Milagros pasaron!

I've gotten so much better at biking.  I'm not dying on all the long roads with hills. 

We biked to Claudia's house this week.  It was raining when we got there, so we were SOAKED!  I felt so bad sitting on their couch!  A few minutes after we got there, Claudia got there and she was telling us about how her 3-year-old, Dayana has an ear infection.  They went to the hospital and no one spoke Spanish so they could't really help her.  So we ended up going with her back to the hospital to translate.  Soaking wet.  And me with a mud stain on my shirt from the puddles :)  We looked ridiculous. :)  Hermana Macfarlane did a great job translating, but then we just sat there.  We really needed to get back to our apartment yet.  But she still needed a translator, so we couldn't just leave.  After about 3 1/2 hours, at 10:00 pm, we went to ask the nurses 1) when the doctor is coming out and 2) if anyone else spoke Spanish because we needed to go home. And they were like, "Oh yeah, sure!  We can just call our translator."  And we were like, "Wut?!"  So the Viveros came and got us and we got home at 11 from our translating-but-not-really, just-freezing, looking-ridiculous-at-the-hospital experience.

We were cold!

Hermana Macfarlane does exchanges a lot.  This week we ended up with Hermana Bacerra coming with us to the Benitez's for dinner.  When I first got to Little Rock, Hermana Thornton told me that I'd better 1) eat a lot and 2) like spicy food to keep up our good reputation at the Benitez's.  At the time, I thought she was a little weird for that, but then tonight I felt the same way about Hermana Bacerra, a don't mess this up feeling!  :)   I am so grateful that the Benitez's feed us every Tues. 

Elder Jorgensen said yesterday that they saw Gustavo on Monday that he kind of dropped them.  So we went to see him, he told us that he's not sure about the Book of Mormon and Revelation 20 and stuff. That was kind of hard to hear, but he said that he knows that the Book of Mormon isn't bad, he knows it's good, but that he just hasn't received his "official" answer yet.  We asked him what he thought his official answer would be like.   He said when he was reading the Bible, he just had a strong desire to read more and that's what he is expecting.  I told him about getting answers a little bit at a time and I told him I think he's getting his answer.  Hermana Thornton promised him that tonight when he's reading, if he prays specifically for an official answer and waits for a minute after he's done praying, he will get his answer.  We both feel really good about that promise and I hope he does it! I 'm glad we stopped by and visited Gustavo this week.

I've been feeling pretty stressed about the whole quadpanionship thing.  <Her companion is a Sister Training Leader, so when the two STL's go on exchanges, that leaves Arianna back with a new companion.>  It's been hard for me to try and adjust to a new companion every couple of days and I've just been feeling on my own in the area.  Every time we go into a lesson, I'm explaining to whomever I'm with what happened the last time and I'm making a lot of the decisions about what our investigators need.  I got a blessing for Elder Jorgensen and I feel MUCH better about it now.

I was also able to talk to President Wakolo and ask him, "What am I supposed to learn from having my companion be an STL?"  I told him about how it's just been hard/uncomfortable to be adjusting so often and that I don't want to miss what I'm supposed to be looking for just because I didn't know what it is.  This was his answer:

              * Trial and error, but no error
              * Consider it a blessing of learning from whomever you are with
              * These learning experiences you see, hear and feel will be great for you in the future
              * Pay attention to all of the little things
              * Write stuff down!  If you have doubts, say them!
              * You are a great player with this. :)
              * Catch it now and look to the future.

This wasn't 100% exactly the answer I was looking for, but I guess I'll take it. :)  He talked about how he always takes the opportunity whenever he's been with a general authority in the past to ask questions and use the whole time he gets with them to learn from them. 

We finally took care of the tree we gave to Maria Padilla a month ago!  We went over this morning to take the tree outside and we talked to her about the Mi "Familia" (My Family) booklet that we gave her.  I told her I don't know a whole lot about my grandparents either, (specifically Grandpa Dallas), but that I know that he was a missionary like me in Uruguay, and that I know he learned Spanish too. And then I told her about how Dad went to Puerto Rico on his mission and learned Spanish too. And I told her that knowing those 2 little things have helped me feel not so alone when I'm having a hard Spanish day. Because I know my dad and my grandpa know what it's like to learn a new language. And so I feel like I'm not so alone because I know that. 

Our neighbor, Zobe, came to the Relief Society activity this week.  Hermana Olivares brought her nonmember friend, and the teacher of the class is a nonmember too! (Hermana Robles's niece).  It was sooo cool to see the members invite nonmembers. 

Here's a recipe from the activity.

                                          Sociedad de Socorro (Relief Society)

                                         Crema de Aguacate (Avocado Creme)

                                                            1 avocado

                                                            1/2 lemon

                                                            1 teaspoon of olive oil

                                                             a little salt

                                                             pepper

                                                             cayenne pepper

                                                             paprika

                                     Eat with bread, turkey/ham, spinach, bell pepper, 
                                         hemp seeds, tomato, onion, hard boiled egg.

Milagros pasaron!

Yesterday, we were in the foyer of the church, waiting for people to come.  About 5 minutes til, people started showing up!  Everyone came!  Claudia and Margarita, the Espinosas, the Viveros were early, the Benitez's , the Sarao family, etc.  They were all there by 1:05.  We were even waiting for the English ward to be done with sacrament meeting so that we could start the classes!  It was so cool.  I kept thinking that it wouldn't get any better but then another person would show up!  I think Yader said we had like 78 people at the beginning of sacrament meeting!  Hermana Macfarlane and I played "Lord I Would Follow Thee" and "Beautiful Savior" for the musical number and that was really good.

Love you all!
Arianna

I'm turning into a regular domestic diva!
Mashed potatoes again!  

Kiara Rivera...