(10/28/2014) "Me Be Lime'n in St Vincent"

Family!!

OOOOOKK how am I supposed to begin this letter. I feel like I have been on my mission for a year and now I'm trying to recount everything that happened. 

First of all you didn't hear from me yesterday because it was independence in St. Vincent so everything was closed and so P-Day is today! Hope you didn't worry too much Mom. 

I'll start in Trinidad! I landed safely last Monday! I'm glad you got the the President's email so at least you didn't know I was dead. The sisters stayed at the Mission home while we were in Trinidad. Wednesday we did some orientation and training. Kinda of just giving an overview of mission and rules type thing. We went to a district meeting in Trinidad that day which was fun to meet some of the missionaries there. One of the senior missionaries drove a little bit around Trinidad which was cool. And I asked about those neighborhoods we saw in the documentary dad, and he said no missionaries at all are allowed up there. The higher you go the worse it gets! 

President Mehr and his wife are great! He's a very smart man of God. He's really nice but you can also tell he expects a lot from you. Here's the news on Suriname: I am going! They're getting my visa ready right now and basically as soon as it is I'm going...and I'll learn dutch once I get there. Oy! I could be in St. Vincent for probably one more transfer after this but we will see. He wants me there as soon as I can. There are three sisters there right now and he wants 6 eventually. So I'll probably be the 4th sister in the Suriname ever. I'm nervous about learning a language but I guess I'll see when I'm there.

Ok so St.Vincent! My companions are great. Sister Shelton is awesome! She's obedient and a hard worker. She knows everyone and loves everyone she meets. She helps me alot. My other companion is Sister Sommer. She was in the MTC same time as me. She's a really nice girl. Sister Shelton does go home after this transfer and Sister Sommer and I will take over. I have NO idea how that's going to work so pray that I know everything after 6 weeks. Our house is awesome! Really beautiful honestly. I was suprised. Besides ants everywhere in the house there's been no other issue with bugs. 

Now our house is by FAR the nicest thing I've seen on the island so far. It's definitely a third world country. People live in shacks with no water and electricity. Very poor poor circumstances. It's definitely a culture shock but it also doesn't bother me much, I'm just happy to meet with the people. All the people are super nice! Everyone says hi to everyone. A lot of people believe in God which helps in the teaching part. We hear a lot of "pray for me!" when we walk on the street. Understanding them speak really isn't that bad. First day, first lesson I didn't get much. But we taught that same person yesterday and I understood everything. You really have to focus on the words you hear and then put together the sentence in your mind. 

We keep our days filled with appointments. But most of them fall through. Sometimes you have to just catch them by luck. That's a little hard. But we always make the most of our time. I'm still getting to know the investigators so I don't have much to tell you but we have some baptisms for later in November. So we are working on getting them ready for that. We just contact when we see people on the street or in between appointments. We never have blocks set aside just for contacting, it just kinda happens. When we teach it takes a long time to explain certain things. You have to go slow and use lots of visuals. You'll go through the whole thing about our church having the authority to baptize then you'll invite them to be baptized and they'll say, "I've already been baptized!" Sigh. Then you have to explain it all again. Haha I still don't think they get it. 

Church was great. We meet in a building up on the hill that overlooks the ocean. There's about 70ish people that come to the branch. However there is a lot of inactivity. We meet with a lot of inactives. It's very hard for people to get to church. They take these van things but they're hard to get on Sunday. It's very hard to get investigators to come! We struggle with that. The members are really nice and welcoming. The chruch is still true here haha they just do some things differently than in the states haha. Sunday School and relief society consisted of straight reading the lesson. 

Missionary work is hard stuff! Sometimes I feel like I'm not making a difference in anybody's life so sometimes that makes it hard. I've definitely felt like I'm not good at it or wondering why I'm here. But I first have to remember that it's only been a week, so obviously I'm not good. But I just have to remind myself that the Lord wants me here. And you know what? That's a good enough reason for me. I'll let you know how things carryon. This email is kind of a quick blur of everything. 

Oh I forgot. We have a car in St. Vincent beucase it is all mountains. The streets are even smaller that Italy and two cars somehow fit. Did I mention we drive on the left too? And did I mention I'll be the one driving soon? Don't have a panic attack mom. I'll be good and take lots of lessons. The good thing is no one can afford a car so there's hardly any on the road and everyone is a friendly driver. Soooo we'll see how that goes. 

I'll try and attach some pictures! Hopefully I can figure it out!

I loved all my emails! Sounds like the halloween party was a blast. Awesome costumes Lisha! I love hearing about home and such! That feels like forever ago. I'm excited to hear how the mission stuff is coming along Mom and Dad! Seriously love you all!! Thanks for your prayers everyone! I need them...becuase I have no idea what I'm doing.

Love,

Sister Wood