Conferencia and Elder Bednar

Visit with a "prison guard" in Ushuaia

Prison visit in Ushuaia

Hermana Davis' bedroom - her bed
 is with the plaid blanket

Outside the pension

Behind the pension

Kitchen area in the pension

Study area - Aubrey's is on the right

What a sweet way to start the day....
thank you Hermana Chinchillas!

Is it just me, or is time flying by faster than ever? 

Last Monday we went to the Jail at the End of the World. They had some pretty cool exhibits. There was this one statue of a prisoner who was notorious for killing children. That kind of freaked me out... but the rest was neat. There were giant groups of tourists with matching parkas. I held the door open for them as they entered the building. One of the ladies said, "Thank you" (in English.) It surprised me so much that I said, "thank you" right back. What language do I even speak these days?!? :)

On Tuesday we had conference with President Rogers. He is such an inspired man. We focused on repentance and baptizing converts. I have been thinking a lot about the conversion process lately. The end of my mission is coming closer and I don´t want to loose the spiritual progress that I´ve made. I want my heart to be changed and not just my habits. When we are touched by the spirit our hearts change. To have a conversion proccess we need to be worthy of the constant companionship of the spirit. Speaking of the spirit...on Wendsday we had the opportunity to listen to Elder Bednar speak to all the missionaries in the South America South Area. He is such a spirit-led man. He has mastered the skill of being an instrument of the spirit. #lifegoals

Can I just express how beautiful Ushuaia is? I am surrounded by super huge snow covered mountains. I can see a mountain glacier and the ocean from my neighborhood. Also, I live on an island. That just blows my mind sometimes :)

This week we also did divisions with the Hermanas. I was with Hermana Adams from Utah. She came to the mission with Hermana Cardenas. I was so impressed by her Spanish skills and confidence when talking to the people. I learned so much from her.

Hna Chinchillas and I put a fecha with Gallegos. He is a contact that we passed by for. He lives solo, so we taught him outside his house. He says that his only goal in life is to finish his house and then he wants to get baptized. We promised him that if he puts God first he will have success in the other parts of his life. 

Jaser is the son of a menos activa. He is by far the craziest 4 year old I´ve ever met. We played doctor, airplanes, and dance party all in a time period of 5 minutes. I took some fun videos that I´ll show you when I get home. :)

We talked to Sasha and Alexis about the law of chastity. I was struck by how perfect God's commandments are. Everything in the Gospel always relates to God´s character. He is able to have children and wants us to have a part in the creation of life. We have the opportunity to be co-creators in bringing spirits to this world. That is why we protect this power. It is sacred.

Bueno bueno, next week I´ll be in Comodoro for leadership conference. I´ll be able to write next Thursday.

Love you guys,

Hermana Davis

Who is Who. AND...lots of beautiful pics!

Hermana Davis and Hermana Chinchilla in Ushaia

Hermana Davis on a hike in Ushaia

Hermana Davis and her comp. Hermana Chinchilla

Hermanas in Ushaia on a hike

Hermana Chinchilla and Aubrey hiking in Ushaia

Hermana Davis and her comp. chillin'

Hermana Davis in Ushaia

Hermana Davis in Ushaia

Taking in the ocean view (H. Davis on the right)

Hiking in the woods in Ushaia

View of the ocean in Ushaia

Ushaia

View of Ocean from hike in Ushaia

Here´s a list of investigators and members that we frequently visit.

Investigators:

1. José: We contacted him in a kiosco (little shop). Later we taught him about the plan of salvation and put a baptism fecha for the 26 of March. He is about 50 years old and has a daughter that is studying in New Zealand.

2. Corina: I love this woman! She was ex-communicated from the church, but is working to come back. She has a baptismal date for the 6 of August and has a big sign on her fridge to remind her. She has 3 kids, but the daughter of her ex-boyfriend also lives with her. She is such an amazing example of the change of heart people have when they apply the atonement. She is amazing!

3. María Elena: She is a reference from a member. She is from Paraguay and is living with her boyfriend. She has 3 kids, each from a different Dad. She came to church with us on Sunday and loves it when we teach her. 

Members:

1. Alejandra and Juan: Alejandra is less active. Her new husband, Juan, was baptized in January. It is a struggle to get them to come to church. Alejandra uses her husband´s laziness as an excuse. She took of her wedding ring yesterday and said, "I took off my ring because I am mad at my husband for not choosing the right."

I told her, "Even though you removed your ring you are still married to him. He needs your help and example. Live the gospel first and he will follow."

I´ll let you know how it goes.

2. Sasha is the 15 year-old daughter of Alejandra. She has a 21-year-old boyfriend named Alexis who got baptized in January. It´s an interesting relationship because Alexis is a lot shorter than Sasha and they both are a little immature. We are trying to prepare Sasha to go on the mission. Luckily, Alexis is progressing in the gospel. Sasha and her mom are alike personality-wise, so they fight all the time. Satan is working so hard on this family because he knows that they have a lot of potential. Our goal is that they make it to the temple (and then endure to the end.)

3. Hna Angela is an old less active lady. One time we were talking to her and she said, "I´m not a bad person. When I was little I used to kill birds by throwing rocks at them, but I´m not a bad person." She currently isn't attending church because she has a rotten tooth and it hurts when people kiss her on the cheek. I am praying that the city dentist comes back from vacations soon!

4. Flia Polanco: The husband is from the Dominican Republic and the wife is from Buenos Aires, They both served missions. They have the most beautiful children :)

5. Flia Tossen: He is the district president. We actually live in a pension in their backyard. They have three children. Two of their daughters are going to accompany us on divisions this week. They go on trips all over the world and have a bunch of cool technology.

As for my week:

- The branch president´s daughter was baptized. 

- It was 8pm and we still needed to do a lot of contacts, so we said a prayer in the street. In one hour we did 32 contacts! It was amazing to see what we could do with faith and help from the Lord.

- Today we are going to the prison at the end of the world. I´ll take pics :)

Challenge: Before a big task this week take a quiet moment to say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help you focus and have success. I promise that you will be able to accomplish more than you would have been able to if you hadn't said a prayer.

Love,

Hermana Davis

Ushuaia...the end of the earth

Ushuaia - the end of the earth!  And she's loving it!

The barge Aubrey took to get to Ushuaia

On the barge headed to Ushuaia!

Passing through Chile on her way to Ushuaia

Tierra del Fuego, Chile

This shows Aubrey's mission boundaries...from Comodoro Rivadavia
(where she will go for leadership meetings) down to Ushuaia

Bottom of world...literally!

Her last area was Rio Gallegos at the top of this map.
 She's literally served from top to bottom of her mission

A pic of Ushuaia from Google.  Gorgeous!
So glad Aubrey gets to finish up her mission there

Glad to know some things never change...
Aubrey still creates fun wherever she goes!

I don´t have a lot of time this week, but I´ll try give a quick overview of everything. 

On Tuesday I boarded a collectivo to come to Ushuaia. I passed through Chile, which was awesome, and rode on a giant boat to get to the island. It blows my mind that I am living on a island just a hop and a skip away from Antartica. Ushuaia is so so stunning. It´s like living in a post card. The mountains are even bigger than the ones in Utah!

I´ll tell you more about our investigators next week. ]I will tell you that we put a fecha with Abel, who´s been investigating the church for 5 years. His wife is less active, but now they both go to church and want to get married in the temple. The wife also gives us amazing references that also want to be baptized. The members are such a blessing to missionaries.

The capilla is beautiful and we actually have benches! The ward is so supportive and I just love everthing!

Also, this week was valentine´s day. We contacted someone and taught them about the law of chastity in the street. There´s no better way to spend Valentine´s day :) The kid was actually super awesome and I know he´ll get baptized one day. Too bad he doesn´t live in our area...

Mom and Dad:  I´m grateful for your example. There are so many couples down here that are such a mess. I always whip out the photo of my family and say "It is possible to have a unified family and a happy marriage. Here´s proof." It really touches their hearts. Thanks for that :)

Bueno, We are going on a hike in 20 minutes. I´ll send you pictures next week!

Love Hermana Davis

Coffee date with Hermana Cardenas

Hermana Davis in Rio Gallegos

Happy Hermana Davis, her district and friends in Rio Gallegos

She found a relative...distant cousin from Arizona!

Hermana Davis, Hermana Cardenas and the Elders in her district - Rio Gallegos

So, transfer time: I`m going to Ushuaia as a sister training leader. My comp will be Hermana Chinchillas from Mexico. I am super excited and nervous :D I`m going to miss Rìo Gallegos and the zone so so so much!

This week was pretty tranquila. (calm) We have really seen a lot of progression in Rene Muñoz, our Chilean grandpa. He actually came to church dressed in a suit!!!!!!!! I said, "Wow Rene, you look super fachero! (handsome)  Where`d you get the suit?" He replied, "I have 7." Such a capo.

As for the title, this week we had a little word of wisdom adventure...

We went to a menos activas (less actives) house. She pulled out what looked like a hot chocolate mix. She checked the bottle very thoroughly and said, "nope, it doesn't contain coffee."  Both Hna Cardenas and I put 4 heaping tablespoons of the powder in our mugs. It was super rico (yummy) and chocolaty, but the flavor was a little weird. Afterwords I felt a buzzing start at my temples and behind my eyes. I began shaking and I felt like I wanted to run. The lady was re-reading the label and said, "Oh, oops. It actually does have coffee. Lots of coffee."

Based on the way I felt I could've told her that. We shared a scripture (D&C 8...jk) Then we ran home. I felt crazy. I was shaking and sweating and saying cualquier cosa (translation...saying whatever came to mind or weird things) So now we know that I am not only lactose intolerant, but caffeine intolerant as well. This must also be the reason why I can`t take sudafed.

The following day we drank Quilmes (beer) without alcohol. We drank it with members, so I`m sure about this one :) It was actually disgusting! Now I have an even stronger testimony of the importance of the word of wisdom. Live it and love it.

I`m sure my comp has had the craziest first 12 weeks ever! We went to the glacier, had a baptism, reached the standard, she fell down a volcano and sprained her foot, and we drank coffee and beer. #success #proudmom

As for a spiritual thought, I was reading this week in Mosiah. It talked about how Alma had the authority to organize the church and baptize people. Really, without the proper authority nothing is valid. We tell people that getting baptized is like doing tramites (legal paperwork) If you have some random person do your tramites when you get to the border they won`t let you pass. You need someone who has the authority to do your tramites.

I have such a testimony that this church is the church of God. 

When we paid rent our land lady wrote on our receipt "The church of the saints of Jesus Christ."

It made me think about the significance of the name of the church. I`m not inviting people to be baptized into the church of Hermana Davis (thank goodness!). This is the church of Jesus Christ. I know this is true.

I love you all! Life is great, even at the end of the world :D

Hermana Davis

"Baptisms, Tsunamis, and burning love"

Hermana Davis in Rio Gallegos

Lotsa Love in Rio Gallegos

Asado

Name tag by lake in Rio Gallegos

Lake in Rio Gallegos

Pension and dog pack in Rio

Sunset at lake in Rio Gallegos

Ever faithful Roco...the Guardian angel dog

Today is the 1st of Febrero...crazy.

- In district meeting we made pizookies and apple crisp. I LOVE my district :D

- We did divisions with Hna Lock. I love that girl :) We laughed so hard and then quickly composed ourselves when someone opened the door. Later in the week we also did divisions to help the Hermanas reach the standard. Hna Lock and I put 2 fechas and taught 3 lessons in less than 2 hours. Such miracles!

- We had an asado with the Flia Salcedo. I love chorizos with all of my corazòn!

- We helped the Elders teach some kids in the capilla to prepare them for baptism. One of the kids went in the bathroom and turned on the wall facet. When the elders came back a few hours later there was 2 inches of water in all of the capilla. Now the floors are the cleanest they`ve ever been :)

- Tsunami: It`s when all of the missionaries work in one area. We did a tsunami in the Elders area. My comp and I found someone who already has asistencias and friends in the iglesia. We gave her a book of Mormon.
- I did a mini-tsunami in the Elders area with Hna Lock. We found Norma. She came out of her house wearing a skirt. We talked to her a bit about baptism and said a prayer with her that she would make the right decision. 

- With Hna Lock we also contacted 2 atheists, 1 Jehova`s witness, and a nursing home (that one was an accident...) The adventures never stop!

- The contact of burning love (I made it up) = fire contact + contact of love.

fire contact: inviting them to baptism in the first contact

contact of love: showering them with God`s love

The contact of burning love: showering them with love and inviting them to get baptized.

It works.

- Speaking of burning love, this week I almost burned down our pension. 

I made some apple syrup to go with our pancakes. A little spilled on the stove. Later I put water to boil on the same burner and then I went upstairs. I might have forgotten about the water...maybe. Anyways, there was a burning smell in our pension. I quickly remembered when I heard popping sounds coming from downstairs. I ran to the kitchen and saw burning apple chunks floating in a thick black liquid. #domesticgoddess #pyromaniac 

- We had a noche blanca! Nelly and Mario from the Elders area were baptized. They both were antiguo investigators that had been waiting a long time to get baptized. Also, Lourdes, a little girl from Hna Lock`s area, got baptized. It was such a spiritual service.

- Hna Cardenas and I live right by a lake. We sat on a bench and watched the sunset while taking awkward self-timer photos. Life is so so good here in Rìo Gallegos.

I was talking to my comp this week about how we think we are sacrificing 18 months - 2 years of our life to give to the Lord. Instead, He blesses us with 18 months - 2 years of the best experiences of our lives. We finish being more in His debt than we were before! He loves us so incredibly much. I love my mission, I love my Savior, and I love this gospel.

With burning love, 

Hermana Davis