Week Numero Dos

Another week has come and gone!!

This week has been full of a whole lot of finding and talking and teaching and learning and adjusting, but I have LOVED it! It truly is amazing to see just how much I have grown and learned in the two weeks that I have been in the field and I can't wait to see how much more I grow and change in the next 17 months!

My first p-day (last week) was spent cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. Pretty exciting, isn't it? We had an inspection which apparently only happens once a year and, lucky me, I got to be there to do it! But it actually felt nice because I knew that the place was well sanitized after we were through deep cleaning. And where I live is okay... disregarding the fact that there is mold all over the bathroom, which is pretty nasty. But, alas, I have survived. According to Sister Bader, there are worse places to live in the mission, so I guess I'll count it as a blessing haha.

Selfie break during a whole lot o' OYMing (Open Your Mouth, which is where you just talk to everyone you pass):

On Wednesday I had my first exchange, which means that I go with one of the sister training leaders for a day. Since I am so new, and would have totally gotten lost if I was left to navigate through Hayes, I got to go to Watford with Sister Micochova. She is from the Czech Republic and goes home pretty soon, but it was a great experience to learn from someone different, and she is an amazing missionary! I got to ride a bike, which I actually really enjoyed. But let me tell ya, riding a bike in a skirt is a challenge! Also riding in busy traffic is very stressful! But I have lived to tell the tale. At one point we were riding to the church on some path Sister Micochova had never taken, but it was the most BEAUTIFUL bike trail I have ever seen, so the soreness the next day was worth it.

The next day I went to my first zone meeting! It was really fun getting to meet so many different missionaries. They gave us a great training on consecrating ourselves fully to this work that we have been called to do. I am going to strive to give 110% to the Lord and be the BEST missionary I can be. Everyone in my zone is soooo much fun, I am constantly cracking up. After the meeting we all went to McDonald's together - that was the first time I've eaten {at McDonald's} in like 6 years, and when I ate, I remembered why hahahaha. Apparently Micky D's is the place to go as missionaries... I will survive.

Here is my zone. Such a photogenic group, aren't we?

Thursday night we had a sports night with some investigators and Elders Convey and Sowah (the elders in our ward), and if you know me, you know I am not the most coordinated person in the world haha. We started off playing something called chair football (soccer for all you Americans) and I pretty much just stood in the same place lol. Then we played volleyball, and I was in the ZONE. Everyone thought I was some amazing volleyball player, and I was just laughing because I am so, so bad. It was still so much fun.

This last Sunday was my first fast Sunday in the ward and we ended up starting our fast at 1pm on Saturday because our ward was having a munch and mingle after church. Let me tell ya, fasting and walking everywhere in the heat of the day is not the easiest thing, but I made it through and Sunday was a great day! We actually found 4 new investigators and a lot of potential investigators, so it really was a successful fast!

This is Kevin. He is a convert of about 3 years. He has to move back to China but he just submitted his mission papers!

Today Sister Bader and I are going to get some shopping done and then relax (aka nap), which I am super excited for hahaha. In a couple of weeks we will be going to the Harry Potter Studio where they filmed a bunch of the movies, so for all you Harry Potter fans - I'll be thinking of you!

Here are some random things you may want to know (or maybe you don't care, but here they are):

We walk or ride the bus and the tube EVERYWHERE, so no bikes or cars for me right now. I have come to the conclusion that double decker buses are a hazard to my health because when I'm on the top, I trip and almost fall to my death as I walk down the stairs. Every. Single. Time.

I still have not gotten used to looking the right way when I cross the street, so Sister Bader has had to stop me multiple times. I am grateful I have a companion who guards my life! I have just started looking both ways about 10 times to be REALLY sure that I won't get hit by a car.

There are spiders all over the place here. Apparently before I got here there was a spider as big as the palm of my hand in the flat, which is quite alarming. Also, there are bats that fly outside our windows all night. And there are flying ants. And a lot of bees. And pigeons. I am not a fan of the wildlife here, I admit.

Well, that's all of the random facts I can think of at the moment. Thank you for all the support and prayers! I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Love,
Sister Syddall