Happy 11 Months!!!

One month away from the BIG one-year, peeps! Kind of a big deal...

Hello from beautiful Staunton, VA where NOTHING happened this week! hahaha we got a little rain, actually, but that's it. I didn't feel a THING on earthquake day and we were banned from leaving the apartment for all of saturday...which was hilarious because it was the first day that Sis B and I had planned on just being out ALL DAY and working. So we just stayed in and did our weekly planning in our pj's. A sweet couple from the branch brought us the most delicious dinner ever and we just chilled and bonded. Actually, the highlight was that I painted my nails. For the first time in 11 months. It was AMAZING. I had no idea how much I miss being a girl! haha, That nail polish mom sent for Christmas finally made it to my eager little nails! Moral of the story: Staunton was left untouched by Irene. Half of the mission was evacuated to the mission home though, and parts were really affected, just not us!

Because we knew there was a storm a-brewing we drove Sis T down to Richmond on Friday evening for her Monday flight home. It's about a 2 hour drive, and once we got there we planned to stop by a recent convert of Sis B's and swing by a really delicious pupusa place for dinner and maybe hook up with the deaf people I found in that area (remember them?!) So we visited with her buddy and headed down to the restuarant/tienda of choice and I'm freakin out because I haven't used spanish in FOREVER and it's just the two of us huge white girls and only one of us has the necessary communication skills... And so we waltz in and my heart is just racing and I'm headed towards the back and I hear, "Hermana!" And here I am, thinking to myself, surely I just imagined that. And then I heard it again. And to my heart's surprise it's my favorite salvadoranian Maria! (We taught her like weekly for the whole time I was in Chesterfield.) She was like, "Hey! The missionaries that got evacuated from NC are going to eat at my house and I just came to get some stuff to feed them, do you want to come over and eat with us??" And I'm like YEAH. So we headed over and she and her esposo just made us 5 sister missionaries (3 of which were hermanas) a really delicious dinner and a good time was had by all. Turns out I can still communicate in spanish, so nobody panic. It was just so fun! After a lot of drama, she's finally able to get married and baptized on Sept 24. A sweet tender mercy. 

So guess what my other tender mercy of the week was?! You'll never guess, so I'll just tell you: Sis B got a CD from the library of this christian artist Francisa Barticelli or something and it's fun and a nice change up from EFY, but anyway, I asked to look at the CD to take a glace as to how, exactly about-God it was, and I'm skimming and see DAVE BARNES. Yeah, I think my heart may have stopped beating. Completely. He was like a special-guest feature to a song and so immediately we went to it and I just turned to MUSH. I just flashed back to "Police neber die..." and "he's my faboreete arteest in de WORLD" and such and it made me so so happy. 

Well that's about it, folks! Thanks for the updates and prayers and love- some things just never get old. Sure love you!

Hermana Sinclair