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

The Fire and Soul of Arroyito

The Baptism of Brisa

The Fabulous Fiorela

When I arrived in Arroyito I was flusterered- Still quite new to mission life, at this time having only 4 months of experience.  My companion and I were new to the area and I was very overwhelmed.  I missed General Villegas and my trainer and I was not too “fond” of frequently getting lost.  Unfortunately we also did not have a base to start with from what the elders had left.  We pretty much started from ground 0 with the only direction to go being UPWARDS!  After a few weeks, we were exposed to many problems the members had with one another.  We witnessed a few fights in Relief Society.  We frequently heard members gossip about one another and we were caught in the middle of this commotion.  So we began to do what was in our control—to work, to find a teaching pool, and to love the members. At the beginning of this last transfer we had a conference in which all the ward councils and the missionaries met together, analyzing the numbers of 2016 and setting goals as a ward for 2017.  One of which was the goal of convert baptisms.  In 2016 there were only 2 so the goal of 16 for 2017 might have seemed crazy at the time.  In a district meeting, the 4 of us missionaries all prayed and asked God to tell us the number that He knew we could baptize in one entire 6 week transfer.  I was prompted that as a district we could baptize 8.  We set a district goal of 6 for the transfer and we began to share this goal with EVERYONE! Members, investigators, less actives- everyone!  Our mission president had advised that as a mission we should speak to everyone about baptism so we put this in practice.  Instead of being fearful that people would deny the request we began to just ask fearlessly because we had nothing to lose. The result surprised us.  God placed people in our path.  The elders ran into a less active member who had sons with the age and desire to be baptized.  This family is a blessing to the ward.  Fiorela and Lucia were baptized and as a result the Young Women’s group was brought to life and former “rebellious” girls were kindly welcoming the new young women and being examples for them.  Those with whom we shared our goal of 6 baptisms were surprised that we were on track to reach the goal.  The excitement flooded the ward and even more helping hands were extended.  Aby was baptized after a long and tough battle that still continues, and reminded her mother of what the ordinance of baptism meant to her when she also received it as a young girl.  As the result of activation, the elders found and taught 2 men who also accepted baptism and sweet Brisa, through friendship with the young women and the example of the wonderful young women’s president was baptized.  So in total, at the end of the transfer, 8 precious souls were baptized and confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  The fire has been ignited and is spreading rapidly in Arroyito.

Some of the Wonderful Young Women of the Ward

I have grown to deeply love Arroyito and everyone whom God so knowingly placed in my path.  I am a witness that people can change, that prayers are answered, that hearts are prepared.  God is truly a God of miracles.  I thank Him for the time I had to love Arroyito, for giving me a wonderful companion, wonderful members, and wonderful people to teach.  It was very hard to leave them all, feeling like I left a little piece of my soul will remain in Arroyito.  I have truly been so blessed to witness such a miracle.  The attitude of the ward changed, a new enthusiasm for missionary work has sparked, the trust the members had for us increased and the Work of Salvation progressed.  I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!

Our new friend and investigator Luis

 How Lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.
--Winnie the Pooh
Oh how I will miss the dear people of Arroyito. They will be in my heart forever.  God be with you 'till we meet again.

 

 

The District who set a goal and went to work and through the
grace of God experienced a great miracle

Transfer time:  My new companion is on the left-- Hermana Shumtz from Salt Lake City 

Great Things are Happening in Arroyito!

This week we found a super great investigator named Luis! Well,  we found him a few weeks ago and passed by him this week, and you should have seen how excited he was for us to bring him a Book of Mormon. Luis is a man in his 60s and is just one of the sweetest persons I've even met. He showed us pictures of his wedding many years back, and back in the day he was a ginger and he could have easily passed for my brother. When he was about 19 he had some exposure to the church through friends and had heard about the Book of Mormon, and had always believed in God. He got emotional as he talked to us and thanked us for the work that we do, for finding the lost sheep and going out day after day to share the word of God. We taught him the restoration and he had many great questions. We closed by singing a hymn and he and his wife were just in awe (because legit hna moore has a gift). It was a powerful lesson and we left and just looked at each other just surprised at what had occurred. He will be a leader of the church one day. Well he came to church on Sunday and was pleased and we have lessons as well as dinner planned with him this week! 

We are also working with Brisa, a young woman who has been to church 3 times and has just been loving the young women's activities. She actually sparked interest in the church through Sheila who we had worked with months ago and who we are still visiting every now and then. Sheila's mom is still not letting her participate much. Brisa has had a hard past and is learning more about her purpose as a daughter of God and is doing activities in personal progress and because we took so long in getting a Book of Mormon to her, she downloaded everything on her phone and is just doing so great. Her baptism is set to be this Friday and the only thing standing in the way of this could be her mom who has been rather silent about the topic. We are praying and so are all the young men and women of the ward! The youth program is growing so much here in Arroyito and we are just loving being with them! Fiorela is doing great! She is excited to start seminary and is making it to activities and church independently by bus. She has a trip planned to the US next year and we are already planning how we can have a happy little reunion, haha. Lucia is also doing well! She invited her friend to an activity as well as church and she came yesterday! So that was a great surprise and now we are starting to teach her friend, Tania. Viky and Roberto are planning to get married in April and a baptism will follow the wedding for Viky. Transfers are this week and I am anxious to find out the news. Stay tuned folks, but grand things are happening here in Arroyito. Not to mention it has not been miserably hot this week so that has been amazing!! This week is going to be loco crazy, jam packed with great plans.

I read these great verses studying this week in D&C 78:

 17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you; 18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches ofeternity are yours. 19 And he who receiveth all things with thankfulnessshall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.

I love these verses and I know that we are loved and known personally by our Father in Heaven. God will lead us and guide us, but He asks us to follow Him, a request that requires us to trust in Him, trusting that He will lead us to where we need to be and that these promised blessings can be ours. I am grateful to have a loving Father in Heaven who does not leave me helpless or hopeless. Though we may fall, or fail, or forget- He tells us time and time again to be of good cheer! To have joy! To bear what we can bear and rely on His help and His guidance. I love this gospel and I love my Heavenly Father and all He continues to do for His children. 

Con amor,

Hermana Mathis 

The Beautiful Scenery of Arroyito

Fish anyone?

It's Christmas in Arroyito!

Feliz Navidad en Marzo!

It only took 5 months but Haylie finally received her Christmas Packages!!

So this week was loco crazy. Our main focus was Aby and Liliana. We visited them Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday preparing Aby for her baptism set to be Saturday March 4th. Then we had a zone conference Thursday and directly after we had divisions with the sisters in la Florida...so there we were Thursday night in divisions and we receive a text from Liliana saying that she does not think that the time is right and she did not want Aby to get baptized, pleading for our understanding. Well a few transfers back the same thing happened, yet she cancelled the date a week or so before, not 2 days before when all the invitations were out and the plan was super set. So we are freaking out, trying to get a hold of her and she is not answering texts or calls, and we are not in our area. We returned to our area Friday around 6ish (day before the baptism and the night of the planned interview) and we rushed to Liliana and Aby's house to which we are not given a warm welcome. Liliana says through the window, Didn't you get my message?? Well by some miracle she leaves her house to talk to us outside. We are struggling to find the words that might have power to change her heart. She seems to have 1000 excuses. After about 10 minutes talking outside, we hear Aby's voice, "Mom, please let them come in!!" Second miracle, we are allowed into their house. The struggle for words continues. We testify but she seems trapped byl her doubts. We are praying fervently for some miracle. Liliana is worried about her home, money, work, caring for Aby, time, the list goes on and on. We read 3 Nefi 13: 33-34 (Which is also in the bible, so we read this because in that moment Lili was into the Book of Mormon):

But Seek Ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

Aby's Baptism

Then Hermana Moore shared a personal story, and Liliana's heart softened. The spirit was able to testify to Liliana what she needed to do in that moment. Minutes later we find ourselves walking to the church to have the baptismal interview for Aby. We rearranged the baptism to be at 3 in the afternoon due to Liliana's work, but they showed up, and through the tender mercies of the Lord, Aby was baptized, and Sunday was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints. Shoot! This Aby is quite the character though. She's great haha. And she bore her testimony yesterday in fast and testimony meeting.  She gets up to the pulpit and begins to pray and says the whole prayer and closes it and proudly walks down, but it was a great prayer and served as a testimony as well. We are truly amazed at the miracle that we witnessed- of the goodness of God who helped Liliana in a fragile moment when she was ready to give up, and for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowedge that through faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and a whole lot of effort on our part to persevere, we can return to live with our loving Father in Heaven, and we will have guidance, joy, and comfort in this life. 

Love you!!! Have a fantastic week!

Hermana Mathis 

P-Day Shopping Trip with Hermana Robleda

Zone Conference

Divisions with the Hermanas