Fall

Dear Family,

         California has seasons!!!! I'm not sure if you've ever heard about them before...(being from AZ) but there is this one called "fall" when all the leaves change color and everything is GORGEOUS!!!! Seriously. I die. I loooooovvve the weather, the multi-colored leaves, and the fresh crisp air. It’s practically heaven. I never did like the heat all that much so I'm soaking it up while I can.

          Things with Sister Adamson and I are going well. We keep busy and always have a lot of fun. We continue to do exchanges. This week I served with Sister Threlkeld in Roseville and Sister Carter in Auburn. While I was in Auburn we got the chance to drive out into the sticks to go visit a man. He was baptized when he was 8 and has never been back to any kind of church since then. When we pulled up there were all these caution signs and road signs on his driveway. Sister Carter was a little wary if we should enter....but we had driven 10 miles to go out there so we got out of the car and walked up to the door. An old man answered the door; we asked for this man, and he responded, "Just a minute, I'll get him." We waited for quite some time and to make a long story short... about 5 more guys came to the door and said hi to us. (One at a time) Then we would hear whispers of "Girls! There are girls out there!" Haha. I was cracking up by the end of it. We met a quirky little guy who changed his shirt 5 times. We finally met the man we came to visit and he is the SWEETEST guy on the planet. He has hit some troubled patches in his life, and his seem to have lasted most of his life. I can't imagine having to deal with addictions and conflicts that some these people have had to manage. He moved out here away from the city to get away from some bad situations. We talked with him for a while and he even took us down to a pond where we fed GEESE! I know right? My life is so cool. He even invited us over for snacks or something whenever we want. He (and his 8 roommates) are going to try to cook us dinner next Wednesday! Haha. (Should be interesting...) I loved serving in Auburn and meeting some new people. Things in our area here in Loomis are slow. We have a lot of people we KNOW. But very few people we teach.

          This past Sunday was fast and testimony week. Sister Adamson and I both got up to bear our testimonies together. (This will probably be her last fast Sunday because transfers are in 2 weeks) Afterwards it was as if everyone knew. Sister Jibson from our ward approached us afterwards in tears and talked about how grateful she was to know us. She spoke about how blessed she's been to have the both of us here and how unfair it is how quickly we move on. She said something actually kind of odd. She talked about how happy she is that we (Sista Adamson & I) were able to meet each other. She told us she has never seen such unity in a companionship before. We were approached several times yesterday with sweet words and half-goodbyes.

          It’s hard with transfers because you don't find out until Monday and you have to leave Tuesday. That leaves absolutely NO time to see everyone and say goodbye. I hope I'm staying. You never know. I could pull an Adamson and be here for the first 9 months of my mission. There is so much left for me to do here. The work is slow, but the harder we work and the more faith we have, I know that we will see miracles happen! This gospel is such a blessing in my life. Sometimes I struggle. I mean...we look crazy walking around, talking about Jesus Christ when other people are worried about car payments, soccer practice, and college classes. But I wouldn't be out here if I didn't know this message can help you through all of that. It can help you through and ease your burden in ANYTHING you face. I'm grateful for you guys and for all you do for me. Congrats on the job Alicia! Your such a grown up. I hope that this email finds you all healthy and happy and all that good stuff.

Love,

Sista Mitchell