So, the big
news, the moment you've all been waiting for. I am in Greenwood,
Greenville. If you look in my call packet, you'll see that Greenwood is
also in the North-Western part of the state. This area was actually part
of my old Zone, the Greenville Zone, until they split it a transfer
ago. I was in the Greenville North Zone and now I'm in the Greenville
South. I don't know if that helps you with the closeness of my areas. I
wonder if I'll just inch my way across the state until I finally get to
Charleston...which is my dream location!!! I don't know if it'll happen,
but if I could just put that in the suggestions box in heaven, I'd do
it for sure. It's about an hour south of Clemson but very very
different. It is a more Urban area so there are actually clothing
stores. I saw an Old Navy the other day and I nearly wept for joy. :) No
luck with a whole lot of clothing stores in Clemson. OH, and they have a
mall here! I never thought I would say this but I am so happy that I
can go shopping! I guess that it just takes the lack thereof to really
miss something, and I missed clothes! Greenwood used to be a milling
town, and when the economic crisis hit, this part of the country was hit
the hardest. The people are very humble and in very poor conditions.
Lots of trailer parks and lots of small houses. But I'm getting used to
it and I 've already met some pretty incredible people. Our apartment is
really nice. We have a washer and dryer (thank goodness) and separate
bathrooms. I also have a walk in closet which is something that I've
never had before! I kind of just felt like living there, pulling in a
pillow and reveling in my walk in closet.
Thanksgiving was spent at the Lichfield household. The
Lichfields are incredibly wealthy...and I'm not exaggerating at all. We
drove up to a gate, then put in the code to get through the gate, then
spent another couple of minutes driving up a very long road to get to
the house. And then, the awesome happened...horses!!! They are ranchers
and have 30+ horses, and for some reason they loved our car. They
swarmed us, and I was a little fearful, but incredibly stoked all at the
same time! I cautiously got out of the car and made a new best friend. I
don't know what her name was, but she was very attached. She would
follow me around and nuzzle me and try to eat my bag at times (it is
bright yellow, it looks yummy). Just another day in the life of a Disney
Princess. :) We had a pretty good Thanksgiving dinner although I miss
Western stuffing. They call it dressing here and they always put corn in
it...not my favorite but the pie and the drinks were excellent so it
was a pretty successful Thanksgiving. I didn't eat as much as I normally
would, my stomach still hasn't quite adjusted to eating solids after my
fight with that evil flu minion, but we still had a good time. OH! And
they had cats, lots of 'em. One of them crawled on my lap, and just
melted my heart. She stayed on my lap pretty much the whole time while
we gave a lesson to Yakira. Yakira is wonderful. She is one of those
incredible people that I've met so far. She is the Lichfield's niece,
and her mom died when she was little, and through a series of events
that I don't quite understand, she ended up here in South Carolina. She
speaks very little English, so we had Maria, her cousin, translate for
us. It was a very powerful lesson. Sister Billock (I'll tell you more
about her later) and Sister Burbank taught her the first lesson and we
started teaching her about the Plan of Salvation. I love teaching people
about the Plan and I love teaching people about the Spirit World! I
just love the spirit world! It truly proves to me that Heavenly Father
is a merciful God and wants all of his children to return to him. I told
her the story about how I've felt Bradon Jones very close to me at
certain times during my life, and how I know that he is my guardian
angel. I recounted one time when I felt very close to him and we both
started crying. She came over and gave me a hug when I was finished. She
is so sweet and kind and has such a sincere desire to know! When we
were about to leave she told me, in broken English "You are a very good
person and a good friend, thank you." Then gave me another hug. That was
an incredible lesson and an incredible day.
Met a girl named Holly Jones the other day. We knocked
into her. Guess what she's studying...nursing! I just wanted to shake
her and be like,
"If you have a boyfriend, and his name isn't Doug, end it now!"
It was weird. We are going to be teaching her on Wednesday I believe. I'm pretty excited for that. :)
Um...what
is this I hear about my Luna being dead? I'm gone for 3 months and my
car decides to die? She misses me! Is she dead? I got a letter from
grandma and there was something about my car being dead. I'm a tad bit
concerned.
So, Sister Billock...is awesome! She is very different
from me, which I think is good, because then the whole world would just
explode with drama and british accents. My first couple days of the
transfer were pretty hard, and she wasn't really helpful...like at all.
She's not really sentimental and doesn't really know how to react to
tears. I'm pretty sure I scared her. :) But, if I learned anything from
this past week, it's that Heavenly Father will be with us through
afflictions, and the best way to feel better is to serve. Don't worry,
the medication is kicking in and I am starting to feel more at home
here. Sister Billock is awesome though, I don't want you to get the
wrong idea about her. She is tall 5'10! She is also 29. She knew that
she wanted to go on a mission when she was 21, but Heavenly Father told
her that it wasn't time yet. So she waited, and prepared, and she wasn't
called to go on a mission until she was 28! She is truly a wonderful
example of submitting to the will of God unfailingly, and having faith
that everything will turn out ok. She is also a very hard worker. She
knows that she is here to work, so that's what we do. She is from
Arizona and loves guns...something very new to me. She also loves John
Deere and animals (we have that in common). She coughs when she eats
green apple flavored stuff and loves the shows Parks and Recreation and
Friends. We'll get along just fine. :) She comes from a family of 2 and
she has an older Sister. Parents and still in Arizona and are still
happily married. I'll send you pictures as soon as I buy batteries for
my life sucking camera. I've been through 8 batteries on that thing!
Thank you grandma for my letter! Iwas very much
appreciated. I will make sure to get Sister Seaman's letter to her as
well at the Christmas Zone Conference. We are combining for zones so
I'll see her on the 17th of December.
Some exciting news, I was able to find a scale
and...drumroll please...I've lost 30 lbs! Ah!!! I haven't weighed this
little in a long time. :) I'm very excited about this. It just goes to
show that if you put your mind to something, you can accomplish great
things. I still want to lose about another 40, but don't worry, I'm
staying healthy and I'm going to space out my weight loss. I hope that I
can skype you mom and dad so that you can see my new improved self!
Well, I think that's everything. I love you all and am
so grateful to have you in my life. I am doing much better, and I know
that I can have great happiness on my mission, as I serve the lord and
his children selflessly, because I love them. I say that every morning
for standing quotes, and I know it to be true. Hope to hear from you
soon!
TLLY, and in case you forgot I do to. :)
The healing Sister Jones
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