Week 4 Argentina! July 27, 2015

Oh how weeks fly! It feels like I was just writing yesterday!  This week has been a bit slower and not to eventful.  Perhaps I´ll work on making this week a bit more exciting... Ha

We had a Relief Society party this week, and one of our investigators came!  She is so great, but I think she likes the parties more that the actual teachings of the gospel, which might be a problem ha! Over all the party was really great and we had a good turn out!  We learned how to make cake...which isn´t really cake by American standards.  It was really eggy and spongy.  Ha....but it was soaked in Dulce de Leche...so it was great :)  

I had a interview with President this week!  He is so inspiring and I´m grateful for the time we get to spend together!  Since then I have been pondering a lot about missionary work and how the Lord wants this work to be done.  I love this work, and each and everyday is a great day!

I have been thinking a lot about you and your trek experience.  I am SO HAPPY to hear that your health was well and you had a good experience!  I missed celebrating pioneer day.  Outside of Utah and US hardly no one knows about the pioneers and their sacrifices.  I started reading ¨"our Heritage" And it is really good! 

We don´t have any access to internet, except on Monday´s for 1 hour...but I have seen some of the bible videos they are great. That cracks me up about the mouse!  I can just imagine Luke saying that! Mom,  I remember your made up hymns!  I remember the good times in sacrament meeting with you Mom!  (Sticking your finger in my mouth and playing whack a mole with my back) HA..

As for me:  We eat lunch with members 2 times a week usually.  The language is coming, although I always wish it came a little faster. There are lots of people that compliment me on my Spanish, so that's good? Ha.  We have 1 progressing investigator, but we are waiting for an insurance company for her marriage.   We are kind of on a hold up.  Her spouse (to be) is a less Active. He served a mission in Vegas, but not so active now.   We are working with them.  Things are happening and we are excited for them. 

 

 In my interview with president this week he told me that we don´t baptize very much in this mission.  WE CONTACT a lot.  Which I don´t like that is, because there are people ready.  We just need to find them with faith.  But that is the background of the mission.  I am doing well.  At times the work is frustrating but it is good and my companion and I have a good attitude, so we are good!  While reading " Our Heritage" book, I read about the success of the early missionaries of the church.  I don´t see why it should be any different today.  They were baptizing hundreds.  I just need to figure out the way to present the message in the correct way.  I have begun praying a lot about this.    In less words, all is great but I am trying to find improvement!

 

Thanks for all your prayers!  I love and appreciate all of you!

See you soon,

Hermana Fox

PICTURES:

Eating with a investigator

By the river...on the other side is Paraguay :)

Week 3 Argentina 7/20/15

Hola from all the way down here in the cold winter of Argentina!

This week has been great!  Yes there have been difficult times, but I am learning to smile at everything and just laugh things off...life seems to be better that way! :)  Like when you clap at a house and you say "Hello, how are you" and they look at you like an alien and close the door. Or when you say really embarrassing things in Spanish.  Or when people look at you like you speaking german, because your English accent is so strong.  Ya its great!!! :)

This week there was a massive storm.  We were in a lesson with a less active member and the power went out.  So we shared a message with candle light. She loves singing, so we sang 3 hymns, and then she asked if I would sing in English for her.  So with my most beautiful singing voice(that I don´t have) I sang primary songs...then my companion joined in, but singing Spanish.  We made quite the duet. Ha.  The spirit was so strong and it was an awesome experience!

Also I used my GERBER TOY this week! ( I don´t know what it is really called, but I always have called it that.  The thing with a knife and screw driver, and males sometimes carry it in their pockets?)  Thanks dad for sending it with me.  My companion said I am quite the plumber!  Our sink was clogged and so I took it appart and cleaned it out. (YIKES). 

I was able to go on exchanges this week!  It was really eye opening to go with a different companion, see the way that she taught, and see another area!  Hma Cannon has only been on the mission for 3 months...so it forced me to speak a lot in lessons!  It was really good for me to see how much I really have learned!  There really is more than one way of teaching, and as long as you teach by the spirit, it is correct!

Currently we don´t have many progessing investigators...and we are in search for those the Lord has prepared. I know if we continue to work hard and be obedient we will find them!

Happy day, all is well!  (Picutres aren´t sending this week :( so hopefully next)

See you soon,

Hermana Fox

wk 2 in Argentina 7/13/15

7/13/15

Hola!

Can you believe its been another week?!  I can´t!  But then I think back to Wednesday this week when I thought P-day would literally never come!  Ha :)  Many of you have asked about the life here in Argentina....

The weather is weird, because for 3-4 days it is FREEZING and I wear my Utah winter coat and then other days it is sunny and warm and I wear a t-shirt!  I prefer the latter :)  Because of the cold and humidity nothing ever dries.  We washed our clothes and a week later they are still wet unless we put them in our room while we sleep (We have a portable heater in our room for the nights).  Washing clothes really isn´t as bad as I thought it would be...YES it takes much longer, but we have a nice apartment with a sink made for washing.  It has a washboard on the side so it is really nice!  Like I said, nothing dries...so we have mold everywhere.  On the walls, floors, everything!  Today I cleaned our bathroom with lots of Clorox :) It made me feel much better! 

The food is...not from America? Ha.  Somethings are really good...and there are others I hope I never eat again!  Empanadas are really popular, which is good cause I really like these! This is meat that is wrapped in a tortilla like shell, and then deep fried.  I love the bread here!  It is soo good!  I´m already getting a belly!  I also tried Rebiro...This is four held together by oil...It tastes about like it sounds!  That didn´t sit well on my stomach :)  Apparently this is really common in Paraguay...

Our area is in Posadas, but in the outskirts.  (La Valle is the area name).  We walk a lot, but I don´t think its nearly as much as I planned.  Maybe 3-4 miles per day...but I really don´t know!  Everyone is very friendly here.  We do a lot with less actives.  So many people are baptized but never continue to come to church or live the gospel.  Right now we are trying to find a balance with both our investigators and less actives. 

I have been a little sick...but nothing to bad.  It is just a big environment adjustment.  The food, schedule, water...and just about everything else in your life :) 

This week we had a lesson with a drug dealer...that was interesting!  People kept dropping by to pick up their goods, but hey everyone needs the gospel right?!  Ha.

 I also had a really great lesson this week.  It is with our investigator, Guille.  She is 22 years old and she just had a baby.  She believes everything and wants to be baptized.  The only problem is that she in not married.  She is waiting for something with her insurance, but it is taking FOREVER!  We were teaching about the importance of prayer, personal and with your spouse.  The spirit was so strong and it was so great to help them set goals.  The reason it was so great was because I actually understood what was happening the whole time!  I was able to contribute the whole time!  I actually felt like I was helping someone.  This made me so excited for the months to come!  I am starting to see the purpose I am here! 

After this lesson we had a lesson and I understood nothing...so it is a process and some lessons are better than others.  I understand some people really well, and then others I only catch a couple of words.   I was reading this week in 2 Nephi 25.  I was thinking about the refiners fire and how we all become better and more refined through our trials.  I know this experience will help me in every part of my life. I love verse 29.  After reading this I asked a question to myself..."how can I worship Christ more fully in my life?  How can I bring him in to every aspect of my life?"  I ask this same question to you.  Write your goals down and then see how you are changed through Christ.

Thank you all so much for the emails!  I will write you back, but it may take some time, so be patient!  Love you all!  Thank you all so much for your prayers and support!  Thank you for helping me get to where I am today.  Love you!

See you soon,

Hermana Fox

1- Our keys look like toys...

2-HMA Salcido and I at church

3- We had Subway 

I made it alive and in one piece!

7/6/15

Oh how things change in only one week....After two long days of traveling I am here in Argentina!  For the first 2 days we stayed in a Hotel near the mission home while we worked on Visas for both Paraguay and Argentina.  Then on Thursday I was assigned a companion and Area. 

I have been assigned to labor in La Valle 3, in Posadas (Argentina)!  In our area we have a ward too!  It is very humbling to see the circumstances that these people live in, but I´m enjoying it!  I LOVE MY COMPANION.  She is the best!  She is from Mexico, but she knows a lot of English too!  (Which can sometimes be a problem because I need to learn SPANISH, but we are trying hard to only speak Spanish).  

The people here are so nice!  We have a lot of great members and currently we are working with 2 progressing investigators.  Speaking of teaching...lessons are so hard!  I rarely know what is going on and what they are saying...unless we are using gospel terms.  I just sit there are try to understand, but then I get frustrated...so I have to find a balance of zoning out and trying to understand.  That sounds completely awful...but its true!!!  The language, currently, is the biggest struggle.  But I´m learning that it is not going to be my only struggle.  Yesterday one of our progressing investigators admitted that he had been lying to us all along and that he really had never stopped smoking.  THAT WAS A STAB TO THE HEART!  I just want these people to live the gospel, because I know it will make them happy....and it hurts when the don´t understand that!  I am trying to figure out how to share my love of the gospel in a way that others DESIRE to love the gospel and more importantly the Savior.  

Missionary work is hard.  I can´t forget the it is missionary WORK.  Salvation ISN´T cheap.  I have to sacrifice all of myself and let the Lord take over.  He knows what to do, and i need to allow myself to let him take charge.  I love this Gospel and I´m so grateful for my Savior.  He lives and He is very real. 

So I already broke the rule of only drinking water out of my filtered water bottle...I mean what do you do when someone offers you all they have, tell them that's not good enough for you?  NO!  So I drank it...this morning when I awoke I felt like I had bugs crawling in my throat...but I think its just a mental thing cause other than that I feel fine :)  HA.  Us Americans are so spoiled...we really don´t realize how much we really have!  I am so grateful to have have grown up in the USA, we have it SO GOOD!

I love you all it home!  Yes it is hard out here, but I feel your prayers and I know that I would be in a much different place if it was not for you!  

Love you tons,

Hermana Fox

1) Me and my companion (Hermana Salcido)...she thinks its REALLY cold, but its like March in Utah

2) Hermana Woodwell and I...We had lunch in the park..she is the other American that lives next to us :)

On the countdown...60 hours

6/26/15

Hola Familia!!!

Oh where do I start?!  First I need to apologize....by reading my letters, you may seem to think I am perfect and I am always so excited, happy, and on fire.  Reality check:  No I am not always happy or this spiritual all the time :) The mission is hard, as is life.  Each day is a struggle to overcome the "Starlee" in me.  The pridefullness, the silliness, the non missionaryness of me.  It is not easy, nor should it be.  So I apologize for only sharing the highlights.  I am still human,  I make more than enough mistakes, and I still have doubts and stresses just as we all do.

I am feeling much better.  The Dr.'s were not able to find anything out, but I know Heavenly Father is looking out for me and He heals us as we ask in faith.

This week we have talked a lot about Joseph Smith and his life on earth.  As members of the Church sometimes we tend to think that because we are following the Savior, our lives should be easy.  Was this the case with Joseph Smith's life?  Without trials, how are we to grow, learn, and progress to return to God?  After all, what is the ultimate purpose of God's plan of happiness?  

This week in devotional the speaker said, "DONT HOLD BACK".  Wow...if words could smack you in the face....  I only have 18 months to give 100% of my time to the Lord...but am I doing all that I can do?  I am literally acting in Christ's name, but am I acting as He would act?  I want so badly for Heavenly Father to be able to look on me and say that I am doing as He would have me do, and speaking as He would have me speak.  But how easy is it to forget how sacred our calling really is?  How easy is it to get sucked into the moment and forget the eternal perspective?  

I know that I am doing the Lords work, and I am excited!  I leave my spiritual home here at the MTC on Monday and get thrown out into the "real world".  I pray and hope that my service can be found pleasing to my Savior and Redeemer.

I hope all is well at home!  Love you all! 

See you soon,

Hermana Fox

1) Hermana Baggett, Fox, Pitts

2) Sisters in my District

Has it really been a week?

6/19/15

HOLA familia y amigos!  Como estan?  

Time is flying by!  I wish we had more time in the day!  There is so much to study, so much to learn, so much to do.  Could days be a little longer?!  I can't believe one month of my service to the Lord is gone!  I'm afraid the rest of the time will slip through my fingers and then it will be over!  Being on a mission is an opportunity, a privilege.  This is a once in an eternity experience and I'm am just lucky enough that the Lord would trust me with His work.  This truly is a marvelous work!  

Before and during a mission you hear so much about what the mission is really about.  Here is a short list of things I hear all the time.

Lose yourself in the work.

Forget about you and focus on your investigator.

Don't think about what you are going to say while your investigator is talking.

Follow the Spirit.

Be obedient.

Pray.

Don't worry about the language.

And the list goes on....

Until you experience this...these are just a bunch of words.  This week we spent a lot of time studying the way that Christ taught.  Christ didn't "lecture" his "investigators".  He ask inspired questions questions that allowed the people to think about their beliefs.  We practice this every day, but it takes practice...and its HARD...but we had one lesson that we were able to experience THIS.

We were teaching David, an investigator that hasn't been progressing.  He has been more worried about the church's stance on political issues.  This lesson started off like any other he asked random questions about what we believed and we tried with our broken Spanish to answer.  We tried to move on with the lesson, invite the spirit, find out what he needed to hear at the time, and deliver a message.  I was becoming so frustrated I was about ready to just end the lesson and walk out.  I prayed that we would be able to implement what we had learned and practiced.  We scratched the lesson plan and started to focus on him.  Listen to what he was saying.  Imagine how he was feeling.  And the lesson made a 180 degree turn.  The spirit started speaking through us.  I can guarantee that everything out of my mouth was straight from God.  Eventually we were prompted to ask him if he would be baptized.  The spirit was strong.   I have never felt if so strong in all of my life.  He agreed!  It was just a glimpse of everything that we have been learning.  Each day I am learning that I DON'T MATTER!  I am here for others.  Missionary work is not about me!  IT NEVER WAS.  It is about others.  When I focus on others everything goes much better.  This is His Work and I need to remember to teach it His way.

My view of the missionary I want to be is changing.  I mean nothing.  I just provide a body for the spirit.  When I remember that the spirit is the converter and that He is teacher, I see miracles.  The work moves on no matter what the world is doing.  I love my Savior.  He is the way, the truth, and the light.  I am so excited for the the opportunity to Serve my Savior and Redeemer.  I know what the Gospel has done for me and I can't wait to share it with others.

This week we were able to Skpe a member in Argentina.  It started to become so real!  There are actually real life people down there :) HAHA I leave in 10 days!!! I have loved the MTC, but I'm excited to get to Argentina!  

Love you all! Thanks for everything!  

I'll see you soon then,

Hermana Starlee Fox

1)  Our district...sadly the other zone left this week :(

2)  Sisters in my district :)

2 weeks until Argentia

June 12, 2015
Hello family and friends!
 This week has been a week to remember through the good and the bad I'm learning and growing! I am in the best district every and I'm so grateful for each one of them. I have learned from each one of them so much. They are all much more prepared than be, but "hey" thats not a bad position to be in. I get to learn from the best! Many of you may have heard that I have been sick since I've got here. This week the Dr. drew blood to see if they could find anything out. I am starting to feel better and I am able to keep up with the schedule so all is well. I should have some more information next week. Thank you all for your prayers. I feel them, and I know I would be much worse without your faith filled prayers.

 Here are a couple highlights from the week: This week I had a major migraine. My eyes were sensitive to the light and it hurt to move because me head would swirl. That night, I went to my Savior in prayer begging for relief. As I prayed for relief I literally felt the pain being lifted from me. I know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ I can be healed. He has payed the price for all my sins, infirmities, pains, and sicknesses. I am NOTHING without Christ. Here in the mission I feel that everyday. Without Him and the Holy Ghost leading me each and every moment I am useless. He is the reason. He is the way. He is the light. He brings me life. I am so grateful for him! He lives!

 This week Brother and Sister Burton came and spoke to us (she is the relief society general President). Both of their talks were so inspiring! He is a question from Brother Burton I would like to ask you, "What do you think of Christ?" Sister Burton talked about the verse in 3 Nephi 5:13 "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare His word among His people that they might have everlasting life." I love this scripture. here are some questions we talked about. What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? What does it look like? What do disciple do? Why do disciples follow Him? We had a great discussion and it was testimony building experience.

 The first part of the week I felt a little down. I felt that I hadn't felt the spirit in a couple of days and I was becoming frustrated. I didn't know if I was just getting used to it so I didn't notice it as much any more, or if the spirit was really absent. I talked to one of my Spanish teachers about what I was feeling. He asked me to read Alma 38 and then answer a couple of questions. 1) How does Ammon depend on the Spirit? 2) When is the spirit manifested in these scriptures? This was so eye opening to me. I started to feel quite guilty. I have been slacking on some of the rules. In these scriptures Ammon receives blessings because he is faithful. He is exactly obedient in following the commandments of God. The spirit was able to work through him because he was faithful. I know that when I follow him with exact obedience the spirit will be able to work through me. After this I have been able to feel the spirit again and I can feel Him working through me. I love that the teachers here, know who the really teacher is. There is no one else I would rather learn from. Another thing that has been talked about this week: "Do I live what I teach?" Words only go so far...people see actions and THAT is what they remember. LIVE WHAT YOU SAY. Last thought: Something must be right about this Gospel...it is in the hands of 18 and 19 year old children and it is still pressing on strong. I hope all is well at home. Know that I love you!

 I'll see you soon then, Hermana Fox