I'm Happy, Again :-)

SHOUT OUTS.

Okay, so I had started a letter last week…. But never finished. I'm just going to continue it. Hope that’s okay :-)

Brady. You stud. He is serving in the Philippines right now and.. LAST MONDAY was his Birthday. Happy Birthday, Kid. Sorry I never write you. Haha

Also.. Hermana Blanco (my mom), Hermana Eden, and Hermana Lyon ALL hit their YEAR MARK last week! Crazy to me. I love them all dearly. Congrats!

Also.. one of the Elders in our ward. Elder Sabourin, from Wisconsin. His birthday was on Wednesday and the whole stinking dang ward celebrated it. He had dates for Monday night with a family to eat pizza, on Wednesday, he had plans for breakfast, lunch AND dinner. And I'm just over here like…

I bought the cake.. its that he´s American and nobody bought him one! so i did. haha i felt bad. he needed cake.

"uh.. mines in August… the 10^th… if anyone wants to.. ya know.. make me cake."

ALSO. My family sent me a HUMPDAY package and I got it last week. It was the cutest thing ever.

REECES PUFFS for breakfast, thanks for my humpday package!  I love you all!

Hermana Duran also found a new love for recess puffs... she told me she didn't like them... but i caught her this morning. eating them.  I'll have to send her a box after the mission

AND. My hairs not falling out anymore. And its finally growing back! Yacuiba was a man killer.

The last two weeks have been sooo much better. And Hermana Duran and I are happy.

Us in physical therapy! stacie, thank you for my go fish cards!! hahaha Hna. Duran has found a new love for Go Fish, and Old Maid. haha

We gave Elder Ure, our district leader, really great numbers last night and last week. I hadntt realized just how hard we had been working. We are really trying to get La Pampa one level higher.

LAST Friday, we had our interviews with the president and it was so good to talk to him and let him know my thoughts. He and Hermana Willard always make me want to be a better missionary. As I was talking to President, I decided I really wanted to know if Rome, my cute investigator in Yacuiba, was going to get baptized. She was supposed to be baptized that Saturday. So I decided to ask the President….

"President… I have a question.."

"Yes, Hna. Cedeño?"

"Well.. its that.. one of my investigators in Yacuiba is supposed to get baptized tomorrow.. and I wondered…"

"…. Yes?"

"Well. I wondered If I could fly down to Yacuiba to see it."

And the President Willard just stares at me. And he has no idea what he's gonna tell me.

Me: "hahaha No, President, I'm just kidding. I just wondered if I could call Hna. Villanueva to see if the baptism was still gonna go through"

Hahahah poor President was relieved.

And he totally let me call Hna. Villanueva….!!! From HIS phone. His…. SMART. PHONE. He handed it to me and just stared at it in my hand like.. "I don’t know how to use this anymore."

How sad.

But I talked to Hna. Villanueva and I had missed her dearly. She said that Rome will be getting baptized the 26 of July. It was really good to hear from her and to hear about the progress of the investigators and how the members are doing. I miss Yacuiba lots.

But our time here in La Pampa has been so great. Hermana Duran and I have found so many people to teach and we have been super busy the past week. 

My foot is getting better with the physical therapy, I think. It hardly bugged me at all last weekend or this weekend, which is awesome. But I've grown to be really close with my physical therapist. Her name is Carolina, and she´s great. She always talked to me about her grandmother that has cancer and they weren’t sure if she was going to make it.

This morning, we got to physical therapy and literally 10 seconds after we walked through the door, Carolina got a phone call that her Grandma passed away. She cried lots and I gave her a hug. It broke my heart. She´s become a really good friend of mine. But we rescheduled the appointment and I hope she'll be okay this week. It was rough.

But I've really grown close to so many people here in La Pampa. I've really grown to love the members and the investigators that we've FINALLY found! There weren’t any when I got here, but we are really finding prepared people. I really love missionary work.

I think about the fact that I only have 9 more months all of the time. I cant believe I've already been here in La Pampa a month and a half. It makes me sad just how fast the time goes. I miss home a lot… but not as much as I'll miss the mission when I get home. As rough as life is here in Bolivia… I love this country. I love the people. I love teaching the Gospel. I thought that I would be converting people like crazy when I chose to serve..

But I think my biggest convert is me. Myself.

I've never learned so much in such a short time. I'm so happy here. And I don’t know how I'm ever going to leave. I love it love it love it. Thank you so much for all the support I get from home… you´ll never know the difference it makes. You're all amazing :-)

The church is true!

Love,

Hermana Cedeño

This dog, is my favorite dog and I wanted a picture with it.... but at the same time I didn't want it to touch me hahaha

Lunch!  Que Rico, no??

Do You Know Where Liars Go?

Shout Outs!

Okay guys this computer sucks and doesn't let me type ANYTHING.

First to my Mom. Because she is a rockstar and sends me cards with pictures of high heels on them ahhahaha i love them! I wish she could just see me every time I get one, happily skipping to lunch down the muddy road tripping over every rock in front of me because I'm trying to read and walk at the same time.

I'm also waiting for packages from her…. The Zone leaders showed up last week like..

"Hermana Cedeño! We've been looking for you!"

And I was like "MY PACKAGE GOT HERE!!??"

And they're like "YES!!" and they hand me an envelope. And I'm like..

"my mom said a package was coming.."

And they're like "Esa es su paquete. Esa es. Que Disfrute."  ("That's your package, that's it.  Enjoy it.")

Rude.

Also shout out to Stacie!! Her Birthday is coming up!! She has been a huge support for me during my misión and for years before too. Thanks for everything,  Stace!! I love you!

Also guys.

HUMPDAY IS WEDNESDAY.

Sister missionaries take "pregnant pics" when they hit 9 months on the mission. haha get it? nine months? yeah. anyway... its the halfway mark. and I took a picture with a pregnant tree.

Yes people. I'm half way. Craaazy.

Okay.

So. TUESDAY!!

Tuesday night, we had a huge meeting where Elder Uceda of the Seventy spoke. But I had no idea the meeting would be such a big deal. The whole way there, i was telling Hna. Duran

"Dont worry, I won't know anyone either…"

BUT I KNEW EVERYONE! Haha

I saw the Zone Leaders from Yacuiba and about died asking them how everything was… but then , don't even worry, Hna. Villanueva walks in!! My companion from Yacuiba! And we talked and talked and talked and she sat by me during the whole meeting. Oh how i missed her. And her new companion says..

"Oh, YOU'RE HNA. CEDEÑO! Everyone in Yacuiba is asking about you."

That made me feel really good.

Then… I went to hug an Hermana that I hadn't seen in so long and A WHOLE ROW OF NORTH AMERICAN SISTERS are like …

"HERMANA CEDEÑO!!! HI!!!"

And I'm like… I don't know you… and I'm just trying to keep up with all of them talking like..

"I read your blog!!"

"Hows your hair??"

"I wrote you!!! Do you remember me!! You replied!!"

"Weren't you in Yacuiba?"

"I wanted you to train me!"

And I'm just like… HI GUYS!!! Haha And we took a couple pictures. Cute girls.

The meeting was really great and I learned a lot. The good thing is that all of the leaders of our Ward were there too, so hopefully that helps us all tener ganas a trabajar MAS. (look forward to working MORE.)

As we were running out of the chapel, I hear "NICOLE!!! NICOOOOLE!! NICOLE."

And I'm like… "that's not me anymore…"

But then i turn around and there's Zack Gines, a good friend of mine from back in Utah. I already knew he was in the same misión as me, but i hadn't seen him since I'd arrived.

But after he'd yelled my name and I'd responded to it… about 8 other missionaries just stared at us until Zack realized what he had done.

And then he's like… "uh… I mean.. HERMANA CEDEÑO!"

That's more like it.

It was good to see him, he's a good kid.

The investigator pool is slowly, but surely, growing. We've been looking for "Los Antiguos Investigatores" a lot. (The OLD investigators)

Yesterday, we knocked on a door looking for a lady the Elders had been teaching. About 5 seconds after we'd knocked on the Little wooden gate, a Little boy opened the door and shouts..

"ahorita sale!!"

And we say "Thank you!"

Then a bout about 15 years old comes out with his Little brother and says:

"My moms not here… she just left."

And Hna Duran is like "And when will she be back??"

And he's like.. "uh…."

But then the Little boy says, pointing to the house: "Pero, allí esta! Esta Allí a dentro!" (but she's there, she's inside)

And its quiet for a sec because the poor boy knows he just got caught and then Hna. Duran and I start laughing so hard and I'm like..

"Hermano. Vaya a llamarle a su mama, ya?"  ("Brother, go call your mom, okay?")

And he's like. …. "ya." (okay)

And before we left I told him not to lie to us anymore. He said okay. Haha poor kid.

This was an okay week altogether. We really are finding more investigators and we are working more with the members. The Elders here are working really hard too, so hopefully things start picking up here in La Pampa.

Love you all and thanks for writing me! You guys are the best.

After I gave Hermana Duran a piggy back ride across the river... or ahem... the road.

Yeah, it definitely rains here....

Love,

Hermana Cedeño