Monday, March 4, 2013

Week 2: San Fransisco

I miss you all very dearly. Thanks for all of the love and support you've shared with me just over the few short weeks that I've been here! Thank you so much.
So on Wednesday we went to San Fran. We left at 5am and got home at 9pm. We talked to the consulate. they don't think well get our visas in time, but they said we might. The elders already have their visas and they say April 1st on them. They got reassigned. we just got their travel plans today. They are going to Montreal and leaving at 4 am tomorrow. They are there for 4 weeks then to Paris. I cried when I found out they are leaving so soon. I will miss them so much. they are such great missionaries and they were only here for 11 days. Insane. We got our travel plans for Paris. we are supposed to leave on Tuesday if our visas get here. we leave at like 4 pm I think. We will get to call home. If my travel plans change I'll let you know as soon as I can.
San Fransisco to go to the Consulate
 I went to San Fran with nine other missionaries going to Paris. It was sooooo much fun, and there was sun. We loved it so much, and we got to eat some non MTC food YAYYYY. I got to become really good friends with everyone we traveled with. I love them so much already. We also got to go to Lombard Street, Pier 39 and the Golden Gate Bridge.

 
Golden Gate Bridge
We tried preaching the gospel everywhere we went. We gave away a few pass along cards. We learned that everyone is really watching us. We really do have to make sure that we are the best representatives of god that we can be. It was the first time for us out in the "real" world and we definitely noticed the difference in the way that people look at us. On the plane I interrupted the guy next to me reading like 9 times to try to get a gospel conversation going. It didn't work. He never asked me any questions back and I was sad. I heard my companion a few rows back gibing the first discussion (Sister walker went on Monday so it was just me and Sister Melville). I decided to take a nap since we woke up at like 4:20am. I woke up and my companion was on like the 4th lesson. He even asked her how he could convert to our church and asked how he could keep in contact with her. He is devout Jewish but he was really ready to hear the gospel. We hope we hear more from him. At first I thought that I had done something wrong to not have a missionary experience like her and I was sad. But then I realized that we were totally on the same team and I was so excited. I heard her teaching in ways that we learned together and she did such a good job. I am so happy that we may have helped someone. The gospel truly is for everyone.
Lunch
  We also had to do a stool sample and take our blood for Belgium. It was awful... ha we delivered it to the nurses in a white lunch bag. They thanked us for their lunch when we gave it to them. We laughed. Nicole look forward to that!
Oh, and one of our investigator's names is LEO. Haha I died laughing. Hahhahaha Leo. 2/7ths 2/7ths. Hahaha. (inside joke).
So I have the most amazing zone ever. The people come from everywhere. We have people from Japan, Germany, Somoa, Albania, New Zealand, Columbia, Mexico, Canada .... you name it, we have it. They all can barely speak English so its hard to talk to them. I was having a hard time loving them because I couldn't understand them. It was something I was trying to work on. On Sunday some of the leaving missionaries sang A Child's Prayer. They were horrible. You could not understand them and their pitch was awful..... but I felt the spirit more strongly than ever before. I knew that Heavenly Father loved them. I knew that their trials were beyond what I could imagine. Many of them are the only members in their family and have no support. Their testimonies are so strong. One sister saw a missionary when she was 13. She asked him, "How can I be like you?"  He said that if she followed His message that he knew that she too could be a missionary. She is now. She served a mini mission which I don't understand yet, and then she waited for 6 months for her visa before she could come here and start her mission.
Teaching at the MTC
 M. Russel Ballard came and spoke to us on Tuesday. It was so amazing to have an apostle here. I sang in the choir. He so casually addressed us as his fellow missionaries. It was so cool. We really are working side by side with our apostles. We are all united in the same work.
Thank you so much for everything you have done for me family and friends. Be obedient and be good. I love you so much and miss you and can't wait to hear from you soon. Next week, I'll probably be in Paris. CRAZY :) 

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