This Week Was Full Of Emotions...A Miracle Happend!

October 13, 2014

Dear Family & Friends,

This week was full of emotions.  It's been hard, but a miracle happened, and I had my first baptism!!!!  This is a picture of little Ezequiel. His sisters are all members of the church, but his parents are not.  We've been teaching him for a long time. Every time we talk about baptism, he runs away or says no, no, no!! He's been to church many times and to the activities, but every time we asked him to be baptized, he would say, NO WAY.  

On Wednesday, the assistants came, and we talked as a zone about the goals we want for our areas--about baptism and our purpose here as missionaries. They really got us excited and pumped up.

So... later walking down the street, we ran into one of the sisters of Ezekiel.  We said, "Hey, Mica! Are you excited for the baptism of Ezekiel this weekend?"  We don't know where it came from, but we had confidence and faith that he'd be baptized.  Mica, of course, has been wanting him to be baptized for awhile and said, "This weekend??" And we said, "Yeah!" and of course, she got super excited.  Later that night, we ran over to their house and Mica said, "Hey, Ezekiel are you ready for your baptism this weekend?" Ezekiel looked at us super confused, and we just said, "Yeah, Ezekiel, we have everything ready for you! The clothes, the cake, don't worry.  Do you wanna be baptized this weekend?" and then he said, "Okay!"  ha, ha! awww! It was the best!!

It was a special day...not easy...but a wonderful experience to be apart of.  It made me so so happy! :)  I love this family very much and I am so proud of little Ezekiel and his decision to be baptized. 

This week was a really hard week for me, but I can see through miracles like this that Heavenly Father truly loves me.  He truly loves his children and is always there.  Thank you all for the support of me and especially for the prayers of my family.  I love you!!

Love,

Hermana Pukahi

Little Ezekiel

Ezequiel Y Alberto

Ezequiel's family at his baptism.

Well...I'm Tired. I'm Happy!

September 29, 2014

Dear Family & Friends,

Hola! Well...I'm tired. I'M HAPPY! :)  But, I'm tired.  I don't know if I'm getting sick or what, but every night this week I came home with my voice almost gone. Basically in the night, I sound like a man. ha,ha!  We also live 45 minutes away from our area so we are walking a ton.  I LOVE coming home every night exhausted because that means we are really working hard. (Also, the members are wonderful so they ALWAYS feed us...so we eat a lot. Sooo the walking helps!  :)

This week was, of course, different.  Always with a new companion, it takes some time to adjust.  My new companion, Hermana Nuñez, is from Peru.  She's super nice, understanding, and smart. The two of us are similar in many ways, but for the most part we are very different.  It was funny. We were asking each other questions -- getting to know one another -- and we came to realize that the answers she said were almost opposite from mine. I'll be honest; sometimes it's kind of hard.  BUT, I think we work really well together.  We balance each other out. ha,ha 

Yesterday, we were supposed to have a baptism -- My first.  Working hard this week our investigator finally said YES! I was so so excited, but a lot of things happened where it became difficult.  My companion and I were worried. We fasted and prayed that things would work out.  In the end, she decided not to be baptized yesterday. Everything was happening all at once for her, and it all was very stressful. It was stressful for Hermana Nuñez and I, but after she came to the conclusion, we were honestly at peace. We were happy.  We knew that it would all be okay and that yesterday just wasn’t the time.  She knows that this gospel and the Church are true! She wants to be baptized :) so we are planning for this week! ahhh!! 

On Friday, we were visiting a family in the branch.  We got to meet their daughter who is very less active.  We all had fun and enjoyed ourselves.  The next day, the family told me that their daughter felt like she got along really well with me. She said that I had a light and spirit about me. That she was impressed. She looked at me and felt like there was something more.  Because of that she wanted to come to the conference.  (We had a conference this weekend as a district with our president) AND she came! When I heard that she had said that about me, it made me so happy -- I wanted to cry!  She also brought her friend, and now we are teaching her, too!! 

This week was full of all kinds of emotions, but this experience reminded me of that time we sang the "We can be a light" (Hope of America) song for the Young Women's program. When we acted it all out with flashlights! ha, ha so cheesy...but seriously, it really reminds me of how we can truly be a light to others. This experience made me so happy and I know it's true.  I know that each of you can be a light to others, because you have the light of Christ.  You have the knowledge of the gospel. The gospel is THE light, and the truth.  Honestly, I have been kind of discouraged.  I haven't had a baptism, and because of that, it can be hard, hard to feel like I am making a difference.  But now I know that hey -- I'm doing my best. And I am helping others because I'm sharing this light each day.  Woot woot! I really love being here.  I'm learning so much. :)  I love each of you! Thank you for all you do for me! 

CON MUCHO AMOR!!

Hermana Pukahi

Ahhhh, I'm 20!!

September 22, 2014

Ahhhh, I'm 20!! I can't believe it's my birthday. I feel soo old...ha, ha!!  AND I'm now 4 months in the mission...AND I'm starting my 4th transfer today here in Argentina.  Lots and lots of changes! I now have a new compañera, Hermana Nuñez, from Peru.  She's my fifth companion already!  wut, wut!

I had to say goodbye to Hermana Valenzuela yesterday.  :(  We were only together for 3 weeks, but it felt like we had been friends for years.  And now she's done with her mission and heading home!  With the help of the branch and the elders, we threw her a surprise farewell party this week.  Let me say...throwing a SURPRISE party for your companion is super hard--because she of course, she was always with me!  But I had a lot of help and it worked. She was totally surprised.

The Branch here is AWESOME! I love every single member.  They have really helped me to feel loved and feel like Necochea really is like my home.  Yesterday I gave a talk in Sacrament. I got up and said, "Hermanos y Hermanas...ALOHA!"  Only a few people that I previously told before hand to repeat after me, said "Aloha" back. At first I think that the members thought it was super weird. But I explained to them how at home I felt here and how much true "aloha" I have felt from them.  Afterwards, ALL day yesterday, everybody kept saying..."Hermana Pukahi, ALOHHAA!!" and then they started hula dancing! Ha, ha!!

My talk was on the Restoration. Giving it made me realize how important it is to understand the restoration.  It is everything we believe. Because of the restoration...because of Joseph Smith...we have the gospel.  We have the light and the truth with us today. I am so grateful to have this knowledge of the gospel.  AND to be preaching it here in Argentina.  I love all of you!!! MUCHAS GRACIAS for all the birthday wishes!! I wish you all a great week!!

Con Amor,

Hermana Pukahi