I am in the deep south folks. And I mean deeeeeeep. You can see Florida from my house. Just kidding, you can't. And I live in an apartment.
Sitting in Macon, waiting for my face to pop up next to a random sister missionary who will be my trainer and companion for at least the next six weeks was just a tad bit nerve-wrecking. But then I met Sister Waddoups. And let me tell you friends, she is a gem. And I'm not just saying that. She's wonderful. And we're the exact same person, it's terrifying, And awesome. She's from Concord, Mass, but her family is currently living in Australia, so she technically got called to a foreign mission haha. We live in an apartment with another pair of sister missionaries, including Sister J who was in my district in the MTC! So in total, it's 2 pairs of sisters missionaries, and 2 pairs of elders in our area. One set per ward. Anyway, we are loving it here. Sister Waddoups and I opened up a brand new area, so we both have no idea where anything is, don't know anyone, and have no clue what we're doing. So we're really relying on the Spirit. It's wonderful. We have actually had a variety of struggles this first week, including letting an elder, who was trying to be really helpful, carry one of our boxes to our truck. When we got to Valdosta, we realized that the box (which contained our cell phone, pamphlets, videos, everything important) was not there and was actually in Augusta. Which is on the opposite side of the mission. Of course. So we've been sharing a phone with the other sisters. He was really trying to be helpful, he was.
It's been actually surprisingly chilly here so far, like seeing your breath in the day time chilly, and Georgians were freaking out. The only reason people have been letting us in is because they think we're getting hypothermia. But that works for me. However, it is supposed to be 80 this week so.... yupp.
Our mission president and his wife are lovely. One of the first things he said to us was, "We're a singing district." I am so happy.
Sitting in Macon, waiting for my face to pop up next to a random sister missionary who will be my trainer and companion for at least the next six weeks was just a tad bit nerve-wrecking. But then I met Sister Waddoups. And let me tell you friends, she is a gem. And I'm not just saying that. She's wonderful. And we're the exact same person, it's terrifying, And awesome. She's from Concord, Mass, but her family is currently living in Australia, so she technically got called to a foreign mission haha. We live in an apartment with another pair of sister missionaries, including Sister J who was in my district in the MTC! So in total, it's 2 pairs of sisters missionaries, and 2 pairs of elders in our area. One set per ward. Anyway, we are loving it here. Sister Waddoups and I opened up a brand new area, so we both have no idea where anything is, don't know anyone, and have no clue what we're doing. So we're really relying on the Spirit. It's wonderful. We have actually had a variety of struggles this first week, including letting an elder, who was trying to be really helpful, carry one of our boxes to our truck. When we got to Valdosta, we realized that the box (which contained our cell phone, pamphlets, videos, everything important) was not there and was actually in Augusta. Which is on the opposite side of the mission. Of course. So we've been sharing a phone with the other sisters. He was really trying to be helpful, he was.
It's been actually surprisingly chilly here so far, like seeing your breath in the day time chilly, and Georgians were freaking out. The only reason people have been letting us in is because they think we're getting hypothermia. But that works for me. However, it is supposed to be 80 this week so.... yupp.
Our mission president and his wife are lovely. One of the first things he said to us was, "We're a singing district." I am so happy.
Our area ranges from extremely large, beautiful homes, to trailers, so we have quite the demographic. The first night we went tracting, we got let into an apartment where we met D and her best friend C. D is absolutely hilarious. And is in charge of the "dance ministry" at her Baptist church. We asked her what that was and she thought for a moment, and eventually said, "something like bootleg ballet". Hahaha we were dying. C is a bit quieter, but they are both wonderful. They invited us to thanksgiving dinner at her grandma's house and we ended up stopping by for pie. Thanksgiving in Georgia. What a hoot. Let me tell you, a pair of little white missionary sisters have never been more out of place. Everyone there was just staring at us like,"Who invited these skinny white girls to our thanksgiving dinner?" I loved every second of it. And just for the record, sweet potato pie is simply scrumptious.
We actually had Thanksgiving lunch/dinner at Mama M's house. She is a slightly terrifying, mostly sassy, and all wonderful Columbian lady. So we obviously got along fabulously. She fed 6 missionaries plus her family, it was so nice of her. We've met so many wonderful people here. On one of our first days here, we were trying to find a place that could copy and enlarge a map of Valdosta for us that we could use to hang on our wall for planning. We eventually ended up at a very abandoned looking shop. There we met the wonderful D.A.. He blew up our map for us and then told us that it was on the house. We introduced ourselves and asked if he had ever met with the missionaries. He said, "No, but I ought to." I'll keep you updated on him. And I have to tell you about A. We found her in our area book and decided to pay a visit. She is a bit of an eccentric redneck crazy cat lady who has no upper teeth and loves Jesus. Crosses on every wall. And she snorts when she laughs. She's hilarious. And can't sit still even if her life depended on it. She's totally open and is reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it. She's also trying to stop smoking, so we brought over grapefruit juice and cinnamon disks, which evidently taste awful mixed with cigarettes. She's coming to church this Sunday, I can't wait. We love her so much.
There is great need here and suchhhh great potential. I cannot wait for all of the amazing things that are going to happen in Valdosta. The Lord knows us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. His gospel can provide hope and peace that nothing else can provide. As the holiday season is upon us, I can't wait to focus all of my energy on Christ. And we get to Christmas carol! How wonderful is that?
I love you all, thank you for being a part of my life.
3 Nephi 5:13
Sister Szilagyi
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