Missionary Moments

Missionary Moments!

The Forgetfulness: We have a lot on our minds, all the time. Lots of things to coordinate, etc.and sometimes things just slip through the crack. Like remembering to send emails. ha ha. I had a whole email typed out last week and realized after we had left the library that I didn't send it. You'll just get twice the love this week! 

Transfers: Today is transfers! The exciting thing about transfers is that ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. Nobody is ever safe. It all starts on Monday - sometime during the course of the day the Assistants to the President call the Zone Leaders and then tell them what's going to happen, and then they send out a voicemail to the whole zone letting us know what happens. Sometimes they tell us where we're going and who will be replacing us, but sometimes we only get told if we need to pack our bags. There have been a couple of transfers where that call has come on Monday Morning, but more often than not it comes in the evening, or, if we're really lucky, around 10 or 11. That always makes packing fun :) It makes for a little anxiety ever Sunday and Monday before transfers, especially because it's not as if you stay in an area for 2 transfers and then leave. Some people move areas every transfer, some stay for 7, there's just no way to know. Everyone who gets transferred has to go to the mission office in McAllen, so Tuesday morning we all congregate there and they have a little meeting and the greenies get assigned to their new companions and they switch around luggage and cars and we head back. 

The Mornings: We have to be awake by 6:30, but we usually get up a little earlier than that, like around 5:50-6:00. Sister Medina and I have adopted the habit of "morning pillow talk," and it's lovely. The alarm rings (okay, actually the other sisters' alarm rings 5 minutes before ours and I lay there trying to make myself pretend to be asleep... usually not super successful), and then we turn it off and talk about if we had interesting dreams or anything on our minds. Then we eventually decide we should get up and be productive, and so we say our prayers and get dressed, etc, and put 2 Pop Tarts in the toaster. I guess someone once said that if you eat a super simple carb before exercising it gives you more energy more constantly during the morning or something? I don't know, I just think it's a great excuse to eat a pop tart. Then we drive down the street to the park (We drive to avoid being eaten by the ravenous dogs). There's a pavilion and a track, and a few members of the zone usually come and exercise or play basketball. We usually jump rope (because running is overrated) and do other things to strengthen our bodies. We then return home, and somehow the 4 of us all get showered in our 1 shower, and we eat, etc, and then start studies at 8. 

Christmas: It's the best! It's definitely a different experience in Texas, because it's not very cold and just doesn't feel like winter. At night time there are lots of Christmas lights, and then it feels more christmasy. The houses here either have no decorations or have too many with lots of lights. :) Every Christmas the church puts out a Christmas Video (A Savior is Born is the video this year, last year was He is the Gift) and then we get cool little pass-along cards. It's great because we can go up to people and just say "hey, can we share a card with you with a video about Christmas?" and then start teaching. Evidently the Mexican Culture eats Tamales during the Christmas season like they're going out of style, but I have yet to experience that. 

Mormon.Org Time: Once a week we get an hour to go to the church websites and read talks, watch little videos, etc. I had no idea how wonderful church websites were until my mission! It's this fun little opportunity to catch up on church news, etc. Usually it actually consists of finding a couple of talks to read depending on what I want to study that week, and then watching church videos because they're wonderful (like the I'm a Mormon videos, mormon messages, 12-step videos, they're all great). 

Okay, well I think that's it for this week! Love you all!

Love,

Hermana Reynolds 

P.S. Only one more emailing session before Christmas! Crazy!