"What-e're thou art, act well thy part‏"

HELLO THERE!

Well it was just a lovely week here in Toay. But it's always pretty lovely here.

- First I wanna start out with some funny stuff. Yesterday we were eating with members, and we were eating jello for dessert. Well, the hermano said something funny, started laughing, and jello came out of his nose. I started crying because I was laughing so hard!!!

(had to be there)

- NEXT! This one goes out to Taylor and Devon. I'm so happy Dev is in PERU right now! His emails are HILARIOUS and I seriously laugh out loud with every one. Reading about his arrival in Peru brought back many memories and I was just busting up remembering my travels to Argentina and my first day. 

Then I realized I never really wrote about it... so here it goes... 

I was TRAVEL leader of our little group that left one day late. We got to Buenos Aires, and there was the mission president waiting for a group of missionaries, and they were like WELCOME!!! And started hugging us... and we were like... we're going to Bahia Blanca... haha awkward. So these two men came up to us and one was like "Elders, Hermana, follow". So we did and one of the Elders got sent in a car somewhere alone... and me and the two other Elders were like "oh what the heck"... and then the man took us to McDonalds. He kept saying things in Spanish and the Elders kept looking at me... and I was all  "I don't know what he's saying either!" 

So then we drive to another airport and get on a plane to Bahia, and I basically passed out on the window for an hour. We get there and Presidente and Hermana Detlefsen are waiting for us with our companions. Lots of hugs, me, confused and tired....pictures... and then I get in the car with my companion and with Presidente to head to the office. Presidente drove SO CRAZY and I thought, "Flip, I'm gonna die before I even start the mission!!" ... but we made it to the office... had orientation, and we were about to head off to the terminal to get to the area at like 8:30 at night... 

All I managed to say was "wait, I'm hungry!!" and one of the asistentes stole a box of pizza from the cultural hall as we were heading out the door. We made it to the terminal, loaded my suitcases on the bus, and headed off to the area... I was left confused and looking out the window thinking... what have I gotten  myself into??.... 

Well there you have it. I look back on that day and just laugh. And look where I am now... 16 months into the mission, and it's the best decision I've made in my whole life. 

- So for 25 de Mayo we had an activity in the chapel... you know what that means. Locro (defined at end of letter)... bleh. Well, it wasn't too bad this year. 

But anyway, ANABELA CAME!!! Wahoo! She's progressing so well! She brought her kids too... she has the most ADORABLE twins, Micaela and Bianca. So cute! 

So we took the kids outside with the rest and played so that she could talk and make friends with the other sisters. Man, I haven't played like that in a long time. We ran, we played monsters, we gathered all the leaves up... they even somehow managed to get me on the ground and they buried me in leaves...  but we just had a blast! 

It made me a little trunky because I miss all the cute kids in my life! And my GOSH can I just hold one on my LAP?! Dang, that's the hardest rule for me! Especially when the little ones back their rears up to my knees and I'm like "I CAN'T!!!"

Ahhh. And with cute kids like these... man it's hard. 

Benjamin...boyfriend #1

Gonzalo, boyfriend #2

BUT ANYWAY! So Anabela and the kids came to church! She wants to get baptized so 

she knew she had to come to the ward in Toay! WOOO! And she loved it! Man, I'm SO excited about Anabela. 

And it was just the best, walking home from church with them, with a twin on either side of me holding my hand. I just love being a missionary. LOVE IT, I TELL YOU!

- We also found a really really great 15 year old girl. Her name is Laura and MAN the spirit was so strong in that lesson. She felt it for sure, she kept smiling during the lesson. You can tell that she is a really great girl and I'm excited to teach her.

- SO! My sweet mother sent me the conference edition of the Ensign and I've been studying every talk pretty thoroughly. I read the talk by Sister Dalton and I loved it. Here's a quote that I loved  "As (children) of God we are each unique and different in our circumstances and experiences. And yet our part matters- because WE matter". Love love love. It doesn't matter what part you have... but your part MATTERS! 

I've been thinking about "my part" lately. How blessed am I for the privilege to be a daughter. A sister. A friend. A neighbor. And the most important part I can play right now... A missionary and representative of our Savior Jesus Christ. I'm trying to "act well my part," every blessed day that I have here on the mission.

Shoutouts: TAY AND PAIGE Loved your double email. Love you both little goobies. 

KELSEY! Happy birthday today! Hope you have an amazing day! 

Tio Hector thank you for the email... hope all is well. 

Natalie Grant! Happy Bday this week! 

ANNA! THANK YOU FOR THE LETTER! Oh how I love you... and I can't wait to meet Evelyn... 

AUBREY BRENNAN! Thanks for the email! what a nice surprise! 

Dad! Cant wait to see your new Nordstrom suits! Woo! 

ABUELO: ME ASUSTÓ!!! Pero me alegra que está mejor. Voy a estar orando para usted y para su salud. Muchos saludos y un abrazo fuerte. Listen all of you. You are great. I love you lots. Have a freakin fantastic week.

Hermana Squire

.

(Locro...according to Wikipedia!!  

The defining ingredients are corn, some form of meat (usually beef, but sometimes beef jerky or chorizo), and vegetables. Other ingredients vary widely, and typically include onion, beans, squash or pumpkin. It is mainly eaten in winter.

In Argentina it spread from the Cuyo region to the rest of the country. It is considered a national dish^[1] and is often served on May 25, the anniversary of the May Revolution. A red hot sauce made from red peppers and paprika known as quiquirimichi is served sometimes on the side.)

HEY! IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME!!!

• Ok, not really, but I'm totally listening to Christmas music. Ok, so maybe I've been listening to Christmas music my whole mission.... I don't care!

HOW ARE Y'ALL! 

I hope good. Well, winter finally hit us and it's pretty dang cold, I tell ya. We have iron stairs in the pension and our calefactor (heater) is right underneath, so sometimes we just study on the stairs to get warm... the mission is pretty funny. 

I'm also leaving the house with about 10 pounds of clothing... sometimes it matches... sometimes it doesn't... do I care?... NO!! It's winter... I'll do anything to stay warm!

- Well, it was a normal week here in Toay. We've been inviting a lot of people to get baptized, now the only thing they have to do is come to church :) Haha, biggest struggle in the mission. We have been finding some REALLY great people, and I'm just so stoked to see what the Lord has in store for them. 

For example:

- Anabela and Luisa. Anabela's mom, sister, and niece are converts. They were referrals from the sister, who just got baptized last month. THEY ARE GREAT! In these last few lessons they've been really attentive, asking great questions, and are reading and praying. Problem, they go to Santa Rosa every weekend to see the mom... but they do go to church with them. THEY NEED TO COME TO CHURCH HERE! So we're working on that. Next problem: There are 6 (SIX)  children in that house under the age of 7... so our lessons are like: "Ok, you teach and I will draw Mickey Mouse. Ok, your turn... where are we??" And dodging flying objects being thrown by a 3 year old demon... BUT we will do anything for these sweet girls!

- Rina. She's from Chile and is a friend of a member. She already has 2 asistencias, (church attendances) so we're working on it! Pray for them!

- So about the "deep doctrine" I promised last time. Presidente taught us that the Plan of Salvation has four names in the Book of Mormon:

1. The Plan of Salvation (Alma 42:5) It is not a plan of condemnation... EVERYTHING is for our salvation.

2. Plan of Redemption (Alma 42:11) The Plan includes suffering. But we can be happy if we understand the plan.

3. Plan of Happiness (Alma 42:8) If you're not happy, there's a problem that you need to fix.

4. The Plan of Mercy (Alma 42:15) Look for the tender mercies! 

Just look at how the Book of Mormon starts:  1 I, Nephi, having been ^aborn of ^bgoodly ^cparents, therefore I was ^dtaught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many ^eafflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a ^frecord of my proceedings in my days.

Shoutouts: 

TAYLOR YOU ARE NOW THE BEST CAT IN THE UNITED STATES!!!! 

Paige... still waiting...... gooberface. 

TAHNEE YOU ARE NOW A MARRIED WOMAN. AHHH I want pics! 

***Attention all friends****: Now 5 of my besties have gotten married while I'm in the mission. 

That's all great and stuff, but can the rest of you just HOLD OFF until August? Ok??  thanks. :-)

AUNT LORI thank you for the email! I'm so glad Jake got his Visa! He's gonna be a stellar missionary! 

Tio Hector, thank you for the email! 

VAWDREY! I sure love you. I MISS YA! 

AND a big shoutout to my B.F.F. Haddy... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY! I love you soooo much! 

Hey everyone! Be good! Or... portense bien!!!

Chao chao, besitos (little kisses)

Hna SKWYAH!

cydnee.squire@myldsmail.net

This is my life right now, dirty tights with stickers/burs in them, along with the dirty shoes.

                                                       Leo & Paola's

                                                             wedding

Walking the 'streets' of Toay....apparently I walk with a swagger.....

Foggy day in Toay...brrrr......

Mission Conference Goodness!

Hey, what's up goobers?? 

Hope you all had a good Mother's Day. I forgot to do a little shoutout to all the moms out there, especially mine! I'm grateful for my mom and all the mother figures in my life. Thank you for all you do!

-Well! We had quite the week! Yesterday I got to talk with my sweet parents! I really didn't know what to say, haha. And I sorta struggled a little bit... "uhhhh, ehhhh....." haha.

- SOOO! We had a baptism on Saturday... YUP, LEO GOT BAPTIZED! (well, it wasn't really MY baptism, we were just there to watch... but the way that I see it is that the baptisms we witness as missionaries aren't OUR baptisms, but the Lord's).

Leo's baptism

We weren't planning on that but when we had an appointment last week he was like, "listen, hermanas, I want to get baptized this week". So, what did we do? We whipped out all the folletos and got to teaching. He already was familiar with everything so we just reviewed, committed, and BAM! Water. He got married on Friday and baptized on Saturday. Both he and Paola were so happy. They are now working on getting to the temple.  

- On Friday, we got up at 2 in the morning to travel to Bahia Blanca where we had a mission conference with Elder Zeballos. IT WAS AMAZING. The best so far. Hermana Parreño talked about the things that hurt us now... the blisters, sore feet and legs, tired backs, the heat, the cold... will exalt us when we leave. We have to pass through these things in the mission so that we can leave happy. I know I should be more like Paul, and "glory in my tribulations".  President talked about deep doctrine, about the Plan of Salvation. It was like WOW, I'm gonna have to explain it in the next letter cuz I´m short on time. Hermana Zeballos said something that I really loved. She had an apple and cut it in half and asked us what it had to do with missionary work. We made our guesses and she told us, "You can count how many seeds are in an apple, but you can´t count how many apples will come from one seed". As missionaries, we plant seeds everywhere. Sometimes we are able to see them sprout and bring forth fruit, other times, no. 

Story time. in Pringles, my companion and I worked with a menos activo family every week while we were there, but we never saw any progression... this week, my mom got a facebook message from my trainer, Hermana Israelsen. The hermano had sent her this message:

"Buenos días Hermana! como le va??? le cuento algo ya hace un mes que asisto a la capilla junto con mis hijos, Andrea fue a la conferencia general y este domingo asistió a la capilla. Ya tengo un llamamiento soy el secretario ejecutivo de la rama y el domingo me sostienen. Hacemos las noches de hogar, oramos y compartimos las escrituras en mi casa. Quería que lo supiera porque esto es producto de su trabajo aquí, su semilla quedo plantada y esta dando frutos, Muchas gracias por habernos ayudado.!" 

**************translation: "Good morning Sister! How are you? I want to tell you something. It has been one month since I have been to church along with my children. Andrea went to General Conference and this last Sunday she went to church. I already have a calling. I am the executive secretary of the Branch and this Sunday, I will be sustained. We have Family Home Evening, we pray and we share/study the scriptures in our house. I wanted you to know this because it is the product/result of your work here; your seed was planted here and it is giving forth fruit. Thank you for having helped us!"*******************

I am SOOO happy. To you missionaries.... sometimes we sow and we sow and we sow... we plant seeds all over and sometimes we don't get to see them grow. But some of them DO grow. This is evidence that they do. Sometimes we get frustrated when we don't see any results. My cousin Greg told me " Remember you decided to be a missionary despite what your ´results´ would be". So true. I have to remind myself of that daily.

-  One scripture to finish up. This is in 2 Nephi 33:3-4, but I'm gonna change the words up a bit "3 But I, {Cydnee}, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great ^aworth, and especially unto my {family and my friends}. For I ^bpray continually for them by day, and mine^ceyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry.

 4 And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my {family and my friends}. And the {letters} which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it ^apersuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life ^beternal.

- Shoutouts! 

KRISTEN FINALLY YOU WROTE ME!! (whose the best cat in the United States... it´s you, champer damper, it's you!). 

Taylor, Paige, EMAIL ME! Goobers. 

Serna family! Thank you for the email! Cool lizard!!! I like the name Draco... only because it reminds me of Harry Potter :) Leah, thank you for the drawing! Thanks Tio Hector!

Fernuik family! Thank you for the letter and for all the postcards!  I love seeing where you're all going! 

Myranda Thurman! Thanks for the email! I hope all is well with your family :) 

Tyler, thanks for the email and for constantly giving me advice.

I'm lucky to have a brother like you. 

Listen up peeps! You are great!
I love ya!

Love,

Hna Squire

cydnee.squire@myldsmail.net

Elders Allred and Hall! From my MTC District!!

Hermana Marin

With Elder Flores and Presidente's wife, Hermana Parreño

Reunion with Hermanas Mansilla and Batista!!!

Are You Espeaking Engrish???????

HELLOOOOO WORLD!!!

How are my favorite people? I hope you're all well.
 

- Well, I know that I do this shout out business at the end of the emails, but this deserves something more special... here's to my DAD! New FIRST COUNSELOR IN THE BISHOPRIC! Wow. Is it allowed to be proud of your parents?? Because I am. I am SOOO HAPPY for you dad. You are a humble servant of the Lord, and I can't think of a better man for the job. For those of you who know my dad, he serves and serves and serves so quietly and humbly and never expects anything in return. He loves our Savior. He strives to be like Him everyday. He loves his girls. He takes care of us and carries our shopping bags (while stopping to look at the electronics ;) ) and watches chick flicks with us. He makes me freshly squeezed orange juice every morning when I'm living at home. He makes us waffles every Sunday. He sends me a handwritten letter EVERY SINGLE WEEK with a hand made envelope. To this day, he has not missed a week, giving me many letters to cherish my whole life. I love my dad. He is the best. It took me too long to realize this... and sadly it took being in a different country for a year and a half to realize that. I always knew I wanted to marry someone that has my dad's qualities... poor kid has a lot to live up to :) I LOVE YOU DADDY!

 

- And while we're at it, someone once said that when they pick leaders for the church, they always think of the wife. So mom, congrats on being a first class lady. I'm excited to talk to you on Mother's Day. MAN! I have the best parents ever!! Seriously! I am one lucky kid! I regret being so onery as a teen! Man, sorry for that! Now everyone I meet... when I talk about my family I'm like... "yeah, my parents are pretty cool people".
 

- Ok some funny stories. So my companion has been sick this week with some stomach problems. I had to call the doctor of the area and he only speaks English. I was like, oh cool, that's fine, I speak English. Well, I was wrong. The whole time I was like "uhhh, ehhh,,, ummmmm" and Spanish kept slipping in! It was like the filter from my brain to my mouth didn't work! NO ME SALE INGLES! (**English is not coming out!) Then my comp said... "hermana, I think I can speak English better than you."... hahaha. Oh no. Mother's Day is going to be interesting....
 

- So in church yesterday, I was sitting there next to an investigator enjoying the testimonies. Then, a cute boy sat next to me. Real cute. Next thing I knew, he was holding my hand. Man, it's been a LOOONNG time since I've gotten that kind of affection. Did I mention he's the bishop's son? His name is Benjamin... and did I mention he's about 3 years old? Ahaha, hopefully I didn't startle anyone. But I've got a little admirer in the ward. :)
 

- OK! SO! We´ve been teaching an eternigator... a boyfriend of a member... that the missionaries have been teaching for like a year. WELL! They are getting married this Friday and we think he'll be getting baptized next week! WOO! His name is Leo... and he's such a good guy. He even bore his testimony yesterday. It was amazing.
 

- We are also teaching a married couple, Jorgelina and Cristian. They just had a baby girl about a month ago. SO CUTE. AHHHH BABIES! For some reason we just started talking about temples and eternal marriages and they loved it. Cristian started crying. Now we just have to get them to church. THEY WILL GET BAPTIZED I TELL YOU!!! They have so much potential it's insane! I already see Cristian as bishop!
 

- So I just started my second to last transfer... UM WHAT! So old, it's insane.
 

- So. Ya'll know I've been pretty tired as of late. So I asked my amazing district leader if he could give me a blessing. This is the first time I've asked for una bendicion de fortaleza(**blessing of strength) in the mish (p.s. how blessed are we to have worthy priesthood holders wherever we go??) He blessed me to have strength in my legs and he said "te falta poco, pero tienes mucho para dar". (**you don't have much time left, but you have a lot to give**) I loved that. I felt the Spirit so strong then. I know I have so much to give! I just have to stay close to the Lord and interchange mis fuerzas por sus fuerzas. (***my strengths for His strengths). With His strength, I can sprint to the finish line, with "both of my index fingers pointing to the sky, not to glory in my own achievements, but in the act of praising my God" for giving me the strength to finish.
 

- I heard an interesting phrase in church yesterday.... "Don't expect the Lord to guide your steps if you aren't willing to move your feet". SO TRUE. As missionaries... we pray, and then we go. We ask for guidance then we get moving. We knock doors. We visit old investigators. We pray for guidance and then we ACT. This is a gospel of ACTION.
 

- Other shoutouts! Greg! Congrats on getting your Masters! What a stud.

Tyler, thanks for the email!

Y a la familia Ibarra y Familia Serna en Texas! Hace mucho mi mama me esta molestando para escribir en castellano... jeje. Les amo mucho! No puedo esperar hasta que podamos hablar cara a cara. Creo que sería más facíl para mi porque mi ingles es un garrón! (crap!) Estoy tan feliz que Dios me permitió aprender español en la misión, para que pueda hablar con ustedes. Que bendición. Que sigan bien y recuerdan que yo les amo. Gracias por el apoyo.
 

HEY ALL YOU! You are great! I love you so much it may be unhealthy! But that's ok!
:-)

 

Hermana SKWAYAH!!!
 

cydnee.squire@myldsmail.net (write me!)

 

 

**(translation for last paragraph : "And to the Ibarra Family and Serna Family in Texas. For some time now, my mom has been bothering me to write some Castellano...ha ha. I love you so much! I cannot wait till we can speak face to face. I think that it will be so much easier because my English is 'crap'! I am so happy that the Lord allowed me to learn Spanish in the mission so that I could communicate with you all. What a blessing. I hope you continue to be well and remember that I love you. Thank you for your support."

 

 

Just waiting at the bus stop......such a colorful one!!

nice dirt road

parrots just hanging out

 

I LOVE TOAY!

Hey peeps,

How are ya! I'm doing pretty darn great. Flippin' EXHAUSTED but hey, that's missionary work for you. It's pretty great! You should try it sometime. :-)

-Since I didn't have much time to write about Toay last time (and also because I didn't really get to know it yet) I'm gonna explain to you. Toay is about a 15 minute drive from Santa Rosa, the capital of La Pampa. It's a small farm town... it's a big area with not a bunch of houses, but a bunch of fields. I LOVE IT! The dirt here is like sand. Straight up sand. I pick burrs out of my skirts daily. There are pickups everywhere and farm animals in the yard! We got hissed at by a goose the other day, and I think it almost charged us. It was a close call.  It's dryer here (thank goodness) and it's a lot more humble than Mar Del Plata. The people here are SO NICE! Always greeting you in the street, and the majority listen to us with respect, even if they aren't interested. 

A lot of them live pretty humbly. They are hard workers and all around good people. And the members... WOW! I love them. Everyone is so excited to have Hermanas. Well, the sisters are the most excited because we can come in and eat with them... the other day we ate with some members and they fed us chicken... their own chickens! And today they gave us eggs. The hermana said, "don't ever buy eggs, we will give you some."  These same members drove us to Santa Rosa today to check some prices on stuff for the apartment at a place like Walmart but on Steroids. It was the best! Then, the hermano installed our washing machine!!! I LOVE IT HERE!

- So the other night, our plans had fallen through and we were just walking around without direction. It was frustrating so we stopped in the corner and said a prayer, asking the Lord to guide us to someone who was prepared to receive the gospel. We walked past this girl outside smoking and my companion was looking at me and I was looking at her and she had this look on her face like, "ahhhh". So, we stopped on the corner and I said to my companion, "It was her wasn't it?" and she said "yes". So we went back, but she had gone inside. We then knocked on her door. She had company but we found out that she was atheist. She invited us to come back again. I thought it was interesting and amazing that the Lord would guide us to one of his daughters who didn't feel that He existed. I hope we get to teach her again, her name is Monica. Pray for her heart to be prepared for us. Lesson learned: Never delay a prompting!

- I have been LOVING my personal study time as of late. I know that I won't have as much time to study the scriptures in depth when I am home so I'm taking advantage of it!  I read in Ezra 7:10 " For Ezra had ^aprepared his ^bheart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel ^cstatutes and judgments." I love that! Ezra first prepared his heart to seek the will of the Lord, then prepared to DO IT! 

Next up, I read in Doctrine and Covenants today in 127: 2, "And as for the ^aperils which I am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me, as the ^benvy and wrath of man have been my common lot all the days of my life; and for what cause it seems mysterious, unless I was ^cordained from before the foundation of the world for some good end, or bad, as you may choose to call it. Judge ye for yourselves. God ^dknoweth all these things, whether it be good or bad. But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in. It all has become a second nature to me; and I feel, like Paul, to glory in ^etribulation; for to this day has the God of my fathers delivered me out of them all, and will deliver me from henceforth; for behold, and lo, I shall triumph over all my enemies, for the Lord God hath spoken it." 

Sometimes I feel like I have been called to swim in deep waters... but like the Joseph Smith movie says... "better deep than shallow". The Lord has trusted me to pass through my trials because He wants to shape me into a better person, and He knows that I will be able to pass through it. In the last few weeks, I feel like I have come to the end of my rope. But someone once told me "when you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on!"  So that's what I'm doing. I've tied my knot and I'm hanging on with both hands!!  

Then I read D&C 128:22: "22 Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. ^aCourage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad."  I love that scripture! I know that the Lord is saying to me, "ON TO THE VICTORY, CYDNEE! Be exceedingly glad, because you are doing MY work! You are my instrument! Look ahead! Move forward! Open your mouth! Courage!"

- Shoutouts: Happy Birthday to my Vawdrey!!! 

HUNTER DAVIS! Congrats to your rocket team! Hey just remember your cousin Cyd when you become a famous rocket scientist. Man, my cousins are rockstars!

Holmes' family and mission prep kids! Thank you for the pkg and the note! Keep working hard and preparing for the best 18 months to 2 years of your life! 

TAHNEE! I got your letter. You are the best. Also, I think I might have been in the same EFY group as Taylor when we were  14 or 15... I'm almost sure. Check on it. Email me. 

VENICE YOU ARE MARRIED! I can't believe it. I LOVE YOU! Email me! And happy bday! 

Rachelle! I just wrote you a letter, it´ll be off to you soon! 

Lucretia! Congrats on the baby :)

LIsten. I just love you all so much. You are the greatest support group. I know that I can go on because you're all cheering for me. Have a great week.

Hermana Squire

Our chapel, capilla, in Toay

Front door to our apartment

Emergency Transferred...

Hello Everyone!

-Well. This last week was probably the longest and toughest of my mission so far. I´ll tell you why. It all started with Wednesday. We got a call around 1pm from our mission leader telling us that Mariana had passed away that morning. It was so sad. But she was suffering so much. The comforting thought is that she went from this world completely clean. One month ago today she was baptized... and that baptism was a miracle. She suffered so much, but knew that baptism was necessary. She knew it and we all knew it. So she went through with it, and now she is resting in paradise. That I know for sure. I'm so grateful that the Lord let me teach her. It was an amazing experience, and she is an example of perseverance.

- Later on Wednesday, we had Juan Enrique's baptismal interview. TODO BIEN. He passed. On the way home in the remise, our district leader called us and said there was EMERGENCY TRANSFERS: WHATTT!! NOOOO! He said we would be leaving THE NEXT DAY. But we were like "NOO! We have a baptism on Sunday!" So after our Z.L.s (*zone leaders) talked to the A.P.S. (assistants to the President)... we were able to stay until Sunday. And we had time to say goodbye. They put Elders in this area and Hna Ibaña and I were assigned to TOAY, LA PAMPA (a different providence in Argentina) OPENING THE AREA FOR HERMANAS!!!! and Hna Batista and Hna Godoy got sent to Pigue. So the whole half of the week was spent preparing, saying goodbyes, packing, cleaning the pension, and writing up info about the area for the Elders. It was super sad saying goodbye. Especially to our ward mission team. The best ever. The girls cried. I'm not gonna lie, it blew. Emergency transfers blow. It's a big change to put in Elders. But the Lord knows what's best. 

- Juan got baptized!!! It was the best thing ever. He looked so cute in white, and was just grinning from ear to ear. It's been a long time since someone got baptized that wasn't a referral from members. So, it was a true miracle. Juan taught me that you are never too old to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is never too late. I know he's gonna be great.

- SO, here I am in Toay!  We left last night at 8:30 and got here at 8 in the MORNING.. well we arrived in Santa Rosa. I LOVE LA PAMPA!! It reminds me of Nevada or Arizona or Texas. Hopefully, I'll have more pictures of the Area next week. I think I'll be finishing my mission here and I'm pretty excited about it! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it already. 

Shoutouts; Happy Birthday Corb! And thanks for the email! :) 

Also thank you to Tio Hector for the email. 

Hope all is well. 

HEY I LOVE YALL! 

Have a great week. 

Hermana Squire

(******note from mama Squire: In a separate email, she wrote that Sister missionaries have not been in Toay---pronounced *toe-eye* since 2008. So she is super excited to be in an area that has not had hermanas for a long, long time.)

Familia Henrik

Graciela and Carlitos

Hermana Raventos & Gladis

Missionary Team in Puerto

Ward Misson Leader and his family

Barby, a ward missionary

With Estefy, FUTURE missionary!

Fish on the ground, Fish on the ground, Whatcha gonna do with yo fish on the ground??

Well, if you're in Puerto, you're just gonna leave it there. Seriously, there are like 500 fish factories here, and when they unload the fish from the trucks, if a few fall on the ground, NBD, they just leave it there to rot and all that fun stuff. Also, we NEVER step in the water that's in the gutter. Why? because normally there are fish guts and all that so it makes it slippery. My poor companion fell right on her tush in that nastiness last week.

Me calling the fish unto repentance.....

ANYWAY! Hello my people. 

HOW ARE YOU!?? Hope all is well.

- Ok, so this week we had a zone meeting and President came for interviews. I LOVE PRESIDENT! He is such an inspired man! I love talking to him and asking him questions. 

- So this past week, my companion got sick... and we had some time in the pension. It was kinda funny how it happened... we were out contacting and I hear "hermana, I don't...." and then she threw up. So yeah, we went home after that. We did practices and studied, but we needed a break, so we watched "On the Lord's Errand", the Pres. Monson movie. I LOVED IT! Go watch it. Now! But now my comp is feeling better so we can hit the pavement!

- JUAN ENRIQUE. HOW GREAT IS THIS MAN! He is getting baptized this Sunday. SO PRAY that everything goes well! He accepts all of the commandments with a "of course I'm going to do what Christ asks me to!" We went to teach the word of wisdom this week, and right then he was preparing a cup of coffee. We had brought malta with us (it's made from wheat and has no caffeine. It's pretty good) so I quickly said, "JUAN! The hermana Ibaña makes a mean malta, you should let her whip one up for ya!"  Phew, dodged that bullet. Well, we taught him the WoW (Word of Wisdom) and of course he accepted, and the next day he had a cup of malta on the table. So amazing. He went to a baptism that the ward had yesterday and loved it. He is so excited to get baptized. 

- I was thinkng about conference this week and how amazing it was.  A recurring theme seemed to be obedience. I loved what Pres. Monson said, "Said President Gordon B. Hinckley, “The happiness of the Latter-day Saints, the peace of the Latter-day Saints, the progress of the Latter-day Saints, the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints, and the eternal salvation and exaltation of this people lie in walking in obedience to the counsels of … God.”⁹

Obedience is a hallmark of prophets; it has provided strength and knowledge to them throughout the ages. It is essential for us to realize that we, as well, are entitled to this source of strength and knowledge. It is readily available to each of us today as we obey God’s commandments.

I was reading through the book of mormon, and noticed how Nefi ends 1 Nefi and 2 Nefi... 1 nefi 22:30-31"  30 Wherefore, my brethren, I would that ye should consider that the things which have been written upon the ^aplates of brass are true; and they testify that a man must be obedient to the commandments of God.31 Wherefore, ye need not suppose that I and my father are the only ones that have testified, and also taught them. Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the ^acommandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at the last day. And thus it is. Amen.  

And 2 Nefi 33: 15  15 For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the ^ajudgmentbar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must ^bobey. Amen.

How interesting is it that Nefi ends each book talking about obedience? And how many times does it say in the BoM, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land"?? I don't think it's coincidence that obedience was a popular theme. There are tough times ahead, and Like Pres. Monson said, the great test of life is obedience. Pres. Packer said that Mormons aren't obedient because they are blind, but because they see. We SEE the blessings that come from obedience to the gospel. And they are many, that's for sure. 

- So about this baptism we had yesterday. There were a lot of people visiting, and a lot of family members of this little boy. One of them that came was Franco, a 16 year old boy with Muscular Atrophy. He gave a beautiful talk. I was so emotional all of sacrament meeting. I had prayed to have more experiences with my brother and that is what the Lord gave me. As I watched his movements, looked at his hands and listened to him talk, I was reminded so much of my brother, and I thought of what he was doing on the other side. At church, I'm always looking out for other people... investigators, converts, the members... making sure everyone is happy. But yesterday, the Lord let me know that He and my brother are both looking out for me.

My new friend, Franco

-Shoutouts: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AUNT ANN AND ZANDER! Hope you both have great days. 

And a very special shoutout to Holley and her family. Thank you for your sweet letter. It really means so much to me! 

I love you all soo much! 

Take care!  

Hermana Squire

Hermana Godoy bundled me up like a burrito so that I could get warm! It is getting cold!

These are some of the houses that I have to preach to. Scary sometimes.