Hello! or Hola!

I am so happy that you received the letter from me! 

I have been dying all week to tell you all the eventful, dramatic story of the week! It is so funny. We were visiting a less active, Margarita Buela and su familia. We had just got done reading the scriptures together and singing How Great Thou Art. The spirit was nice. I just love this sweet family. Their son, Disney, brought us out some sandwiches with bologna and juice. We never eat dinner, so it was nice to have something to eat. I took a bite of the sandwich. The bread was hard as a rock and all of the sudden...I felt something empty with my tongue. "OH NO!" I thought to myself. I started freaking out inside. My worst nightmare on my mission has come true. "I lost my tooth!" I thought frantickly. I started whispering loudly to Hermana Harris. "My tooth, my tooth!" And then it was made known that Hermana Coon was toothless. It was super funny because I was totally in shock and I began speaking in English to the family. They couldnt understand a word I was saying and I could not think in Spanish at this moment. Good thing Hermana Harris was there to translate for me! It was hilarious because the first thing they said was, "Where is your tooth?!" (in spanish of course) and then the second thing they said was, "Oh, esta bien! It happens all the time!" Hermana Harris and I had a good laugh about that one. No, this does not happen all the time...only in Uruguay! Hermano Buela gave me his denture cream. We had such a good laugh, but I had mucho verguenza! They were laughing so hard at me, but I think that this experience has only made them more endeared to us.

But like I said, the next day during proselitismo, everyone understood me so much better! I talked with a lisp and more like a Uruguayan! haha! And NO ONE, not even one person said anything to me about my rotten, dead tooth. I am becoming an Uruguayan to the extreme! The first dentist we went to was no bueno, the second was in Las Piedras. I was so scared and I will FOREVER be grateful for dentists in America...land of the free! I was sitting in the waiting room hearing the sound of the drills and my nerves were getting the better of me. I began reading my scriptures as I waited, but then, all of a sudden, my name was called. I walked back to the dental room, actually more like a mad scientist lab. The dentist looked like a mad scientist wearing JEANS. I sat in the 1970s chair with the light shining right in my face. Hermana Harris, my translator, told him the problem. He began drilling away my tooth to nothing...without my permission. He glued the temporary tooth back on and then I told him that I was concerned that my retainer wouldnt fit. He pushed that retainer in my mouth and then took it to drill it down! I freaked out! "Tell him to stop!" I told Hermana Harris. He shrugged his shoulders like I was crazy and said, "Its not like retainers do anything anyways." Yes they do! haha. I was quite tramatized from everything...the santication, the setting, everything. I was quite tramatized from the experience. Tell Doctor Wold that I will kiss the ground of his office when I come home. Afterwards, we bought icecream from Gritos and called Hermana Pugmire, who is the nurse for the missionaries. I am going to find a dentist in Montevideo because this temporary is only suppose to last for maybe 2 months. I am on an all liquid diet! haha just kidding, but I am trying to be so careful. 

So that was my exciting experience for the week! But, asides from almost getting proposed to from some random guy on the street, it was a great week! It is amazing how the spirit works. The spirit is definitely not a loud voice, but yet a still small voice that is so quiet you have to be really paying attention to hear it. We found this sweet daughter and father, Mario and Julianna, this week. As we were walking past them and say them in their front yard fixing a bike, Hermana Harris and I both had the thought that we should talk to them. We talk with everyone we see, but this time it was different. We began teaching them and sharing our testimonies. Julianna is 10 years old and is so sweet and intelligent. She wants to be baptized. We just love her. 

I really feel like I am serving with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. I know that this is the Lords work and he is and will put people into our paths to teach and bring to the gospel. A lot of our planned baptisms had fallen through, but like I said, I know the Lord has a plan. He loves his children so much. I spoke in church yesterday. It was my goal to really speak from my heart and not to have it written in spanish word for word. I began my talk by saying something like, "I know you all know that I am learning spanish and I hope and pray that you will all understand me, but what I hope for more is that you will be able to feel the spirit and the truthfulness of the words that I will speak." My heart is beating so fast as I type this because I am reflecting on each and every experience and I know that Heavenly Father has helped me. This is an experience that I will never forget because it is so true that the lord really put words into my mouth. I spoke of Revelacion Personal and shared the experience of my decision to serve a mission and then how Joseph Smith received personal revelation. The branch of Progreso is so small and it is so cute because when I have troubles finding a word, people sitting in the congregation just shout words out to help me. It is tender. I love my mission. I love this time in my life where I am able to grow spiritually. Yes, a lot of times it is really hard, but most of the time it is really fun and rewarding. 

Goodness, thank you all for your love and support. And thank you for writing Hermana Chavez. She is mi mejor amiga. She loves receiving letters from you. I feel like we were friends in the pre existence. So cool! I love you miss you all so much, but I will be home so soon. Time is going by so fast and I know it will only go faster and faster.

Mom, look up this song by Hillary Weeks...its called "Dancing in the Rain" or something like that. It will remind you of me, I hope! 

Until Next Week! Be Missionaries! Share this light with all your friends!

Hermana Coon

 Hermana Harris, Hermana Chavez, Hermana Coon, Hermana Flores