WARNING: Not for the faint of heart!

24 Februay 2014

Hahah I probably have no idea but I can already tell maybe a leetle bit that this is missionary WORK. It's super fun at the same time though:)

Man, where to begin?! I left this until last again. . . next week I will be better:)

So, I'm in Syracuse NY! SY University is in my area and it's the coolest! The first 2 things my trainer told my about the area: "We're over a YSA branch and a ward so we go to 5 hours of church on Sundays + meetings" and, "As of today our area is a walking are!" Word. So, this week we trudged through mini lakes, pouring rain and snow storms! Don't forget the crazy wind! A construction cone almost took me out the other day. Thanks to my deft dodging skills I was good. It led to a conversation with some lovely old guys on the side of the road though, score!

I've already asked our zone leaders if we can get a little boat to replace the car, they're working on it (work faster!)

My companion's name is Sister Christensen and I think I'm the luckiest greenie in the world! She gets rights to work, is probably the nicest person I've ever met and just a great example. We get along famously!:) She's almost 22 (gah birthday ideas??) and did 2 years at BYUI before this as well as taught English in China for 5 months. Cool beans:)

I feel so stinking blessed to be here for my first area. The people (not just the members) are SO nice. They (literally) welcome me with open arms. We've already been fed like 4 times. I seriously love the people here. I think it's so cool that I get so many bonuses as a missionary. My capacity to love and be patient with as well as my confidence has already gone skyrocketing! It's scary talking to random people but Sis C helps me and everyone here is so friendly to boot! My very first morning, get this: We were walking to an app and start talking to this student also going to SY Uni. He's from India, named Rohit and had been to the Sacred grove! He was very open to religion and all ideas and we seriously walked together for like 45 minutes and gave him the first lesson! It came so naturally and went so well. I felt prompted to give him my Book of Mormon with my testimony in it. President Worthlin challenged us to give it away in the first couple of weeks . . . challenged excepted! It was like a perfect missionary day for the first day of my mission that was given to me. I was so happy!

Another perk of being a missionary: People just talk to you and trust you. That's something I've always wanted that has been kind of hard for me.  But now with Christ's name on me at all times I just have this extra power that is guiding me, lifting, me helping me. Really, I can feel it:) I can feel all the prayers as well. People all over the world are praying for "the missionaries!" It's the coolest feeling, I can't even really describe it!

Man, I'm the worst, I PROMISE to write this letter first next time. I've had so many adventures! Visiting literally crazy less-actives having totally wacky "testimonies"  born to me, serving at a Methodist church with a bunch of crazed people trying to steal all of the free clothes, trying to figure out the buses and getting the wrong one, walking all the way across our area to an app because we didn't know about the blasted "weekend bus" schedule, give me a break! The Sy oranges (umm all the mascots were already chosen?) lost :( GO ORANGES. I'm getting a "greenie dinner" next week, they're infamous here, there's this one member. . . yikes! 

The whole members working missionaries thing? I have to admit, I didn't necessarily believe that it was happening, it just seems to ideal, you know the way they show it in the MTC? It is happening here in Syracuse! Theses members are fantastic! I honestly cannot express my amazement and admiration in words, it's SO cool!

I love you all so very much and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be here!

Love you sibs write me yo's!  K bye!:)

Love,

Sister Ventura 2 Nephi 22:2