The Eclectic Blog post

The Rapid City Trio

Ten MINUTES left on computer time:
 
I am sure that everyone is dying for a foot update: My feet are looking really good this week! My toe is on the mend and the grandma feet are gone...GONE!  I have packed away the shoes that seem to make my feet sweat the most, and the one pair that hurt my toes (her Keens) and now I am using smart wool socklets.  Also, guess which shoes are my favorite? The first pair that my mom and I bought at REI which my mother insisted on gettng, that I didn't think I would like. Depending on how they fare in Rapid City, I may want to get another pair before heading down to RIO. Also....the Costco skirts, that I intially hated but my mother promised me would be my favorite,  are my favorite.... When will I learn to trust and listen to my mother?

Best split partner ever- Hannah S.

Okay. So we've been doing lots of splits recently, and I've been with Sister B, and then with Hannah S. (who is a recent high school graduate from my home stake, and former ward in Spokane!!), which is a HUGE blessing (ie, a nice break from companions). Hannah is earning money in Rapid City while she prepares for her mission. I've decided to take a gung-ho attitude when it comes to tracting, and for whatever reason, my door approaches work! We've been able to find L. and M., who are very sweet ladies. L. is in her late 60s, and SB and I found her. She is a TALKER and has a really beautiful story. She's deeply religious, and really does have an aura about her. She LOVES us a lot already, and we've taught her twice with a return appointment. I found M, and we have an appointment to teach her again on Thursday. She's an older native american woman who lives very humbly, and has recently had family members die. She's really ready to accept the gospel, I just hope she lets us back in! SO, moral of the story: tracting does work, you just have to believe every minute that it will work, and be led by the spirit to specific houses!

Trio life...hard. I'll write more about it later!

At the beginning of last week (ie, monday-wed), we had ZERO lessons taught. ZERO. SO FRUSTRATING. Luckily, we were somehow able to get 7 lessons taught before Sunday, found a new investigator, and had return appointments with several LAs and investigators. SO, persevere when things are rough, because they will get better! 

We do a lot of role-playing here, soooo we made Juan Pedro! He's pretty quiet, but he's a great investigator 

Juan Pedro

We were caught in a crazy hail/rain/thunderstorm last Friday, and we contacted an atheist who was set on "deconverting" us...luckily, other elders from another area were also there, and so I shifted my focus to getting to know them! One of them (Elder R. sp?) is also a visa waiter! He's from Sandpoint and is in the EXACT same boat as I am! We got to speak Portuguese for all of about 2 1/2 minutes,  but it was definitely a highlight of my week. I miss that language so stinkin' much. It's crazy.

We had a dinner appointment with a PM family. She is a member and has a bunch of little kids. One of them kept sticking a car down his underpants and then pulling it back out, and then putting it in his mom's face. It was gross, but really funny! haha! Kids.....

Side note: there are a LOT of home schoolers here. it's pretty cool because once I tell them I was home schooled, there's and instant connection. It's awesome.

OH, a HUGE thank you to the packages and letters recieved this week! I've been out of stamps, but I promise that I have/will write back. They are VERY much appreciated!!!!!

Okay, I'm about out of time, but I really really love you all, and I AM happy here, despite the challenges. 

Sister Colvin

Questions that we have for the missionaries: Taylor's answers are in blue.
 
1. How are you surviving the HEAT WAVE? The news says it is pretty bad! It's not that bad--we have a car with AC, and I have a wardrobe for Rio! It gets up to 100, but there's usually a consistent breeze.
2. Taylor, are you walking, biking, or driving? Driving and walking! It's a pretty nice combination, though I am always in the backseat and I tend to get carsick....also, Sister Horan is kind of a scary driver... 
6. Taylor, have you had problems keeping weight off? Nope! Portion control is the key. I also make sure to either a) not have dessert at a member's house, or b) have a very small piece. It's kind of a touchy subject, I just try to keep my mouth shut.
7. HOW’S the toe? And the feet? Good! No big problems this week.
8. I am curious as to whether or not the packing list and method actually worked for you? YES. It worked VERY well. I haven't used the list very much, other than to figure out which heavy stuff to put where. But the cubes are AWESOME, and I keep all of my garments in those bags, which makes my drawers very organized and neat.
9. Do you get to listen to music? Only between 6:30-8am and 10-10:30pm, and then on P-days. It's rough.
10. Do you get to read church magazines?  Do you want me to sent you some? We sure do! The mission actually gives everyone a copy of the Ensign, which is a huge blessing.
11. Is there anything that you forgot that you wished that you had? Nope, other than maybe a seat cushion because these chairs are KILLING my butt. I've been sitting on my pillow on the chair for my FOUR hours of study a day.
12. How do you send emails when the library is closed on federal holidays? You don't! Hence, emailing today!
13. Are Sundays extra tiring on your mission? (Levi’s question) Yes and no. I don't think it's as busy as it was in the MTC, but we have correlation meeting for an hour, then church, then talking or teaching at the church afterwards, visiting a less active, dinner, and then visiting an investigator or less-active. It's busy, but it's really nice to listen to someone other than your companions talk for three hours, and it's nice to be reminded that there are many members that love you!
14. How are you getting along with your companions? ...............mostly really well
16. How does the whole meal thing go for you, do you fix breakfast for yourselves/companions? How many nights a week do you get meals from members?  We now get to feed the missionaries every night in the Spokane mission! We get about $50 a week for our needs, which is plenty for groceries when you're just getting breakfast/lunch. Everyone makes their own meals, and then we have dinner appointments every night. I feel a little needy as the members are feeding us so often, but it is a really good chance to build that relationship of trust, so that they feel comfortable letting you teach their friends.
17. What has been the most surprisingly easy thing for you to adjust to on your mission? Just jumping right in and teaching. I'm really well prepared. I haven't ever felt awkward or uncomfortable knocking on doors or striking up a conversation about the gospel.
18. What has been the most surprisingly hard thing for you to adjust to? TRAINING.
19. What are some of your unique mission rules? (another Levi question) You have to have someone outside of the car in order to back it up. No eating in the car. You can't do laundry any other time than p-day, even if you have a washer and dryer in your house....
20. Do you get to read any blogs online on your pday? Have you seen your own blogs? I read mine today! That's about all I have time for....
Great questions!!! Keep them coming!
 
Sister Colvin


PS PICTURES:

 This is the "City of Presidents" and so there are these super cool bronze statues all over downtown. We got to take some pictures with them yesterday,  and my goal is to get all of the presidents before I leave! (Also, we stopped into the president tour/guide/museum place, and I got to impress the old guy there with my knowledge of presidents! We also contacted him, and he LOVES the MoTab (like, he listens to "love at home" when he's having a bad day.) We gave him a mormon.org <http://mormon.org>  card, and encouraged him to check it out. There was also an older man visiting from London to be a cowboy for a few weeks, so he and I got along great! He was also very curious about church, and I gave him a temple card and encouraged him to go to Mormon church to learn more. Missionary opportunities everywhere! Also, people LOVE talking to us for a LONG time. I think it's something about being a missionary--we really do have a different spirit, and people recognize that and want to talk to you about it. 

This buck was lucky Freckles wasn't around!

Mighty huntress Freckles in Spokane.

-we were startled by this visitor outside of our window during personal study! I caught myself yelling, "Freckles get the deer".

 

-Just typical roads here...another day of tracting....

Becky Smith sent me a care package...she is the nicest mother-in-law-of-my-sister ever! It made my day, my week, my entire month!

    
-birthday with John B...we LOVE this family. They have a daughter (Hannah) who left 2-3 weeks ago for her mission to Denmark. They are an AWESOME missionary member family, and we've already taught 2 of their family friends. MISSIONARIES LIVE FOR PEOPLE LIKE THIS. Brother B is awesome and hilarious.  
 

Mummified by bug spray

Bug spray caste  of the spider

         We've had quite the spider epidemic lately.....the one that's white is that way because my companions were too wussy to slay it, so they sprayed the crap out of it....which I then got to clean up. We then did a sweep of the apartment, and I got to slay like 15 spiders. Grossss. 

 Art Alley in Rapid City, looks sketchy but isn't.