the week I got my trunky packet!!!!

I actually got 3. Well, today in the morning we went to the offices, which are in Montevideo, like 15 minutes from here. Elder Oaks is coming the 27th, and so we have a choir, and we went to practice. After, we went and hung around in the offices and Elder Mirabal was like “So, how do you like your trunky packet?” And I hadn’t gotten it. And so he went to go print one, and then the other secretary also did, and so there I got 2. And the Zone Leaders actually had it, and they’re our neighbors, and so now I have 3. Trunkiness galore. Haha. So, November 1st, at 11:30 am, I will be HOME!!!!!!!! One month. Wow! I don’t sit next to any of the elders who leave in my group. LAME. I’ll just be awkwardly alone, probably trippin’ out for a billion hours. Super excited.

This week was pretty good. I got a super bad cold on Tuesday, which was not cool.  I was completely drained, and I had to go home and rest because I seriously couldn’t find energy to walk. So we watched Elder Holland’s MTC Jan 2011 Devotional. SUPERRRRRRRRRR drop cane. He talks about what things are wrong with missionaries, and we need to understand the Doctrine of Christ. I watched it when I was an oro, and so I made my oro watch it. It was pretty cool.  We get along super well. I love her! She’s super diligent, and I can tell that she’s going to be suuuuch a successful missionary. I’m excited. I feel super old and bad, though,because she just barely turned one month on the mission yesterday, and today I got my trunky packet. SORRY, ORO!!!! But, all will be well; she’s kickin’ butt.

Anyway. I love you all. Pray for me and my companion that we can find people to baptize. We have some good investigators, they just aren’t committing to do stuff, which builds a wall for them to get to their baptism.

I love all yallz.

-Hna. Ruiz

Sept. 24 the week there was a TROPICAL CYCLONE

True story. But ya know, no big deal. We just couldn’t go out to work at all on Wednesday. Winds were way too crazy. So many trees fell in our area, it was really spooky. And now it’s just cold. LAME.

So my area is San Jose de Carrasco 2! We live next door to the Zone Leaders, and we share the ward. Basically like in San Jose de Mayo. Love it. We have lunch (YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!) with the Elders and the members, it’s pretty awesome! Our area is HUGE. We have a MALL. This mall has everything, including a Mc Donald’s, Burger King (which I havent seen since home–my oro was confused when I was like “OMG BURGER KING?!”) Good times. Also, here’s the worst part. The northern part of our area ends aaaat…. the AIRPORT. Hahaha. I see planes all the time. So much for not thinking about going home.

Leaving Varela was really sad. Bruno’s mom told us he cried all night. Poor kid. They came to say bye to us at the bus station. I miss them all so much. But we went to mission home on Monday, and President Armstrong had a meeting with me and Hna. Acosta to talk about Varela’s future. I hope all goes well. We had an amazing capacitacion for the trainers. O sea, the trainers were trained on how to train. We had dinner with the Armstrong’s. Spaghetti… and there was Ranch Dressing. Hna Lopez and I were like “What. No! Really? This exists here!?” Hna Lopez is like my favorite person ever. She’s in San Jose de Mayo, and we have wanted to be comps for forever, but this will do. Haha. We basically had a sleepover this last Monday ’cause we stayed in the temple hostel to wait for the oros on Tuesday.

So my oro is Hermana Mora from Santiago, Chile! Shes’ SO great. We get along really well. She is super pumped and ready to work, and she wants to do her best, and that makes me so happy. Her excitement for the work is contagious. Which is seriously, exactly what I need right now. I need your prayers. I need some strength… but yeah …

We all had to speak this Sunday, all 4 missionaries. Elder Francisco Viñas of the 70 has family in this ward, and so he was there. I gave a talk on repentance in front of Elder Viñas. Haaa. I love the mission. But after, I saw him highlighting the scriptures I used. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. and he was like “Wow, muchas gracias, hermana.”. Cool points for me!??!

But yeaaaaaaaaah. Last area, and I’m super excited. It’s going to be good. This week went by really slow. But I dunno. I know this week there WON’T be a cyclone… so maybe it’ll go faster? Yo que se!! (Super Guayan saying… I say it all the time. Prepare for that.) I love you all so much! You are all the best. Thanks so much for your prayers and support.

Loooooooooooooooooooove,

Hna. Ruiz