Monday, May 13, 2013

Another Week in the Nebraska!

In addition to talking to Loradona via Skyp yesterday we got this letter today.
This week I went on two exchanges, which was weird. The first one was kind of an emergency one--a sister was sick, so we shuffled some things around and I went out with Sister Bates. She has little knowledge of Plattsmouth--even less than I do!--which made that exchange a little interesting. We did just fine, though; it was just crazy trying remember where things were, and neither of us knew!
The next exchange was with one of the Sister Training Leaders--she was great. And since she gets unlimited miles in her car, we were able to go to one of the farther towns in our area and meet some members and less actives. Sadly, it's also a private community, so you can't knock on doors out there. You can only go to members' homes and you can contact people who are outside. It was an interesting time.
I am learning all of the time that everyone has a different story and a different way of coming to know who they are and what they should be doing. It's a good thing to realize.
Did I mention to you that we had a day full of Encounters of the Animal Kind? Yeah, it was pretty much awesome. First, we met a tea cup pig (I feel like I wrote about this already, but TOO BAD!). He was eating grass growing in the cracks of the sidewalk and Sister Harris pulled over the car and said, "I have to pet the pig!" So we did! I was a little concerned for the pig's welfare at first, because in the backyard, the husband of the pig's owner was busy working the smoker, but it turns out the pig is a pet, not food. Phew! Then, we randomly saw two deer just run through the middle of town, in the middle of the day. What the what? Then, at an investigator's house, we met her new bulldog/pitbull mix puppy. He looks EXACTLY like the Poky Little Puppy, Mom. And you know how I feel about that story, so you know I was in love. Finally, we had dinner at a member's home, and they had the softest rabbit I have ever touched. (The rabbit, like the pig, was a pet, not dinner.) So many critters!
Okay, one thing I have to get off my chest: All of you people who told me Nebraska was flat are LIARS! True, there are no mountains, but there are hills galore. And now that our miles for our car have been cut (yeah....) we are walking. A lot. A lot a lot. The hills are good, and I am definitely getting my exercise in. Especially since we still don't always know the area perfectly, and we are still searching for people to teach. We have a handful of people who have agreed to let us come back, but they still have to move forward, you know? Finding folks never ends. I hope they choose to continue and make progress, but it has to be up to them, and I just have to be willing to teach when they want to learn.
I wish things were more exciting, but right now it's just me and Sister Harris walking around like hobos and meeting people (and pigs!). There are some really cool houses and buildings in Plattsmouth. And yesterday in our walking around we cam across a tiny burial plot in the middle of a neighborhood! It's from 1891ish, and there were just a few small gravestones, all fenced off, between a couple of homes. It was cool yet creepy. Yet cool.
This week's Golden Letter Award is split between Hykel and Mom. Mom because she sent me a splendid letter with the craziest dream in it. I opened it at the end of a really hard day, and it made me laugh and feel better. Oh, and Mom sent me a rock and roll birthday package with dark chocolate in it, so you know, automatic WINNER!

Hykel because I got THREE letters from her in one week! That probably has less to do with her innate awesomeness (because we all know she ROCKS) and more to do with mission office forwarding weirdness, but hey! I'll take it!
Other awards:
The Barking Dog Award goes to.... drum roll.... The entire town of Plattsmouth! Everyone has a dog, and it doesn't matter what you do, the dogs bark. At everything. You, leaves, squirrels, imaginary ghosts, everything.
The Golden Banana Award goes to the Bucksbees, who buy oodles of Bananas and let us eat as many as we want. They are the nicest people to live with, and the never ending supply of bananas is a godsend. I even bought me some Nutella to better enjoy the bounty of bananas.
The Mighty Wind Award goes to... Nebraska! Well done, Nebraska, for making my very own Marilyn Monroe Moment possible! I couldn't have done it without you.
Well, that's about it for today! Just you wait until next week's episode, when you will learn the fate of our fearless heroine and if she manages to keep teaching more people, if one of those dogs finally jumps a fence and chases her down the street, and if her shoes continue to hold up (spoiler alert: I am almost certain that one of those will be a yes!).
Love,
Sister Loradona May

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