons and we had a noche de hogar in his aunt's house. He also came to the church to watch general conference on Sunday. He loves sending us audios in english and it's pretty funny. Please pray he can continue to progress.

-We had zone conference in Montevideo and I got to see my old comp hermana Wilson.

- Our friend Walter came to the church for a tour this week. We have run into him so many times in the town and he knows it's a sign from God. He works on Sundays but said he's going to try to switch his schedule. 

- We have all gotten sick so over the past two weeks...living in a house of four has its downsides. It has been so fun to live with Hermana Fowler and Hermana Norris. We have all become best friends and are constantly laughing. Its the best! Sadly transfers are this week, we know we are having too much fun so we will see what happens...

- I had intercambios with one of my old comps hermana Barlow! It was so weird to be with her again and see how much she has grown! We also got to teach English class together again...all the mems came back.

- The other day when we were finding we saw a poster of Justin Biber with a dead rat on top. We knocked the door and started teaching the restoration. Let's just say it was pretty sketchy and we never finished our lesson....

I was reading a BYU devotional this week by Sister Heaston and I loved this quote, "Be someone who reaches out to serve others - throw away the mirrors and look through the window." It was a good reminder to stop worrying about myself and look for an opportunity to help someone else. Whenever I am sad on the mission I realize I'm only focusing on myself, when we reach out to help others that is when we find true joy.  

Have a great week!

Hermana Neuberger