"hey y'all!"

Hey Y'all!

 

yup, I'm officially in the South. That's really exciting news about Dad! He'll be so awesome!!!

 

There is so much to talk about. The past 6 days have seemed like 6 weeks! No joke. But it's been so great to be teaching real people and be in the real world. Well actually, I'm not sure if this is even the real world. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a movie because I can't believe that people actually live like this and talk like this. It's hilarious and I've already seen some crazy things!

 

My companion Hermana Wong is awesome! She has only been here for one transfer so 6 weeks and we are definitely learning together. Remember that blog post I read to all of you about that apartment with the cockroaches and the graffiti and the sirens. Well guess what... I live in that exact apartment hahaha! And it's really not as bad as she made it seem.This area was just opened to sisters about 5 months ago and we are in a city called Center Point, right outside of Birmingham. Super ghetto, but we are safe and doing well! We mostly speak english and we don't bike in this area. It's a really big area! Our ward is super awesome and is one of the biggest ones here and most helpful with missionary work but not very big compared to what I'm used to. The zone leaders are in our ward too but they are english speaking so they can give us referrals sometimes.

 

Right after transfer meeting on wednesday we went out to the trailer parks where we only go once a week because of miles, but that's where most of the hispanics are. Oh and only one of my suitcases came in. The one without my clothes haha! But don't worry we went to go pick it up at the mission office on thursday. So off we go and we had a couple appointments but the thing that stuck out the most that day was when we met Joe. He was sitting on his front porch which was a mess and there were dogs running around everywhere and he was about to start smoking. We just kind of got to know him and figure out where he was coming from. Everybody loves Jesus down here so their relationship with Him is usually no problem. Joe is a pretty emotional guy and when we shared the Book of Mormon with him and were reading the introduction the spirit was so strong! He just said how this is exactly what he needed and how it wasn't a coincidence that we walked by his house today. So my first lesson ever in the mission field went really good! Even if there was smoke blowing in my face and I was sitting on quite possibly one of the dirtiest chairs ever to a man who was missing some teeth. Haha does that paint a nice picture for you?

 

Pretty much all the stereotypes of the south are true!

I've seen more football paraphenelia, missing teeth, old people, churches, teenage moms, and felt more heat than I ever have in my whole life. It's a party down here!

 

The humidity and heat actually hasn't been that bad. They say that it's been one of the coolest summers and a lot more rain than usual. It is the most bizarre thing to come to a place where you don't know where anything is and you don't know one soul. Thank goodness for GPS and thanks goodness for my companion who knows all our investigators. We're actually teach quite a few people right now and 2 are supposed to be getting baptized within the next couple weeks which is awesome!

 

It was so nice to walk into the church on saturday for our pioneer day activity and find something familiar. The church is true wherever you go! And I was so excited to see members of the church! We have this awesome new convert named Deantra who got baptized about a month ago. She comes teaching with us a lot and she has such a strong testimony! It's amazing how when people come to know that the gospel is true, they completely change their lives around. We're going shopping with her next week to help her find some more modest clothes! She is the best!

 

I've also come to really learn how important are members are in the work. Finding people is not fun. In fact, I'm pretty sure tracting is one of the most ineffective things in the entire world. Especially in Alabama where everyone is really private and most people don't even answer their doors. So having the members help come to lessons and help give referrals is the best!

 

One of my favorite things this week was going to the nursing home to sing. We do it every week for service and those people are hilarious! They just listen to us sing and sometimes try to sing along. There is this one lady who is super spunky and even starts dancing in her wheelchair sometimes! And there is always an amen after we explain what song we're gonna sing haha! Gotta love it! So the good news is I have been able to play the piano quite a bit already!

 

Well, the rumors are true, missionary work is really hard and it's not exactly the same as what the MTC made is seem like but it's so awesome to teach people and to have them understand how they can come closer to Christ. The south is absolutely beautiful and I love being down here!

 

Missionary work is awesome and I can't wait to continue learning and growing. There is a lot to do!

 

con amor,

Hermana Blackner