The Field - Email from Feb. 27, 2012

Hi. How's it going?

Great. Let's talk about me now.

So I'm here. In Prescott. It's north of Sedona I think. I don't really know though. It's like Austin hill country meets Utah. Dry with larger hills than the hill country and like NO GRASS. Which is cool - they have like the coolest gravel and rocks I've ever seen. It's awesome.

So sad but focused news: I am 99% sure I'm not allowed to email friends. Family only. So... yeah... Guess we'll see if Tracie can really stand the trial of friendship here hahaha. I know I've already failed on my end, but I have a lot more faith in her.

So news. Well we got to the mission home safe and sound as I'm sure you know. They picked us up from the airport in this megavan with a trailer in the back for all our luggage. We drove into our actual mission to the mission office first where we filled out a bunch of paperwork and met all the senior missionaries working there. There's something weird about getting mail at our actual address here - you need to put your name on the mailbox or something, so I'll have to figure that out and until then will have to make you write and send everything to the mission home. It will get to me soon enough.

So yeah after the mission office and all the paperwork and such we went to the mission home where we took pictures and ate some food and wrote a letter to our family and had a 2 and 1/2 hour nap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The amazing thing was that almost all of us slept the whole time. So yeah there were 8 of us the whole time (6 from my distric and then another 2 elders that were speaking Spanish). We all got really close (some of us already were :) ) and yeah blah blah blah. I'm glad you kept Hannah home from school so she could hear my beautiful voice when I called from the airport haha. I thought that was so funny. It was a Tuesday right? I don't even remember anymore.

Okay and then we had dinner and met individually with President Taylor and the APs and had driving orientation and picked grapefruit from their grapefruit tree (super tall and yellow grapefruit - weird). And then the 8 of us all slept there and the next morning worked out and went to the transfer meeting where we met a lot of our mission, our companions, and found out what areas we were going to. Splitting up after that meeting was really hard - I kept crying and had a really difficult time keeping it together. So yeah that was not fun. I'm almost 99% positive I'll be companions with Sister Bailey at some point, maybe Sister Murdock too. And I just hope the elders are in my zone at some point!

So they don't think the Phoenix temple will be done by the time we leave (like literally a month or two short!) so PRAY SO HARD THAT THEY WORK REALLY HARD AND FINISH IT BEFORE I LEAVE BECAUSE I REALLY WANT TO BE A TOUR GUIDE. Okay thanks. Love you all. We get to go to the temple once a quarter and at Christmas. Cute right? That's the Mesa temple btw.

My companions are pretty cool. Sister Bruckman and I have the same birthday and she's from Layton, Utah (she does not know Elder Fisher though). Sister Falke is my trainer and our senior companion. She is always very happy. We get along really well.

It took us about an hour and a half to drive to Prescott, and we unloaded my stuff and almost immediately went out and taught an investigator and went tracting. Scary. But I'm learning to not be afraid because I'm not advertising a religion; I'm sharing the happiest news ever!

So yeah we've met a lot of people. President Taylor called last night and asked me how I was doing. We're over 3 different wards starting at 8 in the morning. I know how is that legal. But it was cool. It's fun sustaining and meeting people in 3 different wards. The building is nice. We've met a lot of people.

Prescott is beautiful. I love the truck we drive. I love the cell phone. I love the hills and all the beautiful dells and rocks and gravel. It's wonderful. A little cold sometimes, but I'm sure I'll miss it in the summer. Hopefully I stay here because it's like on average 20 degrees cooler here in Prescott than it is in hot Phoenix. Everyone's telling me how blessed I am to be out here for my first area. 

Okay well I'm gonna go and make sure I have time to email my mission president. Sorry I know this was completely inadequate. I honestly don't know what to say though! There's so much.

LOVE YOU LOVE YOU LOVE YOU LOVE YOU.

SISTER PARKS THE GREENIE.