Put on Your Armor, It's Crazy Out There

MILAGROSSSSSS!!!! [MIRACLES!!!!] 

this week was the greatest ever!!!! ahhH!!!! we had a conferencia de zona or entrenamiento thingy on tuesday and it was about how to find and teach people. it was suuuuueper powerful and pumped me and hna musmano up a full!!!! one thing that was said was (cuz every night we write in our carpeta de area about the investigators and menos activos that we visited and thier status). and so what was said was, ´´imagine thatChrst has a carpeta de missioneros and everyday he fills it out with how each missionary is doing progressing, diligenica, obendiencia," yada yada. and i was like, snap crackle pop. i gotta pick it up! 

dont think that we werent trying or anything or being dilligent but oh siempre we can improve!!!! 

and so me and hna musmano kicked fannypacks this week! 

i dont know what changed. honestly i prayed harder and i think we had more faith. hna musmano had been a little down about this area because of the past but ya know what, WE'RE NOT IN THE PAST! and yeah it was awesommmmme!

this is awesome let me see if i cant somewhat convey the degree of awesomity. so there was this girl, Nara. i think i wrote about her like 3 weeks ago. her dad reminded me of papou-menos activo and she is not a member but is suuuuper interested! well. since then,

 WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND HER! 

Like at all--we probably have tried like 20 times. and so she had been on my mind cuz we were like starting to think about stopping to try to find her right. but for days i was like, no. we can find her. and so i went about to test my faith. knowing that, "ask and we shall receive". i also read something awesome in pme and i was like, i need to pray harder. and so sunday, monday, and tuesday i had been including her in my prayers and thinking about her a lot. yall know me and how horrid i am with recognizing people so i was like, please help us be able to find her--somehow i dont know how--and please help me to recognize her. and so wednesday rolled around and we just left our pensión. mind you a few random things happened to delay us like we were walking down the stairs and then forgot contact cards and so we went back up. then i had to recharge my card for the collectivos and so finally we left our little area. and theres this polleria right next to our block. i was walking and this girl turned around and it was like i didnt even think, i just yelled "NARA!!!" and she was like,  "hermanas!!!" 

and so we proceeded to talk and everything and turns out she is very difficutl to find in her house and its the house of her tio [uncle]and so she was like, "lets meet at the church for our lecciones and yada yada yada." HOW AWESOME! 

i DONT know if i was able to convey this well. but seriously it was so incredible. i may or may not have cried right after we saw her. i was just so ahhhhh!!!!! so awesome! 

and she is capa!!! (boss) (insert michael scott shoulder pad quote--´´those shoulder pads are really boss man.´´) hahahahah

OH MOM I HAVE A SCRIPTURE FOR YOU! drop everything and read it now. 

hint: its Office related and i came across it while studying hahahahah alma 61:8 

hahahahahahaha if you dont get it you need to watch season 1 again. haha

okay so im convinced that everything is better on the mission. the sun is brighter, everything is delicious, i dont know! 

so, a few weeks ago we were eating lunch at a member's house and the drink was....apple juice. 

now, yall know me and apple juice. 

it's of the devil and i cannot bear the taste of it. 

i don't know, every time i'm like, it cant be that bad. seriously. 

i try and i die. and so i was like ah pucha! [darn] no quiero! hahaha but like the good missionera soy, i was like, alright ive gotta drink this. and guess what? 

IT WAS THE GREATEST THING IVE EVER TASTED! 

i almost pinched myself to see if i was dreaming. i kept trying it and was like, 

what did i possibly dislike about this beverage! ?!

it's for sure everything is better on the mission!"!! 

throughout the last several weeks i've had lots of apple juice at people's houses and i even bought my own. and i was like ah! this is liquid heaven, i think. then one day i was like, this tastes familiar... but i couldn't place it. and then i was like... it tastes like... jolly rancher????? but its apple juice!! 

then my eyes narrowed like squidward and i was like, ahhhh pucha (darn)..... is this not 100% juice? (of course it's in spanish, so it took me a little longer to find it) 
but it's 3% JUICE!!! :(((((((((( hahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaha 
i don't know if you can call it juice 
but besides that, yes everything is better on the mission :)

so friday we were "oot and aboot" 
and we are going through our ward registry to track down and bring back all these menos activos. so we come across this one family and we go stop by. and this man answers the door and is like, what do you want! and so we explained who we are and were like, does this family live here? and he was like, how do you know our name! you arent a church! youré servicio intelligencia! were are you from? los estados unidos? are you spies! 
hahahaha can you believe that! 
another investigador yelled at me and was like, WHAT ARE YOU DOING! and i was like... whaaat (i was sifting through my bag for a pamphlet to give him) and he thought that i was messing with a camera. lots of people think we have cameras in our name tags... it's kinda funny and kinda confusing.

anyway ive gotta make like tigger, so ttfn !

but yeah. oh está todo bien! love you all!!!!! put on your armour; its crazy out there!!! d&c127! 

love hna dascanio 

ps thank you for the lovely emails and sorry i couldnt respond. mom i havent read yours yet and dad i'll send you a good email next week just know that i really needed to hear what you said and REALLY Appreciate it! 
shout out to gma! como está!!!

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[two emails in this post]

i'm trying to send pictures but i haven't much time
--did i sound like lucy from chronicles of narnia just there? hahaha 

well this week was great! i learned a lot. 
one of the main things i learned is that everything happens for a reason. all of our trials and pruebas are for our benefit and we can learn something from everything. Sweet fancy francis, i can tell you one thing: our trial has been health. the actual ability to leave and work. hermana musmano had some crazy whackado thing where her chest and back were swollen and so she could hardly breathe. it was kinda scary. just talking she was really out of breath so she got a medicine that required 3 DAYS to work. it was the worst. BUT it turned out to be a good experience. I worked with members a lot. got more out of my bubble. (not like i was in a shy bubble. cuz the mission kinda shoots that horse in the face first day), but todavía, it´s easy to rely on your companion to say things or make calls but i was making calls like crazy getting members who could stay with her and leave with me. and we did some awesome work. it was AWESOME! and one thing that hna musmano told me was, "when youre out with members, dont forget that youre the missionary´´ and so i was like, snap crackle pop, okay!! and it was awesome! i was able to see myself more fully rely on the Lord for help, in their needs, in spanish hello, in todo. it was seriously such a good experience. and the members i was with have such strong testimonies and were able to testify of the things that we i taught and it was so cool. anyway. i dont have much time this time. i had to take a survey for president chaparro. anyway just know that im well and loving it and hna musmano is better, i think! 

oh but real quick, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIGGGGGAYYy!!!! LOVE YOU, HOW ARE YOU, 
EMAIL ME I DONT HAVE YOUR EMAIL!!!

birthday donut! pardon my hair! i just got out of the shower!

also i forgot to tell yall about my birthday! it was awesome! that was the day where we were seeing so many miracles. well all of that week! ah! i am struggling with english!!! hna zambonini made me a cake! and said to tell my parents, not to worry. there are people in argentina taking care of their daughter and that you all have a very beautiful daughter. and that she shines like the light from the sun... hahahhaa kay maybe not the last part! bahahahhaa 

love you all! oh and the hnas i live with bought me birthday donut! hahahaha it was the best! (the birthday not the donut.) oh hahaha 

oh and i got nick's letter! 
THANK YOU. THAT IS THE BEST DRAWING OF 
MARIO AND LUIGI EVER!!!!! 

also maddy email me!!!! but i hope you're having a blast in cali! and that your kidney stones are gone! 

emma if you're reading this, i love you and hope that all went well with your surgery! sorry i'm not there to make you a hoagie and do a jig! 

oh and tell hermana rawe muchas gracias for putting together the cards from the mujeres jovenes! it was so awesome! thank you all!!!!!!! 

in the words of the hippie bus from cars, ´´there´s a lot of love out there man´´ hahahahaha 

ps laura write me!!!!! i miss you!!!!! 

paz y bendiciones!
[peace and blessings]

Here are Some Shots in your Fanny

Well im sure you are all intruiged. ¨why ever would hermana dascanio title her email that"? haha well, boy do i have stories! primero, i am healthy whole and happy, so tranquilla, mama :)

so i had been feeling poorly for a little while, but I was like, nah im fine, i have sinus allergieness all the time, whatever! but come tuesday i was like, kay imma kick the bucket. so i told hermana musmano that i was feeling horribly and luckily she followed the Spirit a ful cuz we went right to the médico. we went there and luckily there was a lady frm our ward that works there, hermana caxal, and she took us back and i began to describe to the doctor what was going on. (it's really hard to do that without a dictionary haha-- words like throat, cough, itchy, burn, things of that sort would have been useful to know haha, but anyway the doctor was like, you have angina and blah blah blah heres some shots in your fanny! and i was like, cool thanks! we left and hermana musmano freaked out and was like, ah you're gonna die i'm a terrible mom! you need to rest right now! and i was like, what do i have? i consulted my dictionary and found out that the doctor said that i had tonsilitis and the beginnings of pneumonia. hah divertida, no? and so i was like, oh thats why i feel horrid! haha so i rested for a long time and long story short, hermana caxal ended up coming to our pension cuz our thermometer didn't work. the next day hna chaparro ended up driving down to our pension and she and president chaparro [the mission president and his wife] took me to the hospital down in centro salta to get a better diagnosis. they are seriously the best! president chaparro is the sweetest and hermana chaparro too. she reminds me of you, mom! and turns out that i didn't have the pnemonia part, just the tonsillitis and after like 6 shots in the rear i was on my way! presidente chaparro was waiting in the car for like 2 hours-keep in mind this is at 10 at night- and he bought us candy bars and water- how precious! 

anyway. this week was highly consumed in that fiasco. my gluteus maximus was like numb and bruised for 3 days but i'm all good now! so don't worry!!! yesterday por fin we worked and it felt sooo good! i have ENERGY! for the whole week i was seriously so weak i couldn't close my hand shut but now I'm bouncin' and preachin! hahahaha 

oh! while sick, i had an epiphany! ya know kronk´s spinach puffs? THEYRE TOTALLY SPANIKOPITA!!! hahahaha also, one member had these cookie things and they were koulorakia!! they tasted the same and i was like, ahh! cookies for mister!!! hahaha but they were in shapes and not swoopdys.

so, ive come to realize that i'm horrible at respondng to your questions so here we go. 

1. no, we cant send or receive videos. so thats a bummer summer. i want you all to here the spanish world in which i currently reside! haha 
2. yes, we wash our clothes by hand. well a veces [sometimes]. we found that we have a washer thing but it kind of just gently swirls your clothes around, so i don't use it. but we do have a secadora which is the greatest cuz it sucks all the water out of our clothes which cuts the drying time by like a bajillion! its my fave! but yeah i wash my clothes in the kitchen sink, sometimes in a bowl on the floor. i've got an awesome picture of it, but right now my cameras dead as a doornail. but yeah its fun! makes you appreciate everything a little more. a lot more. my fingers and nails are red and sore from scrubbing but i like it! its all so cool! 
3. on pday we wash our clothes, study, CLEAN shop. there's this store Libertad (liberty) and it's like a walmart with a mini strip mall in it, so we take the colle (collectivo-bus) up there to shop for food and stuff we need. and we print and write! occasionally there are other things but thats pretty much it! pday ends at 6 and then we work! its bomb!
4. so dad, in answer to your question, we haven't had the opportunity to see our investigators too much. hermana musmano left wednesday thursday and saturday with members for a few hours. its soo hard to coordinate that! cuz we need to find someone to say with me and someone to go out with her! and when nobody has cars and everyone has kids its hard to get people that can and can walk over that the same time the other can! ay carrumba! haha but it was good- we found people! 

it's funny and agitating cuz as i'm typing, the word that comes to my mind is in spanish! too awesome! #dificil hahaha but yeah. 

vilma is progressing still. her daughter camila isn't really. we thought that vilma was progressing a ful, but she didn't come to church yesterday! so were gonna stop by tonight! 

last night was awesome, though. i don't know it was just so awesome. this work is so awesome! there isn't a feeling comparable to when you feel the Spirit and follow through and can look back and be like, wow that was awesome and totally not me! haha "rewarding" doesn't begin to describe it! 

i know that if we´re doing what we´re supposed to: reading, praying, renewing our covenants, magnifying our callings, we´ll be okay. it's work! and there are soooo many menosactivos here (300 if i didnt tell yall) that say that, it's work and too much and la la la! and to that i just have one question: was it easy for the Savior? 

welp. i wasnt planning on saying all that. haha but its true! i love the scriptures and everything! 

oh and thanks for the birthday wishes and the cash cash money dough. i haven't read yalls emails yet, so thats why i didn't mention anything yall said. sorry! they're printed though! love yall! yall are da best!

oh wait! so hermana garibay (she lives with us) last week she received an email that her dad was taking the discussions FINALLY!!! and this week while we were printing our emails she burst into tears and we were like, what happened? but on her screen was a picture of her dad in white with 2 smiling elders!!!! he got BAPTIZED!!! how insanely awesome! i cried too. ah! His plan is beautiful and i am soooo thankful that families can be together forever!!!!!!!!!!!! and im sooo gratefull for the missionaries that baptized you mom and dad!!!! (grandparents, too))

oh wait, update on escott! 

WE HAVENT SEEN HIM IN LIKE A WEEK! 

i don't know what happened to him!! :((( 

´´he´s on a different path now.´´ 

name that show! 

hahaha that one´s for you mommma!

paz y bendiciones

read your scriptures-you can receive help with ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING! 

make like nike and just do it!

love yall 

A Tiny Ball of Spastic Gospel Excitement!

WOOOPDEEEDOOO!!!

Helado!

i would start by saying something to the effect of ´´wow! i cant believe it´s already pday´´ but i think ive started every email with that since ive been in argentina.. wait.. hahaha

UPDATE ON THE DOG THAT ATE ME!! 

So, since that night where that evil dog attacked my and i kicked him in the face, we´ve been on cowboy terms. i say this because it's like in the movies where the one cowboy glares at the other cowboy as a conveniently timed hay bale brustles by to the tune of "wah wah wahh." like i said, this perro lives on the street of one of our frequently visited inactives. so we see him a lot. we carefully walk and glare at each other. that´s how its been for about 3 or 4 weeks. Plot Twist! we say Hermana Orué, (menos activo that we visit) on the street and THERE WAS THE DOG! she was like, 

(wait i have to describe her--Shes a little bigger. short-obviously, and has a voice that couldn't be more opposite than what you'd think. its minnie mouse. i'm convinced that she is the voice for minnie mouse). 

bueno, now picture this--she´s like "oh hola hermanas!" and starts talking as the dog comes up. me and hna musmano hesitate and the tumbleweed (did i say hay bale earlier, oy, vey!) rolls. she goes, ¨ oh! this is scott! he´s de la calle! (of the street!) yeah he´s bad. we always say callete! scott! but pobrecito lives on the street! he´s bad malo malo. pobrecito.´´ 

hahahaha keep in mind, in spanish it´s ´´ehscott´´ hahahaha and yes, ehscott is a golden retriever, and yes, he wears a tshirt. hahahhaha so, now we´re freinds with 'escott el perro de la calle!' bahahahha que loco no! hahah

This week was really good! we´re working really hard with our barrio and for our barrio (ward). In our district meeting, spirits were a little down because of our lack of numerical success as a district and so one hermana suggested a district fast.and so of course we were like yeah! Saturday, we fasted, and it was so cool. we had sooo many lecciones!! i know numbers aren´t important, so i dont know if i should say how much or how much more, but we actually had lessons! you all. this area is DIFICIL! we trek like pioneers and have back up plans for our backup plan´s back up plan. without the Spirit, it would be impossible. If this weren't His work, i would want to give up and i´d feel sad. but i just want you all to know that, yes, we literally have 0 progressing investigators, but I know that we are doing our best. one speaker at the CCM (MTC), once said, when you leave your mission, ask God for His opinion. Ask Him if you served a worthy mission. Those words, more elegantly put than that come to my mind now and then and i want yall to know that I´ve asked Him. for an update of sorts. And I know that Im serving worthily and with all my might. I wasn't planning on talking all about this, but i dont know, there you go haha. i want yall to know, mom and dad, that Im serving my hardest and that God´s pleased with me. Oh boy, im having a mini breakdown. not a sad one, like a spiritual one. i was a little worried, idk if thats the right word, but to email you all cuz i dont have grand stories or names to report or photos of baptisms, but i want you all to know that each and everyday my testimony grows stronger. that i am working like ive never worked before. im being obedient and serving the Lord. And right now, that´s apparently what´s supposed to happen.  

I love you all so much! and know that i am absolutely loving it out here! despite the straightforwardness and solemnity of this email, i LOVE everyday. im not discouraged at all! i find strength in the scriptures! and thanks so much for those quotes, mom! they are great and much appreciated! :) the mission is the best thing i've done with my life! not like i have a list of profound things ive done in my 19 years, but ah! it´s too cool. thanks so much for all the support!

Oh! and maddy! you need to name your kidney stones, Pebbles and BaM bAM. 

paz y bendiciones.

con amor mi frijolitos :)

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[fast forward one week]

Hola familia!

como está!!! ay yay yay! 

okay so, GUESS WHHHATTTT!!! Patricia came to chuch (fairly  normal) but we HAD ANOTHER INVESTIGATOR AT CHURCH!!! VILMA CAME! we´re teaching vilma and her daughter, belen. belen has a little baby and they are awesome! their problem is that they are like eternal investigators! but! pobrecita vilma was in the hospital for like 5 days with pnemonia and i guess that was what they needed to start progressing! belen especially. she's been praying and reading and vilma is back and doing better and they both have such strong testionies of prayer now! and Vilma WHO IS SICK WITH PNEMONIA came to church! we drove by in a remis (taxi) and picked her up! so awesome right! that´s big stuff!

also, we have a new district leader, elder molina de ecuador. and he is bomb! this is his last transfer! and he is not slowing down at all! we had such a solid district meeting--he helped us a lot with Belen y Vilma! and he is just a little tiny ball of spastic gospel excitement! it´s awesome! its awesome! 

we´re getting lots of help from the Bishop and ward now! im telling yall -- prayers are answered, siempre! i think this area had misionaries of questionable dilligence and so it´s not like the barrio was untrusting, just not very helpful and encouraging and idk but now its awesome! last night, all of the priesthood, the patriarch and us and the elders all met up and attacked (spiritually and with love) this one area-san luis! this area has a lot of menos actives (less active members of the church) that are priesthood holders and a lot of pontencials and it's huge and so we all split up and visited! it was sooo cool! [yes it was EXACTLY like in harry potter 7 when the order of the phoenix is all gathering together to transport harry!] hahaha that's what i thought of! and i was with herman a florinda---picture a woman, about 50, tan tan tan, about the height of my shoulder and she´s like. oh my goodness i dont have a metaphor.... well, she's the funniest little person and laughs and laughs and laughs and LOVES MISSIONARY work"! she is with the elders every wednesday and friday and sometimes sundays from 4 - 8:30! how awesome! anyway i was with her. we were all split up. so she was my companion for a little!" anyway it was bomb!

This is me contacting a statue!

oh my" today!" we went to salta capital and they have this teleferico which is like imagine a hamster ball barely big enough for 4 humans, and it travels up and down a wire to the top of a mountain. hahhaa sketchy awesome"! [translation by mom, 'cable car' :) ]

oh and hermana musmano forgot that she's clausterphobic and afraid of heights cuz she was all gung ho about teleferico! "yah, let's go!"  and we got in and she tried to jump out right before it lifted off! like its a real phobia! i'm like, how can you forget something like that! hahaha pobrecita! she bursted into tears and was screaming while hermana roa was snapping picures and walking around the little ball to get the best angle and i'm like not scared but i was like, please don't lean! hahaha yeah but anyway, we got the view of salta! hermana musmano calmed down after i was like, just picture a car! you're just in a car! luckily it had a window for air! haha too funny! it was mainly funny cuz it was her idea-- aha, pobrecita!

The view of Salta from a mountain!

anywho, the work is awesome! i love it! thanks for all your emails! i cherish them dearly! also! i think my spanish is getting better! people are surprised when i tell them how long i've been here, so thats good! 

(after they're surprised that im a gringa!) 

hahaha welp. 

paz y bendiciones!

Las Hermanas de Limache!