Biggest Whirlwind of Emotions - Dec 17, 2018

So I really don´t have time this week, so i´ll try to make this quick. 

This week has been FULL of rehearsals for different things. We´ve had rehearsals for the ward choir (since they are doing a special number next week, and I´m playing piano for them) and the zone has been practicing a lot for the zone conference this week. That one has got me super frustrated because there is no organization, everyone wants to do their own idea, and they don´t really want to keep things spiritual either (kinda sad, but it is what it is.) So this week I was a little frustrated about those, but at least the conference is this coming week, so i won´t have to worry about that anymore. 

We got stuck in our elevator for 45 minutes on Friday! We had just gotten some baptismal clothes from our zone leader, and when we were going up, it made a loud clunking sound and stopped working!! So we tried pressing all the buttons, but nothing worked. we tried opening the door, but that didn´t work. luckily we had the phone, because we called our zone leader, and they talked to some people to try to help get us out. I was alright, but hermana Muñoz was freaking out a little bit, so the zone leaders chilled out to try to calm her down from the outside. We said a prayer. We kept waiting for someone to open the door, and we were both a little worried because we had a baptism at 7, and it was 6:30 and we were still in the elevator!! Hermana Muñoz made kinda like a last ditch effort to open the door, and it slid right open! It was really a miracle. AND! We made it on time to the baptism, and it was beautiful! Jhenifer told us that she is really happy that she did it, and that she knows the church is true and all that good stuff! I think she is planning on going to the temple in the next few weeks, so that is super awesome!! We are so happy for her.

On Saturday night we did a service activity with the ward where we went to some of the plazas and gave out api, bread, clothes and other little bags of food. It was kinda fun. I´ll have to describe it a little more with the fam when we skype. All I have to say is that drunk Bolivians like gringas (aka me).

Today was a fun p day because we went to some cabanas to play pool, ping pong, soccer, volley, stuff like that. It was fun :) I´ll send pictures of how we traveled there haha! (looks like it was in the back of a truck...?)

Love you all so very much! I hope you all have a very merry week leading up to Christmas!!

Hermana Rowe

Christmas Time is Here - Dec 10, 2018

Welcome to my week! It went my so fast, I can´t believe it! 

Tuesday: The last day of birthday celebrations for me (at the pension... I'll send a video. Watch until the end!!) And the ward is preparing some special musical numbers for the special Sunday on the 23rd, so I've been using that as a way to serve (playing piano at practices and things) 

Wednesday: We studied and planned all day. We had a really good appointment with Dennys. We wasn't drunk when we showed up (yay!!) so we went to a park with him for a lesson about the word of wisdom and about faith. At the beginning of the lesson he was saying that he wasn't sure if God was really there, if he had faith, things like that. But by the end of the lesson he himself said, ok, i guess I've got a little bit of faith, even if it's basically nothing. So that was really good! Then that night we were going to start intercambios, but...

Thursday: Everyone wants Evo (the president) out of power and were protesting! So we had to be very very careful and decided that it'd be better just to do the intercambio another day. We got to go out a little bit, but we stayed in the house for the majority of the day.

Friday: We had interviews with President Montoya, and OH MY GOODNESS THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PACKAGE!!!!! I was literally crying. Literally crying. It was so so so so so so sweet!! I ate one of the boxes of hash browns for breakfast today with two fried eggs (and ketchup) and I just about cried while I was eating it! SO SO SO good. And thank you so much for the hash browns, notes, and the gifts for my comp, and for the mini Christmas tree, and the lights, and the candy, and for the nativities to give out! What an amazing idea! Seriously I wasn´t excepting anything, and this really really really made me happy. Thank you so much for the wonderful notes, I actually cried while I read all of those too. The only one I haven't read yet is the one from Grammy and Grandpa because that one specifically said merry Christmas on it, so probably on Christmas eve I'll read that one. 

Saturday: We had more song practices and tried to go visit some contacts and investigators. Pretty much nobody was home. WE had a FHE (Family Home Evening) with a widow in the ward and her daughter. We helped them set up their Christmas tree and put up lights. I love that we've been able to help so many people do that this year! I love this type of service, it is the best haha! 

Sunday: We went visiting with a woman from the ward to find less and inactive members... and nobody was home. But it's ok because we just kept on looking! In the evening we talked with Jhenifer about her baptism this week. She was saying the she wants to postpone it for the end of January because her life is so crazy right now. In the end she told us she´d pray about it, and let us know mid week if it's gonna happen or not, so we'll see. I think Satan tries to work REALLY REALLY hard on us when we are about to do things that are SO GOOD! I felt that way before my mission. I had a lot of fear, (that i wasn't good enough, that being in Bolivia would be scary, etc) and I know that all the bad feelings and worries were all Satan getting in my head. Now that I'm here I'm so grateful for all the experiences and things that I'm learning! I know Satan is real, and he tries to get to us, but if we turn to the Lord and try to lean on him, he will help us, and let us know what it is we need to do! He will give us comfort. He loves us, and wants to help us. He wants us to do what's right, the things that bring us real joy and happiness.

Monday: We basically spent all day in the cancha again, because we got put in charge of buy fabric for the zone, because everyone wants matching dresses and ties for the zone conference! I hope everyone likes the fabric!! 0: 

That's been my week! I hope that you all are enjoying the Christmas spirit like I am, and that you're trying to light the world with your service! (this week is light your community, so i'd love to hear about the cool things you do this week!) 

Lots of love from Sunny Cochabamba,

Hermana Rowe

(It won't let me send pics today, so I'll send them next week :) )  

Eggs and Flour... - Dec 3, 2018

Yup! You heard right, I´m 20! It feels super weird. But at the same time, normal. I guess it´s just a big number. I´m officially not a teenager, WHAT?? 

Tuesday: A normal day. We had district meeting, we had a lot of appointments, but people weren´t there, ¨weren´t there¨ or didn´t have time. The usual. But! It doesn´t matter, because it gives us more time to find people who DO want to hear the gospel. 

Wednesday: Hermana Muñoz has immigration things, so we spent a few hours doing that, then we had a service project in the morning, and went to lunch. I was feeling super sick (achy, runny nose, all that) so we stayed home in the afternoon and I rested. (It was a good thing we didn´t have appointments that day, it almost never happens! It seriously was a miracle)

Thursday: Thanksgiving!! (haha not actually, but this is the day that I had thought was thanksgiving originally, and I have a bunch of drawings in my agenda for thanksgiving, turkeys and things) We actually went and searched a lot of people. In the evening we got to talk with Dennys. He told us that for us, he has tried to have faith, but that he just can´t anymore, because all of the hard things he´s been through. We just tried to follow the spirit when we talked with him, so we´ll see. We said a prayer with him, and he was trying to hide his tears when it ended. We´ll see. He really needs the gospel in his life, so I hope the Spirit can really work in him. He is trying to quit drinking though, so that part is awesome!

Friday: Similar to Thursday. Actually almost identical, just with other people. We got to visit with Jhenifer, and she really wants to be baptized! She said that she knows that this is the true church, so hopefully next Saturday will be her baptism!! :D We are very very excited for her.

Saturday: We got to do a really cool service with the ward, we went and visited an old folk´s home! I got to talk with an old guy who is from France, but he also spoke English, and also understands some Spanish! Very smart guy. Apparently he flew fighter planes in WWII, and in other wars too. All of these things I learned from his son, because he mostly spoke in french and made weird hand motions, but it´s ok because he seemed happy :) That was the highlight of our day. I really felt like we were bringing some Christmas cheer for these people. I´m so glad it´s Christmas time now!! 

Sunday: Happy Birthday to me! I´m 20, that´s weird. But it was a good birthday. The Relief Society sung happy birthday to me, then made a line to give me hugs and well wishes! So cute. And then of course, we had an awesome lunch at the bishop´s house!! It really was a good birthday. We got to visit with a bunch of people. Oh! And Hermana Muñoz made a cute birthday banner for me! AND we finished putting up our Christmas tree! It was fun :)

Monday: So we spent basically our whole day in the Cancha. I bought a guitar, finally! It´s blue, super cool. I´ll take pictures this week. It was 550 bs, which is SO CHEAP!! (that´s like 80 bucks, and that included the case, the tuner, the capo, and the picks!!) But it´s still good quality!! Then we went to a ´birthday party´ of missionaries for hermana Padilla, since her birthday was the 30th, and then it turned into a little something for me too! (It´s a tradition in Bolivia that when it´s your birthday, they through eggs and flour all over you, so right now as i´m writing i´m COVERED! But I didn´t have time to shower before internet, so here we are haha!

And that was my week! Hope it was a great one for all of you, and that the next on is great!!

Hermana Rowe

PS I think it´d be great if each one of you could watch the new Light the World video from this year. It´s super great, and it has a lot of ideas for things we can do to be a little more like the Savior this year. He lives, and loves us. :)