It's so so so so cold here!!! There have been two snow storms since I've been here. Yay. But I love it!! There are so many amazing people here. I love the ward I'm in. Everyone is so good about giving us rides when we need it. We are fed every night and it's so good! The first night here I went to an old lady's house, Sister Reynolds. She fed us Hoosier chili. It's normal chili but with spaghetti noodles in it. It's really good. Everyone calls themselves Hoosiers here. A saying here is you just got hoosiered, which means you started talking to someone and then they talked to you forever. Hoosiers talk A LOT. You can barely get a lesson in hahaha. Also, my apartment is kind of ghetto. There are ants everywhere. It's disgusting. But whatever... I feel like I'm never there anyways. There are some things they warned us about Indiana, well the part I'm serving in which is West Lafayette. First of all it's by Perdue but our area goes out to Brookston which is in the middle of nowhere. I see a ton of corn fields everyday. They also told us there are a lot of people who don't live in that nice of homes and so when you go in you have to be careful when you sit on the couch because there might be bed bugs. Sat on a couch the other day that was so disgusting I'm sure it had bed bugs. Chiggers are also a common thing around here but more in the summer. And apparently it's common for missionaries around here to get lice. My life. Also, everyone has huge dogs and I've been knocked to the ground by them multiple times already. And everyone smokes so I smell like smoke all the time. Gag me.
Okay now I'll tell you a little of how my week went. When I was on the plane I gave out a Book of Mormon to the guy sitting next to me. We had a really good discussion so who knows! But it was exciting! This week I've taught in a mental facility. It was interesting. We go tracting all the time. It's a hard area to get baptisms in so we're always looking for people. And it's cold. Freezing might I add. But I always make the most out of it. The other day we were in a town knocking doors and got two new investigators!!! Wahooo! Although this week was exciting it also was really hard. After our district meeting we went to lunch. One of the elders said that my faith was annoying and that he thought it was fake. He told me I'm not prepared and that I'm not going to be a good missionary. I laughed it off but it really hurt. When someone tells you something like that it sucks. I held it together so I didn't cry. Later that day we taught an investigator Hank and I bore my testimony about the Plan of Salvation and I talked about Michalla. Come to find out his wife died of cancer as well. The spirit was so strong. Later my trainer was mad at me because she said that my testimony made him sad and she always liked to leave him feeling happy. Um excuse me what?!?! Do you want to say that to my face one more time?!?! I held my tongue don't worry, but are you serious?!?! So that night when she went to bed I went to the family room and cried and prayed and cried and prayed. My prayers were answered. The next day was AMAZING!!!! I prayed to love my companion and the next day I grew to love her. She opened up so it helped me understand her and that's the day we got two new investigators. Although that day was hard, God makes up for it. A scripture that helped me is D&C 84:88. READ IT! I love the mission though! You're sad one minute and the next your life is changed. Don't worry mom I'm okay! I'm so happy!
Okay now to tell you about my companion. She's from Utah and grew up sheltered. She watched every movie on Clearplay, wasn't allowed to drink caffeine, and her mom told her playing cards are of the devil hahahaha. She curtsies every time she shakes someones hand. Funniest thing ever! I really love her though! We're starting to get along good. She seriously makes me laugh though. I'm sure she thinks I'm Satan's spawn or something. Also, got in trouble in the library the other day because I tried to share the gospel with the man sitting next to me. The librarian yelled and said, "hey! No! Don't do that "thing"." Who knows what that meant but I guess we can't proselyte here. I told the librarian I was talking to him about family history. She said that's a grey area. Whatever. #cantstop #wontstop
Okay well sorry this is so long! There is so much to tell! I'm sure I missed some things but I love it here! Josh I'm so glad you had a good birthday! You're a big boy now! yay! Jake I saw some pictures of you getting your wisdom teeth out that's so funny. I miss you all but this is now my family away from home. Please tell the Haglers I'm praying for them. That's so scary. Tell Grandma and Grandpa to stay away from the hospital. Also mom, you know how you said we have this talent where people tell us their whole lives? That happens to me everyday. Apparently my companion never talks but she said when she's around me I get her talking. Spiritual gifts are great! Love you all!
Love,
Sister Smith