Good morning!!
So yes, I am back in the same apartment but not the same ward. I am
in the Byrd Springs Ward, which is right next to the Weatherly Ward. So I have
seen tons of people who I recognize, and they are amazed that I can remember
them haha. It has been so good to be back here and remember streets and the
people who live in the houses. And yeah, Elder Yogoh loves to hear some Swahili
every once in a while. He is a great guy and we get along great. He’s 25 and
from Kenya. No complaints so far. He is my third black companion in a row!
Looky there. And that is sweet that Sister Sokolowski added you on facebook. I
really liked them, and while I was there her husband died two times. So it was
a miracle that he was even able to make it to church.
And how horrible was my talent show video? I never even got to see
it haha. On our last exchange I got chased by dogs out in the country, and I
had a lady come to the door with a rifle until she noticed we were church folk,
and put it away. She said she had never had missionaries out there before. Pretty
cool to think that I was the first missionary she had ever met ;)
I have not received any line of authority cards you ordered yet.
Probably today, though. I miss tri-tip so much! I haven’t had it since I left
home. And Caesar salad. They don’t even eat that out here, for reals. So I’m
looking forward to food when I get home.
You gave away the s’more maker??? What’s up with that! ? I love that
thing! And how long is Becka going to be living with her parents? That doesn’t
sound like too much fun. But that is good that her husband is getting closer
and closer to finishing his internship.
And the Relief Society is already doing my Christmas package??
Goodness gracious, that is early haha. And I’ve only had one companion around
Christmas time, and he didn’t get as much love as I did, that’s for sure. We
will have to see if I am still with Elder Yogoh for this Christmas! And
seriously, all I want for Christmas is clothes. All my pants are holey and so
are my g's haha. And all my white shirts are stained and more grey than white.
Been around the block and through the mud with those things on. My shoes and
socks are still alright. Just pants, shirts, and g's. :) So, that will be my
Christmas present haha. That is all I need for reals.
Jackie is cutting your hair tomorrow? Does Bennett's mom ever ask
you what happened to you coming and seeing her? Haha and how is Jackie doing at
the hair stuff? Still good?? I hope so! And I am so glad I am not forgotten by
anyone. It is always good to get some love or even a shout out :) haha. Let
them know that I am doing amazing and enjoying being in Huntsville. I feel at
home with all of these engineers around here, and my zone goes into Tennessee
and Georgia, so I am excited to go to all 4 states my mission has to offer!
Woot! Also that is sweet that Estefan got some air time on ABC during the
BYU/Oregon State game! Lauren is falling right behind me in the famous category
on ABC ... couple weeks too slow ;) sucker.
And I am already reacquainted with Huntsville, and the ward already
loves us here. Our bishop, Bishop Swenson works for Northrop Grumman! We got
dinners for days out here and they are willing to work with us. So we just need
to find some people to teach. Nothing happens until we have people to teach. :)
And the hills out here are called "mountains," so needless to say
they are bigger hills but not near as many as Birmingham. No big deal for me.
Elder Yogoh came from Tuscaloosa though, so they are pretty big for him.
It’s all good though, we are having a great time and have seen a
bunch of miracles since coming here. Good stuff! One cool one I can share with
y’all right quick. So we were going around getting to know the members, and
pulled out our GPS. We typed in the name of a member and went to see her. But
the GPS took us into the Weatherly ward boundaries, and I recognized the street
we were on, and I remembered a less-active member who lived on that street. So
we went to see the address the GPS was taking us too and it wasn’t the member
we were looking for. We looked on the roster and it wasn’t even close to the
address the GPS took us to. So we decided we needed to see the less active
member. and he comes to the door and says, "Six missionaries in one day??!
Man!" So he lets us in and tells us the Weatherly elders and the senior
couple, Elder and Sister Smith had come by earlier in the day. He didn’t
remember me, but I remembered like everything about him and I only saw him once
when I was here 15 months ago. And since we were in his home, we wanted to
share a lesson with him. We hadn’t planned anything, but 2nd Nephi chapter 4
popped in my head, so we read that with him. After we finished he was like,
"Now I know that there is a God..." and I was like what??? Haha. He
said that he was depressed and thinking about killing himself that day, and the
first missionaries showed up and cheered him up. Then the started feeling bad
again, he didn’t have any food, his son wasn’t living with him anymore, all
this stuff and thought about killing himself again, and then we showed up. He
said he now knows that God will take care of him and he said, “I never really
knew that God would use his servants to help people until now”. It was a
cool thing to be a part of, and he said that scripture we read was exactly what
he needed to hear to get himself positive and over the hump. It was humbling
for sure but amazing. Elder Yogoh and I have had a couple experiences like that
lately. It has been crazy! Good crazy though haha.
But yeah, so I am excited about being a missionary and seeing how
the Holy Ghost really can guide you to those who need to hear our message. And I
see how important it is to read the scriptures daily, and make sure you pray.
You can weaken very quickly and all it takes to get you back up there is to do
what the Lord asks of us. So make sure you are reading everyday and praying!!!
Don’t make me come home and get y’all going haha. Church is true!
Deuces,
Elder Oppenlander....ps I love y’all, have a great week!
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