I will only be sending Emails on Mondays.
This week has been pretty crazy. I got to call Mom and dad before I got on the plane to leave but other than that I was not able to call again. We had a layover in Detroit and it was supposed to be an hour long but by the time we got there we had about 20 minutes to get to our loading area... yeah it was crazy and Detroit airport is freaking huge and we had no idea where we were going. so we basically ran from one side of the airport to the next and arrived just in time. We went through the glowing tunnel and didn't even know it. We were in a bit of a panic because Sister Simmons and Stone were late for the buses at the MTC and when we arrived at Detroit they disappeared, but they arrived bout a minute before we were allowed to board so everything went over well.
When we arrived in WV Charleston airport our mission President was waiting there for us with his wife Sister Pitt, and his assistant. There were 31 new missionaries in the West Virginia Charleston mission. 17 Elders and 14 Sisters, two of the sisters are waiting for their visas to go to Argentina. We packed all of our suitcases and stuff into a small trailer and drove to the Stake Center. We unloaded our suitcases and brought them into the church and put them in a room till we came back on Thursday for Transfers. I'm not going to lie I was tired, hungry, and a little confused on what was going on. I didn't have any sleep the night before our flight because I had to finish packing and writing notes to people and we needed to wake up at 2 am to leave. When we got to the airport none of the food places were open till about 6-6:30 and I was waiting in line to call Mom so I did not have an opportunity to buy something to eat. I had pretzels and water on the plane... very filling let me tell ya.. When we landed in Detroit we had to rush from one side to the next. So by the time we arrived in WV at 3:30ish it had been a long day of No sleep, and little to eat. Sister Pitt felt bad that they hadn't brought anything for us but it was all good. Sister Pitt is such a sweet lady. President Pitt is an Awesome guy! They are both just spiritual powerhouses. It amazes me every time I hear their testimonies and their life stories.
Anywho, at around 5:30ish we headed to the Mission Home. We had dinner and a small devotional and testimony meeting. Each of the missionaries got up introduced themselves and told why they were on a mission. It took a while because we had 31 new missionaries shoved into a room the size of the Living room and dining room put together. President Pitt told us that we were special, we are part of a special movement that is going on in the Church and we are all called to serve and find the elect that are waiting for us. The Elect are Everywhere and they are looking. We just need to find them.
After the Devotional the Elders stayed at the mission home, and the sisters went to a nearby Hotel because there was not enough room. We were put into companions of three. I was with Sister Boldrin and Sister Francis. They are pretty funny and have very strong testimonies.
First Day done!!! I don't think I have fallen asleep so fast in my life!
In the morning we had a continental Breakfast and Sister Boldrin stared a little too long at a lady and her kid and got a bit of a mouthful of angry words. Note to self: do not stare at people in Hotels - they are not nice and don't want you to stare at them (they are not from WV. No Mercy). The other Sisters that were at the Hotel were able to place their first Book of Mormon and they were all super excited, but no one knew where the church was to tell the lady( ha,ha).
We headed back to the Stake Center and started Interviews with the President and having different lessons on our missionary handbook. We also got to meet an Investigator, a recent convert, and an old convert. The recent convert her name is Briana had such an amazing story. Her father left when she was 8 and she grew up with little to no religion (everyone here knows about Jesus and they all love him in one way or another). She is now 18 years old and has been going to college. She went through 4 sets of missionaries and they all did the same thing and none of them were progressing with her. On the last set of missionaries, they started over that she was a Child of Heavenly Father and that they loved her. She got super angry and told them to leave. but as the night went on she kept thinking about it and she remembered a lady in church had given a talk on being a Child of God. and it just hit her. She was an elect. She was waiting for the right time and the right moment to join the church. She was looking for something in her life and didn't know where to go next. These words I tell you can't even describe her life and her story that well or what was felt as she was speaking, because words can not do anything for you. It was amazing.
When I spoke with the President I told him about my family, about my life, about basically anything. I didn't know what to say when he asked me what my mom would say about me. I know what I hope she would say about me but I don't really know what she would say about me. It just really made me think of goals that I needed to set to become a better person.
After that, we headed out and tried out the support cards that we got from the church. We are given $160 each month for our mission. Sister missionaries will never ride bikes. This mission is a dangerous mission for walking and riding bikes. There are NO sidewalks anywhere! The roads are narrow and curve constantly. After we went out to eat we headed back to our Hotel for one last night before Transfers.
-Sister Call
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