Paradise!

ok so hello everyone!!

Well so much has been going on! Hopefully i can get some more details
in today. First thing: we are in a different internet cafe but of
course I’m sitting at the one computer that can’t send pictures. Darn!

Ok well right now im in the ward, Paraíso, stake Paraíso. haha yup I’m
in Paradise! It’s pretty great here. Yes mom I got your easter package
one week before easter! That was awesome. I loved it thank you! I got
everything in it too. Everyone loves the chair cover haha i haven’t
removed it yet. Also Hermana Huenchur had this amazing idea- she made
a white board out of a laminated white piece of paper! It’s so smart!
Its light and works so well!!! I definitely recommend it to any
missionary. Also,I think i saw my cousin Paul in the choir on saturday
in conference. Yeah? We did get to watch conference- every session. I
definitely understood loads more this time, but I’m still looking
forward to getting my english liahona in like 3 months. haha. I almost
started crying for joy when I heard the news about the Cedar City
temple!!!!! Seriously I cannot wait!!!! Ah I love Cedar City! We are
all praying hard here in Bolivia that this country will receive a
second temple. I almost feel guilty every time I talk about utah
temples. Utah and Santa Cruz have about the same amount of people, and
we have almost 15 temples. Santa Cruz doesn’t have one- the closest is
8 hours away! But there are rumors that the church is buying lots of
land close by. Everyone was holding hands and we were all so hopefull
when the prophet announced the temples. Well maybe next conference!
Also I didn’t know that about President Calderon! Ah so cool! He is
seriously an amazing man. He missed 2 of his kid’s weddings while they
have been serving here. He is so dedicated to the Lord. Also Hermana
Calderon knows the scriptures probably better than anyone else in
South America. They are seriously one of my favorite couples ever!!!
As far as splitting the mission goes- I will finish my mission in
either mission santa cruz north, or santa cruz south. The change will
happen in July, and if I’m in the north, my mission will be for the
north, and the same if I’m in the south. We aren’t sure yet if there are
going to be hermanas in the north mission- it depends on the new
president. If so, he will likely send us to places out of the city,
because only two stakes of the city santa cruz are going to be in the
north mission. Anyways that’s all i know right now.

Ok so this week.... man i dunno where to begin. We have one 17 year
old who is going to be baptized on the 20th of this month. We worked
hard to get his mom to sign the permission form. But she finally did!
Normally baptizing people under 18 is discouraged because the biggest
problem for the church in south america is less actives. Only 16/100
stay active!!!! Ah! So yeah. But Carlos goes to church every week,
every activity, and was taking tons of notes all conference. We are
preparing him to go on a mission already! He is awesome. It’s going to
be so cool to have a convert on the mission! He will be leaving next
year a little after i get back from my mission.

My companion has been really stressed this week- we found out that her
grandma is in the hospital, and isn’t doing well. She’s only been out
for almost 2 months, and i can easily remember how hard it is not to
think about family, especially when starting the mission. We are
definitely doing better as a companionship though. We´ve talked a lot,
and our lessons are getting better. We sing constantly. She was in the
top five in the latin american idol not too long ago! She seriously
sings so good and it’s so fun! Last night for example after conference,
we knocked on this lady´s door, and entered in. We sang I believe in
Christ and she just started bawling!  She wants us to teach her
family. Our voices might be a little too powerful... hahah just
kidding. But it’s not every cambio you get a companion who has sang for
all of latin america. im trying to think of all the ways we can use
our talents together to move the work along here in Paradise. hehe.

Well I completed my half way mark today!!!! The traditional thing to
do for hermanas here when you reach 9 months is to take a picture with
one of the trees in santa cruz. Why? Because all the trees are shaped
like pregnant ladies. haha. I wish I could send pictures today.
Hopefully next week! But yeah can you believe I’m on the downhill
slope now? Wow i cant! There is so much to do, so many people to find!
Unfortunately when it rains in santa cruz, everyone is lazy. no one
wants to go to work, and no one wants to answer thier doors. So we did
a lot of singin´ in the streets with our umbrellas. We get along well.

We also have a mom with two little girls and her niece that came to
conference, the last session on saturday. We are super excited for
her. Can I just say I loved elder bednars talk? When I was younger, i
used to think, why so often do the apostles just talk about the
basics? Why don’t they give some mind blowing new stuff I’ve never heard
before? But being a missionary I couldn’t be more grateful for the
straightforward, doctrinal lessons that they teach. I thought about
all the investigators around the world listening, and couldn’t be more
grateful for the lessons of the apostles for them. Also, because I’m
more spiritually prepared, I get more out of conference too. I was
literally skipping to conference every session. I LOVE IT! Anyways one
of the sisters in the ward brought a bunch of her friends (2o years
old) and they all loved elder bednars talk. no one has ever taught
them the ley de castidad, and they want to know more. Anyways loved
it.

well gotta go but i love you all so much!!

love hermana black