First off, here is my address, everyone!:
417 SW 79th St. Suite 210
Oklahoma City, OK 73139
Anyway, hello! I am in Norman, Oklahoma! Life is pretty crazy. 10 days ago I found out I would be here, and now, I've been here nearly a week! Heavenly Father is pretty dang cool.
Alright first let me tell you about the town:
Norman, Oklahoma may actually be the flattest place you will ever go in your earthly life. It is the home of Oklahoma University and it is a lot like Corvallis.. just more flat and an incredibly large amount of fried chicken restaurants. I'm gonna end up gaining back the 14 pounds I lost at the MTC. Oh, cats. It's a cool place though. The humidity is really nice here and I feel like I could breathe forever! So I love it. There aren't as many trees as I'd like but there's still plenty to give shade and create oxygen, so no harm, no foul.
I have two companions! Yep, you got it, I got put into another trio. The reason for this is because I was a surprise! My companions found out about me about a week ago. They said, "You weren't a mistake.. you're a miracle!" Yeah, I'm their baby. What's weird is that I'm the oldest person in the companionship, but I'm also the youngest (in mission age).
Alright, let me tell you a little bit about my companions:
Sister Leavitt- she's the senior companion, she's been out 6 months! She's from Utah and is one of the most high energy people you will ever meet in your life. She's very loving and friendly and funny. She's so cool.
Sister Clark- She is a bit quieter, but still louder than me. She's also loving and kind, but a bit more reserved than Sister Leavitt. She plays the harp and she likes Doctor Who, so we're buds.
Alright. Now, I'll tell you about how the week has been since I got here.
Tuesday I flew from Salt Lake to Oklahoma. I don't think I have ever been more motion sick in my life. It was okay though. There was an Elder sitting next to me who was very chatty and when I didn't feel like I was about to pass out, I would talk with him. He was nice.
Upon arriving at the airport, we met our mission president and grabbed our bags. Our mission president is named President Walkenhorst. He's 7 feet tall (not an exaggeration) and used to play basketball for BYU. He's really nice and kinda goofy.
We headed to the stake center in Moore. Yes, Moore, Oklahoma- where they had the devastating tornadoes earlier this year. I'm right next to that. I'll explain more about tornadoes later.
We spent a solid 8 hours at the stake center, being interviewed, receiving information, eating food, and trying not to fall asleep. I pulled an all-nighter the night before I came here (long story) so I was about to fall over out of tired-ness. But it was good. Finally we went to the mission home and went to bed. I slept SO deep.
On Wednesday we got up, got ready, and went back to the stake center to meet our companions. They had us all stand in a line and he called our names to meet each other. When they called my name and called the name of my companions, they came RUNNING up to me and I desperately tried to reach them, only to trip over my skirt, nearly pull it down, and fall down in between the pews. It was awesome. First impressions are the best. I popped back up, hugged them both, and sat with them. We sat through more information and slideshows and finally we were allowed to go outside. There were tons of missionaries outside for transfers. Sister Leavitt ran around like a crazy person talking to everyone and hugging every sister she saw. Eventually (after Sister Clark and I spent much time looking for her) we caught her and we all headed to the mission office to get me an air mattress. After that, we all went to Braum's. I guess Braum's is an Oklahoma thing? It's REALLY good though. Best ice cream ever. I had a pumpkin milkshake and it was the yummiest thing ever. Man alive. After Braum's, we met with a woman from Thailand named Toy, and gave her a Thai BoM. She has a ton of really cute animals. Specifically this one cat, who was licking my hand with incredible vigor. It was cute. We'll meet with Toy again in a couple weeks. I have high hopes for her.
That night we had dinner at the Ward Mission Leader's house. His name is Brother Cruz. He's a hilarious guy and his wife is funny too. They have some weiiiiird stories. Afterwards we went home. I get my own bathroom! The only downside is I don't get my own showerhead. The shower in my bathroom is messed up.. so we just have a solid stream of hosewater that I use. It's pretty cool though. It's like I'm in Brazil! ;) But seriously the water tastes like dirt here.
Thursday I woke up and did the morning routine, we studied for days, did weekly planning for months, then left the apartment. We started out by going to check on someone named Monica. My companions seem to think I'll be able to reach her in some way, so that's pretty cool. I'm excited to meet her. She wasn't home, unfortunately, but it's okay. We went and checked on a guy named Danny. He's so cool. He got out of jail not too long ago and is actively working to turn his life around. He has two sons- Justin (who quickly informed us that we MUST call him Jay) is 5 and has a foot long rat-tail! He's the cutest little punk of my life. Dartanian is 3 and is missing his 4 front teeth, but his canines are silver, so that's pretty cool! They are the funniest little family. I can see in Danny that he really wants to make life the best he can. After visiting with Danny, we went to dinner with the Hope family at a place called Cece's pizza. It's like a mini Izzy's. It was really good. The Hope's are really sweet. Sister Hope reminds me a LOT of Sister Carlson and she's really spunky.
After dinner, we went to drop off the elders and we ran into Brother Ead. The Ead's are a less-active family who are really nice and friendly! Sister Ead is from Venezuela. They showed us their recently remodeled apartment and we talked with them for a bit. After a while, we left and went back home. Brother Cruz picked us up and we went and visited Maverick. Man, Maverick. Talk about a SOLID kid. He's a senior in high school and he has a baptismal date set for November 2nd. Stoked. After the lesson we were talking and we all agreed that Mav would make a SOLID missionary. I love it. He's a great kid.
Friday we had a pretty lazy day. Sister Leavitt was really sick. We had district meeting, then afterwards went to a place called Raising Canes. It's a fried chicken fast food place that's good. I don't know. I liked it. We went back to the apartment, and Sister Leavitt rested while I did language study. It's hard to keep up the portugues here.. But it's okay. I can do it. The Spirit is so cool!
That night we had dinner with the Dahl's. They're both meteorologists and they're really nice. Brother Dahl reminds me a lot of Kenny (my brother), but about half the height of him. After dinner we went to check on some people that lived nearby and there was a toad. And it chased Sister Leavitt. And it was hilarious. We tried to catch it, to no avail. After attempting to check on people who weren't home, we went back to the apartment, did training and planning, and went to bed.
Saturday we went to check on Gabriel before church. He is this really nice guy from Venezuela who has a baptismal date set for November 9th! SO excited! He'd just woken up when we stopped to check on him, so we set up a time to meet with him later. We went to the church and watched conference. IT WAS SO GOOD. Man, I LOVED the emphasis they had on loving everyone and doing missionary work! My favorite talk was that of Elder Dube- when he told the story of his mom telling him to "never look back, look at what we still have left to do!" So true. And also when he said "Faith is always pointing towards the future." How true that is! If you're looking back, you're focusing on all the blessings you had, not looking forward to all the blessings you will have. Man. I love it.
I thought Jeffrey R. Holland's talk about depression and remember that the dawn will break was also very important. It's important to be sensitive to people and lift up those around you who cannot lift themselves. I loved it.
After conference we went and had dinner with the Oropeza's. They made us some delicious mexican food, and we got to know them a bit better. They're a really nice family and I love their dynamic. It's great. After dinner we went back to check on Gabriel and talked more with him, and set up times to go back to meet with him. I'm excited for our lessons!
Sunday was very low key. We went to breakfast at the Tucker's, they are this artsy-hipster family that are really cool and totally belong in Oregon. They fed us some of the best waffles I have ever had. After that, we watched the last two sessions of conference, then hurried to dinner at the Bett's. They're a really cute little family that just moved here from California. Their little boy was my little buddy! He kept trying to copy me when I was drumming on the couch with my hands or fiddling with my watch. He's so sweet.
Man, I'm sorry, this is such a long email! I just love it here. I've been in a bit of a funk since I got into the field but I can feel the funk slowly lifting and I'm so happy to be here! Eu sei a igreja e verdadeiro! Eu sei Jesus Cristo morreu para nos! Eu amo voces muito e eu senti muito grato por todos a amar voces mostram para mim!
Be safe, be strong, and I'll write you again next week!
Te amo!
Sorry guys, I have no idea why it rotated but I can't rotate it back. Oh well. Email dated October 7th.
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