I'm Going to Change My Name to Sofia!

Everything we do, call a cab, order food, send mail, we need to give a name and NO ONE understands Hermana Barker, so then I say Brooke...I think that´s worse here. So I have just started going by Sofía hahaha. My companion even bought me a keychain that says Sofia. 

AHHH I am finally legal in Argentina! We did trámites on Friday... Longest day of my life... We had to go to Bahía Thursday night, we slept there. Woke up at 5 to go wait at the immigrations building...(It was sooo sooo cold) we waited outside until 8 then we went inside and there were like ten of us doing trámites so we were there for 2-hours, then we walked 5 blocks to take our pictures at a little kiosk, then got in cabs and went to another immigration building on the other side of the city (very ineffective system). We got there at like noon and we were there doing paper work until 4pm! AHHH! Anyway after all that we went to Subway for lunch...AND WE´RE LEGAL! (We only had 90 day Visa’s when we got here so I was illegal for like 100 days...haha whoops).

Herman Greene just brushing her teeth as we wait in immigration

When we were in Bahía we stayed with 4 other Hermanas and one of them was looking at my photos and erased everything I had on the card...It was all my pictures from this transfer and the last...that was super sad but I just need to start taking more! haha. I think I was very tired because I was SUPER calm about it.

The last few weeks have been super weird here in Punta Alta. We haven´t had any light or power in the church for 3 weeks now Sacrament is a little less reverent than I think it should be but it´s just a constant reminder that I´m in Argentina. There are 2 wards here and 4 missionaries in both wards so in total we are 8...this last week every single one of us was sick...

Part of me and my companion´s problem was that we ate armadillo...yupp. There are pictures don´t worry. It was a TON of fat...but it was interesting. It didn´t really taste, bad but after we did not feel good...AT ALL. We didn´t get sick so we successfully held down Armadillo too, but I wouldn´t advise anyone to try it...haha #onlyinArgentina.

ARMADILLO - YUMMM

Everything that is yellow is fat.
No - we do not eat the fat!

Damian is excited to eat it!

Anyway to end everything on a high note... FOR REALS THIS TIME. 

SOFIA IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!! 

This Friday. She wants her Uncle to baptize her but he got called to work this weekend in Buenos Aires so he couldn´t really make it...haha anyway, THIS FRIDAY! She was in church yesterday handing out all of her invitations it was so dang cute. The highlight of my week came from her. We were teaching the Plan of Salvation and after we had taught it all I asked her, ¨What do you like most about the plan that God has for each and everyone of us?” She paused for a couple seconds and she got teary eyed and told us ¨It´s perfect, I know that he loves me and my family.¨ 

I can testify of the words of Sofia Fragapane. God loves each and every one of us and because of the grace of his son Jesus Christ each and every one of us can and will live again. I read a talk this week that I absolutely loved by Brad Wilcox he said ¨Jesus Christ doesn´t make up the difference. Jesus Christ makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us¨

I know that the grace of our Savior and Redeemer is sufficient for each and everyone of us. I know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us. I love the people here and the opportunity I have to serve them but more than anything I love this gospel. 

As always thank you for all your love support and prayers! I love you all. 

Always,

Hermana Barker

xoxo 

Beautiful Silvia came to Church this week - she is making so much progress

Another Interesting Week

It´s finally starting to cool down in Argentina! We have been wearing sweaters and cardigans ALL WEEK! It´s been so great! It´s actually getting really cold at night...haha 

Anyway, Sofía is going to get baptized this Saturday. She is super excited! I am stoked! She has been progressing really well. Her and her older sister (who is already a member) are reading the Book of Mormon every night and praying together, they are so dang cute. 

This week was interesting just like every other week in Argentina. Yesterday for lunch with a member...we ate chicken stomach soup............not the best food I´ve had here but it was interesting.  

This week we didn´t find very many new investigators but we did a LOT of walking and contacting. Anyway, yesterday we were on our way home from our last appointment and we were kind of sad because we didn´t find anyone yesterday and almost all of our appointments fell through which is a total bummer, BUT we were walking through the plaza and so much happened. 2 of our investigators were there and we got to talk to them a little which was super nice because these two are ALWAYS super busy. A recent convert was in the Plaza too and he came up to us and started asking us lots of questions so we got to teach him too. It was like the most productive 20 minutes of my whole mission. 

Then we were just about to cross the street and someone taps on my shoulder (they are really lucky they didn´t get hit, I´m always a little on edge in the streets especially when there are LOTS of people) anyway it was three 15-year old girls. And they wanted to know where we were from and what we were doing in Argentina...haha *perfect* So we told them and they all accepted a pamphlet and we have appointments with all of them on Thursday! BOOM! Three nuevos! We talked to them about the Church and how it can help them in their lives and they loved it...but we had to get going so we said goodbye and everything and started walking and like five blocks later I hear 3 people screaming...haha they were chasing us down because they wanted to take a picture with us and they were all holding up the pamphlets in the picture. It was super cute.

I love being a missionary, I´m so happy to be here in Argentina and I´m loving every second of it. Thank you for all your love prayers and support. 

Always

Hermana Barker

xoxo 

Last p-day we made Tacos...Ther were amazing! 

On tuesday after our district meetings we went to SUBWAY for lunch. Yupp - SUBWAY! 

Church is a little different in Argentina...haha this was part of our lesson in Relief Society.

A member wanted to know how tall I was but she couldn´t reach above my head to mark it...so she had to stand on a chair... haha OH AND IT´S FINALLY SWEATER WEATHER! 

It´s official...I´m a GIANT...

I am Speechless!

Okay...I´m going to start with the most exciting part of my week...

Our oven broke again...and on Wednesday, three NEWBIES came to Punta Alta...Both companionships of Elders are training and the other companionship of Hermanas is training right now...Anyway they asked us to make a cake. Broken oven...so we went to the church to use the oven they have there. (I´ve never used it before because everyone says it´s SUPER hard to use...) oh well. All the ovens here are gas...just so you know.

Anyway we went and we were trying to light it and we could get a little flame but it wouldn´t stay when we let go of the nob...so we called someone in the ward to ask them how to light it...after trying for like 15 minutes. So we tried again this time I was pushing in the nob and my companion was trying to light it...hahaha. Let´s just say we lit a lot more than the oven on fire...There was a ton of gas in the kitchen...BEFORE EVERYONE FREAKS OUT, I´m fine. My companion is fine…but anyway...hahaha a fire like exploded out of the oven it was so scary...but our clothes and nothing in the room was on fire (I really have NO IDEA how...) But the oven was on... I was a little in shock because we were literally inside a HUGE flame…then I started to relax and I went to run my hands through my hair...it was burnt... thank heavens I had my hair in a braid and only a few parts down...but it was burnt...then I went to the bathroom....and to my surprise....my hair my eyelashes...my eyebrows...everything, SINGED. But NOT only my hair…my companions too!

Anyway…we´re fine, we have a little less hair than we would like. But we got to eat a yummy cake. The day was kind of ruined because we needed to get our hair cut...but all the pictures I sent are AFTER the fire. We still look like normal human beings. My bottom eyelashes got the worst of it…so I´m not wearing mascara on them but after the hair cut we looked completely normal. 

Yupp the inevitable hair cut.... :(
 Toda vía estoy muy triste que necesitaba cortar mi pelo... (anyway I am very sad I needed to cut my hair) 

However scary of a situation it was I know that the Lord was watching over us. I say I don´t know how more things weren´t burnt or on fire but the truth is, I do know. My Heavenly Father loves me and he is always protecting me. Sometimes we need to sacrifice small things (like hair) to feel how powerful his love is, pero yo sé que paso por un razón y él estaba (but I know we went through this for a reason he was) protecting us. 

Anyway this week we found A FAMILY! They all know English too. It´s super weird we teach them in a mix of Spanglish and Casteyankee (they all call Americans Yankees - and we speak Castellano here not Spanish...haha) 

They are amazing. We have only seen them twice, once in a contact and the other was an appointment but we got to know them so well. We taught them the restoration and they were super interested. I can´t believe there is so much work to be done. I love this time I have to do the Lords work. I can feel his love for them and me every time we talk about this AMAZING gospel. 

Sofia is great, as always, we had a couple complications with her fecha so we pushed it back to March 28^th, but she is still as excited as ever to get baptized. I´m really hoping that her parents are going to come to her baptism. This family is going to be sealed for time and all eternity one day. 

Ahh, I am running out of time, but I just want everyone reading this blog to know that I love you. That God loves you. And that no matter where you are in your life he wants to and can help you. Pray to him. I know he will listen. 

I love this gospel more and more each day that I am here. My Castellano is coming along REALLY well; I can understand and communicate with ALMOST everyone (drunk people are impossible to understand anyway, right?) 

Yo sé que Jesucristo vive. Yo sé que nuestro padre celestial nos ama! For those that do not speak Castellano, (I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us!)

¡SIGA FUERTE! (FOLLOW STRONG!)

Always, 

Hermana Barker

xoxo 

Umm...a member killed an Armadillo in their backyard and took it to the meat shop to take out all the organs and we have a lunch appointment with them on the 28th....and
we´re going to eat it... AHHHH