Sad News.....

HOLA TODOS!

¿Cómo andan? I hope you're all enjoying the summer weather, because it is wet and chilly here in Pringles! Winter is definitely on the way... I'm not super excited about it. haha.
-Well, I've got some pretty sad news. Julieta wasn't baptized. We went over to Enrique's house and started prepping Julieta for baptism. She was pretty excited until Enrique said "So I'm baptizing her right?" NO, YOU AREN'T DOING ANYTHING TO CHANGE, MR. SMARTIE! We told him no, but he could still participate and all, but he got SO MAD. He was like, "I'm not going to support you in this, I won't come. This was special for me to do this for you because I love you," BLAH BLAH. Well, Enrique, you obviously don't love her enough to let HER achieve ETERNAL SALVATION, and YOU only want to do this for yourself. It was SO FRUSTRATING. I wanted to beat him with my umbrella, but then the news headline "Sister missionary gets sent home for mauling an 18 year old with her umbrella" flashed through my mind and I refrained. He was being so rude, I could hardly stand it. Julieta talked to us outside and said, I still want to get baptized. I want the Holy Ghost. But can we give him another chance to change? If he doesn't by the end of June, I will get baptized, sí or no? So we changed the date. THEN the next day we got a text from Julieta and it said she didn't ever want to get baptized, she wasn't going to come back to church, and to stop coming by Enrique's house. WHAT!! That was a 180 in a matter of 12 hours! We've tried calling, stopping by, we've fasted, but we can't find her. We want to know what happened and talk face to face. I am 100% sure that it has EVERYTHING to do with Enrique. So please pray for Julieta.
- Belén. I LOVE THIS GIRL. She is quitting smoking and her fecha is this Sunday. Her boyfriend, Jorge, is changing too. He's quitting smoking with her and he has more light in his face. He participates more in the lessons with us and comes to church activities. So, Belén will get baptized this Sunday, if she can completely quit smoking. She's already progressed so much with that, in a matter of one week. Capa. The other day she was praying and said "Thank you for sending me these girls. I love the presence they bring into my house". BAH! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!
- We had an activity for Independence Day on 25 de Mayo. We had such a good turn out! We ate locro, a traditional Argentine dish that they ate like 100 years ago. It was...... yeah. Ok. Not my favorite. Some members did some traditional dancing and read some poems from Argentine poets. It was such a fun day.
- We had a St. Bernard follow us the other day, for almost 20 blocks! HE WAS HUGE! His head was like the size of a watermelon. We called him Vincent. Imagine two sister missionaries at your door with a St Bernard."Are you SURE you don't want to listen to our message?" (Cue the St. Bernard to growl). Later, his owner found him, relieved that he had been following us, and PUT HIM IN THE TRUNK OF A CIVIC! THE TRUNK!! Pobre.
- We found the granddaughter of a converso in the ward, Anabela. Her daughter was outside while we were contacting a reference, and she kept inching closer and closer. Finally she was like, what are your names? We talked to her for a bit then Anabela came out and let us in. We taught her lesson one and how to pray and asked her to say the last prayer. She did it, then we asked how she felt. She said " I don't know, I feel emotional, and I don't get emotional. I feel something here in my chest. I've never felt this before". Wow, right? Definitely one of the coolest experiences so far on the mission. We have high hopes for her. Please pray for her that she can find work. She's in a tough time right now.
- I read a great quote about keeping the Sabbath day holy. It really made me think. "Our observance of the Sabbath is an unnerving measure of our attitude toward the Lord personally and toward His suffering in Gethsemane, His death on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead. It is a sign of whether we are Christians in every deed, or whether our conversion is so shallow that commemoration of His atoning sacrifice means little or nothing to us." - Elder Mark E. Peterson. WOW, right?
-Shoutouts: Tyler and Ashley, I LOVED the pic of Lucas in the BYU shirt! SO CUTE!! Happy Birthday to NATALIE GRANT! Woo! Love you! And happy birthday to Kelsey yesterday, hope it was great. I got the BEST LETTER with pictures last week from the Serna crew! Thank you and I LOVE YOU JOSHUA, LEAH, MATTHEW, REBECCA! And of course Robert and Julie :). SOMEONE GO TELL RYAN DEGROOT I AM SO DANG PROUD OF HIM!! WOO MISSION! Everyone! I love you all! Read your scriptures! Pray every day! Pray with your family! Go to church! Do the little things! So simple, but so vital. 

Está obra es la obra del Señor! El sufrió por TODOS. No solamente por nuestros pecados, pero por nuestros dolores, affliciones, TODO. Cada día, le doy gracias a Dios por el sacrificio de su Hijo. Estoy tan agradacida que estoy sirviendo aca en Pringles.  LES QUIERO! 

Translation****(This work is the work of the Lord. He suffered for everyone. Not just for our sins, but for our pains, afflictions, EVERYTHING. Each day, I give thanks to God for the sacrifice of His Son. I am so grateful that I am serving over here in Pringles. I love you!)****

Hermana Squire (or Hermana Alta... (hermana tall) it´s a new one. And people spell my name SCUAIR so they say it right when I have to give a talk in sacrament)

Rocio, our cutie pie

Milagros!! (Miracles)

HOLA QUERIDA FAMILIA Y AMIGOS!

Oh my goodness, this week was GREAT! Wet, but so amazing. Miracles I tell ya, MIRACLES! Where do I even start?!

-We had 3 investigators in church yesterday. THREE! We went from 0 for the past 4 weeks to 3! Woo! So, Julieta came alone. She ALWAYS comes with Enrique. She told us that she called him that morning and he was all wishy washy about going to church and she told him that she's tired of waiting for him to change, so she's going to get baptized anyway. WHAT!!! AHHH! She asked us, "So when can we do it?" WELL, THIS SATURDAY OF COURSE!! WOOO! POR FIN! Ah, I'm so excited for her! We've been praying for this for a month! Ahhh what a miracle, no?
- We called Belén at 9:30 (when church starts) and she had been crying. Her uncle had passed away that morning (good timing on phone call, right?). We told her that if she felt up to it, she could come late. SHE CAME! She came in just after sacrament with puffy, red eyes and with Jorge. OH MY GOSH. She participated so much in the class for the jovenes (youth) and stayed the WHOLE TIME. Oh my gosh. I LOVE HER! We only have diezmo y ofrendas (tithes & offerings) left to teach her. We taught Word of Wisdom and Chastity with her WHOLE DANG FAMILY there. Awkward. But she´s working on quitting smoking. She is truly the golden investigator.
- How we found Belén is totally the Lord´s doing. We met Analia after fasting, then met her brother Filipe. We visited with Filipe and his señora, Yanina (they aren't progressing) and then we were knocking at their house one day and Jorge was there (menos activo and novio *boyfriend* of Belén). We visited Jorge at his house and that's where we met Belén. Belén is Yanina´s SISTER! What in the world...??? all this work and family connections and we find Belén. Our little gem of an investigator. I hope that made sense.
- Rosio (little CUTIE PIE in the picture) came with her family too! La familia Varela is menos activo, but are working with them. They are the greatest and I LOVE THEM. Gabby is working on quitting drinking so he can baptize his daughter. Rosio is SERIOUSLY the cutest girl you will ever meet. I want to squeeze her all the time.
- Lesson learned this week: Check boots for spiders before you put them on, or you might find one smashed against your tights that night.
- We had just finished teaching an investigator about the resurrection and how we would have perfected bodies. She told us she was happy for that because she had a ´problem´ that none of her siblings had. Then what happened, you ask? SHE HAD A SEIZURE, right then! Oh my word! Hna Israelsen was freaking out, and I don't know why, but I was just so calm. I just helped her stabilize and it passed. Freaky, but what timing, right? Vomit and seizures... what´s next?
- It rained SO HARD on Wednesday. We seriously had a river on our street. A RIVER. It probably would have been easier to canoe to our lessons.This is when we found out our roof leaks. Luckily Hermana Israelsen and I came back to grab something and saw it was leaking so we were able to put pots and pans out everywhere. Oh, the mission.
Shoutouts: HADDY MAE. Happy dang birthday. Hope it was great. Thought about you tons yesterday. And... soggy waffle... hope you got that. AND I WOULD LOVE TO BE YOUR HONORARY BRIDESMAID!! Aw, you're gonna make me cry. YOUR DRESS IS THE DANG CUTEST! SO YOU. Bah, I love you. Paige- The Abundant Life- Elder Wirthlin. Read and Report. I love you dear. KELSEY FARR! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON SUNDAY!!! 21 you old lady. TO ALL MY DEAR FRIENDS!  We just got a  brand new rule sheet from the zone leaders! We can't open emails from friends!! Aunts, uncles, cousins (cousin´s wives), brother and sister in-law and nephew (Tyler and Ashley), and grandparents are ok... but the rest of you,  :-( So sad! Dearelders for you! They take longer, I know, but if you have something EXCITING to say like you're getting married! You're having a baby! etc., shoot an email to my mama (jssquire@msn.com) and she'll inform me. I'm so sorry, but I have to be obedient!! So dearelder.com, o.k.?

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! Bah, being a missionary is the best. It makes you so dang happy. It's really so true, when you are serving others with your whole self, it makes you so happy. I hope all of you have felt or will feel this happiness.

BESOS!
Hermana Squire (Hermana SQUARE... it's a new one. People are like, OH! Like the shape in English, right? Sure. Close enough)

Pic 1: The flood in front of our house

Pic 2: Rosio. Our 9 year old investigator. Her dad (menos activo) is the bald man in the back. I LOVE ROSIO! Isn´t she the most adorable girl?!

***NO PICTURES CAME. Bummer! (this is Janie)

Transfers and I Almost Got Eaten By A Dog!

Hola Todos!

Well, my first transfer in the field is now over. It went SO FAST! What in the world? I will be staying here in Pringles. In fact, all of my district will be staying, so we're happy about that! We've got some promising investigators and we are ready to work hard to get baptisms this transfer.

- Belén- This girl is the DIEZ!(10) She's the girlfriend of a menos activo and we found her last Sunday. We've already taught her the first 3 lessons! She's 17, and OH MY GOSH! She is the best!! She reads everything we give her, highlights passages in the Book of Mormon, AND does the additional studies in the back of the folletos (pamphlets) that we leave her! She remembers what she's read and everything! Sometimes Hermana Israelsen and I are like...Is this girl for REAL?! Get this, I asked her if she knew Jose Smith was a prophet. AND YOU KNOW WHAT SHE SAID? Well, yeah. There?s no way he could have written this book without the help of God. He's like Moses, right? AHHHH! Pray hard for her!! I really want to see her baptized!
- We are concentrating more on the menos activos in the branch than before. We really need strong members who can have callings and help us with our investigators. Presidente Wilt told us yesterday he really wants us to work with the menos activos, so he can lift the load of teaching all of the classes off our shoulders. We are really trying to strengthen these menos activos and get them back to church. There are SO MANY that have great potential.
- I ate cornmeal mush/crap again this week. I need to teach them how to make cornbread.
- Ok, so I read another talk by Elder Christoffersen this week. I LOVE THIS MAN! It?s called "As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten". SO AMAZING. Here's what I learned: We will be judged for our works on this earth, but what we've DONE isn't as important as what we've BECOME.  We should willingly accept and even seek for corrections. Just think: God considers us worth the time and trouble to correct. Divine chastening has 3 purposes 1) to persuade us to repent 2) Define and sanctify us- to prepare us for greater spiritual privileges and 3) at times to redirect our course in life to what God knows is a better path. He then shared a story about the Currant bush. GO READ IT. May we always say "Thank you Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down".
- So, I almost got eaten by 3 dogs. I thought this only happened to Elders, but I WAS WRONG. So we were looking for a menos activo family and were clapping at this gate (we clap here, we don't knock if there's a gate) and these 3 HUGE dogs come running out from behind the house. Usually, dogs just bark at us and leave us alone. But they came up and were jumping on us and one was tugging at my skirt with his teeth! I have 2 huge tears now! At least it wasn't my flesh...Well, we started running, but Hna Israelsen turned around and swung her Book of Mormon like a bat and knocked one over the head. They ran away after that! It's a good thing she had her LDM (Libro de Mormon) in a hard case! It would have been death by dog for the both of us! We were pretty shaky after that. Dumb dogs.
-We are actually on a shortage of LDM in the mission. They are on back order! It's hard to have someone pray about the LDM if they don't have one, haha. Pray that we get some Libros de Mormón, soon!
- We had a lesson with Enrique and Julieta and they asked me to pray in English. I COULDN'T DO IT! I haven't prayed in English in 3 months! It was like trying to speak a new language all over again. "les bendigas... erm please bless" haha, so embarrassing.
- Earlier this week, it was raining SO HARD! We seriously looked like we decided to shower in our clothes. So we came to a curb and there was practically a river running next to it, so I was doing this awkward shuffle, trying to figure out the best way to jump across (who knows why, I was soaked anyway), when I stepped on something and almost fell. I looked down, and what was it? A diaper? No. A DEAD, BLOODY, DECAPITATED PIGEON. A PIGEON!  I started yelling PIGEON! I STEPPED ON A PIGEON! Like some weirdo and ran off the sidewalk. Couldn't stop laughing after that.
Shoutouts: HADDY MAE JARVIS- you are a DANG BABE in your engagement pictures. I love you. I read your letter and I laughed so hard about the Ryan Reynold's picture (I'M BUSY!). Happy Bday on the 20th! I miss you and a letter is on the way!! Congratulations to Sean Johnson on getting set apart as an Elder! Proud of you, buddy. Dave and Anna- BABY BUMP! Oh my gosh! I can't wait to see pictures of baby girl Dunn! Got any names picked out? Hey mamas! I hope you all had a fabulous Mother's Day :)

I'm so dang happy here in Argentina. THESE ARE MY PEOPLE! I LOVE THEM! Sometimes I want to bop them on the head for saying they'll come to church, then they don't, but I STILL LOVE THEM! Being a missionary is the best thing that could have ever happened to me. THE BEST, I TELL YA! I hope all of you are well and enjoying spring. I love ya!

Hermana Squire

Padres,
LOVED TALKING TO YOU YESTERDAY! AHHH best ever. I had a perma-smile for the rest of the night. So: we walked 280 miles this transfer. WOW!!! My shoes are holding up. Dirty, but still working.  LOVE YA!

Pioner Children Sang as they walked, and walked, and walked

-Ok this title explains my week. It seems like we walked SO MUCH. I have a pedometer and the record is 13 miles... so yes, I feel like a pioneer. Saturdays are the big walking days. We go find all our investigators and try and get them pumped and ready for church. This week, we visited AND called people. 10 people said they were coming to church. Guess how many came? 0. I was sitting in sacrament thinking, you've got to be joking me. JUST COME TO CHURCH PEOPLE!  Bahh, so frustrating. I don´t know what else we can do to get people to church.
- Analia... oh man. This woman has got some major issues. She feels like every time she starts doing the right thing, major trials come into her life. The last time she almost got baptized, they were homeless and they almost took her children away. So sad. We prayed with her and she offered the most sincere, heart felt prayer. We had been wondering why we hadn't met her pareja and why she never really talked about him. WE NOW KNOW WHY!. We passed by last night and he answered the door... UM!!! He can't be a day over 18 years old. AH!!! SHE´S LIKE 38!!! WHAT IS SHE THINKING! No wonder she wants his parents permission, he's a BABY! So we don't know what we´re going to do. She hasn't been coming to church, so if she doesn't keep her commitments, we're going to have to drop her. So sad.
- We taught Hnas Legizamon and Linco to say ´nose goes´. They think it is the funniest thing ever.
- Pringles can't decide if it wants to be winter or not. It was SO WARM this week! So nice! More people are outside!
- We had another asada at Hno Achigar's. Lamb again... I wasn't a fan before, but man, these Argentines KNOW how to do it. So dang good. Did I mention Hno Achigar owns a BAR?! Haha the funniest thing ever. He also bought us a sacarropas- a thing that spins all the water out of our clothes. It doesn't dry them completely, but it does the job!! I never thought I would almost cry over a home appliance. SO AMAZING! We were so worried about what we were going to do in the winter with our clothes drying. This man is seriously the best.
- We had a noche de hogar (FHE) with a menos activo, Maria José. We did cookies of the restoration, using Sister Hobson's recipe! The brown sugar is different here, so they came out brown, but they were a hit! I love Maria José!
- We are also working with the Famila Varela, another menos activo family. They are going through a hard time with no work. We stopped by and shared a quick message and they expressed their desires about coming back to church. THEY CAME YESTERDAY! The best thing ever! Ahh. I've been think about what makes people go inactive. I read a talk by Elder Samuelsen (CECIL!!) about Testimony. The small and simple things like reading scriptures, praying, going to church are crucial. Satan will make you think that you don't have to pray one night, then the next, then you skip a Sunday... it's a gradual and vicious cycle. DO THE SMALL AND SIMPLE THINGS! I´m begging you all, if you don't, your testimony will be in jeopardy. Another great point is that we need to trust in the things we believe in or know to sustain us in times of uncertainty or with issues where we struggle. Don't lose faith in what you do know because of what you don't know. Love that quote.
-Shoutouts: ASHTON CRAIG- I missed your bday. Sorry. Hope it was great! Hermano Larsen! Thank you so much for the package!! That was very kind of you, and I really appreciate it! Loved it! Greg Dunn: I read your letter you wrote me and I cried. Thank you so much. It was exactly what I needed at the time and I really, really appreciate it. You're the best. Also, I'm in gaucho land...(South American farmers- knee high boots, khakis, ascots, button ups and berets. THE BEST EVER) To everyone that wrote me a letter for my little book: THANK YOU! The one's I´ve read so far have been such a boost and such a support for me. I have the best family and friends in the world. VENICE! Letter on the way to you! You have some explaining to do, missy. IS JUSTIN STUCKI HOME??! If he is, RaRa, HaHa, give him a squid sized squeeze for me. TO ALL THE MOMS IN MY LIFE (Adrienne, Natalie Grant, Nancy Shriever, Aunt Lori, Grandma Squire, Grandma Hobson, Tia Alice, Soila, Aunt Jeni, Aunt Anne, Michelle Young, Adriana, Susan... and my mama,
the best lady around :-) HAPPY MOTHER´S DAY! I LOVE YOU ALL! Happy Mother's Day to ALL the mom's out there. I love you, and thank you for your example.
-This work is the Lord's work. I am so proud to wear His name on my chest every day. I am so happy to be trusted as His messenger. These people need this gospel. There is so much heartache that can be avoided if you follow the principles of the gospel. I love loving these people. I love when I can feel the love God has for them. The mission has already blessed my life so much!
I love you all as much as Argentine's love their mate! Besos!

Hermana Squire
cydnee.squire@myldsmail.net

PADRES! (answers to questions)
No guacamole... I haven't seen any avocados actually. But the food is SO DELISH. Wow! What we had at that house was NOT Argentine. We travel to Bahia via convi (15 seater van thing) or collectivo (bus with cushiony reclined seats) pretty nice. GOT MY PACKAGE! Both, actually. I'm such a baby. I cried when I opened it. You are seriously the best parents ever. Also, I CAN'T CHEW GUM! Haha I keep forgetting to tell you. I chew that in the morning.  Ok so what we don´t have in Argentina that you can still send: American candy. Kids LOVED it when I passed out tootsie rolls. If you can send mini stuff every once in a while that would be great. I miss my mama's cookin. Especially your bread. I almost cried thinking of the two loaves I had to leave behind at the MTC.
LOVE YOU! CAN'T WAIT TO TALK TO YOU!!!

I LOVE Being a Missionary!

Amigos y familia,
 

Well, I have calluses on my calluses, a mosquito decided to feast ON MY FACE last night, I hang my clothes on a line to dry, I wear flip-flops and wool socks in my house because it´s so cold, it was wet and chilly this week, I feel gipped because I left the states at the beginning of spring and now it´s the end of fall... BUT I AM HAPPY AS A DANG CLAM! Seriously! I love Pringles, I love sharing the gospel, I love speaking Spanish, I LOVE IT ALL!!  "I JUST DON´T UNDERSTAND!"  Ha ha, missionary work is the best.

- Investigators: The fecha(date) for Analia and Rodrigo has been moved. They didn't come to church :( Analia is having trouble getting married because the family of her pareja(partner) doesn't want to sign (marriage/divorce is way complicated here). So we´re praying for a miracle. Filipe, her brother, is not a member!! Ah! So he still needs to get divorced and married to his senora. They live in a TEENY house... seriously it is as big as my class at the MTC, with 4 kids! We went over there this week and he´s like, "I have the desires to stop smoking, I know I need to get baptized."  So I said, "do you have any cigarettes here?"  And he said "yup", then I said, "well, you can give them to me and I´ll take care of them." And he gave them to me!! WHAT! Since when am I the cigarette police! My name tag (plaque) sure gives you that extra authority! I felt super weird carrying those around the rest of the day!
-We found 3 nuevos(new) this week, Rosio (12), Florencia (14), and Carina. They are so sweet! Florencia has a learning disability, but Rosio said she would read the LDM(Libro de Mormon) to her. I'm excited about these girls. Carina is their mom, and she's a single mother of 8! I just love them! Now the challenge is GETTING THEM TO CHURCH! I swear, that´s where Satan does his work. He keeps people from coming to church. SO FRUSTRATING! I hope I´m still around for their baptisms.
- So Filipe"s señora was praying, and she´s evangelico, and they say Señor Jesus after every sentence. I SWEAR she said "amen"...so I said "amen"... but she was NOT finished. Embarrassing!
- This week we had interviews with Presidente. He brought us all in the capilla(chapel) and we could ask him any doctrinal question we wanted... or anything about our investigators. He is so insightful and smart! I love him! I´m sad he´ll be leaving in 2 months. Interviews were great. We missed our collectivo(bus) back to Pringles... and the next one didn't leave until 9 pm, so we had our district meeting then worked in our Elders' area. They have a wealthier area and man, I admire them because a lot of people were very rude and had hard hearts. It made me grateful for my little Pringles!
- So NOBODY has callings in the rama (branch). We are working on that. We need teachers! The missionaries can´t teach every class! We have qualified members who could easily teach... and our recent converts need callings to stay active! Only 5 people in the rama(branch) have callings. I think that if more recent converts got callings, they would stay active. There are 400 members in Pringles... about 350 are inactive... Yup, that's gotta change. Hna Israelsen and I are visiting a lot of menos activos (less actives? is that what it is in English? Ha, I can´t remember). The Familia Bailone has SO MUCH POTENTIAL. But Hno Bailone is angry at God for taking his father and angry at the rama(branch) because he had a lot of callings. BUT HE KNOWS that the church is true! A lot of praying is going to go into this family, that is for sure.
- I read a talk by Elder Christoffersen this week: The divine gift of repentance. I would encourage ALL of you to read it. I learned that without repentance, there is no progress or improvement in life. And that the invitation to repent is an expression of love. That is what we are asking investigators to do. Repent, and feel the joy that comes from forgiveness. The pain from the process of repentance is forgotten when one feels the inexplicable joy that comes from forgiveness. Also- when we repent, we strive to change. It may require repeated attempts but there is something refining and holy in this striving. WOW WOW WOW! I love being a missionary and receiving this sort of inspiration and personal revelation. I feel like I am growing and changing so much. I need to change, I have a lot to work on, that's for sure. But through the atonement, I CAN change. What a miracle.
-Shoutouts: Kelsey: Congrats on your teaching job! I want a picture of you in your teacher clothes. And HILLARY NORTON IS ON A MISSION! What in the world? why did I not know this? Kels, could you send her a dearelder for me? Tell her I love her and I want her address. SO COOL! Ecuador is getting one fine lady. Taylor: YOU ARE GRADUATED, YOU OLD LADY! Pics please. Kristen and Haddy: you better send me engagement pics and an invitation, or I´ll stop praying for you. Haha, jk, I WILL ALWAYS PRAY FOR YOU! Hno Larsen, 3 months is right! Tomorrow, woo hoo! Corbett family: loved your email! And loved your scripture study insights. ALWAYS great to get spiritually uplifting letters. Adriana Molina: Gracias por la carta! Besos y abrazos!  Paige- Waiting on the Lord: Thy will be done. Read it. Write back your thoughts. Love you. EVERYONE! I love you all! More than I love it when Hermana Linco says: 'I am a loser' when she forgets something! More than dulce de leche...and that´s a lot! Have a great week!

Besos y Abrazos,
Hermana Squire, Skeeray, y Hermana.... "No sé" (Alexis, the son of Presidente, is 8 and doesn't know how to say my name. He says Hermana...Sk...  Hermana.... "No sé" *don't know)

cydnee.squire@myldsmail.net

Parents:

 I GOT THE PACKAGE! And letters 1 and 2 from dad! WOOOHOOO!! PEANUT BUTTER!!! I almost cried! I'm so serious. Yes, it's chilly. It will get worse. My foot is fine. When I stretch it, it feels like a creaky door but it´s not bothering me anymore. Oatmeal is so great! We don´t have a microwave so it takes longer to boil water, but so delish! Thank you! Please send Burt's Bees chapstick, if possible, the April conference edition when it comes. Can you have it bound? Sorry to ask for so much!!! I LOVE YOU BOTH! THANK YOU FOR THE PACKAGE AND PRAYERS! 

Fotos & Investigadora de Oro! (Photos & Golden Investigator!)

23 abril 2012

HOLA FAMILIA Y AMIGOS!

Oh man, we are now in week four of the transfer and I cannot believe it!! WHAT! WHERE has the time gone? Seriously. Fall is here and it is chilly. Mornings and nights are a funny thing in our house. Our little home has giant cracks in it (that´s how that monster spider got into our house) and so it is really cold when it's dark. So we all are walking around like eskimos and warming our hands by our gas heater. Oh, the adventures of the mission! AND I FINALLY AM ABLE TO SEND PICTURES! We have to go to the church and do it there and it takes approximately a million years to download one, but I hope you all enjoy them.
- ANALIA- OH MY LANDS. She is my golden investigator!! We found her and her two kids in the calle (street) after we had fasted. The 11 year old, Abby is a member, and Rodrigo is 9. We went to visit her and she told us that before Abby´s baptism, they were homeless in Mar Del Plata, and only got food when people would give it to them. Then the missionaries found and baptized Abby. After that, they got a house, she got work, then they moved to Pringles and she got pregnant after trying for 8 years (she´s six months along). She said that recently she was feeling that she needed to change, and started praying. A few days later we met her. She started crying and said that she knew that was a sign from God that this was the way she needed to go. I just sat there in amazement at how everything played out. We were all sitting there crying, the spirit was so strong. She bore testimony of how we need to learn from trials and that God´s hand is always in our lives. GOLDEN, RIGHT?! Her fecha, and Rodrigo´s is for the 13th of May, the last day of the transfer. We are praying she can get married to her pareja(partner) by then. PRAY FOR HER TOO! My goodness, I love her. We are also going to work with her menos activo brother, Filipe and his señora. He went inactive after his son died, said he would never go to church again and never would pray again. He came into our lesson as we were finishing, and not knowing the circumstances, only that he was inactive, asked him to pray. He offered such a beautiful prayer and Analia told us her testimony was strengthed because she saw that her brother was changing too. So excited to work with this family!
- Julieta was not baptized. We had a noche de hogar(FHE) for the youth in the branch, and only she and Enrique showed up. We had a good talk with her about not waiting for the blessings that will come from baptism, but she still wants Enrique to do it. I could just shake Enrique right now! He´s not doing his part, he doesnt come to church in his white shirt and tie and doesn´t participate in activities. We are going to work on them both and work on a plan. So frustrating, but hopefully we can baptize her soon.
- Funny stories: We had just finished teaching a lesson with a 14 year old girl and her friend in their house when her 4 year old little brother came in and puked EVERYWHERE. I was surprised that I reacted so calmly. I didn´t even flinch. I was just like, oh, barf. Ok. The best part was Hna Israelsen was like, so, can we leave you with a prayer? And I was like NOPE! WE¨RE OUTTA HERE! Ah so gross. Then, the next day, we were walking in the street and WHAM, a bug flew right into my eye with the force of a jet plane I swear. It took me like 2 minutes to get it out of there and my eyes were watering so bad. We were laughing about it and not even 30 seconds later, a fly flew down Hna Israelsen´s throat (her mouth was open from laughing at ME). She was gagging, coughing and laughing... I was seriously dying on the side of the road. What a scene. Oh, she ended up swallowing it. Nice.
- I had my worst meal and my best meal so far in the mission this week. Worst: This sick cornmeal stuff with meat soup stuff. The worst part is that she PILED it on our plates. It was a small mountain and it was all I could do to eat half of it... so gross. Hna Israelsen ate it ALL. We were SO SICK after. Ick. Then, on Friday was Hno Achigar´s bday and we had asada with sheep, chicken, stuffed zuchini, and chorizo. OH MY LANDS. It was so great!! Ah, I just love Hno Achigar. He treats us so well. Next week we´re going to milk cows at his ranch... we´ll see how that goes.

Kelsey, Adrienne (letter on the way to you!), Hno Larsen- Thank you for the emails! I wish I had time to email you all back individually. Everyone, thank you so much for the love and support. I am so happy in Argentina. I love the people. I love this work. I love Castalleno :) It´s hard sometimes but when I find people like Analia, it makes all the hard times worth it! Have a wonderful week!

Much love,
Hermana Squire

Picture 1: The giant trantula in our house. Now you know why I screamed.
Picture 2: Asada for Hno. Achigar´s birthday with Familia Wilt. SO DELICIOUS
Picture 3: Presidente Wilt y Familia with Hermano Achigar. And I just realized I look like a giant.
Picture 4: Las Hermanas with Hermano Achigar.
Picture 5: our little room (my bed is on the left)

Parents:
YES I HAVE TO PAY FOR PACKAGES. PLEASE DON´T PUT ACCURATE AMOUNT. If you put 15 dollars, that's 60 pesos and I have to pay for half. So HIDE HIDE HIDE. And don´t list all things... Could you send some raisins, some cereals (none with nuts... they´ll take those) so i was thinking maybe get like captn crunch, take that cereal out and put in some yummy granola and a bag of almonds and raisins in the empty box and reseal. I AM CRAVING HEALTHY SNACKS but everything is so darn expensive. If you can hide beef jerky, nuts etc in a box that previously had granola bars or fruit snacks or whatever and just carefully reseal, that would be great. I really NEED healthy snacks!! Aye aye aye! Foot is better. I think I did strain it and I stumble a lot haha. But I´ve been careful and it´s been better. We have number for doctor in case it gets bad again. Only Hna Israelsen and I jog together. Other times I use my thing Brendi gave me. IT´S THE BEST! Please tell her that. Our house has a washer. It doesn´t rinse so we rinse in the sink and then hang dry. Don´t know how that´s gonna work in the winter. We only have lunch w presidente and family so far. Yes I can open attachments. SO CUTE AVA. Sleeping bag is great for cushion now. I´ll be sleepin in it sooon, no doubt! Internet is 8 blocks from house. Not going to buy a blowdryer. Ive been using Hna Linco´s... well I've used it 3 times so far. OK LOVE YA! Hope all is well and I get to talk to you SOON! Doing Race for The cure this year? HOPE SO!

The spider that made us scream!

Asada for Hermano Achigar's birthday. Presidente Wilt & hermanas

Hermanas with Hermano Achigar

My bedroom with Hermana Israelsen. My bed is to the left.

The Crazy Man In The Window

¿Cómo andan?

Wow, I can´t believe I´m in my 2nd week here in Pringles. It is such a great place and I absolutely love the people. I´m so excited to be in Argentina! Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I´m like, whoa! I´m in Argentina!

-      -  Pringles is a super safe town and we have no problems walking around at night or anything. We are lucky to have an Amazing branch presidency who will do anything for us. Hermano Achigar comes by and brings us fresh vegetables and fruit multiple times a week and we have lunch at President Wilt´s home 2 times a week. They take great care of us and I love all the branch members. Ha, they SHOULD take care of us, because between the 4 Hermanas, we rotate teaching gospel doctrine, relief society, the youth class, AND give talks. I´m giving my talk next week… eek!
-         - Funny stories this week: Hermana Israelsen and I were studying in the main room when all of the sudden she starts freaking out. There was this guy looking in our window! We ran out of the room and the other Hermanas came out and it turns out, he was trying to ask us what time it was. Whoops. A couple days later, Hna Israelsen and I were walking in the street and all the sudden, right in the middle of her sentence she said ´Ugh i just stepped on a diaper and it was squishy´ Sick, huh? Then last night I was getting ready for bed when I hear HERMANA HERMANA ARAÑA!!!! (Hna Israelsen is terrified of spiders) I come out thinking it´s a little spider, but NO. It´s as big as a freaking tarantula! I´m serious! It could have swallowed a mouse! I would like to tell you all that I courageously slapped it dead with my shoe, but no.. What did I do? I got on the chair and started screaming with Hermana Israelsen until Hermana Linco came out. She sprayed Raid at it which made it scuttle around and made us scream louder. Oh my gosh. There better not be any more of those in our house. I have a picture and once I figure out this picture thing I´ll send one.
- - We had a 3rd companion with us this week. A little stray cat we named Favian. He followed us around for half a day and patiently waited while we contacted. We lost him after an appointment then he miraculously showed up 2 days later and followed us again! How funny:)
- If anyone wants to give me advice on how to convert a Jehovah´s witness, that would be great! They are so hard to talk to and trying to get them to even listen is impossible.
 -- Fasting works miracles. We had a zone fast and after that we found 4 new investigator, and a family with an 11 year old menos activo and a 9 year old who wants to get baptized. We are going to work with them and find out what kept the mom from being baptized. I´m so stoked.
- -Julieta- She has a fecha this Saturday but it probably will fall through. She only wants her boyfriend, Enrique to baptize her but he´s been less active for about a month because of a dumb fight with a kid in church. BUT HE CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY! WOO!! So he is working on being worthy to baptize Julieta. Ah, I love Julieta! She´s 16 and always keeps her promises. WE taught the Word of Wisdom and she was like yeah, I´ll live it. SO SWEET!
  - We celebrated Ramon´s 85 birthday this week. We got him a little alfahor and a candle and sang to him. I LOVE HIM! He is the cutest grandpa!
  -We are also working with a recent convert, Juanita (MOM!!), and she is the sweetest old lady. Every time we go over she tells me I need to eat more or I´ll blow away in the wind. Another menos activo: Maria Jose. I LOVE HER! She had a problem with smoking and didn't want to come back because she was ashamed. But she hasn't´t smoked in 2 weeks!! She has a strong testimony and has gone through the temple. We visit her and she whips out her preach my gospel, gospel principles book and we just chat! AHH love that woman.
--- We found a nueva yesterday, IDE... sounds like Iday? Anyway, we knocked on her door and it was like BAM. Smoke cloud. She is a heavy smoker but we´ll help her change that. Also, there were approximately 150 flies in her house. I about died, but THAT went away when she said she would be baptized. Woo!
-  Shoutouts: Tyler, thanks for the email! CONGRATS ON TENNESSEE!!!! You were right in your post script once again. Sis Corbett thanks for the dear elder! BYU peeps, I hope finals go well! Then you can write me! Dearelders take 2 weeks, letters I'm not sure, and emails are obviously quick. Hermano Larsen, Thanks for the email! Thank you all for the endless love and support.

Hermana Squire
cydnee.squire@myldsmail.net

I'm In ARGENTINA!!! Anyone up for Pringles?

¡HOLA TODOS!

I AM IN ARGENTINA AND I LOVE IT!!!!!!! Wow, there is lots to tell so I´m going to just get started.
- We flew into Buenos Aires and then took a little plane to Bahia. We met up with President Detlefsen and his wife and our companions. The president and his wife are so great! My companion is Hermana Israelsen, she´s from Cache Valley, Utah. She´s pretty great. We went to the mission office to have some orientation and do some paperwork and then my companion and I got on a collectivo to our area: Coronel Pringles. (PREngLESS- not like the chips). WE didn´t get in until midnight... It made for 2 VERY long days of traveling. 
- We hopped right into missionary work the next day. I got to meet with the Branch President, Pres. Wilt and I saw our little capilla (chapel). There are only about 30 members in the rama(branch), but I am there to change that. Contacting is a little strange to me still... I´ll get over it soon, I´m sure. 
- Pringles is very tranquil. The people are relaxed and most live in pretty humble homes. Cinderblocks, curtains for doors and such. There are nice homes too, but a lot of the roads are dirt roads. It´s a farm town... a lot of people work in the campo the next town over. There are also a lot of Jehovah Witnesses here... and some can be pretty mean! But we are working hard. We walk around 8-10 miles a day... our area is super huge. A lot of people ride bikes here instead of having autos. 
- I´m surprised at how many people give us their address when we´ve only talked to them for two minutes. Also, they kiss cheeks here. It could be 5 minutes since we met and some lady is kissing my cheek. It get´s a little tricky with the men... we have to say SOLOMENTE LA MANO! (only the hand!) as they come in for the kiss. It´s my favorite with little kids... they reach up on their tip toes and kiss your cheeks... ah I love the kids here! So adorable!!
- So, Argentines don´t speak Spanish. They speak Castellano. And they speak it FAST. It´s a little hard to get used to and sometimes I don´t catch things, but it´ll come. I´ve already been told by plenty that I speak it well. That´s because I practiced in the MTC! Castellano is the y and ll sounds (ya) make the ´sha´ sound. Yo me llamo is ´sho me shamo´. It´s different but very beautiful. The Argentines are a beautiful people and I love them already. The rama is great! We have some strong members.
- We had a confirmation on Sun of one of H. Israelsen´s investigators Ramon. He is 84 and SO ADORABLE! But he is very deaf! Haha. We taught him about the holy ghost the other day and it went like this. Ramon, usted va a recibir el espiritú santo manaña! Eh? USTED VA A RECIBIR EL ESPIRITÚ SANTO MANAÑA! Eh? USTED...VA...A....RECIBIR...EL....ESPIRITÚ... SANTO ...MANAÑA!!! Oh! Sí!! Oh I love him. WE also are working on two sisters and their mom. Julieta (16), Sofia (13) and Adriana. They have fechas for the end of the month. PS Sundays are CRAZY! We have to rally up our investigators. Julieta, Sofia and Adriana were nowhere to be found so we RAN (literally ran) to their house, found Sofia and Julieta in the street, and dragged them along to church. They stayed, so that´s good! So stressful! I am also a visiting teacher with another woman in the rama. Every month, we´ll visit teach 5 members (active or inactive). We also rotate teaching classes with the other Hermanas (Linco from Chile and Liguizamon from Mendosa, they live with us in our little home) and give talkes every month. Lots to do on Sundays!! 
- No one can say my name. I even say, its Hermana Esquire. They say, Skeeray. Ha so I´ve given up. Call me Hermana Skeeray. 
- Dulce de leche is nectar from above. I swear. Yogurt comes in a bag... and it´s delicious. The food is seriously the best. 
- Coming to the mission field is like starting all over! The accent is different, new schedule to get used to, new stresses, new foods... but it is all great. I will accostom soon.
- We can´t carry bags because it looks like we´re carrying valuables and such, we don´t want to get robbed! So we have these little box things. About the size of a tissue box, but a little thicker. Theres pictures of jesus all over mine. People call them esposos (spouse) because they are always with you. Some call them Jesus boxes. There we carry folletos, a Book of Mormon and our planners. No room for hardly anything! How am I going to sneak food that I don´t like out of people´s homes? Aye, aye aye, I´ll have to figure something out. 

Shoutouts: Taylor and Kristen. I got your dearelders first thing when I got to the mission office. It made me laugh all over again! Tyler- thanks for the email... FINALLY. And about your P.S- No. nononono. THANK YOU ALL for your lovely comments on conference. Such a great experience! Elder Nelson came up and talked with all of us before... so amazing to have an apostle of the Lord right there! And just so you know, I don´t wear that much makeup... President brown´s wife came at me with a blush brush and I was pretty much helpless. Hna Brown- I AM PRAYING FOR YOU AND E. HAROLDSON! Hiatt family- thanks for the email! You should send an update more often! :) Thank you all for all the prayers and support. It´s because of you that I´m here in Argentina! It´s the best. I seriously am so so happy I am finally in the field. I can´t wait to find and teach more. 

Love,
Hermana Squire (Skeeray)

I'm GOING TO ARGENTINA!!

HOLA todos!!

Well, after we sent Hermana Hinze, and Elders Kelly, Hall, and Allred off to the airport, I was feeling pretty down with not getting my visa. Then, right after lunch, what do you know... I GOT MY VISA! Yes! I am leaving for Argentina tomorrow morning! I AM SO DANG EXCITED!! I can't wait to start this work I was called to do in Bahia Blanca. Thank you all for your continued love and support these past few weeks. I look forward to more dearelders in Argentina! (It's possible! I just don't know how to do it! :)) I love you all so much and I can't wait to tell you about my first week in Argentina. I am so blessed to have gotten my visa only a day late. Please continue to pray for the rest of my district and other Argentine missionaries still waiting. I am so incredibly happy and ready to serve. I'm only a little nervous, as expected. But I can't wait to serve with my whole heart. Until Pday------from ARGENTINA!

Con Amor,
Hermana Cydnee Squire

Little Devastated

Hola Todos!

Well, here I am in the final week of the MTC... with no visa. Half of our district got theirs and will be leaving on Monday, and the rest of us will be stuck here until we get ours. To say I'm bummed is a huge understatement. I was pretty much devastated. But, there is still hope that the rest of ours will get ours next week. It will be hard to see the rest of our district leave on Monday, I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye and having to stay here. So pray hard, I don't think I can last much longer in the MTC... I'm going a little crazy!!

- David Archuleta is in the building. The rumors are true. He is so small and he looks scared all the time, like someone is going to tackle him or something. He's pretty well guarded and for the most part, everyone kinda lets him be. Which is good.

- We are ready to sing for conference! We have been practicing so much and working so hard. It's going to sound so AMAZING! The sisters have been having a rough time finding pastel-like shirts. And the Relief Society Presidency had us wear our outfits for Saturday this past Tuesday to get approval. Try singing your part with the Relief Society Presidency pacing around you and scrutinizing your outfit with their eyes. Not easy, I tell ya! It's going to be so amazing, I hope that you get a glimpse of me in the crowd!

- This past week has been great... a little monotonous at times (so many practices and acting like fake investigators!) but great. Hermano Larsen made it special for us by showing pictures of his mission and we FINALLY got to see the real Sergio. He was exactly as I pictured. A little stocky and grumpy looking. We saw post baptism pictures and man, what a difference. He's so happy and has the light of Christ in his eyes. I can't wait to witness that first hand in Argentina. Today we're doing in-field training... it's where they tie all the loose ends together for the departing missionaries. So far we've learned contacting, working with members for referrals, and preparing investigators for baptismal interviews. It's been really great actually! I can't wait to leave and apply all that I'm learning.

- Our new district has an Elder in it that looks like Squints from the Sandlot. I GOTTA take a picture of him before we leave. It's pretty awesome. We'll be getting another district this Wed... but let's hope I'm not here to see them :) We got new girls in our room and they're all going to MCALLEN TX! Small world right? It gets even smaller: one of the Hermanas is Rachel Richards. I went to school with her in Jr High and High School and she even came to my bday party when I was like 14! So nuts! It's always fun to see people I know here.

- I'm sorry this email is so scatterbrained and a little unfullfilling. I really am at a loss for words and don't know what to talk about! Everything is the same here in the MTC! All my days run together and I never know what has happened on each day. Shoutouts: Paige- you are great, thanks for the email. A letter is coming your way (for all of you). Had- YOU ARE ENGAGED! I saw the ring and it is GORGEOUS. Ahhh and your pictures! I love you!!! Rachelle- thanks for the dearelder and I LOVE YOU!! Grandparents Squire: thanks for the email! Hope you all feel better soon! Summer- thanks for the dearelder! I miss you, and keep me updated on your life. Thanks for all the prayers and support. Hno Larsen told us... why should we ever be discouraged? We have SO MANY people praying for us. In every temple, our wards are praying for us, the prophet prays for us, and all our family and friends pray for us. I am so blessed to have you all pray for me. I really appreciate it. When I feel discouraged (especially since I'm not leaving on time anymore) I think about you all and how much I love each of you. I hope you have a great week and always remember that I love you... but more importantly, I hope you remember you have a Father in Heaven who loves you and cares about your happiness. He knows you personally because you are His child. Always remember that you are sons and daughters of a King. This is the work of the Lord! I cannot wait to start bringing others to Christ.

Con amor,

Hermana Squire