The Very First Week

Mom we have a car, so we drive pretty much everywhere, don't worry about the two wheel disasters, we don't have them,

My Mission home address is: 

Washington Seattle Mission

10675 NE 20th street

bellvue, WA 98004

Alright, let's start at the beginning.  Which means Tuesday night on, since that's when you last heard from me.  Wow that seems like ages ago! So everyday early morning work out consists of laying on the floor "stretching".  we do a lot.  haha however my companion brought up the idea of hiking on pdays and I was so game I almost cried.  haha it's beautiful here, everything is so lush and green Tarzan might swing by any second.  I haven't felt the humidity, I think it doesn't exist. On Wednesday we went to dinner with the ward mission leader, to some Mexican place.  in our area there is only two food places, so our options are limited however i'm not complaining it is extremely nice to get out of the mtc and experience new tastes! don't get me wrong, the mtc food was not bad, but after 6 weeks my taste buds are coming back to life with home cooked meals.  Mom you would be so proud of me,  my companions always take naps during dinner, so I make dinner.  The first thing I did upon entering was look in the fridge, yah there was like nothing.  Not on Hermana alleys clock.  No i'm stepping up the motherly instinct and made a shopping list.  But with what we had i managed to whip up fabulous dinners.  When I get back I will know how to somewhat cook!  Pizza, chili dogs, and even on fast Sunday we made a feast.  Today i'm going to buy veggies and fruits, cause believe it or not I miss them, to much junk food and I can't live off of granola bars. We are fed on Sundays and Mondays depending on if people sign up.  My companions and I are going to use our charm to make sure we get fed:) 

So my very first miracle of the field; So here it is the end of the second day with little to no missionary work. With studying we don't get out of the house until 12:00 but with random meetings it has been even later. We've knocked some doors but no success.  So we go and visit a man that my companions barely came in contact with on the street a few weeks ago.  Well he wasn't home but his wife was!  and guess what she doesn't speak any English.  So in my spanglish we talked, we actually carried on a conversation!  I told her how we had an important message of Jesus Christ, we talked about the importance of the bible, and I got her name and time for a return appointment.  Although it was only about a five minute conversation it was a miracle in my eyes.  Without my companions they wouldn't have been able to talk to her, and the second part is I was able to understand the gist of what she was saying.  Phew.  what a good moment. The first moment in the field where I actually felt like a missionary. 

I have high hopes for her:)  She gives me a drive to learn the language!!!

another miracle of the week was Berta, she's from Denmark.  We found her when we were knocking doors.  Something about Seattle is every new door is a surprise!  We get the biggest range of diversity here.  Half her family is Jewish and she's sort of catholic. After talking to her a little bit about her religion she asked if we had something good to offer. I couldn't help it and got really excited! "only the best!!!"  we set her up for a church tour this Thursday!  and I sure hope it goes through, apparently the tours are super effective and it's literally right next to the temple!  

On Thursday, my companions had to go to a sister training leadership meeting so I was able to go on exchanges with the HERMANAS!! woot woot.  I went to their area which was more country side, and very different from my own (more poor).  We did language study together which was extremely helpful.  I talked with them about maybe figuring out a way I can call them if I have any question about language, or if we could work out exchanges more frequently :)  anyways, we spent the entire day knocking doors, and really only came across about 4 Hispanics.  there aren't a lot up here that i'm aware of.  We met Henry which was the nicest grandpa out there even if he wasn't interested in our religion.  He sang with us and prayed with us and wants us to come back.... little does he know he'll baptized soon :)  Too bad he's not in my area. 

Last night we went and visited a contemporary Lutheran.  My companions know him from a few weeks ago and he is awesome.  The nicest guy and so respectful of everything we do as missionaries. He believes what we do is very honorable and really agrees with a lot of our beliefs.  In fact tonight is family home evening with him and some members of his congregation.  We are going to sing hymns and have dinner (their hymns are contemporary. it's fun to see him mix them up... they put a whole lot of soul into everything)  I'm definitely looking forward to it!!:)   

A meal I made!

Well I do have much more to write but my time is running short.  I'll hand write a few other funny experiences! This week has definitely had its highs and lows.  The beginning was for sure the hardest of my mission thus far... It's a huge culture shock from the mtc. I'm looking forward to mail;)  Although it's difficult i'm getting the swing of things and my companions are coming increasingly closer.  They're great and I love them.  Today is the first day there is a big blue sky and i'm soaking it up!! we talked about having a picnic and maybe doing a hike.  Yesssssss!  I love the sun, and the fresh Seattle air.

LOVE YOU LOTS and YOUR IN MY PRAYERS! 

Hermana Alley