Transferred!

Greetings from....

Galveston Island!

 

That's right, I've been transferred down to Galveston Island.  And it is great!  I love being down here!  It is so different than being in Houston, or even the Houston suburbs.  The whole place is dripping with history.  Which is reallyl cool.  Plus, I get a more "southern" feel.  Houston is a relatively new city, it really started to grow once air conditioning became affordable for everyone.  So even the poor neighborhoods didn't feel that poor or even that old.  But Galveston on the other hand is totally an old little city.  I guess I'm about as far away from the mission office as the missionaries get.  So you should totally send stuff to me here, instead of at the office.  

 

My companion is Hna. Worthen.  She's from Centerville, she's the third of four girls.  And we get along really well.  We hit it off right away.  And Galveston is a bike area.  We don't even have a car.  So we ride around everywhere.  But that is the best way to do it.  We split the island with the elders, and the area of the English sisters is about the same as ours.  So we have a car that we share to use for things like going to church, shopping, and heading up to the mission office for things like zone conferences and stuff.  Sometimes I even forget that we are on an island.  We do a lot of our work in the "middle" of the island, so we don't see the ocean that much.  But that's ok.  There is definitely an island feel to everything.  People just live their lives at a slower pace than they do in Houston.  Plus, we see all sorts of people riding around on bikes too.  It's fun to ride along side them and talk about the gospel.  

 

There is just a little Spanish branch here, so they share with the English ward.  And they combine for things like primary and youth activities.  So our meetings are backwards.  We start with Sunday School and then Relief Society and Priesthood, and then have Sacrament meeting.  It's the smallest branch I've worked in.  

 

The last week of school must be fun! And crazy!  I don't really want to think about what summer is going to do to our missionary work.  There will be so many tourists here.  But last week was crazy, especially since we had to help with transfers!  Hna. Alsup and I were asked to go "running."  It's where they take the new missionaries, direct from the airport, and give them a chance to do some street contacting.  I had the privilege of being assigned to work with the sister from Spain.  Which was fun for both of us.  Especially since we played the "do you know" game.  And she had quite a few friends that I served with in Madrid.  So it was really fun to make those connections, for both of us!  

 

We still go running in the mornings. I've found that unless you get a companion who is a die hard runner, the both of you have to talk yourselves into it.  

 

I bet you all had a lot of fun up at Tyler's house.  And I would love to see some pictures!  (I will send you some next week for sure!)

 

And it sounds like you are all having a lot of fun playing games!  I loved the engagements that you sent!  They are so cute!

 

Before I forget I should probably give you my address:

2216 Ave. O (that's an O as in Oreo!)  Apt #3 

Galveston, TX  77550

 

It sound's like it's been a crazy week in Russia!  But conferences and stuff like that are always fun.  And we as missionaries always love going to them.   Last week, it kinda hit me what it must be like to have to plan the conferences.  We just always show up, and everything is just there and taken care of.   We stopped by the office a few times last week, and we had to help accommodate the new missionaries for their first night here, so I got a little glimpse of all that goes on.  I'm glad that we as missionaries don't have to worry about it.  

 

More!!!

I forgot a few things that I wanted to tell you!

Like the cool contacts of the week!

Last week, (so my last week in Houston)  we went to the park to do some contacting, and talked to a guy who is going to be a four time Olympic athlete.  He's getting ready to head to London!  I believe he does Tae Kwan Do.  He had some really good questions about the church, and we had a good little conversation with him.

 

And then just the other day, here in Galveston, we talked to the flag man of Galveston.  Apparently, from what I could put together, he carries an American Flag across the country without money.  He's just got the faith that other people will take care of him. 

 

Ok, so I really think that that is all for today!

Love you lots!

Amber