Flight Plans!!

Hey everyone!! 

So the big day is tomorrow!!!! I'm almost all packed and I cannot wait to go! I'm pretty scared..but that's okay! We were taught that Heavenly Father puts us somewhere and leaves us there until we get comfortable and then moves us away! So here I am in my Garden of Eden and in order for me to grow and progress I gotta leave and go out into the world! So here I go! I leave the CCM at 3:30 tomorrow morning and then my flight leaves at 8:08! I fly to Columbia and have a 10 hour layover!!!! TEN!!! Yeah...guess its time to place some Books of Mormon right? Ill get a head start!! Then we fly to Argentina and have a 3 hour layover there and then the rest of the way to Paraguay! So Ill be traveling for over 24 hours but that's okay! As long as I get there, that's all I care about! Oh! and I have window seats for all 3 flights! WOOHOO! 

So justa quick thing about my week, it went by super fast and jammed all the Spanish into my head that I could! Friday all the missionaries that are leaving this week had in-field orientation where we just learn how to be a missionary basically. It was awesome and I learned a ton! I loved every second of it! The teachers here are so cool and inspiring! They make me so excited to get out into the field and work hard! Yesterday was my last day in class and it was really sad to say goodbye to my teachers! They have had a huge influence on me and I could not have asked for 2 better people! Same with my district! Everyone is so amazing and we all taught each other so stinkin much! We were able to take pictures as a distrcit so Ill be sending those to Em to put on my blog so make sure you see them! 

I love you all!! And hopefully Ill be able to send another quick email when I get to Paraguay! Have amazing weeks!

Con Amor,

Hermana McIntyre

¡¡¡Yo Tengo Un Chiste!!! (I have a joke!!!)

Woah another week is gone and here I am on my last pday and tuesday in Mexico in the CCM! Crazy huh?? I have 5 days left becasue Im leaving on Monday in the madrugada which means really early in the morning. Prolly around 2 or 3! My days are now numbered and I could not be anymore excited! I am nervous about the language but I cannot wait to get outta here and have some change in my life! This week went by a titch slower than the week before, but this week is already flying!! I feel like I was just getting here and struggling to understand anything anybody was saying to me. 

 

Me and Hermana Jeppesen at the Gritto with Hermana Colvin and Raddatz photo bombing!

Spanish: I can understand A LOT more than I can speak which is kinda frustrating becasue when I want to share a principal or tell a story I cant ever get my point across very well because I only can speak in smaller more simple words, but thats okay! Its a miracle that I can even have a full conversation in Spanish after only 5 weeks! So starting tonight at 6 my whole district is only speaking Spanish for the rest of the week!! I am so nervous and its gonna be hard at times but I gotta learn sometime right?? I mean its not like Ill be in South America in 5 days or anything....AHHH!! Its getting more and more real every second! I AM SO EXCITED!! I only have 3 days of class left which is nuts! I am going to miss my maestros A TON! They have helped me so much and I would be so unprepared without them. And without Heavenly Father as well! 

My mission president (white) & wife (black) at the Mexican night!

Food: Still good but this last week Cena was this hard taco thing that had meat and beans on top and so I decided to put some salsa on it..well I shoudl have known better cuz here you never know what kind of salsa yer gonna get! Whether itll be hot, mild, sweet, spicy, who knows!! But this time I got SUPER HOT!! Oh man I was dying and I no longer had anything in my nose! Bad news...haha but still ¡esta bien! Im gonna have to get used to it sometime right? haha

 

 

Mexico!!: So this week was Mexican Independence week and so the whole week we would have different kinds of candy or special meals and the campus was all decorated in green, red, white, and gold! Its so cool to see the patriotism that these people have! WAY more than we do! So then Saturday night we had Mexican Night!! It was probably one of the coolest nights ever and defintely a once in a life time kinda thing! All the missionaries and maestros gathered in the gym where they had lights and a stage and chairs set up and it was decked out with decor as well! So then once everyone got settled, all these dancers came out in awesome constumes and bright colors and did all of these different traditional dances! It was so awesome! There were even fireworks too!! Then on Sunday night we all got together again at 10:30 (with permission from President Pratt of course) and did the Gritto where just basically we are honoring the people who helped Mexcico gain their freedom! So after the President of Mexico would say someones name we would say ¡Viva! It was a lot of fun! Then we all had to rush home to get in bed before it got too late! I will never forget that experience!

 

 

Okay so the joke!!! Its all in Sapnish too! I hope you guys get it and think its as funny as I did

 

Tocar Tocar ( knock knock)

Quien es?

Barbie and

Barbie and quien!!

 

Hahahaha get it?? No...Yes? Well I just thought Id share it with you guys just so you know I havent lost my sense of humor! If anyone wants to share un chiste con me...itd be a okay!! :)

 

Well I love you guys to the stars and back! Until next week!!

 

Love

Hermana McIntyre

Stake Dance References.

Hey there everyone!! Its another week gone and man did it go by so stinkin fast! I cant belive that I only have 14 days left here!! And that I only have one more p day here! That makes it sound sooner! So I'm gonna write in sections cuz my thoughts are always so jumbled cuz I'm trying to write so quickly and everything that I wanna share is bouncing around in my head at one time! Haha

Spanish: Its a lot better thanlast week actually! Its crazy how fast Im learning Spanish! I know that its only through Heavenly Father that I am able to learn this fast. Its still kinda scary to teach our investigators just cuz their Spanish is so much better than ours, but I can understand a lot more than I can speak so thats nice! Its just trying to answer their questions and respond to their comments thats the hard part.. I usually just end up saying Si! or Esta bueno! Haha when those answers probably dont even make sense..haha whoops! Its like at Stake Dances when the music is really loud and you cant really hear what someone asked you s
o you just laugh awkardly or say: haha...yeah. Thats how I feel every day here! But I am learning more and more every day and I cant wait for the gift of tongues to set in! :) one day Ill just start speaking Spanish like nobodys business! That will be one awesome day! I did have a really cool experience though! One day in class, my teacher, Hermana Balderas was teaching us and we were reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish and then she would comment and then we would start saying more things. At that moment, I was able to undertand EVERYTHING!! It was so cool and gave me an extra push to keep learning Spanish cuz one day itll hit me and then every day will be like that! :)

Gospel: Man has my testimony gotten so strong!! Not only do we learn about the gospel every day and teach about it which helps me learn about it more, but I pray soooo much! I dont know how I got through my days before with only praying maybe twice a day. I counted the other day and I prayed more than 15 times!! Its nuts but I wouldnt be able to get through this without Him. We gotten pretty tight in these last few weeks! So I have a challenge for you guys! I want you all to pray about it and think about it too and figure out someone or more than one person, to give a Book of Mormon to! If you read in D&C 123:12 I think youll see that there are tons of people in this world that are so lost and have something missing in their lives but they have no clue what it is! I know its kinda scary, but just try it for me! And for them! We are told so much here, the worst thing that can happen is they say no. :) I believe in all of you! ¡Si se puede!!

Food: The food is still as good as always but I just have one funny story. This weekend is Mexico Independence Day and so we have been having special treats at the meals because of that! So the other day they had these Mexican candies out and I really wanted to try one! So I got one that looked like chocolate. So when I ate it I was expecting something nice and yummy and sweet but man was I wrong!! It tasted like sour raisens that had been put through a blender with chile powder!! Oh man, it took all inside me not to spit it out! I have officially learned my lesson on not eating Mexican candy!! haha

Randomess: So I havent hearn fomr Brian or Beth, what is she having?? I really wanna know!! Also, this past Sunday, I gave my first talk on La Fe y Perseverar hasta el Fin (Faith and Endure to the End) and it was all in Spanish!! Oh yeah thats right! I was so proud of myself! Also, me and the other girls in my district sang a musical number in Sacrament Meeting! We sang Battle Hymn of the Republic accapella and got lotsa compliments so Im gonna take it that we did good hoprfully! haha And then today my branch (5) and branch 12 are singing in the Devotional! Were singing I know that My REdeemer Lives! I dont know how weel its gonna go for me since I have no voice! Hopefully I wont squeak really loud or something..haha

Anyways I love you all so very much! Thank you for all the support! And I would not mind if any of you wnated to send me letters! :) I love the emails but letters are always a nice something to be able to hold! But if not, thaz kool 2...haha Once again, I love you all! God be with you til we meet again!

Love

Hermana McIntyre

Oltra Semana Gone!!

   Haha so as you can tell I dont know all the spanish words yet but Im gettin there! Well this week has flown by once again! I cant beleieve that I am officially half way done! Well with the CCM at least..haha its crazy! So this week I can up with the wonderous idea of writing down throught the week the extra things that happen to tell of you guys since I do almost the exact same things day in and day out! So first, it rains here every single day as Ive told you guys before, so imsuper excted for the rain that all of you recieved! Just know that I pray for you all every day and Im glad all of the prayers have been answered. It goes to prove that Heavenly Father does listen and he does care about every little detail in our lives. I know this for a fact! Anywho! So one day when it was pouring and the streets were starting to flood everyone just started running to get some cover. So a couple girls were running across a cross walk and one of the girls totally biffed it! (the paint is super slippery!) so her campanion goes running back to her and she falls! Then they both get up and then they both fell again!!! Hahahahaha man. I love it so much when people fall! Just not when I do. Luckily I havent at all yet! :) (knock on wood) So this past week was a little better when it came to breakdowns. I only had one and my teachers were so nice about it. One of my maestros gave me a letter which had D&C 6:34 quoted on it. I highly recommend everyone to look this up because it is a great scripture! It helped me a ton and since then every day has been great! This past sunday was fast sunday as you all know and here at the CCM we do a full 24 hour fast! I hadnt done one of those in forever! But it was an amazing experience and I am excited to continue to do that! I got answers to every thing that I asked and pondered about! :) I love my heavenly Father so much! 

   So I kinda lied to you guys..I have 3 weeks left not 2..so I leave the 24th! the date was just wrong on my packet! But all is well! That means more learning time for Hermana McIntyre! The food is still good. Im getting more and more used to it and now I hope for beans and cheese tortillas for breakfast! Weird right?? Ha My distrcit is still as awesome as always! I am so blessed to have them all! We all fit so well together! We were able to get together a couple times this past week and play volleyball! It was hilarious! I made some great memories! I wish they were all going to Paraguay with me! :(

   I'm getting really used to the uncomfy beds here. They feel like rocks, but its all good cuz by the end of the day Im so stinkin tires that it feels like a cloud! Even though my back doesnt seem to agree! Or my neck! But im so busy that i dont even notice that my back and neck hurts. haha 

   So random thing that I keep forgetting to tell you guys! So during the night, the people get really excited and start shooting off fireworks! Which, its cool and all...but not to try and go to sleep to! Plus the fireworks here dont have anything to see, its just the loud bang!......hmm. Then theres dogs goin crazy every night! Im pretty sure its dog fights! Its kinda freaky, but thats okay! Every night I get more and more used to it! Haha 

   Thank you to all of you that put random notes in my suitcases! I keep forgetting to tell you all! They make me so happy and I look at them almost every night! :) And aslo thank you for the pictures you guys all send me! :) I love seeing your faces!! And sorry for not being able to reply to everyone! Just know that I love you all and that I wish I could reply to all of you! Keep emailing me! I love hearing about everything! I just wanna bear my testimony to you all. Sorry, its gonna be in Spanish so good luck! Yo se que el Evangelio de Jesucristo es verdadero. Yo se que el Libro De Mormon es verdad y Jose Smith es un profeta de las ultimos dias. Yo se que esta Padre Celestial escucha a me. Yo amo el Evangelio mucho! En el nombre de Jesucristo Amen.

I love you all as much as ever! Until next week!!

Hermana McIntyre. :)

Hola Todas Las Personas!!

Me and my compenera who I love so much at the temple!!

Hola from Mexico City!!

  Man this week has flown by and it was 10 million times better than last! The Spanish is actually coming along great and GOOD NEWS! I didn't cry at all because of being frustrated with Spanish! I only cried a few times over missing your beautiful faces! :) So first of all I'm sorry If I cant reply to all of your emails! I only have an hour to get on here and email every one back! But to tell you all more about going to the Temple last week! First, forgetting my recommend wasn't such a good idea, but Presidente Pratt (the CCM pres) was able to get me one! Phew! So yes, ALL of it was in Spanish! I was able to pick up some words here and there but mostly I was just lost the whole time! They don't have the new film yet so that's a bummer but it was still great! I struggled getting a lot out of it, but I just looked to feel el Espiritu Santo and there we go! I felt it!! The Temple is beautiful as are all! So this week is basically the same as last except we aren't going to the temple but that means LOTSA free time and man do I need it! They expect so much from you here and so a day of rest (besides Sunday because Sundays we are in meetings all day too) is much needed. The plans for today are laundry, clean our room (its kinda nast and not cuz of me...juz sayin) study, email :), go to la tienda, and play volleyball with our district! Its gonna be great! Then tomorrow its back in the class room for us!

   So just to give you guys a taste of what I have to deal with, in class Hermana Molinero and Hermana Balderas ONLY speak to us in Spanish! Its a very good thing cuz it teaches us a lot fast, but its so hard! Haha so they speak to us in Spanish, we watch videos in spanish, our book are in Spanish, and to top it all off, we have to teach out investigators (our teachers in different clothes) only is Spanish with nothing but the Scriptures! No notes...nothin! You guys should really try teaching the Law of Chastity in Spanish to your teacher....yeah. Haha it is quite funny though!

   The weather is beautiful here is Mexico! Its sunny all day until about 5 and then it gets cloudy and pours!!! I love it! Then in the morning, its completely clear again and then but night its pouring! I love it sooo much! We also get earthquakes here a couple times a week. They aren't big what so ever and we cant even feel them, but a super loud alarm goes off and we all have to go outside and stand in these painted circles until they've checked all of the buildings! Haha

   So on Sunday we had a devotional by Elder Holland and man was it GOOD! He basically said that on our mission we better get to work and become completely converted cuz if we come back and not have a complete testimony of the Gospel, we've wasted our time out here. He also said that we have 200 years of tradition on our shoulders and that we better not embarrass the tradition! It kinda called me to attention cuz I've been feeling bad for myself that I'm not with my family but I will be able to be with you guys for eternity and there are people out there that don't even know that's possible! Sometimes, I'm selfish, but now I will, as Elder Holland said, pull my socks up to my armpits and get to work!!

  

   I have loved hearing from all of you!! You guys are amazing and I miss you with all my heart but I know this is where I'm meant to be! I love you guys! Hasta Luego!

Con Amor,

Hermana McIntyre

Hola!!

Hello everyone!!!!!!! :)

So as you can see p-day is on tuesdays for me! And I don't know my address here but I will go and look for it after I get done writing if I have some extra time! :) So you best all write me or imma lay a woopin on all y'all! Okay so here at the CCM its BEAUTIFUL!!! The campus is about 90 acres and its full of huge trees and flowers and all sorts of stuff! I love it! The weather is about at 70 degrees all day so knowing me, I constantly have goose bumps..We can also see outside the gates and secrurity of the CCM, a huge mountain that has houses all over it! They are just how I thought they would be! All of the houses are different colors and all made out of cement or bricks. Its so cool to see! I live in Casa 10 with 3 other girls in my room and about 16 girls in total in the house. The girls I live with are Hermana Jeppesen (mi companera), Hermana Colvin, and Hermana Radditz. My compananion is so nice and very easy to talk to! (which is soo good for me cuz you know me and awkward situations....no bueno) She is from Mesa, Arizona and is a theater arts major. Shes very expressive and cries very easily! Haha but s'all good cuz Ive cried my fair of times too here at the CCM. ha...whoops! The other two girls are nice too, their kinda quiet unless you get them talking about Doctor Who and then watch out! They don't stop!! Its a good thing though i guess. Better than silence right? haha The food at the CCM is pretty bland and a lot of it tastes like fake butter..not my favorite, but you get so hungry here cuz of how much you're doing all day that you just eat anything they give you. Haha The fruit is muy delicioso and I want to take the entire tray of it every time!! YUM! My spanish isn't doing too bad. I have learned soo much and its only been a week!! Its nuts! I can almost talk in sentences. I know that its only through the Lord that I am learning this fast. I have never prayed so much in my life. I have my morning prayers and 2 night prayers with my companion and personal. Then I pray about 5 other times during that day. Either before starting to study or if I'm not understanding something. I have gotten very very very close with my Heavenly Father in this last week! I am in District 5A here and I love everyone in my district! its all the girls in my room (me and 3 others) and then 4 companionships of guys. They are all so funny and hilarious! Its so awesome to be constantly surrounded be people that have the same standards as you and have the same goal in mind. I love it!! 

So my schedule almost everyday is get up at 6:30, get ready and study. Go to breakfast and then to language study until about 12. Then more study time until lunch. Then after lunch we go and work out then go and teach a fake investigator. and that takes about till dinner. Then we go to dinner and then more language study for a few hours. Then I plan with my companion until 9:30 and then we are in bed by 10:30. Then we get up and do the same thing the next day! Sundays are amazing here! Its a spiritual overload all day and its awesome! The only problem is that sacrament meeting is all in Spanish so I don't get too much outta that yet..Ha. Whoops.

So for my spiritual experience of the week. Yesterday I was having a super bad day when it came to  the language. I even broke down in front of my teacher! It was very embarrassing! So I asked my district leader, Elder Jensen, if I could get a blessing. At the end of the day, all of the guys in my district gave me a blessing and Elder Fogg is the one who gave it to me. He told me that I am here because God has called me here and that there is someone that needs me to help them come to the knowledge of the gospel. And then he said that the language will come to me and that I needed to lean on my Heavenly Father. :) I found out at the end of the blessing that Elder Fogg had no idea what I needed the blessing for. That goes to show that blessings are a very powerful thing and that they do come from God. It was so cool and now I am feeling so much better.

Well I have loved hearing about how you guys are all doing. :) I miss you all but I know that I am in the right place. Until next week! Yo amo tu muy mucho! :)

Love,

Hermana McIntyre