Missing

This is what I miss today...

The little girl that I am holding in the picture was in love with me. I had a dance-off with her older sister, who was five at the time. I did the splits and they were amazed, probably because I was slightly over-weight. During our dance-off I got a leg-cramp trying to do a backwards bend. They all laughed. I couldn't move for at least a minute or two. The mom, woman in pink, was my favorite member in Kaunas, I ate a lot of food with her. She would always let us in when we had a cake in our hands. I laughed and laughed with her. I miss her.

The picture where I look awesome in the blue shirt (I loved that shirt) is with my companion Sister Janiec, we had a good time. She thought I was crazy. We almost got attacked by a bee the size of a golf ball, seriously. Sister Janiec broke the dresser she was so scared of the bee. I tried everything to kill that bee, I think I finally hit it was a Dansko and it died. Sister Janiec saw me in the best and worst of my mission, she was my last companion. I was more afraid than anything to go home, I kept on telling myself it was never going to actually happen. She sat up with me the last night of my mission and helped me realize it was all going to be alright. Lily & Fred (story for another day) were our greatest source of entertainment during our companionship.

The picture with the umbrella is with Sister Robbins, we were companions for six months. I love her, I am pretty sure God knew we had to be companions. We saw more miracles than I have ever experienced in my life. We essentially were each other's first companions. We were little, actually getting fatter by the day, sisters stuck in a big city. We found out what it really meant to love others. We laughed every day, Sister Robbins peed her pants about a billion times, seriously. She even peed her pants in my shoes...gross. It rained a lot, we liked the rain. In fact one time, Sister Robbins was laughing so hard over a puddle of rain that she peed right there in her skirt in the rain. Needless to say we were late for an appointment, we went anyway...sick. That black sweater I am wearing was a handy-down from 500 other missionaries, it was gross and awesome all at the same time. I think only sister missionaries can understand the beauty of handy-down clothes. Even though they are usually ugly, they seem to fit like a glove. Sister Robbins had to go home early and I remember the day she left the Baltics, it rained so hard. It was February and I was positive that the entire world was crying for me. I walked away on a cobble stone street in Klaipeda, I probably tripped because of my shoes, and I turned around and she drove away. I was sad.

I miss my mission, I want to go back, I was just there, I think that the people in my mission used to need me more than I needed them and now I need them more than they need me.

Goodnight.

Love,

SJ