Santa Fe, Argentina

The trip to Argentina was long.  We flew United and stopped in Denver, Miami and then flew overnight to Buenos Aires.  Once there, we transferred to a different airport to fly to Rosario.  Somehow I got us all on an early flight, so we arrived to Rosario early and luckily the APs and Mission President were dropping off the missionaries that were leaving, so it worked out perfectly.  

Once at the mission home, we had a pep talk by the APs.  They challenged us to memorize the discussions.  Then we had a nice meal and President Coburn told us each where we had been assigned.  I would be taking a 3 hour bus ride that evening to Santa Fe, Barrio Pompeya and my companion was Hermana Pisano.  In the meantime, we rested.  When I arrived to Santa Fe, the zone leaders picked me up and we took a taxi to my new home.  On the way, the Elders were talking all about Christ with the driver.  I was impressed.  

We lived in a tiny room in the home of non-members Susanna and Emanuel.  Under the two beds in our room there was wood, but under the dresser was just dirt.  We were allowed to use the kitchen and bathroom in the home.  My first night there I froze.  We had gone from summer in the states to winter overnight.  It was -8 degrees celsius (18 degrees F.).  There was no indoor heating or any kind of space heater in our room and I only had a sheet and a thin blanket on my bed.  I didn't know the word for blanket, so I couldn't even ask for one.  The next morning, I was shown how to use the shower.  We had a calefón which is a box that you fill up with water then plug it in and it warms up the water.  Then you unplug it and get under the shower head.  There was no water pressure, just gravity.  I warmed it up too long and the water was scalding hot, so I turned on the cold water to mix with the hot water, but I forgot to turn off the cold water, so by the end of my shower the water was cold.  I felt like I would never warm up again in my life.  

My first morning in the mission we got to work.  We started with scripture study, gospel study and breakfast and then went to visit a neighbor, Nancy, who was sick.  I couldn't understand a word she said.  Then we went tracting.  We knocked a few doors, gave out two pamphlets, got into two houses and shared some thoughts.  I honestly didn't understand my companion or the people we talked to and I was freezing cold and tired. 

Day two, we probably walked 10 miles and only got in two doors.  I was cold, my feet had blisters, my shoulders were hurting, everything was sore and I was exhausted.  We ate with a member and they served me a lot of food and I didn't know how to tell them I only wanted a little, so I ate it all.  I felt fat and ugly.

By day four I was feeling pretty discouraged.  I would look at myself in the mirror and tell myself that I could do it.  I thought, "Jesus died for you, you can at least ignore the pain and walk a little further for him, buck up, Hermana Julien.  Your afflictions will be but a small moment and then God shalt exalt thee on high."  

On my first Sunday at church there wasn't anyone to play the piano for sacrament meeting, so they asked me if I would do it.  The hymns they had chosen were hard, so I only played one hand, but many people thanked me for my efforts.  I was greeted with hugs and kisses by all of the members and we had an investigator with us at church, which made me happy.  I bore my testimony for the first time that night.  I felt prompted to do so, and I did and it felt great.  

My first P day didn't feel like much of a break.  We still woke up at 6:30 a.m. and had our two hours of scripture/gospel study and breakfast.  Then we started the process of washing our clothes by hand.  We took a large pot, filled it with water and heated it over a small gas stove.  I was able to soak about 6 items of clothing at a time in the pot.  After it soaked a little while, I would take a white bar of soap and rub it into the fabric and then rub the clothes together to get out the dirt.  Then I would rinse them and hang them outside in the freezing cold to dry.  Then I would repeat the process again.  It took me more than 2 hours, Ugh.  And all the little hairs on my fingers were ripped out, ouch.  After that, I wrote some letters but my companion wanted to practice the "charla corta" so we did that really fast so I could have a few minutes of time to myself to organize my room, because I really hadn't had a chance previously.  At 5 p.m. we met for district meeting.  It was cool, but I lost it, cried like a baby.  I was feeling pretty frustrated.  The food was horrible, the weather was horrible, the living conditions were horrible, I didn't understand anyone.  My feet were covered in blisters, I was breaking out and gaining weight and looked horrible.  I felt awful (sore throat, runny nose), was sore all over, tired and no one wanted to listen to us. 

On my second P day I felt much better.  I loved our gospel study that morning.  I was reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish and it was taking a long time because I was looking up every word I didn't know in the dictionary.  I decided I would get up 30 minutes early every day so that I could make more progress in the Book of Mormon faster.  That day we went shopping, washed our clothes, cleaned our room, practiced the short charla, wrote letters and then went to our district meeting.  Our zone leaders came to visit and said they were impressed with the strong spirit of our teaching.  

That week we had interviews with President Ontiveros and a zone conference.  I was blown away by the other missionaries.  They all seemed so well spoken and wise.  I felt like a complete idiot in comparison and I cried.  The other missionaries told me those feelings were normal and that it would get better.  

On my third Sunday, the bishop asked me to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting.  I was a bit terrified.  I based my talk off of a talk by Elder Haight about Joseph Smith.  I'm pretty sure I left out the whole part about Joseph praying in the Sacred Grove.  I sat down and laughed at myself.  

My appearance was garbage on the mission.  There really wasn't any time to do my hair.  Occasionally I took the time to blow dry it, but mostly it was just wash and go.  My companion was my hair dresser.  She trimmed it for me when it got really ragged.  

By the end of week three, I figured out that I didn't have to be cold all night.  I would just wear tons of clothes to bed.  I also felt like I was getting smarter every day.  I was getting up at 5:30 a.m. which gave me extra time to study.  I had already memorized the first discussion by week 3.  Only 5 to go.  As I was getting a little more comfortable with the language I sat down and talked to Susanna, the lady we lived with.  I showed her some pictures from home and we talked about the differences that I had noticed between Argentina and home.  The sun came out that day and we did some study outside.  I loved the sun on my face.  

This was a typical meal on Sunday,
Jello with bananas and
rice with a cube of chicken boullion for flavor. 

my bed and room

During week four we met some really nice people while tracting.  We were working a ton of hours, but the work was slow.  At my month mark we had family home evening with a less active family.  We found out that they had lice and the next day my companion had lice, ugh.  Luckily, I didn't get it.  

Around that time we returned to the home of a woman we had met 2 weeks prior while tracting, her name was Rosa.  She had actually read the pamphlet we gave her and invited us in.  We gave the first discussion and sang "I am a Child of God."  She loved it and began to cry.  She thanked us for coming and told us we were different than most people.  The next day was Dia del Amigo.  We took a gift to Rosa but she wasn't there.  Her husband answered the door, his name was Eduardo.  He thanked us for the joy we brought to his wife and invited us to come back any time.   We returned a few days later and had a discussion with both of them.  This time when we sang, Eduardo began to cry.  He gave us juice and crackers and we made an appointment to return.  The spirit was strong during the second discussion.  They both mentioned that they loved to be in our presence because they felt love, peace and calm.  We explained that they were feeling the Holy Ghost.  We found out that Rosa had been talking to a lot of her friends and other people about us.  They had all noticed that we were always happy and friendly to everyone.  That night Eduardo said that they wanted to be baptized, but they were going to pray about it to be sure.  We went back a couple days later and they told us they had decided not to be baptized.  They loved us as friends but didn't have a desire to join the church.  They were sad that we wouldn't be able to visit anymore because our visits always brightened their day.  I couldn't leave them without bearing my testimony.  I thought maybe someday they would change their mind.  That month we met another woman named Mirta.  She told us she wanted to get baptized, but also changed her mind.  We were striking out.  

Another time, we met a woman who burst into tears as we were talking.  She told us that she had been drinking all day and was very depressed because she was filled with guilt and tormented by the memory of murdering her husband.  She had recently been released from prison after serving for 9 years.  Her story made me sick to my stomach, but we wanted to help her.  We talked to her for a while and hugged her and told her we would be back to visit in a few days.  How horrible would it be to kill the man you love in a fit of rage and have to live with that memory for the rest of your life?  It was awful.

In the beginning, I didn't like my companion a whole lot.  She seemed really impatient and so many little things bugged me about her.  The second month I tried to focus on the good things.  She was a very had worker, had a strong testimony and was really loving and kind with the people.  I started liking her more.  We celebrated her birthday in August and I gave her an Argentina shirt.  The Bishop's family (the Chetas) held a little birthday celebration for her too.  They were so poor.  They lived a one room house made of cinderblock with a dirt floor.  The family couldn't afford electricity so they had been without light for 2 weeks.  They shared 4 beds between the 7 of them and had a small dinner table.  The kids were adorable.  The seven year old, Gabriella, was my favorite.  She would run up to me and give me a big hug and a kiss every time she saw me.  Although they had nothing, the 5 children seemed to always be smiling and happy.  

Hermana Pisano

Dressing warm for the cold

Hermana Cheta was amazing. 
What an example!

At my second zone conference, one of the APs came up and asked how I was doing.  I burst into tears.  He said he cried every day for the first 2 months so I was doing pretty good.  He also said that the reason it was so hard for me was because I cared and had potential to be a great missionary.  

I got my first letters from home on August 25th which was 2 months after I got to Argentina.  I got 8 letters and was on cloud 9.  Everyone at home was doing well.  It made me a bit home sick.  I missed my family, my bed, the warmth, being able to eat what I want, warm running water, and a slew of other things.  At the same time, I was so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary and learn so much and help people.  

After 2 months I got a new companion, her name was Hermana Johnson from Arizona.  She was a bundle of fun.  She had been in a slump with her previous companion, but together, we were on fire.  We were working hard, having fun and it felt good.  She was going home in three months and had not yet certified in the discussions, so I told her I would help her do it.  We started getting up at 4:00 a.m. to memorize them.  

Toward the end of our first month together we met a woman named Angela and her son César.  The week we met them started out rough.  It was cold and rainy and we were both feeling really tired because we had been getting up very early.  One morning that week we woke up and we were completely covered in termites.  When it rains, the bugs like to come inside.  The termites came up from the dirt under our dresser.  But, we found a laundromat that week and didn't have to wash our clothes by hand, so that was positive.  We were trying to be 100% obedient and working hard.  On Wednesday morning we got up at 5:00 a.m.  It was raining and the power went out.  We didn't want to let that slow us down, so we used flashlights to do our scripture study.  Without power, we didn't have warm water.  Neither one of us wanted to take a cold shower, so we just threw our hair in a pony tail, threw on our clothes and got out the door to go tracting 5 minutes early.  It was pouring rain and we were knocking doors at 9:00 a.m.  The first woman we met, Angela, looked at us like we were nuts.  It was cold and rainy and she didn't want to invite us in, but we told her we would come see her in the afternoon.  We knocked a lot more doors that morning without success.  Even though she had seemed really disinterested, we decided to go back to see Angel and she actually invited us in.  That's when we met her four year old son, César.  He was a chunky little boy and very rambunctious.  It was impossible to give a discussion with his interruptions, so I got out some markers and got down on the floor with him while Hermana Johnson gave the first discussion.  It went well and Angela said they would come to church on Sunday.  As we got up to leave César grabbed my hand and walked me to the door and then began to cry, so Angela let him walk us to the corner.  That afternoon we gave another first discussion.  We scheduled appointments to return to both.  It was a good day.  

On Sunday, Angela and César actually came to church.  Things were going pretty well the first hour.  The second hour César was crawling around on the floor doing backspins.  During sacrament meeting things got really fun.  Since I was the pianist, I went up to sit at the piano.  César didn't like that.  He kept yelling chica, chica.  Finally, just as we were about to sing the opening hymn, Angela let him loose and he ran up to me.  I was holding him back from pounding on the piano with one hand, while playing the hymn with the other.  After the hymn, he wanted to sit on my lap, so I pulled him up.  He wanted to play the piano so badly.  I tried my best to hold him back.  As we were starting the sacramental hymn, he got his hands loose and pounded down on the piano with both hands.  Then somehow he flipped on the beat.  Luckily, one of the members came to my aid, but I couldn't figure out how to turn off the beat.  I found the beat volume and turned it all the way down.  During the rest of the meeting, César ran up and down the center aisle.  I thought for sure that was the end of Angela's interest in the church. 

That night, we went to her house to see what she thought.  She told us that she loved church and set a date to be baptized.  We were both a little shocked, but so excited.  We were working hard, being obedient and seeing the fruits of our labors.  In two weeks we had taught 10 first discussions.  We did in those two weeks what it had taken two months to accomplish with my first companion.  

When the time came to teach Angela about the word of wisdom, we were worried.  She smoked about 20 cigarettes a day.  When we got to the house, I took César out back and kicked a volleyball with him, while Hermana Johnson taught inside.  Angela immediately committed to quit smoking.  It wasn't easy for her.  We invited her to read the Book of Mormon and pray any time she felt the desire to smoke.  Miraculously, she was able to do it.  

Angela was progressing quickly, so we scheduled an appointment for her baptism interview.  She had some concerns about baptisms for the dead but it didn't stop her from moving forward.  Her interview went well and she was on track for baptism that Sunday. 

The night of her interview, we had a ward family home evening. Angela, César, Susanna and Emanuel all showed up.  We played games and watched a video about the atonement of Jesus Christ.  It went really well.  It was great for Angela to be able to friendship with the other members.   

Sunday came and we were nervous.  Angela showed up 15 minutes late to church and we thought maybe she wasn't coming.  That evening, the baptism was supposed to start at 5 p.m. and she wasn't there.  She had fallen asleep during the siesta and woken up at 4:30.  She hurried and got ready, hailed a taxi and arrived late.  We were so relieved when she got there.  Angela had a fear of water so she was really nervous.  As they were trying to perform the baptism, she was partially immersed, but kind of freaked out and stood up.  Her forehead had not been completely immersed so they had to do it again.  After a few more tries she still couldn't do it.  We decided to close the font doors, so that she could have some privacy.  The children started to sing Primary songs and the spirit was strong.  She was able to calm down and was baptized.  It took my breath away.  Many of the women from the ward went into the bathroom to congratulate her.  It was a beautiful night and the first baptism for both Hermana Johnson and I.  Afterward we celebrated!  We had made a cake and the other families brought treats too. 

During that time, I loved my district.  We all got along really well and our district leader was a great missionary.

Our district

At a zone conference

The ward family home evening went so well, we tried to have one monthly.  One week we had a special Halloween party.  

we went as twins

Hna. Johnson and I continued to work hard, but we had burned ourselves out getting up too early in the mornings.  The mission president told us we needed to stop getting up so early.  But my companion still had a goal and a date set to get certified, so we kept working toward her goal.   One P day I did her laundry so that she could keep studying.  That is true love.  At the end of October, which was about 2 months before she was going home, she did it!  She got certified and was very thankful to me for inspiring her and helping her accomplish her goal.  We celebrated by getting ice cream.  Hermana Johnson got her only baptism and got certified during our time together.  After that, she lovingly called me Hermana Superwoman.  

This was a common site,
the whole family on one bike.

One time a member family invited us for lunch.  They served us a dish called matahambre which means hunger killer.  It was made of a beef steak, hard boiled eggs, radishes, carrots and olives.  They would lay the meat on the counter then put the rest of the ingredients on top, roll it up, tie it and then boil it.  When it was cooked, they cut it into slices and served it cold.  It was not good.  I was given a large serving with a side of potato salad that had more mayonnaise than potatoes.  I tried to get it all down but felt sick.  I asked if I could use the restroom and I puked.  Unfortunately, the pressure from puking gave me a nose bleed.  I was a mess.  I grabbed a bunch of toilet paper and pinched my nose and it stopped eventually.  There was no trash can in the room so I put the toilet paper in the toilet and prayed that it would flush down.  I found a bucket of water to pour into the toilet and luckily, it worked.  I must have been in there for 20 minutes. I'm sure they were wondering what happened.  It was rough.

Another time a family served a stew that was made with every part of the cow, even the hide with the hairs still on it.  That was another meal that was hard to choke down.  I did love empanadas though and pure de papas with milanesa.  The bread was always delicious too.  Once we ate with a member family that served us a salad.  I was sick to my stomach for the next 8 hours until I pooped it all out just the way it went in.  Any time I ate salad down there I got sick.  Honestly, I think I had diarrhea for the first 9 months I was there.  

After 5 months in Santa Fe, I found out I was being transferred to barrio Cápitan Bermudez with a new north American, Hermana Ireland.  I was freaking out a bit.  I didn't know how were would survive.  My prayers were very sincere that night and I hardly slept at all.  I said goodbye to the Angela and César and to the Cheta family, packed up my stuff and headed to the bus station.