New Companion

Sister Oliphant is amazing.  Yes, Oliphant, like elephant with an O. She's from Madison, Wisconsin and she isnt 5'2"!  When I picked her up from the office, she was just so bubbly and happy to be here.  She's had 5 years of ASL and helped me interpret on Sunday.  Yesterday when we went to contact a Deaf person, this way angry guy threw the door open before we even got to the front step.  He yelled at us to go away and that we were bothering him at home when he didnt want us there.  He slammed the door shut.  We get in the car.  Sister Oliphant yells "MY FIRST DOOR SLAMMED IN MY FACE!!  YES!!"  and she laughs.  I love her.  She's so enthusiastic and she has all these new fresh ideas and its good for me to remember everything I've forgotten from the MTC!  Dan was sick this past week so we asked him if he needed anything and he just answered "soup."  So directly after church, me and Sister Oliphant came home and she made Tomato Basil soup that was surprisingly good for the lack of ingredients we had.  (But naturally, it wasn't as good as Stacey's!)

 Lynda is so ready to be baptized!!  She just has to stop smoking.  She's now cut back to 2 cigarettes a day, and honestly, she only has 2 left.  She says that she 'aint buyin' no mo'.  We were talking with her about the Word of Wisdom and she had a testimony of it far before she met us.  She's like "Smoking isnt Godly!  I shouldnt be doing it!"  Then we taught the other substances that were harmful and she told us that drinking isnt going to be a problem to give up cuz she doesnt drink often and that coffee is no biggie either.  So if we can just get her to quit smoking we'll be good to go for her baptism!!   I'm so excited!!  We still need to teach the law of chastity, but in the last lesson she said "Fornication!  fornication, fornication.  I need to call my friend and tell him its over!"  So, pretty sure that wont be a problem either, she already knows it's a sin.  I LOVE LYNDA!!!! 

I love being a missionary.  I've grown so much since the MTC.  Sister Oliphant gives me flash backs to my first few weeks and my fears of being a new missionary.  I remember being scared to talk to strangers, feeling nervous and stuttering on my sentences while Sister Williams did most the talking.  I have come far and I realized that I'm now comfortable here.  Not comfortable in a "I dont need to improve" kind of way, but comfortable like...at peace.  I am at peace as a missionary, answering questions people ask and resolving concerns they have.  The gospel is amazing!!!

Love you all!                           these are all the deaf sister missionaries in my mission

 Sister Wilson

Last night, there was a man playing a trumpet outside our window.