Happy Halloween

Wow-lots of love this week! Many thanks to gee, pa, jen w, sis. pierce, jacob, ma, sis. cole, betsy/carrie/maresa, rachel and samfor the emails! so good to hear from everyone!

this week has been good because....

-i´m starting to figure out my way around. most streets don´t have street signs, and the numbering system of the homes is pretty random, so that hasn´t helped me very much. but i´m starting to figure out how the barrios are connected and can identify where i am by landmarks (buildings, water towers, shops, etc). this is a blessing, folks.

-i made my first empanadas yesterday! we went to a member´s house for lunch (like we do everyday) and i got to help stuff the empanadas. so yummy. i like empanadas. we´ve eaten them only twice. our usual meal is milanesa--a thin-ish cut of chicken or carne that has been breaded and seasoned, then fried or cooked in the oven. very similar to something you might eat in the states. it´s usually accompanied with potatoes of some variety, usually mashed. we eat it a lot. other meals have included pasta (ravioli and spaghetti) and some soup stuff that was alright. fruit or jello is the typical dessert. we never eat veggies. and i miss them waaaaaaaay bad. i´m a little scared to buy them at the store--if ican peel it, i think it´s pretty safe, but you can´t peel lettuce. and you don´t really see any canned veggies here. ah well. it´s just another 16 months, eh?

-last night i felt like a real missionary. i normally don´t contribute much to lessons. i can give part of the lesson we have prepared, but answering questions and elaborating on doctrine are way beyond my language abilities right now. so my comp does most of the speaking. but last night we contacted a lady that we found in our area book--the elders had tracted her out once. she was not very nice to us--her countenance was very hard and she basically just wanted to argue. she believes in god (everyone does--they´re all catholic or evangelical) but didn´t believe He or our message could help her with her life. my poor comp was going in circles with her. after some time, i interupted and bore my testimony. she ended up breaking down and began sobbing--her mom died some time ago and her depression has led her to drinking. she basically has no purpose or hope. i shared a scripture with her from the book of mormon, and she bagan to soften. my comp invited her to the weekly relief society activity, and i think she may attend. at first she was smirking at my sad attempts at spanish,but later askedabout my family and my home and how long i had been here, etc.

being a missionary is a lot like doing visits as relief society president, except we visit people all day, every day. we invite people to church, and call them beforehand, and stop by on our way to pick them up, and still they don´t show up. it´s a little discouraging. but two of our investigators committed to a baptismal date this week, so that makes up for any disappointing times. one of them, leslie, lives next door to us. her family runs a little shop out of their apartment. you see that a lot around here--people will convert one of the rooms in their apartment that faces the street into a little shop. leslie´s family´s shop is basically a little convience store (drinks, eggs, cheese, toilet paper, etc). she is a student and is studying english. i was able to help her a bit with her homework and that was fun.

other random things: most streets are paved, but in a few of the more humble barrios in our area, they are hard packed dirt. we walk a lot. got my first set of missionary blisters. i´m officially official. our area includes the airport that is in salta (hope that helps identify where it is on maps). we knock on the door if we can get to it, or ring the bell. we clap if the porch/yard is inclosed with a gate. (many are.) the weather was cool (80s), but heated up this week. it will be long, hot summer folks. thank goodness it will cool down at night. i have a few photos, but no time to attach this week.

Salta Airport

love you all, the church is true!

hermana magnusson

Estoy aqui!

Sorry for the delay in writing! We´ve been doing p'day stuff all day and have only now been able to email. and i had to first send a letter to my president -in spanish- and that took FOREVER. but i´m here in salta and doing good. thanks to jmag (loved the photos!), ma, gee, bishop w, sis mangum and hna nelson for the emails! and i got dear elders from rachel and sam. thanks to you all! i think emails will be most convenient. dearelders take a while to get to me because they sit in the office for a few days before i get them at our weekly district meetings.

so much to say. not sure how much more time i have. we were delayed in getting here a day. oh man, what a story. we arrived in dallas ok, but then sat on the tarmac waiting to take off (for buenos aires) for TWO HOURS because of one problem after another- the pilot needed to change the flight plan due to the volcano. then we were overweight, so they asked for volunteers to take a different flight. then there were mechanical problems. then a sudden attack of severe lightening storms, and finally, part of the plane was struck by lightening so that´s when we had to deboard. we were waiting around for instructions and a man in a uniform (the pilot of the plane?) came up to me and my comp and said, "sisters, heavenly father didn´t want us on that plane. there were too many problems. you be sure to write that in your journals tonight." interesting, eh? not sure if he was a member, but he sure talked like one.

by then it was late (10ish?) so the airline gave everyone vouchers for a hotel. we left the next morning and arrived in B.A. way late, so we stayed in a best western downtown. didn´t realize they had those in other countries. then, the next morning, we got up way early and went to a different airport and flew to salta, where we were picked up by the pres., his wife and the assistants. because we arrived late to the hotels each night and had to get up WAY early to get to the airports, i was running on 6 hours of sleep in 2 days. no good. but i was glad we were safe.

pres. levrino is very nice. speaks almost ZERO english. his wife is fantastic, very enthusiastic and warm and speaks a little more english (i think she´s had missionaries tutor her). they had us over for lunch at their house: yummy empanadas and potatoes and chicken. they were impressed that i´d had empanadas before.

we were assigned trainers after lunch. my new comp is hermana rojas. she is from cordova, argentina, and also speaks just about zero english. i´m glad, because it´s forcing me to speak spanish all the time. she is a convert of about 5 years, and is the only member in her family. she´s 23 and was studying to be a kindergarten teacher before the mish. she is good and speaks slowly for me and i can understand her most of the time. i´m so grateful for that. but, i am discovering how much spanish i don´t know (ie: in the mtc they don´t teach you vocab necessary for cleaning your apartment). i am able to communicate well enough, i guess, but there are still too many long chunks of silence. i need to remember that that will come with time.

we whitewashed an area here in salta. i think we´re in the southwest part of the city? our area is called tribuno, if that helps find in on any maps. my comp is a little stressed because she is a pretty new herself (only on the mish for 4 months), she´s training, and in an area that she doesn´t know. we have inherited quite a few investigators, and even had "our first" baptism this last saturday. we just taught her the last lesson that she needed, but hey, she´s still ours. :) the mission goal is for each companionship to have a baptism each week. not sure if we´ll have one this week, but it´s something to work towards. our area is composed of "barrios" or neighborhoods. it´s not part of the big, central part of salta, but is a little more humble, with some dirt roads and small homes and businesses. we live in an apartment building on the 4th floor. it´s fairly big (according to my comp) and not in bad shape (ie: we have a fridge, a stove, a working shower, toilet and hot water). yay. it kinda reminds me of gee´s canal house. or at least, our kitchen does.

i´m running out of time, so i´ll need to revert to bullet points.

-the people here "sing" their spanish. they all sound like sis. patiño´s mom. and they talk fast. and sometimes the argentine "sh" (for double l´s and y´s) is so strong i can´t understand anything. but i am able to contribute a little to lessons, so i´m grateful for that.

-we walk everywhere, or ride the colectivo (bus). our chapel is about a 15-20 minute walk away.

-there are a lot of plants here that i recognize from home, like the trees with the purple flowers that line the driveway to northview.

-dogs are everywhere. they lazily walk around or are just laying in the sidewalks. and they´re all pretty nasty.

-the ward meets in a new chapel. there is another ward that meets in the same building. not sure how many people were at church on sunday, not enough to fill the chapel, but enough. we arrived at gospel principles for sunday school, and when my comp stood at the front of the class, i realized it was our job to teach! thank goodness my comp is a native and taught because i wouldn´t have been able to do it.

wish i could right more, but i don´t have any more time. i love you all! thanks for your prayers and support! being a missionary is not for the faint of heart, but i know i can do it with heavenly father´s help.

Love, hermana magnusson.

Sis Magnusson Has Arrived!

¡Buen día a los padres de los mejores misioneros en todo el mundo!

We just wanted to let you all know that your missionaries arrived here safely on Wednesday. They stayed the night in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, and took a plane here and arrived safely Wednesday morning. They are now already with their trainers in their areas working hard and having a great time!

Thank you so much for all the sacrifices you have made and are making so that these wonderful missionaries can be out here serving the Lord! I promise that it´s more than worth it!

We will soon be sending you a picture of your missionaries with President and Sister Levrino. Sorry we didn´t get this e-mail out to you sooner!

Also, if you want to see the pictures, you can join the mission facebook group, Misión Argentina Salta 2011-2014, where Sister Levrino will be uploading all the pictures they took.

Have a great day!

Elder Bryson Loughmiller

Financiero - Misión Argentina Salta

Still waiting to hear from Sis. Magnusson

I know from American Airlines online flight status that Lisa's fight that was scheduled to leave Dallas on Oct 17th at 7:35 pm, didn't actually leave until 8:00 am the next morning. And that is all I know about Lisa's travels to Argentina. I'm assuming that her flight was delayed because of the volcanic ash problem that I talked about in the previous post.

We are anxiously awaiting to hear from her. I'm thinking that we'll get an email from her on her next P-day, which I think will be on Monday.

In the meantime, I have updated how to write Lisa. That information is located on the right hand column of this blog. I'm thinking that now that she is out of the MTC, the best way to communicate with her is by her email address which is:

lisa.magnusson@myldsmail.net

If you want Lisa to also have a hard copy of your letter/email sent to her, you could follow the new instructions on how to use dearelder.com that is located on the righthand side of this blog.

You can also use the Church's pouch system for the cost of one regular stamp, or the regular mail system which will cost you .98 for a 1 oz letter + .78 for each additional oz.

Volcanic Ash Cloud

Lisa is scheduled to fly to Argentina today. We'll see if she makes it.

Volcanic ash cloud grounds flights in Argentina and Uruguay

17th October 2011

Click here for story source

Flights to major airports in Argentina and Uruguay were suspended yesterday as a dangerous ash cloud from the Puyehue volcano in neighbouring Chile began to drift into the countries' airspace.

Jorge Newbery Airport in Buenos Aires was shut down, and flights at Ezeiza airport south of the Argentinian capital were also grounded.

Both international and domestic flights have been affected in Argentina, including routes to Mendoza on the steps of the Andes mountains and Ushuaia in the far south. Bariloche airport is also currently closed.

American Airlines, Lufthansa, TAM and Gol have also cancelled a number of their flights to the Argentinian capital.

Argentina's transport secretary Juan Pablo told reporters that officials were waiting for the ash cloud to pass before the airlines operating out of the airport could resume their operations.......

.....Later today

I just got a call from Lisa. She having a layover in the Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas airport. She is on her way to Argentina hoping that her carry-on luggage (that they took away from her because there wasn't enough room to carry it on her plane) makes it to Buenos Aires. She sounded great and ready for this new adventure!

Last MTC Letter and Pictures

Our district this last Sunday in front of the temple (duh). It was a little chilly and super bright. Hence the squinting.

The hermanas had "Morado Martes" (Purple Tues) one day. Our teacher Hermana Nelson is in the middle. We really don't dress the same all the time. It just happens to be the only time we take photos.:)

"Mismo Miercoles" (the same Wednesday). We all wore blue, just for fun, even our teacher Hermana Nelson (back row middle)

• It will be sad to only have one more time at the temple. I will miss it.
• Crazy to think this is the last week. Every day at the end of the day, we rate ourselves on how much Spanish we used. Then we make a goal for the next day that is a little higher - and the results are totaled as a class, so everyone needs to participate to meet our goal. Yesterday our goal was 100% for the whole day (our highest has been in the 60-70 range). It was hard, and I was frustrated a lot of the time, but as a class it was the most Spanish we've ever used. We didn't get 100% but close (mid - 90s). My comp has been speaking only in Spanish for a couple days straight now, but I've never been able to do it yet. It's easier during class but when we're jus talking in a casual setting, it gets too frustrating so I revert back to English. I feel like I did before student teaching - I have reached a max on what I can learn from books in a classroom in the United States - I just need to GET THERE and use it to figure it out. I am excited to go.
• Another couple of my Las Vegas ordinance worker friends arrived this week - they will be serving in Boston at the Employment Center there. I had no idea they were going on a mission so it has been fun to see them in the cafeteria. They are both retired teachers so I know their skills will be well utilized.
• We got two new roommates last night. They seem really young - younger than the hermanas in my district, probably only because they're new.
• We got a new district in our zone last Wednesday so I got to help with their orientation as the coordinating sister. There are no sisters in that district, but I still got to miss some class and help out. It was fun. I like answering questions. I better go. There's a lot to do on your last Pday before leaving. I hate packing. Better get used to it. :)

Hermana Magnusson

Leaving THIS Monday

super thanks to gee, rachel (for your lucious package!!), ma (for aunt k's update), jmag (loved the photos), betsy, kara, natasha, jen w, and sister terrill for the notes/letters/emails/dearelders! i wish i could write you all back individually, but know that i appreciate hearing from you all!

i got my travel plans last thursday night. i leave THIS monday--flying out from salt lake city on 2:30 pm and arriving in Buenos Aires at 8:15 the NEXT morning (with a layover in dallas). that's all the travel info i have. i found out that there will be a local church rep in B.A. to help us get through customs and to get us on a plane to salta (hopefully. i'm hoping it won't be a bus...!). i have no idea when we will get to the mission home, but it will definitely be at least 24 hours after leaving the MTC. i'll need to remember to have my toothbrush in my carry-on. i'm sure i'll look waaaaaay naaaaaaaasty.

just a head's up--we don't receive dearelder deliveries on saturdays or sundays, and i'll leave before we get the mail on monday, so if you send a dear elder, it should be before tomorrow i guess. i also won't have another chance to check my email before i leave. this is it. not sure when i'll email next week.

Sister Julie B. Beck was our tuesday devotional speaker this week. so good. she talked a lot about her childhood in brazil when her dad was a mission president down there. she talked about how there was a time that the government didn't allow americans to come to be missionaries. all the members fasted and prayed that missionaries could come, but their prayers seemingling went unanswered. what happened instead was local church leaders began to prayerfully ask their native brazilian young men to serve. they were super poor and did not have the resources to go, but they served missions anyway. they began to come home from their mis-

sions just as the temple in sao paulo was finished and they were married in the temple and became strong leaders in their branches/wards/stakes. sister beck said that at the latest training for mission presidents this summer, 11 of the 13 portugese speaking mission presidents were from brazil, from that generation of young men that served because the american missionaries couldn't. i loved this story because it reminded me that heavenly father sees the big picture--sometimes when we figuratively "can't get our visas to brazil" and it seems like our prayers are not being answered, it's because the way is being prepared for something bigger and better than we understand. so great.

this week, we just about finished all the lessons with two of our "progressing investigators". maria (played by our teacher hermana nelson) was interviewed for baptism by our district leader (in spanish of course). it's been really neat to see the progression of our investigators. hna nelson told us last night in class of the true story of maria. all our investigators, though played by our teachers, are real people that they know personally and very well. maria is actually a guy named jose that she's been friends with since elementry school. in the last couple months they found each other on facebook after not having any contact for several years. jose's life is a mess right now, and hna nelson has been able to share with him things that bring her peace (the church, book of mormon, etc). it was neat to find out that while "maria" has been preparing for baptism, real-life jose is meeting with the missionaries and is making big changes in his life. the church is true! there IS a way to find lasting peace and happiness in this life!

oh man, no more time. i love you!

hermana magnusson

Dear Lisa on DearElder.com

Lisa had this request in her last letter she wrote home:

"For some reason, DearElder doesn't include the date on their printouts. Can you let people know it's helpful to date their letters? I try to remember to write the date on the day I receive them, but I often forget."

Instruction on how to use DearElder.com is on the right hand side of this blog. I'll be updating how to use it after she leaves the MTC sometime around Oct. 18th.

She Writes in Spanish!

These are las hermanans (the sisters) in my zone. On Sunday afternoons we get to walk to the temple.

L-R Magnusson Andrus, Carnes, Sheffield , Weagle, Taylor, Christense, Baker.

Click on the letter to read each page.

Two Weeks Left

thanks to pa, ma, jmag (loved the photos), gee, sam, rachel, aunt karen, jen u (THANKS for the goodies!!!) and jen w for all the love this week! feliz cumpleanos to renee last week (didja have meatloaf?) and rachel this week. yay for my birthday sisters!

holy smokes, only two weeks left! i think we get our travel plans today (flight itineraries, etc). i'll let you know what they are in my snail mail letter. i don't feel ready, language-wise. i still can't speak enough spanish, but i know that will come with more time and immersion. i definitely need to speak more here--that's the goal for this week. classes and lessons with investigators are totally in spanish, as always, but i need to be better about speaking the language during the everyday stuff--in the cafeteria, gym, bedroom...dah.

general conference was fabulous, yes? we had no classes at all on saturday, so that made it like a holiday. we watched conference in the gym, which is where all our firesides/devotionals are held. not too comfy in the hard chairs, but it reminded me of my college days because i was able to focus better. it seemed like all the talks were about things we focus on all the time as missionaries--sharing the gospel, reading the scriptures, receiving revelation, repentance, the atonement, families, covenants...so great! hopefully we get the liahona sent to us, because i can't wait to read them all. we also watched the general relief society broadcast while the elders were at priesthood. man, i love elder uchtdorf. so great.

sunday night, our fireside speaker was chad lewis, the NFL ambassador to china and part of byu's athletics staff (but you already knew that--right, sam??) he shared a lot of interesting missionary experiences he had in the NFL--all because he served a mission. it was pretty rah-rah (but good), and all the elders were eating it up.

speaking of football, there's a video on the lds.org youth page. the title is "sanctify yourselves." it's really good--a true story about a little boy that was struck by lightening during football practice and he received a blessing. the coach is the dad of one of the elders in my district (elder johnson, from pocatello, ID). you should watch it! (especially sam)

the weather turned super cold overnight. i had to bust out my tights and pj pants. it's been raining for two days. the weather had been great--cool in the morning, warm in the afternoons. i LOVE the fall colors on the mountains. it will be weird to go to argentina and have another summer.

i saw the grimnes' in the cafeteria last night. (they were on our church history tour, from uncle d's stake, going to cambodia.) they got here on monday. you'll have to tell uncle d i saw them.

the other hermanas in our zone (there were four) left this week. we were roommates with two of them, so our bedroom is extra quiet in the mornings and nights now. they went to riverside, ventura, seattle, and tempe AZ.

the church is true. heavenly father loves us and is mindful of our needs! it's so great that we have a prophet on the earth today. and i love reading the words of the prophets in the scriptures.

love, hermana magnusson