Dear Family,
Thank you for your e-mails this week, I am going to admit that I do miss home. But then again I was the one that wanted to come back out here and finish what I started. I am serving up in the Gaylord (said Gaylerd) and Grayling areas. We spend part of the week at our apartment here in Gaylord and the rest of the week living with the Sweatfields down in Grayling. The branch building is close to our apartment up here though, it is tiny.
My companion is Sister Miner, she is from Alaska, loves to swim and spend time with her family. She loves to talk, laugh, and have fun. These past few weeks have been really hard on her with her companion going home after only a week in a new area, so we are basically white washed since they weren't able to spend time working in the area with the other sister needing interviews and to leave asap... There are 8 sisters in this mission, including me, the ones I have meet are all under 5'6" so I feel right at home in the mission. I am co-seniors with Sister Miner wich is fun since we both are not quite sure what this area needs or what there really is for us here, but President Jones has promised both of us that there is a reason that we are together and in this area it is up to us to find out what.
I have a feeling that someday I am going to be very grateful for this change in missionary perspective, I started in a mission field that was white and very ready to be harvested, we rarely were rejected on the first visit, we could teach 20 lessons a day and 70 lessons a week. We had baptisms often and rejoiced with the many other missionaries that we served with. Here we are few and far between as missionaries and members. I was told this week that this is the lowest baptizing mission in the US and that our mission standards look at what our daily goals did in the Philippines. I went from one of the top 5 to the lowest, what a change it has been. We have been out tracting this week and I have been told "NO" so many times, doors slam, we are ignored, no one waves, its cold, we walk through snow, every appointment but one has canceled or not been home when we came to visit. I am struggling to make the transition, it feels like such a shock from what I have been used to doing.
I did get to the mission just fine, I sat next to a lady who works at the MTC on the way to Detroit, with a guy that graduated from Viewmont and BYU sitting behind us. It was a set a fun conversations. I was glad that I took my backpack with my spirit braid on it, that was fun. The Detroit airport was awesome, someday I am taking you all to the tunnel of randomness and music, talk about weird, yet cool. After the plane got in I walked down the stairs and there was President and Sister Jones, the AP's with a big Michigan Lansing Mission sign and 3 sister missionaries. We got pictures, they picked up my luggage (the Elders were surprised and commented that "wow you packed light") happiness :) Then we went to dinner...that was not too fun, needless to say I had a water and a plain baked potato...after that we went to the mission home to drop the other sisters off at their car and to show us around. They also gave me a can of oats, almonds, apples, bananas, and some clementines, very appreciated by me these past few days. Then we took the drive up to Gaylord, it started to snow a lot, the roads were covered, being a missionary and having your mission president drive in snow somehow makes it less scary. We did watch the car in front of us spin wildly out of control do a 360 and end in the ditch. That was not fun to watch. Well we got home, I unpacked, we planned, our District leader called (turns out I met him in the MTC) and we finally went to bed.
It snowed most of Wednesday, so I am ever so grateful that I brought my boots. Thursday we had interviews with President Jones. He promised me that we would work out a release date close to my last one, he had not been told that I was expecting to go home before next spring. I am glad I brought it up. I also get to study Tagalog 30 min a day, he told me that I should teach Sister Miner some. I wasn't sure if he was half kidding about that or not, but I guess not since Sister Miner after her interview has been trying to learn some Tagalog words daily. I taught her some of the basics, kumusta, maganda, salamat. I miss teaching and tracting in it, yet it was hard but now English just sounds so awkward and bulky it doesn't flow as Tagalog once did.
We drive a 2010 Malibu, and yes thank heavens we have a GPS system which has saved us many times. I can't imagine trying to figure these roads without it. President did say that I could drive, but the senior sisters in the office said that I will need to wait 6 weeks first. Fine by me, I really don't have a desire to drive.
I am feeling well, a little tired and dazed but I was so grateful that I could spend my year mark in the field that was a hard enough day serving in a different mission. I am glad that I didn't have to try that one at home. I am hoping April 30th the day of the Jubilee we can find something to keep us super busy because my heart still grieves at the thought of missing it.
We write hand written letters to President, also a plus, more time to think about it, we don't have to squeeze family e-mails between quickly typed letters to the President.
I know that the Church is true, I know that everything we go through it for a reason. There are things that happen to us that make no sense, still don't but somewhere, someday they will make sense and we will be grateful that we were blessed with them. I am just trusting that there is a purpose for me up here, and that as long as I do my best and love the Lord things will work out.
Mahal ko po kayo!!
Sister Rebecca Jensen
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