So I was assigned to the city of Paris in the Gilmer zone of the mission. It was hard saying goodbye at the airport but I never expected it to be easy. Everything was just super nerve-wracking but it turned out to be okay. In Texas, everyone got picked up and we went to the church in Allen and did a lot of training and a few games. Then that night 14 of us new guys went to the elder’s apartment in Allen. It was not very fun having 18 guys in one small apartment…
Before we went to the apartment we all went to a park and they gave us pamphlets to hand out and said “get to work”. It was super weird to jump straight into everything. A few guys definitely cussed us out but it was just funny and didn’t bother me. The next day we went back to the church to meet our companions.
I was assigned with Elder Brubaker as my companion and we live in an apartment with Elder Siggard and Elder Thompson. They have Paris north and we have Paris south. It’s a bilingual area so it’s mostly English but a few neighborhoods speak Spanish. So it’s kind of a bummer not being able to speak very much Spanish but it’s okay cause it stressed me out thinking about it.
Elder Siggard is a tall big guy but has the softest personality. When I first met him and all 4 of us talked for a bit he grabbed me and hugged me and said “I love you already” haha. He’s just like a big teddy bear and his personality is the best. He’s so funny to be around. Elder Thompson is pretty cool and we have quite a bit in common. At 9:00 when we get back to the apartment, it’s so fun because we all mess around and it’s so funny.
When they picked me up they took me to Caines because I’d never had it before. It was good but way over hyped. And then Bucky’s. It was the biggest gas station I’ve ever seen and it was pretty cool.
Spiritual moment: We were out street contacting and we saw this lady outside. She seemed kinda rough around the edges but I felt like she needed to talk to us. It turns out that Sue had been raised a member but was “the black sheep of the family.” And regrets a lot of her past choices. We talked with her and was really emotional. Then Elder Brubaker asked me to share a scripture and I just randomly picked one in Mosiah chapter 4. I was looking for a certain scripture but I couldn’t remember it, but then I saw verse 3 and I felt so inspired to share it with her. It was so cool and she was getting super emotional and I felt the spirit so strongly. Afterward, we said a prayer and I felt prompted to tell her that God loves her so much and she started crying again and it was just a really cool experience.
Sorry this has been a long email and I have so much more I wanna say but I’m excited for next week! It’s been fun meeting the new elders and spending time w everyone but I also don’t wanna make it seem like everything is perfect and amazing. I won’t go into detail but I really hope it gets easier from here. It can be pretty lonely at times but I have faith that I was sent here for a reason and need to be here for the people of Paris.
