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