I Feel So Ritzy!

Hello to all! I am emailing from the Upper East Side of New York City today, not only that, but I am using our new cell phones to make all my "important" phone calls. You know, the new cell phones that missionaries got here :) They are like really really fancy phones, so I totally fit in in this New York City lifestyle, except for the fact that I am wearing a 5 dollar Old Navy skirt... haha, that doesn't fit in so much. HA HA HA! Ok totally kidding, I don't fit in in this crazy part of the city, but I am here... we found this library after a stroll in central park. And we DID get new cell phones and they are so fancy. I think I have been using the brick we call a cell phone for so long that I forgot what nice cell phones are. It even has a camera... high class, I know. Ha ha, but it was exciting. All the missionaries are enjoying them, it's like Christmas!

This week has been a whole bunch of ups and downs, but it has been wonderful. SIs. McMillan and I were so excited to start a new cycle off. We had all these plans and then woke up Thursday morning sick. Sis. McMillan had an AWFUL cold and I had the flu, we were a pair to be seen let me tell ya, we still worked and I'm pretty sure everyone thinks we are crazy, we were determined to make it a good start of the cycle. Luckily we are feeling much better and things are going great!

Lewis came to church on Sunday and LOVED IT! It was SOOO exciting. We had the Primary Program so I think he was a little confused at first but he felt the spirit so strong and told us that the spirit confirmed to him that this was right and that is where he needed to be! He is so excited to be baptized! I can't wait! This will be the first baptism I've seen from tracting! Crazy!

We have found a couple of really good new investigators that are so prepared! I love it! I feel like things are finally starting to come together in this area. Here is a fun story, the other night we had an open spot in our plans that we decided to do "inspired tracting" We got on our knees and prayed to know where to go. We both got the impression to go to a former investigators house. We went there and they were not home, but we both felt we needed to be there so we just started talking to everyone who walked in. We were still trying to figure out what we were doing there so we decided to pray again. As I started praying some guy started singing from his apartment building and Sis. McMillan said, "That's our answer, let's go to his door!" We knocked on that door and the 3 doors next to it and got return appointments from each one. Then as we were leaving we talked to a family who also gave us a return appointment. I don't know what will come of it but I know we were lead there. We may find someone prepared, or we may just be getting practice on following promptings of the spirit. Either way, we loved it and we were reminded that things like that SHOULD happen all the time as missionaries, we just need to listen. It was a great lesson for us both!

We had a wonderful training from President Smith yesterday. Each month we are receiving trainings for the new curriculum for missionary work. It is once again, amazing to be with so many missionaries (two different zones) and feel of the spirit there. I learn and I am taught so much. I love being a missionary. It is so weird to think that tomorrow is my one year mark. I am not sure where the time has gone! I am determined to work harder and to do my best. I can't think of life without my mission, every day I thank Heavenly Father for the opportunity I have to serve! How lucky I am!

Today we were able to go to the temple. It was wonderful! It was full of missionaries and of course the spirit was so strong. My thoughts were brought to my little brother who is flying to Argentina. I am so proud of him! I miss my family so much. Thinking of the fact that I haven't seen them for a year breaks my heart but I felt so close to each and every one of them today. I love the temple. I feel so close to family and it just feels like home :) I was able to be there with Sis. Child too which is just wonderful! We actually share an area (she covers a singles ward in English for my area) so that is a blast because I get to see her more!

I hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for all your love and support. All my emails today made me so happy! I love you all!

Love, Hermana Passantino

Sisters at the Manhattan Temple

Breakfast after Maribel's first time at the temple for baptisms!

Holy Cow, it doesn't taste like cow!

Well, my time on the computer is short again because it took me about 30 minutes to try to figure out how to print everything. Bleh! But I will give a quick update. Things in the Bronx are going good. We are working up our teaching pool and have a couple of pretty good potentials. We actually have two baptismal dates in Jan which is very exciting. They are two kids, Jarynet and Jordan. Their mom was a convert but very inactive and her kids are what brought her back. They are so sweet and I am very excited about it. The Spanish is still a struggle but I try every day. I can understand a lot more than I can speak. It's hard here because EVERYONE is from somewhere different so not only am I leaning Spanish but I am trying to learn from people who speak it 20 different ways. Today I had another opportunity to go to the temple and it was great of course. The temple here is so pretty! It is crazy how it is RIGHT in the middle of the city and yet when you are inside you can't hear a thing, you feel like you are in a different world. Meeting the Ambassador of Paupa New Guinea was really cool. You all know I really enjoy things like that. Oh so I had two "firsts"this week. So, I had to eat cow stomach!!!!! It was so weird. I think it was more mind over matter though because I took one bite and had to keep myself from dry heaving, I was able to finish it though as long as I mixed it up with rice. Then, that same night at a baptism this poor kid was throwing up everywhere and my companion and I ran him to the bathroom (while he was still throwing up) and cleaned him up, cleaned the bathroom up, and then went back to the RS room where NO ONE had cleaned up that mess, so we got to clean that up to. Heavenly Father has blessed me with strength to overcome that because there is no way I could have done that before. I am once again going to try to add some pics in here, we'll see if it works this time. I miss you all so much. Thanks for the letters!!! I love them all! One quote I have loved this week is "Hold on a little longer. You can do this! You are part of a special generation. You were prepared and preserved to live at this important time in the existence of our beautiful planet earth. You have a celestial pedigree and therefor have all the necessary talents to make your life an eternal success story" -President Dieter F Uchtodorf. I know that sometimes life is difficult, and we all have different challenges, but because of our Savior Jesus Christ, we can overcome anything, because he has already done it for us. It takes a lot of practice to have faith in him. Something I need a lot of practice with but if we press forward and don't give up, we can all make it. I love you all!
Love, Hermana Passantino

One Week Under My Belt

Hello to All!
Sorry if this is short but the computers here are timed, I feel like I am back at the MTC. This week has been difficult for me. I have tried so hard to put myself into the work, and I have, but as usual, new situations effect me pretty bad but I am continuing to move forward. It is nice to know I have one week under my belt but I still feel like I don't know anything. Church was rough because I didn't understand ANYTHING but the members are nice, they just speak to me and I look at them with a blank stare and hope they understand that I did not understand a thing they said. The bishop is really getting the ward excited about missionary work which will be great! It seems to be a pretty strong ward so that is good. We have a couple of investigators that we are hoping will get baptized soon, a couple of families which is great. The hardest thing is getting people to church because everything is just so spread out and no one really understands the purpose of going to church every week. We have a member family that lives in the poorest zip code in the US, Mot Haven. They live in the projects there and it is so sad to see their circumstances and makes me blesses for what I have. Today we got to go to the temple which was really nice, it is right in Manhattan and so it was cool to go down there. As a Spanish speaking sister I will never really be in that area, it is SO different than the Bronx. It was fun to be able to see the New York that you think of when you think of the city. I hope to hear from everyone soon. Please keep me in your prayers. Love you all!
Hermana Passantino