¡Hola Familia!

It is my first Pday in Uruguay! Thank you so much for your emails! I never understood how great emails or letters were for missionaries until I became one! They are awesome!!!

I have so much to tell you about Uruguay! What a week it has been! Uruguay definitely has its own kind of beauty! Right now, I am in an area called Progresso. It is filled with farmlands, campos, cows, sheep, and of course many dogs. There are dirt roads, panaderias, lots of little supermercados, buses, and houses. These houses are different from anything I have ever seen. They are not really houses, but kinda like shacks. Most houses probably have 2 rooms and they are made entirely out of concrete, so it gets really really cold. Its been a cold couple of days. The people here are so humble. They dont have much. Its been really humbling for me to see and experience. My apartment is, well, nice? I just know that I am here to be humbled. Its not the cleanist, but its the best we have. The shower doesnt have any water pressure, and there may be big daddy long leg bugs creeping on the walls above my head at night, but esta bien! I am here for the journey and I am here to serve my Lord, so I will be okay! I am living with my new companion/trainer, Hermana Harris! She is from South Carolina, went to BYUidaho, and has been in the mission field for almost 1 year. She is helping me out so much and teaching me the ways of missionary life! We also live with another companionship, Hma Flores and Hma Chin. Both are super sweet. We have fun in our apartment! The other night, all of our lights were shut off because we forgot to pay the bill, so we had a little campout complete with candles. Now our power is turned back on, and we are all so grateful! I never realized how much we depend on electricity everyday!

The food! The food here is another reason why I am here to be humbled. I have always been so contious about what I eat and how I exercise, but here, that is not an option. For example, the other day, Hma Harris and I had lunch at Auroras house. Shes a new convert in the area. She fixed us something like enchiladas and bread. The first serving had 2 big enchiladas. Before I was even finished with the first serving, Aurora took my plate and gave me a second serving with 2 more enchiladas. The people here are so poor, and they give us missionaries the very best, so we have to eat what they give us. I was so full. Then she gave us 4 more servings of fruit and watched us eat them. Hma Aurora is a nice lady. Speaking of food, I have never eaten so much meat in my life. They eat no vegetables here! The food hasnt been sitting well with my stomach these past couple of days, but our mission president told us that that is normal. 

There are many nice people here, but not a lot of people are interested in the church. We only have two investigators right now, Maria Rosa and Patricia. Patricia has a baptismal date set for Aug 31st!!! We hope and pray all day that she will follow through with that date! There are a TON of less actives in our area, so most of our days are spent searching for less actives and meeting and talking to many people along the way. My spanish is coming slowly and I am able to speak more and more each day. Its really difficult, but I just have to have FAITH! Its been a rough week, but they say your first 2 to 3 weeks will be rough, just have to have a good attitude. I pray all day asking for help because I have such a difficult time communicating and understanding what people are saying to me. 

The branch here is great! The people are so nice and love the missionaries! Yesterday at church, they asked me in sacrament meeting to share my testimony. They also dont have a pianist, so I played hymns on the old, way out of tune piano. They loved it, especially the little kids and teenagers. It was really fun, even though I dont know what they are saying to me. I just smile! 

Hma Harris and I are working hard, trying to talk to everyone we see on the streets. We fasted on Sunday for the Lord to bless us with more investigators. I know that he will answer our prayers. 

misskatielu´´´´´´I love you all! so much! Í am so thankful for my warm sleeping bag, for the scriptures, for my trainer,

for my home in Gilbert, and for warm showers! Send me a picture of the curtains, mom. And also, send me pictures of you guys! So glad the girls like their new school and are making lots of new friends. Tell James to hold out strong on acutane! Its so worth it in the end! LOVE YOU!

Hermana Katie Coon