Missionary
work is the BEST!! My last week in the MTC was amazing! Because my
Companion and I were the STLs, we got to work with the Zone
Leaders to train the two new Districts that came into the MTC!
It was so fun to greet them and give them a tour of the MTC, and then
to do a few hours of orientation with them. It was amazing to see how
much my companion and I, and our Zone Leaders have grown in just a
week! We have been able to learn so much, grow so richly in the
gospel, and increase our faith in Jesus Christ so that we can now
train these new missionaries to do the same. I loved the experience.
At
our last TRC appointment we taught a couple, Lois and Gerald, who had
never met with missionaries before. Before we began the lesson they
hinted to us that they were real investigators. After getting
to know this couple and learning about their family and their lives,
we began addressing some questions and concerns that they had. This
led us to the restoration and the Book of Mormon. As we told them
about the first vision, and the two personages that Joseph saw, Lois
kept muttering, "that makes sense." They were amazed to
learn that we believe that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are
three separate beings, and they loved that principle! It was amazing
to see how they had been prepared to hear our message and how it
"made sense" to them as they recognized the message that is
not new to them. I love missionary work!
The
days prior to leaving the MTC, I could not contain my excitement for
missionary work! I was so ready to leave the MTC and to get into the
mission field! I know that I still have so much to learn, but I trust
that as I have faith the Lord will stand by my side and help me in
every moment. I am not nervous for any steps or for any upcoming
trials, I know they will come and I am prepared to face them with the
help of the Lord, I am so excited!
We
had to get up at 1:45 am to get to our bus on time, which
dropped us off in front of the Salt Lake Airport. We got our bags
checked and then waited for our flight to take off. It was an amazing
sight to be surrounded by literally hundreds of missionaries who were
making their way through the airport to their respective gates as
they all prepared to enter the mission field. There were 21
missionaries who flew to West Virginia, the 12 members of our
District, and 11 others. We were a big group! We made a connection in
Detroit, and as all 21 of us walked through the Detroit airport we
could hear passing groups of people whispering, "Those are the
Mormon Missionaries." I have never been so proud to be
wearing my name tag! I love standing out as a representative of
Jesus Christ!
When
we arrived in Charleston I was blown away by the beauty of it! The
Appalachian mountains roll on and on forever! They are carpeted in a
thick, dense, lush layer of trees! The hills are very very steep, but
not too high. There are so many mountains, and they are so close
together, that the city has to literally cut off the top of a
mountain to build any large building, like the airport! I will not
see a sunset for the next 18 months because when you are in town,
(all the towns are build between mountains) you can't see the sky
unless you look straight up! It is amazingly beautiful here, I love
how green it is! Everywhere!
Our
plane landed, and all 21 of us mobbed President and Sister Pitt! They
were there to greet us and help us get our luggage. The AP's greeted
us at the airport as well and helped us commute to the mission
home. That night the Pitt's housed ALL OF US except 3 of the Sisters,
who stayed with the Charleston Sister missionaries. The remaining 18
of us stayed at the Pitt's and occupied every available bed or floor
space. Meals were absolutely chaotic, but the Pitt's were so
gracious. I have come to love them so much.
We
arrived in Charleston on Tuesday afternoon, June 4th,
and Wednesday was completely devoted to more in-field
training with the APs. Thursday was transfer day; we were
assigned an area and a trainer. I was assigned to the Pikeville,
Kentucky area! My trainer is Sister Ostler, she just completed her
training! She has been in the mission field for 12 weeks! President
told me that as soon as I was done training, I would begin training
as well! So in 11 weeks I will be a trainer; the bar has truly been
raised! President likes to say, "Babies are training babies."
It is true! The Lord really does trust us!
Sister
Ostler is a wonderful trainer! We are very similar, and I love it! We
study and work and teach the same! We work hard, and we are exactly
obedient, we are diligent and prayerful in all that we do, and we
make it fun! We laugh all the time. When we work and teach together
we are bold and confident in our message.
Pikeville
is a very small town of 6,000 people, and it is squashed among all
the mountains! It is absolutely beautiful here, I love everything
about it! Our Branch consists of 25-30 active members, many of whom
leave town frequently. When members leave town, the missionaries are
often asked last minute to teach their lessons or give their talks,
so we are very involved and active with the branch! It is great. My
first Sunday here we taught gospel doctrine, and next
Sunday I am speaking in Sacrament meeting. Sister Ostler and I
are always prepared to teach something!
This
area is a very difficult area for the church, it is very weak here.
Pikeville is considered the "Belt Buckle" of the Bible
Belt, so people are very rooted in their family church or religion.
It can be difficult in such a weak Branch where the gospel is not
very strong because the doctrine can easily be altered without anyone
realizing it! As missionaries we often to correct members of the
Branch Presidency or other church leaders when they start preaching
false doctrine from the pulpit! Fast Sundays are a little scary, but
they keep us on our toes! It can be pretty funny at times.
The
people here are hilarious; literally everyone is a Hill-Billy! I love
talking to people because I love sharing the gospel, but also because
they are so entertaining to talk with! There is never a dull moment
in Pikeville! There is a town in West Virginia called Buena
Vista (a Spanish name). Say it out loud please, "Buena
Vista".... That's not how you say it here! It is pronounced
Byuna V-i-sta... I am pretty sure it is impossible to get more
Southern than that! The people get offended if you pronounce it the
"Spanish" way - I love it! I literally feel like I am in
a foreign country: the climate is different (I love the
humidity!!) the trees are different, the culture is VERY different,
but I love it!
This
area is incredibly poverty stricken though, the people are very poor.
Education is rare, and many people have not worked for years. Their
attitude is very interesting though; they either don't realize that
they are living in poverty, or they are perfectly content with it.
Their living status doesn't exactly humble them like missionaries
would like, they are simply content. We will ask questions like, "Do
you ever wonder if there is a purpose to life?" Most of the time
the response is, "... uhhh, no." Great. We will work with
that. Yesterday we talked to a man who just said, "Y'all don't
need to preach to me! I am goin' to heaven with flyin' colors!"
It can be difficult to talk to people sometimes haha, but they are
funny and they are very optimistic! I am falling in love with these
people!
(First apartment and car!)
I
drove through my first Holler yesterday!! It was quite an experience,
I have honestly never seen anything quite like it! I thought I knew
what a true Hill-Billy was... then I drove through a Holler... NOW I
can honestly say I have seen a TRUE Hill-Billy! What a sight....
The
church is not very strong here, but my testimony of faith has
grown incredibly since I began working with the people in
Pikeville! It is not too difficult to find new investigators, but it
is extremely difficult to help people understand the importance
of progressing and keeping commitments. We work so hard every
single day, talk to everyone we see, obey with exactness, follow
up, and exercise strong faith, but our investigators do not
progress. It is challenging, but we have seen blessings as
a result of our diligence!
Last
week Sister Ostler felt prompted to take our spare apartment key
out of our house and give it to a ward member to hold onto for us. On
Saturday we locked our house key (with the car key) inside the
house. Luckily we had the phone with us! So we were able to call
the Smiths, who had our spare key, and ask them to drop it off. We
had been on our way to the Library to do some research on LDS.org,
and we had a dinner appointment and a lesson that night. As we waited
for the Smiths to stop by, we decided to tract a street near ours. At
the first house we approached, an elderly man and woman were
sitting on their porch smoking, staring at the mountain in front
of them (that is what everyone does here). We talked with them
for a long time about their family, and the elderly woman told
us about some struggles she was having with her family. We
testified of the importance of our message and the joy and peace that
we know it could bring to her family. We gave her a card with
our phone number and promised to stop by again. Two potential
investigators.
By
the time we finally got our key and were able to drive the car, we
were an hour behind schedule. As we drove by the park on our way to
the library, we saw one of our less active members sitting at a
picnic table with a friend of hers. We quickly found a parking spot
and made our way toward her. She was excited to see us, and she
introduced us to her friend, Don. They invited us to sit with them,
and she immediately began telling Don who we are and what we do. Then
she said, "Don, do you want to learn more? They can teach you
right now! Sisters, do you wanna teach Don right now?" I almost
laughed because I was so excited!
For
over an hour we read from the Book of Mormon and got to know Don. He
was excited to learn about missionaries and what we do, and he was
interested in our message. We committed him to read a chapter in the
Book of Mormon, prayed with him, and set up a return appointment. The
less active woman came to church the next day. If Sister Ostler and I
had not been an hour behind schedule, we may not have been able to
teach them. Another potential investigator.
After
our dinner appointment, our lesson was canceled. We needed some
anti-itch cream for Sister Ostler's garden of bug bites, so we ran to
WalMart. As we were walking down the aisle, we saw a woman pushing a
shopping cart, and pulling another. She had a car seat and a baby in
one, and a toddler in the other. We stopped to talk with her, and she
began telling us about her baby who died last year. He was only 3
months old. She was very open about her life and her trials. We
talked about her family, her loss, and our message for nearly 45
minutes in WalMart. She is excited to meet with us again. Another
potential investigator. But if our appointment had not been canceled,
we would not have run into her. The Lord carefully watches our path
and the paths of others. He strategically places us so that we will
meet the people who are prepared to hear our message. I know that
because we had faith and were diligent and obedient, the Lord helped
us to exceed our goals for the day. He is in charge and He is aware
of us!
Every
day I receive a witness that this is exactly where I am supposed to
be. I love the people here so much. It is an amazing experience to
knock on someone's door, or walk up to someone in the park or on a
street corner, and feel a sincere love for them, even though we have
never spoken before. Missionary work is amazing. I love the study
time we have each day, and I love working hard every day to bring
people, even Hill-Billies, closer to Jesus Christ. What a blessing to
be a part of this generation of missionaries. This work is
remarkable, and it will continue to go forth until it has penetrated
every continent. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!
Love,
Sister
Shumway
