Monday, February 28, 2011

How's the challenge?

Querida Familia,

WOW, so the changes are already beginning! Having a family rent the house is an ideal situation - I am grateful that the Lord is taking care of all of you. And with Ben and Jackie - DC will be such a GREAT opportunity - Ben´s always wanted to live there! ¡Qué suerte!
And Miller apartments sounds fantastic - haha - I am super excited to be living with Biff and Hermana LaPray!!! Watch out Miller apts, the TINGEY GIRLS ARE COMING! :)

Well, Hermana Alston and I are dying in the heat and sun - we almost got heat stroke yesterday! Luckily, a member let us in for some water and laughter.

Hermana Alston is great. A cute girl from Idaho, who was studying to be a Vet at Utah State. She worked with pigs and cows before coming to the misión. She´s struggling with Castellano, but she´s a fighter.

Come to find out, having a Veternarian as a comp has it´s ups and downs. 1. She can keep the vicious dogs from biting us however, 2. She pets all the dogs.... and we found out the other day that we had FLEAS in our beds!!!! So, we went out and bought Raid and other supplise to hose down the bedding. we washed some things... and now, she reluctantly keeps her hands away from the dogs. Funny Argentina experiences!

We were contacting and I just started talking to a man. We walked a couple cuadras with him and then she said, ¨Well chao chicas.¨ and left. We walked a bit and Hermana Alston said, ¨I felt like I should have given him this Book of Mormon.¨ I stopped and then said, ¨¿Vámenos?¨ we turned and started RUNNING for about 4 cuadras (he was walking pretty fast). He gratefully accepted the Book of Mormón and said that he loves to read. We have faith with Sandro- one day he´ll come ´round!

I had a very interesting experience with a man named Guillermo Figueroa. We contacted him in the street and he looked at me and said, ¨IT will be very hard to convince me that there is a God.¨ But he invited us over. We went over and chatted at his doorstep for about a half an hour. He doesn´t have faith in God and has lived a pretty rough life. He looked at me and said, ¨Will you promise me something?¨ ¨Uh.... ok.¨ ¨Will you write me a letter when you get home from your mission?¨ I was taken aback (is he a creeper or just a lonely old man?), but he said, ¨You seem like a very truthful girl, the world needs that, and I feel really good with you two here.¨ He started to cry, then wipped away his tears out of embarassment. I said, ¨Of course, but I want you to know that God loves you and that you can be happy NOW.¨ I invited him to church and invited him to read the Book of Mormon to no avail, but I want to go back and try again some day. I was very touched that he felt the Spirit through us.

Presidente Wilt, our branch Presidente, is AWESOME! He is on fire with the Obra Misional - we´ve talked about it 3 weeks in a row in our ward and he wants to get this branch going again. We had 16 people in the Branch on Sunday - and it felt like a lot more than usual! There are SO many less actives missing - we are working hard to build Zion here in Pringles.

We are finding around 11 new investigadores every week - but still trying to get 15. I keep praying fervently to start having baptisms here in Pringles. I want to start getting the mission/area goal of 1 baptism a week. It´s a challenge, but I have faith!

Pringles - we see Gauchos, the Argentine cowboys, ridding their horses every day. We walk on dirt roads and old old roads (like 1910). We see trees and plants - lots of houses. We can smell people making their Argentine/Italian food mid day - it smells SO good! But not as good as fresh bread in Panaderías! :) I wave and say hello to EVERYONE and EVERYONE says hi back! We preach of Christ and invite everyone to come unto Him, unto our Savior, and recieve of his love and mercy. I love what Dad said, I know that´s why I am here too, Dad. To help people to understand the Atonement. I feel privelged to be His servant - I have felt more bolder, and have taught with more power the more I have come to rely on Him. I know He loves me and loves the people here in Pringles - I constantly ask Heavenly Father to guide me with His Spirit - I know there are the elect here, ready to be baptized.

Prayer List
Fabio and Deborah - that they will come to church!
Marianela and Martín - that she will stop smoking and they´ll get married!
Carmen - that she will know the Book of Mormon is true!
Cintia and her children - that they will feel the Spirit and come to church!
Familia Nuñez - come to church!
Natalia - read the Book of Mormon

The field is white, all ready to harvest! Are you all bringing people with you to church??? Our Branch Presidente loved that idea and challenged all of the líderes of the Branch to do it. EVERYONE but 1 member in our little Branch brought people on Sunday. We had two future investigadores and a couple less actives - it was like ZION. I challenge all of you to wake up earlier and bring a less active or investigador to church. I promise you the Lord will provide a way to build His kingdom. So, who´s willing to thrust his sickle?

ABRAZOS (HUGS!)!!!!!!

Hermana Tingey

Monday, February 14, 2011

Member Misioneros---Challenge

¡Buenos Tardes, familia mía!

I am SO excited for Grandma and Grandad and Laurel! It´s so wonderful to have a family missionary force on the front lines all over the world. And not just full times missionaries, but also member missionaries! :)

Laurel - CONGRATS, CUZ!!! Vas a empezar una adventura especial y importante - ¡la quiero! One of my REALLY great friends from the MTC is serving in your mission. Hermana Tew with red curly hair! There´s also another Hermana that´s SO sweet who was with me too - a crazy one... like me! :) I can´t remember her name, but just ask around about Hermana Tingey and hopefully you´ll find them!

Grandma and Grandad - I have been thinking about you two and your devotion to the Lord. Thank you for serving Him. I am grateful and honored to be named Alison Jane and to be your granddaughter.

hahaha.... I laughed so hard when I received emails from all of you because of the ¨ALI STRESS¨ and how normally I freak out a ton. Don´t worry Mom, I didn´t freak out TOO much this last week. I have been trying hard NOT to get stressed because I want my hair to grow back! :-D I was mostly just really tired... but I truly enjoyed Buenos Aires. We drove through the city and I got to see the largest highway in the world, the famous Luna Park where Presidente Kimball came and spoke way back when, and all sorts of monuments and famous government buildings.
The BEST part was meeting and talking to the AREA PRESIDENCY OF SOUTH AMÉRICA, SUR!!!! Presidente Arnold who spoke in Conference, Elder Aidukaitis, and the other one I can´t remember right now. They are truly men of God. They have the presence of General Authorities - you can see and feel the power of the Lord in them. President Arnold ¨bajared the caña¨ on us. He taught us that we need to PLAN better because most missionaries waste 50-60% of their time during the day just walking to and from citas or not working effectively. He said that we HAVE to work with the members and that we need to receive REFERENCES!!! He also said that we should be up early on Sunday´s, and out working to invite and find people to bring to church. There are two new rules in our Area,
1. You can not be at Sacrament Meeting if there are no investigadores
wow... a little harsh no? But look at rule number 2....
2. You can NOT miss Sacrament Meeting
¡Qué difícil, pero qué inspirado!

I know these men receive revelation for our area of the world. I know that Presidente Detlefsen receives revelation for our mission - I love and support these great men. FAMILY AND MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH:
*****When was the last time you gave a reference to the missionaries in your area? And then went with them to the lesson?
******When was the last time you got up early on a Sunday morning to help get some less actives or investigators to church on Sunday?
Please, let us repent and be better member missionaries.
I see the vision that these inspired men of God see - and that our Prophet sees today. There is a reason that in the Ensign Elder Eyring talked about the JOY of sharing the gospel and helping people come unto Christ. It is not just in Argentina that the prophet wants us to stand up and be missionaries. We all need to invite our friends and neighbors to come unto Christ and receive the salvation through ordinances and covenants, like baptism. I love this work - I hope and pray fervently all of you do too. I want to know how your references to the missionaries go.*******


Leaving Buenos Aires, I sat next to two Élderes that really helped me get fired up: Elder Ubben and Elder Taggart. E. Ubben was one of Ben´s students in the MTC, a convert and incredible Élder and E. Taggart, a great missionary who grew up in Park City!!! He knows the Brother´s, the Quinn´s, the Vincent´s, the Archibald´s, etc. EVERYONE! Mom, tell everyone that Sam Taggart says Hi. Well, they have had SO much success on the mission. E. Ubben taught me how to be more bold and E. Taggart showed me the importance of taking our calling to baptize seriously.

PRINGLES is AMAZING!!!!
President Wilt, the PResidente de Rama told us that it´s been 13 years since they have had Hermanas. But He recevied revelation that Pringles needed a change... at about the time, Presidente Detlefsen received the same revelation. They got together, and well, here I am. I feel VERY privleged to be here. It feels like home to me - the Argentina that I know and love. The people are wonderful and kind. There are many gauchos, or the Argentine cowboys, that live here. There are paved roads, but the majority are DIRT ROADS!!! WOOHOOO - I LOVE CAMPO (the countryside)!!!! Everyone says HI when I address them - very different than Mar del Plata. People have asked us who we are and what the heck we are doing here. We laugh and then have had some wonderful opportunities sharing the gospel. Hermana Alston and I were on fire - we had 9 new investigadores in 2 days - that´s a record for my mission. (OH! Hermana Alston is a nuevita from Idaho - this is her 2 transfer! She can´t speak at all... but she has heart and love and boy, she´s been a good sport having me drag her along in the campo!)
On Sunday, we got up and got dressed and were OUT the door doing what the area authorities asked us to do- get people to church!!! We contacted and looked for our investigadores... but no one was coming... we ran to church, trying to get there on time. I was praying and praying... as we walked in, there was one of our new investigadores and his siblings (who are members). Then later a couple walked in that we taught... then another hobbled in (pobre, he hurt his knee). FOUR new investigadores at church!!!!!!! WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Miracles miracles miracles... our Zone Leaders called and said that the previous Elderes in Pringles barely had 0 investigadosr in the church on a regular basis...occasionally 1. I was grateful for the congratulations, but it´s not because I am an exceptional Hermana misionera. It´s because the Lord has wonderful plans for Pringles; It´s because I´ve finally caught the vision of the Brethren for our misión and for MY misión here - I have SO much ánimo y fire - I want to bring EVERYONE unto Christ! I feel like I´m finally becoming the Sister Missionary I want to be.

I LOVE this gospel! I LOVE serving my Lord and Savior.
¡¡¡Ánimo y adelante en la obra del Señor!!!

Hermana Tingey

p.s. I want to hear about your stories!!!! (see ***********)

Monday, February 7, 2011

PRINGLES!

¡¡¡FAMILIA y QUERIDOS!!!

Thanks for all the emails and letters... Marisol got married! ¡¡¡AH!!! ¡Felicidades! Brit and Bennett, The AZ Hales, etc. ¡Gracias a todos!

Well, saying goodbye to Mar del Plata was REALLY hard. I bore my testimony about the joy I have felt serving in the Lord´s vineyard HERE in Mar del Plata, Barrio Centro. I´ve felt JOY before with my family and in the temple, but in the misión, my first real experience with JOY was with Oscar´s bautismo where I truly understood the joy of helping to bring an alma of the Lord back into his redil. I shed a tear or two as I talked about having all of us meet again in the Reino Celestial.

Many people came up to me and thanked me for my service in their Ward, for my smile and attitude, etc. A few people even started crying and said that I was a very special Hermana. I was taken back – ME. A special Hermana? I felt very grateful for their words. Sometimes we don´t see the difference we make in others lives.

I was doing alright until I saw Oscar. I walked up to say goodbye… and Oscar cried. Then I cried. He is part of my family now. This wonderful 76 year old man. I hope with all my heart to see him again in this life on earth.

Saying goodbye to my hijita Hermana Freeman was also difficult, and to Gastón (I told him he HAD to send me photos when he gets baptized!), y Hermana Fischer, the wife of the Bishop, who kept saying, ¨¡Te quiero, Hermanita!¨

I loved Mar del Plata.

So, after a LONG trip to Bahía Blanca, I met my new companion, Hermana Alstin, una nuevita (it´s her 2nd traslado out). We got on another bus to go to my new area….. PRINGLES! (pronounced with a Spanish- accent ¨PRÍN-GLES¨)

I was translado-ed (aka transfered) to a little pueblito about 2 ½ hours outside of Bahía Blanca. ¡It´s in the same stake that my first 3 areas of the misión are in! They haven´t had Hermanas here for more than 12 years!!! I am SUPER excited and nervous and stoked and privileged to be one of the first here after so long an absence (Everyone who knows me knows how only I could feel all of those emotions at the same time – BAHHH! Haha).

After talking to a few Élderes during the transitions with traslados and to the Presidente de Rama today, it seems like the biggest problem here is laziness. Members just don´t go to church! And that often there are only 10-30 members there on Sunday! ¡Yikes! But I´m excited for this challenge. I feel like a large of my misión was to help menos activos familias and to keep the members strong and moving forward.

So, when it rains, it pours. Not only am I going in blind to a new Hermana area, am a madrastra (mother-in-law) to a nuevita (it´s almost like training, but actually a bit harder), but some chauvones entered the Mission Office and stole Money and some Passports… including mine. SO, I´m off to BUENOS AIRES this week to get it figured out. ¡Loquísimo! But I´m just trying not to stress…. Life´s great and I have SOOO many goals and hopes with Pringles!

I know that the Lord has a plan for each and everyone of us. I know that he loves us because he suffered every pain, every sickness, every difficulty, every stressful momento, etc. that we have had and will have. Through Adam, we fell and had to suffer physical and spiritual death. Through Christ, we can all receive physical and spirit life! What joy I have in this infinite sacrifice and perfect plan!

Keep it up! Ánimo y adelante…. Coronal Pringles, HERE WE COME! J

La Hermana Tingey