If I walk any further I´ll get flat feet.

That´s the theme of this week. Do you all remember the movie the aristocats? When the ducks come in. ¨Amelia, if I walk any further I´m going to get flat feet.¨ ¨Abigail! You were born with flat feet!¨ And then they errupt into giggles. Well, If I walk any further I´m going to get flat feet, but I wasn´t born with them!

The reason we´ve been walking around so much is that President Gulbrandson has asked us to concentrate on past investigators. I don´t even know how to properly translate that. Investigadores antiguos. You can understand that right? Whatever, the point is. We´ve been walking around a lot. But we´ve found a couple that look really promising. And I´ve gotten a chance to work on my speaking skills, I get better and better every day!

Now for some stories. First. My birthday was great. My companion surprised me by taking me and the Familia Llerena (my favorite, shh, I know you´re not supposed to have favorites) to an ice cream shop we both like. I literally had no idea what was going on until we got to the store. Because I don´t usually know where we´re going or why, although I´m usually certain that the gospel is going to be involved. I was wrong this time. The greatest part was when they pulled out the candles and placed them in the ice cream. Jolin! They even sang in English so I could understand. *tear* it was really fun though. Except, then my companion decided it would be cool to tell everyone that day it was my birthday. Do you know what latino people do when they hear it´s your birthday? They give you something to eat. Literally. I ate sooo much. And all of it was sugar. By the end of the day I just wanted to cut off my face so that when someone offered me a snack I could be like ¨Welp, can´t eat it. I don´t have a face. Sorry.¨But to no avail. ugh, it´s a good thing we´ve been walking so much this week.

Story number two. So every saturday we go to the Familia Caterenas for lunch. They are a Peruvian family, and the mom makes wonderful meals! I love it every time. And before hand we had invited a recent convert to the lunch (well, someone did, I don´t know if it was us. Would that be rude? I don´t know) and we were going to teach her the first lesson, and one of my goals for the week was to start lessons and get the ball rolling. So I knew that. Here´s the glitch. I woke up Saturday morning mildly sick. Breathing was difficult, and lets just say swallowing wasn´t that joyful. And for the first time, I had a hard time eating. Really all I wanted to do was throw up. But I couldn´t explain that to the family, because I couldn´t remember the words in spanish. Anyways, meal ends. And Hermana Jones gets out the pamphlet for the first lesson and kind of throws it at me. That´s my hint to get the lesson started. But the people are still talking and with the minor headache that I have I´m not sure what´s going on. So, I wait for a pause......and wait....it takes about 5 min for there to be a pause. But eventually, there is one. So I start in ¨okay, well today we´re going to go over Lesson one from the missionaries. And if it looks like I´m scared out of my mind, it´s because I am and I don´t really know what I´m doing.¨ Which I figured would be okay, because everyone was a member there right? And they knew I was new, right? Well, since I´m telling this story you know that´s not true. So I ask, what is your relationship with God? And one of the Hermanas at the table starts talking and two sentences in I hear ¨and as you know, I´m catholic....¨oh. I didn´t realize she wasn´t a member. Dangit! So, now, my already confounded mind starts panicking. I need to change the lesson to include someone who doesn´t believe. It´s rough. And then they got sidetracked by my spanish speaking abilities. And I was upset because I didn´t want them talking about me and how I could or could not speak spanish. I just wanted them to feel the spirit. It wasn´t the best lesson I´ve ever had. But then they gave me a banana so it was okay. I do like bananas.

And last story: So we have a recent convert named Raquel who is literally a little crazy. She´s got a few mental issues. But she really is very nice. And she speaks rapid Spanish every time. But she´s so cooky so I love her. We´ve gone over to her apartment a few times and she just loves to talk. She´s actually having a bit of a hard time right now and through the grapevine we´ve heard that she´s drinking. She doesn´t know that we know, but we´re just trying to help her as much as she can. The porteria (kind of like the live in manager) lives above her apartment and says some nights he can hear her screaming at God. We just try to love her.

Anyways, so we go over and talk for a bit. And then Hermana Jones gives me ¨the nod¨ aka: we´re ready to start the lesson and we´ve finished talking about Babylon. So, I clear my throat and get started. It´s funny, because Raquel pretends to be shocked and looks at me, and I´m pretty sure says something like ¨oh, Hermana Reed is going to be teaching? I´ve got to see this!¨and then pretends to put on her glasses. She may or may not have heard me speak much up to this point. But I start the lesson, and it´s going pretty good. She´s a recent convert so I tell her how I know God loves me and that I have a testimony of the blessings that he has given me, and then I ask her what blessings she´s seen in her life. And that´s when I lose understanding. But Raquel goes on for 5-7 minutes. And there are some good pauses, I let the Holy Ghost teach, but it was just nice, not to rush it. And through all of her talking all I really picked up on was something about learning. So, I went off of that. And I was able to bear my testimony on how I´m learning every day and it´s a blessing from God that we can learn. And he doesn´t expect us to be perfect, this time is a time to progress and grow. But when we have confidence in Him, we can do everything we need to. Hermana Jones then taught about the different dispensations, The life of Jesus Christ and the apostasy. And then it was my turn to teach about the Restoration. And this is the best part (in my opinion). I taught the whole thing using imperfect and preterite perfectly! Which I know may not seem like a big thing, but to me it is. I was able to bear my testimony of the power of prayer, and how we can use it in our lives. And the power of miracles. I was a walking miracle, that I could even speak spanish as well as I could. I have been blessed, and my life hasn´t been perfect, but God is there every time I have a trial. All of that. All in spanish. And she understood. She even helped me out with a couple of words. But it was okay. All is well in Zion.

It was a great lesson. And we had a member there who was able to close us off with a good prayer. And it was a great way to end the week. The church is true! And then on the way down from her apartment she pointed out that my chest was red from nerves. And I was like ...thank you. I know. It happens a lot. Gracias por su tiempo. The latins do that a lot. Point out when white people blush. Because they don´t see it. With their darker skin, it just isn´t as noticable. And since I´m very white....well, it´s noticeable. okay, moving on.

Thanks everyone! Love you tons.

Hermana Reed

Hahaha, so you know how I used to be when in the MTC?

Okay, so to clear up a couple of things, whenever I slip and say CCM, I mean the MTC. It´s the spanish translation, (Centre de Capacitacion Misional), and sense I´m speaking spanish it´s what we would call it. Second, the dearelders are sent to the Mission Office/home (aka I don´t know) and rumor has it that we get them about every two months. I just asked my companion, she said we usually get it every time we have a zone conference or interviews with the president. So about once a transfer. And you are in luck. God loves me and knew it would be my birthday this week and told the mission president to schedule interviews for our district. So I should be getting anything you sent this week. In theory, tomorrow. Maybe Wednesday. I can´t believe I´m going to be 23. I am older than my trainer, but there are elders out here that are 26, so I don´t mind. As long as I´m not the oldest!


We do exercise in the morning. Our first week we ¨exercised¨meaning we did floor stretches, I almost became flexible. But then I couldn´t stand it so I asked my comp if we could go running in the morning. Now we go running Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and clean on Mondays which means we do floor stretches and strength the other two days. I actually feel good about myself. I don´t feel like a ball of lard and we powerwalk every where. So I don´t think I´ll ever get to heavy. P.S. have you ever powerwalked for a full day? It is ridiculous and my legs KILLED that first week. My feet were totally fine, legs? Wanted to shoot a finger to take my mind off my legs. That was rough. But it´s all good now.


Church: we usually walk or take a collectivo (bus) to church. It´s just one ward, not super big, but we don´t share the ward with other missionaries. We do share the building, but I don´t really see them much. Usually on Sundays there´s so much sitting I´m focusing all my energy on not falling asleep. Next week I´m going to focus on not looking like an idiot while not falling asleep because I´m pretty sure this week I failed. I´m just trying so hard to keep my eyes open! The cool thing about church is that apparently there´s a deaf hermano in our ward. I don´t know if the signing is the same but I´m going to go try to talk to him. And since I´m neither fluent in spanish OR signing it´s going to be a huge adventure that I´m stoked for!


Investigators: we have a couple right now, but most of them aren´t progressing. My favorites include Vanessa, who is a mom of two, lives with her ¨husband¨ (not actually sure if they are married), and was the first lesson I had where I invited someone to be baptised. It went a little something like this (in spanish) ¨ahem, Vanessa, as you are reading and praying, wait, no, uh, I mean, as you read, following the example of Jesus christ, baptized by authority of the priesthood?¨ Yeah.....I did. It really started out as one question, then changed to a different one, and then I forgot some words. I may or may not have panicked a bit. The good news is, this isn´t my church, it´s Gods, and the Holy Ghost stayed through that catastrophe and she accepted a baptismal date (after my companion explained what I was trying to ask). Bad news is she didn´t go to church this Sunday, so close!


Then we have Ricardo and Ricardo. They live in the same complex, and I don´t know their last names. I refer to them as Ricardo the Older and Ricardo the Younger. Ricardo the Older is my favorite of the two (although I like them both). Even though he called me out on being scared out of my mind. He may have noticed that I didn´t really add much to the conversation....ever. But I understood when he asked me if I was scared, and I said yes, because I´m still learning spanish (and how to be a missionary, and how to have confidence, and a lot of other things but we didn´t go into that). oh well. It´s okay though, because Hermana Jones keeps telling me I´m really humble, and teachable and everything is going to be okay. I think she´s crazy. We´re probably both wrong.


And now for some fun stories. First: Things you didn´t know about my body, and neither did I. Why yes! I´m so glad you asked, it is possible to walk outside at sea level for 15 minutes and get sunburned. Thank you sensitive epidermis. I didn´t get sunburned to bad, but I´m definately tanner than I ever was in the CCM (MTC). Second, when I go to sea level and in a humid climate, my face likes to swell up like a grapefruit. But´s it´s okay. I know I´m pretty. I know this because I have latino men whistling at me every day....oh wait. That may just be the culture. Well, I still think I´m pretty.


And now the moment you´ve all been waiting for. My first street contacting experience. It actually happened yesterday because there was a Boca vs. River soccer game going on. which meant everyone was either sleeping or watching the game and refused to be interrupted. So we were walking home from Barrio Mitre (a very poor neighborhood where we actually have a lot of investigators) and we pass through a huge park! Which some day when I´m not a missionary and am back in Argentina I want to come play at this park. But that´s not the point, the point is, there were a lot of other people there too. And since we had all this extra time, Hermana Jones decided we could practice contacting. At which point....my heart stopped. She said she promised to pick easy people and gave me the opportunity to contact this very old, nice looking lady. When my knees didn´t move she asked me if I wanted her to go first. To which I quickly responded yes. Well, I tried to say yes, I think just a little bit of fear left my eyes and Hermana Jones understood.


So, she goes up, talks, I think I said my name. Good contact. Got the address, shared a pamphlet on the Restoration. No problem. Now I HAVE to do one. So, we´re seriously scoping out the park trying to find someone nice that I can talk to and I am being the biggest baby of all times. I´m so ashamed of myself. But we find a woman, and it seriously takes me 5 minutes to get up the courage to walk over and start talking to her. Which wouldn´t have been so bad (but it was bad, it was ridiculous actually) but we had a member with us, and this Hermano kept, well, I hope he was trying to make me feel better, but really he just made me feel like an idiot. Telling me it was the Lords time, and they are really nice, and why was I on a mission if I wasn´t going to talk to people. Yeah, not the most helpful man of my life. Hermana Jones was a lot more comforting, she also understands, because she says she was as timid as I was when she first got on the mission. There are other people like me! Anyways, after 5 minutes of deep breaths and prepping how to say hello, I walk over and interrupt this woman while she was reading the newspaper. Good news. She´s just reading the comics. I don´t feel to bad. I pretty much ask her how her day is going, and her name, and then tell her that we´re missionaries. Then I ask her if she believes in Christ. And then I forget where to go from there. So like an angel sent from Heaven, Hermana Jones swoops in and carries on the conversation. Whew! Close call. I don´t say anything except goodbye after that point.


But the point is, I did it. Close call. I almost felt worthless as a missionary. Not so! I can totally talk to people as long as I have a senior companion who knows and understands the language. No problem! .....It will get better with practice. I promise.


Welp, gotta jet. Sorry this letter is so chatty. Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Oh! Quick thing I almost forgot. We have a family here, Familia Llerena, that we absolutely love. They remind me of Uncle Carl and Aunt Heidi so much!! We visit them all the time. They just moved into their own apartment which is good because they used to be sharing with another family. So cool.


Okay, love you all. Thanks for everything. Sorry this letter is so incredibly long. I hope it´s atleast entertaining and spiritual. I promise I have a testimony.


Hermana Reed

Hola de Buenos Aires

Hola familia,

So, here I am. In the big city. How lucky can a girl get? To be thinking she was going to be sent to a backwards, frozen tundra and instead be sent to the Capitol! Not even the province of Buenos Aires but the capitol itself. I passed the President´s house on the way to my apartment. Apparently it includes a golf course. I didn´t actually get to see the house because the fence/area is about 5 blocks but that´s okay. Our taxi-man was very proud. I know this because my companion told me, not because I understood what he was saying.

So, my companion. Her name is Hermana Jones, she is from Seattle Washington. The oldest in her family, she´s been out for a full year. She served in Usuaya (aka, the end of the world in the Tierra Del Fuego, the tip tip) and I´m her only child. So we get to learn a lot together. I get to learn how to interact with people, and she gets to learn how to train. As far as children go, I´m pretty sure I´m one of the easiest children she´ll ever get. I never complain, and I accept whatever she plans to do for the day. Part of that, however, is that I don´t know the people she´s talking about, or their needs, or what to teach them. Maybe I´ll do that once. During planning one day say we should go teach someone else when she offers up a name. Hmmm, the possibilities. But don´t worry, it´s not a prank. That´s beneath the dignity of a missionary. :)

Argentina is fun. It´s just coming into winter, so it´s starting to get cold (weird, I´ve never had cold before). I´m not bundled up in my parka yet, but I´m pretty sure my face would not hold a smile if I went out in a short sleeved shirt. So sweaters and my light jacket it is. Well, I wear a light jacket. The people here are starting to bundle up in their heavy jackets/3 sweaters and their delightful fleece pants. I´ve never seen fleece pants before, and it´s a good thing I´ve seen them now, because apparently the U.S. was missing out on a huge fashion statement. Dani - I want you to get that going while I´m gone. Fleece pants, and ¡jolin! We´re changing America!

The people are really nice. There is actually quite a mix of people here. Many are from Peru, Columbia and Bolivia. Don´t think I´ve met a Chilean yet, but that´s not too surprising. But overall, the food is great, the people are great. And everyone is very nice. Plus, the food is excellent. Like, really. Excellent. And the members always serve the missionaries these gi-normous plates. It´s borderline ridiculous. We were at the Familia Wesby´s house on Friday and trying to say no to a second helping of anything pretty much falls on deaf ears. Which is funny, beacuse they pretty much are deaf. It´s this couple, they´re probably, I don´t know, 60? 70? The espousa is so deaf! It´s hilarious. Half the time she doesn´t understand her husband. After everything he says: ¿Cómo? ¿Cómo?? Don´t worry, I didn´t laugh in front of her. I remember how to be tactful. They had a delicious dessert called English Soup....because the husband is from Englad. And you can tell too, not just because he´s about as white as I am, but whenever he stands, he´s very proper and holds his hands behind his back. Very high-class. I felt special.

All in all, I think I´m going to like it here. For a big city. It could be worse. If I were in a big city by me-onesie that would be no bueno. But since I have a companion that knows where to go and what to do, it´s not bad. Very dirty, like I told you guys yesterday. It´s like New York or Washington D.C. Cigarette butts lining the streets, buses and train stations. I want you to know though. If I had a cell phone with picture taking capabilities.....man! I would be rocking the awkward couple photo contest. That´s all I´m saying.

Oh, real quick, a couple of things I´ve learned. Well, actually, I had a couple of light bulb moments, in the CCM but that´s beside the point. One was do you remember in the movie the Best two years when Kirby Heybourne tells his companion ¨That´s not the language they taught me in the MTC?¨ I get that line now. I understand why it´s so funny. It´s not that the MTC taught them the wrong language, it´s, despite being taught the language they go into the field and don´t understand because the people are talking so fast/there are so many different dialects! I get it!! Haha, that movie line is so much funnier now. Don´t worry, the MTC taught me the correct language, they even got the dialect right with saying ¨shuh¨ for all double l´s.

What was the other thing.... I forget. That´s not important. The important thing is that I´m not dead. And the church is true. Everything else can wait.

To answer some questions, DearElders are sent to the mission home, and then we get them....eventually. I don´t think it´s a weekly thing, but whenever we get in contact with the mission offices we probably get them. The same with packages. I´ve heard different responses on the package thing. And my answer is...I have no idea. It would probably be better to e-mail President Gulbrandson and ask him directly, or the Secretary who´s e-mail I sent you. Sorry I can´t be of more help. You should e-mail the President and then tell him that Aunt Deryn and Uncle Doug have seen his picture on the back of the yellow pages. I´m planning on doing it if I ever remember. My biggest problem is if I´m ever around him it will probably be beacuse we´re doing something of missionary importance and so I´ll forget everything else.

Welp, love you tons. It was great talking to you Mom and Dad, Ethan, Fae-babe and Beez (via phone). Ethan, keep your shirt on. Work that farmer´s tan. I´m glad everything is going well. Alright, thie e-mail is a ridiculous length. My companion and I are going to go grocery shopping (love food) and then go get Subway (yes, now that I am authentically in a different country I´m going to go eat American food. But it´s okay, because in reality I haven´t eaten American food in 2 months. The CCM doesn´t count, I don´t know what type of food it is, but it isn´t American. It´s a class of it´s own).

-Hermana Reed

Also, if family and friends want to start e-mailing me (carlee.reed@myldsmail.net) instead of deareldering me that´s fine. There isn´t a set time limit in this mission other than, don´t spend a ridiculous amount of time. So I can read e-mails now. And that´s probably a better idea since I don´t know when I´ll be getting any of the dearelders.

Note: She is not supposed to email back anyone but her immediate family, but she can receive emails from them.

A little delayed, but she made it!

Thought you might enjoy this picture of Carlee as she arrived in Argentina. She had an interesting day on Monday - she made it to the airport and got to call family and chat, then found out that her plane to Georgia was delayed. Since they only had a 1 hour layover before their connecting flight to Argentina, they packed them back up and to return to the MTC to try it all again on Tuesday. While sitting at the airport waiting for her delayed flight she got to meet Elder Richard G. Scott, so it wasn't too bad of an experience! The good news was that she was able to call and talk to a few of her siblings (Dani and Dee to wish them happy birthday) and that is how we even got the story. They were flying with 30 missionaries to Argentina - so their presence was felt and she had some good discussions with people at the airport and on the plane.


Here are a few of her words:

Don´t worry about it. I made it. Despite one day delay, the ten hour flight didn´t kill me either. So that´s good news. The better news is that I still can call on Sunday.

Thanks! Get excited. Argentina is great. What I´ve seen of it anyways. I´ll talk to you on Sunday!

Hermana Reed

This is from the Mission Pres and Wife:


Dear Reed Family,


We are so thankful to have Sister Reed with us. She arrived safely this morning and is doing wonderful. We are so excited for this great opportunity we have together to serve the Lord. Your Daughter was able to meet her trainer, and we all ate lunch together here in the mission home. They will be working together in their new area later this evening. Your daughter will be communicating with you within the week on her preparation day.


We love you,

President and Sister Gulbrandsen