email of 22 March 2010

CINDY GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!

It's true! It's true! It finally happened!!!!! Cindy got baptized yesterday! Everything went beautifully...strangely smoothly, which, of course, is what we were praying for, but baptism days are (almost) always a little crazy, with lots of last minute stuff happening to get in the way. I guess most of the opposition came before the day of. Anyways, it was lovely -- short, sweet, and simple, just like she wanted it! So yeah, I am a very happy missionary!

Now let's see...This week....

Oh! Transfers -- Sis. Stout and I both stayed together here in MdR, so we get another 6 weeks to do things right! We're both really happy, and it's been a good chance to reevaluate and make some good goals for this transfer!

I hope everything goes well with Grandma and her dental work today! Mom, I just can't help but laugh when you tell me about things...how she keeps forgetting everything. I know it's terribly frustrating and hard for you, but seriously, from this distance, it's hilarious. But I know it's a struggle for you...I'll definitely keep praying for you and for her! The Lord is just helping you be ready for the Celestial Kingdom, that's all! I think maybe I'll send Gma a little card/letter this week with all sorts of good stories and things from my mission, so that whenever you're having a hard time, you can give it to her to read and she can tell you all about how great things are going for me...again!!! :)

Do you have any idea how talkative old Hispanic people can be??? OOOOOOOOOOH my goodness that can be frustrating when you're a missionary on a time limit and you can't get a word in edge-wise!!! We had two of them, back to back on Saturday...sweet older (60's, 70's) Mexican men, who just talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk...I don't know how they do it! And I'm terrible at interrupting, which is what you have to do if you're going to even attempt teaching them! I just always think, "Oh, he's right in the middle of a story...I'll just wait until he finishes his thought, and then I'll jump in." The problem is, they just go from thought to thought to thought without ever finishing! They are also children of God though, and I do love them, even if they drive me nuts. :) It's pretty funny too, I'm sure.

We had a lesson yesterday in the singles ward that we cover about tithing. As we were discussing, a letter that Joseph sent me a while back came to my mind, and I've really been thinking a lot about it. He talked about how a mission is your "life's tithe," and suggested/shared the counsel that'd he'd received to go to the temple following my mission, and take a good amount of time to sit in the Celestial room and go through my entire mission, really giving an accounting fo my "life's tithe" to the Lord. That has really struck me, and given me the desire to live each day in my mission with no regrets. I'm certainly not perfect at it, but I am trying; I really want to be able to give a full tithe of my life and to have no regrets! And even though y'all aren't on the same type of full-time missions as me, I think that's something we can all do! Live each day to the fullest...no regrets!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!!!!!

Love,
Hermana Sallie

...who still loves being a missionary...more and more every day!