I'm A Believer!

¡HOLA!

¡FELIZ PASCUA AYER! I hope that your Easter was good! Dad I was impressed that you knew that Pascua was Easter in spanish since it took like a good two weeks of me hearing it every day to figure it out! How is everything going? Thanks for all the emails and updates on everything this week. It sounds like you all had a great Easter!

This week was really great! Here they have huevos of pascua which are hollow chocolate eggs with kinda like nerd things inside and apparently it is a tradition to go around whacking each other on the butt... yeah I am not really sure but luckily as a missionary I am exempt from that game! :)

Funny story of the week. We were talking with Guillermo who is one of our recent converts and he was telling us how he met his wife. Apparently he was driving by her house one day with his cousin and saw her through a window and said that he wanted to talk to her. His cousin told him that he would have to talk to her father, who was a police officer, first to get permission. So one day he went to her house and found her dad sitting on the porch cleaning his gun (classic situation even in Argentina apparently). When he told her dad that he wanted to talk to his daughter, her dad responded, "I don´t want you two going around dating for 8 months or so. So if you want to talk to her you have to marry her." Guillermo´s response, "¡Bueno!" Ha ha they were married 3 months later in which they only saw each other twice, he was 25 and she was 16. Oh my when he was telling us that story I couldn´t stop laughing. It made me think of all the BYU/LDS jokes that I´ve always heard, so I guess he was always meant to be a member!

This week I really realized just how much as missionaries we really are representatives of Christ at all times! My companion and I were walking down the road this week heading to our lunch appointment and I was actually teaching her the word butterfly (why I remember that I don´t know), when a man road past us. He then turned down a road in front of us and called to us to turn down that road. Since it was broad daylight and there were people around we walked over to him. He started off by telling us that he had turned down the road because he didn´t want his wife to see us because she doesn´t like the missionaries but then he looked at us with the most sincere look I´ve ever seen and said, "But I´m a believer". It was one of the coolest experiences. He told us that he had recently lost his job and that he has 11 kids that he is trying to take care of, one of which has recently taken up robbing people and all that he wanted to ask of us was if we could pray for him and his family. I honestly felt so humbled and inadequate to respond to his request but of course we said that we would and are going to try and find him later this week to teach. This experience coupled with the fact that I had to prepare a talk this week on receiving revelation through prayer has made me think a lot about the power of prayer. There is a talk, shoot and right now I don´t even remember who by, that talks about how incredible it is that we get to talk personally with God, the creator of worlds without end, who is all powerful. Yet he wants to talk to us individually and personally and give us direction in our lives. How could we not want to pray?! I´ve thought a lot about how prayer is not a way to change the will of God but a way that we can ask for the blessings that God already has waiting for us.

Before my mission I worried a lot about whether promptings that I felt were just my own thoughts and not the spirit. But Elder Bednar gave a talk at the MTC where he said that if you have the spirit and I would add striving to do the Lord´s will, then your thoughts and desires will be the same as his. I love this scripture in D&C 46:30 where I talks about praying with the spirit and following the will of God.

Another quick story. Yesterday we were at a family´s house giving a lesson and then at the end a member who was with us was like, "Hna Scanlon, will you sing a song for us in English?" Oh my.... just add this to things that I would never normally do but will do as a missionary. Yup, so you bet I got up there in front of everyone and sang a song... Funny part was that the only song that I could remember in english was I am a Child of God. It was fine but let´s just say that I am really glad that the spirit was there to help strengthen me and make me not sound so bad...

Ok well I had better go. I love you all and am so grateful to be a forever family!

Think about you often, pray for you always and love you forever!

Hna Scanlon

P.S. yes the title of this email does make me start to sing that song from Shrek... :)

If You Are Busy Judging People, You Have No Time To Love Them

(Sorry that I'm almost a week late on posting this)

¡hola!

Wow I can´t believe that another week has gone by! So crazy! Wow time really does fly by!

This week was a really good one.. as always. The first few weeks of the transfer are always a little bit harder I´m coming to find out and a think a little bit more stressful as we are working hard to find investigators and get everything in order for this coming transfer. It also means lots of tracting in the streets which always makes for really long days. I love being here in a small town because I now know tons of people and can actually say hi to people as we are walking down the street. It´s funny because everyone knows that a lot of the missionaries are from the United States so they yell whatever words they know in english at us. Also people call me hna daniels a lot. Every time it happens I just smile and usually don´t correct them. It´s funny.

The most interesting thing that happened this week was yesterday we had a big rainstorm and during church the power went out. I am starting to realize that this is a fairly normal occurance here. Anyway we had Sunday School basically in the dark which was fine but I was worried for Sacrament Meeting because I had to give a talk and I HAD to be able to read my notes!!! Well for some reason (I think because I am a Scanlon) I started crying during the administration of the sacrament and of course I was the first speaker. So I was crying when I got up there to talk, there was no power so no microphone so I had to yell so that people could hear me while trying to have a good accent, I couldn´t really read my notes because of the lack of lights and the tears in my eyes, and I couldn´t really speak either because I was crying.... wow what a sight. One of my favorite members moved to the front row to sit right in front of me so that I could see her big smile and so that she could hear me i think. Well anyway I made it through it and everyone afterwards told me how good it was and a lady even told me my pronunciation was perfect. Really it´s pretty funny to look back on and since all the members feel sorry for me this week we will probably have more lessons with members there to help us. My comp also cried during her talk and so did our ward mission leader to it wasn´t just me FYI.

Other than that it was a pretty quiet week. We had a mini reunion for the beginning of the transfer and I got to see Hna Tucker again which was really cool. We didn´t get to talk very much but it is always nice to at least see a familiar face and get a hug!

This week I have thought a lot about charity, especially since that was what I talked about on Sunday. I love this quote by Mother Teresa "If you are busy judging people you have no time to love them". i found that is so true as I am here trying to help and love people as Christ would if He were here. I love the talk by Pres Monson from last April about Charity. Definitely read it if you haven´t.

Ok I am out of time so I have to go!

Think about you often, pray for you always, and love you forever! I am so grateful that we are a FOREVER family!

Hna Scanlon

(In the above video, her companion says "Esta filmando" which means "It's filming." The camera must have been in video mode and she just wanted to take a picture. Pretty insane puddle though, huh? I'm so glad that Jordan has gotten down the Spanish O-o-o-o-o-h - it's awesome!)

A Message From Hermana Scanlon

So, Hermana Scanlon sent me my very own email this week (hooray!) and she said that some of her faithful blog followers need some more information regarding sending letters and such.

The pouch mail system has very specific instructions on sending letters through them. They literally specify that you can only send a single piece of paper, written on only one side. If you have a lot to say, type the letter using small font, or just send a letter using the mission office address. It'll cost more than 44 cents, but you can send more that way. If you want to use pouch, fold the single piece of paper in thirds, tape it shut and address it like an envelope. (Don't forget the 44 cent stamp). It's not super private so, I guess, just don't write anything too personal! If you have other questions about it, leave a comment or email me at cscanlon20@gmail.com.

I plan to print this blog into a book when she gets home so any comments you want to leave are welcome and they'll be part of her memory book. Just think, you'll get points by leaving comments if you aren't so good at writing letters to her! Then she'll know that you were supportive even though you may not be able to write her much.

She also wanted me to thank you for letters and she is trying to respond to all of them. Please know that her time is very limited and P-days just fly by. Some of you have asked to send stuff and wanted to know what would be most helpful/fun for her to receive. She doesn't have ready access to LDS.org and would love print-outs of Conference talks. So if there's one that you especially like or you think would be good for her to study, please send it to her. She has a CD player, so any Church music (especially in Spanish) would be awesome. She also loves getting photos. It's hard/expensive for her to print any in Argentina, and she would love to see what's going on in your lives.

Thank you for loving and supporting Hermana Scanlon!

Blog Slacker

Man, I thought I would be better at keeping up with this blog. I guess I make up for being such a slacker when I do 5 posts in one day just to catch up. Here are some great photos that were on Jordan's memory card.

BICHOS (bugs)

Just think of all the character she's building!

Universal Truths

¡Hola!

How are you all doing? Hopefully you are doing well! This week was a good one. It was the last one of this transfer which was exciting! My companion and I anticipated changes in our area but we with both be here for a least one transfer more! I am really excited about this because I love this area and I know that there are lots of people that we can help as we are here for the next 6 weeks.
Ha ha so everyone asks how my spanish is coming and what I have learned. So I compiled a list of things that I´ve found to be universal truths... even as I am 6,451 miles from home! :)

Universal Truths (well at least those between Argentina and the United States :)

1. Toothpaste can be used for more than dental care needs- it apparently is useful for burns and cleaning as well. The other day my companion burned her finger and walked around with toothpaste on it for the rest of the day. It was pretty funny. It kinda got all over her though... after a lesson I had to help her get it out of her hair.

2. No matter who you are or what language you speak, someone, somewhere will think that you have an accent. All the time people tell me that I am saying things wrong... Even when I am speaking english. I guess I have to work on having a latin accent when I speak in english!

3. Mormons everywhere have tupperwear and eat jello. No one here has tupperwear. It almost literally doesn´t exist... EXCEPT for the Relief Society sisters. Ha ha have to love the church.

4. Girls everywhere call themselves fat... however it is ony in some countires that the men do it as well.
Apparently it is a term of endearment to call someone gorda or gordita. My first few weeks I didn´t know that. I almost cried when one of the relief society sisters said, "choa gorda". Ha ha I am now use to that but I am not use to husbands saying it to their wives. That is definitely something that I will not adopt from the Argentine culture into my marriage.

5. If something is good, frying it makes it better. hmm pretty much self explanatory

6. Heavenly Father is mindful of ALL of His children. I can see every day how much Heavenly Father loves all of His children and that is why His gospel is on the earth. To help us find peace and happiness while we are far from Him and to be able one day to return to Him. As I try to look at the people here are Christ and Heavenly Father do that is when I truly love them and would do anything to serve them. This is a principle that is true for all of us. As we strive to love our fellow men that is when we find true happiness.

7. There is a universal language which includes: the wolf whistle, cries of pain, basically all facial expressions- my personal favorite these days is confusion :)

8. Listening is more important than being heard. As I have literally been forced to listen far more than I talk I have learned to truly get to know people. I worried that people wouldn´t feel like they knew me because I couldn´t talk to them in a way that I normally do. But I´ve learned that as I show love to people and truly listen to them and what they are saying, I help them far more and they feel far closer to me then if I could say exactly what I wanted to them whenever I wanted.

9. People are more alike then they are different. There are so many things every day that I think, "wow they say that too?" or "no way they do that too?". Especially with my companion and living with someone that grew up in a very different culture in an entirely different place in the world we have more things in common and are more alike then we are different. As we learn to focus on the commonalities that we with others and to embrace our differences, then we learn to love people for who they are.

Well there you go! Just a little funny list that I came up with about things that I have come to notice and appreciate AND have actually taken the time to write down! Love you all tons and tons! Thanks for all the support and love that you send my way!

Think about you often, pray for you always and love you forever!

Hna Scanlon

We are so proud of the work she is doing & glad that she is having a blast and working hard!

Funny Story

Here's a story Jordan sent me in a little email this week. She might not have wanted it to be public knowledge, but since I'm in charge of this blog, I choose to share it...

We had to get a remis (taxi) to take some
investigators home from church and i was sitting in the front next to
the driver who was a kid who was probably like 26. Anyway he was
listening to english music and so i asked him if he liked english. He
was like I don´t understand it but i like it and then asked me if I
was from the states. Of course I said yes and then he was like I have
been working as a driver for 9 years and I have never seen a beautiful
mormon girl like you here. Ha ha I almost died... it was so funny. I
was just like oh have you ever gone to church? Pretty much I felt
super awkward and my comp was hating me but it was funny and i got a
contact for the day. I don´t know if you had to get 10 contacts a day
in your mission but it is super tough for me to do, especially here
because we have already contacted most of the people! So when guys hit
on my I can usually get at least a contact out of it.... I'm pretty sure
that Heavenly Father is ok with that too! :) ok now I really have to
go!

Foreign countries are so crazy awesome!

mmmm ---> Orange Fanta! I'm so jealous!

Hello!

How are you all doing? Wow sounds like an eventful week for everyone!
I am glad that it was all in good ways though! I am so glad that
everything worked out for Grandma´s house and that Kyle and Carolyn
were able to sell theirs!
This week was pretty low key. We had lots of meetings which means that
two days this week we had to travel like an hour and a half by train.
One was for district meeting which we have to do every week anyway and
the other was because we had interviews with President Benton. I guess
we have them with him every other transfer so I think I should have
one more with him before he leaves. Mom he said to tell you
congratulations on Woman of the Year nomination... when do you know
the results?

Speaking of the new president that is awesome! Thanks for the news dad
and for the clipping. We don´t really get news out here so I was
wondering if the new president would just show up or what so thanks!
CONFERENCE!!! I am so excited! We have to travel like 2 hours by train
to get to watch it which is hard to take investigators/recent converts
to so we will see what we work out. I am pretty sure that I will be
watching it in spanish because even if there was another room with it
in english my comp doesn´t speak english so I wouldn´t have a
companion. But we are probably meeting up with other sisters in the
mission so we will see!

Big news this week is that the branch here is now a ward! And rumor
has it that they are looking for land to build an actual chapel here.
Actually if I know about it the news must be pretty well spread! :) It
is such a blessing for the members here. I was thinking about it and
the church has only been here for about 10 years! That is so crazy! So
I will keep you updated on what goes on there.

The weather here was a little bit colder this week. Yeah it was about
60 degrees out... I actually wore a sweater, it´s funny how fast your
body adapts. My comp is always cold so we have the heater on a lot as
well... Dad and Cali you would die. It was funny I actually saw a kid
wearing ear muffs this week... I laughed out loud. Oh latins.

Oh quick question: can anyone look up for me how far Argentina is from
Idaho. People ask me all the time and I never know. If you could tell
me both in miles and km that would be great!

A little tid bit of information for Kyle. You can let Avery know that
Blue´s Clues exits here as well. Every time we get mail my comp sings
the Blue´s Clues mail song. It makes me smile :)

Everyone asks me about the food but it is really not that different.
Chedder cheese doesn´t exist here. There cheese is all kinda really
weird but I´m getting use to it. My favorite dessert is flan. We have
it basically after every meal but I still love it a ton. This week we
ate at one of the Miguez brother´s houses and he said that he had a
surprise for us... After lunch we pulled out a snickers and a jar of
peanut butter. I was so happy I could have cried. He gave me a spoon
and told me to eat it. hmm I don´t usually eat peanut butter by the
spoonful but i was so excited that i didn´t even care! Definitely a
tender mercy since i have basically been praying for peanut butter
since i got here.

hmm I am not quite sure what else to tell you. Just like every week
spanish is coming along. It´s so awesome to actually be a part of
conversations now... I feel like a real person! It´s great! :) It´s
helped so much having a latin companion and it looks like i will next
transfer as well which I am so grateful for!

Since I basically think about spanish all day every day, i was
thinking about the fact that in spanish the verb for to wish and to
wait is the same, esperar. How true that is in our lives. As we only
wish for things to happen that is not a word of actions. When we go
about and do, that is when I wishes come true. In the package that I
got from Susan there was a quote that I loved. I can´t remember is
exactly but it said something like, " I am what I am today because of
the decisions I made yesterday". There is another quote I love that I
heard in a class at BYU that says "Stop trying to find yourself,
create yourself". Every day as we make choices and act to be the
people that we want to be, it is only then that we can make our dreams
or wishes a reality. As I talk to the people here I realize that most
are just waiting for good things to happen to them. I hope that I can
be that spark that helps them have the desire for better things in
their lives. I hope that we can all strive to have our choices today
make a better us tomorrow.

I had better go! Think of you often, pray for you always, and love you forever!

Hna Scanlon

Bonus!

A couple of weeks ago, I got a bonus email from Hermana Scanlon in the middle of the week (don't worry, she had permission!). It was super short, but she needed immediate information, so she got to write me an extra email. She titled it: "Well Look Who It Is...

It felt like my birthday. :)