Andy Williams, Castellano and Conference weekend!

Well, this week was a great one!! We taught 37 lessons this week and
found some great people!! 

The weather is really pretty lately!! BUT the mosquitos are KILLER.
And they only get worse as we draw near to summertime. I just want to
bathe in mosquito repellant at this point. It´s weird to be in
springtime when Halloween is only a month away. My mind has just
confused all the months and seasons and holidays and they´re all
jumbled together. We blast the Christmas music almost every day. You
can´t go wrong with Andy Williams.

I´ve also learned that I CAN speak Castellano comforatably now. Still
can´t roll my ´r´s but we´re getting there. I have also learned that I
CAN´T speak English anymore without throwing in a few Spanish
words/phrases here and there. 11 months to go.

We couldn´t go see the Women´s Conference on Saturday:( But we´re
excited for General Conference this weekend!! And tonight we´re
traveling to Chacabuco (a city about 1 hour away from
Chivilcoy--Nightbus again) for our District Meeting tomorrow!!!

I hope everyone will have the chance to listen to Conference this
weekend. I don´t think I´ll be able to watch it in English, which will
be hard. But the Spirit is still apparent, no matter where you are, no
matter what language!! Sometimes I forget that during Conference we
are receiving direct revelation from God. It makes the temptation to
sleep through it a little less strong. I love to hear the Prophets
voice!!!

Love you!!

Con amor,
Hermana Edwards

 La Zona de Chivilcoy Norte!!

Our whole District!

Reunions and testifying

This week went by super fast!!! We had a reunion again with President
Robertson and both zones of Chivilcoy Norte y Sur here in our
chapel!!! (we had a bajillion hermana´s overnight again) And we
learned of the importance of teaching the Restoration in the very
first lesson. Sometimes it´s difficult to bring up such a big topic
such as the Restoration in the very first visit, but Hermana Sosa and
I tried it this week. My faith in the testifying power of the First
Vision and the Book of Mormon has grown so much in just a short
period!!! We´ve been practicing how to use more free agency while we
extend commitments to people. It´s been helping a lot!! We´ve found a
lot of good new people this week. And.......

We have two baptisms planned for this week!!! I´ll let you know next
week if they work out. Sorry I don´t have a lot of time to write
today:( But I´ll be sure to be more diligent the next week. 

I love you so much!!!

Con amor,
Hermana Edwards

 Hermana Foutz my Hermana Training Leader (we had divisions this week)

 We helped some members move into their new house!

I bought a super cheap curling iron and I am in love. I hope you like!

Hermana Edwards didn't have time for a blog entry this week, so this is an excerpt from her email to her sister in high school this week. It is a good reminder all around: "Through the Lord, you can do everything. I know it:) I love you so much and I think about you ALL of the time!!! I pray for you always!!! Be safe and trust in the Lord, and everything will be alright. Keep being a light to all those around you. Love you."

-Mom Edwards

Springtime, Divisions and Nacho Libre

This week went by even faster than the last!!! It´s almost Springtime
here. The mosquitos are coming out again (joy) but the weather is
really pretty!! Hermana Sosa and I get along very well and we´ve had
some awesome lessons this past week!!! But the only sad thing is that
our work didn´t reflect at church yesterday. None of our investigators
showed. It´s been a little hard lately, but we keep pushing on. We
have divisions (starting tonight) One of the Sister Training Leaders
(Hermana Foutz-from the States HOLLA) is going to come here and work
with me for a couple of days while Hermana Sosa is going to work with
the other hermana in Junin. I think divisions are so fun!!! And we
learn so much!! In campo they´re always longer (almost a week long)
because all of the cities are so far away. In Buenos Aires they always
last for a day. Ours should go till Friday! We have transfers in a
couple weeks, I´m REALLY hoping I´ll get to stay in Chivilcoy. But I
don´t know. 28 new missionaries are entering the mission, and there
are going to be a lot of changes. But whatever happens happens!! And
it´s all for the better and benefit of those who need it most.

We had a wonderful conference with President González of the Seventy.
He was inspired (of course) I asked how we could help people who have
a pre-existing knowledge of our church, better understand and gain a
testimony of Joseph Smith. Usually a lot of people have doubts about
Joseph, and it´s usually hardest thing for people to accept. President
González emphasized the importance of utilizing the Book of Mormon
more while we teach!!! He said that if they have a true testimony of
the Book of Mormon, then they will have a testimony of Joseph Smith in
return. Now, as a mission, we are going to learn more and more about
how to teach using the scriptures. Sometimes we use the pamphlets and
forget just how important the Book of Mormon is in the conversion
process, and also in retaining a testimony of the gospel. I have
gained such a testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon. Before my
mission, I read everyday. But more than anything it was because I HAD
to. Like I was obligated to do so. But now, I have such a great love
for the scriptures!!! I look forward to reading them every day! When
you read the Book of Mormon with real intent to learn and understand,
that´s when the heavens open up and we come to a whole new level of
understanding!!! I love it!!

Love you all!!!!!

Also, in the micro bus on the way back from Lujan, we had a Karaoke
sesh, and I sang Nacho Libre in front of my whole zone. Good day.

Con amor,
Hermana Edwards

The Keystone

This week was great!! A LOT colder (thank the heavens) BUT there were
a lot of gigantic spiders in our house this week, so I suppose you
can´t have everything. It went by SO fast, just as I imagine it did
for everyone at home with school starting up again. SEPTEMBER. I can´t
believe it. Just a few more months and we´ll hit 2015. I´ll be halfway
done with my mission on Thanksgiving. Time goes by too fast. Now I
have a little over 6 months on the mission. A year left!! It startles
me to think of all the things I was doing just a year ago. The weeks
and months are a blur. We only have a couple more weeks in this
transfer. I´m really enjoying the mission!! We´re headed to Lujan this
friday for a big conference with a representative of the South
American missions (forgot his name) so, we´re super excited for
that!!!! I love conferences. And I love traveling in the Nightbus (but
not in the nighttime)

The other day, I decided to begin studying "Jesus the Christ" during
my hour of personal study. As I pulled the book from my desk, all the
other books around it fell, knocking down my souveneirs and papers and
pictures. I thought silently to myself how ironic it was. The simple
action of pulling the book out of my study caused quite a bit of a
mess. Just as the seemingly harmless act of pulling Jesus Christ out
of our lives causes a much greater catastrophe than we could possibly
expect. I´ve seen time and time again, especially on my mission, the
disaster and tragedy that comes to people when Christ no longer is in
the center of their lives.

Why is Christ the keystone to our religion? Because through Him, we
have the gospel. We have the Atonement. We have this earth, this
universe, our bodies, our spirits. We have our families. How could we
ever expect to live a life of happiness when we blatantly take out the
sheer REASON for happiness? When we put other worldly priorities
first, such as clothes and internet and movies and music and parties,
our sense of spirituality is dulled, and we can´t feel as close to the
Savior. I struggled with this before my mission. I just went with the
flow, not really doing anything extra to benefit myself of others. I
was on my phone WAY more than I should´ve been. I´ll admit--Pinterest
is pretty dang addictive. My worries really shouldn´t have been
worries. I had other things to do than service or studying my
scriptures. Sure, I did these things, read my scriptures every day,
went to mutual and church activities and mission prep. But it wasn´t
with full intention of heart to learn and progress and serve. Why?
Because I failed to put Christ above all other things.

Christ is the center of everything. I hope everyone can remember that.
Our primary purpose as missionaries is to invite others to come unto
Christ. Through this, I´ve only been brought closer to him. I hope we
can all remember to put Him in the center of our lives. Only then will
we truly feel spiritually edified and full.

I love this gospel!!!! More and more every single day. I can truly say
that this mission has changed my life. I´m so grateful for the
opportunities that the Lord puts in our path. It´s amazing!!!

Love you guys!

Con amor,
Hermana Edwards