October 29, 2013 Arrives in Argentina

We are thrilled to report that your daughter, Sister Sirrine, has finally arrived safely in her mission this morning here in Buenos Aires.  She was picked up at the airport, and after a brief tour of Buenos Aires was brought to the mission home for a luncheon, followed by an interview with the President.  You should expect to hear from your missionary on her next P-day which will be next Tuesday, November 5th.  Thank you for your prayers and support.

President and Sister Ayre

October 21,2013 What a week!

The photo is me and sister nicholson sqeezing water into a pot from me and sister franks filtered water bottles we were given in the MTC. We forgot to buy water last week and there was no way we were drinking dirt water.

Familia!

First of all I just want to say that God really helps his missionaries achieve their goals. It's true. The first day I got out into the field I set some goals for my time here in the states. Most of them were pretty simple, just helping me stay focused and productive but one of them was to have a baptism during my time here in the states. I figured that there was no way that was going to happen when I got the call that my visa came in. BUT... it did. Crazy story. There is a 10 yr old who was going to get baptized this past Saturday. The family has been on and off active and he was going to get baptized at 8, but the person they wanted to do the baptizing had to make some changes. For whatever reason it did not happen, and suddenly he is 10 and not baptized. Then his cousin who is 8 was ready for baptism and the family wanted to do it all together. Unfortunately  they did not realize that he is now a convert baptism! Soooo we had to get involved. And for whatever reason the family was adamant that this baptism would happen on the 19th. We had to go through lots of people and eventually got permission to teach all the missionary lessons in 1 night and then have him interviewed for baptism. Poor kid. Way to much gospel knowledge in 2.5 hrs. However, he passed the interview and got baptized this Saturday! Talk about a lot of work!! We had so much to do in 3 days. It was really rushed, but i guess they didn't care, it was still a really special day. Unfortunately we missionaries had way too much on our minds and forgot cameras... :(

This week has been so busy! We have been trying to orient sister Franks, and still  keep up with our busy schedule, and then the last minute baptism. Not to mention I had to speak at the baptism, us sisters spoke in church yesterday, and I am giving a training tomorrow in district meeting. Brutal. And I still have to study for my investigators, and there really is not any extra time to prepare. Let's just say it's crazy. Oh, and I leave on Monday. Yep.

The trees are so PRETTY here. They go RED.  I mean real red. Like nothing I have seen before. I am hoping by this Sunday there will be even more. I will try to send you a picture of it. I have been praying for the leaves to change and it's working!

It's really hard knowing that I am leaving soon... I love this area and the ward so much! Me and sister Nicholson have built this area and I don't even get to see it for the whole 6 weeks! Oh well. It's been amazing to see the growth so far. We have gone from 2 investigators (who we have not even seen by the way) to 13 and a baptism. Heavenly father is truly preparing his children. I also have started switching over to Spanish. I do about half of my studies in Spanish and I understand PMG and the scriptures pretty well. Now I just have to hear and understand... I really need to study this week though.. I am in trouble! Ha ha its gunna be weird to have no idea what's going on when I have been a missionary for almost 4 months already.
It's odd to hear about missionaries being in an area for a long time. In my limited missionary experience, you switch areas and companions every six weeks. Hopefully I can stay in one place a little longer next time!

The members are determined to fatten us up here. It is terrible. We eat at members at least once a day. Sometimes we get dinner and lunch. I think we have cooked for lunch and dinner probably 2 times since we have been here. And unfortunately when missionaries come over it is a special occasion for the member. They always make their 'special' recipe (special usually equates to fattening) and they always have dessert. And they bring all sorts of goodies over. It was a relief for a member to bring us veggies the other day! I have gained a lot of weight. It is terrible. Some of my skirts no longer fit, embarassingly enough. Good thing I will be walking a ton soon! I need it!

My talk this week was on Luke 22:19. Christ passing the sacrament. It was really interesting to study. At first we were told that we had 3-5 minutes, and that there would be another speaker. Then Saturday they called us and said just kidding! You get 15! Soooo... we were scrambling. But it turned out really well and we got really good feedback from the ward. One thing I had not really noticed before was that Christ gives thanks before he passes it. It made me wonder how often I give thanks before I take the sacrament...

Well I love you all so much! I loved the pictures. So cute! Have a great week!
Hermana Sirrine

October 15, 2013 Visa News

Mi querido familia, (that is probably spelled wrong)

First off I am going to answer some questions so I don't forget. Sharon, She is doing well. Interesting, but well. We are trying to see her this week... but she is very sincere. She just has a hard time keeping commitments. But she enjoyed conference and loves meeting with us. So that's real good.

Brother Koogler, the less active I talked about... wait for it... WAS AT CHURCH! and He took notes on conference (which was our commitment to him) AW man it was so great! I was so happy to see him it was ridiculous. And you could tell he was real happy to be there too.

Mom: Yes I can print emails. but here it's 20 cents a page, so for the most part we don't. And unfortunately here in Murphysboro we only have 1 hr for email, which sounds like a lot but it's not, especially since we have to write letters to the president. In my last area we had more time, but this library kicks you off the computers after an hour. Weird.

And thanks for the spelling check. Yes it's true, I have very little time and don't proof read and am trying to type quickly.... but also I just have bad spelling. Plus Spanish. (By the way, my comp has worse spelling than me. It's rough)

I loved Sarah's letter! Tell her thanks!

So highlights of this week:

• We got a new companion! Her name is Sister Franks, and she is a visa waiter for Brazil (we laughed together at the Portuguese influence in Sarah's spelling). She is from Texas and you best believe she has a great accent. She's from the north east part so it's thick. I love her. We got her Saturday and she got really thrown into things since we did not know she was coming until midday Friday.
• Another super exciting thing that happened: We found 7 new investigators. Yep 7. that is no typo. All I can say is the lord blesses you when you talk to everyone and really open your mouth.
• Another is Kyle. I think I wrote about him. He is a part member family and super solid. Well we had a fantastic lesson with him. His wife bore her testimony and the spirit was so strong. He started crying and we all were chocked up. And he prayed! For the very first time out loud and in front of everyone. You could see how happy his wife was! He told us he had been so nervous for that part, but it was the best prayer. I just love that family so very much.
• Also, I got to be companions with Hermana White (MTC companion) for a day again! They really like to bounce visa waiters around, so they needed a sister for a couple days, and she stayed with us for a day till someone could come get her. It was really cool to see how she has grown in the last 2 months!

The work here is going really well. I love it. I am sad that I am leaving. OH! Yeah! Big news. I AM LEAVING! I GOT MY VISA TO ARGENTINA! Yep! It totally happened. Awww man am I excited. My plan to skip winter worked out. God is so merciful. I leave OCT. 28. so two weeks from yesterday. I am bursting with excitement (in case you missed that). It's weird to think I am actually going to go to Argentina. I guess in my mind this is just my mission now. But not for long. Hermana White, and one other elder from my MTC district also got theirs too, and I am so excited to go out with them! Definitely sad to leave here... but thrilled to go.

All of the sudden Language study got real for me. So I started once again really focusing. I translated 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' into Spanish. Let's just say it does not flow. However Sister Nicholson thinks it's hilarious. It goes like this:
Cabeza
Hombros
Rodillas y
Dedos de pies (that's the killer in the flow)
**Repeat as necessary**
Ojos
Orejas
Boca y
Nariz

I really like that last part! It's fun to say.

Man this week has been so good. I have really been studying Charity. It's amazing to break it down and study all of the parts that you find in Moroni 7. I love this gospel and I love this work.
I know now more than ever that God loves us, Jesus Christ is my savior, and the redeemer of all the world, and that this gospel is the only way to get back to him.
I love you all so much, and hope that you all doing well!
Les Quierro!
Hermana Sirrine

Sorry no pics, i forgot my camera...

October 6, 2013 Time is the weirdest thing on a mission!

Sister Nicholson and I

Dear Lovely Family!

I think part of being set apart puts you in a time bubble. It's weird. Time flies! And at the same time is slow. I can't explain it.

This week has been real good. We had the exchange sisters come, which was really cool. I was with sister Ash, who is Samoan. We knocked one door and the guy was trying to tell us we had a racist church that would not let anyone but white people, and she was like 'Uh, I am Samoan and I'm on a mission, so pretty sure it's not just white people'. he didn't really know how to respond to that. It was really funny.

30-We found service! Starting next week we will be doing service at a food bank. I know it sounds dumb... but it's really hard to find weekly service here. But the food bank is perfect because it allows us to see LOTS of different people.

1- I have been studying Charity. Today my study was particularly effective. It is amazing how the Book of Mormon talks about it so much. Love, and the other components of charity found in Moroni are all through the Book of Mormon!
 2- Today we had a lesson with an amazing lady named Sharon. She referred herself! it was so cool to be able to meet with her, when she sought us out and is truly searching for truth.
3- We had a lesson with a Less Active. I think we totally made his day be talking with him. It was really amazing to hear his story and testimony. Sometimes people just need to know that they are missed to come back. He said he would be there Sunday!
4-Exchanges! Ah so good! What an amazing learning opportunity to be with someone way experienced and great
5- Total miracle: we were driving to our dinner appointment and we saw a lady crossing the street. Both of us had the impression to stop. Once we did and got turned around, she was no longer outside. So we went and knocked her door. We did a normal tracking approach... and she let us right in. We were stunned. We then asked her what roll religion had played in her life. Ha! Turns out she's a member! (she's like 80 or something) and someone close to her had died the day before. It was a moment where it was obvious the lord knew her needs and used us to comfort her.
6- General Conference. Of course! It was interesting how one theme of conference was Gender Rolls and morality. It is amazing how confused the world is in this aspect!

Well i have no time. I love you all! Hope you have a fantastic week!
Hermana Sirrine

September 30, 2013 First week in Murphysboro

Familia!
Hola! Como estan? Espero que ustedes estan bien. Me gusta este Ciudad!
Okay, yeah Spanish takes too long.

The St. Louis arch on the way to IL

So i love it here. Murphysboro, IL Population 8000. No joke. It's as big as my college was! But our ward boundaries are humongus. We are the second set of missionaries, which is fantastic because our area goes north 40(ish) minutes and about an hour south. Killer on the miles. however, the ward LOVES us sisters. The elders not so much, but they have not had sisters in about 8 years so they are stoked that we are here. We have seen so much support. It's so great! Especially since we had nothing in our apartment. Except beds, that were still in their boxes, the world sketchiest dinning chairs, and lots of cleaning supplies. Oh and a couch. That was nice. But it is so cute, and huge. I think it has 4 rooms, a kitchen and a huge bathroom. It's sweet! But since we have nothing.. it is pretty empty.

The water here tastes like dirt. It's worse than Riverton water. think on that for a minute! We had to find a solution, and our solution is buying it in jugs at Walmart. It's only 37 cents a gallon, and i'll pay that so i don't get sick. Someone told us that Murphysboro sometimes has a boiling ordinance on their water, which means it is not safe unless you boil it. There is not one right now.. but that freaks me out. I don't wan to drink water!

We got here and had one investigator. One! (we later found out her son is one too... but the elders did not document that) And we have yet to get in touch with her, so that should be interesting. Apparently she is super solid tho! We did get a new investigator this week, her name is Pam. A member that lives across the street from her had given her a BOM and told her to read it. She read the intro, and went back the next day and told her that she wanted to meet the missionaries. Super exciting! We got there and she had a pen and paper in hand to take notes! She is adorable and we love her so much. Unfortunately she is 45 minutes away, so we can only go see her when we can get members to give us rides. We for sure can get down there once a week.. hopefully all works out. She is amazing!

Our car got heart attacked by 3 of the beehives! Two of which are recent converts.

We also had a cool experience this week. There is family, they are called the Burke clan. Which means that there are 5 different Burke families in our ward, and almost every major position in the church here has at least one. They are a powerhouse! But, one of the children, the only girl, married a nonmember at a time where it was not super important to here. Well, now she is active, and the whole family wants he husband, the son-in-law to get baptized. We met the RS pres our first night here(one of the Burkes) and she expressed to us that she thinks he is ready, but that they have sorta been waiting for the right missionaries that they trust to teach him (I guess the whole ward could tell it was the last transfer for the previous elders). That was a huge compliment! Then two days later we were visiting members, and we met the Momma Burke, and she also said that she had a feeling that we would be the right ones to teach Kyle. Sunday, Kyle's wife (a former Burke) came up to us and told us that Kyle wants to have us come teach us, and is very interested in baptism. HOLY COW! So we met him and set up an appointment. It was amazing. I am so excited to teach him, and exceptionally flattered that the ward thinks so highly of us. We have had many people tell us that they can tell we are hard workers and that they think we will work miracles here. Its super motivating to us to be the best missionaries and not let the ward down!

My new companion is Sister Nicholson. She is from  Napa Idaho and she is a sweetheart. I love her to death! She is a hard worker and is ready to go, so that is fantastic. I am really really excited for this transfer!
On a bad note, I am terrible luck. My previous comps had never had car issues their whole mission. Then I come a long, and guess what, we get a big ol' dent. So then I switch companions, and guess what?! She hits a pole. No kidding. SO once again we have to deal with the whole car thing. I am gonna be an old pro at this rate!

Our car dent

Pretty much we have been so busy and I love it here!

Daily miracles:
23:We had a fantastic dinner appointment. The spirit was really strong. At the end, the daughter told us that she really wanted to go on a mission. It was cool
224:We had a great lesson with bob. I really think that he is really close to recognizing his answer and getting baptized
25:The ward! We had dinner brought to us today, and a member brought us a bunch of dishes! The responded so quickly and we feel so loved!
26:We found a way to get clean H2O. Such a blessing!
27:We found our new investigator, Pam! Love her so much!
28:The Relief Society Broadcast. It was amazing. There was also a nonmember there, and before the broadcast she asked us if we had a scripture like James 1:5 in the BOM we showed her one and  then guess what?! That's exactly what the prophet talked on!
29:There were 3 investigators at church. They are not ours, they belong to the elders, but it was still pretty amazing.

Well, I love you all! Have a fantastic week!
Love, Hermana Sirrine

September 23, 2013 Transfers are this week!

This is the fattest cat ever. Seriously 28 lbs

This is a card we made for an elder going home. We are so cleaver!

My district. My DL is the one that is in a chair looking like a weirdo (Oh, dad, he's from Canada!)

Whoa! I feel like all I do as a missionary is weekly planning, and p-day. Just kidding. I do WAY more than that. But whenever either one comes it really feels like i JUST did it! Time is FLYING here! Which is really good.

Cutest tire swing ever!

Man this week was crazy. We had so much going on and have been running all over the place. We got an estimate for our car. Guess how much? $3,200 and some odd. Ick. I am so glad that it was not one of us that did it! Poor guy that hit us.

So this week we have done a lot of walking. Due to the ET last week and some poor planning on our part, we are very low on miles and so walking it is! Which I actually really have enjoyed, but let's just say our companionship is not in the best of shape and our bodies are hating life right now. Oh, and my feet, well, good thing I have moleskin. Yeah, real good thing.

Well, as my really obvious subject line suggests, transfers are this Wednesday  and guess what?! I am being transferred !! No one expected that. We all figured I would be here until my visa came, but guess not. I am so crazy excited about it. I am going to be companions with a girl that is in my district, sister Nichols  I love her so very much, so i am quite pleased about it. Oh and guess what?! We are opening a new area! I am not sure weather we are going to be a second set of missionaries in and area, or if the area has been closed and we are re-opening it. I will let you know later. We are going to Murphy's borough, Illinois (i don't think I spelled that right at all) So i won't even be in Missouri anymore! Cool right?! I cannot wait.

Our investigators are doing well. Slowly progressing, but at least most of them are. We had to drop a few this past week, which was really sad, because we love them so much! It's hard to watch some one that you really have come to love not do what they need to in order to have the blessings that they want. We had one that had been progressing really well, but every time his baptismal date would come up, he would drop off the map. He has now had 4. So we were already talking about having a really serious discussion with him and possibly dropping him, and then we saw him. A member that he lives by had gone over to say hi, and he knew that we had been trying to catch up with our investigator, so when he found him home he called us over. When we got there it was super obvious that he was intoxicated with something. We set up a return appointment for a couple days later, because we were short on time. As we were walking out and talking to the member, he expressed his concern and confirmed what we had been thinking about him being intoxicated. Since the member is a law student he then took the liberty of looking our investigator up. Apparently he has been arrested 5 times since Feb. and Once right before each baptismal date. Also, they are for violence and distribution of controlled substances. Crazy. So to be safe, we are not going to go back. Maybe when elders come back to this area...

On a better note, we had a fantastic lesson with Bob W. He has 2 boys, about 20 that live with him and both desperately need the gospel (as does bob, and he's working on it) Bob always has a bunch of people over for Sunday dinner, and usually has at least one companionship of missionaries there. This week there were five of us! as we were leaving we sang God be with you till we meet again, since three of us are being transferred out. Then we bore our testimonies, and it was so very powerful. They were all tearing up. It was amazing! I cannot wait to see what happens with that family.

Since we found out that both me and Sister Dutson are being transferred out, we have stopped by a lot of member's and investigators houses to say goodbye. At each one, we have borne our testimony. It is amazing the power of a simple testimony. God truly does not use the eloquent to spread his gospel. We have been challenging people to write down their testimony, and seal it up. Then, to either give it to some one, anyone, or to keep it and take it out a later point in life. So, Will you all write your testimonies down? ;) I can promise you that it will be strengthened as you do so, and that as you write and share your testimony you will be blessed!

The leaves are just starting to change colors and it is amazing! I can't wait for them all to be colorful! I will send you a picture when they are. I can't tell you how many trees there are here. They are everywhere! Oh and bunnies. there are lots of those too.
Unfortunately dad I cannot listen or watch the clip. Against the rules :( We email at the Library here. Which is nice!

I am learning to appreciate fall. It has been around 70 the last couple days, and it has been amazing. It went from over 100 to 75  so quick, and I am not complaining  Oh, you think i'm crazy in hot weather? I've got nothing on my comp. She wears a cardigan almost every day. Even when it was over 100. I do not know why. She is crazy! And my other companion, well, she is turning orange from too many carrots. We are going to have to ration them...

 

We had zone p-day and we went bowling. I broke 100 and had 3 strikes! I cannot tell you how proud of myself i was! It was really great! I have never even broken 70 before. Guess with God, all things are possible! right?!

My bowling score! (zone p-day) I am Avita. and I broke 100! First time EVER! I feel so very accomplished.

Pretty much it has been a really good week. We have been real busy, and I have enjoyed it so much. What a perfect way to end the transfer!


Daily Miracles:
16- My studies were STELLAR today. I really got a lot out of them. All 4 hours! Which really is a miracle
17-We figured out that Bob W has a hard time with the restoration. Why could he not just tell us that months ago you ask? Yeah so do we. But that's ok. We now know what we need to focus on!
18- The moon was beyond beautiful today. Crazy beautiful. Looking at it I just knew how much God Loved me right then.
19- We had dinner with some members and they had THREE non members there! It was a really great dinner, and they all accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon. Unfortunately they are not in our area :( but hopefully something comes of it!
20- I finished the book of Mormon! In two months none the less! I am so happy. It was great :)
21- We walked 10+ miles today. Not to mention my 30 min run this morning. You don't want to see what my feet look like... but we all survived! It was a great day. Crazy as it sounds I prefer walking over the car. I feel way more productive. weird.
22- Dick Campana came to church! He has been investigating for over a year and he finally came!!!! So happy!

Love you all so very very much. I love hearing from you!
Les Quierro!
Hermana Sirrine


Make sure to write me at the mission address if you choose to do so. Just put my full name on it. Not that i think there are other Hermana Sirrine's...
1850 Craigshire Rd. Ste 205
Maryland Heights, MO 63146

September 16, 2013 Last week of the transfer...how sad!

Me and my cute companions

The fanciest bank ever. All banks in Missouri are fancy! It's great!

Oh man what a week!
First of all the ET (emergency Transfer) I spent some time much closer to the city of St. Louis, in Frontenanc. It was weird to be in the city! Not that I am in the boonies.. but there is much of my area that is real wealthy and they have lots of land. I guess it was like being on exchanges, and it was really good to see how another missionary works, and ways that I can improve. The change was good!

This was my temporary companion sister Vilingia

Then, we had a TON of appointments fall through, and Lots of plans changed last minute. It was stressful, because I like having plans. That is why we do backup plans I guess! This past week we also spent FRI and SAT volunteering at the Color Run. Sorta like the Color Festival, but you run and people throw color. Sounds fun right? Unfortunately we were just helping out with pre-race stuff... so there wasn't color involved :( But, it was great exposure. There wer 4 or 5 missionaries there at all time, and it was really great because thousands of people had to come through to check in and pick up T-shirts, and they had to talk to us to do it! We started to get questions and it was fun to answer. Also, it was  a great thing for the staff, because they were so appreciative of the help and that we worked hard and happy. Thank goodness it cooled down so we were happy! haha Just kidding it would have still been fun. Just, warm.

Our car got a dent this week. (no dad, I did not do it!) In fact none of us did. We parked in a culdasac while we went to contact and teach a referral (and we even saw and talked to the guy that owned the house we were parked by and he said it was fine) and we come back and there is a real big dent in our car! It was sad! he was so nice tho and left his number for us so we could get it taken care of. Some of the members have given us a hard time about our poor car.

We had the BEST FIRST LESSON EVER this week! it was the bomb.com. seriously! The guy's name is Bob M. (we are now teaching 2 bob's and have a less active named bob that we are visiting. Little confusing if i do say so) Two weeks ago last Thursday we had a mini lesson with him where we gave him a Book of Mormon, and he committed to read the Intro. The next week, we were supposed to have a lesson with him, but he got sick. The day after, we dropped by his house and left him a restoration pamphlet. He told us that he was so excited about our book, and that he was going to meet with us the following week, sick or not. In fact he said 'I don't care how I feel. I'll put a bag over my head." It was great. So Thursday we went back to teach him. When we got there, he was so excited! come to find out, he is in 2 Nephi. No joke! And he had only committed to read the intro! Then, he proceeded to teach us the first lesson, based off what he had gotten out the the Book of Mormon. He gets the apostasy, and we didn't even have to tell him about it. Then, we started talking about Joseph Smith, and he filled in with dates, how long he had to wait to get the plates, and other details. Not only did this guy read the pamphlet, he understood and really learned it. It was AMAZING! he told us he wants to be on the path towards baptism, but he needs to take baby steps. Apparently he has gone to many churches, and he told us that he feels like the book of Mormon is right when he reads it, and he feels like he belongs with us and the member we brought. Talk about someone who the Lord has been preparing! I am so excited for him! Oh, and he would be the best sunday school teacher ever. Just sayin. The main challenge his is going to face is he needs to marry his significant other. but they know that. I asked them if they were married, and Theresa said 'no, we're sinners. I know we need to get married, but i'm reluctant' So we are going to help them get married and then baptize them both :)

I had a really cool experience this week at a member's house. We had dinner, and then sang a song and shared a message. After the song I started sharing my testimony and telling her something (I really don't remember now..) and I knew as I was talking that they were not my words. She started crying, and after told us how grateful she was for us coming  and that we were an answer to her prayers. It was such a great experience for me. it really showed me how much all people need to feel the spirit and be buoyed up, even really strong active members!

Pretty much I love it here. Sometimes it's a little hard not to feel like a 'visa waiter' because everyone asks me about it all the time. I feel very un-permanant. it's weird to know that I am going, but not when. It's not even like I can just worry about it when transfers come up either! that's okay tho, I am enjoying it here. The leaves are just starting to change, and my oh my are they pretty! When they are really changing I will make sure to send you a picture!

I had a really awkward 'you can't hug me because I am a missionary' moment this week. Oh man. So weird. I almost had a huge freak out that a boy almost touched me! i am going to be the weirdest Return Missionary ever! hahaha

I forgot my journal, so I can't send you my 'daily miracles' but i promise they are there! Don't worry!
I love you all so much! I pray for your happiness and that you will have the spirit with you. That is the most important thing in this life!

Les Amo!
Hermana Sirrine
P.S. What is johnny's email so I can email him?
P.P.S. Congrats on being member missionaries!!! That's what it's all about! We never go tracking because we do it all through the members (which is sometimes like glorified tracking, but that's okay, at least you know they might be interested and they do know mormons.)