Increasing and Decreasing

Banana Milk Shakes

This week flew by. We had divisions with the Hnas Herrera and Conte early on in the week. I set out with Hna Herrera who is from Chile and we passed by for about 20 investigators/ contacts and everyone and their dogs were busy, or leaving to run errands. So we walked around for hours but we were able to find a new investigator who is a love! And Hna Herrera is a great cook and made us all lemon pie at the end of the day!!! Yum!! 

This week we saw a big change in the Montenegro family. They are in the process of their conversion and told us of the change that they have witnessed since when we first started visiting them-how their faith has increased specifically their knowledge of the Savior, their understanding of the purpose of life. They accepted a baptismal date for the end of May, and when we passed by a few days later, their two daughters accepted a baptismal date as well. They understand the commitment that baptism is and they are starting the process of sacrifice and repentance through our Savior Jesus Christ!

We had a zone conference this week in which we stressed the importance of the doctrine of Christ. As missionaries our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ. Sin impedes us from living with God, because no impure thing can enter in the kingdom of God. The doctrine of Christ cleanses us from sin, we receive the remission of our sins if we exercise our faith in Jesus Christ, repent, are baptized, and receive and apply the gift of the Holy Ghost in our lives. Each and every person can know if this is true by asking God, because God can not lie. If we ask with real intent, God will illuminate our minds, and send peace to our hearts. We are inviting others constantly to ask God if this is his doctrine and if they should be baptized with his authority. This helps us focus on our purpose as missionaries and allows all to apply the doctrine in their lives so that they may be cleansed and purified and ultimately dwell in the presence of God. 

Update on my English, it is on a constant decline. As we talk (that's exactly how she wrote it:) an English class this week we struggled to remember common phrases that we frequently say in the US. The Spanish is still a struggle at times, haha but the majority of the time the people understand us. Our cooking skills are on a slight incline, even though our oven turns off on average every 5 minutes que pena!! My piano skills are increasing- we take turns playing the hymns for sacrament meeting. My hair is on a slight decline with the quality of water down here. My testimony is always increasing in height and depth. Life is just a roller coaster. Glad to be here and my love for this gospel and for my Savior Jesus Christ definitely increases day by day.

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Mathis 

Sisters at Zone Conference

Shots at Zone Conference

Muy Rico (Very Rich for the Gringos) This Easter Season

Happy Easter! Making Chocolate Easter Eggs
The Tu became UT show our Utah pride

Holaaaaa,

hope that everyone had a great Easter! We had a great one here, eating fish (tradition) with the Montenegro family friday and Sunday with a family from the ward. MUY RICO. We ate a lot of chocolate and sang some lovely hymns and pondered on the message of hope that we have in our knowledge that Christ lives! And each and every one of us, because of Him, will be resurrected and live again after death, and our spirits and bodies will never be separated again! We enjoyed sharing Alma 11:40-46 this week. As we were talking about the message of the resurrection with a member yesterday, we inevitably talked about the "end of the world" or when Jesus will come to the earth once more. This sister, in her 80s, bless her heart, said with confidence that California would be the first to go. Who knows, maybe she's right. We thought it was kind of funny and an interesting presumption. Time will tell. 

Easter Sunday with the Diaz Family

We had a great time in splits this week with two Hermanas and fellow "yankees" from the US. We had a fun time all together. I was able to leave on splits with Hermana Bennett who is just a love. She's been out on the mish for about 13 months and she taught me so much, great example and a loving, happy spirit! Oh and speaking of the US, an elder brought cookies to our district meeting this Tuesday that he made from the dough his mom had sent him from the states. It was a dream come true. Cookies here do not turn out the same. 

Divisions with our other "Yankee" Hermanas 

So about a week ago we were surprised by a message from Susana saying that she did not want to continue the lessons. We were very surprised and confused because our last lesson with her was straight fire. She was so receptive to the message and so willing to keep the commitments that we left her. Well, we talked about her work on Sunday and the importance of keeping the sabbath day holy. They pay her very little but she needs to work to provide for her family. She agreed to talk to her boss about taking Sundays off and we promised her that God would provide a way for her, saying that when we put God first, He will take care of the rest. So she talks to her boss, and he says no. And Susana is in this predicament of knowing that she needs to have work but wanting to go to church. So she sent us this message because  it looked more likely that she would have to continue with the job she had, and she didn't want to waste our time if she wasn't going to be able to ever go to church. But she had been praying fervently with faith that God could help her. She said that only a few days letter, her friend called and offered her work. Turns out it's the ideal job, because they asked her when she could work, and how much they should pay her. She will work Monday through Friday, the hours that she chose and the payment that she chose which is better than what she was making before. And she is so happy and amazed at how God truly helps us when we put Him first. God works miracles. She asked us at the end of the lesson, "And the baptism? What was the date again?"  We almost fell over.  Her father who was baptized just a few months ago is preparing to baptize her. SO MUCH JOY. GOD IS GOOD. 

I had a super great scripture and thought to share but forgot to write it down and such, so just read everything! I finished the Book of Mormon this week and though I have read it many a time, I felt like this last time it really sunk in. The stories were brought to life. My heart ached upon reading the words of Moroni that he wrote after all his friends and family had been killed for not denying the Christ. I I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and every time I read it my testimony grows. If you have not read it yet, read it. It is so true, and I am so grateful for the many sacrifices that were made in order to have this book today. It is written for our day, and it is a source of hope and happiness. 

Love you dearest fam and friends,

P.S. Always great to hear from you. If you have any questions, doubts, comments, concerns, news, etc etc or anything you want to say to me personally, shoot me an email at haylie.mathis@myldsmail.net. 

Hermana Mathis :)

Aww!  A Sweet New Baby:)

Some of our Ward Family in Baigorria

Happy Easter! The Living Christ

The Highlight of the week was that we were able to travel to Arroyito for the baptism of Luis, who I found on splits with Hermana Billin.  She took my place in Arroyito and continued in the lessons with Hermana Moore and him. It was wonderful. We love him.  

 

Querida fam,

Hermana Moore, Luis and me

HOLAA!! Hope you are all doing well! Life is good down here in Baigorria, the weather is chilling up a bit which is lovely. We have officially made it through the terrible heat of the Argentina sun! 

Well it was another great week! We had splits early on in the week and were able to work with some great sisters and help them as they helped us! I was able to work with Hermana Braz, a sister from Brazil who has about 3 months in the mission. I was able to help her in something that I too had faced in the mission with changes in companion and        areas, and through this I was just amazed  how time flies. 

Ice Cream and Lessons with Hermana Zanni

We had the amazing opportunity to have Hermana Zanni ( our mission president's wife) spend an entire afternoon with us and preach the gospel! She is a spiritual giant, and teaches with so much love. She was adorable in saying that she feels like she is 20 years old and a missionary just like us- asking what lessons we were going to teach and studying them in the pamphlets, carefully marking the points she liked and what she wanted to share. In the end, all of the lessons that we had planned to teach were changed due to the needs of our investigators. So we followed the spirit and had some powerful lessons- one of which was with the Montenegro family, Maria and Juan (the parents).  They have been listening to the lessons for a few months and went to church once but were surprised at the irreverence of the children. Hermana Zanni explained the importance of families in the church, and the importance of teaching our kids about the reason why we go to church, to partake of the sacrament. They understood and are going to come to church this Sunday! They are a lovely family, happy and full of love. We taught them and they invited us to stay for dinner. Maria, without us nagging her (like we had done a few weeks ago,) decided that she would pray about the message that we shared. She said that one night she just felt the strong desire to pray, so she followed the prompting and said that she was filled with a warm feeling and inexplicable happiness and love. She knows that this was her answer and she has a new excitement to learn more and put her faith into practice! After the day working with Hna Zanni she bought us icecream and we had a list of questions prepared for her about her life, marriage, kids, everything. It was great!!

Berna is doing well- she has had some doubts about tithing but we are hoping that she will stay strong in her decision to be baptized!! Her husband Carlos is putting a lot of doubts in her head but Berna is rapidly reading the Book of Mormon and praying and we know that God is looking out for her. Nora is doing well! We had a frank talk with her the other day. She is still trying to stop smoking but the issue is not the smoking, it is the thing that causes her to smoke, the hard things that she is dealing with.  Hna Zanni accompanied us in a lesson with Nora as well and she was able to comfort Nora in her deep heartaches. We are working with Gabriela, the wife of a returned missionary who is inactive. Yesterday we taught the restoration and she was very interested and said that she would pray to know if it was true. She accepted a baptismal date for May 20th and her husband says that he would like to reactivate in the church and be able to baptize her! He needs to figure out the hours and his schedule with work because he has to work on Sundays usually, but we are super happy for them and their desire to put their faith in Gods plan, mercy, and love! 

I was prompted to study the Living Christ because of the words of the prophets and apostles that we recently heard. READ IT AND LOVE IT! It is so true, and as we grow close to Easter it is so important to remember the Savior and all that he has done for us and all that He continues to do. He lives! He loves us! He will come again to the earth and will be the perfect ruler and judge. He is our friend. He understands us, and He wants nothing more than to help us return home to our Heavenly Father. 

Have a great week and an expectacular Easter! 

Con amor,

Hermana Mathis

liahonlp.nfo:o:4b6.jpg

Vamos Argentina

 HOLA FAM, (Double Post today)

I hope that everyone is doing super well and that you were all able to watch general conference. If you were not able to, repent, and then go to lds.org and you can watch all the talks that you missed. But seriously, you will find answers to your prayers, I am sure of it.

Shout out to two of my favorite people ever who just go their mission calls: my dear friend Hailey Dobbs is going to Tokyo, Japan and my cousin Jacob Ross is heading to New York, New York Spanish speaking. With this news and the wonderful  General Conference, I am just feeling too good. I know that missionary work is so important and inspired and that pure happiness comes as a result of seeing the light of Christ change lives. 

So this week we had our first round of splits and I was able to see my old comp Hermana de Wet!! We had a great laugh about many experiences shared in Arroyito and reflected on how time just flies by. This week we were able to set baptismal dates for a few more investigators...one of which is the daughter of a recent convert. Her name is Susana and she came to a session of general conference with her dad! She is about 40 years old and has cute little kiddos but we are super excited for her. We also set a date with Berna, an older Catholic woman who has been listening to the discussions for some time now. Recently she has been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy, and even though her husband has decided for the time being that he will not get baptized, Berna cannot deny the Spirit and knows that what she must do is be baptized. It rained yesterday for the conference and sadly not too many people showed up, but one of the few was a recent convert as of a month or so who biked in the rain for about an hour to be able to watch the conference! If that's not dedication, I don't know what is! Nora is doing well but she was not able to make it to conference. 

But we are just super happy to be here and to have had an amazing weekend! General conference is like Christmas on the mission, even better than Christmas in the mission we decided haha. I would be writing here for years if I told you all everything that I loved from the conference, but for now I'll touch on a few key things. First of all, the PURE LOVE of Christ is so important. Without it, we are nothing. We cannot change hearts. We cannot change lives, or the nature of someone. With it, we can dismiss all fear, we can feel that God will truly be inclined to lead us, to guide us, and to walk beside us as we are filled with more of this love. Also, we cannot allow ourselves to be persuaded by Satan's tactic of having us dwell upon or exaggerate the wickedness of this world. We live in a pretty remarkable world, one created by an all perfect and all knowing being. Yes, in the world we will have affliction, we will pass through trials that we don't understand, or be saddened by the choices of others. Yet,  Christ has overcome the world and through His divine help, we can too! I love this world, and it is truly a blessing to be able to take part in God's perfect plan, living in this world to learn and grow and to prepare to make changes and sacrifices that help us in our goal to make it back to God. I like the quote shared, "Come as you are, but don't plan to stay as you are." God accepts us all, as we are. When we ask him what we need to attain eternal life, or to have more happiness, He will surely give us the answer. And sometimes it may be hard what he asks of us, but He does it out of love. And we must listen to and act on the first impressions he gives us through the spirit. Also the message about missionary work and the importance of listening to what the missionaries have to share was also a great talk ;) 

Frozen milk in a bag and other electrical issues

We are doing great. We had a tramautic experience this week when our milk froze to the fridge (the milk here comes in bags so that may make more sense). Well we weren't going to give us because when you have oreos and brownies, milk is not optional. So we poured some warm water on the bag until it finally was able to come out, and in the process the brownies burned. The oven turns off every few minutes and we thought we'd give it a try on the stove but lesson learned, it does not quite work the same. Our lights were playing games the other day and we didn't have power, so we bugged our poor neighbor and the answer was a simple flip of the switch, and our hot water didn't work for a few days but we also solved that problem. I think that as of now we are problemless but time will tell. 

Its a great time to be a missionary! Have a great week and apply what you learned in conference and strive to be better today than you were yesterday. Love you all.

                                                                                   Hermana Mathis 

Lunch at the gas station when your plan doesn't work out

Reunions with lots of dear people during General Conference 

Lunch at the gas station when your plan doesn't work out

Reunited with Hermana DeWet and other missionaries

This is Haylie's post from March 28, 2017:

Rosario can be quite lovely

Hello dearest family and friends! Hope you all are doing wonderful and that you are as excited for general conference as I am! Give lds.org a look if you are unaware of what I am talking about. And to add to the greatness of the conferences I get to see everyone from both Parque Field and Arroyito again because I am in the same stake, so that's another wonderful thing about conference weekend! Life is good.

Hermana Schmutz

I am doing great here in Baigorria. Hermana Schmutz is my companion from SLC, Utah and she is amazing! She has just 2 transfers left in her mission and then she'll be back in the mother land. One week into the transfer and we are already having a grand ol time. She is hilarious, has a lot of the same likes that I do and overall we get along really well. 

Baigorria is calm and beautiful. The people are generally very kind and they listen to what we have to say. We are witnessing miracles daily. The ward is working on becoming more unified and finding the "ganas" to work hard! There is always room for improvement! We picked up a handful of new investigators this week and we are excited to see them progress. One of the investigators that we visited various times this week is named Nora. Nora is an investigator as of a few months. She has had a hard past and is finding solace and peace in the gospel and the Book of Mormon. She is in the process of quitting smoking and is progressing very well. The date planned for her baptism is April 15th! This week she has really opened up to us and trusted in us to be 100% real. She even invited us to eat lunch with her Saturday so things are going very well with Nora! And this week her daughter Cintia has started to show interest and began to read the Book of Mormon. 

This week we also had a training for the leaders of the mission and were able to benefit from hearing our mission president. He spoke of the gifts of the Spirit and the importance of having the Holy Ghost with us. There are many people who talk to us who say that we just dont have fun, or we have too many resitrictions, who ask why we cant go to dances, or watch tv, but with all of these distractions it would be very hard to always have the spirit with us. The Spirit is what testifies of the truth to each and every person. Once we receive the Holy Ghost after baptism we have the constant companionship of the one who knows the path to eternal life, the one who can bring us to our celestial home. The Holy Ghost will always lead us in the correct direction and will give us spiritual gifts specialized to us that will help us grow and progress. 

As I was reading 4th Nephi today, I was really touched by the first half and how the Nephites and Lamanites were converted and the blessings that came into their life as a result of righteous living. They were all equal, there was no pride, there was peace in the land, they kept the commandments, fasted, prayed, gathered often, the love of God dwelled in their hearts, and "surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God." God has given us the way to be truly happy. I know that lasting happiness is a result of righteous living and keeping the commandments of God. 

Have a great week! Watch General Conference! Keep the commandments, CTR. 

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Mathis