Wheels down in Washington

Wheels down in Washington    April 7, 2014.   2:49 pm EDT (Virginia Time)

World - 

Much has changed in my life since my last letter. Let's start at the beginning, it's a very good place to start.

Fast Sunday at the MTC is a wonderful time. None of us missed being herded back to the cafeteria every few hours and the extra time for studying was appreciated. Our devotional speaker turned out to be Richard Elliott, the very talented organist for MoTab, and I fangirled on the inside. The plot twists however when David Archuleta walked in and the rest of the devotional started flipping out (reverently) on the outside. 

It was an amazing musical devotional as they shared their testimonies and talents. My companion pretty much died when David Archuleta said he prays for us and asked us to sing with him (can you tell she's a fan?). So being in the MTC really has it's perks (:

Our last night, the sisters in my district had a bit of a bash. All of the goodies we had acquired (including homemade bread/jam, cookies, Martinelli's, ice cream, etc.) were shared. The District 1 magic 8 ball even made an appearance. Definitely left the MTC with a bang.

Wheels up in Provo:

Wheels down in SeaTac:

I was able to meet President and Sister Weaver and was then handed over to my companions/trainers Sister Davis and Sister Cassell. They have been waiting for me to get here and aren't completely corrupting me.We are all very different, but in the best way possible. This picture probably best describes our relationship:

Please note that this is the nicest neighborhood here, so we were safe to take a picture (Even if Davis didn't get the memo). This place is overrun with dogs, cats and smokers. 

I've been born into the Parkland district, in the Lakewood area (read: Lakehood). Ghetto is probably the first word used to describe Parkland. Cloudy comes in a close second.

Our mission is a holdout for tracting, so without fail, rain or shine (read: rain or rain), we are out knocking from 5-7pm. It's the best. I've only been aggressively cussed out by a crack addict once so far (I wish I was kidding.), and so far I haven't had any dogs attack me. 

Umbrellas are for tourists.

Our zone has a goal of 30 baptisms this month (#30tisms. really, the hashtags really are a thing here.) and we have quite a few investigators that we are hoping to put on date this week. Hopefully I'll have more good news to share in the coming weeks! We got five new investigators in one day and will potentially have 6 on date for baptism by the end of the week. #greeniefaith

We've even had two days of not rain here since I arrived. I'm counting that as a miracle in and of itself. 

I hope you all were able to watch/listen/read/attend General Conference this weekend!

It's always been my favorite, and though the mission changes a lot about you, it hasn't changed this. I love how lovingly bold the apostles and prophet are. We are certainly going to face a lot in the coming years, this much is certain, but with true discipleship, obedience and love, we are going to change the world.

I highly recommend each and every living soul watch Elder Corbridge's talk; he basically just gave a first lesson from the pulpit. I can't pick favorites (but I do have a soft spot for Dave and Jeff), but I'll leave you with a one liner that I figure literally applies to everyone.

"You are more than human; you are a child of God."

- the Greenie in Washington

P.S. the sun was out yesterday, which means we actually had a sunset of sorts! Here is a quaint water tower that makes Parkland seem cuter than it is (: