Week 28

Hello Family!

I had a really nice week. It was peaceful and not super eventful.  You'll notice I'm emailing later in the day than normal. That's because we now have to share the family history center in the church with the elders and they emailed first.  I wish I had more exciting things to write about. In fact, it puts a lot of pressure on me to write a good email every single week so every now and then I'd like to take a week off from my blog and keep my audience to just family.  

One thing I've discovered about Oshkosh is it is full of roundabouts! There are circles everywhere, actually. We sit in circles for district meeting, sunday school, and relief society, which was not the case in Stevens Point! :P There is also a Lake Butte-de-morte here (aka lake butt-demort) which I find amusing. 

As you can see, we decided to have some fun and move our beds into our living room, next to the front door. (notice Sister Wilson sleeping, haha! she is not a morning person so we set our alarm early, that's why I am awake)  It makes it really fun, kind of like a slumber party. We noticed that was how the Elders had theirs set up (see the story below), so we thought we would mix things up a bit! Now we can watch the thunderstorms at night and it feels like a sleepover all the time! Also like a dorm room because we can just chill on our beds and eat on them. We moved all the armchairs into our bedroom and it is now "the chill room" where we can read.  I'm so glad my companion loves to read, too!!  

Okay, so I've had an embarrassing moment with each of my companions. I had mine with Sister Wilson this week at the Salvation Army, where we volunteer on Thursdays. Here we go. So last week there was a kool-aid container full of very-strong kool-aid. I drank some and assumed that everything in that container was okay to drink. Well, I was super thirsty and was drinking it up a storm, though I noticed it did seem very strong, and had a bit of an aftertaste, but figured it was okay, maybe they just had a new flavor this week. Then Sister Wilson was like: "Sister Woods, that's iced tea!!" Oh dear!!!!! I do have a bad habit of liking that stuff, now don't I?? :)(Hence the bubbly water fiasco).  hahaha...

Let's see... I've done quite a bit of tracting this week. I think I've become much more bold than I used to. But we didn't meet a whole lot of success in giving away copies of the Book of Mormon. We did meet this really awesome lady named Lisa who talked with us forever on her porch. It's always a pleasant surprise when you find someone nice who will talk to you! By the end of our conversation she went from not interested at all in reading the Book of Mormon to saying she'll pick it up and give it another try. I'm not used to having a companion who is the same missionary age as I am. She is only a transfer older. But it's great because it gives me lots of opportunities to improve my contacting and teaching, try new ideas, and take the lead more. 

I really love how pretty Oshkosh is! I'll have to send some pictures by the water. Lots of members have really pretty views of the lake from their backyard. The members here are very friendly and nice. Also, Quintesa and her son, Dominic came to church yesterday. Dominic is... very rowdy! My companion had to bribe him with pretzels and there was a big screaming episode when the child in the bench in front of us took back his toy car. This kid is a handful! And his poor Mom doesn't know how to handle him well, like at all, so I'm really glad my companion is good with kids! He's cute. I'm learning a lot too. I've definitely not had much experience in that department, since I am a youngest child.  I totally got sprayed with a thawed ice pop drink the other day. Good times. :) We were very pleased, though, church was amazing. We had a great discussion about baptism in sunday school and about studying the scriptures in Relief Society, which really inspired her, I think. I was sure inspired! The RS teacher talked about how we crave the paths we travel over and over again, because they have become habits. The point of her lesson was that If we don't crave studying the scriptures it is because we aren't studying them consistently enough. It hasn't become a habit. That's why we revert to what feels comfortable: not reading them.  That is definitely true! Study time is my favorite time, and because of my mission I'm forever going to be a fan of daily scripture study. I think the same principle applies for prayer, exercise, positive thinking, and other worthwhile activities. These things may require some discipline at first, (and perhaps forever after that) but then they become a part of us.  I am also speaking next Sunday and playing the cello in sacrament meeting the week after. Exciting stuff!

Also, I think it's safe to say that we are, in fact, getting ipads. mini ones.  They will let us know details about that soon enough, but we will probably each have to buy one. I'm excited about that! :) 

Well, I'm still getting adjusted and meeting lots of people, which is terrifying, even overwhelming at times, but ultimately good for me. I am learning lots out here, especially to rely on the Savior. Missionary life is challenging, that's for sure!  But rewarding. Feel free to write to me!! Missionaries love letters! :) 

I love you lots, family, and hope you have a great week!!!! :) 

Love,

Lacey