Winds of Change

Email from January 18. 2011.

Helllllloooo family!

Listen to the song [subject line] and think of me, please. It's been stuck in my head since Thursday.

Well, Gloucester is an experience! I don't think I could get transferred to a more different area than Manchester. Well, I take that back, next transfer I might be in the ghetto of Norfolk or something.... that certainly would be an adventure!

Anyway, I'm here, safe. Sister Ward is great! She is really nice and a really good missionary. She is from Kaysville, haha most missionaries out here are from Utah.. weird. But we're having a good time here. She has been here for 6 months collectively. This was her first area and then she left for 3 months and now she's been back for about 3 months. Crazy huh? Yep. The ward loves her, which is really good. Because they treat me like an oustider. I don't know how many times I've heard, "Well, that's not how we do it here in Gloucester!" in the five days I've been here. haha They are very set in their ways here.
We have two investigators, we did have three but I managed to drop her on Sunday. haha She won't read the BofM or pray. So, we told her when she does do those things, to call us. There's more to it than that... she's been taught since S Ward was here the first time, so it's been awhile.
But our two investigatores are doing well! One is a less actives 11 year old son, Sydnie. They are a really cute family and they were all there at church on Sunday for the first time in years! And Tonya is our other investigator. I only met her for a short time becuase she was sick and we just stopped by to say hi. She just got a job in Richmond, so we can only teach her on Fridays. But she wants to get baptized in April, when her daughter turns 8 so they can get baptized together. We are hoping we can get her husband on board too so we can do the whole fam!

BIG NEWS! Jeanie has a baptismal date!! We set her the day before I left Manchester! It was beautiful. She is going to get baptized Feb 13th! The day before her and Diego's anniversary! Cute. I am so happy for her. She is really excited and you can just tell she really wants this. Hopefully she made it to church on Sunday... She said she would struggle with the earlier time.

We have 143 less actives in our ward. Yep. Big job.

But S Ward is wonderful, she has so much love for these people and I am learning to love them, so we will get a lot of work done in these 6 wks.

Mom. [and anyone else interested] Last week at the library I saw this book: Jamestown Narratives: Eye witness accounts of the Virginia Colony. It looked really cool, so you might want to look into it... if you want.

Also, for everyone, before I left Manchester, S Dickson and I made pancakes-- no, no-- extreme pancakes! As follows, pumpkin pancake mix, too much water on accident, so they were way runny, so we added a package of instant banana oatmeal. And then we spread crunchy peanut butter and maple syrup on top. SO GOOD! I loved it and recommend it to one and all, except Drew. No peanut butter for him.

I saw a raccoon and a rabbit last night while we were driving.
Something else that is cool: we visitied a less active family on Sunday, there house is on an old plantation! They don't live in the big big manor house (Which is so beautiful and huge- we drove past it) But they live in a house that they said used to be connected to the big house as a servants kitchen or something. It was really beautiful. But she said it there were spirits there and showed us some pictures that she has taken of "orbs" and "spirits". It was cool, but a little creepy. I don't know if I could live there.

I helped a member stack her hay last week. yep. I stacked her hay. hahaha

We also had dinner at a members house on Friday or something, and their house was really old too, from the 1800's! It was really cold. Yes cold. And cool. And it's so dark out here at night. So dark. I have been extremely grateful for the moon this week. But they member we ate dinner with, he talked almost exactly like Judd from Oklahoma! It was amazing! People really talk like that! But don't worry, he wasn't creepy. He was a really nice and funny old man. They have a really fat dog, because after dinner, they make Dixie (the dog) a plate of food from the left overs and let her eat it. haha

Also, Pocahontas was born here!
And Walter Reed. (he discovered the cure for malaria)

Well, I think that's all of the exciting news from Gloucester. Well, in Manchester, we went to the zoo last Monday and I saw kangaroos!! That was cool! And I bought a shirt and it glows in the dark.

Ok, now I think that's everything. I love you all. Thanks for the emails! And sorry this is a day late... the library was closed yesterday.

Speaking of which, hope you all had a great Martin Luther King Jr Day! A year ago yesterday I was watching all 6 of the Star Wars movies. Remember that, Bryan? Wow. Definitely wasn't doing that yesterday. Crazy.

Keep the sunshine in your hearts, my dears!
Love Rachel, I mean Sister Barney