Write Me!

Write me here until April 3rd, 2012!

Sister Cydnee Squire
MTC Mailbox # 207
ARG-BABL 0403
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

Mission Office in Argentina:
Sister Cydnee Squire
Argentina Bahia Blanca Mission
Chacabuco 1755
8000 Bahia Blanca
Buenos Aires
Argentina

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So Long, Farewell

What an amazing day. Are you ready for a long post full of pictures? Here we go.

I woke up early because I had my final interview with my stake president at 8:30. The rest of the morning was spent getting ready and practicing my talk. We got to the church half an hour early and waited for the meeting to start. It was another Elder's homecoming, so we were expecting a full house. After the meeting started, nearly all the seats were packed. We couldn't use the triple overflow because the ward before us had their 3rd hour meeting in there. Some people even had to listen in the foyer!

Elder Mccolm spoke before me and he did a great job in inviting the spirit. My cousin, Dave, sang a beautiful missionary song called 'I Will Not Be Still' (listen to it at end of this post). It was hard to try and maintain my composure with a song so close to my heart, but I did it.

I got up to the podium and gave my talk, which was about doing hard things. It was perfect for me, because I've been feeling worried and inadequate about the work that I have to do. I talked a little bit about how God will never forsake His children during trials, even when you feel alone and I shared a personal experience about feeling alone in the middle of a trial. After my talk, the bishop got up and had me stand. He said something like, "If you're going to pray for Sister Squire, will you please stand?" Nearly the whole congregation stood up (well, everyone except the people who didn't know me). Bishop said, "See Sister? Take a mental picture of this. When you're out in Argentina and you feel like you're forgotten and alone, remember this picture, and remember that there are people here who love you and will be praying for you". That was probably my favorite part of the whole day. I felt so loved!

When I finally made it home, there was a line to get into my house out the door! I was hugged, congratulated, and took so many pictures. I have such a great support system of family, friends, and ward members. There was around 200+ people who came out to see me and I couldn't feel more grateful and humbled that so many people love and care about me. I had a warm and happy heart all day!

Study abroad gal pals.

Beautiful cousins (in-law?)

My handsome Dunn boys

The best guys around. Watch out, ladies.

G-ma, g-pa and great aunts and uncles!

Ah, can you feel the love? Thank you to everyone who came. It meant the world to me. 

Oh Hey, This is Gonna Be Me Next Week

Mission Motto

 I absolutely love this quote. I don't know who said it, but every time I read it, I get teary eyed. Don't even ask me to read it out loud:

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I’m done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preeminence, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer and labor with power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up and paid up for the cause of Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach all I know and work till He tells me to stop. And when He returns for His own...He will have no problem recognizing me.

Lasts: In-N-Out

On Friday, I had my last In-N-Out burger. I could say it was a bittersweet experience... but it wasn't. It was just a decent burger and I felt bloated and gross afterward. Typical, right? I'm sure once I'm in the MTC I'll be begging for a good cheeseburger and a regular diet coke.

Tomorrow I will be in the single digit countdown for my mission. What the crazy? Where has time gone? I don't think I've ever been more nervous or excited in my entire life. My farewell is a WEEK from today and I've been trying to think of what I'm going to say. There's going to be an estimated 175 people there for me (not including our congregation OR the people there for another Elder's homecoming). Whoa. Intimidating.

Hopefully I'll be able to update you all on my 'last' experiences before I leave. There's a tentative plan to go skiing sometime this week! Yay snow!

Here's One for the Dark Lord

I'll explain the title in a minute, don't you worry. A few nights ago, Haddy and I took Rachelle to CPK for a late Birthday dinner. The evening was spent laughing obnoxiously loud (we are so funny). We were taking pictures and Rachelle said that her dad used to say "Here's one for the dart board" while posing for a pic. Well, I thought she said "Here's one for the Dark Lord" (I'm reading HP right now... of course I thought she was referring to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named). We laughed our faces off at that. Man, I have some pretty great friends.

Lovely Rachelle with her gifts

Isla Mujeres

Yup, Island of Women. This was the last big thing we did in Cancun (besides lay by the beach and read all day). We took a ferry over to the 7 mile long island around noon and rented golf carts to tour around. We spent time at a beach where you could walk out into the water forever and still have it be at your knees! We had dinner at a beautiful restaurant (at the hotel in the last picture) and I had the best chicken tacos I've ever had. Our last day was spent at the beach, and we had our last dinner at Cambalache. When we left for dinner, it looked like it was going to rain, so we grabbed our umbrellas and headed to the bus. It started POURING five minutes into the ride. When we got to the restaurant, we had to hop off the bus into a HUGE puddle and it was still pouring! We got soaked in a matter of minutes. By the time we got done with dinner, it had stopped raining so we were able to stay dry! Now, I am safely home, back to the cold weather, and now have 16 days left until I leave. CRAZY! Here are the last few pictures:

We Bought a Zoo

Yesterday was so much fun. We rented a car and headed to a zoo called Crococun. A doctor I worked with at CUC told me it was a must see, and we are so glad we went. It is not very well advertized, so we had the entire zoo to ourselves. Our guide walked us through the zoo, and taught us about each animal. Since no one else was there, we were able to take our time with the animals. We started off looking at baby crocodiles and we were even able to hold one! I was nervous at first, but he hardly moved the whole time.

Next up were snakes and bigger crocodiles. We walked along a pathway in the middle of a crocodile habitat. They were seriously inches away from us. I'm pretty sure that would be illegal in the US... but it was pretty awesome.

During the whole tour, monkeys were climbing through the trees and coming down to get food from us. There were really comfortable around people, so we got to hand food right too them. There was even a mama monkey who toted her baby around on her back. She was the cutest little thing!

 

We had such a fun time playing with monkeys and feeding all the animals. I would definitely recommend going to Crococun!

Bienvenidos a Cancun!

Yeah, the water really is that blue

Well, we made it! We are finally in Cancun, and I am loving it. The sun, the sand, the beach. Everything. Our day was spent by the beach, reading and listening to the waves. So relaxing. We got ready for the evening and went to town to eat at our favorite restaurant, Cambalache, an ARGENTINEAN steak house. Wassup? It was so delicious!

Potato Souffles. Heaven in your mouth. 

We finished with dinner, and found a man outside with this little guy on a leash:

 Naturally, we had to take pictures with him. By the way, his name is Toto.

Playing with my necklace

I am still laughing about this last picture. Toto has a hand under my chin and a hand on my boob. Not a big deal, but I got felt up by a monkey.

Jumping on the Bandwagon

 
A. Age: 21

B. Bed size: Queen. A blessing from living at home. At school, I sleep on a twin, and constantly bang my head, knees, and elbows on the wall through the night. 

C. Chore you hate: Washing dishes. Cue gag reflex.

D. Dogs: Had a Yorkie, her name was Gracie Lou Freebush. Now she lives with our cleaning ladies... and she's fat.

E. Essential start to your day: Listening to music.

F. Favorite Color: Trick question. I don't have one.

G. Gold or Silver: Currently gold. But it changes. 

H. Height: 5'7 and 1/2. Ok, maybe 5'8, but I'm not sure.

I. Instruments you play: Does guitar hero count?

J. Job Title: Medical Assistant/Patient Navigator. Fancy huh?

K. Kids: None... yet.

L. Live: Utah.

M. Mother's Name: Janie.

N. Nicknames: Squid, Squidney, Cydster, Squirt, Cyd, Squishy.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Birth

P. Pet peeves: Semis in the fast lane, peeps who chew with their mouths open, hair anywhere but your head, squeaky mechanical pencils, the sniffly nose in the testing center, wet newspaper (cue gag reflex), chair kickers.

Q. Quote from a movie: "You'll always be fat to me, Chris!"

R. Right or left-handed: Right.

S. Siblings: Older brother.

T. Time you wake up: 8:30 ish for school, 7:30 for work, soon to be 6:30 for mission.

U. Underwear: Wizarding robes. Aka 'G's'.

V. Vegetable you hate: Brussels sprouts

X. X-rays: Mouth and chest. 

Y. Yummy food: Pizza from Settebello. It is my weakness. 

Z. Zoo animal: Giraffes. Hands down.

So now you know a little more about me. Maybe a little too much.

In other news, I'm headed off to MEXICO tomorrow! Bah! Can't wait!