September 23, 2013 Resistencia, Argentina

Reinna continues to do awesome. Here's her latest response to our emails. I've edited some content out, but hey, that's what I do to protect the names of the innocent:)

...so church words just sound weird in English, even writing them is strange to me and reading them is even more bizarre... Well the other day i actually starting feeling better about my Spanish because i have finally started using bits and pieces of the subjunctive mode, i don't have past subjunctive down yet but i am just trying to get those pesky noun clauses down. I also had divisions this week with a girl from Buenos Aires and well i surprised myself because this was my first whole day in Spanish with a latin companion and it wasn't hard at all. I mean if we had more time maybe it would be harder but for a day it was a piece of cake and it was great to drill her with questions..... I am safe and sound here, so don't worry!  i know that really know spanish though because i spent most of the week looking for apartments and talking about rent and furniture...yea i see improvement but i also see a lot of things to do still but by the end i will have it so much better. Well i think i should attach some photos to keep you sane and all :) Photos can be found on the Photos tab above. 

I love you so much and i really hope you don't worry too much about me. i really am safe and protected and our members are always looking out for us! I am feeling way better health wise and really i am loving life! I love the mission and it is crazy stressful but vale la pena(worth it). tell everyone how much i love them!!!! Tell Connelly to keep up the good work and send my love to Austi and Bruce! And of course reassure mom that i am great because i seriously am! My area is great and a veces(at times) sketchy but i am smart and i know how to avoid trouble so no worries. I love you so much and i hope you get to respond before I have to leave the computer today.

love you sooooo much!!!!

September 16, 2013 Resistencia, Argentina

 Conferencia de Hermanas - Photo hacked from Sister Heyman's website:) Reinna is right behind the mission president and his wife (The Heyman's)

Another pic hacked from Sister Heyman's blog - She was in a couple of others, but you can't see her face except the one above....but she's there and looks happy!

We had a big conference Monday for all the sister missionaries in the mission. First one ever in our mission because we have so many sister missionaries now. 

The conference was awesome! I was soooo excited to see all the hermanas especially hna Baker! I had moments where i was frustrated and i wanted to talk but really i had so much fun with her, we both seriously almost cried when we saw each other, but she is doing great. She is just struggling with a companion who has the same time as me but still can't speak so well, but my companion is doing good. This week has been tougher for her because i know that I have to just chuck her under the bus and make her participate in speaking or she won't talk so i don't think she is super thrilled, but she is learning. I am really sorry i don't have more time, but i have to be back in my pension in a tiny bit. 

Oh, the weather...yeah, it got cold again and it is just starting to heat up again, but so far my boots are alright. The rainboots here are awful! They kill my feet but i can tough it out. i have not received the packages yet but i got a letter from you today, but i have not read it yet! i am super stoked though. i like reading your emails so don't worry about writing me a novel, it keeps me on my toes! I love you dad and i swear you will get tons more information next week!

hermana quick

PS. Tell Connelly he is a straight up stud!!!! I wanna give him a huuuge hug! dang he's so cool:)

September 9, 2013 Resistencia, Argentina

Hna Baker and I rocking it in the mud in San Juan 1

First email today:

(Yadahyahyadah....personal stuff dad edits. Some things are simply not meant to be on a blog, which is why this post is a little shorter than most:) 

Yeah people have told me about that whole culture difference with a latina companion, but i just want one transfer immersed and then i am totally cool with another gringa or whoever the Prez sends my way, but i am really struggling to help my companion and then learn more for myself at the same time. I'll get there eventually, but I would like the chance to be immersed with the language with a latin companion sometime soon. In the meantime Hma Skirvin and I will learn and work hard together.

Well, this week has been good. i am stressed and tired because i haven't been sleeping and my lideres have been breathing down my neck, but it is all good. At this point it is hot and being sick and hot is very uncomfortable but it will pass. I hope you aren't worried or anything. i really am great! just the stress of the mission :) Well i don't have any time left, but could you call austi today and let her know that i didn't have time to email this week but this Sunday i will be thinking about her a ton! We will be having some confirmations that day so it is gonna be great! I love you dad. Sorry i had a ton of emails this week and i couldn't write everyone, but i love you!!!! now i need to eat as i just realized i haven't really done that today :' whoops!

Hermana Quick

Have i mentioned how much i love you! and our family!

2nd email today in response to an earlier email I had sent:

Oh dad your weekly letters make me so happy! Tell Pte Walker hi for me and that not to worry i am working hard! :) Well my week wasn't quite as exciting as yours:) well it is getting suuuper hot! but people keep laughing and telling us that we haven't seen anything yet and that we are gonna die...how comforting. I think the heat or something made me sick because i have been down for two days i threw up and had a fever, but i still went and gave my talk at church which was surprisingly easy because with the pain in my gut and the spirit i didn't have any room left to be nervous. I think it went pretty well for my first talk in Argentina. my companion is doing pretty good. i need to be better at talking to her in spanish, but i can tell she is understanding more. she just always checks with me first in english and then she tries to speak. she is doing good though...... i know that in a year i might have the hang of this language. I am not doing too bad though because we are having two baptisms this week!!!! yay!!! They will get confirmed on Austi's birthday! Oh and this morning my comp and i deep cleaned our apartment! the mold didn't seem to bother the other missionaries but it was sick! We wiped down the walls and wiped our bed down and then replaced our mattresses because they had bugs. So all is good now. :) No dog stories, they are still here but they don't attack or go crazy like the ones in my other area. there are tons of turtles though!!! And they are big! i still haven't taken a picture because everyone always talks about people getting their bags stolen like it is a problem here...i don't wanna lose my camera, but i am gonna send this your way! love you!!!! Thank you so much for being the best dad in the world!!!!!! Tell everyone how much i love them too!!!

Hermana Quick

September 2, 2013 Resistencia, Argentina

Well you are gonna be shocked to know that my companionship has changed AGAIN because i am now training a greeny from the states!!! She doesn´t know much Spanish, she is half Mexican though so everyone thinks she knows what is going on, but yeah she doesn´t speak much Spanish at all quite yet. It is weird because i was giving most of the lesson before but now i literally teach the entire lesson! I'm sure she will progress quickly though. I stayed in the same area though and i feel like i can get around now, but i have moments when i am still a little lost. We wandered here in Centro just looking for this cyber for half an hour, but i found it! yay! Yea so our numbers have been pretty low, it is driving me up the wall! They made a new rule about lessons. Now we have to be sitting in order for it to count as a lesson, soooo yeah we still meet a ton of people but yea our lideres talked to me for a half hour this morning telling me what i need to do. I was a very respectful but they were just telling me to do what i already had planned. I must say though, there is way more pressure being the senior comp but then to have a companion who can´t help speak too much is really hard. I am still working hard, I am determined to improve this week! My new comp is super cool though, she is kinda quiet but she is opening up, she is from Utah and she has two sisters and they are triplets! She also waited for a visa in Vancouver Washington for 5 weeks. Oh her name is Hna Skirvin. The other day i discovered that all the ditches in our area are full of turtles!!!!! They are huge! and shockingly fast. It is also getting hotter here so we will undoubtedly be seeing more spiders, snakes, and scorpions and of course mosquitoes...All things that i hate of course, but it is all part of the fun :/ I wrote you a letter the other day in Spanish so hopefully i can find the correo soon so i can send you all a package. Thanks for sending me tons of good stuff!!! So i have no problem whatsoever focusing during the week on the work, but on Sundays i must say i miss you all a lot! I miss going to church with you all and then coming home and hanging out! I will be doing that with you all in a year, but still Sundays are the hardest day of the week. I love you sooooo much! oh so every hermana in our mission now is either training or in the process of being trained, it is crazy! and in 3 weeks we will have transfers again and the visa waiters are really starting to come, i will probably stay with my companion, but do you have any advice on how to teach someone a new language in like no time? i try to speak with her only in Spanish but because she doesn´t understand she just kinda zones out at times and then i ask her a question and then she responds in Spanish...yeah i don´t know how i have learned as much Spanish as i have because all my companions speak English. literally they make jokes about the fact that i am the only hermana in the mission who has never had a latina companion, and with all the visa waiters i probably never will, but time will tell:) Well i need to email pte Heyman, but i love you soooo much!  I hope you have a great week and don´t forget to pray for me! Hey and tell Connelly he can email me too! Oh and austi, is she still alive? I will write Carina and Maria today as well. I love you sooo much!  Good luck being a white hat, you will do great!

Hermana Quick

PS. I need to send you some more pics, but in my new area it is a little more dangerous and i can´t bring my camera with me so hopefully i can take some pictures today. vamos a ver, espero que podamos. Sorry i am gonna respond and then i got to go, but there are a lot of people who drive by on motos(motorcycles) and take your bag and at night there is hardly any light, and everything is far from our pension(apartment) so i can´t go back to put my camera away, i don´t know. i don´t feel like it is too sketchy or dangerous but all of the members here tell us horrible stories, but i love you dad! Hope you have a great week!