"Sister you Smile"

Dear family and friends,

Today is my one month mark!!! 10 days until the field! I am so excited. My p-day next week will be on Wednesday and then I'll email again on either Saturday or Monday before I leave. 

Whether it's Sweden or Mexico City, I'm always on the lookout for some local sweet treats!

The CCM used to be a school so there are playgrounds to hang on!

Happy birthday to my sweet niece and nephew  a little late. I miss you guys!

My nephew drew this picture of me.  I guess he thinks I'm a little rounder than I really am!

To explain the subject of this email, my name translates to "sister you smile." The natives love that my name means something is Spanish and it's actually really easy for them to say. I love it too.   (Explanation:  Ries means  you smile so Hermana Ries translates "Sister you smile")

This week I thought a lot about a talk from Conference in April 2014 called "Bear up their burdens" by Elder Bednar.  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/bear-up-their-burdens-with-ease?lang=eng    Please look it up if you have time. It's all about how our trials help propel us forward and help us grow. I testify that just when we think we can't go any further, the load is actually the thing that makes it possible for us to grow. The Lord doesn't always take our burdens, but He does make us stronger.

This week in the CCM everyone got sick. Turns out it was mostly salmonella haha. But I'm fine. Thank you for your prayers on my behalf. 

I've been practicing my Spanish with the latinas in our casa. They are the best. They call me the Hermana Loca (crazy hermana) Ha ha!   I love it. I've learned a lot more conversational Spanish instead of just the Gospel.

Also here's a funny story. We were teaching one time and after the teacher said', all in spanish of course, "when you teach and say we have a message to share, make sure you say, 'nosotras tenemos un mensaje.' not 'nosotras tenemos un mesaje'... that means we have a massage for you" hahaha so embarrassing and so funny. 

I hope you all had a good week! 

The lights of Mexico City!  So pretty!

-Hermana Ries

Romans 12:21