In the field! Transfer 1, Week 1

March 28, 2023

Welp, I have left the beautiful warm weather of Mexico for the cold weather in Idaho.

We started the week off with our district slowly being picked off. We had a few leave on Monday, others leave Tuesday, and I was part of the group that left on Wednesday morning (at 3:30 am!)

On Tuesday we didn't have much to do so we packed and helped the new arriving missionaries get checked in to the CCM. I even saw a missionary who was from my home stake, he was from the East Limestone Ward but I think he didn't actually leave from there. On Wednesday I flew to Idaho where it was flurrying a little bit. I stayed the night with the mission president and his wife and another newly arrived sister missionary (who is also an Hermana but went to the Provo MTC for some reason). There were two elders who arrived the same day, one of them Elder Holladay who was in my CCM district. In the morning we took some pictures in front of the Pocatello temple (there are three temples in my mission and two more being built!!) then got our companion and area assignments!

I'm in a trio in Twin Falls! My lovely trainers are Hermana Beard and Hermana Messick. They're both more than halfway through their missions and are actually both younger than me, which makes for an interesting dynamic. We moved into an apartment that had previously been inhabited by elders and quite frankly it was filthy. I spent about an hour cleaning the bathroom and it's still not fully clean. But I'm determined to get it cleaned. And luckily, we have two toilets because one of them started leaking water at the valve. So shout out to my dad for teaching me basic handyman skills because I needed it this week. We called the housing coordinators and they're going to have a plumber come out to fix it. Because we're in a trio, our beds don't all fit in one bedroom so our beds are in the living room/kitchen. It's odd but it's fun.

Now to the good stuff! Missionary work is hard but so good too. On Thursday the first appointment I went to with my companions was to the house of a new member Tim and his sister Nani. And it turns out, Nani is part Hawaiian! They're half siblings and are quite funny. Then on Saturday the Spanish branch had a party because they were becoming a ward! So goodbye Twin Falls 22nd Branch, and hello Centennial Ward (don't ask me about the name, I have no idea). Yesterday we were tracting and knocking on doors. We knocked on one door the standard three times, then when no one answered we moved on. But as we were walking back to the car, I had the impression that we should knock just one more time. So we did, and someone answered! It was a woman with her young daughter. They had been contacted by missionaries in the past but weren't interested in our message anymore. And while the story might not have the happy ending we expect, it was still awesome to have the experience of "just knock one more time."

Most of our lessons are in Spanish, though we do have a few in English. If they're in Spanish, I feel bad because I spend most of the time just trying to figure out what everyone is saying and I can't contribute too much. Even though my Spanish is fairly good, I can really only do the actual lesson parts and not the chatty part. Luckily I have two great companions who know Spanish really well. And when I feel down about it, I have to remind myself that I've been in the field for a week, it's okay if I don't understand everything. That's what this transfer and next are for. For me to learn and improve.

We get fed here so much! The expectation that the mission has is that we get fed six times a week! And honestly, it's more than that. On Saturday before the party, we had a dinner appointment and then had to eat again at the party. And yesterday at 3 o'clock, a new member called us up to go to Golden Corral and then we had dinner at 6! And everyone has dessert for us. I don't usually eat breakfast because I'm not hungry in the morning when I first wake up but now it's because I'm still full from dinner! Anyone know good exercise routines to help me burn some calories?

This is a long email I know, sorry about that. I'll leave you with a quick thought. Every night before we go to bed, my companions and I do what we call "cincos" where we list five things we are grateful for. Sometimes they're big things: "I'm grateful for the scriptures" and sometimes they're small things: "I'm grateful for that cat that we saw that was hunting that squirrel". No matter what though, it's good to remember the blessings we have and the things we are grateful for.

So, what are your cincos? I'd love to hear them.

Love and prayers,

Hermana Soh