Word of the week: congelar (to freeze)

Well, I don't have a lot to report about this week. This week just flew by between the weather getting really cold, interviews with the mission president, and lots of hot cocoa, I can't believe that it's already Monday and another week has gone by. Today I received the paperwork to get things set up for me to go home. Wow, 3 months from today and I will be getting on a plane heading for the United States. CRAZY! It was great seeing the Lindahls one more time before they leave this Friday to go back to the states and normal life. President seemed quite burnt out and ready to go home and rightly so after 3 years of stressful service as a mission president in one of the only progressing missions in Argentina. It was great talking to him and his wife and receiving their last words of counsel and advice. Next week we have transfers and as of right now, I have no idea what will happen. Hna. Cuello is staying in the mission for a week or two after transfers before she goes home to Buenos Aires, so my guess is that she will stay here in the area and that I will be moved one more time. I suggested to President Lindahl that I'd like to serve in San Juan (one of the other provinces of the mission) since I only have 2 transfers left and it's highly unlikely that I'd be moved my last transfer to a new area. We'll see though. With a new president coming into the mission and new hermanas on their way, anything is possible. The great thing is that I don't have to worry about it...I just have to pray to be able to accept whatever comes my way. (One more move would be fun though, if I had things my way). In other proselyting news this week, Hna. Cuello and I found a great little Evangelical family while knocking doors. The wife came to the door and said no a few times, but I kinda persisted (I've gotten stubborn in my old mission age) and she ended up letting us in. We taught her and her husband (who has a huge cast on his leg because of an accident and therefore had no choice but to listen to us since he can't move...hahaha...tricky aren't we!) We taught them about the Plan of Salvation and Fabian (the husband) was quite attentive. He apparently has always had the question of what happens to our spirits between death and the resurrection because from what he understood, we will all be resurrected when Christ comes again. He has a great understanding of the Bible and was very happy and willing to learn more and close the gaps in his spiritual understanding. I've never met someone here on the mission that has had that question, but it just goes to show that we are all different as individual people, but that the Gospel answers all the questions that we have with simple, to the point repsonses that we don't have to seek by going to a Catholic Priest, your pastor, or someone who studies the Bible religiously---the mysteries of the kingdom are well within our reach if we will but, seek, knock, and ask. The other memorable moment of the week was something tender that really had nothing to do with preach the gospel, but everything to do with being a representative of Jesus Christ. Hna. Cuello and I went to our little "golden town" again this week to try and follow up again with some of the people we'd taught there. As we were walking on the dusty road out to the little town, I had the wierdest urge to hurry to the neighborhood...to run really. I had the kick that thought out of my mind because I hardly have the strength to make it though the day just walking, let alone running. When we got to the neighborhood, our investigators weren't home, so we knocked the few doors that we had left to knock, taught a young, pregnant mom outside her metal hut in the freezing weather and then moved on. As we were teaching Estella, a group of little kids started to huddle around us to and listened and joked and just were being little kids. It's not a rare occurance that little kids come over to us and listen because we teach outside a lot of the time and obviously the blond hair and weird accent draws a crowd. One little girl named Priscila was quite chatty and liked participating in our little lesson about prayer. She is only about 6 years old, but quite talkative and cute. She was covered in dirt and despite the cold weather, was only wearing jeans and a light sweatshirt. As we finished up the lesson with Estella, Priscila looked up at us and asked us if we were going to go visit her mom now and that she'd show us to her house. So, we smiled and just walked with her towards her home around the corner. She was just chatting away and I grabbed her little frozen hand and just started walking with her hand-in-hand. She smiled up at me and started swinging her arms and walked a little bit happier around the block. We got to her house and her mom came out and listened to us for a few minutes, despite the freezing weather. She didn't want to let us in because her husband was sleeping, so we taught her outside as well. Priscila just looked like a little ice cube, so I knelt down to her level and (yes....I'm about to break a rule here...) waved her over to come sit on my lap. I just set my scripture case in her lap and let her look at the pictures I have throughout my scriptures and wrapped my arms around her to warm her up. She snuggled right into me and seemed just as content as a little clam (had to throw that in there for my Seattle-ites :). ) After we finished teaching her mom, with my legs asleep, I stood up. Priscila just looked at me and asked me, "Did I warm you up?" I smiled, paused, and shook my head "yes". How sweet a little girl who had dirty clothes and cold fingers while I had gloves and a big fluffy coat and she was trying to warm me up. I was greatly touched by her simple smile and her question when the whole time I was trying to help her. She asked her mom if she could walk us to another house or two, so she held on to my scriuptures (at her request) and she walked hand-in-hand with me to a few other houses and then to the dirt road back to our area (ie: real life). I gave the little kids in the neighborhood a copy of the friend magazine the next day when we went back and they were thrilled! That little experience with Priscila walking with me will hopefully stay with me forever. It was something so simple, but something that really taught me the importance of being the Christlike example in deeds not just in words. When we are serving others and trying to give of ourselves, we are the ones who are helped in return---we receive the bigger reward no matter how much we give or seem to be sacrificing. I'm still not sure why I had such an urge to run to the neighborhood, but I am sure that part of the reason was to warm the little body and heart of Priscila. The light of the Lord shines brightly in the little children. No wonder Christ weeped as he blessed them and was always telling us to become as little children. They truly are those who are worthy of the kingdom. Things are going well here in San Luis. This is the last week of the transfer. Next Monday we will get the transfer call and hear about what's going on for the next 6 weeks. Pres. Avila and his family should move in this week....stay tuned....we're all anxious to see how life changes or stays the same. Thanks for all your love and support! See you in 3 months! Love you, Hna. Pelton ps-send my best to Uncle Paul...I will surely keep him in my prayers :)