New address for Hermana Boyson:
Monday: Wow, what a loco day. We spent the day cleaning the apartment, packing, and leaving notes for the incoming Elders. A sister in the ward offered to cut my hair, so now I have a long bob! Not entirely planned that way, but I'm grateful nonetheless. :) We finally finished up everything around 1:30a, and I've never felt so tired.
Tuesday: Transfer day. First one of my mission. Hermana Swapp and I finished up packing, cleaning the apartment. Arcadia has been my home for the first three months of my mission, and it felt so strange to be leaving. We're excited for the Elders who will be tending to this part of the garden. We got to the mission office/church building and holy moly there were cars and luggage and missionaries everywhere! I was sad to say goodbye to Hermana Swapp. Three months together in Arcadia brought on a lot of unforgettable experiences. Our goodbye was a little tearful and hard, but we knew we were going to be blessed in our new areas.
Meeting Hermana Starling was amazing! She gave me an abrazo, and I instantly felt like we were going to be really great together as companions. She has such a powerful presence, but she's very calm and collected as well. I loved her right away. :) We talked to a few missionaries and then got on our way to Paris. This place is beautiful! Our apartment is SO NIIIIICE. Oh, I'm so excited about it. The shower doesn't look like a murder scene, and the neighborhood is beautiful. Our stove is from this century, and our dryer actually has heat. Plus, no bed bugs. Not even a trace. Paris, you're my best friend.
Wednesday: We visited Sister E who has just broken her hip and is stuck inside alone all day. She was very discouraged and upset about the situation. I felt for her. We taught about the enabling power of the Atonement and trials that Heavenly Father gives us to help us progress. I hope we brightened her day and helped her to feel loved. After dinner, we had a lesson on The Restoration with F and his wife, M. They are a cute couple and have a VERY active 3-year-old. We set up a return appointment and felt really good about the lesson. We walked over to Sister G's home. She and F work on a horse farm together. Sadly, she works Sundays so she hasn't been to church in awhile. We shared the Mormon Message "Daily Bread: Pattern" (https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-08-012-daily-bread-pattern?lang=eng) and talked about the daily spiritual sustenance we need which God provides.
Thursday: Crazy busy day! We had a Spanish lesson with A, a youth in the ward. I loved our lessons with A from my first area, so I was so pumped to have the same opportunity here! Blessings! Next, we went to a trailer park and had an interesting lesson with an older gentleman. He was hard of hearing because we would ask questions and he would stare at us. Our last appointment was so great. We had a lesson with a small group of Hispanics that live in a house together. There must be at least 15 Hispanic gentlemen living there! It was awesome! I told them I've only been learning the language for four months, and they were so impressed! They said they've been here seven months and can barely say 'hello' and 'thank you.' I feel like Heavenly Father has blessed me so much here already to help me feel confident with my Spanish. We set up a return appointment and giggled from excitement the whole way home. We have been so blessed in this area already.
Friday: We had a lesson with B and her children T (15), H (13), T (10), and H (4). They are hilarious. I had already met T at youth night and he stood out to me because of his maturity and "with-it-ness." We taught them a lesson about fasting and invited them to fast as a family together. Both T and H said they wanted to fast for their family. Melt my heart! We drove to Winchester, a city about 25 minutes away, for a lesson that fell through. We met T and her mother and had a great first lesson! Also, I got some really exciting news! My sister, Susie, had her baby! They named her Remi, and she's just perfect! It was a fun email to open to end the day.
Saturday: During personal study, we got a call from the Elders asking if we could come help the Smith family move. We helped them for two and a half hours in the rain, and we loved it. It was nice opportunity to meet more ward members. I was very grateful. They are so loving and welcoming. After, we hurried over to Brother H's home, the Ward Mission Leader. He's such a nice guy and had a lot of inspiring words about missionary work. I'm really looking forward to working with him. We had dinner with the Prater family. I tried hominy for the first time! Not the greatest thing in the world, but hey, I tried it. They are a really sweet couple. Their daughter, Marsha, and her son, Tanner, sat in on our lesson. It wasn't until after that I found out they are not members. Hna. Starling and I both felt like the lesson we prepared was more for M and T than it was for Brother and Sister P. What a great night!
Sunday: My first day in the Paris Ward. I love these people! They are so great. Thankfully I had already met a few people from moving the S family and dinner appointments. Hermana Starling asked if I wanted to translate the first talk. I'm sure my eyes were humongous. She said it'd be easy since it was given by a youth. Well, I did it. I didn't do very well with translating everything she said, but I surprised myself with how much I knew! She gave me the headset halfway through the second talk because she was losing her voice, so I translated the rest. I was sweatin', but I wasn't nearly as nervous as I have been. She is so encouraging, calm, and loving. I feel so blessed.
I have been pondering a lot about putting trust in the Lord and the trials we're given to help us get to where He wants us to be. His yoke truly is easy and His arms are outstretched waiting to help us. When we are obedient, we see blessings. When we are exactly obedient, we see miracles. As a mission, we are "fasting" from things that keep us from being purified. Although it has been difficult to sacrifice and change habits, I have felt very blessed. I invite you all to pray and ask God for one thing to fast from that will help you become a stronger follower of Christ. Go to Him in pray in the morning with a promise that you will purify yourself from that thing, ask for the strength necessary to succeed, and then account to Him at the close of your day. I promise that you will be blessed with added strength and that you will feel of God's love for YOU.
Con amor,
Hermana Boyson
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