It was so sad saying goodbye to Grand Rapids. Bro Merrick invited us over on Monday evening to have his smoked pork loin. It was yummos. I love that family so much, so many people I will miss.
Tuesday was transfer day which was rough since I wasn't feeling well. This was the first day in Grand Rapids where it snowed and it came down there. The transfer van was almost 2 hours late so I didn't get to Battle Creek until around 7. My companion is Elder Rushton Shaw. He is from St. George, he is an introvert, an intellectual, and he's really athletic. He is almost the complete opposite, but we get along well. He has been out for around 3 months.
Right when I arrived in the Battle Creek apartment I was disappointed. This place was so gross. I don't know why I get stuck getting transferred to places like this. Elder Shaw and I spent the next three hours deep cleaning and unpacking everything. By the end of the night, it was a completely different place. We threw out upwards to 7 trash bags of crap. No wonder I'm being transferred to every zone in the mission, I'm the mission's magic lady!
This area is very unique. There are just so many good members, but it's strange. It just fits the Michigan culture so well. You will never meet these type of people anywhere else. Also, when you are walking around Battle Creek aka Cereal City (since it's where Keloggs was created) you smell sugar. It has a good smell. I literally love it, but then the smell of weed kicks in which is unfortunate. The sad part of this area is that you can't really be out past dark since there are a lot of sketchy areas here. We are stuck here doing a lot of areabook and Facebook at our place and the church.
Thursday through Saturday there was a snowstorm and it came down! It was estimated that about 12-16 inches of snow came. It was sweet. I literally forgot what it was like to have snow, it's been too long. The snow literally welcomed me to Battle Creek. The thing I don't like about it is the freezing wind that just smacks you in the face. The big weather jacket and boots came out and they aren't being put away until April. Every night I begin throwing on my pajama pants right when it hits 9pm and it even gets cold enough in our apartment where I can sleep with them on. I was hesitant at first, but I am not invested in it.
The work here is incredible. Almost every day is planned out for you since there are just so many people to teach it's insane. We have one person on date for baptism who is Maria Armstead. She's so amazing. She is in her 40s and she is giving up everything for the Lord. She struggles with coffee, drinking, cigarettes, Marijuana, and she lives with a dude. She is giving it ALL away for the Lord. Isn't that crazy to think about. This is because of the truthfulness of the message of the restoration. As Maria put it,"I don't want to go anywhere else unless it's the Church of Jesus Christ."
Emergency transfer happened this week within the district. A sister who was in her training had to go home due to medical reasons which was so sad since she wanted to be out here so bad. It makes me reflect on how lucky I am. The sister that got moved in to replace her is Sister Richins! I was so hype since Sister Richins was one of the sisters I worked closely with when we were a part of the Grand Rapids leadership. The Battle Creek district isn't that big at all. It is a total of three companionships including ourselves. It's us, the Battle Creek sisters, and the Marshal elders. Marshal is a town about 15 minutes from here. Close knit district.
The snow kept coming all weekend and they ended up canceling church :((. I was excited to meet a handful of the members, but that'll have to wait until after Thanksgiving. HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE. It is always tougher around the holidays since everyone is home and you get more homesick, but it's the last holiday season until I'm home.
I love you all! I'm not sure how Preparation days here look, but it'll be a good one. Reach out, love to chat:)).
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