Word of the Week: Fuegos Artificiales (Fireworks)

I have to back up a little bit because I forgot to tell you all that we went Christmas caroling last Sunday! It was a blast! We met up as a zone in the stake center and then did some divisions. Hna. Whitmore and I ended up knocking and singing with 2 elders in the zone (one who is only in his second transfer). I was a little nervous as we started out because Christmas caroling is only something seen in the movies in this part of the world. We weren't wildly received, but we did get in to a few houses to read the story of Christ's birth in the Bible. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience...even if, most of the time, the people just waved us away. We sang in front of some houses despite their waves because the doors were open and we knew they would hear us regardless. It was fun working with the elders and caroling in Spanish. I loved it, but was really tired afterword! This week, with Christmas, the work was a little bit harder with most people worried about grocery shopping, cooking, and their incoming family. Tuesday we took a 30 minute bus ride to Santa Elena (a dusty neighborhood) and then hiked (in the sweltering heat) towards the beautiful Andes mountains to find a reference from one of our ward members. I felt like I was melting, but the "hike" was beautiful and I felt so blessed to be serving in such an picturesk area of the world. We finally made it to Adrianna's house and taught her about faith and baptism. She is a young mother already with grandchildren and very concerned with the well-being of her growing family. We also revisited Elisa, a woman we found while knocking doors last week. She was very stand-off-ish last week, but when we went by this week, she was very welcoming and eager to listen to us. As we chatted with her outside her home, the pieces of her story began to fit together: She is in a difficult relationship with her "husband" and has been praying in hiding because she is afraid of her husband's reactions. She told us that she wasn't able to read the pamphlet we left her because she had to hide it from her husband. He drove away to run some errands just as we arrived to talk with her. She talked with us more freely when he left. We shared Mosiah 24 with her and the oppressive experiences of the people of Alma. It was as if that chapter was written just for her. I felt the spirit so strongly as I testified to her of the Lord's plan in giving us trials to strengthen us and that He rather shapes our backs to carry those burdens rather than just taking them away. She told us that she would gladly accept a Book of Mormon if we were to bring her one. Her husband returned and the conversation with her became heavy and weighed down, so we left and promised to return. Sunday night, we went out to work in the afternoon to another dusty neighborhood and bus ride away and in about 2 1/2 hours, we taught 8 new people! --one family of 8 kids (and three sets of twins!!!). We also taught a young mother named Deolinda and her 2 year old son Francisco. She started crying as soon as we finished saying the opening prayer. I felt prompted to ask her if she were alright. She explained to us that she now lives with her husband and son far from her family and her 8 brothers and sisters. She is really sad to be far from them, but knows it was her choice to get married and move. We taught her about the power of prayer as a source of comfort and strength as well as the means by which we can bless our families. I felt the peace of the spirit settle on us and her as we talked in her little home. She gladly accepted a follow-up appointment and I'm anxious to go back and visit her this week. Here's the Argentine Christmas perspective: Friday night we went to have a LATE dinner with the Ascurra Family. We got there a little early and were able to help make the homemade empanadas for the festivities. I still need to practice how to seal them, but it was fun learning to be a real Argentine (because you can't be Argentine if you don't know how to made empanadas!) We ate a traditional Argentine feast at about 10:30pm complete with asado (BBQ), thin Argentine sandwiches (with more mayo than anything else), tomatoes in oil, lettuce with oil, canned beats, meat empanadas, and soda pop. I took advantage of the empanadas because the meat was a little too fatty for my liking. While we were waiting for the rest of their guests to arrive, Hna. Whitmore and I played with their 3 1/2 year old daughter. I asked her where Santa lives, to which she replied, "In Santiago, Chile." Caught off guard by that response, I asked her what he does there. She looked around a little confused for a few minutes, then popped up and said, "he makes pillows and birthday cakes!" Sounds like a plan to me! We got a good laugh out of it and when we told her mother of her unique response, she told us that they had gone to Santiago right when they were putting up all the Christmas decoration and that's likely where her responses came from. :) We made it back to our apartment around 11:30, just as everyone started lighting off their fireworks. We watched the fireworks over Lujan and the surrounding areas from our back patio. It was so neat...I just stood there and soaked it all in...the sounds, the lights, the hot air, the grape vine growing up the side of our apartment from the homes below...the whole thing. We listened to fireworks until about 1 am when we finally fell asleep. Saturday morning, I woke up and put my attempt-of-a-breakfast casserole in the oven, made a Christmas card for my companion as she slept and read the story of Christ's birth in the scriptures. When Hna. Whitmore got up, we opened our presents. (Hna. Whitmore had already opened her's, so I made her re-wrap them. I wrapped what I got from home...the mailing packages and all. Thanks for the AWESOME monkey slippers, dried fruit, jam, goodies, t-shirt, book, and notes of love. It was a memorable Christmas, and one that surely I will never forget! It was great hearing everybody's voices and the words of advice and wisdom... Love to you all! Next week...stay turned! Hna. Whitmore and I are going to Aconcagua! (aka: the highest mountain outside of Asia...yes...it's gonna be amazing!) I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and will have a wonderful New Year! It's weird to think that I'll be starting a new year in Argentina...last year at New Years...I had no idea this is where I'd be starting the following year. Best wishes and happy goal setting for 2011! Love you, Hermana Pelton