Kindra as a Sister Missionary!

Monday May 20, 2013

To: Lynn & Keirs Wilson

Well first off what is Emoji? It is typed randomly throughout your letter... weird.

But yes I am in Montrose PA and it is beautiful! Its bigger than Vernonia, but not big by any means. That day care you were talking about? Yeah that’s where we live. Each floor is an apt and we are on the middle floor (ground level) which is nice. And our up and down stairs neighbors both have kids so we always have toys and strollers and what not on our porch and such.

My companion is Sister Honomichil (Hon (like Hon Solo) - a - michael) She is 23 and this is her last transfer! Normally you stay with your trainer for 12 weeks but she is leaving in 6 and then I will be taking over the area. I guess every sister that was in the mission is now training a golden (they don’t call us greenies we are goldens, because of our golden potential) I love it. But anyhow, all the sisters in the mission are training except for 2, who are companions. I guess by this summer we are going to have 250 missionaries in our mission and before the age change we had 150. It’s crazy out here! Oh and President Shafermeyer is going home at the end of this transfer as well, so I will meet yet another Mission Prez in a mere 5 weeks! CRAZY! But we are excited to meet President Anderson as well. You can look him up somehow the church has profiles on all the new presidents. I’m nervous only to see if he is more strict than Pres. S. We are allowed to listen to any music that is uplifting, like anything, thats the rule it cant drive the spirit away. And we are a Facebook proselyting mission so we will see if that stays or what gets changed when he leaves.

Whoever told us our mission was only one hour wide was a big fat liar. I met my trainer at the meeting they do and then we ended up staying with missionaries who lived half way to our area because it was a 4 hour drive to our apt. Oh and we drive a truck, his name is Hank :) Its so fun! Oh and Keira, here’s the funny karma for laughing at how scared you were for parallel parking.

In town they were having a chocolate and wine festival, which means all parking, was taken. So when we got home that night we had to parallel park in front of our house, in a truck.... that was the first time I’ve ever had to do that. And it was funnier because Sister Honomichil had to back me up, since we are missionaries, which was actually helpful but still funny! So laugh all you want, but it was nice having just talked about it and explained it to you, mostly taking Janelle’s advice with aligning your mirrors and what not, glad that I was listening when she was explaining it to you, it helped a lot!

I ended up getting a handful of letters on my last day in the MTC so I am working on responding to them. Don’t post my email because there is really no time to read and respond to more than you, I can print but I have to pay to do it, and I don’t know if I will be able to in other areas.

I email on mondays about this time every week. We are at the library in town (by 'the green') but we always clean and then go to the library to email. So its around 11 here.

dont erase stuff that isnt a student update or any junk coupon mail. I think I get stuff from the store where I bought my boots too but maybe not.

Okay the blog. To add something to the blog like that, well. I dont know that you need to. I think you might be able to edit it. See if there is something that pops up and lets you edit the MTC address box and you can change it to my current area, that would be the easiest. Other wise you have to go into I think they call it a tool bar, or a widget or a giget or something and then pick one that will let you add text and format it to be what you want it.

Here is my apt address, give it to everyone! I cant wait to hear from Ethan, and tell Estrella shes a punk and needs to write me! I haven’t heard from her at all, but she might be on vacation still, or recovering. So she has a little bit of le-way, but not a ton!

Sister Kindra Wilson       42 S Main street #1     Montrose,  PA 18801

The members are VERY missionary minded here. We have a branch that’s almost big enough to be a ward, they just need a little more priesthood, but I guess they have been close several times before and it hasn’t happened.

We have a dinner appointment for every evening, and we are making a new program where they feed us and then come out with us. They were previously signing up one person to feed and another person to come out but we were spending way to many miles running back and forth. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half to get from the top to the bottom of our area. Its HUGE! And so spread out, and I have driven on more dirt roads than hard roads every day. Which is why we drive a truck, we need 4 wheel capabilities to not get stuck. I hope I’m not here in the winter when its super snowy. It did snow here the day before I got here, but it has been nice weather so far. It was a little muggy this morning, not enough that I would call it humid but it was muggy for sure.

I love it out here! We taught one lesson this week to a man who we are now trying to get him to stop chewing, but he said he wants to come to church next week and he has a friend who wants to come too so we will see what happens there.

We have a senior missionary couple in our area too! Elder and Sister XXXXX, they are so cute! But we definitely wear them out. We are going to their place to do our laundry and spend the rest of P-day writing letters and everything. And we have an awesome ward mission leader, Brother XXXX and his wife and his mom, we call her Momma duke she is so funny! I love them already. Both the XXXX and the XXXX tell us that if we are hungry that they will feed us, so its nice. When someone cancels we just go to them  and eat! Its so nice :)

Sorry we didn’t get to talk more on Tuesday, I wish I would have just called you earlier but oh well. I thought we would have more time, but our plane was delayed. And in that 10 minutes we had once we got to the gate to the time they started boarding all of us girls ran into the bathroom to put on make up and do anything with our hair before we met the President. It was so... awful... and funny at the same time. That morning was crazy! And that evening we had so many pictures taken, that day will forever live in infamy in our minds. It was awful.... but way cool to be on the plane with 31 missionaries! We were like half the plane! On the first one I was just sitting next to an elder, no opportunities there. And then on the next flight he and I sat on either side of a man. And wouldn’t you know it- I was talking to him as we were waiting to take off and what not and the conversation dulled. So right as we started taxying out to leave the Elder next to me started talking about the BOM and as we were taking off he was bearing his testimony and that man had a Book of Mormon in his hands before we hit the altitude we needed. I was impressed with him! The man was like 'was that the first time you’ve done that?' and the elder was like yeah, and the guy said he did a good job. He was really nice and he actually took the Book, not sure if he will read it or not but he’s got one now!

Good job for getting as far as you did Keira! ( In Track) Now keep it up and start running more :) congrats to Matthew! Hawaii will be so cool! I hope Stuart gets in to the AF, sounds like it will be a good thing for them. It would be fun to have them around ya’ll. Why is Garret going to Hawaii? Is that where his buddies are all meeting up or something? Sounds like fun though!

We got to see the site for the Phily Temple and it’s right now a big hole in the ground, but it looks so cool. Go on the temple website or church news and search for Philadelphia Temple and you can see the rendering of what it will look like, super neat.

Oh! That part of NY in my mission that I didn’t know what it was? That’s actually the site where the Priesthood was restored! And they are going to be I think breaking ground for the visitors’ center that they are building. It’s the last of the church History historic sites they have to build and has a crazy cool story. The church has been working with the city to get them to move the freeway, yes move the freeway, because it goes right by it. So they finally got permission after years of working with them and are starting on it soon. So on June 9th someone, we don’t know who yet, is coming to do something for a secret meeting. It’s not really a ground breaking, but it’s some sort of meeting with some unknown person coming and its the last of the historic church history sites. That’s all we know and its driving everyone crazy wanting to know who is coming, an Apostle? Someone in the first Presidency? The Prophet?! Wouldn’t that be cool!!! We’re not sure we are all just sitting and waiting. But that will be in June so, I’ll keep you posted on what I know but its super cool!

Well I think it’s about that time. Thanks for your emails and your prayers! Keep em coming! Love you all! Sister Wilson :)