Word of the week: fútbol (soccer

Word of the week: fútbol (soccer) For the first time in a year, after living in Argentina for nearly 10 months, I played soccer today during our P-day. I know, you are all gasping right now...I know, I know! But, I can play soccer anywhere in the world, I'd so much rather go and do and see! But today, we went to a lake and played soccer by the lake. It was really a lot of fun and it was nice to show those elders that girls can play soccer too! haha! This week was a transfer week. Monday night we received the transfer call and it was my turn to leave San Rafael. I'm now back in the same zone where I started my mission nearly 10 months ago. I'm working in a new area though, but it's nice having a little heads up about the area. My companion is Hna. Cuello from the province of Buenos Aires. She is about to finish up her mission and we are just having a great time together. She loves telling jokes, making funny faces, playing sports (including karate) and working. We are going to have a great transfer together! I'm excited to get to work with her! This week we started a mission challenge of reading the Book of Mormon in 66 days (the amount of time it took Joseph Smith to translate). I get up everyday excited to study the scriptures! It's like I'm thirsting to read the Book of Mormon. It's been a great experience so far! Not to mention, it's the first time in about 7 months that I've read the scriptures in English...weird! Things that I learned this week: -Zingara: She is a 12 year old girl who has been listening to the missionaries for a few weeks now. I really came to see that age doesn't matter; we all desire spiritual knowledge and understanding, be we 12 years old, 95 or somewhere in between. We all have the capacity to feel and recognize the influence of the spirit. -Franco: He is a recent convert who is 18 years old. He is currently in a pickle in his life as he's stopped spending time with his friends because they drink and party. He has a strong testimony of the church, but is struggling to get his footing because he doesn't have lots of friends in the church yet and he is distancing himself from the people he spent most of his time with. He helped me see the importance of our action and who we are. Our example and our actions speak louder than words, be them good or bad. When someone treats us poorly, it's our reaction to the oposition and the rejection that really shows to ourselves and those around us, not to mention to the Lord, the person we are and the depth of our character. -Maria Isabel: She is the mother of a teenaged boy who got baptized a couple of years ago. She has gone to church and has listened to the missionaries, but has never really read the Book of Mormon. In teaching her and listening to her responses, I realized how important the desire (or the disposition) to change is in the personal conversion process. We can feel the spirit, we can logically reason things out, but if we aren't willing to change, nothing matters and the changing power of the spirit of the Lord will have no effect in our lives. She clearly felt the spirit and yet after saying how much she doesn't like her church and how she's seen good things in the Church of Jesus Christ, she was closed off and unwilling to see the possibilities and the opportunity to have more blessings in her life. Often in life we are content where we are at--we are happy and think that things are fine as they are; we are satisfied. We limit ourselves. Was it hard for Lehi to leave his possessions, his home, where he grew up, the things that he knew in search of the promised land? surely it was hard, but was the promise land not worth the steps into the unknown wilderness? With promises from the Lord and faith in Him, why not take that step into the darkness? Does the Lord ever lead us some where worse in our lives? Is not the promised land worth seeking! Yes, we limit ourselves by closing ourselves off to the treasures the Lord has in store for us because we are comfortable where we are. There is some thing more for all of us if we just reach out and take that first step into the wilderness. Like Peter walking on the water with Christ, take that step in faith and the miracles will fall into place. He will be there to grab our hand when we waver in the wilderness. Just walk to Him. Gotta run! This week marks my 1 year mark in the mission! CRAZY! eat ravioli with a bagette on thursday with soda to drink in honor of my 1 year mark in Argentina! ( I will be eating the same thing likely!) Love to you all. Talk to you next week. Hna. Pelton