Washington!!!!!

Heyy friends!!

I love and miss you all! Thanks for the emails last week and for all the love! 

I am officially in Washington! My p-day is on Tuesday from 8am-6pm so that's when I'm responding!

This week has been pretty good! Last Tuesday, I woke up at 4:45 and cleaned out my room, hopped on a bus, got on the FrontRunner, and then got on a plane. The flight was interesting I haven't been on a plane since I was little, so it was pretty cool! I got the window seat, so it was kinda bittersweet to wave goodbye to Utah.

We spent the day in lessons, and our mission president refused to let us sleep until 9 o'clock because he didn't want us to struggle with jetlag. It was very nice of him, but at the time, I just thought it was mean

On Wednesday, I met my trainer!! Her name is Sister Williams, and she is so sweet and so nice! This is actually her last transfer, so she'll be home for Christmas. The bishop in our area said that I was a newly wed, and she was nearly dead! I'd never heard that before, so that was hilarious! 

We're serving in the South Hill ward in Puyallup, and it's a tiny area. However, the people here are soo nice! The members feed us almost every night, and I've already tried some new foods! 

The sisters that were here before us left us with a few friends (investigators) to meet with. However, it's been kinda tricky to get in contact with any of them. We've been doing a lot of knocking and a lot of Facebook finding.

It's been kinda hard. Since we can't get in contact with our friends, I've had a bit of spare time. It's strange cuz I was busier in the MTC than I am here. I was super excited to get out and focus on my purpose and teach about Jesus Christ and serve, and it's been a little hard to do that. It's just different than I thought it would be, which is fine! I know that by the end of this transfer, I'll have learned something! I just need to be patient and trust the Lord!

Washington is actually a lot different than I thought it'd be. For example, it has NOT rained at all! I've had sunny days every day! It's amazing and weird.

Also, everybody here has a religion already! I didn't expect that. I feel like in Utah, you're a member, you don't ever want to be one, or you don't have a religion. It's interesting how many people already believe in God and go to church. I wasn't expecting that!

Everybody also has a dog. That's been.... fun! I've gotten more comfortable saying "oh, I'm allergic." So yeah. That's also been an adjustment.

Now for a spiritual thought...

I'm reading the Book of Mormon again, this time with the perspective of our friends. I'm reading it, looking for answers to questions they might have, looking for simple truths, looking for the doctrine.

It's definitely different. I'm getting a lot more out of it than I usually do. For example, I've been struggling to understand why the Book of Mormon is my greatest tool as a missionary. I know it's true, and I really want to teach that to our friends. So I'm trying to strengthen my testimony of it. 

I was reading 1 Nephi 13 the other day, and I realized that the whole chapter was about the Book of Mormon. In verse 40, it specifically spells out why we need the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon contains covenants that were lost in the Bible. It truly does answer questions of the soul. I'm excited to see how the Book of Mormon changes lives here in Washington. 

Idk I'm just really trying to be ready for when we finally get to teach our friends!

I love my Heavenly Father, and I know that He has a lesson for me to learn here. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and I can't wait to testify of Him and watch other people's testimony grow! I love my mission and I can't wait to share what I experience!

Love you all!!

1) me and my companion

2) Pugent sounds (?) I keep calling it pungent sound...

3) mount rainier (guys I can spell, my brain is just mush right now)

4) cute message!