May 13, 2013

A Phone Call Before a Letter! 

We hadn't heard anything from Bethany (except for the missed call from the airport--which she told me later was her plan--she just wanted to leave a message) since the MTC, so I was pretty excited when the phone rang yesterday (Mother's Day!) at 5:03.  She sounded so happy!

I just received her first email from the mission field, so I'll let her words do the talking!

[Victoria is our very enthusiastic and loud Manager in the Santa Barbara store, and she and Bethany have a great relationship.]

[Josh knows all about the snow birds, because he served his mission in Florida!]

Hello my happy people,

I am so happy to have talked to yesterday! Afterwards I was so pumped to make you all proud and to preach the gospel!

I am in Biddeford, Maine, which is an old mill town by the ocean. The other day we went to the ocean and saw all these vacant houses that people only live in the summer. They call them "snow birds" because they all go to Florida in the winter. It is pretty funny. Everyone here refers to themselves as "New Englanders" and I feel like Grandma Hattie on her mission. 

Fun facts about Maine

1. There is seriously a lobster place and dunkin doughnuts on every street.

2. blueberry milk...Best. thing. ever.

3. The apartments look like old, big houses.

4. When it rains it pours -- Sister Vanderhoef and I walked 10 feet in the rain with an umbrella and had to go home and change our clothes because we got so wet.

5. All of the members here are converts-- which is really cool and we are spending a lot of our time working with the less active members.

6. The stairs are so steep I feel like I am climbing up a ladder.

I am in love with the ward here. One family gives us fresh eggs, and they are amazing. I told Joshua yesterday that I went to their house and they had blue eggs and I said, "Are those Ameraucana eggs?" and of course I was right. They were so impressed.  Here is this other member in the ward and she is absolutely crazy, like crazier than Victoria... I absolutely love her.

My companion is Sister Vanderhoef. She is from Lehi, UT. She has only been out for 6 weeks, so we are learning a lot together. Thank goodness for the great Elders in our district. You will not believe it but my district leader is from Camarillo. I didn't believe him when he told me because I know everyone from Camarillo. His name is Elder Mitchell and he told me that he is in the Thousand Oaks stake and knows the Jimmy and Susan Lassen family!  Small small world.

I am going to have a great week of training and working! Love you all!

Sista Lassen

p.s. I saw President Bush's summer house... and it had a Texas Flag