Great day to be Alive!!

Dear family,

I'm glad you are able to share our letters with others.  My writing isn't that great because I always feel so rushed, but at least others can see what is happening.  How is the blog doing?  

This week was great!  It was superrrr duperr busy because we had all sorts of meetings and the baseball game but it was great.  Because a lot of people here smoke and drink, teaching the Word of Wisdom and helping them overcome addictions can get tricky...so President is having all of the missionaries in the mission take the church's addiction recovery class.  The senior couple missionaries teach it and we walk through the whole thing.  It is really interesting, and is basically atonement 101.  So we had that this week, and then we also had a launching leaders class.  A different class but also taught by senior couples.  And we had zone training.  And then it was the game!  

The game was sort of culture shock, I'm not going to lie.  We left our apartment at 4:00 in the afternoon, and drove about 40 minutes to the nearest metro station, which was in Vienna.  The Hermana who was driving that day, isn't exactly good...so you take rush hour traffic, the GPS giving commands, her companion giving out a scream every so often, her horrendous driving....and you have a near death experience.  She almost wrecked twice, and by the time we finally got there Hermana Woodbury and I felt like kissing the pavement.  We get into the station, and it was a dingy little place with lots of people.  Public transportation is never glamorous, which is always a fun adventure!  We hopped on the green train, and were on our way!  We had to switch trains about halfway through to the orange line, and then we arrived at the stadium.  The subway ride was about 40 minutes overall.  And there were tons of missionaries on it.  The Elders, in their white shirts and ties were all standing in the middle holding to the overhead railing, and us Sisters were scattered throughout on random benches.  The normal civilians were honestly staring at us the whole time and some asked "where is your group from?"  "What are you doing here?"  "Why are you all so young?"  We just said, "Hey, we're from all over the world, we've been assigned to represent Christ in northern Virginia, and we have an opportunity to go to a baseball game!"  It was funny.  Once we get inside the stadium, all we could see were guys walking around with beer bottles, women walking around with beer bottles, and vendors selling beer bottles. There was some super twangy country music playing in the background, and the National's mascots (random presidents...so their mascots are inflated bobble head people!) walking around.  We mosey on up to our seats, take a seat, and enjoy the game!  Truthfully the game was boring.....all I know is that we won 6-1, but it was fun to see other missionaries.  The church also gave us $5 bucks for concessions, so I had an ice cream cone, and then we went home the way we came!  It was a fun night, but we didn't get home until 1:00am....so we were dead beat tired the rest of the weekend, but I think I have caught up on sleep. 

Something kind of funny, Hispanics love rugs and door mats....but they put them upside down.  So the ones that say "Welcome" are flipped, and instead of inviting guests into their homes, the welcome themselves outside.  Funny :)

Another funny thing, is we have a recent convert who we meet with every so often to make she he is doing okay and review lessons to make sure he really gets it.  And apparently before I got here, he would always ask sisters to give him copies of pictures they took with him...like outside, from his baptism etc.  This last week the Elders went into his apartment to check up on him, and said it was so funny/creepy/bizarre.  He not only has kept every single picture, but he has cut himself out of all of them and pieced together all of these girls faces.  They hang in his front room above his couch.  

You know how Chad would always listen to the Spanish radio channel, and how we would always make him change it?  Those channels are actually appreciated here, and it is still funny to me. Every time I hear someone belting it out in their car to these songs I just think of Chad and how much he would love that.  It's starting to grow on me too.

We sometimes help kids with their homework in the evenings as service because their parents can't read/don't speak English enough to help them.  So that's kind of fun.  We also sometimes help mom's translate forms and show them where to sign and what to send back for permission to stuff.  

Also, yesterday was apparently the El Salvadorian holiday, so there were some fiestas going on, and for a while we could hear some hilarious karaoke coming from some where.  Either hispanics can't sing, or they were hopelessly drunk, but either way it was really awful singing.  

Our zone, the Ashburn zone, is on absolute fire right now.  We are the only zone on track for our yearly baptism goal, and we taught over 100 lessons last week!  It's a fun place to be right now.

There is one member who always calls us if there is a storm coming, a personal weather man essentially...and its awesome.  We really have no idea what to expect weather wise each morning, so that's really awesome.

I am still learning lots of Spanish.  I finally feel like I have some sort of handle on it and feel much more comfortable having a conversation and teaching the lessons.  One book I wish I had gotten at the MTC though, is called 501 Spanish verbs.  It has all the conjugations for all the verbs.  I am just learning Spanish way slower here because I still use so much English, so if you could send a copy of that to me soon that would be awesome.  My companion has one and it is super duper helpful.  Thanks a million.  

I love you all soooooooo much.  More than all of the people that we squished into one subway on Friday,

Hermana Withers

I just read your letter, and you are such a good writer!!!  So talented in describing things and making it sound hilarious.  I am glad you survived the car ride to the game.  Glad you are teaching so many lessons, and staying busy.  Glad you are learning Spanish.  I will try and find that Spanish book online and send it to you... with the pictures!!!  Promise!

Love you more than all the ways to conjugate Spanish verbs!

Madre

Yep I am still on.  I love you guys.  This world is insanely small with the internet.  Hope you have a great week!  Keep me posted on Dad's job, I am pretty curious!

Hermana Withers

Uncle Alan

Dear Family,

I was really sad to hear about Uncle Alan's passing.  He was awesome.  But at least he isn't so sick all the time now. And I can't believe you people drove all the way to Idaho.  What a dream.  At least you had a bucket of bubble gum right? And snaps to Valerie for getting it on her glasses :)  When did you actually leave MN and get back to MN?  You drove like 3000 miles in less than a week?  Who are you people?  Super heroes, that's who!

Also before I forget, can you look up how to reset my iPod?  I can't get it blink out of it, and I think it just needs to be restarted.  I don't know what generation it is....but hopefully you remember what it looks like and there are pictures to help you figure out what instructions to give me....thank you so much!

So we live in a huge apartment.  With heating, nice kitchen, and a washer and dryer inside.  It is so awesome.

It is very humid....like super duper humid.  Every time you go outside, you'll get a nice whiff of what smells like an old shed or dumpy garage...because the muggy air just traps the smell of everything.  It gets especially bad when it rains, but usually it isn't too bad.

I live in America, and rumor has it that Loudoun county is currently the richest county in America (thank you loaded white people) but it feels like a foreign country...because no one is American in this little 1 mile area.  My companion and I joke that we are serving in the mini El Salvador, becuase that's where everyone is from, and I am willing to bet they are here illegally.  During our runs in the morning, we run past a few gas stations and there are always a few groups of man with a cooler who look like they are waiting to get picked up for some day job.  

Hispanic people value their job almost as much as they value their family, which is A LOT.  They are always praising God for their work.  And a lot of them work on Sunday, which means it is really hard to get people to Church.  We can get an investigator through all of the lessons, they can be living the Word of Wisdom and are willing to pay tithing....but getting people to church is so hard.  They all have family in El Salvador depending on them for money, and they are too afraid to quit their job to try and find another one because they don't know if they can get another one....and since most of them are illegal, they are just terrified of changing too much in their life that could introduce them to immigration services.  

So because I am living in the little El Salvador, the members serve us their food!  It isn't that bad, but I also don't know if I would ever voluntarily eat it.  We had one investigator who couldn't believe that I hadn't tried pupusas, which is the signature meal of El Salvador.  She invited us in to try some, and I learned that pupusas are cornmeal tortilla things, stuffed with beans and cheese or chicken, or whatever you want...fried, and then dipped in what they called salsa but it tasted like tomato soup to me.  And I actually didn't mind it.  Again, I am probably being blessed with an ability to accept and absorb all sorts of different cultures, so I am just fine.  The other thing that I have been served is...actually I have no idea what it is called.  But it is a sweetened type of milk, mixed with cooked rice and raisins.  Ha...describing it makes me realize how gross it sounds, and the texture was a little weird...but it just tasted like oatmeal.  I am grateful every day that I am able to eat this food.  I have eaten everything that has been served to me and have enjoyed eating it....such a blessing!

Something I have noticed about Virginia houses, is that most don't have overhead lighting!  They all use lamps.  Ha it's kind of weird, but it doesn't really matter.  It just takes forever to go around and turn on all the lights in our apartment.  

The biggest tool we have been using to get investigators is teaching English.  We take our flash cards everywhere we go, and sometimes people will ask us if we will teach them English.  We almost always say yes, unless we have an appointment, then we set up another appointment to start teaching them.  After we teach them the some basic words for a few minutes, we just have them start reading out of the Book of Mormon  in English.  What better way to learn English than with the words from the Lord.  He can help them.  It amazes me that people have been living here for 13-15 years and can't speak English.  Then when you think about it, it makes a little bit of sense.  They live in a Hispanic community, go to work with other Hispanics, and go to church with other Hispanics.  They know enough words to get around shopping and driving, and that's it.  And one of the members in our ward said that Congress is working on a law to provide illegal immigrants with a path towards citizenship, one part of which would require people to pass an English test?  Is this true?  Can you fill me in on this law a little more?  I know people are worried about it, because they keep asking for help with their English...I would just like to know.  To all of the adults I think we have become the English teachers, and to all of the kids we are the sticker girls.

It should be documented that teaching English is hilarious.  They mix up words like bird and beer, mouse and mouth, boot and boat, hen and hand, three and tree....and its pretty awesome.  After a little explaining they understand, but I do see where they are coming from.  A lot of our words sound a like.    

You might be pleased to know that I am in a walking area (and President is getting bikes for us!), but about 80% of missionaries will get in at least one car accident.  Because traffic is always so bad, drivers here are a little cray, and whoever designed the roads back in 1700 whatever did a good job making it confusing!  All the missionaries have a GPS, it's just hard to get around sometimes.

Popsicles are what's keepin it real and my life sane here in this Virginia summer.  I have one for lunch, and every time we come home at night.  It's awesome :)

On Saturday we were following up with a list of old investigator records that hadn't been worked with for several months, and their apartment/house numbers were impossible.  In your mind you know you are looking for number 58....so you're like "Okay, here's 52...we'll go around the corner, because we have to be close."  You get around the corner and it says 25...you keep going and you hit 26, 27...you think "what the..." and keep going.  We go back the way we came, thinking we made a wrong turn... go around the other corner and hit 132, 134, then it goes to 75, 78, 35, 36.  WHO ARRANGED THIS PLACE?!  It took us 3 1/2 hours of walking and wandering, but I would like it to be known to the world that we actually found all of the apartments.  Miracle actually.  

At church we are trying to teach the primary kids how to sing I am a Child of God in Spanish, so that they can all sing it in the Primary Program with the kids who go to our Spanish group.  The first Sunday it was a disaster, but this last Sunday they are getting much better!  The primary conductor lady had the words on paper...which was a good idea in theory, but the little kids can't quite read in English, so trying it in Spanish was rough.  The kids are smart though, so they are starting to pick it up just by memorizing it.  

On the first Sunday of every month, the english and spanish sisters meet together for Relief Society.  They normally have translators who can help the Spanish sisters...but they couldn't do it.....so that left my companion and I....little baby missionaries.  It was hard, and I tried my best to combine the sentences and thoughts together.  But the teacher was not cooperating!  She kept using crazy words like gristle, force shield, hip, and other words that were slightly relevant to the lesson but not really.  It took a lot of thinking to try and predict where she was going with the thought, translating that...doing our best to get the message and lesson across.  It was actually really cool.  I don't know how much the Spanish sisters got out of it, but I was able to see how much Spanish I do and don't know, so that was a good evaluation for me.  

On Wednesday, we had dinner in an absolute mansion.  We drove past the biggest houses I have ever seen in my whole life, and it was weird.  I am used to being in an area where the apartments and little houses smell like ramen and chicken nuggets, with second hand smoke lingering in the air.  The member was family was super super nice, and very kind to us...it was just weird to drive in a car for 20 minutes and be in a whole new world, different in every way from what I am currently living in.  

We see the same people over and over again because the area is so small, and sometimes kids ask us "How come you wear dresses all the time?"  "Because, we are representing Jesus Christ....and also it's dang HOT out here!"  We see the Elders a lot, wearing their white shirts and ties, slacks, and polished shoes....and it's easy to see we all stick out.  Everyone has at least seen us, been taught by us, learned English from us, or knows someone who has done one of the above.  It's awesome to have such a presence here, and I know the Lord is expecting great things from the people here.  

This last Sunday, the six missionaries in our district did a blitz...which is where we all attack one apartment complex at once.  We each take a building, knock all the doors, try to get as many referrals and new investigators as possible.  It was actually really fun!  You have to go through some intimidating white people to get to a few people who are genuinely interested, but it was a cool experience.

Yesterday for P-Day we got to go to the Washington DC temple!!!!! It was so awesome, and I had such a great experience.  We had a member take us, who just got home from her mission in February, and we met up with 4 other sister missionaries in our mission.  The DC temple is soooo pretty...it might be my new favorite one.  The steeples are super tall and it is just such a pretty temple.  I had already seen the new movie at the Provo temple before I came out here, but for some reason they played the old one.  I didn't mind because it was still really awesome.  The staircases were my favorite, with stained glass in the wall corners and beautiful fountains inside.  The paintings were huge and beautiful, and I loved being there.  Afterwards, we went to the distribution center and I got some mesh top garments and my life has never been better.  They are so much cooler to wear.  It was just a fun day, and a great, temporary escape from the stresses and demands of missionary work.  We coudln't email yesterday because all of the libraries were closed, but for some reason the temple was open so we went.  It was perfect.  

This week was great.  I thought a lot about you guys as you traveled to Idaho for the funeral.  I'm glad all went well and that you traveled safely.  And school has started???  How is it?  How is cross country?  And is Sam doing hockey?  Tell me everything!  

Mail wont be forwarded from the mission home to my apartment anymore, so you should send everything directly to me.  I know Chad can't get any mail, so I don't want to sound like a needy child.... but since I haven't left America yet can you send me mail?  I only get to email once a week, and was spoiled in the MTC to hear from you everyday.  I just want to hear from you.  I know its a two way street, so I will mail you back.  I just want to enjoy reliable mail while I still have it.

Thanks for all of your support.  I love you more than all of the crazy drivers and all of the big houses in Virginia,

Hermana Withers

Washingtine Neighbor

Dear Rebecca,

Hi, how are you?  I will try to cover all the interesting news.  Valerie and Lauren's cross country team took first place last Thursday.  Valerie is on varsity, and they moved Lauren up to varsity (8th grade kid).  They are both awesome.  We are hoping to go to the meet this Tuesday in Bagley (2 hours from here).  I think we will just take Sam out of school for the afternoon.  

Sara Hart got her mission call on Friday.  She is going to Columbia South Carolina.  She leaves Dec. 18, one week before Christmas.  

We had a bulletin for the International Falls Branch Sacrament Meeting today.  I did it, and decided to put missionary letters in from you and Chad.  There were a few people who shared that it was so special to read your letters.  You and Chad are so amazingly talented at writing and explaining spiritual things, that I hope your missionary influence will continue to be felt here as well as our ward in Idaho.  I will send you a copy of the program.  We had several visitors today, and it was nice to have a full chapel.

Guess what?  Valerie and Lauren said they missed the piano, and they wanted to go to the church just so they could play.  It was a wonderful moment for me that they finally want to play not because I am hounding them to practice.  I would like to rotate them into playing for church, but Sister Frarck really likes to play.  

Sam and Dad went to the mill yesterday as a scout to earn the paper and pulp merit badge.  His scoutmaster is retiring from the mill in a couple of weeks, so he took the scouts on a bigger tour and they got to actually make paper.  He is going to be among the few who have that merit badge in Idaho.  Dad said this might be the last time they do it around here because they are cutting back and aren't doing tours for the public next year.  We are lucky that we got to do it, and that you and Rebecca were here.  The missionaries also went on the tour yesterday.  They are so supportive of scouts and they go to all the scout meetings here.    

I know your computer time is short, so I will keep my thought for the day quick:  

Church News 9-1-13  "Instructors have an important role in helping the Spirit teach.  We want to teach people, not lessons."  -Russell T Osguthorpe

You are my favorite, you are an outstanding missionary.

I love you more than all the prayers I say for your success.

Te amo,

Madre

Hi Rebecca.  Things are going well here at the mill.  We have not intention of staying an hour past January 31.  Last week Sam prayed for all of the people in International Falls who don't know about a better place to live.  I think Mom filled you in on all of the latest news.  It's cooled off quite a bit in the past week.  We didn't even get about 60 degrees here today.  We pray for your safety and success every morning and night.  The branch is doing well.  Everyone asks about you and Chad.

I love you more than the number of sheets of paper made at the mill.

Padre

Ah, it sounds like you are both doing so well!  I love hearing about you guys.  And Valerie and Lauren are taking the Withers name and literally running with it for glory...sounds like they are quite the champions and and having fun meeting other people.  And Sam......oh dear Sam, I literally laughed out loud at the part where it said he prayed for the people in I. Falls who don't know a better place to live.  What a gem.  That kid is dang funny.  Has he been able to make friends at school?  Glad to hear that I. Falls and the mill are doing well but that you still have tickets out of there.  That town got really cool when you guys showed up, what's it going to do when you leave?  It will have nothing to brag about other than its awful weather.  Ha...funny place.  

I am getting ready to send you my letter and pictures, so brace for impact!

Love you both lots.

Almost half way through the transfer

Dear Family,

It's been a crazy week.  And by crazy, actually not that crazy, it's just that time goes by really fast.

We got bikes this week!  And, they weren't absolutely necessary...they just cut down our travel time to some apartment complexes.  A lady in the ward donated them...and they work okay.  One of the seats was falling apart, so she left us with some pink/green/black camouflage duct tape to keep it together, and it looks hilarious.  Fresh and unique, but a little trashy too (:  It's fun.

The humidity is a little crazy out here, but this least week has been amazing because it has cooled down and dried up a bit.  When its super hot and humid, our morning runs our slow going because its harder to breathe, and we come home soaked because its so hot, even at 6:30 in the morning.  It's crazy!

We had zone conference this week, and it was really cool.  My favorite thing that I learned was that benadryl is not for everyone.  There are all sorts of people in the world.  People with spiritual heart disease, bug bites, flu, ear infections, eating disorders, etc....and all of these things need to be treated....but these sicknesses can't all be cured by benadryl.  Benadryl might work for the bug bites, but that's about it.  We all have different spiritual needs, and likewise there are different things that will bring people to the gospel depending on their needs.  As missionaries I think we easily get caught into the trap of saying, "Hi I am (Dr.) Hermana Withers, and I am a representative of Christ... what are your symptoms?  Well I have this great medicine called Benadryl, and it has worked for so many other people, so I know it can help you with your bronchitis."  This trap is so easy to fall into, but I am learning that first assessing a person's needs will help a missionary determine what to say.  Everyone needs the gospel, because it is the all curing treatment, we just all need it in different ways for our different sicknesses.

I got my first mail since being here in Virginia this week!  I hadn't received anything, and then on Wednesday I got mail at Zone Conference that had been sent to the mission office (because they don't forward anymore) and then I got a letter from Mom and Lauren too.  It was sweet!  Thanks for mailing me!!!!  I promise to write you back too!

We had a cool thing happen this week.  We walk past the same apartments every day.  We see the same people all the time, and because we stand out as white Americans, everyone knows us.  So, we were walking past a house/apartment thing a few weeks ago (I don't really know how to explain them...they are kind of weird) and this guy was sitting on his porch.  He stands up, waves at us and in crazy fast Spanish says "Hey, I am a less active member, but I have an nephew serving in Ecuador, and I am from Guatemala but I am working here in America..." and he went on for a few minutes, but I could only actually pick up a little bit.  It's a miracle we have never seen him before, and that he was there when we walked past because he works all the time.  He asked us if we could find the address of his nephew's mission in Ecuador, so he can send him money for a camera...and we're like "Sure, if you let us come back and talk to you more, you have deal."  So we try to go back, and he wasn't there.  We go back the next Tuesday, and he was there again!  So we talked to him, explained how there were 5 major cities in Ecuador, any one of which could be his nephew's mission...so we had to say...sorry, we tried.  If you can get us more information, we can help out more.  Then we casually asked him how much he remembered of the story about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.  It was about8:30, so it was just barely dark, but the light from the porch illuminated enough of his face for me to see a trickle of tears fall down his face.  He explained how he has been living in America for three years trying to support his wife and kids who are still in Guatemala.  He is a young guy, but said he was baptized in Guatemala and just became inactive.  Since being in America, he has seen missionaries on bikes all the time, but none of them ever noticed him walking or stopped to talk to him.  With surprising determination in his eyes, and with a quivering strength in his voice, he said..." I know the story of Joseph Smith is true."  He quoted James 1:5 (which is amazing, no one ever remembers these details!)  He said he has been reading the Book of Mormon lately, and again with powerful strength in his voice he said, "I promise you guys I will be at church on Sunday."  He would bear more testimony, and then promise again.  He promised he would come to church 4 times.  And for the rest of the week, we were hoping he was doing alright and still able to come to church.  And yesterday, we walk into the room........AND HE WAS THERE.  He was in a white shirt, tie, slacks, and polished shoes.  He got a little weepy again, but he stayed for the whole meeting, sang all the hymns, and met some of the members.  We keep telling him its a miracle that we found him, because we feel like we pretty much know everyone here already....but the Lord crossed out paths and it is awesome.  We didn't do anything special that day, or offer any sort of miraculous prayer, we are just trying to be good girls following the missionary rules, and I can already see the blessings from this.  So cool.

This Friday, the Washington DC South and North are going to a Nationals game against the Phillies.  I don't know how in the world these presidents got permission from the Brehteren in Salt Lake, but we all have tickets and are all excited!  There should be about 500 of us there, so maybe you might get to see the missionaries on TV.  

Sorry this letter is a little bit shorter this week, I will write more and send pictures next week!

I love you all more than the number of people that say, "Soy Catolico/a"

Hermana Withers

P Day at the Temple

Dear Family,

I was really sad to hear about Uncle Alan's passing.  He was awesome.  But at least he isn't so sick all the time now. And I can't believe you people drove all the way to Idaho.  What a dream.  At least you had a bucket of bubble gum right?  And snaps to Valerie for getting it on her glasses :)  When did you actually leave MN and get back to MN?  You drove like 3000 miles in less than a week?  Who are you people?  Super heroes, that's who!  Crazy that he died so soon.  I was so sad to hear.  It's amazing that I found out when I did because I was with President.  For all of the new missionaries in this mission they have what is called Expectations meeting about a week into the mission.  So I was with President that morning.  He slipped out in the middle to take a phone call, taught us during the meeting, and at the end asked if he could talk to me.  I have a really good President and am so grateful to be here.

So we live in a huge apartment.  With heating, nice kitchen, and a washer and dryer inside.  It is so awesome.

It is very humid....like super duper humid.  Every time you go outside, you'll get a nice whiff of what smells like an old shed or dumpy garage...because the muggy air just traps the smell of everything.  It gets especially bad when it rains, but usually it isn't too bad.

I live in America, and rumor has it that Loudoun county is currently the richest county in America (thank you loaded white people) but it feels like a foreign country...because no one is American in this little 1 mile area.  My companion and I joke that we are serving in the mini El Salvador, because that's where everyone is from.  During our runs in the morning, we run past a few gas stations and there are always a few groups of men with a cooler who look like they are waiting to get picked up for a day job.  

Hispanic people value their job almost as much as they value their family, which is A LOT.  They are always praising God for their work.  And a lot of them work on Sunday, which means it is really hard to get people to Church.  We can get an investigator through all of the lessons, they can be living the Word of Wisdom and are willing to pay tithing....but getting people to church is so hard.  They all have family in El Salvador depending on them for money, and they are too afraid to quit their job to try and find another one because they don't know if they can get another one....and since most of them are illegal, they are just terrified of changing too much in their life that could introduce them to immigration services.  

So because I am living in the little El Salvador, the members serve us their food!  It isn't that bad, but I also don't know if I would ever voluntarily eat it.  We had one investigator who couldn't believe that I hadn't tried pupusas, which is the signature meal of El Salvador.  She invited us in to try some, and I learned that pupusas are cornmeal tortilla things, stuffed with beans and cheese or chicken, or whatever you want...fried, and then dipped in what they called salsa but it tasted like tomato soup to me.  And I actually didn't mind it.  Again, I am probably being blessed with an ability to accept and absorb all sorts of different cultures, so I am just fine.  The other thing that I have been served is...actually I have no idea what it is called.  But it is a sweetened type of milk, mixed with cooked rice and raisins.  Ha...describing it makes me realize how gross it sounds, and the texture was a little weird...but it just tasted like oatmeal.  I am grateful every day that I am able to eat this food.  I have eaten everything that has been served to me and have enjoyed eating it....such a blessing!

Something I have noticed about Virginia houses, is that most don't have overhead lighting!  They all use lamps.  Ha it's kind of weird, but it doesn't really matter.  It just takes forever to go around and turn on all the lights in our apartment.  

The biggest tool we have been using to get investigators is teaching English.  We take our flash cards everywhere we go, and sometimes people will ask us if we will teach them English.  We almost always say yes, unless we have an appointment, then we set up another appointment to start teaching them.  After we teach them the some basic words for a few minutes, we just have them start reading out of the Book of Mormon in English.  What better way to learn English than with the words from the Lord.  He can help them.  It amazes me that people have been living here for 13-15 years and can't speak English.  Then when you think about it, it makes a little bit of sense.  They live in a Hispanic community; go to work with other Hispanics, and go to church with other Hispanics.  They know enough words to get around shopping and driving, and that's it.  And one of the members in our ward said that Congress is working on a law to provide illegal immigrants with a path towards citizenship, one part of which would require people to pass an English test?  Is this true?  Can you fill me in on this law a little more?  I know people are worried about it, because they keep asking for help with their English...I would just like to know.  To all of the adults I think we have become the English teachers, and to all of the kids we are the sticker girls.

It should be documented that teaching English is hilarious.  They mix up words like bird and beer, mouse and mouth, boot and boat, hen and hand, three and tree....and its pretty awesome.  After a little explaining they understand, but I do see where they are coming from.  A lot of our words sound a like.    

You might be pleased to know that I am in a walking area (and President is getting bikes for us!), but about 80% of missionaries will get in at least one car accident.  Because traffic is always so bad, drivers here are a little crazy, and whoever designed the roads back in 1700 whatever did a good job making it confusing!  All the missionaries have a GPS, it's just hard to get around sometimes.

Popsicles are what's keepin it real and my life sane here in this Virginia summer.  I have one for lunch, and every time we come home at night.  It's awesome :)

On Saturday we were following up with a list of old investigator records that hadn't been worked with for several months, and their apartment/house numbers were impossible.  In your mind you know you are looking for number 58....so you're like "Okay, here's 52...we'll go around the corner, because we have to be close."  You get around the corner and it says 25...you keep going and you hit 26, 27...you think "what the..." and keep going.  We go back the way we came, thinking we made a wrong turn... go around the other corner and hit 132, 134, then it goes to 75, 78, 35, 36.  WHO ARRANGED THIS PLACE?!  It took us 3 1/2 hours of walking and wandering, but I would like it to be known to the world that we actually found all of the apartments.  Miracle actually.  

At church we are trying to teach the primary kids how to sing I am a Child of God in Spanish, so that they can all sing it in the Primary Program with the kids who go to our Spanish group.  The first Sunday it was a disaster, but this last Sunday they are getting much better!  The primary conductor had the words on paper...which was a good idea in theory, but the little kids can't quite read in English, so trying it in Spanish was rough.  The kids are smart though, so they are starting to pick it up just by memorizing it.  

On the first Sunday of every month, the English and Spanish sisters meet together for Relief Society.  They normally have translators who can help the Spanish sisters...but they couldn't do it.....so that left my companion and I....little baby missionaries.  It was hard, and I tried my best to combine the sentences and thoughts together.  But the teacher was not cooperating!  She kept using crazy words like gristle, force shield, hip, and other words that were slightly relevant to the lesson but not really.  It took a lot of thinking to try and predict where she was going with the thought, translating that...doing our best to get the message and lesson across.  It was actually really cool.  I don't know how much the Spanish sisters got out of it, but I was able to see how much Spanish I do and don't know, so that was a good evaluation for me.  

On Wednesday, we had dinner in an absolute mansion.  We drove past the biggest houses I have ever seen in my whole life, and it was weird.  I am used to being in an area where the apartments and little houses smell like ramen and chicken nuggets, with second hand smoke lingering in the air.  The member was family was super super nice, and very kind to us...it was just weird to drive in a car for 20 minutes and be in a whole new world, different in every way from what I am currently living in.  

We see the same people over and over again because the area is so small, and sometimes kids ask us "How come you wear dresses all the time?"  "Because, we are representing Jesus Christ....and also it's dang HOT out here!"  We see the Elders a lot, wearing their white shirts and ties, slacks, and polished shoes....and it's easy to see we all stick out.  Everyone has at least seen us, been taught by us, learned English from us, or knows someone who has done one of the above.  It's awesome to have such a presence here, and I know the Lord is expecting great things from the people here.  

This last Sunday, the six missionaries in our district did a blitz...which is where we all attack one apartment complex at once.  We each take a building, knock all the doors, try to get as many referrals and new investigators as possible.  It was actually really fun! You have to go through some intimidating white people to get to a few people who are genuinely interested, but it was a cool experience.

Yesterday for P-Day we got to go to the Washington DC temple!!!!! It was so awesome, and I had such a great experience.  We had a member take us, who just got home from her mission in February, and we met up with 4 other sister missionaries in our mission. The DC temple is soooo pretty...it might be my new favorite one.  The steeples are super tall and it is just such a pretty temple.  The staircases were my favorite, with stained glass in the wall corners and beautiful fountains inside.  The paintings were huge and beautiful, and I loved being there.  It was just a fun day, and a great, temporary escape from the stresses and demands of missionary work.  We couldn’t email yesterday because all of the libraries were closed, but for some reason the temple was open so we went.  It was perfect.  

This week was great.  I thought a lot about you guys as you traveled to Idaho for the funeral.  I'm glad all went well and that you traveled safely.  And school has started???  How is it?  How is cross country?  And is Sam doing hockey?  Tell me everything!  

Mail won’t be forwarded from the mission home to my apartment anymore, so you should send everything directly to me.  I know Chad can't get any mail, so I don't want to sound like a needy child.... but since I haven't left America yet can you send me mail?  I only get to email once a week, and was spoiled in the MTC to hear from you every day.  I just want to hear from you.  I know it’s a two-way street, so I will mail you back.  I just want to enjoy reliable mail while I still have it.

Thanks for all of your support.  I love you more than all of the crazy drivers and all of the big houses in Virginia,

Hermana Withers

Arrival in Washington DC South

Dear Family,

This week has been CRAZY!  I am serving in a little town about an hour outside of DC called Leesburg.  My companion and I are THE ONLY walking sister missionaries in this mission, and its because our area is a mile by a mile.  ITS TINY!  We live in a complex, and right across the street are all of the people we teach. 

Social classes exist here.  The white people are pretty much as loaded as they come and live in the biggest houses you'll ever see.  And everyone else is from El Salvador....and those are the people we teach!  My first day proselyting and meeting the members and investigators, the whole time I kept thinking "uh.....  I haven't even left America and I already can't understand anyone" but after a few days of hearing and speaking ONLY Spanish, I'm doing fine.

The El Salvadorians (?) live in these little apartment complexes with like 8 -12 people.  They all work in landscaping, maid services, at a restaurant, or day care services.  The lady that lives a floor above us runs a daycare sort of thing, and I am pretty sure she only agrees to take care of the kids who can lift heavy things....sometimes it sounds like the ceiling is going to cave!

So we walk everywhere...and by everywhere I mean we walk across the street from our apartment (which is actually super nice...more on this later) and to the other complexes.  We walk through one, and if no one is outside we move on...crossing the parking lot that connects to the next one, and if there is still no one, then we cross another street and arrive at yet another huge apartment complex.  The third one never disappoints, because its the biggest and also has a huge park type thing in the middle, with benches, a playground, and about 80,000 kids playing soccer and speeding around on their Dora and transformer bikes.  It should be documented - these kids are good at soccer.  They not only play like Latinos...they play with the playground (ha if that makes any sense.)  They pass through the bars and secret tunnels, kick over the slides and around the rocking horse things, and their accuracy is awesome.  They are all going to be famous one day. 

Because our area is so small, and we stand out as white, everyone knows us, has seen us, has been taught by us, or knows someone being taught by us.  A lot of kids ask for stickers and sometimes you will be meeting someone on a bench or something and some more people will come over and join the discussion, as if they are afraid to miss out on something. 

The surge of missionaries is real.  Just in this tiny little area, we have 4 missionaries, 2 hermanas and 2 elders, all Spanish speaking.  In the ward, just this one tiny little Potomac Crossing Ward, there are EIGHT MISSIONARIES.  Eight!  It's crazy.  There were never that many in just our Boise ward, and that ward is twice the size of this one.  It gets better.  The ward is English speaking, but all of our investigators and members speak mediocre English...so there is a little group of Spanish members who have their own sacrament meeting in the Relief Society room at the same time.  It is too small of a group to be a branch, but they all show up and support each other, so it’s awesome.  The goal is to make it big enough (not exactly sure what big enough is) by the end of the year.  In that Spanish group, there are 6 missionaries!  I don't know where they are all coming from, but there are tons of us.  The members love it, and everyone else in Leesburg gets to see us and have repeated visits and lessons from a lot of different missionaries - because we aren't going anywhere and there are more coming.  There is a lot to do and we have to find those people who are ready for the gospel but who have been slipping through the cracks.

The day I flew in, I arrived with 42 other missionaries fresh out of the MTC.  10 of us are visa waiters, and another 8 or so came from the Mexico MTC.  The president and his wife along with the assistants greeted us at the airport.  They all kept saying, you are the record!  42 is the largest number they have ever had come in on one transfer.  We completely overtook baggage claim, and it took a U-haul to transport all of the luggage.  President Riggs is incredible, and also very young (they have 3 kids still living with them at home).  We piled into two 14 passenger vans, and other random cars that came from somewhere, and began a tour of DC!  It was sweet.  Whoever designed the roadway system for DC is crazy, because it makes no sense.  There are random one way streets and every other intersection seemed to be a roundabout.  Sister Riggs was driving the car I was in.  President really wasn't kidding when he said, "I love you guys, but pray hard...she is a scary driver."  Ha, I thought I might not ever live to see the Lincoln Memorial. 

Once we finished gallavanting around DC for a few hours, we piled into our cars, began the trek home for dinner and then to the hotel.  There were 17 of us sisters, and the mission home couldn't hold us all for the night...so we went to the hotel!  It was cool.

The next day we spent training, and I met my companion Hermana Woodbury.  She has been in the field for 6 weeks...which means my trainer is young, but she is amazing and everything is going well.  She is super super awesome, but a little more shy and reserved than my last companion so that has been an adjustment.  We get along really well though.  

There is so much more I want to write and describe about this area, but there isn't enough time, so I will do my best over these next couple of weeks to be as descriptive as possible.  

  

I love you more than all of the Hispanics that live in one apartment,

Hermana Withers