First off, answering the list of questions:
Where is your companion from? What are some of her interests, talents, and character traits?
We are exactly the same... okay, not exactly the same, but we have a lot of the same interests and weaknesses :-D We both are use to our companions taking the lead in the past. Sis. Snyder is from Pleasant Grove, Utah. She is a graphic designer with the dream to go to Japan and study on anime graphics. She also loves to write fantasy stories.
What is your new apartment like?
Right now, we are living in a 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath house with a garage and backyard. We are renting it from a member for a time until we can find the right place to have a central ASL apt. It's going great! We really love it!
Do you strictly do ASL missionary work? (Most ASL missionaries I know about spend a lot of their time doing regular missionary work to English-speaking investigators and with English-assigned companions since their contact with deaf and HH is limited. How does that work with you? Is there enough work to keep you busy with ASL-related activities all week -- especially now that you are not having to drive so much?)
We still drive a lot, because it is 24 miles to Ocoee or Waterford Lakes where we work often with investigators. But our focus areas, Kissimmee especially, is only 14 miles away; so it's a lot better on miles. We do a lot of work with the ASL area - mainly because it takes us an hour to drive to our investigators - but we do have hour blocks here and there with little to do, so it would be nice to have hearing work. Therefore, we have just been assigned an English area to work. It is the Lake Nona area (I call it the Narcoossee Rd area). We'll start working there, but it is full of gated communities and No Soliciting areas. Too bad Sis. Snyder and I believe in obey and honoring all laws - which includes not sneaking into gated communities and not leaving a sour taste in people's mouths because they think we are soliciting. It'll be fun! But amazing members live over there, and this Zone Conference will be focused on receiving member referrals.
What did you do fun for p-day last week? What will you do today?
Hmm... fun? What's that? There isn't any time to have fun on p-day! Also, there aren’t a lot of activities that asks for no money. Eventually we will go to Gatorland and Holy Land Experience. I just don't want to use my money. We spend most of our time waiting to get on the computer to email, then shopping, then laundry and letter-writing. There isn't a lot of time for fun. Our district leader tried to commit us to having fun, but he knew he couldn't accomplish that; so he didn't try too hard. Just having a huge house to ourselves is fun!
Who are some of the elders in your district? DL? ZL?
So, I guess it's time I sent home some pictures, huh? I can get a Zone picture with everyone's name. Maybe I'll try to do that today. My district leader is Elder Wilks and he's awesome. The Zone Leaders are Elder Dahle and Elder Dyer. They are really great as well!
Are you eating well and sleeping well?
Sis. Campbell [senior missionary in the office] use to get after me for not eating well, so she made me promise I'd start eating breakfast. That was the start. Then, a few weeks ago, some of the Elders in our zone wanted to go on a colon cleanser by only eating fresh fruits and nuts (but one Elder was allergic to all tree nuts), so we had fun making fun of them for a week. Then, Sis. Lovejoy told us about a great healthy diet that works for her and her mom, so we got a copy and now have a protein, carb and raw vegetables for meals, and protein or fruit for snacks. We've been eating really well this past week. And shopping is a lot of fun as we check nutritional labels and serving sizes. No worries. Sis. Campbell keeps checking up on me making sure I'm eating well. With sleeping, eh, it's the typical. I don't ever feel rested, but I'm able to get up and function through the day, so it's well enough.
How are your shoes holding up? Do you need new ones?
Hmm... shoes? I only have one pair of sandals that I wear every day. I bought them in May and they are becoming a sad sight, but still comfortable and functional. On Sundays, I still wear the black or brown ones I came out with and they seem to be just fine. I just need to polish them ...
So, I've mentioned the diet and the house and the new English area. Now, I want to mention if you could ask Grandpa how we are related to the Ellsworths who started the Church ranch here in Florida. I'm constantly hearing about the Ellsworth Ranch and the Ellsworth Ward, and I thought I should at least know the family connection.
Also, I was actually going to try harder at emailing better from now on, but this week was question answering - which made it so much easier! I don't think I've written anything worthwhile in my emails for the last six months! So, I'll start making a list of what I want to write each week and work harder at that! :-D
Well, time is gone this week! Loves!
‘Make no small plans: They have no magic to stir man’s souls.’ This is the vision I have for the South. I believe that one day the South will baptize more people into the church than all other English speaking missions in the world together. There are great hosts of marvelous Baptists, and members of the church of Christ, Methodists and Catholics who are honorable people, and have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and love him. As they see their church veering off to the right or to the left of these basic teachings, they will begin to search for the truth. And as pivotal teachers come into the church and have influence, we will see the time when we baptize hundreds and thousands, tens of thousands. In your day you will see a million members of the church in the South. There will be Temples plural in the Southern States. What a great call you have to serve with these marvelous people. ~Spencer W Kimball (1974)
