Word of the week: “esmalte” (finger nail polish)

Yes, for the first time in nearly a year and a half, I painted my finger nails…don’t worry….I only painted them clear, but man was it so refreshing!!!!! I have been feeling so girlie, that I went out and bought a cute little dress as well…woohoo! This was an odd week because Hna. Goddard and I had to go to Mendoza for a training meeting with President Avila and the Assistants as a follow-up training for all the new missionaries (and their trainers) in their second transfer. So, we jumped on a bus early Wednesday morning and rode for 4 hours to then have lunch and a 2 hour training meeting, just to jump back on the bus for another 4 hours. We got back to our apartment around 11pm…lovely! Needless to say, the week was a little off, but Evelyn and Zoe are still progressing along quite well, and that’s all that matters at this point. Hna. Goddard and I had been thinking a lot about Zoe and the situation between her and her parents regarding her baptism. On our long adventure to Mendoza, we had lots of time to think about how to help Zoe and her parents get ready for her baptism. When we got back to San Luis and in communication with Zoe and her mom, we were able to discuss the situation with her mom. When I told her mother that Zie can answer all of the baptismal interview questions and then asked her if she thought Zoe was ready to be baptized, she relied quickly with a straight “no.” I was shocked. We set up an appointment to visit them the following day, and then we started thinking extra hard. We settled on the idea to make Zoe a calendar with scriptures to read every day that relate to the baptismal interview questions. Each day, after completing the reading assignment, she will be able to put a little sticker to mark it off. She loved the idea (as did her mother). We were even sure to ask her mother if she felt like Zoe would be prepared to be baptized in 2 weeks if she did all her tasks on the calendar. She told us yes….WOOHOO! I couldn’t have been more excited! Zoe came to church on Sunday and we even started talking about her baptism with some of the other primary kids! Things are looking good with her! Evelyn was a bit of a rollercoaster ride this week. After her Sunday experience, we were sure she would just slide right into the baptismal font on her baptismal date, but that’s not what she was thinking. We went over to her house Monday night to chat a little bit more about her experience at church, but she received us with a very cold attitude and with quite a bit of scepticism. First, we asked her how she’d been doing with her goal to stop smoking and drinking tea. She just laughed and said straight out that she had smoked with a friend Sunday night and that there was no way she was going to be able to give up her tea because she just didn’t understand why she couldn’t drink tea since it doesn’t do her any harm. I felt crushed, but just reminded her of the importance of praying and having a testimony of Joseph Smith in regards to commandments that may seem difficult for us to understand the Lord’s reasoning. She then jumped in with some questions about tithing (since that was the Gospel Principles lesson in church). She asked if she had to pay tithing, to which we told her no, not until she was baptized. She just laughed and said, “well then, I just won’t get baptized….” I wanted to die. Something had to be wrong…how could she say that when she’d been progressing so well and when she had been raving about how much she loved church!?!?! I was just confused and more than a little bit sad. We left her house a little defeated, but hopefully that she would keep reading in the Book of Mormon and praying like we re-invited her to do. When we went back to Evelyn’s house on Thursday morning, we went having prayed and studied and planned very carefully a lesson specially tailored for her about tithing. I was very nervous, but the spirit helped me stay calm and kept telling me that everything would work out. I just wanted to go and see her as she has become someone so special to me. The lesson started out kind of cold like the one earlier in the week, but I tried to stay cheerful and positive. Within a few minutes, as she was putting shoes on one of her son’s, she started to relate to us about the chapters she had read in the Book of Mormon. I was thrilled! She even said that she stopped drinking tea and that she hadn’t smoked either! It was as if she changed 180 degrees, back to the Evelyn we first met. It was such a relief! We taught her about tithing and she accepted the invitation to pay tithing without any problem. It literally was a miracle! She shared some interesting thoughts with us about her church experience, one thought in particular stood out to me. She told us how “well off” she viewed the members in the church building. Even though surely they were all struggling in their lives in one way or another, she said that everyone seemed happy and like they had a reason to hope. She compared that to the people who are in serious need who go to the Catholic Church to cry and pray and they leave the cathedral just as bad off as when they went in. She didn’t see that at all in the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That really struck me. How perceptive she was in seeing something that is not necessarily a message we share through words, but is definitely shown through our example. What a testimony it was to me of the true importance of our example, even when we aren’t doing anything in particular, we are still sending forth a clear message, just as simply as the way in which we carry ourselves and the bright light that shines through our eyes. We may not recognize it in ourselves, but those who are searching for this light, will be drawn to the brightness that radiates from within us. This week should be a normal week (though in reality, what week is ever “normal”?). I’m particularly looking forward to the Family Home Evening we have planned with a ward family who offered to teach us how to make alfajores! (a traditional sandwich cookie). Woohoo! Thanks for all your love and support. I will see you all in just a few short weeks! Start practicing your Spanish!!!! ¡Los amo muchísimo! Hna. Pelton