My areas have been:
- Ohio River (Kentucky)
- Ohio River 2 (Kentucky, but the north half of the branch, so Covington is the main city)
- Miami River 2 (from Fairfield, Ohio down to the river)
- Norwood-Cincinnati Spanish (Everything in the Cincinnati stake above the river, and everything that the other Spanish areas didn't cover, so mostly along the river around downtown)
- Miami River 3 (West Chester Ohio and everything east of there.)
- Miami River 1 (Basically just Hamilton Ohio but parts of Fairfield)
- Ohio River 1 (mainly Florence and Erlanger, Kentucky, though we've been back to Covington as OR2 doesn't open back up until Tuesday due to changes)
I didn't realize I've had that many areas! I've loved every single one; it's amazing how the Lord supports you and helps you love. Even the area that was considered the "bad/hard Spanish area" where I was for 4 months became a delight to me and I was sad to leave. I went in thinking it would be amazing, and it was! I guess I've only served in 3 units (4 if you count both wards in Norwood, but we focused mainly on one), but it's been very different each time. I love the experience we receive here! It's so great to help these people.
That's crazy about the change [in the missionary application process]; I was wondering what all that entailed but I understand much better now! I also liked Mom's talk. I didn't get to read it all, but it was cool to look at some of our family traditions that I really valued but didn't quite think of that way. It's also really cool about the quilt, and I'm excited for new pajamas! I might need to send some that I have home haha. I think I have 3 pairs.
We made 2 pies today! I haven't tasted them yet except the crust. We got a couple store bought crusts and I didn't wrap them in foil for the first half of baking so the edges are burnt. But the rest should come out well. I found Nutmeg at Dollar Tree though, so that was awesome! Other places I've seen it for $4! I might just blend my own pumpkin pie spice; it would be really convenient I think and make things easier. For Thanksgiving we are eating with a member who I remember cooking really well last time I was here, so I'm excited. I don't think there is too much different about Hispanic Thanksgiving. They don't celebrate it a ton, and they call it día del pavo (turkey day), so I assume we will eat some turkey haha. They will probably have some Mexican spin on it at this house; we will see!
My companion is Elder Brandon Robertson; he went to the Mexico MTC and this is his second transfer in the field! He's from Lehi, Utah and he's a really good guy! We made a little video to introduce ourselves to the zone so I uploaded that. He's doing pretty well with Spanish; he can usually come up with what to say, it just takes a minute. He's kinda quiet, but I'm working on giving him more opportunities to speak, and he's really good at knowing the doctrine. So far things are really good and we've been able to have some fun together and hit the ground running! He's also really good at listening to the Spirit and taking a minute to pray about things. It's really cool and has helped us a good amount so far.
Kentucky is just as awesome as I remember, maybe better! For one, I can understand what is said without nearly as much effort on my part. Also, there are several new faces, including new members! Some members who were out of town or didn't attend as much are also coming, so that's super cool! We were able to minister to a youth who didn't like coming before; we brought him teaching with us and talked about the Book of Mormon. The lesson fell through, but we invited him to search for his own answer, and he accepted! We will have to keep helping him I'm sure, but I'm glad he's at least willing. He's matured a lot since last time I was here. It's been awesome to visit the members and see the progress. I hope that some of the fruits are at least partially from seeds I planted, and either way I'm really excited to be back with the knowledge and skills I now have. I just need to ensure that I rely on the Lord so that He can make things happen. My entire mission I've never seen success in my work that doesn't come from the Lord, so if I want success there is only one place to look.
So far we haven't had a ton of teaching opportunities, but we're definitely in a good position. The branch has a lot of helpful activities like monthly noche de hogar [home evening], soccer (which this time around has tons of people!), and possibly an English class. Hopefully things start moving! I have loved it so far. We have a lot of work to do and I'm extremely excited! I'm also a district leader again so that's fun. It's great to be able to serve other missionaries!
Well, I think that's all for this week. I'm really happy here, and I feel amazing. Even though I'm not sure I've seen the sun since I've gotten here (lots of clouds!), it's really beautiful and I love it! I'm really grateful for your prayers and support, I love you!
Love,
Elder Liddle
No comments:
Post a Comment