Week 3

Friends,

Its been two weeks since I got to Paducah Kentucky, a little town in between Possum Trout and Monkeys Eyebrow. Its quite small but not as small as Mayfield. Mayfield is where Hna. G and I go on Thursdays and Fridays (about 25 min from Paducah) because it is full of Hispanics! I promised myself that I would write a full on post this week! So sorry last weeks was so short it was a hard week but this last week was way better!:D It went by so fast but I have been writing down exiting things so that I can remember them so here goes... First of all there are squirrels everywhere! I mean EVERYWHERE! They are so cute though! I love the squirrels we are becoming close friends. Another thing I forgot to mention is that it is absolutely beautiful here! You are surrounded by trees where ever you go with houses scattered here and there, the houses are romantic and majestic and old (they often smell of mold but we over look that while talking positive) . This is also hillbilly town. Not in a bad way because my companion and I have fun proving the rumors right about the south. Not that its really the south because Kentucky was divided during the civil war but don't tell the folks around here that or they will freak out. Oh and another thing! You know how Utah is pretty much filled with churches from corner to corner well here its the same except for the churches are from different religions. Just down town Paducah (which includes two very small streets by the way, this town is tiny but not as tiny and the Mayfield which is another place I work in on the weekends) is full of churches right next door to each other! This place is a bit crazy I could write a whole other blog post just about my encounters with Baptists and Pentecostals (I have never even heard of that religion before but they have some seriously "different" ideas). Oh it has only been two weeks but I am loving this mission! .

So it turns out that most of the people in the ward are converts! I thought that was fantastic, they are a bunch of amazing people. Sundays have a whole new meaning for me now because Hermana Garlitz and I are in charge of the Spanish speaking people which means we translate ( I translated for the first time this week) all of sacrament and then have our separate lesson for Sunday school which Hna. Garlitz teaches and I have a feeling she will make me teach next week. I have unofficially been called as a translator and a Spanish Sunday school teacher! How fun!:P

I have learned a couple things while on a mission. First of all it is no easy, you have to be positive or you will be miserable. Also is mission is awkward! Hermana Garlitz and I have loads of fun being awkward missionaries. I have learned that missionary work is just crazy stalking and often awkward conversations but I have embraces the "Awko Taco" as they say over here. I can not tell you how creepy Hna. G and I are when we get those rare moments and we find a Hispanic at Walmart. The good this is though that we have cool gadgets to help us on our way! Yup yup I got my very own mini Ipad on my first day on the field. Not that I use it often because I cant get on anything other than the planner and the church library but ether way its fun stuff. I also have a car! Hermana Garlitz named our car "Rojita" because she is a small and red car:) We thank Heavenly Father every morning for "Rojita" because it is always cold and having to walk in this weather would freeze me in a matter of a couple of minutes. We are also blessed with a cellphone which broke on my third day on the mission and I had to learn the hard lesson of living without a cellphone. We just got it up and running again yesterday and I don't even know how we ever survived without one. Another thing that is cool (but that I don't participate in because I am still a toddler in training) is that the missionaries here are allowed to have Facebook (strictly for preaching and communicating with the investigators and members only)! Whoo so I came into this mission thinking that I would have none of these things and that  all I would have was a book of Mormon and a bike. Wow was I wrong!

I am really starting to love this place:) I didn't think I had enough space in my heart to like a place other than Utah and San Luis Potosi (the place I was born in) but it is starting to grow on me. The mission is hard but it is also very fun and happy. Sharing the gospel makes me happy! Whenever I feel homesick I just wait for the next opportunity to open my mouth and teach because I know that I will instantly feel better. I don't have room to write all the amazing experiences I have had with my investigators but I did have one experience that stood way out from the rest, it goes a little like this...

On the second day of my mission I met a boy named Dee and a guy named Russell. They were just hanging outside cleaning a car and we decided to talk to them and ask them if they had Hispanic neighbors (we go around doing this all day everyday). They instantly reminded me of friends I used to have who would just wonder around all day away from home with bicycles and ether a basketball or a football. I liked Dee and Russell instantly. They were interested so we gave them a pamphlet, invited them to church and they referred us to a house a block away with a Hispanic family. We came back a couple of times to see how they were doing but with no luck. Just a couple days ago we went back to see if once and for all they were interested. I didn't really want to but I felt the need to go see them. (Hermana G. had given me the choice or in other words she wanted me to decide) It felt a little weird right away and as we walked towards the door we could hear shouting. Hna. Garlitz knocked and Dee's mom walked out and told us that Dee was sick with this diabetes acting up again and that he was laying down. We immediately decided to just move on but as we were getting in the car Dee's brother came up to us and told us to wait for Dee 20 min a couple of blocks away. It was all very sketchy but we felt like we needed to see him so we waited and prayed. We met with him and he was indeed sick but said that the cool air and walk would make him feel better. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. He was having a hard time with Diabetes and was feeling down about all the drama going on at home with his baby mamma. He was thinking of moving away to get some space, he really didn't know what to do. We taught him with power and with the spirit. He asked us questions about prayer and about having trials and we were able to teach him what we knew. He thanked us and we invited him to read the pamphlet and to church. I have never felt so much happiness in my life! I just got in the car and started to cry. I thought of the words "and they were filled with the spirit" and for the first time in my life I understood what that meant. It was truly amazing and I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to be a part of that.

Much love,

           Hermana Orellana