Update on Hermana Magnusson. Welcome to Argentina

Lisa with Pres. and Sis. Levering

I know we've left you hanging on Lisa's whereabouts from our last post.   The office elders from Lisa's mission sent pictures of her arrival to Salta a couple of days later,  but we didn't hear from Lisa herself until yesterday.  We were happy to hear of her travel adventures and safe arrival.


 we were delayed in getting here a day.  oh man, what a story.  we arrived in dallas ok, but then sat on the tarmac waiting to take off (for buenos aires) for TWO HOURS because of one problem after another- the pilot needed to change the flight plan due to the volcano.  then we were overweight, so they asked for volunteers to take a different flight.  then there were mechanical problems.  then a sudden attack of severe lightening storms, and finally, part of the plane was struck by lightening so that´s when we had to deboard.  we were waiting around for instructions and a man in a uniform (the pilot of the plane?) came up to me and my comp and said, "sisters, heavenly father didn´t want us on that plane.  there were too many problems.  you be sure to write that in your journals tonight."  interesting, eh?  not sure if he was a member, but he sure talked like one.

Lisa's companion is native Argentine which is a great way for Lisa to learn Spanish.  

 my new comp is hermana rojas.  she is from cordova, argentina, and also speaks just about zero english.  i´m glad, because it´s forcing me to speak spanish all the time.  she is a convert of about 5 years, and is the only member in her family.  she´s 23 and was studying to be a kindergarten teacher before the mish.  she is good and speaks slowly for me and i can understand her most of the time.  i´m so grateful for that.  but, i am discovering how much spanish i don´t know (ie: in the mtc they don´t teach you vocab necessary for cleaning your apartment).  i am able to communicate well enough, i guess, but there are still too many long chunks of silence.  i need to remember  that that will come with time.

Lisa with Herman Rojas

Lisa's first impressions of Argentina:

-the people here "sing" their spanish.  and they talk fast.  and sometimes the argentine "sh" (for double l´s and y´s) is so strong i can´t understand anything.  but i am able to contribute a little to lessons, so i´m grateful for that.

-we walk everywhere, or ride the colectivo (bus).  our chapel is about a 15-20 minute walk away.

-there are a lot of plants here that i recognize from home, like the trees with the purple flowers that line the driveway to northview.

-dogs are everywhere.  they lazily walk around or are just laying in the sidewalks.  

-the ward meets in a new chapel.  there is another ward that meets in the same building.  not sure how many people were at church on sunday, not enough to fill the chapel, but enough.  we arrived at gospel principles for sunday school, and when my comp stood at the front of the class, i realized it was our job to teach!  thank goodness my comp is a native and taught because i wouldn´t have been able to do it.

We love our Lisa and are happy that she can be bringing the gospel to our brothers and sisters in Argentina. 

If you want to write to her, I'm sure she'd appreciate an email.  Her email address is:

lisa.magnusson@myldsmail.net