Training and another fire!

Hermana Cardenas (newbie) and Hermana Davis
getting helados  in Comodoro Rivadavia before
heading to  their area in Rio Gallegos

"Trainers"

This week was insane!!!

1. I was hanging out with Hna Sureda in the capilla in centro on p-day. We headed back to the pension to get her suitcases and go to the terminal. While we were walking back we passed a two story cement house. Smoke and flames were coming out from under the front door. We turned around and saw a lady with 2 babies and a little girl standing at the top of a staircase. Smoke was coming out of both the upstairs and the downstairs. The lady couldn´t carry all of the children down the stairs. We ran up and took the children from her. We took them out into the street and evacuated everyone else from the house behind the one that was on fire. I held the crying little girl close to me and covered her with a blanket to keep her from going into shock. The lady turned out to be the nanny of the children. She said, "I left the stroller inside!" 

Hna Sureda ran back up the stairs and into the burning house. Minutes later she emerged holding a stroller above her head. We put the baby in the stroller and watched as the firemen extinguished the fire. Then we slipped through the gathering crowd and walking silently back to the pension. It was an experience unlike any other and I´m glad that we could be a small part of the miracle. On the other hand, I am so sick of burning buildings. The challenge this week is to buy a smoke detector and review your emergency plan.

2. My new compa is Hna Cardenas from Oklahoma. She is 5ft (I´m almost 5´10) and is spunky. She has a dry sense of humor (we are the same person) and a good attitude. We´ve been busting out the work and seeing lots of miracles. Our first day we had 5 lessons and 2 new investigators. It´s been really amazing to see our little area progress.

3. Violeta!!!! Can I just tell you how much I love her! The only thing she needs to do to get baptized is get divorce and then married to the guy she´s living with. We've been looking at options and I´ll let you know how it goes. She came to church this last Sunday and LOVED the class about family history. She nudged my arm and said, "Pull out your agenda. We need to make an appointment to do family history in the church." Sometimes I think about her getting baptized and then doing the work for all of her family. It brings tears to my eyes :)

4. Alina came to church! Transportation was a bit tricky because she´s in a wheelchair, but it all worked out. We also taught her older brother the restoration. That was a cool experience. He works in the terminal so he always sees the missionaries coming and going. Hopefully one day he´ll get baptized and be one of those missionaries :)

5. The son of Deolinda, a recent convert, said that he wants to start taking the lessons. We set an appointment for this week. Pray for us that he is actually there and that his heart is open. It would be such a miracle.

6. We ate lunch with the familia Vergara. They have a son who has autism. When we were seated at the table he got up and put on his missionary tag that he got from primary. Then he came and gave me a big hug. I am grateful for special angels like him.

7. Aldana: She´s 17 years old, loves to do Arabic dancing, and has a pet duck. We are trying to teach her family, but they are never home. We ended up chatting with Aldana and taught lesson 1 and 2. She understood everything and is going to pray to see if the church really has the authority to baptize. She has a lot of faith and was already baptized in a christian church. The only thing that was missing was the authority. Pray for her too! She is so awesome and prepared.

I can not express how much I love my mission. There are moments where I feel like we are surrounded by angels protecting us and giving us comfort. Sometimes the members are the angels. Sometimes it is a tender mercy from God that reminds us of his infinite love. 

Living the gospel is not always easy, but the promises and blessings are worth any trials or challenges that we might go through. The church is true. God lives and He is our father. 

I love you all,

Hermana Davis