It has been a whie since I last wrote, because my preparation day has changed from Thursday to Monday. And that is because... I am now in the mission field! Tah dah!
The last few days at the MTC were a rush. We went to something called "in-field orientation," which was nine hours long (!) and was basically about all the things we would do out in an actual mission, like working with members and starting conversations with random strangers at the airport. I won't say it was fun, but I will say it was informative. That weekend we had our last lessons with our teachers, which was sad, and we started having to say goodbye to our district. We did have the chance to get priesthood blessings from the elders before we left, which was a really spiritual experience.
The group going to North Carolina had to leave the MTC at 3:30 Monday morning. That was a pretty rough morning, especially since I didn't feel very good, but we got out there. We had a flight from Salt Lake to Atlanta, which was a little turbulent, and then from Atlanta to Charlotte. That flight was really short, which was a shame, since a few of the missionaries (like me) ended up getting first class tickets.
Our mission president, President Alexander, and his wife, Sister Alexander, met us at the airport. There were only nine of us in the group, so that night we got to stay at the mission home, which was a very nice, very spacious house. We got served some delicious, authentic North Carolina barbecue and went to bed early.
On Tuesday we met at the main building, did some training, and finally got to meet our new companions and go our separate ways. My companion and trainer is Sister Hill. She is from Logan, Utah, and she's super nice. She's been out six months so far. We are serving in a town called Shelby. It's so beautiful. There are TONS of trees, even if most of them don't have leaves right now, and some little rivers and streams everywhere. It does have hills, which I am not so fond of, since we were on bike week. Luckily, though, today is the start of two weeks of having a car to drive, which is SO nice. That first night we got to visit an investigator named B, who lives fairly close to us. It started raining while we were there, though, so when we were riding back I found out for sure that the liner of my coat is NOT waterproof. So the next time we went out, I brought the waterproof part, just in case. ;) Anyway, that's an experience I can get out of the way now.
Since Shelby is pretty spread out, we weren't able to bike to many places, but we tried our best to get around. We had some opportunities to do service, too. We helped to bingo at a senior living facility and helped out at a Habitat for Humanity store. We also helped some members who had cut down some diseased trees and needed to chop them up. Unfortunately, I'm not qualified to use a chainsaw, so mostly we just dragged branches from the tree to the wood chipper. They had some cute animals there, though: a hugely fat pig, a chubby fox terrier, and the sweetest most adorable little blue heeler puppy. So even though I got a little sunburned, it was worth it.
The Charlotte Mission is "The Mission of Miracles," and we've already seen that happen! On Wednesday we were praying that we could get a ride to see some investigators who were too far to bike to. We had prayed and called a few people, but they couldn't help. But while we were volunteering at the store, a member called us out of the blue to ask us if there was anywhere we needed to go! It was pretty amazing.
I also got to go to church this Sunday in an actual church, which was very refreshing. The ward is very friendly and welcoming. I didn't get asked to speak this week (like everyone warned me I would) but I did get scheduled to speak later, so I have some time to prepare. I have been asked to pray a lot since coming here, though. One of the perks of bein the 'newbie.'
Anyhoo, it's been nice hearing from y'all! I'll keep you updated!
Love,
Sister Reay
"A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are made for."
-Quote from the MTC
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