Hi family and friends!
Last week I didn't get to send out an email because I was too busy traveling to Cincinnati! (Or, if we're being technical, Kentucky. Cause apparently the Cincinnati airport was a bit past the state boarder)
We stayed at the mission home our first night in Cincinnati and the next day we got our trainers. If any of you haven't heard the song "This is the Christ" then I highly recommend listening to it because it's beautiful! Most of us sisters sang it at the MTC for Easter so it was already special to us, but when we were introduced to our trainers we sang this song as the rest of the older missionaries walked in and joined us part way through. It was an amazing feeling to see all the missionaries there to greet us and I could barely sing the last half of the song because I was too choked up! My companion is Sister Priego and she's amazing! I gave a great first impression by bawling as she hugged me. But it was because I was so happy to finally OFFICIALLY be a missionary that I could hardly believe it, so it was the good kind of crying.
Because Sister Priego doesn't have a license and the phone she got turned out to be locked I get both the privilege of driving AND having the sim card in my phone. Both things that normally the senior companion does. Driving was interesting for a little while because I didn't know where I was going, but now I can pretty much get most places I need without directions, which is definitely a blessing because I'm absolutely terrible with directions. I've heard of the gift of tongues, but apparently I've been given the gift of directions!
I'm currently serving in a town called Springfield in the middle of Ohio, about an hour away from Columbus and an hour and a half away from Cincinnati. So much has happened in just the week I've been here! A cute girl named Belle was baptized, we put another girl on date to be baptized, one of the guys Sister Priego has kinda been teaching turned out to be a great D&D dungeon master and we've discussed playing D&D with him sometime for P-day 
, I offered to a woman we're teaching that we could refer her daughter to the missionaries in that area and she said that was an answer to her prayers, and I've been learning really fast and Sister Priego things I'll probably be a trainer as soon as I'm done being trained.
The thing that disappoints me the most is that I didn't keep up with learning ASL after my one semester in college! We have two cute girls we're teaching who are deaf and we've been having to teach them using our limited knowledge of sign and a white board. But the lessons have been going surprisingly well and we've been learning more and more as we meet with them.
Yesterday we were heading home after finishing our day of visiting people. It was about 8:50 and we're supposed to be done visiting people by 9 unless we're in the middle of giving a lesson. But suddenly Sister Piego said we should go visit either one of two people we'd been trying to catch throughout the week. So I started driving toward one of them, knowing full well that no one was likely to be home at their place because we'd stopped by earlier that day and heard that they wouldn't be around. When we got there we knocked and the woman who lived there opened the door. This woman was the neighbor of the cool dungeon master guy, and earlier in the week when we'd been talking to him about some Book of Mormon stories and Joseph Smith she was out smoking on her porch (Basically everyone smokes here. I'm sure I smell like cigarette smoke most days.) and turned to us and asked "What book are you talking about? It sounds interesting!" We explained the Book of Mormon and gave her a copy and she agreed to let us come back another time because she and her fiance felt like they needed our message because they'd just moved in and were going through a lot. After talking to her yesterday and giving her a brief lesson on The Book of Mormon and some words and scriptures of comfort we found out that she'd JUST walked in the door when we showed up, and she wouldn't be back again for another week. She sincerely felt like us being there was meant to happen and that the things that we have to share with her are exactly what she needs in her life right now. And she was fully committed to read The Book of Mormon until we meet with her again, so we're super excited for her!
Overall, I'm loving Ohio! The people here a so nice, everything is so green, and there lots of cute neighborhoods full of adorable old houses. Most people here are really religious, so it's easy to have really good talks about religion even if they don't end up accepting what we have to say. With all my heart I love getting to bare my testimony so many times every single day and serve those around me. I've already grown so much and I can't wait to see how much more I'll grow.
There's a quote by Jeffrey R. Holland that I LOVE that says
"...the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don't always succeed."
I also love Moroni 10:32, which says
"...if ye shall deny yourselves of all
ungodliness, and love God with all your might mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ..."
We don't have to be perfect right now, but as long as we're trying and working our hardest we can become perfect in Christ through his grace. I love the comfort that I get knowing that despite my shortcomings I still have the atonement that allows me the opportunity to return to my Heavenly Father again one day!
I'm also including a poem that I heard at the MTC and loved!
DISCOURAGEMENT
"It was announced so the story goes ,
That the devil was going to quit,
That all his tools would be up for sale the whole infernal kit.
Malice and envy hatred and strife each marked a bargain price,
Jealousy, pride, and other wise
All implements of the vice
A bad and sorry looking lot
Attractively displayed
But just apart from all the rest
A wedge shaped tool was laid
A harmless looking, simple tool
Much worn as one could trace,
But higher priced than all the rest is in that infernal place.
Then someone asked the devil what the wedge shaped tool was,
Why that's discouragement, he said it's higher priced because.
It's much more useful unto me
Than any of its brothers
It will prevail where I would fail
With any of the others.
Few people know it's mine and so,
It works wth perfect ease
For once inside (I'll put you wise)
I do just as I please
Just let me get the conscientious
Discouraged, downcast, blues
Eureka, I have found a way
Santanic work to do!
Suffice to say the price to pay
The devil for his "PET"
Was just to high, no one could buy
And so he 's got it yet,
And what is more he is using it
And in these times of stress
He no doubt finds DISCOURAGEMENT
of all his tools the BEST!!!"
"It was announced so the story goes ,
That the devil was going to quit,
That all his tools would be up for sale the whole infernal kit.
Malice and envy hatred and strife each marked a bargain price,
Jealousy, pride, and other wise
All implements of the vice
A bad and sorry looking lot
Attractively displayed
But just apart from all the rest
A wedge shaped tool was laid
A harmless looking, simple tool
Much worn as one could trace,
But higher priced than all the rest is in that infernal place.
Then someone asked the devil what the wedge shaped tool was,
Why that's discouragement, he said it's higher priced because.
It's much more useful unto me
Than any of its brothers
It will prevail where I would fail
With any of the others.
Few people know it's mine and so,
It works wth perfect ease
For once inside (I'll put you wise)
I do just as I please
Just let me get the conscientious
Discouraged, downcast, blues
Eureka, I have found a way
Santanic work to do!
Suffice to say the price to pay
The devil for his "PET"
Was just to high, no one could buy
And so he 's got it yet,
And what is more he is using it
And in these times of stress
He no doubt finds DISCOURAGEMENT
of all his tools the BEST!!!"
Pictures!
1. Sister Priego, Belle, and I on Belle's baptism
2 & 3 Sister Priego and I, and our name tags!
4, 5, & 6 Traveling
7. Cincinnati!
8. The view from the plane
More pictures on Facebook if anyone wants to go friend my missionary Facebook page!
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