Hermana Muir Part 1 (Nov - Dec 2021)

Even though Hermana Clavijo was on the mend, she still needed to take it easy.  Therefore, the mission president decided to transfer her into the city, where not as much walking was required.  For Aly's 5th companion, she got another American, Hermana Muir.  Interestingly, Aly found out that Hermana Muir is cousins once-removed with Alys friend Chloe from Kentucky - small world!

The thing that seems to be most famous about Minga Guazu is the amount of walking and the red dirt.  So many pictures of them walking on these endless dirt roads!

I love the pretty sunset pics she sends me!

(I guess they can relate to the Savior and His dusty feet after walking around in the dust and dirt all the time! 😉)

There is also lots of rain . . . which leads to lots of mud!

The apartment also continued to be a gem, with the showerhead not working and so they would have to wash their hair and such with the spigot at the bottom for washing their feet.  Nice!  Luckily they got to move into a nicer place in December.

In November, Aly turned 20.  No longer a teenager - craziness!  I sent her the ingredients to make pumpkin cookies, one of her favorite desserts.  Luckily they were able to make them without complications - and then quickly devoured them.

Aly, of course, introduced Hermana Muir to her obsession with Acai.  The caption reads, "I went to find happiness, and I found Acai."  That about sums it up for Aly.

They have been able to do a little sightseeing here and there and get together with other missionaries on pdays and for conferences.  

Translation: You are sad because you need money

Despite the heat, the dirt, the bugs, the broken-down apartment, etc. the amazing thing about Minga Guazu is the people.  This field is white and ready to harvest.  Aly has been teaching more in this area than ever before and has had multiple baptisms here as well.  It is definitely the Lord's work, as Aly has watched very contentious, argumentative people's hearts be softened and until they want to embrace the gospel.  The Lord works in mysterious ways sometimes!

Thanksgiving (November 2021)

 

Next up on the list was Thanksgiving.  We had a family from the ward over as well as friends from Niceville who were down visiting.  It was a large crew with a lot of yummy food - and thanks to everyone who helped prepare it!  We also played the candy bar game and the kids had a great time running around, chilling in the hammocks, and just being with friends.  Another cool thing was that we were able to have the friends from Niceville sleepover.  It was so good for me to see my kids happy and having a good time with their old friends.  I know that moving and going through hard things makes us better in the end, but it's just so hard to watch your kids struggle, so it was good to see them get a little break.

(**Also of note: Kate and Kylie both got braces the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  Not ideal, to be sure, but at least a Thanksgiving dinner is soft - mashed potatoes, rolls, turkey, pumpkin pie, etc.  They have not been too happy about the whole braces thing, but we are getting into the groove, slowly.)

I tell ya, it is really hard to get into the holiday spirit while living in a tropical climate.  Not that I don't think it's amazing to look out your window and see a bunch of dolphins swimming by - it is! - but it just doesn't feel like Christmas, ya know?  Oh la, at least we tried our best by decorating the house for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. ;)

I still love all my Christmas trees - the pencil tree, the family tree, and the memories tree.

The girls were all really great helpers at getting Christmas up as well - even though it got a little silly at times.

That night we also got together with a bunch of new friends from the ward to have a "pie party."  It was fun to get together.  I am starting to feel that I'm kind of over making new friends over and over again though.  Kinda feeling ready to get off this moving military train and set down some roots.

Another thing that happened over Thanksgiving week is that we bought Chris a new truck!  Holy cow, the car market (along with most everything else) is crazy right now.  There were only a few (like 5) of the truck model he was interested in on the lot and it was kind of a "take it or leave it" scenario.  Luckily, he found one that had all the options he wanted - extended cab, upgraded interior, bed liner, and I can't even remember everything else.  He's never done a red car before, but it looks good on him!  I'm glad we were able to find something he liked.  (Also, it is probably good to have another car on hand because just before my Dad and Terri came into town, the minivan "check engine" light came on and we had to do some major repairs. 😒😣 We ended up having to drive a rental to meet them at Universal!)  Love Chris and his sweet new ride!