I'm Turning Into An Old Lady....

Hey y'all,

 

How are things? Well, the mission is turning me into an old lady. My legs hurt, my back hurts, I'm tired all of the time.... whew! At least I know I'm wearing myself out in the work of the Lord, there's no better way.... I don't think :)  More on that in a second.

-SO! Emanuel got a calling to serve in the YM presidency as a counselor! And he got ordained a PRIEST! I'm super happy about that! They are seriously the best family ever. We have a noche de hogar (FHE) with them tonight and I'm super excited about it. Suni looked so cute yesterday with her YW binder!

- Funny thing, we went to centro today to take pics and look around. I was getting a lot of "adios", "hola chica" 's today... more than usual and from old men. (aka hombres verdes, or hombres cochinos (disgusting)) I was pretty disgusted, like always (I usually go "BLEH!"  loud enough for them to hear me so that they know I am NOT pleased. I would LIKE to do more but I'm a missionary and I can't go telling men off in the streets. Quiet dignity :-).. then one old man said, "adios" and I gave him a look and he said "oh! I'm sorry! You look like the girl who dances tango on broadway right now! I'm sorry!" And then I just peed my pants laughing!  It was so funny.

- So, about my old ladiness. WOW! Can I just say I'm very tired! I'm in the final stretch of the mission marathon, and I feel like I'm at the point where I'm at a slow jog, and people are fast walking faster than I'm jogging. I feel like stopping off to the side to take a nap in the grass, but I can't! 

It reminds me of the time that Dad and I hiked Timpanogos together. I had eaten CEREAL for breakfast (rookie mistake... I should have eaten more carbs and protein for more energy and brought more food with me) and I was dying close to the finish. But, my dad put his hand on my backpack and pushed me up the mountain while shoving trail mix in my hands (to this day, I still loath trail mix because of this experience). I sorta made that analogy that while I'm in the "slow jog", saying, "I don't know if I have the strength to finish. I'm tired. I need to rest."  That the Savior has his hand on my back, passing me Gatorade and that freaky gel stuff, pushing me to the finish line, saying, "Cyd, you can do this. Find my lambs. Feed my sheep. I will help you. I will give you energy when you need it. But you have to keep your legs moving." So that's where I am right now. It would be a lie to say that I never got tired in my mission and that you future missionaries won't get tired. There will be days when all you want to do is sleep, where your brain is foggy and your body just hurts, but just remember that the Savior is there with you, helping you along the way, all you have to do is keep your body moving and keep knocking those doors.

Shoutouts: PAIGE, sorry I got confused, happy bday THIS WEEK! 

And Sam Davis, I hope you had a fantastic birthday this past week. 

JAKE! Congrats on going through the temple, I wish I could have been there with you. 

I love you all and have a great week!!

 

H. S.

(Hermana Squire)

Pic uno:  In front of a giant lobo marino..sea lion. They are pretty famous here in Mar de Plata.

Pic dos:  Touching the sand on the beach. :-)

Pringles Just Got a Lot Bigger

Hey you people!

Ok, I hope you´re all doing well. No time to chat because I'VE GOT LOTS TO TELL. So... let´s get down to the nitty gritty.

1. We had a baptism on Saturday!!! YAHOOOO!
2. I´m in a trio. Still. More on that in a second.

-BAPTISM!!!! YAHOOO! AMANDA GOT BAPTIZED! I know I haven´t said much about her.... whoops, sorry. But, we first met her in April, through Hno Achigar (note future missionaries- THE MEMBERS ARE THE ANSWER!! Gain their trust and they start introducing you to their friends). We dropped her after a bit because she wasn´t progressing. Then we went back at the beginning of June and BAM! Progression. She took a bit to get a testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, but when she did, she said, "I´m going to get baptized. I need this change for myself. I need to be better. WOOO!!! Besitos, hugs, feeling the spirit... AHH so happy! She was confirmed yesterday!

- Now the trio deal. Hermana Leguizamón's companion never showed! We don't know why, but we called our DL (*District Leader**) and he said they weren't sending anyone else. At first we were like, ¨THIS ISN'T FUNNY,  ELDER! STOP JOKING!¨ But it's the real deal. All of Pringles! For the three of us! Our investigators, menos activos,(*Less active*) conversos recientes,(*recent converts*) and area have doubled! Now we're all in the same room. We have been running all over Pringles! Literally, running at times. We need bikes!! This week has been WAAAY stressful with the baptism, change and everything.  It's a little different, but I've finally got a Latina companion! It's been a little difficult because Hna Israelsen and I move a little faster than Hna Leguizamón. It doesn't help that she comes to my shoulder! She's kind of short! And when I do missionary work, I get my "Disneyland Walk" on. You all know the "disneyland walk". When the park opens and you make a beeline to Space Mountain or Indiana Jones because the lines get long super fast for those two!!! Poor thing just can´t keep up! So I´ve had to slow down a bit. It´s going to be a challenge to get organized, but once we get in the groove of things it should be better. I hope. Pray for us. 

- HERMANA BROWN IS IN DORREGO! Guess what? That is in MY ZONE! My comp has been sick SO WE GOT TO CALL OUR MISSION NURSE! Yahoo! I got to talk to her! I just love her! Hope we have a zone conference soon.

- I ate ostritch this week. It wasn't too bad. At first we were just eating milanesas and Presidente said, "do you know what you´re eating?"  Um, meat? NOPE, OSTRITCH! What!!! Would I eat it again? Probably. :-)

- I´m really just sooo tired. But still happy!! It´s weird.

- I COMPLETED 5 MONTHS IN THE MISSION YESTERDAY! What the crap!?? Who said time could go by so quickly??

- We have a new theme song... it´s "Behold, A royal Army". In the chorus it says "Victory, victory through Jesus Christ our Lord" (I think) but in Spanish it´s "avencer, avencer por Cristo rey Jesus" but instead of that, in the last verse we sing "ENCONTRAR, ENSEÑAR, BAUTIZARRRR!!!! (find, teach, baptize) POR CRISTO REYYYY JESUSSSS!" I LOVE IT!! I hope you all understand this haha. 

-I read a great talk given by Presidente Uchtorf in the Priesthood session 2010 titled "Continue in Patience". IT WAS GREAT! I REALLY need some patience... especially at this time. Two quotes I loved "Patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is in the waiting rather than the receiving that we grow most." And, " Patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace". I think in the world today, we could all use a little more patience. Especially when it comes to answers to prayers. We all have to remember that answers and blessings come in the Lord's time and in the Lord's way. And they always come! There's a reason why it's one of the Christlike attibutes in PME. (*Preach My Gospel*)

- SHOUTOUTS: KRISTEN YOU ARE A MARRIED WOMAN! My mom sent me a pic and you looked SO GORGEOUS! And Tay and Paige, you made gorgeous bridesmaids. I miss you three. Aunt LORI!! Thanks for the email. Finally. I don´t have time to read it, but I will print it off! Love ya! 

BENJAMIN SERNA AND JOSHUA SERNA! Happy birthdays! Love you both! 

ADRIENNE! It's about time you sent me an email!! THANK YOU! 

Sandii- I read a talk "Mothers and Daughters"- Russell M Ballard and I thought of you and Izabelle. Read it!

- All right everyone. That's a wrap for this week. Have a great Independence Day... even though it's winter here and Hna Israelsen and I are the only Americans in Pringles, we'll celebrate somehow! I LOVE AMERICA! WOOO! I love you all! Gotta go!

BESITOS! 

Hermana Squire