It's going to be a WHITE Christmas!

Hello everyone! 

I love being a missionary at Christmastime! It is the BEST! Here in Bolivia there isn't snow but we hope that this Christmas will be white with BAPTISMS! 

That being said, we had a baptism this week!!!! Hermano Saturnino Fernandez was baptized. His grand-daughter is a member and gave us his name as a reference. We went to visit him and he was a SUPER prepared investigator. He luckily understands Spanish (he understands Quechua better though). He has throat cancer but he really wanted to be baptized. On Saturday, after a few problems (there wasn't water in the chapel or propane to heat the water) we had a beautiful baptism! Saturnino invited his whole family! Many of them aren't members. After his baptism we asked Hno Saturnino how he felt and he replied "I just feel so happy!" I am so happy to be sharing the gospel here in Bolivia! I know that this gospel gives us so much happiness and joy! Share the gospel this Christmas! I love you all! 

Love,
Hermana Eaves

With Mahonri, Hermana Saturnino and his wife Simona

With the whole family of Hermano Saturnino

Eating our Christmas lunch (Dec 10)

With Pres and Hermana Hansen at our Christmas fireside

Hermana Gutierrez (my new compi) and I decorating a cake

It's been a rainy week! 

Eating chocolate covered marshmallows for lunch

On the big hill. 

So excited for Christmas!!!!

Light The World this Christmas!!!!!

Hello and Merry Christmas to all (almost)

I am sooooo excited for Christmas!!!! When I was at home I was always excited for the presents and food and the time I would spend with my family. But this Christmas I am just soooo excited for the Spirit of Christmas! I know that the true JOY of Christmas comes when we serve one another and help other people to be happy. I LOVE this 25 day LIGHT THE WORLD project (If you haven't heard about it go to mormon.org and see what it's about-it is SUPER AWESOME). I love that for 25 days we have the chance to light the world of other people. Isn't that amazing!!!??? For 25 days we have the chance to serve others like Christ served when He was here on earth. And the best part is that it doesn't just have to last 25 days!!!! We can keep doing acts of service forever!!!!! Isn't that the BEST? 

     Anyway, we got cambios (transfers) last night. I will be staying here and my companion, Hna Males, will be going to beautiful TUPIZA!!! How cool! I will be companions with Hermana Gutierrez for the SECOND TIME here in the mission!!! Hermana Gutierrez is sooo cool! I was with her for 6 weeks in Alamos and now will be with her again! It is going to be soo cool!

     Anyway, it has been a great week here in Bolivia! Keep up your service and your love for one another! Keep up your 25 days of service! Light the world one candle at a time! Love you all! 

Love,  

Hermana Eaves

We decorated for Christmas!

We did service helping a cholita carry her wood.  

We talked with her about her sheep.  Luckily she spoke Spanish and not Quechua.

We got cocouts again from the Mercado Campesino. 

I got stuck in the mud.  It has been raining a lot here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This week was so awesome!!!!! I just love Thanksgiving!

I am going to tell you about this week by making a list of blessings:

1. My companion woke up in the middle of the night and heard a mosquito buzzing. She decided to get rid of it by spraying half a bottle of Raid all around our enclosed room where we were sleeping. She didn't know that you can't spray Raid in enclosed spaces. 

The blessing: We didn't die in our sleep. :) Haha!

2. A dog chased us all the way to our house one night. We were running super fast!!!!! Haha! 

The blessing: The dog didn't catch us and a dog that lives with our neighbors chased the bad dog away. Seriously though, we were shrieking and running so fast and when we got to our house we slammed the door and started laughing so hard. Evil dog. 

3. My companion and I were able to climb a mountain in 22 minutes (last week it took us about 40 minutes). We were dying when we got to our investigators house at the top though, haha!

4. It rained! We got soaking wet, but it was a blessing because it has been super dry here in Bolivia and they have had water shortages.

Thanksgiving lunch (I really don't know what this was...)  Haha!

On Thanksgiving we didn't do anything out of the ordinary but I made a list of all the blessings I have! I realize that I have so many blessings! One of the Hermanas we are in charge of went home this week for some serious health problems. I am so thankful for the health that I have! I take so many of my blessings for granted! I am so thankful for this time that I have in the mission to learn and recognize all of the blessings I have! Count your blessings! Love you all!

Love, 

Hermana Eaves

A HOT week in Bolivia!

Hello everyone! 

It has been a super hot week here in Bolivia! I don't know what the temperature is but it has been a sweat-dripping-down-your-back-as-you-contact week. 

   So this week we were contacting a cholita on the side of the road and a drunk guy walks by. He starts talking to us and asks us for a card (the cards we use to contact). So we gave him one (without our phone number written on it). He then ripped it up, threw it on the ground and tells us "The truth is in the heart, not on a card". Then he walked away. So that was cool. We picked up the card. I will send a pic next week, haha! He also gave me a fist bump because I spoke English. He told me that he spoke English too and asked "Wat eis yuur neim?" (What is your name)

    We were in a sita with a less active family and one of the little girls was eating raw egg out of an egg shell that she had found on the floor...and the mom didn't even say anything. Raw egg...at least she is getting her protein.  

   It was a great week though! Hey, I forgot that it is Thanksgiving!!!! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone (On Thursday). They don't celebrate Thanksgiving here but I am going to make a list of things that I am thankful for! I heard the best quote ever the other day "Live in such a way that the people that don't know Christ, want to know Him because they know you!" I think that is beautiful! We need to be a light to the world! We need to show others that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the best and most amazing thing in the world.  I am so grateful for each and every day that I have to be in the service of God! I know that this is His work and that He always helps us, His children. I know that He answers prayers. He has answered so many of mine! I love you all! Have a great week!

Love, 

Hermana Eaves

Photos

1. I didn't know water could be so green. Anyone want to swim?

2. Intercambios with the Hermanas of area Floresta. Hermana Villavicencio and Hermana Maclachlan

3. Breaking open a coconut using the rock outside

4. Exito!

5. My companion helping Ermunda, a cholita, braid her hair

6. Intercambios with the Hnas of Pagador-Hermana Kincaid and Hna Hoffman

7. How we feel after climbing up the mountain in our area...:)

I bought a coconut!

Okay, I don't have much time to write (y me da flojera) so I decided to put lots of pics. :) We are the Hermanas Capacitdoras (Sister Training Leaders) in Siglo XX. That means that we do tons of intercambios (I don't know if that is splits or divisions...I think it is splits in English) with the other hermanas. Splits are when my companion and I seperate and go with the different companions in different areas so that we can help them or train them a little bit. This week we had 5 different intercambios. So I was with LOTS of Hnas. I will use the pics to tell the story.
Pic #1-2 TODAY WE BOUGHT COCONUTS AND DRANK THE JUICE WITH A STRAW! Didn't know that was a thing but here it is. 


Pic #3 I found the worlds largest bananas here in Bolivia's Mercado Campesino. They weighed a ton. 

Pic #3 Tuesday's intercambios with Hna Beltran. A member gave us the most rotten bananas and we tried to eat them...but ended up putting them in our bags. 

Pic #4 Wednesday with Hna Oliveros. Someone gave us a watermelon, which we lugged around for about 3 hours.

Pic #5 Thursday with Hna Morales in my old area, Villa Moderna! Note the cow in the background. 

Pic #6 Friday with Hna Silvano here in Siglo XX (my area). She is happy...just her face doesn't show it. Haha!

Pic #7 Saturday with Hna Vilchez here in Siglo XX. Up on the mountain. 

It was a great and tiring week. All the Hnas are sooo great and loving! I learned a lot more from them than they learned from me! Ha! Anyway, I love the gospel and I love the mission. Yesterday we walked all day and knocked doors and it was sooo hot but it is WORTH IT! I wouldn't ever want to do anything else. This is the best work in the world because we are bringing people closer to Christ! I love you all! Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Eaves

Almost Thanksgiving!

Hello! 

This was a great week and it just flew by! This week was SWEET! Just like every week in missionary work!

Some fun things! 

1. I saw a little boy that was carrying around a bunny in his backpack. A live bunny. Poor bunny was super smushed...

2. In Relief Society yesterday we were all sharing what we had learned and a woman gets up, shares a little bit and then finished with "Viva las mujeres!" (Live the Women! -It makes more sense in Spanish). Haha, how exciting.

3. Our zone leaders showed us this scripture 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. Nice...

4. In one lesson we were given a cup of juice, a cup of blackberry smoothie, two cups of hot chocolate and two sandwiches...We were rather full when we finished...

We had a baptism this week! Her name was Soledad Caro and she was sooo happy after her baptism. Before she was baptized, she was sad because her father didn't support her in her decision but afterwards she was so happy and she cried as she bore her testimony of the Savior. :)

Also, a miracle happened. We were walking up a mountain in our area and three huge dogs came out of a house and cornered us. They were super mad and barking like crazy. I was so scared and I was SURE that I was going to be bit...But luckily a little girl came out of nowhere and threw a tiny little rock (we were throwing big rocks and the dogs were not scared) and the dogs went away. Heavenly Father watches out for his missionaries! I love you guys! Have a wonderful week! Never forget that the Savior died so that you can all feel the happiness and peace of repentance and forgiveness. Be grateful for all the little miracles in your lives! I love you!

Love,  

Hermana Eaves

Our boyfriend, Agusto :)

Hello a todos!

It has been a HOT week here in Cochabamba!!!! It is a LOT hotter here than in Tupiza! It's okay though-it's not real missionary work until sweat is dripping down your back as you talk to people in the streets, haha! 

     Here in Bolivia they don't celebrate Halloween. No free candy here...Instead they celebrate a holiday called "Todos Santos" (All saints) on November 2. This is when they put a bunch of bread and fruit and food on a table and leave it there so that during the night all their relatives that have died can come and eat the food. They all pray and go to the cemetery and leave flowers. It's interesting. 

     Someone gave us a watermelon this week. We carried it around the rest of the day, haha! Also, someone rejected us because they want to be with the Israelites.She told us "I don't care if the Israelites are the right church or not. I just know that when I find them then I will be happy". (She still hasn't found them yet). 

     This week we had a baptism. It was a 14 year old girl named Carla. Her mom and sister were baptized the week before but she didn't show up (she was supposed to be baptized too). I hadn't actually taught her before the baptism so I didn't know her. But I am going to get to know her more and let you know how she is doing. :) It is always so cool to see people enter the waters of baptism. 

     I love you all! I know that the church is true and that it can bring us more happiness than anything else in this life. I know that Heavenly Father loves everyone of you! I know that families can be together forever! Have a great, wonderful, happy week!

Love, 

Hermana Eaves