Stand Up And Speak Out

(Showing off the dirt from a hard day's work!)

¡Hi All!

It was so good to hear from you this week! First off my birthday was so great! And also super funny. That morning I received a text message from our Bishop telling me to head over to his house because he had a package for me for my birthday! Ha ha so first thing we headed to his house and he gave me the package and we sat and ate skittles and M&Ms and Hot Tamales!! I was in heaven. Thanks Cali for all the pictures, it was absolutely perfect. Also thanks for the grape juice packets. It´s interesting because in Argentina they have literally every other flavor of juice besides grape! Also thanks for the tattoos... All the little girls have loved me this week!

On my birthday we also went to one of my favorite member´s house and they made me a cake and sang happy birthday to me. Then when we finished it was raining so hard that they convinced us to cut head holes in plastic trash bags and then put them over us, not letting us cut arm holes because then our arms would get wet. It was pretty funny. Secretly the whole time I was hoping I didn´t fall because I could just imagine breaking off all my teeth!

We also went to a families house to make them brownies. yeah I really can´t cook very well so they didn´t turn out the greatest but hey it´s the effort that matters right!?!

Other than those exciting moments it was a pretty low key week. My companion is really great. I figured out something this week. I think that all Chileans are DEATHLY afraid of frogs (Kyle you can reaffirm this for me). I have only known 3 Chileans in the mission and every single one of them has a phobia of frogs. But really really bad. I don´t think that I have ever really seen anything quite like it. It would have been funny it my companion hadn´t been so scared since after it rains here there are almost literally a billion in the street.

From Dad´s email I have been thinking a lot about the importance of "standing up and speaking up" that Elder Holland talked about in his talk. Well obviously I don´t know what exactly was said but I love the well know scripture in Timothy that says, "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." Sometimes the hardest thing that we have to do is to be an example of the believers because it is such a popular trend in the world today to rely on the philosophies of men and to lean on our own understanding. I love the opportunity that I have to be with a new missionary because I can really see how much I have grown in the mission, more than anything in my testimony. I love that I look for any opportunity that I can find to share with those around me who I am and what I know. Yesterday my Bishop called me "sin verguenza" meaning that I have no shame. This is almost 100% true. I love this work and I love the people here. I know that it is God´s work and His glory "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life" of all of His children! I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to help Him with His work here in Argentina! I hope that we can all be examples of the believers EVERY day because whether you get to wear His name on a plack on your chest every day or you a wearing it in your heart it is the same.... People are watching you and your actions because they know who you are and who you represent!

I love you all so much!

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

Hna Scanlon