Arriving in Ashland!

FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY!!!

I’M HERE NOW! Boy Am I all over the place! After we got in and put with our trainer we left Eugene at about 7-8ish and drove for 3 hours until we got into

ASHLAND! Long drive.

I said goodbye to my sisters from the MTC and that was surprisingly hard. I love those girls. Some are in Salem (which is being split next transfer. I won’t see those girls until after the mission) and some went to the coast. I LOVE Eugene! It was SOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL! Ashland is so so. I SMELLED MY FIRST MARIJUANA! It was . . . interesting. I still think it was skunk, but my trainer swears by it. 

My trainer is AWESOME! Her name is Sister Clove and she is from Enterprise UT. She is really good at piano and singing, and is a very hard worker. She’s very serious all the time so I do my best to push her buttons. We get along REALLY well. I figured this out last night when she told me she prayed for a companion that would be her friend. I told her I prayed for a companion that would kick my butt. We both win. 

I placed my first book of Mormon on the airplane over! To an African lady named Luul. She was Buddhist and VERY interested the Church. She is in Sister Framptions area (my MTC companion) so I gave the info to her. All the sisters were SUPER impressed I placed one. She was really great. EVERYONE HERE IS CRAZY!! I met a lady who’s first and middle name is Apple Candy. Really. We were tracting and we came to a drive way and I could smell Cat urine (say it like Rache does) INSTANTLY. we knocked on the door and talked with this old lady who rescued and owns 51 cats!!! Good thing she is rich and owns a big house. I tried my hardest to get  a return appointment. I WANNA SEE ALL THOSE CATS! Everyone here owns a pet, it’s just a given.

The ward I am serving in has 750 but only 225 come. We have A LOT of work cut out for us. Our boundaries are Ashland and Talent (for those of you who would like to google.). I am my trainers 3rd child, and two days ago when we were training (I was just being myself) she said “I don’t think I have had as much fun in the last 6 months as I have today” That made me really happy, even though I was thinking “Girl, just you wait until I get my finger paints out!” AH! the members feed us almost EVERY night! I LOVE IT! First night we had homemade lasagna and it was AMAZING! Everyone was amazed that I am from Utah and I have never had homemade lasagna. Weird. I do my best to eat good. I have a banana and oatmeal for breakfast, salad or chips and salsa for lunch, and as many veggies as I can get for dinner.

 

Everyone makes fun of me for being home school. I love it. First thing President Young said in our interview after I told him was home schooled was, “But you’re not shy at all! You sure you were home schooled?” Thanks President. My companion said THE SAME THING that night.  I’m glad I represent well. President Young is an AMAZING man. I love him, he is SO inspired.

 Last week I had my first mini break down. It was a good learning experience, I learned that I’m not as magnificent a teacher as I thought I was. I need to teach with meaning now. But I am doing my best to improve and I was fine in an hour or so. On Thursday I introduced myself to someone as Jill. Then I slapped my face. Ouch. Then I said I was Sister Orr.  My companion won’t let me live it down. But that’s okay, because she ran over a cat last week and I won’t let her live that down. Every time we talk with strangers I ALWAYS find a way to say, “Oh! Sister Clove here just LOVES cats.”

Weird things I am getting used to – Talking to EVERYONE on speaker phone and answering “Hi, this is Sister Orr and Sister Clove” (I keep saying Ove and Clorr. oops).

Leftover MTC stories – I met THE FIRST Vietnamese Sister missionary!! OH MY LANTA! SOOOOOO COOL! They haven’t opened the mission, but since she is Vietnamese she is going over.She isn’t allowed to wear her tag, so I’m not really sure what she will be doing, but SHE IS THE FIRST SISTER TO GO!! YAY HER! I got a picture with her because she is a super hero.

Well, more stories to come as I serve God’s hippies. LOVE IT!

Sister Orr IIP.S. I just read over my letter again, and I realized I use a lot of exclamation marks and I say LOVE IT a lot. he he he. Sorry for all you grammar nuts at home, BUT MY MISSION ROCKS!