Hey there everyone
I hope everyone is doing well

Good luck terryn, youre just gonna love being a missionary.

This week was really good.  we had companion exchanges friday with the hermanas in 9 de Julio-they are the only other hermanas in our zone nad we share an apt with them... theyre really great- but i went with hermana franco to work in their area.  and she is really great.  it was kinda fun to go and meet other people.  but i learned a lot and i left that night with a sure testimony that this is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I have  no doubt in my mind that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet of God to bring the gospel of jesus christ back into the earth.. and everyday i recieve more of a witness of htat.

but so friday...we visited a lot of people but one lesson in particular was special.  we went and taught a couple that theyve been teaching but never wants to commit to get married... but so we were talking and we were going to show the video the restoration and then try and pull out a date to get married... and i had the thought that maybe they hadnt prayed to know if the church was true because if they had that testimony, they would be willing to do whatever they needed to.  and so after the video i asked them if they had prayed specifically adn they said no... and so i had sebastian -the husband- pray and ask and oh man... the spirit was so strong nad afterwards he knew it was true. she knew too... and they promised to pray that night about the date that we gave them... and they gave us alfajores afterwards... you always know something changed when they give you food.. haha..

but anyways it was an amazing experience to see the change in him when he knew that it was true. when he recognized the spirit. anyone who was there couldnt deny that something was present.  I dont know how people can not believe in God when we have so many witnesses that he is there. He exists. we are his children, he loves us and if we follow him we can be happier than anyone could imagine. I know thats true. and i know that he answers prayers.  You guys can know that too....anyone can know.  You just have to ask god. and he will answer.  He always answers but not always in the sameway and n ot always in the way that we think...

I read a quote by elder uchtdorf which was kinda interesting about that..."Often, the answer to our prayer does not come while we’re on our knees but while we’re on our feet serving the Lord and serving those around us. Selfless acts of service and consecration refine our spirits, remove the scales from our spiritual eyes, and open the windows of heaven. By becoming the answer to someone’s prayer, we often find the answer to our own."
I really liked that.  he answers our prayers through other people. and we answer the prayers of other people when we act on the promptings we recieve from the spirit.  always tryt o listen to the spirit. it will tell you what you need to do and help you help other people....we are supposed to be "actively engaged in a good cause..."

but anyways... this week we had an activity for the stake that we -the missionaries- organized. the Iron Rod. it was so much fun... we put blind folds on everyone and we had a string that was the rod and the elderes took them through and were trying to get them to let go of the rod and then they took them to the great and spacious building.  and it was crazy to see how many times people came back to start over. some came bakc like 3 or 4 times. and i guess thats how life is sometimes. we forget our instructions to not let go of the rod nad we start to listen to the people around us. hte people we "trust" and we stop listening to the lord.  and then we get lost. one girl was mad because the elder told her htat she had won and hten when people came to tell her that she was in the great and spacious building she was upset... but i realized that satan is a liar and sometimes, most times, wethink we are winning when we follow hima nd dont trust in the lord, but there will come a day that we will wake up and realize taht it was a lie and we lost....

the activity was fun to watch. it was fun to chat with the people as i was blind folding them. tell them again not to let go and send them  into the room and watch the elders... some were really good at decieving the people. and the food... the "fruit" was pretty good.  my cookies didnt turn out so great... like the worst ive made... but everyone else liked em...

but i guess thats about all...for now.

love you guys a lot
les quiero.
hermana applegate

hey everyone!!!

this week we had a lot A LOT of miracles!!!! One thing that hermana terrera said she heard once is that we should pray everyday to see miracles.  Because if we dont ask to see miracles we are never gonna see them.  I am also trying to write 3 miracles ive seen everyday and honestly sometimes they are things like.... today i ate this and i didnt die.... :) that was saturday.... they gave us locro... which im not really sure what it is... but its like a soup... or stew... with lots of meat and corn and everyone really likes it... but im not a fan of the smell and it sometimes has cow stomach which is apparently really yummy.... but so i had to eat it... and really it wasnt bad. it was actually pretty good.... well other than the stomach.. i didnt eat that part... i left it in my bowl....but its always good to try new things! i hope htat doesnt sound negative... cause i meant it to be a good thing

anyways.... i was talking about miracles... the days that i just have miracles like that are the days taht i wasnt looking for the miracles during the day.....  because if i was looking for them i could always find them... especially the days that we prayed to see them..

But so we are teaching this family... Lili and Pablo. and they have 2 little kids who are soooo cute.  but so lili has been an investigator for a long time...but pablo never wanted to listen and when the missionaries came over he left.... but weve started to teach him too and he is progressing!!!!  he supposedly "cant read" but he can read really well he just doesnt want anyone to know and he is reading the book of mormon. a lot. more than his wife... and little by little he is talking more in the lessons. htey are starting to wait for us to come and visit and this week when we went to go and look for them to go to church. he was awake and ready to go... lili didnt go but pablo did...it was pretty exciting.

and oh my goodness!!!! church was sooo so good yesterday.  there was actually quite a few people there.  but all of hte youth this week went to EFY (i think taht efy is the closest thing to youth conference and that they have here...but so the stake was really involved in getting them to go..) nad so in sacrament meeting they had the youth bear their testimonies about efy. and oh wow!!! there are some powerful youth here.  It was really good to see.  They had some of the typical i-didnt-want-to-go-but-my-mom-made-me-and-then-i-got-there-and-im-so-glad-that-i-went attitudes... i love those sometimes because it shows what happens when we repent and change our attitudes... we can learn so much.  but there were a couple of them that were really touching. this sound terrible but i love to see the young men who really have powerful spiritual experiences and they stop being tough and they cry right there in front of everyone.  i look at them and i think. these kids re gonna make great missionaries and great leaders here in argentina.  how great!!!!  it was amazing. I love the youth. they have such desires to grow and be better.

yeah it was a really great semana.... a lot of times it seemed like we were in the right place at the right time.  or knocked on the right door or taught the right lesson. 

it is such a joy to see the change in the eyes of the people when they feel the spirit or they start to realize that this gospel is true. when they get a testimony.. the confidence they start to have is so amazing.  i feel like im starting to understand what the book of mormon means when it talks about hte sons of mosiah.. i think i know how they felt before they left.. i love alma 26 because its ammon talking about the blessings of god and the things they had seen.

1 And now, these are the words of Ammon to his brethren, which say thus: My brothers and my brethren, behold I say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we ^astarted from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?  2 And now, I ask, what great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell?
 3 Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how ^amany of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made ^binstruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.
...
16 Therefore, let us ^aglory, yea, we will ^bglory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his ^cmercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.
....
 26 But behold, my beloved brethren, we came into the wilderness not with the intent to destroy our brethren, but with the intent that perhaps we might save some few of their souls.
 27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to ^aturn back, behold, the Lord ^bcomforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with ^cpatience thine ^dafflictions, and I will give unto you success.
 28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world—not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God.
 29 And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their ^asynagogues and taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have been ^bstoned, and taken and bound with ^cstrong cords, and cast into prison; and through the power and wisdom of God we have been delivered again.
 30 And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our ^ajoy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.
isnt the work of the lord beautiful and wonderful?  i havent come close to baptizing thousands like they did. but they joy i feel helping the people one by one is incomprehensible....
I KNOW without a doubt in my mind htat this is the work of the Lord. i know that these people i am serving are the children of god as well as everyone else in the world. they are amazing people if you take the time to listen. 

Ive actually had a song from the movie rigaletto in my head but it says
"music boxes have with them. melodies they carry with them. once they open music fills the air.
everybody you have known, has a song, of their own, once they open up youll hear whats there.
its not easy, you must listen, with your heart to the songs with in (not exactly....)
there was a melody locked deep inside of me but now its free. it found a place embraced by harmony. sweet harmony. 

love more than anything teaches my heart to sing. only love... could break the shell now i know very well. the love within myself."
I love this because as ive started to learn to love these people. love them sooo so much i am so much happier and i understand people more. i love to just listen to people.  i want to help them more than anything else.  And i know that the only way i can is through baptism...i dont have the power to do anything else... just listening makes them feel better temporarily but its like putting on a bandaid.... when they need stitches or something like that... we (the missionaries) are the only people in the world authorized to save souls... how crazy to think about.  because no one can be saved without baptism... no one... and i want all these people in the celestial kingdom (all of you guys too!!!!)

I saw lots of miracles this week and i hope to see more this coming week.
I hope you guys saw some too.
have a wonderful week
i love you all sooooo much. and im glad to hear that everyone is alright from the shooting.... someone told me it was in huston (im not sure how to spell anymore..)  and then someone else told me it was denver.... so im glad everyone is safe. ive got you all in my prayers.

hermana applegate