mom!

how goes the battle? good. it´s good. did i ever mention that the battle hymn of the republic is a really popular hymn down here? seems weird to me, cuz it´s like, a 4th of july song in the states. but i guess everybody can appreciate a good few rounds of ´gloooooooria gloria haleluuuuuujaaaaah´.

first thing is first- we had transfers this week.

aaaaaaannnndd,

drumroll please……

HERMANA MORENO IS STILL MY COMPANION!!!! FIVE CHANGES TOGETHER!!! 8 MONTHS!!!!!

VAMOARIBBA!!!! (vamos arriba. or, we go up. a mission cliché commonly used at district meetings, and equally as commonly made fun of by me.)

this amount of time together as a companionship has been almost unheard of since the first fifty years of missionary work in the 1800´s.

but the Lord´s got lots of great things planned for us in our time together. i´m really excited.

in other news, my guts are better! my baby food diet, however boring it is, seems to be working! also they gave me pills that protect my guts and help me digest stuff, so that´s good too. i´ve only felt sharp pains once this week. and i have more energy!! i´ve been really blessed. so far every member who´s given us food has given us food that is exactly what my diet indicates. the Lord is indeed taking very good care of me.

also this week, we were blessed to get to go to the temple again to see some of hermana moreno´s converts get sealed. it was so nice. i love the temple so much. everybody who can go, i recommend that you do it. asap. there´s so many blessings in there waiting for you!

t

in other news, i bathed in ice cold water this morning. our water heater broke last night, and i just felt too dirty to go without a shower today. so, feeling inspired by some stories i´ve read about heber j. grant and perseverance, i mustered my strength, and with determination, took off my thermal pajamas, slipped on my ice cold flip flops, turned on the shower, leaned in, then gasped and then screamed as the ice cold water made my lungs seize for a moment. i then continued to breathe hard and scream until i finally couldn´t rinse my hair anymore cuz i felt my scalp beginning to freeze.

afterward, i enjoyed an endorphin rush and the feeling of being hard core.
but i don´t want to repeat this tomorrow morning.

we went to our sector conference, our last sector conference with president and hermana peterson, in paysandú on wednesday. i´ve really grown to love the petersons, now that they´re leaving. bad timing, but better late than never, right? in the end, they helped me a lot to get my gut problems figured out once they realized it was a real problem, and as i shook his hand to say goodbye at the end of the conference, he kept me there a minute, just to thank me. to tell me he knows i’ve suffered a lot in my time here, and that they acknowledge and appreciate that and are really proud of me–and that heavenly father is proud of me too. i´m glad things ended on such a good note.

after the conference, we got to visit my beloved family echenique!! and i got to see fran!! this 3 year old kid is the coolest. after i was transferred to salto, olga, the mom, told me he wandered around for weeks asking where hermana roach was. when i showed up at their house, fran was napping. then when he woke up and came out to the living room and saw me as his mom said, ´look!! look who´s here!! roach!!!´, he got so excited and nervous that he sat himself on the far end of the chair next to me, and covered his face with his hands so i couldn´t see him. as he peeked through his fingers i gave him a really big smile, then asked him if i could pick him up.

lately, there is very little more that can make me happier faster than the smile of a little kid. i love little fran!!

so yeah. this week? i was blessed. i´m really excited for this change. hna moreno and i have lots of goals we´ve set and a family of 5 we´re teaching. it should be good!

i love you and i miss you mom! you and the sibs are likewise, always in my prayers. may the Lord bless you and keep you all.

ps- i cannot get over the goodness of that package you sent! you are a GENIUS!! I´d been craving spaghetti for weeks, and now that i have the seasoning, it´s possible! and rosemary!!! mmm!!! and cheesecake! and those rad hair clips! and the chipotle sauce! the taco seasoning! the bbq type flavoring that i currently don´t remember what it´s called!! mom, you are the best. it was super thoughtful, and i still wander around with warm fuzzies. i send you a big hug. i can´t wait to give you a real one in 4 short months.

last night, i did a little bit of book art, just to see if i could. i could and i did. and it felt so good!!

Montevideo Uruguay Temple