email of 07 June 2010

7 June 2010

Oh Family!

I just love you all so much, can I just tell you that?! Your vacation sounds like it was so much fun -- a lot, and plenty to wear you way out, but really great too! Thanks for the pictures too! I can't believe how grown up those little boys are getting!

Funny little note -- as I was reading Mom's travelogue, I read the part where Dad went to bed early one night, so Mom went out to shop and browse a little by herself. My initial/instinct reaction was "wait --you can't go by yourself! You have to stay together!" Sometimes I forget that married couples don't always have to stay within sight and hearing of each other...You know you're a missionary when...
:)

Life here is just great!

Today, for our Zone P-day activity, we had a cook-off! It's always fun for me when I have an excuse to cook; there's not usually much time at all, so I really enjoy it when I get a chance. One of our ZLs is from Alabama, and is actually going home on Wednesday (yep, transfer time again!), so I decided to make BBQ and macaroni and cheese. I mostly just wanted to make it. It all turned out really good! They didn't have the meat I was looking for, so I ended up just getting a cheap beef pot roast, but it turned out really well, as did the mac and cheese, especially considering that I don't have the recipes out here! The elders didn't know the difference -- most of them were just impressed that I brought something in a crock pot :)

8 ingredients, Elders -- 8.
...and that includes salt and pepper.

Anyways, so that's my fun food story for the day/week/transfer.

Speaking of transfers, I just happen to know (at least part of) what's happening on Wednesday! My companion -- my darling little Sister Tittle will be leaving. :( I'm sad because I'll really miss her -- she's been an awesome companion, and we've had a great transfer together! She is going to be flush training, but we don't know where yet; President said he wanted to leave something a surprise for transfer calls Tuesday night :)

I'll be staying here in North Torrance, which will officially be an english-speaking area (unofficially it might as well be an Arabic/Vietnamese/Japanese/Chinese/English area), and my new companion will be Sister Molina, from El Salvador! The funny thing about that is that she's my "granddaughter" in the mission! Sister Dickson (my first trainee -- "daughter") trained her last transfer, and now she'll be coming here to be my companion! I'm really excited! I've had the chance to meet Sis. Molina a couple of times, and she's really sweet; Sis Dickson says she's a dynamite missionary too, so I'm really excited! It'll be nice to have a native-speaking companion again so that I can really work on my language abilities and accent!

There are a LOT of changes this transfer in the mission! With the change to being a Spanish-English mission, plus prepping for the Visitor's Center (which is scheduled to open sometime this or next month!), PLUS getting our new mission president, it's going to be ca-razy!!! The President change will happen on the 29th; our new mission president is Pres Baker, from somewhere in Utah. That's about all I know about him. I'm really going to miss the Blackburns, but I'm excited for a new president too!

I don't remember if I told you last week or not, but Mohammad was supposed to be getting baptized yesterday. Due to some unexpected opposition, his baptism has been moved to next week at 6 o'clock. I've decided that the more significant the person/baptism, the more the opposition. Mohammad is incredible though, and so solid! He has an amazing testimony of the gospel, especially of living prophets. Our bishop yesterday said, "I'm pretty sure he's going to be the first Iranian Apostle!" Wouldn't that be awesome? He'll for sure help with the Farsi translation of the BofM!!! It's so awesome to be able to be one of the missionaries that helped to teach him! He's so funny -- he rarely calls us by our actual names; usually he calls us "Sister-Sister!", or his latest, "Double-sister!" It's the best when you can hear it in his accent! He's always coming up with funny little things to say and call us. Daaaaah I just love him!!! I'm so excited for his baptism on Sunday -- I'll be sure to send pictures!!! Pray for everything to go well, and especially that he'll be protected from whatever more opposition may come this week!!!

As for me, I'm doing well! I really do love being a missionary, and I'm learning and growing so much! I know I'm very different than I was just over a year ago, and that I'll probably change a good bit more before I see you again. It's kind of strange, actually, because I know that I've changed, but I really can't tell you exactly how; I still just feel like me, but I know that the me now is different from the me that left last May.

In the last few weeks, I've been studying the love of God (specifically from E. Uchtdorf's talk last Oct), and it's been amazing. I've also been struggling a lot with feeling really inadequate, but my companion and the Lord have helped me a lot with that, and I'm feeling way better about things. More than anything, I know that the Lord's love is real, that He is real, and that if we'll just try, just give it our very best, He'll make it enough, no matter how great or small our best is.
The Church is TRUE!!!!!

Thanks for being the greatest family ever! I Love You All SO MUCH!!!!!

I Love Being a Missionary!

Love,
Hermana Sallie

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!!!