feeling hot, hot, hot

March 14, 2011

HOLA!!! This was one of the best weeks of my mission.So many awesome things happened and i just have been on a high. If my spelling is especially horrible today, its because my keyboard is really sticky and my backspace button doesn't really work. Silly cyber computers...
Anyways, one night this week was the craziest night of my life maybe. It has been HOT. like, HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT. Beyond words can describe. I have never experienced just a hot humid climate before, its intense. When I'm working I'm just dripping in sweat (its so nasty). but i almost don't care, it's when I'm sleeping it is the worst. One night (i think Wednesday night) we were in our beds wearing as little as possible with the dinky little fan barely blowing on us. I was just laying in bed hotter than I have ever felt, just sweating like crazy. I kept looking at my watch, 10:45, 11:15, 11:35, 12:00, 12:25, and on and on until 2:45. I was just miserable! Then at 2:45 I started getting really scared (thanks to a scary movie i watched when i was a sophomore in high school about scary things happening at 3am) and I just closed my eyes really trying to sleep. I couldn't though still. I thought I saw hermana kusilek stir so I said "hermana! you're awake?" she groaned and said "now I am....are you?" and I told her how I hadn't gotten any sleep all night. She told me to take a shower but iI was WAY too scared to, so instead I poured a bunch of water on my head, didn't work, then I went out by the window and read the old testament because I figured that would put me to sleep. It didn't, and now it was 4am. Then kusilek told me it would probably be colder outside, so i checked, it was, then I grabbed my blanket and slept on the cement roof. I instantly fell asleep, and woke up the Argentine sunrise. It was beautiful, and I ended up pulling out my mattress and sleeping out on the roof for the rest of the week. The last night I got eaten by mosquito's,but it was better than sweating to death while sleeping.
WELL God heard my pleas for some colder weather--on Saturday there was a crazy rain storm (we could watch it coming in, it was so neat!) and it has been rainy and chilly since then. It made the last 2 nights of sleep marvelous :-) and people think we are crazy when we go tracking in the rain,ha i love it so much.
So i know i talk about Cesear a lot, well its official!!! He is getting baptized on this Saturday! I am so stoked,and as an extra little nice surprise the family who referred him to us has a little girl who will be getting baptized too! We are not exactly sure if she is 8 or 9, but no matter. The more baptisms the better! makes me so so happy.
This week we were knocking doors and this really nice lady told us to come back later. Usually we assume that means they don't want to listen to us,but we really had a feeling to go back. We did, and her and her 17 year old daughter Maia listened to us give the first lesson. The spirit was SO strong and we didn't even need to make commitments with them, they were like "is it alright if we read that book and see if it's true?" haha YES that's alright! Then the mom said "I really want you to teach us more,but i want you to teach our whole family." We said the more the merrier,and went back Saturday night. It was probably the BEST lesson I have ever been in,in my entire life. We taught the dad, the mom, 5 daughters and one of the daughters boyfriend, and the son and his wife. and the spirit was just DENSE. i remember just feeling so happy and thinking "how amIi even worthy to be around such amazing people here?" I thought of in the scriptures when Alma talks about this joy he feels when he is preaching the gospel. At that moment, i could feel SO much love I had for them. my soul was just SOOO joyous. They all were going to come to church too,but during the rain and wind storm their water tower got knocked over and leaked in their house (so the struggle to get church attendance continues...)but I just wanted to share that one example of the amazing lessons i had this week because I have to say nothing in my life has brought me so much joy as this work. Earlier this week I had things on my mind that were off the work, but once I got my mind to only thinking about the people and what they needed, I just haven't been able to stop feeling the spirit--feeling this overwhelming joy.
One of my favorite investigators name is Pedro Hector. He is 87 years old but still going strong. He LOVES to cook so he makes us really good meals all the time. His empanadas are heavenly. Last p-day an elder got little packets of peanut butter and so he gave us one,and we later went to go teach Pedro Hector. He refused it and said "I only eat things that i make. hmmp" haha i laughed so hard.
The blessings of being a missionary have just poured in this week. I absolutely love this work. It has changed me so much, and I look forward to another year of it. More than a year!!! ah makes me soo soo happy. Yesterday i got to see Fausto and Lino receive the Priesthood and then pass the sacrament, what an incredible blessing that was. I cannot wait for Cesear and Marcela to get baptized this weekend, and hopefully soon I can tell you about this wonderful family that gets baptized as well. I know this church is true with all of my heart. More than words can express.

les quiero mucho!
Hermana Collins