Letter #21 walking in circles..

HELLO HELLO HELLO MY BEAUTIFUL FAMILY && FRIENDS!!!

oh how wonderful this week had been... 

real talk.

i love being a missionary.

nothing better than eating mcdonalds with the mission president!! 

#fatkidstatusinternational #reunionformissionariesintraining 

#ijustfinishedmytrainingbutstillgotinvited #datswassupp

like... so much. :)

rain or shine, were working our tails off.. and i love every minute of it!! (even though i really could do without the pouring rain part, pero... esta bien!!!)

anywho... we met our goal this week in lessons and are finding new people every single day to teach, investigators, inactive members and families with BOTH!!! (those are my favorite lessons!!!)

but yeah.... it breaks my heart when we meet with inactive members though, because they have lost sight of whats really important... and they literally seem to  be ¨walking in circles¨!!!

so when i read the article in the liahona: ¨walking in circles¨ by elder uctdorf, i died. it describes it so perfectly...

¨have you ever heard the old saying that people who get lost tend to walk in circles? 

  scariest. moment. of. my. life...
thank goodness hermana mowry is a stud
and kills spiders professionally. ha ha

jan l. souman, a german psychologist, wanted to determine scientifically if this was true. he took participants of an experiment to a large forest area and to the sahara desert and used a global positioning system to track where they went. they had no compass or any other device. instructions to them were simple: walk in a straight line in the direction indicated.

dr. souman later described what happened. ¨some of them walked on a cloudy day, with the sun hidden behind the clouds and with no reference points in view... they all walked in circles, with several of them repeatedly crossing their own path without noticing it. other participants walked while the sun was shining, with faraway reference points in view. these... followed an almost perfect straight course.¨ this study has been repeated by others with different mathodologies. all returned similar results.

without visible landmarks, human beings tend to walk in circles.

without spiritual landmarks, mankind wanders as well.

without the word of god, we walk in circles.¨

my reaction to the scary incidient... 

p.s. check out my awesome foot tanlines... dats wusss uppp!!! :P

when i read that during my personal study this week, i was so inspired!! the participants that were able to stay on the straight path were able to see the SUN!! uh... chello!? the same analogy applies to us... if we want to stay on the ¨straight and narrow path to happiness¨ we need to follow: THE SON!!! ahhh!!! its so simple, and yet we make it complicated, and let the ¨clouds¨ in our lives distract, confuse, and re-direct us!!! heaven father knew we naturally have the tendacy to ¨walk in circles¨ so he send us his son, jesus christ, to set the perfect example for us to follow!!! ah!!!i love this gospel so much!!! and i love the happiness, peace and comfort this gospel brings!!!

i have no doubt in my mind that this is the true church. i have no doubt in my mind that we have a loving heavenly father who listens to every word we offer up in prayer in his son´s name. ahhh!! and i have no doubt in my mind that jesus christ is my own personal savior. he suffered. he died. and he lives again!!! :) goodness gracious. LIFE. IS. GOOD.

i love you all... hope you have the most fabulous week ever!!! do something grand that will bring a smile to your face!!! :)

xoxoxo.

love yoru missionary in buenos aires,

hermana forte

Letter #20 we can´t ¨spoil¨ our journey...

hola mi wonderful beyond wonderful familia!!

how was your week!?

hope momma´s birthday was amazing!!

and... congrats dad on your company finally going public!! all that hard work finally paid off!! :)

sweet noelia at her farewell.. gonna miss her!!

 she speaks great english, so my first transfer she really helped me!! 

miss her already!! :)

so this week in villa adelina, argentina was OSUM!!! we had stake conference and lets just say i have the best stake ever!!! my mission president´s family is in my stake, so i got to hear his and his amazing wife speak at stake conference!! it was awesome!!! i love them so much!!! such amaizng people!!!

a good friend in my ward, noelia leaves for her mission in chile this week too!! so that was a bitter sweet goodbye, but i know we will definitely keep in touch as she joins the force and serve in the great land of chile!!! :)

anyways, so i have limited time to write today, as we went into capital today to visit the historic amusement park slash museam of ¨tierra santa¨... but... it was closed. ha ha. so we explored this awesome park and basically took pictures of everything we saw. ha ha. i love hermana mowry, she´s adventureous just like me!!! :)

anyways, this week during my personal study i came acrossed this article in the ensign, ¨living for the eternities¨ by elder keith k. hilbig of the seventy, and i just wanna share two quotes from it....

oh you know... just playing in trees in a random park in argentina... nbd. ha ha.

i love hermana mowry. the end.

 a bunch of local kids jumped in our pic in the tree... gotta love it!!! :)

rio plata... the mussy river that divides argentina and uruguay... 

leaves to the ocean eventually though!! 

closest thing to ocean i´m gonna see for a year and a half!! ha ha.

¨you are here at this time not by chance but as part of an eternal plan - designed, agreed upon, and implemented before the earth was ever created!¨ wow. its so true!! we all chose to come to this earth, at this time, at this moment!! its all apart of the plan!! :) he continues to explain... ¨the hebrew translation of the word ¨devil¨ is ¨spoiler¨. the devil seeks to spoil your journey into the eternities!¨ wow. what a way to look at things!! satan is  the master deceiver and twists the evils of the world to be desirable!! but in reality, its spoils our time here on earth!! it keeps us from being able to receive the greatest blessings and happiness this world has to offer!! we cant let him win!! we can´t let him spoil our journey here on earth!!! :) its crazy how simple the gospel really is, but we tend to complicate it with our silly justifications and excuses!! goodness gracious!! i love this gospel and this direction and clarity it brings me in my life!! and i´m so grateful for this amaizng opportinuty i have to share this message with the people of argentiina!!! i love this gospel. i love my father in heaven. and i´m so grateful that he loves us so much he sent his son to suffer and die for us!! ahhh!!! we are so blessed!!! life is wonderful!!! and you all are amazing!!! keep being incredible and have and amazing week!!!

love and miss you all like crazy!!!

xoxoxoxo.

love your awesome missionary in argentina,

hermana forte

p.s. i was freaking out!! i was looking through an old liahona (the ensign in spanish) and i found pictures of autie cathy and uncle don!!! i was so stoked!!! a little piece of home!!! :) love and miss you all!!! xoxoxo.

Letter #19 the secret to missionary work...

villa adelina... gotta represent muh area!!! :)

¨one of the greatest secrets to missionary work is work! if a missionary works, he will get the spirit, if he gets the spirit, he will teach by the spirit, and if he teaches by the spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people and he will be happy. there will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for all time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the ministry. thats the secret: work, work, work. there is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work.¨ - president ezra taft benson

only the coolest people in the world wear helmets while they 

ride their bikes in the blistering hot day time... duh!!! ha ha. 

(oh the rules us missioanries have the follow... 

everybody stares. its awesome. ha ha.)

wow. i LOVE this quote. in colorado, it was a requirement to memorize it. then this week i found it in preach my gospel and decided it was my motto for this week!! :) cuz seriously... this week, we. put. in. WORK!!! wow. i seriously LOVE my new companion, hermana mowry. she is such a hard worker and is seriously the epitome of the missionary i want to be. she is so loving and dedicated and talks with EVERYONE!!! its awesome!!! seriously. this week has changed my perspective of what a mission should be. like real talk. a mission isn´t solely about numbers or baptisms. its about strengthing everyone i talk to in some way here in argentina. its about being an example, a minister of christ. its about finding new investigators, AND inactive members. ahhhh!!! i feel like were starting from square one here in villa adelina. becuase we finally stop seeing the ivestigators that werent progressing and were really focsuing on ¨menos activos¨ aka inactive members. and honestly, its been amazing how the lord really has sent us to the people that are ready and open!!! people who rejected me and cipriano before are open and read for me and mowry... ahhh!!! its so crazy!!! and i´m just so excited!!! THIS is what missionary work is all about. my feet have never been so sore and blistered, my bottom is bruised (ha ha. thats actually a funny story too. so the bikes that we thought didn´t work cuz they had flat tires and weeds growing through the wheel.... yup. they actually work!! all we had to do was fill up the tires from the sweet tire man that lives on the corner of our street and wah-lah!! we had working bikes!!! but wow. a day of riding on this cheap non-cushioned, low seated bikes definietly worked muscles i haven´t used in a while... ha!! needless to say, both me and hermana mowry are sore in awkward places... ha!!!), but yeah... i´m constantly tired, thirsty, hungry.... but honestly, i´ve never felt so good!! its like a good sore. a good tired. like being sore after a good work out at the gym!!! ha ha. i know i´m putting in hard work and REALLY doing all i can to gather his sheep here in argentina!!! :) we had 3 inactive members come to church this sunday!!! do you know how HUGE that is!?!?!? . i just love my life and love being a missionary!!! hope everything is happy and wonderful at home!!! :) i love you all SO much and i´m so incredibly grateful for such a wonderfully amazing family!!! remember, every member is a missionary!!! be true to who you are at all times, in all things, and in all places!! :)

this one time me and hermana mowry got caught in a pouring... 

and i mean POURING rain storm. ha ha. but no worries,

 not even rain is gonna stop these missionaries from working!! ha ha. woot woot!! :)

forte & mowry taking on the world... or villa adelina.

 ha ha. look out!! these two 6 feet giants are comin yo way!! 

hide yo kids!! hide yo wives!! && hide yo husbands!! 

cuz we preachin to errrbody up in hurrrr!!! ha ha ha ha.

i love you all so so so SO much!!! never forget that!!!

oh. and momma... have the bestest beyond bestest birthday every this week!!! feliz cumpleaños mama!!!! :)

xoxoxoxo.

love your missionary in argentina,

hermana forte

Letter #18 my strength, song, and salvation

HOLA MI FAMILIA!!!

happy glorious tuesday afternoon!!! :)

so yes, my p-day was tusday today, becuase transfers were this morning!!! and guess what!? hermana cipriano got transfered!!! ahhh... and honestly it was a bitter-sweet change. cuz with the change comes ALOT of responisblity from me cuz my new comp doesn´t know the area!!! ahhh... kinda freaking out. but my new comp is soo OSUM!!! seriously. shes 6 foot like me!!! and she´s from cali.. her name is hermana mowry. and its so funny, cuz remember i told you we had that ¨reunion of hermanas¨ a couple weeks back where ALL teh hermanas got together for a devtional type thing. well i honestly remember seeing her and thinking, ¨dang. i bet shes an awesome missionary. i wanna be like her!!¨ and here i am, her companion!!! ahhh!! seriously so stoked!!! i just have such a great feeling about this transfer.... and i´m so excited to learn from hermana mowry. cuz honestly, we have SO much in common!!! its crazy!!! she graduated from BYU-I in edication too!! and she scuba dives.... and honestly the list goes on... anywho. i´m just so grateful to my father in heaven for blessing me with this opportunity to learn from such an amazingly strong missionary!!! :)

my last foto with hermana cipriano in the taxi on the way to transfers

so yeah, this week was awesome!!! cuz,,,, guess what!? this missionary finished her 12 weeks of training!!! :) whoop whoop!!!! :)

also... unfortuantely summer is officially over here, so all the kids are back in school as of yesterday. kinda crazy huh!? anyways, so we had quite a few cancellations this week for ¨back-to-school preparations¨ but that didnt stop us from trying!!! :) this week we focused on our less-active members though and we actually had two come to church!!! which was SUPER exciting!! cuz norma hadn´t been to church in 12 years!!! crazy huh!? ahhhh. i seriously love norma so much. she has polio, so she walks with crutches cuz her one leg doesnt have much function. but yeah. she had been looking for a job and we testified to her that if she prayed with faith, heavenly father would help her find a job. :) and what do you know... SHE FOUND A JOB!!!! ahhh. i was so happy for her. and honestly, its just proof that heavenly loves ALL of his children, and never forgets about us... even if we forget about him... for 12 years.... ha ha.

oh!! we also had the opportunity to be ¨tour guides¨ in a chapel open house in a chapel way far away. ha ha. it was cool to see a different part of argentina, but i could also see why they dont have sisters in this area... ha ha. kinda sketchy with lots of people. anyway, this whole day was probably the longest day of life... literally. cuz the travel to the chapel was on a smelly crowded bus, standing slash surfing the bumps in the road side by side like sardines in a can, seriously, the longest bus ride of my life. ha ha. then we got lost, ended up walking 30 blocks (no joke... literally 30. ha ha.) in the hot sun. and ended up at the wrong chapel.... oh boy. so by the time we finally got to the chapel i was exhausted to say the least. but WOW. what a special experience this was. in the chapel they had the cristo set up in teh front. and then we would ask the group to turn off their cell phones as we listen to teh words of christ. then we would play a short audio of christs words (much like the audio in temple square) and seriously, i listened to this audio about 13 times and wow. every. single. time. the spirit was SO strong!!! then i got the opportunity to testify about christ right after, and seriously, i was so grateful for this opportunity. and normally you would think bearing testimony 13 times about jesus christ would get redundant... but seriously. no. everytime i swear the spirit got stronger and stronger. and a couple times i even got choked up!! wow. i dunno. this whole week has just been a testimony to me of my love for my savior and the reason why i am out here in this forgein country!!! ahhh!!! how incredibly grateful i am for this gospel in my life. for this knowledge to know that i have a heavenly father that listens and answers my prayers. to know that my heavenly father send his only begotten son, my brother, jesus christ, who suffered and died for ME, for my sins, my pains, my trails, my heartaches, my everything!!! ahhh!!!

gotta rep the legend baby!!! ha ha.

okay, so this week when reading my scriptures i came acrossed my new favorite scripture which just radiates this week in a nut shell, 2 nephi 22: 2...

2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will ^atrust, and not be afraid; for the Lord ^bJehovah is my ^cstrength and my ^dsong; he also has become my salvation.

seriously... this scripture has been motto this week. we need to trust in our god and have no fear!!! for he sent his son, our redeemer, who is our stength, our song, and our salvation!!! ahhh!!! i love this gospel. and i love being a missionary. and i´m just so grateful for this opportunity i have to be his servant here in argentina, for a short 18 months, for my lord, the great jehovah, really truly has become my strength, my song, and ultimately my salvation!!! :) ahhh!!!! so much love and grattitude in my heart today!!! :)

ahhhh!!!! thanks for all your love, support and prayers!!! they really, truely have been felt!!! :) hope all is well at home, albania, and hawaii!!! send everyone my love!!! love and miss you all!!! thanks for being the best most amazing family in this entire world!!! :)

xoxoxo.

love your missionary in argentina,

hermana forte

Letter #17 like a firefly...

WOW. this. week. was. MAGICAL.

first of all i´d like to send a shoutout congratualtions to my shissstrrr in the great land of albania... congrats on getting into BYU Provo baby!!! woot woot!!! so proud of you baby girl!!! :) heavenly father knew you needed to gather his lost sheep in albania first!!! :)

so yeah, like i said before, this week was magical. even though it was filled with alot of disappointment and cancelations due to this week being carnival. (basically a big celebration where everyone goes into town and parties. and all the stores are closed... yeah. i basically had to travel all over this country to find an open cafe with working internet. ha ha.)

but yeah... on a more personal notes... i really tried to rededicate myself this week. i dont want to look back on my mission with any regrets. i want to know that i served with my WHOLE heart, mind, might, and strength. and so this week i really prayed fervently for Heavenly Fathers help... and seriously, its been such a testimony builder for me that when we have righteous desires, our father in heaven will be there every step of the way!! :)

our last zone meeting for this transfer,,, only hermanas!! gotta love it!! :)

so a couple nights ago we were walking back from a lesson, and we had some extra time before we needed to be back at our apartment, so we took the long way in hopes to find people in the streets to talk to... well we had no such luck. since its carnival. the streets are desolate. ha ha. but as were walking my compaion hermana cipriano points to the dark field we were walking passed in amazement, and as i look into the dark abyss of shadows, my eyes witnessed the most magical phenomenon i could have oly dreamed of... but no. this was real i tell you!!! the field was covered with FIREFLIES!!!! seriously, it looked like the night sky sparkiling with stars... but no. it was a futbol field!!! ahhh!!! seriously i wish i had my nice nikon here to capture this amazing view that my eyes had seen!! ahhh!! seriously. my. life. is. complete. :)

anyways, this experience really left an impact of me... and i just began to think... we are ALL like fireflies in this dark world!!! and like a firefly in the dark field, we need to shine OUR light - HIS light - bright!! we need to help other find their light aswell!! who will then help someone else find the light!! and the pattern will continue until the whole field is bright with twinkling lights testifying that JESUS IS THE CHRIST - OUR SAVIOR AND REDEEMER!!!! 

reminds me of a great scripture, D&C 50:24... 

 24 That which is of God is alight; and he that breceiveth clight, anddcontinueth in God, receiveth more elight; and that light growethbrighter and brighter until the perfect day.

ahhhh!!!! i love being a missionary... like SO much!!! and i feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be apart of this amazing work!!! :) thanks for all your love, support, and prayers ALWAYS!!! i probably am the most blessed missionary ever!!! :)

i love you all more than any words on this computer screen could express!!!

keep being amazing... and shine YOUR light!!! HIS light!!! :)

xoxoxoxo.

love your missionary in argentina,

hermana forte

p.s. had mcdonalds for lunch today... so i´ve oficially had mcdonalds in hawaii, thailand, and now argentina!! whoop whoop!!! #fatkidstatusinternational

Letter #16 livin´ the missionary dream...

HOLA MI AMOROSA FAMILIA!!!

wow.. all week i´ve been dying to tell you about the most amazing experience i had at the beginning of the week. that real talk. i lived the lesson every missionary dreams of having!! ha ha.

me and hermana cipriano. dats wuts upp!!! ha!!! :)

so it all began with maria, an older woman we met on the side of the road. we had taught her before, but she didn´t really seem interested. well, she kept coming to my mind, so we visited her again, planning to teach her about the plan of salvation. well with all the buses and traffic it was very loud outside, so my companion, hermana cipriano, asked if we could go inside for the lesson. she invited us in and thats when the magic began... one by one a new person would walk into the kitchen to see what was happening and would join the lesson. we later found out a HUMUNGO family lives in this tiny shanty of a house. and seriously, at one point WE HAD 9 PEOPLE LISTENING TO OUR LESSON!!! (all age appropiate for baptism let me remind you) about ¨where we came from? änd why were here?¨ ahhh!!! it was seriously the bestest beyond bestest feeling in this whole entire world!!! ah!!! i love being a missionary and gathering his lost sheep here in argentina!!!  :) :) :)

unfortunately... later in the week we learned that all the daughters live with their ¨boyfriends¨ aka. not married. aka. not eligable for baptism. ha ha. but... the greatest things in life always take extra work and have obstacles right!? :)

anyways, maria and her granddaughter came to church this sunday.

and it was so wonderful. ahhh!!! i love this gospel!!! :)

i don´t think i´ll EVER get over these cobblestone roads... LOVE THEM!!!!

later in the week we had interview with the mission president, which was fantastic!!! i seriously LOVE presidente ayre and his wife. they are seriously so wonderful!!! bah. but yes. in my interview, he asked about culture shock. and i told him, honestly, hawaii prepared me. the cockaroaches and ¨ghetto living¨ i´m use to it!! ha ha. my biggest struggle is the language really. then he told me the most flattering thing, he said, focus on this language. and be patient. but not too patient. take risks. becuase we need you in this mission. i can already tell that you are gonna be one of the stronger missionaries in this mission.... WOW. he later corrected himself cuz that is quite the statement saying there are better missionaries then others.... but wow. i was seriously so flattered. i almost started to cry. ha ha. (typical.) but seriously, i mean i don´t wanna sound boastful at all... but sometimes i forget my potential and who i am... ha!! I´M A FORTE!!! and even though this language is a struggle, i wouldn´t have gotten sent here if i wasn´t capàble. :) which gives me peace and comfort, that if i have faith, i will learn this language. :)

anyways, it was a fantastic week!! i love this gospel!! and i feel so blessed to have this amaizng opportunity to bear testimony to people that they have a savior. that no matter what pains and trials they may have in their lives... HE can lift our burdens to make them light!!!! ahhh!!! this really is the gospel of happiness and light!!! and i feel so blessed to not only have this knowledge, light, and happiness, but to be able to share it with people!!! ahhh!!! this work is so wonderful!!! i love it!!!! :)

welps... hope your all having a FANTASTIC week and smiling and laughing lots!!! always know you have a missionary in argentina loving you SO!!!! :)

xoxoxoxoxo.

love,

hermana forte

Letter #15 ¨our search for happiness¨

ha!! PSYCH!! there is no search!! i found happiness!! && i´m living it every single day!! :)

WOW... okay... so... this week has been quite the roller coaster!! ahh!! i feel like i have SO much i want to write and SO little time to do so... blah. okay, so this week consisted of SOO many amazing things: my first baptism here in argentina, the reunion of hermanas, the temple, && ¨our search for happiness¨ by elder ballard.

little mili´s baptism!!! ahhh!!! it was so beautiful!!! 

her uncle baptized her who is a convert to the church!!! :)

lets begin with my first baptism... ah!!! it was SO wonderful!! we baptized a 9 year old little girl names milagros (which means miracle)... and wow!! it was such a beautifully perfect day!! it was amazing how her countenance really was changed and different when she came out of that beautiful water!! ah!!! the spirit was SO strong!! and the primary prepared a special number slash song for her and they sang that ¨i love to look for rainbows whenever there is rain¨ song... but in spanish!!! well castellano... and wow. the spirit was SO strong!! this church is SO true!! ah!! i love it!! it kills me!! ha ha.

anyways... the reunion of hermanas... so basically all the hermanas in my whole mission got together at the mission home and had little a little fireside and lunch. it was awesome!! i met hermana taylor (who is skyler taylors younger sister!!) crazy huh!?! we were trippin out how we knew eachother but not really.. shes in between dom and shaun. SUCH a sweetheart. anyways... the highlight of this whole morning though was meeting hermana hemi... bah!!! i could seriously right a novel about her!!! she. is. my. soul. sista. like NO joke!!! we were suppose to meet!! shes from new zealand... and seriously. me and her just CLICK!!! were already planning my trip to australlia and new zealand after the mish together... ha ha. but seriously... i was suppose to meet her!! i was struggling with the langugae and my companion... and i dunno. she went through almost the exact experience as me. and i dunno. she just reminded me how important it is to be myself!! its easy to lose myself and my confidence behind this language barrier... but no!!! no more!! i, jordan ashley forte, have been called to this mission becuase i can touch someone no one else can!!! i can´t settle with being that ¨silent companion¨ that doesn´t speak the language!!!  i dunno... all this ramble probably doesnt even make sense. but meeting hermana hemi... seriously... i found myself again!!! and i´m so grateful for her and her friendship!!! i told her were destined to be companions in the future... ahhhh!!! it would seriously be a dream come true... thats why it probably wont happen. cuz we´d have too much fun!!! ha ha.

please tell me she isn´t the cutest!? ahhh!!! love her.

hmmm... whats next? oh yes!!! THE TEMPLE!!!! ahhh!!!! am i not the luckiest most blessed missionary in the entire world!?!? i got to go to the denver temple and buenos aires temple within two months!!! AND... in both missions it was rare to have a zone temple day!!! ahhh!!! heavenly father really does love me so much!!! i feel SO incredibly blessed!!! ahhh!!! anyways... this temple experience was definitely a little different from my other temple experiences in the past... due to the fact that it was entirely in espanol. ha ha. definitely a wake up call of HOW MUCH i need to learn!!! ha ha. buit i can´t wait for the day when i go back and i understand it all!!! woohoo!!! i have faith. its gonna happen. :)

okay... and last but not least... ¨our search for happiness¨ by elder ballard. okay. so i had a goal to read this book on my mission... i dunno why. i bought it at the mtc bookstore and made it a goal.... welps... guess who accomplished her goal!? ha ha. my comp got the flu this week... well, apparently... the flu combined with asthma and alot of argentine rain makes pneumonia. ha ha. so... we had alot of down time as she slept away her sickness. the first day it was kinda relaxing and rejuvinating as i studied and got to have alot of spiritual ¨me¨ time... but... the second day i was antsy. like SO antsy. and kinda depressed. i´m a missionary!!! i wanna teach!!! ha ha. anyways. in this lovely down time i got to read that amaizng book!!! and seriously... LIFE. CHANGED. i would definitely reccommend it to EVERYONE!!!! members and non-memebers!!!! ESPECIALLY non-members!!! ahhh!!! it just mapped out what we believe plain and simple.... but in a way that is SO eloquant and profound!!! seriously... when i finished reading that book, i have never been more proud to be a member of this amazing church and to have this knowledge of this amazing gospel!!! forget the search.... WE HAVE THE KEY TO HAPPINESS!!!! and i feel so blessed to have the opportunity to share this happiness with the wonderfu

buenos aires temple... SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!

l people of argentina and change lives like little mili (milagros)!!! :)

ahhhh!!! i love you all SO much!!! and i´m so very blessed and grateful for all your love and support!!! i am seriously the most blessed missionary out there i´m convinced!!! yup!!!! :)

i love you. i love you. i love you.

&& i hope you all have a WONDERFUL valentines day!!! and remember you have a missionary loving and missing you so very much!!! :)

xoxoxoxo.

love always,

hermana forte

Letter #14 this is MY mission

first of all....

FELIZ DIA SAN VALENTIN!!!

... a couple days late. ha ha.

this week has really been awesome!!! as i have really come to know and feel with my whole being that this is where i´m suppose to be right now, at this time. no doubt in my mind at all.... THIS IS MY MISSION!!!

i think that is a reoccuring theme throughout my week, i mean, as much as i fell in love with denver, its just a different feel here, a different love. i was called to serve here by the prophet of this church who speaks for a mouth piece of god. aka. god called me to this wonderful country to preach his word and gospel!!! :)

okay... enough preaching... how i came to this conclusion... ha!! not only is it the style and clothes of every girl that walks past (seriously, i always catch myself saying... i want her outfit after my mission. ha ha.), or the music that is always blasting from cars (linkin park or rhianna are always my favorites to hear), or the grafitti that covers all the plain brick walls (which i LOVE!!! my comp thinks its ugly. but i seriously LOVE IT!!!!)... but okay. let me tell you of two OSUM experiences i had this week... but first... let me remind you... I CANT SPEAK SPANISH!!!! seriously... my understanding and ability to actually reply back is probably equivalent to a small child. like a 3 or 4 year old... IF THAT!!! okay.... so with that in mind....

remember when i got to go to the temple??
 LOVE IT!!! only get to go one more time on my mission though...
 bah!! I LOVE THE TEMPLE!!!!

let me tell you about carlito... so we were walkling down the street (like i said, ALWAYS walking...) and this older man with only three teeth, grey haired, brilliantly blue eyes, wearing a chefs hat and rain boots comes up to me and comes underneath my umbrella speaking workd that i have NO IDEA what he is saying due to his lack of teeth adding more difficulty to my ability to understand. anywho, thank goodness for my comp who jumps in and saves the day.... long story short, hes going on vacation for the next couple of weeks, but... we definietly have an appointment with him when he returns. ha ha. and funny story... when i asked my comp later what he was saying in the beginning she says, ¨uh... flirting.¨ ha ha ha. flirt to convery ehhh?? ha!! jokes!!! (no worries adrian, he was like 80. ha ha.)

the second experience this week was señorita forte... yes. i said forte!!! ha!! it was awesome!! were sitting at the bus stop and this lady starts pointing to my badge and saying things i dont understand, but i have a huge smile on my face cuz i´m thinking shes pointing at jesus christ... ha!! jokes on me!!! she was pointing to forte!!! cuz her name was forte!!! crazy huh!?! her grandpa came over from siciliy, italy. anyways.... another long story short... she was visiting her mom and doesn´t live around here unfortunately... but... i definitely gave her a mormon.org card. and we established that were probs family. ha!! were definitely gonna visit her mom though!!! woohoo!!!

anyways... the moral of both of these stories is.... that they are two new investigators (well... kinda. one investigator. one reference.) that all started because of ME!!! and i don´t mean that to toot my own hard by any means.... cuz duh!!! the story would obviously be ten times better if i spoke this dang language!!! but... due to the fact that i dont... is all the more testimony to me that i´m suppose to be here. like i said before... this is MY mission. all i was doing was standing or walking and both these people came up to ME!!!! ahhh!!! i dunno... definitely a testimony to me that this is the lord´s work. and i am simply just an instrument in his hands... and becuase of that... i am learning this langugae on HIS time. :)

STOP!!! catches me off guard everytime. ha ha

anyways... milagros got confirmed yesterday which was OSUM!!!

oh yeah... and i also had to give my first talk in sacrament meeting yesterday too... blah. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL!!!! thats all im saying. ha ha. i was definitely that girl that drives me nuts as she reads her talk from the paper... ugh. no bueno!!!! killled me. i was so nervous and shaking so bad!!! it was horrible!!! ha ha. BUT... i really do feel that i was inspired while writing it. (thank goodness for books in both spanish and english!!! ha ha.) and i testified at the end from the heart!! so that was good!! i definitely felt the spirit... and got choked up. like always. ha ha. (thanks mom for the baby in me!! always crying!! ha ha.) and basically the whole ward came up to me after and told me a did a good job. so thats good!! :) ha ha.

oh yeah!! and the last update before i end this novel... we started english class this week!!! woohoo!!! it was awesome!!! seriously, i´m stoked!!! were gonna start holding it every week, and seriously, i can feel it... its gonna be a success!!! :) not only does it test my spanish as i translate for these people, but it is stengthening my relationship with the members as well!! it also creates a perfect opportunity for investigators to get involved and acquanited with the members!!! :) woohoo!!! sooo stoked!!!!

i seriously love my life. and my mission. and all the support i get every single week from my family and friends!!! i love you all!!! thanks for being the greatest ever!!! :)

xoxoxoxo.

love always and forever,

hermana forte