Happy New Year

It´s still a new year until it´s old. (and you can quote me!)

Hello again to all my friends, I´m glad to write today. Our fun and learning never ends, here´s what´s the news today: (<-that´s me plagiarising the closing lines of ¨Barney¨)
I´m in a new area! They dun moved me out. Oh well hey, here´s part of the letter I sent to my Mission President today, shortly after arriving to my new area:
¨I´ve been here all of about 30 minutes and I already love it. Hermana Delgado is wonderful and the district is full of ¨capos.¨ I feel sort of like the country mouse that came to the city: everything´s so modern, big and fancy - and airconditioned! Leaving Burzaco was very hard. It reminded me of when I had to leave Guatemala, which was one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life. Leaving Burzaco ward, I was quite surprised by how difficult it was to sit through sacrament meeting, trying not to give away that I was leaving but crying like a little llorona (cry baby). I thought so much about the members of the ward, the investigators, and the other people I´d met and talked with there. So many good people! I love knowing that the Lord cares for those who keep their commitments to Him. Because I know the Church is true and God is true to His word, I can rest assured that there are no real ¨goodbyes¨ among the righteous. And besides, Burzaco has Hermana Bushman! One step closer to a translated city. :)

As I was saying earlier, I love La Plata! And I loved what Sis. Asay said in the transfer meeting: Make this transfer the best one of your mission; do now what the Lord wants you to do. That really hit me. I just feel alive, especially in the face of these new beginnings (new year, new transfer, new area, new fabulous companion,etc.). When the past has been so blessed and sweet, I can´t help but think of the excitement of the future. I feel like I´ll have to make a lot of small conscious efforts to work with all my heart, might, mind, and strength - to be an agent for good. That doctrine of acting (not being acted upon) is so key.¨

I don´t know much about my new area, other than that it is a bonified big city. I am currently in the nicest internet-place I´ve ever seen (yes, even in the states) - it´s very high-tech and sleek. Turns out, this is a college town. Woot! I´ve not met many people here in the city yet, but I met a lot of nice people along the way (train, taxi, Burger King, etc.). Burzaco (my last area) was in the zone of the offices. My district was the office elders, the Asistants to the President, a ¨Senior¨ couple (bah! they´re young, say´s I), and we sister missionaries. We were very much ¨in the know.¨ Now, I´m in the zone that everyone thinks of as ¨very far away.¨ I´m excited to see the differences in how things run. But I thought too I should let you all know, because it also means a delay in receiving mail and such. Just so´s ya know...

Hey! My new companion, Hermana Delgado, is from Lima Peru (the area of the central mission)! She´s super. I think that means she can see through walls and fly and such. In any case, I´m sure she has many super powers that I will be reporting on in the coming weeks. Keep her identity on the D-L if you don´t mind. (And for those of you who don´t know what that stands for, all the more likely you will do it....ya know.)

Okay, I´m done speaking in riddles for now. The truth is marching on, and I must now as well.

I love you all. Keep smiling! Smiles are spreading like crazy here in Buenos Aires.

Hasta pronto!

Hermana Lindquist