Sister Picard at Nauvoo: October 12, 2009 I love my new mission!!!!!!!

Dear Family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok- first on the list is… MY MISSION IS THE SWEETEST MISSION EVER INVENTED IN THE WHOLE WORLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not even joking, Heavenly Father sure did know what He was doing when He sent me here. This place ROCKS! I just love it. I love everything about it. My companion is great. We live with the Spanish sisters who are great. I am in a branch right now. Our area is pretty big. They hadn’t had sisters for awhile so the area just opened back up right before I got here. Sister Child (my companion) just got here like 3 weeks before I did. So, we are still really trying to get everything started here. But it’s AWESOME!!!!!!!!! Being here is like being in another country. There are literally people from all over! Our branch and the two Spanish branches that make up our district (like a stake) had a big activity on Saturday night called International Fest or something like that. There were over 40 countries represented just by the members of those three branches. Definitely Colombia was the best represented. Throughout the night someone would randomly just start yelling “Colombia!!!!!!!!!!!!” then they’d all start cheering and yelling. It was fun. They had food from all over too. Some of the Elders brought pb&j’s from America. NiceJ The work here is sweet. Since we’ve only been here a little while, we’ve been doing a LOT of knocking just trying to find people. It’s actually a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I know that God is helping me to like talking to people, because we all know that it is not one of my most favorite things in the world to do. Maybe it is just because I’m talking about something that is so SWEET! We had a really good lesson with this woman named Linda on Saturday. We knocked into her. She let us right in (crazy I knowJ ) and then we just started telling her the first lesson. Let me just tell you I was SO grateful for my experiences in Nauvoo. I have literally spent all summer gaining a testimony of Joseph Smith, and I was able to share that with her. When we said the First Vision she started to cry and say it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever heard. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! We got out of the door and Sister Child was just like, “Sister, that doesn’t ever happen.” Well! I just love it. I love being on a mission. There is just so much I want to tell you and not even enough time! Well- I guess you’ll just have to write me and maybe I can write a letter back. PS- We only get mail here once a week! Crazy. So sorry if I start becoming a lame writer. Please keep sending me e-mails or whatever though. Yes. Missions are AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh ps- so I totally was a big girl all by myself when I was flying out here. And my flight got delayed 3 hours so then I went and found another flight that left earlier. I was the LAST standby they let on. But- I didn’t have a cell phone or anything to call my new Mission President- heck I didn’t even know his name. But I found a number and used an airport employees phone and called and told him I was still planning on getting there by hook or by crook ( I have no idea why that expression just came into my mindJ) and just left a message at his house. Then I got on the plane and hoped that somehow someone would eventually pick me up. Then I got to Newark and no one was there and my luggage didn’t come. AAAHAHAHHAHAA. But they eventually got there and I found them and eventually also retrieved my luggage. And that’s all that isJ I LOVEYOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Be good. Be missionaries. Do work. And oh goodness are you blessed to have the gospel in your lives! Make sure you appreciate it!