December 29, 2013

This was a busy week. I think I am going to quit saying that as I have a feeling that every week is going to be busy. This week was a little different, however, because of Christmas. We weren't sure how it was going to be with no family. Though recently we have not had everyone home at Christmas, we were either at home with some family or at their house in Ohio or Texas. Early in the week, on Tuesday, we had a district meeting. Our district is comprised of 2 Elder companionships, 1 Sister companionship, and us. We all work in the boundaries of the Liahona Spanish Branch which is rather large. Two Elders work in Quincy and the rest in Tallahassee. We work everywhere they do but also in Bainbridge, Georgia. We had a good meeting and then celebrated with a lunch of tortilla soup and tamales.

Christmas morning we had brunch with the Tallahassee senior missionaries and then lunch with a member of the ward. He also invited many other members, missionaries, and investigators. He made everything himself which included 2 kinds of mole and posole; all made with turkey. Good food and good company.












Friday we traveled to visit family members that are living in western Florida. Paula's niece, Alcadia, and her family live in Crestview, Florida, about 2 hours away. He is in the army and gets deployed about 6 months out of the year. It seems like it would be tough, but they seem to be managing fine. They have a great family.

Later that day we traveled another hour to Pensacola, Florida and visited my cousin, Kathy's grand-daughter, Ramona, who is stationed there with the Navy doing some training. She is a great young woman with a lot of potential. Unfortunately, my camera was too dead to take a picture. Maybe next time.

Week 2 - December 22, 2013

This week we really started to work. Our calling will be to work mostly with members that have special needs that we have some ability to meet. We have 2 families in Quincy, FL that have language and literacy needs. In one family the wife needs to learn to read, write, and speak (to some extent) Spanish. Her native language is an indigenous language in Guatemala. Her father would not let her go to school. The husband of that family knows Spanish much better but needs to learn English so he can provide for his family better. The other family in Quincy is from El Salvador wants to learn English. We love to go to her house and teach because she is a good cook and refuses to learn anything until she makes us something good to eat. The pupusas are great. Also we have a new member in Bainbridge, Georgia that needs to learn the gospel better and English as well. So twice a week we go to Quincy and once to Bainbridge. We have also been visiting all the less active me mbers of the Liahona Branch and giving them sugar cookies. We have a good cookie recipe if anyone is interested. We love our families we teach.

The weather here in Tallahassee is quite variable. One day it will get up to 70 degrees or so and the next it will be down to 30 degrees at night. It is cloudy, rainy, or clear like most places but it seems to never be the same for more than a day or two. Certainly not like 2 weeks of subzero weather like in Boise. One day last week I actually had to turn on the air-conditioner.

Thursday we had a 1/2 mission conference in Panama City, FL. I understand they have nice beaches but we didn't have time to see them. But the conference was great. It is quite invigorating to share in the enthusiasm of 200 young missionaries.

Week 1 - 15 December

Well, we have been here in Tallahassee 5 days and we have been busy. We moved into our home in a few minutes since everything was packed into our car and the place is "furnished." It turns out we would have liked to have brought more things; things we forgot, or didn't think about. So we have spent some time buying things like a comal, bath rug, more hangers, dish washing soap, and food. Everyday we go shopping again to buy more stuff we need or forgot yesterday.

We met several senior missionaries, the mission president, and many members. Saturday was a branch activity that was great fun with food from many Hispanic cultures, musica, and a program with Santa included. The branch is a little different than our branch in Idaho. We have members from Argentina, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

Travel Day 6 - Tallahassee

Today was another beautiful day to travel and we arrived at our destination mid-afternoon. We went directly to the mission office and met the office staff. The president of the mission was busy taking missionaries to the airport and transfers so we were greeted and oriented by Elder and Sister Bell. They took us to our apartment (actually part of a triplex) and out to dinner. It was great getting to know them. Our place is rather humble but sufficient for our needs. We actually have lots of room since we have so little.

The trip was very enjoyable but we are glad to finally be here. We are ready to serve. Well maybe not ready but anxious.

Travel Day 5 - New Orleans

Today we traveled to New Orleans. The weather was much better. As we traveled farther south it was warmer and warmer. The scenery was not particularly interesting as can be seen from the image below.

However, when we reached the New Orleans area it was much more interesting. We arrived early enough to do a little site-seeing though not a lot. We were lucky to be able to stay in one of our Worldmark units right in the center of New Orleans. 

We took the street car down to the French Quarter and looked around a bit. It was interesting, particularly the architecture but kind of "touristy." 

We did stop for awhile and talk with a woman who wove rag rugs. Her rugs were remarkable; some small, some large, and all designed with good color sense. Some of her looms were very large. One was 10 feet long.

Here is a view from the river walk.

Travel Day 4 - Shreveport, Louisiana

Most of this day was spent traveling on some pretty bad roads. Still lots of ice and snow from the storm on Friday between Wichita Falls and the other side of Dallas. Then light to heavy rain to Shreveport, Louisiana. It seems Shreveport is quite the gambling attraction but we spent the evening writing the blog, eating some good southern-style seafood, reading scriptures, and relaxing.

Travel Day 3 - Wichita Falls, Texas

This morning it was Sunday so, of course, we went looking for a church to attend. The first one we went to suggested we go somewhere else. Not because they didn't like us, but because they found out we were on a Spanish-speaking mission. So we went to the stake center and visited another ward that had a Spanish-speaking group. They meet with the English-speaking ward for the sacrament, and then, are dismissed for their own group meeting. Things were going well getting to know them (10-12 members) until they asked us to speak. Sister Huddleston gave a good talk and I bore my testimony. Our first speaking assignment on our mission and in Spanish. I have faith this will get easier.

The rest of the day was spent traveling to Wichita Falls, Texas. We ran into some ice-covered roads so it was slower than anticipated but we kept the driving shorter than usual.

The first cotton fields I have ever seen. Sister Huddleston borrowed a cotton ball from the field which we will return on our way home.

A rest area near Wichita Falls. Note the sign warning to beware of rattlesnakes. Of course, there were no snakes this time of year but we kept a look-out, just in case.

Travel Day 2 - Amarillo, Texas

This morning we started out for Albuquerque,New Mexico. Almost there, however, we changed our minds and headed for Santa Fe. It is a good sized city but without exception, it has great architecture. We saw, maybe, 2 buildings that did not have a flat roof. Again from my car. Sorry about that.

Cathedral on the Plaza

We had some good food in the Blue Corn Cafe. We would like to return and visit more when we have more time than just for lunch. The rest of the day we traveled through New Mexico and into Texas, spending the night at Amarillo, Texas. I couldn't find it on my GPS because I kept pronouncing in Spanish. The GPS kept wanting to send me to Rio. Finally, I used my best Texan accent and it went right to it. It was very cold and windy that night.

Travel Day 1 - Farmington, New Mexico

With threatening snow on the horizon, we left the MTC a couple of hours early on Friday, Dec. 6, 2013. Our route went through Price, Moab, Ship Rock, and ended at Farmington, New Mexico. The roads were excellent and the scenery spectacular. The photo from my phone while driving doesn't do it justice.

Wilson's Arch near Moab

We almost stopped in Ship Rock to stay the night, but the only place to stay was the Ute Mtn. Casino. On second thought we thought going into a casino with our missionary badges may not seem appropriate, so we moved on to Farmington, New Mexico for the night.

MTC - Provo, Utah

We spent 5 days  in Provo in training to be a missionary. The most important thing we learned was how to listen and meet the needs of the investigator. Singing with 2000 other missionaries at the devotionals was pretty awesome. Can you imagine 2000 singing, "CaIled to Serve"? We met many other senior missionaries, some of which were serving a second or third mission. As it turns out, our group was the largest senior missionary group ever. It was a great experience but hard work and a little scary at times in our role playing situations. It was, overall, the most spiritual experience we have ever had. It will be counted as a once in a life-time opportunity, though, in fact, it may not be.

Elder and Sister Huddleston at the MTC

You are called to serve.

You are called to serve in the Florida-Tallahassee mission. We have now learned it is a Spanish-speaking mission.