Week #11

I AM IN ARIZONA!

     How crazy is that? I didn't get to email last week because I was getting here and it was so chaotic and everything, so this may be a monster letter. Also it may be all over the place because I feel like I have so much to talk about!! Welllll, the rest of my last week at the MTC went really well. It was visitors' center training, and Saturday night we got to go up to Temple Square and go on exchanges with sisters. It was really fun to be in the REAL world, talking to REAL people. But it was really fun. As the night was winding down and I was proselyting in the square my sister, Julie, "accidentally" ran into me! I thought that if I were to see someone I knew or my family I would have a hard time, or like get super homesick or something, but I totally didn't. It wasn't even weird, it was just like yeah-that's my sister! Haha, which I was glad it wasn't a big deal! The next two days were just weird... kind of just waiting to go! We practiced approaches, and how to give tours, and how to get know people and access their needs quickly, because in the visitors' center you don't have long to get to know someone!

 
     Tuesday morning we woke up at 3:45 AM to leave for the airport! I had a hard time fitting everything in my suitcases, and once I got to the airport I had to throw a couple of things away, but the airport man was very nice and let a couple pounds slide :] Once I was through security I got to call and talk to my parents! It was so fun. I had brought all of my makeup with me, because I had kind of planned that I would probably cry when I was talking to them, but I totally didn't. When I first heard their voices I wanted to a little bit, but I got over it pretty quickly. And it was so fun to talk to them and to tell them everything that was going on, but again like it was with Julie, it wasn't as weird as I expected it would be! There were 9 of us flying together to the mission. When we got to Arizona President and Sister Ellsworth and the APs were waiting for us. It was really fun to meet them and I had a SUPER long and busy day. A truck at the airport took all of our things and we went straight to the visitors' center where I got to  meet the Beckstrands, the Temple Visitors' Center directors. They are super awesome. I love love love the visitors' center. It is seriously right next to the temple and I mean I have seen tons of pictures of the temple, but in person it is even prettier. We then went to the mission home, which is RIGHT next to a stake center. So we had some orientation meetings, ate some delicious home cooked food and then they sent each of us out to stay with another companionship for the night. I was sent with Sister Hartvigsen and Sordes. Sister Sordes is the one that is from France and that knew my Uncle Larry and Aunt Arlene really well. So that was fun to meet her and to get to know her. It was fun to go to a couple of appointments with them. I found out very quickly that my Spanish is not very good... I have a long ways to go. I thought I would be able to understand most everything... but I don't. haha. People talk a million miles an hour here! It's crazy. I also found out about this Mexican tradition, where on someones birthday they smash their face into the cake... and then everyone eats it. It's awesome... and very sanitary of course. haha. 

     Wednesday morning we had a transfer meeting where I found out who my trainer is! Her name is Hermana McKee, and I just feel so lucky to have gotten her! She's so awesome. She's from Hawaii... and only has two transfers left here... so I will be her last companion. She knows the language really well, so she's helping me out :] We went back to our apartment, which is apparently one of the nicest ones in the mission, but still the ghetto-est place I've ever lived... I guess I better start getting used to it! haha. The nice thing is that it is pretty big. I have my own bathroom, so getting ready in the morning is a lot faster. I feel like I have to skip a lot that went on, to hit the highlights because I don't have a ton of time! Buttttt, it's been so fun to meet people and get to know them. I'm in the Mesa North Stake. Our ward is HUGE and we actually have 3 sets of missionaries assigned to our ward, 4 hermanas and 2 elders. Our ward has some really awesome people in it and I'm just starting to get to know them all. The majority of the ward is converts, (like 75%) and so sometimes it can be difficult to get things done. At least from what I have seen so far. But there are some people that told me things that were going on in their lives before they joined the church and you would never have guessed. You would think they've been members their whole life. The gospel really does change people's lives. We work every single day at the visitors' center and I love it. We work from 3-6 hours a day and it's great. I think the reason I may love it so much is that a lot of it is in English... haha. I'll get there. I'll get there! In the visitors' center we have sisters that are from all over the place, Mexico, France, Pakistan, Africa, Asia (don't remember which countries exactly...) But it's way cool. Most of them had to learn English once they got here. But they are way sweet. We are getting ready for the Easter pageant that the VC does every year. It's a great way to talk to people on the streets and just invite everyone that we talk to or see. Apparently members from Mesa, Tempe, Phoenix, and Gilbert have been practicing for months, and thousands of people come every night. We work it almost every night ( I think we have one off) and they actually switch our 6:30-10:30 sleeping times because we are up so late working it. I'm really excited for it. I've heard it is just so fantastic. Working at the visitors' center, we see tons of weddings because we are RIGHT by the temple. I have decided to keep track of the number of brides that I see taking pictures throughout my entire mission. I'm already at 12. haha. They also have a bunch of girls that come to take their quincinera pictures at the Mormon temple because it is so pretty. I just think it is so funny. There are all of these 15 year old girls in these HUGE dresses... a little bit scantily clad taking pictures. Humorous. 

      We eat a lot here. Which is hard. I know that I am in Arizona... but I legit feel like I am in Mexico. Anywhere you go... at least in our area you can just assume that people speak Spanish-and they do. It's a very poor area. And I know this sounds silly but I really have never been around people this poor before. Some of their living conditions are just really sad. But they are so kind and really loving. They LOVE the missionaries.. and they love feeding us. And even though they don't have very much... they love to feed us as much as we can handle. Even more than we can handle actually. haha. For Sunday night dinner I had the opportunity to eat tacos de lengua. Which translated is tacos of the tongue. AKA tacos with cow tongue meat. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... but I couldn't get the image of a cow tongue out of my head so I had a little bit of a hard time haha. I'm sure I'm going to get to eat a lot of delicious things just like that... haha.

       And since everyone in our zone has the opportunity to eat massive amounts of food from these wonderful members... we get up at 5:45 AM every morning and workout together. We get up and run to a stake center that isn't too far and then we play basketball, soccer, or sometimes we'll just run more outside. But it's fun to get a full hour to workout, because half an hour doesn't cut it really. But it also means that I'm exhausted like all the time. haha.
     Saturday night we took an investigator named Emmanuel to a baptism so that he could see what a baptism is like. He really liked it, and afterwards I committed him to be baptized on March 24! It was excited to ask him and so we'll see if he can be ready by then! We are excited. The other sisters have been working with him for about 2 months. We actually have a lot of investigators. We went to visit one yesterday and she had just moved... like we have no idea what happened to her. But she's gone. So... I hope she's okay. haha. I just love the people so much already. Each time we finish eating somewhere or are done with a lesson I wish I knew the language better. So I'm working on it! 

      Sunday night I was working the VC (visitors' center) and Sister Beckstrand was like Sister Larson can you come to the front... so I did and I got to see President and Sister Cosgrave! They were my Branch President in the MTC. They have a daughter that lives in the area, and when we had said goodbye they didn't know the next time they would be down here, but then they made an unexpected trip down, so I got to see them! It was so fun to see a familiar face. But also super weird because I realized that it had only been a week since we said goodbye (like the longest week ever! haha not in a bad way... just a lot going on!). 

     Oh, so our P-day is usually on Monday. Since we are at the visitors' center sometimes we have to work  Mondays so it will be Tuesday. But for the most part it is Monday. And you can actually send me mail to the VC my entire mission. If you send it to the mission office, they have to forward it to me and it just takes a long time ( I don't think they are as good as THE mission at forwarding mail.. it just sits there for a while before they send it). So if you send it to the VC they don't have to forward it, and I'm there everyday! So it works really well. Even when I am full field (the transfers I don't' work the VC) I will still be there at least twice a week. So this address is good my whole mission!

Hermana Holly Larson
Mesa Arizona Temple Visitors' Center
525 E Main Street
Mesa, Arizona 85203

Okay I love you all so much. I miss you. I hope you are doing well!!

Love,
Hermana Larson