District Fun!

Our district in our district shirts: E. Minter, E. Prue, E. Hellberg, E. Thomas, E. Fox, E. Bayard, H. Child, H. Passantino

Fireflies!

Hola! How is everyone doing this week? It has been a good week for Sis. Child and I! As you can tell by my subject line, the fireflies are out and it just makes me so happy. It reminds me of being a little girl and catching them in PA! I had to catch one just for memories sake and then I realized I just really don't like bugs crawling on me... ha ha.

Monday we had mission conference and it was of course amazing. We talked a lot about the spirit and how important it is to ALWAYS have the spirit with us as missionaries. It made me really grateful for the experiences I had before the mission to understand how I listen to the spirit, it has helped me so much on the mission. One thing I realize is that really, we will have the spirit with us as much as we desire it. If it is a true desire, we will do all we can to have it. It is something you ALWAYS work for. I love mission conference! I love our Mission President and his Wife. We get to have a big mission summer party in a couple of weeks! It is going to be so fun to see everyone!

China and Ramon got married yesterday! She looked so pretty and it was a nice ceremony. I love them, they are so fun! Today we were able to go to the temple with China while she did baptisms for the dead for the first time. It was amazing. I just know I will be there when they get sealed one day. I have had so many sweet experiences on my mission already, I feel so grateful that I get to be here!

Fermin is getting baptized on Saturday and we are so excited! He is hilarious and I hope you get to meet him one day. He just cracks us up all the time and has the funniest laugh. He'll probably be moving back to Peru to be with his son though. Maybe we can do a family trip to Peru one day... that would be SO cool! Time for everyone to learn Spanish :)

So, we found out we are moving AGAIN! I know... so annoying. Sister Child and I moved our beds into the living room because our room was too hot but the mission wants us to live somewhere where we can have a window AC. So we'll be in the same complex, just in different building. So, make sure to take my address off the blog and just have people send stuff to the mission home until I get my new one. We won't have missionaries there so if you send it to the old one and we already moved, it will probably be lost forever! Ha ha... I'll be moving on the 3rd of July, so you can send stuff until like the end of June or so!

Well, I hope everyone is doing fantastic! I miss you all so much. Summer times makes me very homesick because I just love the summer but it also makes missionary work so fun! I love it! The Bronx is starting to feel like home. Ha ha! I love you all, I hope you are doing fantastic! Write soon!

Con Amor- Hermana Passantino

PS: We have had many encounters with that man who was passed out on pigeon row... He is always hanging around. Yesterday he was with a little midget Spanish man who was doing back-flips in the street. Oh man, I love this place!

Oh Pigeon Row... What an Adventure

Hello to all! Things are going well here in the Bronx. I can't believe I am still here but I am very happy about it. I wouldn't even mind staying another cycle. On Monday we had a meeting with President and he said we might as well just change my middle name to "Olmstead" (The name of our Zone) We all had a good laugh. Sister Child and I continue to do wonderful! We are finding and working and teaching... all the good things as a missionary :) I was so excited! Yesterday Fermin accepted a baptismal date for two weeks and he is getting baptized! Woo Hoo!!!! He is so funny and we have been working with him since Sister Child got here so it's time. This will be the first baptism I've seen from a street contact. Sister Walker and I contacted him on the street right before Sister Walker left. It just goes to show that contacting works... I have been doing a lot better with it so I am happy about that. It is still strange just walking up to random people but it gets easier as you do it all the time.

So Pigeon Row has another interesting story. We were walking down going home for lunch and we pretty much tripped over this guy who was passed out awkwardly on the steps... kinda strange. We stared at him for a minute trying to see if he was breathing and he was... but then an ambulance came and turns out he was passed out from a drug overdose... gotta love the Bronx and all the interesting things we see here. We now can not contact guys our age... it's just really awkward to try to talk about the gospel while someone is talking to you about how pretty your eyes are. Ha ha... once again, gotta love the Bronx.

Not much more to update on from the last week. We just work hard every day and see miracles all the time. I've been studying the Book of Mormon so much lately and I just love it! I am in the "war chapters" in Alma and I am LOVING them. I have learned SO much and it just makes my day so much better. I get so excited to read the Book of Mormon every morning, sometimes my whole personal study gets used just reading and studying it. What a wonderful blessing it is on our lives. I hope everyone is taking advantage of the blessings and gospel knowledge that can come from it.

I love you all, Happy Fathers Day to my daddy and all the Fathers in my family! Have a wonderful week!

Con Amor- Hermana Passantino

The Bronx and I have another round!

Well, transfers were today and I am staying in the Bronx! I'm actually really happy about it. This will be my 5th cycle here and it's been good. Last cycle we had 3 baptisms and we are hoping for 2 more this cycle. The Bronx really is a magical place! It is so blessed. I think a lot of it has to do with the ward and how good they are with missionary work. If the ward is prepared to receive new members they will for sure be blessed with it! Luckily our ward here is amazing!

Sister Child and I have had a good week. Our stake here is starting an English class program that the missionaries teach and so that started last Thursday. It was a blast! I felt like I was back in a classroom setting and it was so fun to teach! I feel bad that people have to try to learn from my broken Spanish but I know that we can use the spirit even in teaching English so that works great! The Spirit is the BEST teacher. It's the only way to teach as a missionary.

China was baptized on Saturday and it was wonderful. She is so cute and already such a strong member of the church. She is solid in all she does and is willing to do anything she can to continue forward. One of my recent converts, Santos, went to the temple for the first time last night too! I love seeing people continue to do all they can. Sis. Walker is teaching Marible's mom now too which is AMAZING! Oh missionary work, there are just so many miracles!

This week has been an interesting on as far as random things go. Of course, the heat has really gotten to us. Sister Child and I moved our beds into the living room because we just can not sleep in our room anymore. That's been a fun time, let me tell ya. But today and tomorrow are rainy and cold. New York weather is just sooo odd! We have been out of hot water for the last week and a half so that has also been interesting. Freezing cold showers really does wake you up in the morning. Ha ha. Oh the life of a missionary is always just so interesting.

I've been thinking about how one reason I am on a mission is to learn how to deal with change. I am not good at change, especially after I get used to something. Transfers are always a hard change for me and I haven't even been transferred! We had three elders leave from our district this time and it's weird. Two of them I've been with the whole time in my mission and it's just going to be different. You learn so much from people and then you get thrown into something new that you have to learn to work with. It's hard but what an opportunity to grow and become better! There are always new people to learn from and new friends to make. I am so grateful for all the people that have influenced me so far. Sister Wadsworth left to go home today and I just cried. She has been an amazing example and friend. I am grateful for change though because I learn something new.

I hope everyone is doing good! I would love to hear from you! Love you all!

Con Amor- Hermana Passantino

Nayeli Santo's Baptism

Yeah! Central Park!

Hermana Child and I in Central Park

Random expensive stores on the "Upper Eastside"

Da Bronx-pretty legit I'd say!

Hermana Child and I try to make tostones!

Orianet, Jarynett and Jordan teach me how to make tostones!

Rosetta Stone Is Pretty Sweet!

Hello to all! I hope everyone is doing well and staying cool. Well, I don't know if it is warm where you all are but it sure is warm here. I now understand the whole "humidity" thing here, it is nuts! It is so humid and hot and sleeping has presented a problem once again in our "oven" room. We'll survive though... at least we have fans blowing hot air on us. Last night an elder told us to put our hands and feet in freezing cold water until we couldn't stand it and then go to bed. It actually worked... Sister Child and I looked very silly with just our hands and feet in the bathtub with cold water but we weren't as hot... why it works... I have no clue, maybe it's just a mind thing.

This week has been so good. We had a baptism on Saturday of Nayeli Santos. She is so cute and we are now trying to work with her parents too. We'll see how that goes. We also have a baptism this Saturday! We are so excited for China and her testimony. It will be an awesome baptism. The Lord has really blessed this area.

Speaking of this area, transfers are next week. I can't even believe we have another cycle down... where is time going? I am really hoping that I DON'T get transferred. I want at least one more cycle with Sister Child in this area. I am hoping we just stay the same. Sister Wadsworth, a Sister we live with is going home this cycle and I am so sad. I love her to death and she is such an amazing example for me. Family, don't be surprised if she calls you to say hello for me. She is awesome!

This week I was taught how to make tostones, my favorite Spanish food so far. Sister CHild and I tried and failed but now we have been taught and we are getting better, they are so yummy! YUM! Now I can make some for the fam one day! Orianet taught us and that night we had a good FHE with their family. We were talking about Joseph Smith and translating the Gold Plates. We asked Jordan how Joseph Smith was able to translate them and he said, "Well, I don't know, he must have used Rosetta Stone!" Ha ha, he was kidding of course but we all laughed for a long time!

As I said before, things here are great! I am still loving missionary work and all the craziness that goes along with it! The summer time brings out some interesting things! I am enjoying the fact that I can wear sandals and having fun all at the same time... even when there is a freak downpour in the middle of the afternoon!

I'm off to get ready to play volleyball for P-day! Love you all! Stay strong and go do missionary work! We need members help!

Con Amor- Hermana Passantino