i went down to the river one day

Family,

This is going to be a week in pictures. I wanted to write you more but this computer is being crazy and testing my patience. But I want to wish mom and dad a happy anneversary! I promise I didn´t forget, I just forgot to tell you last Monday  Also I don´t know if I ever told Cade and Kaylee congrats for theirs last month....just know even though sometimes I forget to tell you, I still love you . And happy birthday to Cam Cam tomorrow! Hope it´s awesome!! Okay here are the pics. This week was awesome! I love you!

This is the temple at night

The family of Kiara.  I love them!

Kiara got baptized!  Ignore the random kid head in the corner.

President Torre, the branch president, baptized her.
He's big, she's little.  So cute.

At the temple with some other hnas.  Ignore the big cones...haha.

We call this one "the sky of the tiger".

Milagros :)

Her with Marcelo and her cousin Mailen, who is a member.

Rivendale

Dear Family,

I love you all a ton and I have like no time but I just want to tell you that I´m LOVIN LIFE. Man I have so many cool miracle stories to tell you but there is just not time. But let´s just say that the field is white and ready to harvest. There are seriously people everywhere who are just ready as can be to receive the gospel. We also had an awesome experience at the temple!!!!! Oh my gosh I loved it. We got to do like the introduction before they had the tour and we also got to be at the end of the tour to talk to the people and ask them what they liked and stuff. Everyone was amazed. It was so cool to talk to everyone and hear what their experience was like. We got all sorts of people. There were a couple guys from the Congo who had been here for only three months and they were learing spanish. They went through the open house like five times because they loved it so much. Wow I just want to write you more but there is no time. Know that I love you and oh yeah, I won´t be writing next Monday because we will be working in the temple again. What we do is get there at like 12 noon one day and then sleep the night in the hostal they have there next to the temple. We´re with like four other companionships of sisters so it´s really awesome, I love them all. Okay so I gotta go but I´ll email you sometime next week I think :) 

Love,

Hermana Hill

Lions and Tigres and Bears

Hey family!

Guess what? I am in Tigre!!!!! Of course, there are always mixed emotions when transfers come. I´m really going to miss Almagro and the AWESOME people there, but I am excited to get working here in Tigre. It´s different than both Zárate and Almagro because it´s not like super city, but it´s not campo either. It´s really pretty from what I´ve seen so far. There are rivers and stuff and we have a wicked view from our apartment window. My new companion is Hermana Renteria! She is from California...my first companion from the states since my training days with Hermana Jones. She´s una capa I´m excited to trabajar a full and find those escogidos here. Today=13 meses. It´s hard to believe. Time FLIES when you´re having fun and serving others and learning un montón. I feel like I was companions with Hna Sosa for like two days and then we had transfers again. What the? But it´s all good. Well, the temple opened on Saturday and we are already receiving referrals of the people who went. I know that so many baptisms are going to come out of this amazing experience! On Saturday, we had an activity with the Young Men and Women to pass out flyers about the temple. I loved seeing the youth so excited to invite everyone. And I love hearing your stories about sharing the gospel!!!!! You are such good examples to me. Get those missionaries over there ya! Keep being good examples, mmk? As far as the thing on September 8th, we don´t have a lot of details of what it´s about but I´m guessing it´s like a special devotional with all the missionaries with the Apostles that are going to come here. All I know is that sometimes I feel so unprepared because I know that being here is such a huge responsibility, especially with the temple opening. We have the duty to invite everyone. To do everything possible to help these people know their Savior, Jesus Christ, and follow His example through baptism. President Gulbrandsen reminded us that our choices will affect their opportunities. Of course we can´t force anyone to accept this message, but we better be doing everything possible to make sure that these people have the opportunity to know the truth. We are here to gather Israel! It is such a responsibility, but also such a blessing. I love being here and I love you all a billion. 

Hermana Hill

P.S. I got your package. THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!! I´ll try to get those rings to Hna Sosa and Hna Vargas asap.

Humberto (from Brazil...was a Bishop and is here for a short time to learn  Spanish), yo,
Hna Sosa, Jose (Camila and Tiziana's dad...he is preparing for baptism!)

Hna Salva (Hna Renteria's last companion, goes home tomorrow!),
Hna Renteria (my nueva companera!), soy yo.

A couple P days ago we went to puerto madero, toured a little boat museum and saw puente de la mujer. Fue divertido! 

El Monte del Señor

Dear Family,

I am just full of joy right now! Yesterday we got a call telling us that we needed to go to the temple today. We had a training meeting with some of the missionaries in our mission and the missions Buenos Aires Sur y Oeste. We have the amazing opportunity to help out with the open house which will be happening in August. I can´t tell you how blessed I feel to be able to be a part of this. The area presidency was there and spoke to us and then we got to take a mini tour of the temple, guided by President Arnold, the area president. I feel like it had been so long since I had entered the temple and it was such a breath of fresh air to be there. Even though they are still doing the finishing touches and it isn´t dedicated yet, it was a huge blessing to at least be able to go inside and remember the experiences that I have had in the temple. Today when we entered the celestial room, none of us said a word. We just stood in there for a few minutes in complete silence, contemplating what the Celestial Kingdom must be like, and feeling very close to it. I won´t forget this day. I love the temple. I know that it is the house of the Lord. I know that if we set our sights on the temple--on eternity--everything makes so much more sense. We have a purpose! Each one of us has a purpose and a potential so great that we can´t even imagine! I want to achieve my potential. Something that I´m realizing is that the way to better ourselves personally is by helping others. By really loving them and seeing their potential and then helping them to achieve it. I know that as we strive to keep the commandments and are worthy to enter the temple and keep the covenants we have made, we will one day return to live with our Heavenly Father; His Son, Jesus Christ; and our families for eternity. It really is amazing! And we really are so blessed to have this knowledge. We need to share it. I can´t let one letter go by without saying THANK YOU for always teaching me the gospel and helping me to understand why it is important. I am eternally grateful. I love you un montonazo.

D&C 109:22

Love, 
Hermana Hill

P.S. This is what our President sent us today:

On Saturday, September 8 you will attend a sacred meeting with these Special Witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the brethren teach you, you will review your personal service and sacrifices. It will be a moment of deep introspection. 

wow.

La casa del Senor

Las Hermanas

Pitufina

Dear Family,

Thank you for your lovely emails! OMGsh (do people still say that?) I want to squeeze the tar out of Easton! (Who am I? :)) Also tell KaCee CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!! How weird that everyone is all engaged and married and have criaturas and stuff. (Sometimes the people here call kids criaturas. jaja.) I hope you had fun/are having fun on your trip! Tell all the fam hola for me!

As always, no time. We are busy and happy. We received the flyers....fliers?....volantes.....for the temple open house! It´s been fun to hand them out and let people know about this AMAZING EVENT in the history of Argentina! I´ll have to mail you one so you can see what they look like, they're pretty legit. Yesterday we gave talks about the temple and the importance of inviting everyone not only to the open house, but also to church. Hna Sosa gave the class in Relief society and I gave the class in Young Women and we did practices of how to invite people to church next week. The Bishop and ward council organized a special Sunday for next week especially for investigators to explain why we have temples so that they will be able to understand when they go to the open house, and so they have the desire to become a member of the church to be able to enter and receive the blessings! Our ward is LEGIT: We´re hoping to have a lot of investigators in church next week. By they way, way to go for bringing investigators of your own to church! I´m sure the missionaries LOVE YOU.

Gotta run. Keep being awesome.

Hermana Hill

P.S. Hermana Bustios always calls me pitufina everytime I see her. Pitufina is the girl smurf. She says that if she painted me blue we would look exactly alike....

Look, I got them to smile!  I love this family.

Fe Sumamente Grande

Hey family!

I love you! Thank you for keeping me updated of what's going on in your lives. I am so grateful for you guys, seriously. En serio. Thank you for being such great examples and living the gospel. i love my family so stinkin much! Which is why I want to help people here to understand the blessings of an eternal family. I want to help them "get it". Do you realize how many people don't get it? A lot! The blessings I have received because of my family are more than I could even begin to count. 

Well last week Amelia was baptized! She is just the sweetest and is pretty much the grandma of everyone here in Almagro. Have I written you about her story? Nutshell: about three months ago she came to church all by herself. She lives alone because she is divorced and a while back her son was killed by robbers when he was about thirty. She knows that it was her son who guided her to the church. She has suffered a lot but is now very content to take this step and become a member of the church and one day be able to be with her son again. The blessings of the gospel are incredibe. Oh and guess who was one of the witnesses of the baptism? Victor :) 

Let me leave you with a quote that Presidente Gulbrandsen sent us in his letter to the missionaries this week:

Elder Bruce R. McKonkie was a member of the Twelve as I was growing up. I love his expression of faith in the Savior Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice:

“And now, as pertaining to this perfect Atonement, wrought by the shedding of the blood of God—I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that He is the Son of the living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself, independent of any other person.

I am one of His witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in His hands and in His feet and shall wet His feet with my tears.

But I shall not know any better then than I know now that He is God’s Almighty Son, that He is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through His atoning blood and in no other way” (The Liahona, Apr. 2011, The Purifying Power of Gethsemane).

Can we also say this of our Savior? Are we growing closer to Him each day? Are we asking for more faith and then doing everything possible to act when the trials of our faith come? I know that if we do this, we will see miracles in our lives. 

I love you all a ton!

Hermanita Hill

Vuelta del mundo en Abasto.

Ummmm......Please tell me you've seen this.

Neverland.

Anto y Alex :)

This is how we get things done in Almagro if we want hot water.

El Obisbo y Amelia.  Precioso!

Us

¡Feliz día de Independencia!‏

Dear family,

So good to hear from you and see all the pics from Nauvoo! Sounds like you had such a great time. I love hearing about your experiences about the temple, it strengthens my desire to invite EVERYONE to be able to receive the blessings of the temple. Right now everyone is so focused on the temple because of the rededication that is coming up. We are seeing miracles here as people prepare themselves to enter the house of the Lord. I also love hearing about all the cousins who are serving! Holy cow, everyone is all over the place. I love it :)

This week has been chuck full of goodness. On Sunday, Victor was confirmed, received the priesthood, and received his first calling--ward missionary :) He is progressing at 100 km/hr and is just as happy as can be. He is always telling us about how different his life is right now and how much peace he feels. It is so great to know that he will be able to baptize his children! Experiences like this make everything worth it. Guess what? You're never going to believe it. Amelia is going to be baptized this Saturday! She has seen miracles with her health, especially with her eyesight, after going to church and knows it has come from the prayers of all the members. She wants to show her gratitude to her Heavenly Father by being baptized and making this sacred covenant with Him. I love seeing people HAPPY. I love seeing people change. 

In other news, we have had a lot of big days last week....independence day in the U.S. (4), my one year mark :S (6), and today is independence day here in Arhenteenuh and also last week was semana de la dulzura, where you give people candy for a kiss. Don't worry, we only received candy and not kisses. 

Well, as always, gotta run. I'll leave you with some of the pictures we took on our excursion last week. I love you a ton. Say your prayers. Read your scriptures. Go to church. Share the gospel. I promise that if you do, you will be happy. It really is as simple as that. 

Nos vemos! Un besito!

Hermana Hill

La casa rosada.  Kind of like the White House, but pink.

A fountain

Some cool edificios

El obilisco

Statue in Plaza de Mayo

Other statue in Plaza de Mayo

Did I mention that Victor works in a candy shop?