Las Hermanas Latinas

When I was 21, I served a mission for my church.

I was originally called to Buenos Aires West Argentina and after serving down there for 9 months and getting sick, I was sent home and reassigned to downtown Salt Lake City, UT on Temple Square. Both of my mission experiences had their ups and downs but I really came into my own as missionary on Temple Square.

One of the best parts of my mission there was serving with amazing woman from around the world. Thankfully for facebook, I have been able to reconnect with many of them and I still consider many of them among my favorite people on the planet.

At one point, I was asked to be a supervisor over all of the Spanish speaking missionaries. I spoke the worst Spanish of the bunch but thankfully, they all over-looked that part. One of my biggest goals as their supervisor was to create a sense of unity among us as well as give all of them opportunities to speak their native language. Having lived in Argentina, I knew first hand how there were days when being able to speak in English was like wrapping a warm blanket of comfort around me. So I made sure to organize monthly meetings where we spoke onlySpanish. (Normally, English was the only language we were allowed to speak on Temple Square unless we were giving a tour in our specific foreign language.)

Anyway, I recently found the above picture. I remember this moment so well because again, I wanted them to know how special they were to be Spanish-speaking sisters and how blessed we were to be on Temple Square, sharing our treasured beliefs to the Spanish speaking visitors on Temple Square. After this photo was taken, I enlarged it, framed it and gave a copy to each missionary and labeled it, "Las Hermanas Latinas".

I adore those girls and love all that this picture represents. (Notice, I am the only blond in the whole group. :) )