Smyrna, Georgia

Heyy!

So glad you guys got the picture! I was hoping to receive an email from you because I haven't gotten any mail! I'm so used to getting a letter every day in the MTC. I was like, "Family! Why have you forsaken me!?" Haha. But yeah, today is P day and we are getting our nails done for free because my companion is from Vietnam so she is going to talk with the nail ladies. Yes, my companion is Vietnamese and her English so hard to understand, it's insane. Remember how I said I didn't want to have to go anywhere in Asia or learn an Asian lanugage? Well, doesn't matter, I got it anyways.  Seriously it is so hard with the lanugauge barrier because I am supposed to be learning from her...but she is a really good missonary. She talks to everyone and is not afraid to be bold. She has been in this same area for her entire mission which is like 8 or 9 months!

 

 

So we got to Georgia, the mission president picked us up and then we went to the church for like orientation stuff. That night we stayed in members' homes and then the next day was transfer meeting and I met my new companion. It was super sad to say goodbye to my district but I will probably see them at the next transfer meeting. Then we got to our apartment, I unpacked and then we went tracting! And the first house we went to, the guy yelled at us through his front screen door before we even got there. He was talking about how Jesus isn't real or something. Super crazy first experience.
 

We've been tracting every day this week and I have gotten to know some of the people that my companion was already teaching and meeting with, with her previous companion. Like one girl we are teaching, Victoria, is geting baptized in 2 weeks! Super cool!
 

Oh my goodness, the smells that I have smelled (so gross), and the poor, dirty houses, I have seen. Even some of the members' homes are just sooo cluttered and dirty. The members here are nothing like Californians. They don't really care how they dress. Which brings me to my ward. I am probably the skinniest one, besides my companion who is like 5 feet tall and probably weighs as much as one of my legs. But anyway...and I'm probably the trendiest one and I'm a missionary haha. But I like it. These people are so humble and are super nice; always willing to serve and they all made me feel very welcome. In our ward, we also have Elders so they go to dinner with us too at members' homes. They are super funny.
 

Ok so this first week has been very overwhelming (don't really know anyone and cannot understand my companion and I'm scared of talking to people) so I was getting really frusterated. But the other day we went tracting for like an hour and literally no one answered their door. I was getting so mad because I really wanted to talk to people and practice more because we didn't practice door to door stuff in the MTC. But then we go to this house, knock on the door, and this old, Austrailian guy walks out. He lets us in because "we represent Jesus Christ" and introduces us to his fiance. They tell us about themselves and how he is a doctor and speaks to the Holy Spirit so that he can help diagnose people. He told us some experiences and gave us the book he wrote about them. And before he hands me the book he says, "Let me ask you something. So this is your first week here and were you overwhlemed when you got here?" And I said yes. And he said, "And you prayed to God for strength and the ability to know what to say to people," And I said yes. And then he said, "I can tell you're an intelligent person and so you shouldn't doubt yourself. God will tell you what you need to say if you just believe. That is self-sabotage and you need to just say what He would say." So I started crying and couldn't believe that everything he was saying was exactly what I needed to hear. This man is so in tune with the Spirit it's incredible. He even said that he has a Book of Mormon and that it is the word of God. So we are going to meet with them again, hopefully this week and explain that all he needs is the priesthood to make covenants with God! They are renevating their house so we might even help them paint. But anyway, this week has been really hard and I am thankful for this experience.

 

 

I hope everything is going well there. Love you all! Have a great week!

 

 

~Madison :)
 

Oh yeah! I got to hold a snake! Hopefully I can send you the picture! Hahaha ok bye! I love you! :)