Welcome to Reno!

I'll begin with the drive to the airport in Charlotte. It was long and peaceful. Sort of like the calm before the storm. It was sad seeing my parents start to cry. It must have been hard for them to just let me go. It must have been hard to put me in the Lord's hands for two years. I walked up to my gate and I sat right outside the jetway door. The man sitting across from me asked if I was "going in or heading out." I  told him that I was heading out. He served in Nigeria and he gave me some really good advice. I was shocked he even knew I was a missionary--I forget I have a name tag. He said his biggest regret was that he didn't ask for an extension because he didn't know that he wanted to serve longer.

I was the last one to get to the mission home, and my first thought was oh great, late as usual. If you know me well enough you know I hate being late, but I'm also late all the time. It's tough. Everyone there had already emailed their parents, had lunch, and found out their area. I didn't get to do any of those things but I quick shot an email to my mom which my parents appreciated. About an hour later I met my companion, Elder Dalton. Elder Dalton has had a very interesting mission so far. He served in the Philippines for the first half of his mission. Then he got sent home and he said it was the hardest thing ever. Now he's in Reno and he's only been out for 6 months. He says it feels like he barely left. My friend Elder Whiteley serving in Colorado didn't get a companion who had been out under a year until he was out for over a year. All four Elders in my quad are all under a year. 

As much as I learned in the MTC, I learned more in the first 2 hours of being in the mission! I always imagined myself in Lake Tahoe or Winnemucca or anywhere in Nevada that's way out in the boonies. Well that didn't happen this time. I ended up in the Hunterlake area--close to a big casino and the airport. Hunterlake sounds woodsy, but really there are lots of car dealerships. In fact, most of the block I live on is just a series of car dealerships. The culture here is interesting. Cars are really important. Everyone, even if they live in a shady area like mine, has a nice car. It's not very clean and the windshield is probably broken, but it's foreign. Also cars are super cheap here and it's probably because there are so many. 

In my first companion study with Elder Dalton, we went to a park. This random guy came up to us and thanked us and said God was with us. He then asked if he could pray for us. It was one of the weirdest but coolest experiences I've ever had. We gave him a Book of Mormon with our contact info in it. We think he's being taught by some other sisters but we aren't sure. We have seen him driving around since then twice and he always thanks us. What a solid dude!

The members here are pretty legendary. For one, they bring us food every night! which is almost unheard of in most areas. Since we are allowed to do 2 hours of service each day, they like to keep us busy. It's nice going outside. Even if the smoke is bad. I had no idea the Sierra Nevada mountains existed until Friday because of the haze. The smoke has cleared up some but everyone says the smoke will be back. I hope not. Also, big surprise, but it's not supposed to rain for another 2 weeks. I never thought I would miss rain so much. 

Yesterday Elder Dalton and I were walking down the street going around the block and an old, yellow ice cream truck slammed on the brakes and pulled up in front of us. As we got closer I started to get nervous and almost wanted to make a run for it. However the guy inside the van said, "Hey Elders, these are for you!" and handed us 2 popsicles! He said he wished church was open and we told him it was. He was super happy about that. 

My Spanish came in handy when I gave a lesson over Messenger with a guy from Uruguay. I don't quite understand everything, but he said he was ex-Jewish & Catholic. He said the Catholic Church's rules seemed to choke out what was really important in his life. I shared with him the two great commandments: Love thy God and Love thy Neighbor. I told him that that's what Jesus Christ thought of as his Law. He said that he was glad to hear it!

Our mission scripture is the best.  

3rd Nephi 5:13 "Behold I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life."