From HeMETH to Murder Valley

Yup. You read that right. They call it Murder Valley. Comforting, right? :)

Actually I love Moreno Valley! So far it has been good. I really am safe, don't worry :)

So I got to Moreno Valley last week … at 9 pm. Haha, so packing took way longer than I thought....... I have a lot of stuff. So I'm thinking Kimi and Jay will have to pick some of it up (including my bike!) at the mission office before I leave? That way I don't have to pay to ship it all home! But yeah I got here way late, and totally crashed when I layed down. Long day!

So my companion is Sister Staker. She is 24 from Pinedale, Wyoming. She has been out for 10 months! She is done with school and she is a vet technician ... And she is deaf! She was born deaf so she has never heard on her own in her life. Super crazy. They found out she was deaf when she was 15 months old, got hearing aids and then when she was 8 she got a Cochlear Implant so she has that and a hearing aid now. So it's actually pretty amazing! She can hear but still has a hard time with it. I am learning to talk while looking at her, enunciate my words better, and have a lot of patience since I repeat everything. A lot. The first night after we had said our prayers and gotten into bed, I said, "goodnight!" and got nothing back. Hahaha I realized she takes her hearing stuff off at night so she literally hears nothing. So I kinda laughed to myself since I didn't know. So now I know to say goodnight before we turn the lights off :) So this will be interesting! But she is really cool, really funny and she likes to prank too :) So we get along really well, which is an answer to prayer!

This area is really good. I realized I hate transfers because every time you go to a new area, people ask the usual questions. Where ya from, how long have you been out.. all that. So I say "I'm from Bountiful, Utah and I have been out for  14 months." I get the same reaction every time! "Oh of course you're from Utah and WOW you're almost done!" How depressing. It hurts my heart to know that my mission is coming to an end! I mean yeah I'm excited to see all ya'll but I'm in love with California and the crazy weirdos that live here. I have gotten to that point on my mission where I can honestly say that I love being a missionary and that I don't want to go home! Especially because people keep telling us about what is happening in the Middle East and all the nasty stuff that the world has to offer. And I just sit back and realize that I am in this little la la land where I feel the Spirit all the time and love reading my scriptures and want to study all day long and laugh and smile when people reject me every day. Like who does that!? Not me, especially in my pre-life! So that is one of the many witnesses that I have totally changed since being on a mission. That and because a sister l live with asked me for organizing advice....... (right? I was shocked too.) And maybe because one of the biggest reasons I am excited to come home is so I don't have a time limit to my personal study..... :) But regarding all this change that has happened within me, I love it! I know that I have changed and still am changing into the person that Heavenly Father intended me to be. It's a good feeling to know that I am doing what He wants me to do in order to be the person that He needs me to be. I am happier than ever and am loving this life I am living!

Anyways! This area has a lot of potential. We have some investigators right now, Irma and Isaac. We are trying to find more people but we have a lot of potential investigators so that is exciting. We had a lesson this week with a referral from some elders. She invited us in and was really excited we were there and said she would come to church and all that, so of course we got real excited and taught her the Restoration. Then she had all these questions and was sayin' all this weird stuff.... And then she said she was going to stick to her own church. But we are pretty sure she has no idea what we even said cause she was either drunk or high. Or both. Hahaha.

Well I am excited to be here and to be with Sister Staker, even if singing with her in the morning for comp study is completely horrendous haha. She's great. You are all great! I love you all! Oh yeah, SEND ME LETTERS! I'm feelin no love! Sheesh.

22895 Climbing Rose #204

Moreno Valley, California

92555 ( I think that's the zip code anyway...)

Okay have a great week!

Sister Anderson :)