"...is that a tan line... or a dirt line?"

This week has been really good!!!

I don't even know where to start. I don't remember if i told ya'll if today was P-day or not. We have a zone mtg in Abeline tomorrow alll day lonnng so they moved our p-day to today.

Our investigator turnover is really high here. We have come to the conclusion it is because we work with students. Flakey students.

They love to set up appointments and forget to be home when we show up. hmmm..... BUT! We have a few people that are REALLY progressing. It makes the work so much more exciting when we have people to teach who are keeping commitments and actually WANT to know.

I told you about that guy that always has long lists of questions when we meet with him. We will give him a chapter or two to read and then by the time we return, he has read more than expected. Last week he read the assigned 2 Nephi 7 ANND the book of Moroni. And studied some of the Doctrine and Covenants online. And Doctrines of Salvation. Whoa nelly. It's amazing how much time he spends studying. We used to answer all of his questions in our lessons, but lately we have tried answering them with an assignment. Between reading that and praying, he figures out his the answers on his OWN! it's amazing. His faith in Jesus Christ was already so firm which has helped us teach. Ultimately, we don't want those we teach to have a testimony in US but rather in the Lord. They can only figure that out through "ponder, ask, receive" revelation; not "ask missionaries, get answer" revelation. :) The other day Sister T wrote up a study guide for him on a topic he was curious about. After she made an apologetic comment about her handwriting, he looked at it and mumbled "I feel like Joseph Smith trying to translate...." It was. SO. FUNNY. Not what we would have expected from him. It's been fun to teach him.

Our 4th of July was good! Sister Tall and I started out the day with a 6:30 a.m. bake off. hahaha. We make tons of cookies and cupcakes to bring to various people and activities for the day. Needless to say, half way through the day we were dragging due to our balanced frosting and cookie dough breakfast. Sugar buzz. Bad idea. We volunteered at the stake pancake breakfast, visited and taught people all morning; went to a branch activity in the afternoon and taught until 6:30. Missionaries have an early curfew on holidays, so we played games with the elders until 8:30. Fed them the desserts we made. They were pretty happy about it. I could hear fireworks from my bed! And we even sang a few patriotic hymns.... I wore a red shirt. so....... not exciting, but different from the normal missionary routine.

Yesterday I had a "this is why i am a missionary" moment that was altering. We went to track down a former investigator but she wasn't home. On our way back to our car, i saw a lady smoking on her doorstep in the same apartment complex. I hate the smell of smoke so I breathed shallow and kept walking. As I was fixed on the idea of getting to our car I had the thought "Turn around. You need to talk to her." come to my head TWICE. yeah.... twice. I hesitated. First of all, i could feel her watching us and i knew i would look like an idiot stopping in my tracks and making a 180* to talk to her. Buuuut, alas. I am a missionary. Who should have NO SHAME! So I turned around and walked up to her, shook her hand and introduced myself as Sister Orr. I didn't even get as far as telling her we were missionaries when SHE started asking questions about the weather, the neighbors, where we were from and before I knew it, we were in a deep conversation about her past drug addictions, custody battles, deaths in the family and everything she had struggled with.

She told us about how in jail she had nothing better to do than read the Bible. "I had no excuse! I had to read it." The transformation she had through reading the word of God was ....amazing. "I started to change. And other inmates started coming to ME for answers and when I talked to them i could feel truth coming out of me." "My cravings and desires started to melt away. I even stopped cussin'!!!!" We were able to tell her a little bit about the spirit and how the study of doctrine changes behavior better than the study of behavior changes behavior. (i think it was Elder Scott that said that in conference once?) The spirit she had while telling us about how she found Jesus was magnetic. We could have talked to her for hours; we talked and talked and talked about.... everything. Because of the word, she has her kids back, has a job and her own apartment. That crazy chapter of her life is CLOSED.

We asked her if she has ever heard of the Book of Mormon.

Apparently sister missionaries years ago tried to teach her about it but she was rude and told them off. "Afterwards, I said to myself, THAT was the devil in you! And i have felt horrible ever since!!" Naturally, we handed her one and gave her a challenge to read it everyday. I told her she already KNOWS what it feels like to read God's words and to put this book to the test. She was EXCITED!! I never would have thought. "You girls are great. This is EXACTLY what I needed today." That feeling I had while walking away KNOWING it was the spirit that had prompted me to turn around was enthralling. I could barely stay in my own skin, i was so happy.

There is so much I miss about home. I miss family events, dating, music, sleeping in, my passat, hilarious roommates, jeans, dancing and everything else. But that FEELING makes up for ALL the sacrifices. Its pure joy that i had never felt on that level before. It pales in comparison to any other satisfaction.

Its still hotter than hot here. The buzzards are out more than the norm. Sometimes on the front lawns in neighborhoods. I wish i had something funny to write. But I don't. heh. Transfers are next week. I don't think they will move either of us but am still nervous just the same. I am not ready to be pried from my trainer-mom!!! BAH! We'll see how it goes. p-day will be back on Thursday.

gotta bolt.

keep on keepin' on!

Sister Orr

Hello Again!

Hello again. This is Sister Orr reporting from the hottest place on earth....

This week has been... humbling. I feel like I have dropped the ball a lot. But I'm learning from it! So i guess it's not all in vain.

We have a plethora of summer sales guys in our branch temporarily. A bunch are from home, going to BYU. It was cool to talk UTAH.

I was talking to the wife of one and accidentally introduced myself as Rachel instead of Sister Orr. It was actually.... really embarrassing. Not because it's a secret or anything, but because when I did all of the security guys started laughing and calling me Rachel really loud in the lobby at church. It ticks me off when they get so humorous that they forget that we are missionaries. BLAH! They ought to know better, most of them served missions.

The downside to working with younger branches is that they do get too friendly sometimes and forget our purpose. There's a fine line, I guess. Though the benefits do make up for that silly stuff. We have 9 members of our branch that are preparing to serve missions!! Its been really fun to rotate and take them all teaching with us. First of all, they are really good fellowship for investigators and also we can give them assignments. hahaha. And they DO THEM! One sister we use frequently is getting ready to send in her papers pretty soon here. She comes with us all the time and always has great insights. I feel bad sometimes that we take so much of her time, but remind myself that she will probably be blessed with the same when she serves.

There are no secrets or shame in Texas. Sister T and I will often find ourselves parked in front of homes trying to plan or figure out where we are. I guess it's normal for people here to walk out, seconds after we have parked, and knock on our windows wanting to know what we want. hahahahaha. It's..... odd. Last week it was almost daily that that happened. Like I said in other letters, people seem to be comfortable talking about religion here. Even to two strangers knocking on their door. It's been interesting. We'll ask about their background and regularly ask what role prayer has played in their lives. People pray here and I love hearing all about it.

When we ask what kind of stuff they include in their prayers, a common reply is that they "just thank God for letting me wake up to another day" or "thank the Lord for granting me another breath." Their replies direct my thoughts to the small things. We are told not to sweat the small things, but how often do we thank God for them? Gratitude is amazing. Sister T and I have gratitude journals that we write a few things in every morning. Mine is full of things like "moccasins to wear in the a.m., bug spray, a dishwasher, investigators who already love Jesus, avocados, hidden treats in our car, vegan cake mixes...." Elder Eyring once gave a speech about recognizing the hand of the Lord in your life daily and mentioned that HE had a gratitude journal. Try it out!!!! It's one of those small things that can, over time, change your thoughts and very nature.

We have been meeting with some realllllly cool people lately. One guy even has lists of questions for us before we get there!! Those visits are by far my favorite. I don't answer a whole lot of them, but Sister Tall is on top of it. She knows. so. much. its INSANITY!!!!! But it gives me more direction in what to study in the morning. Yesterday, we were talking about original sin with him. (the idea that because of Adam, we are all born into sin.) I have always believed the opposite, but have never been too eloquent in explaining it. Simple testimony of it. We were having a hard time teaching it, when a thought came to my mind that I had never heard nor considered before: If all man is born into sin, then the very Son of God, who was born of a mortal mother, would have been born into sin because Christ's mother was human. We know that Jesus was perfect from the get-go, so that must not be so. I threw in that thought, just not as verbose. I don't know if it meant anything, helped, or changed his perspective, but I KNOW that that thought was not mine. It was faith building. I cannot imagine sharing the gospel without the spirit to guide our words. We are excited to go teach him again. He's so.... curious. And not threatening. It's awesome.

Take 4th of July pictures!!!! Its my favorite holiday!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will miss you all on the day. We will be doing something for Canada day, though. Oh the life of a half-breed....

almost out of time!

I melted my curling iron cord the other day with... itself. Hahahah. Its alright, though. Takes too much time in the morning anyways.

We have geckos that crawl up our windows at night!

Dad!! I saw you the other day. But you painted your car and grew a mustache.

Quote of the week, "SISTER ORR!!! With your gold tooth collection and my barbie collection, we could sell out and GO TO MEXICO!!!!!"

peace out girl scouts

Sister Rachel

Olah Fam

First things first. West Texas has been in a draught for who knows how long and most things here are browning or dead. Plant-wise.

All over town there are church, restaurant and gas station signs that say things like "PRAY FOR RAIN" and "RAIN PRAYER SERVICE HELD ON...." Wards and branches have been fasting for the wet stuff as well. Tuesday, the skies were full of ominous looking clouds and the wind was picking up. We've had this several times, so I (....unfaithfully, now that I think about it) didn't get my hopes up for a change in weather. Boy was I in the wrong.

By 7 pm, we were in the BIGGEST most DAUNTING

and TERRIFFIC storm I have ever experienced!!!!!!! There isn't much here in the ways of gutters so the roads were flooding. Sister T and I were at a branch activity. Just from running to our car out of the church we were drenched. Without mountains here we were able to witness the magnitude of this storm. The skies weren't still for longer than 5 seconds at a time; either HUGE bolts of lighting or foundation shaking thunder encompassed our drive home. I am sitting here in the library trying to find words to describe this..... I'm not exaggerating at all. When people tell you about how majestic the storms are in Texas, they tell no lie. I loved it.

Sister Tall was in a fit on our drive home because of the driving conditions and I was in hysterics loving every bit of it. Picked up the mail on the way home, and underestimated how deep the water was just out of the car. Stepping on my toes didn't save my feet from being engulfed in 6 inches of water. We have a tin roof over our carport next to our bedroom, and all night long we could hear the rain pounding on it. I will send pictures. We got some good ones. :)

This week last week has been most eventful. We set 2 baptism dates just yesterday! Our good appointments have turned into amazing spiritual teaching experiences and our bad appointments have turned into.... Hiroshima. We have been meeting with a man who we came across while looking at some old teaching records. We have record of him meeting with the missionaries back in '07, again in '09, and with different ones in the beginning of '10. So, naturally, sister tall and i decided we should pay him a visit. Since then, 2 weeks ago, we were able to meet with him 3 times and set a baptism date.

Apparently his biggest hold up was that he didn't like additional scripture (the book of Mormon) on top of The Bible. We get that a lot here. What was amazing, and i KNOW it was Divine intervention, is that a few days prior to teaching him about that, I got a letter from Dad in the mail where he explained how that is something that I may come across. And how when the Bibles mentions not adding anything onto His word (sorry for the paraphrase, i don't have my scripts with me), it means interpretation wise. Don't shoot beyond the mark. Exact obedience.

A lot of Christians interpret it to mean that no

additional scriptures after that was written. Funny thing, it says that in the Old Testament. If that were the correct interpretation, it would mean that the Book of Mormon ANNND the New Testament weren't valid because it was an addition. I hope I expressed that in a way that you all understand. I was able to explain to Jimmy and to pray about it. He's been reading all of the chapters we assign him and he's preparing to get dunked on July 16th! YAAY! SO excited.

I taught false doctrine yesterday. That went over really well.... Sometimes when I get so excited to teach (like a little kid), i scramble and replace words. Important words. I was teaching a man at his door about the Godhead and kept saying "When the scriptures say One God, they mean that Christ and our Heavenly Father are in one person..." instead of one PURPOSE. One purpose. separate persons. Sister Tall's eyes got HUGE and she stepped in to correct me. Both times. All times. It happened more than once. Snap. I didn't even think anything of it when he kept agreeing with me....

We went to go visit another investigator and ran into one of his buddies with a puppy instead. We taught him in the front yard as this lil pooch ran around sniffing things. I love dogs, but sometimes they are so distracting. This dog started to sniff a dead baby bird in the gutter and in order to let his owner focus on what sister T was sharing, I took care of it. RIGHT before i picked the dog up he SNARFED the WHOLE BIRRRD!!! I don't know how long it had been there but the stench was raaank. Its a good thing that my companion was talking because I got the gags and was trying not to lose my lunch. Super Nast. Hopefully we will teach this guy again soon... but without his overly curious carnivore of a pet. gag.

Thankfully we don't have cockroaches in our apartment, but unfortunately we have ants. And when i say ANTS I don't mean little black things that tickle your feet when they crawl on you. These little beasts are red and vindictive, out to pinch you right when your feeling the spirit. I don't get attacked too often but poor sister tall is pretty much ant food. When we are teaching outside, we move around a lot in order to keep them from crawling up our legs and attacking. A few days ago, i was sitting on the floor in our study doing some research for a lesson and in the corner of my eye i saw something on the carpet moving. When i focused, I was disgusted to find TONS of ants crawling over what resembled a fallen piece of my breakfast on the carpet. Out of instinct, i grabbed the "Ant/Roach Dead on Contact Spray" and unleashed anger for their whole species (sounds so un-missionary like, but its better that a whole slew of them suffer than have my legs peppered with their bites). They died on contact and i went back to my studies. Later than evening, i grabbed the vacuum to clean up the crime scene only to find them all GONE! Sister T claimed she hadn't vacuumed. Sooo.... the only conclusion we have come to is that A) they carry off their own dead or B) they have been resurrected. My thoughts? Gross on both parts. If they are smart enough to carry off their dead, they are smart enough to create simple stratagem against us. If they have been resurrected, than i have to deal with them for eternity. Can't win for losing. Be grateful that Utah ants are so..... benign.

In lil Mexico, dogs AND chickens take themselves for walks. Its really quite entertaining. They don't like to be messed with, though. This had been the week of dogs. They are so distracting and in some cases... scary. There have been times where it takes us 10 minutes to get to a door because we are trying to interpret a mutts body language. Luckily we have the spirit, and MACE! Dog treats is on the shopping list. After more ant spray.

Dad!! I made Thai coconut curry on Tuesday without a recipe! Enough to feed the branch sisters (about 15?). Everyone loved it. It was vegan, so zero meat. But it was still really good. I threw some minced jalapenos in with the onions and it gave it a nice kick.You ought to try it. Squash is in season, so members from the other Branch like to give it to the missionaries.

My studies have been getting really good lately.

Its fun to have a full hour in the morning to study on my own and then another hour to study with sister tall. We have study journals, so right now i am taking one principle a day from Preach My Gospel and doing an hour study on just that topic. Its really cool to see how my study journal (3 ring binder full of notes) is getting bigger. In august they are giving us an additional hour to study with our companions. so 2 hours! so cool.

Well, out of time. I love you all!!! thank you for your letters, prayers, pictures etc.

Will someone call Brandon to repentance? He hasn't written me ONCE! And i wrote him almost every week of his mission. i wanna know how his little family is doing.

I've been praying for mom and dad and their youth conference extravaganza. Let me know how it goes!!!

sister orr

I belong to the church of Jesus Christo of latter day Santos...!!

This week has been a good one.

Sista T and I are still rocking Snang (snan-j. like San Ange but less syllables). According to the Walgreen's sign, yesterday was 114 degrees outside. It felt pretty close to that. Living in an oven.

We have been knocking a lot of doors and I am still trying to learn everything at an accelerated pace. Sister Tall has given me more weight to pull in teaching, and as of yesterday she is training me to teach by doing all of the talking at our door approaches. It's hard, but it helps me learn faster to be thrown in the fire. She is a rad teacher, so naturally it's a completely different experience when I am solo. I pretty much bomb it. Not always, but enough. ahahhahaha. The best thing i can compare it to is learning how to swim. When things start to go south she thinks to herself "I'll let her swallow a little bit more water... then jump in." Luckily she does before things get too confusing. Poor investigators. Once again, i feel like the salvation of others is being sacrificed at the expense of my learning experiences. But all in all, its comforting to know that even if I bomb it, the spirit can still testify. Faith?

We've had some cool door conversations and first appointments, but lately its been hard to get a second appointment. They'll be set up but we'll get no-showed or they will cancel. Not sure why. We need to trouble shoot and figure out what we can work on better. Followups? perhaps? We are still finding investigators (gators, we call 'em) regularly.

I am finally fluent in the language!!!!! Heh. People here love to say "I'm fixin' to...." It cracks me up. Perfectly normal for Texas. I may need help when I get home learning how to speak again.

We don't feel so lost in the city anymore. Getting a grip on where things are. I look forward to the day when my mission feels like LIFE rather than a lonnnng trip to Texas. Time will flow better when my mind is always on the mission. I do love it here, but we are definitely foreigners.

Last week, sister tall and i were knocking when we met a guy Stan. We talked a little bit, then i asked him what role religion played in his life. He shut me down faaast. For the first time, i was told that it was none of my beeswax. Which i totally understand, but it was different. Texans love to talk about God and religion! Then we found out he wasn't from Texas. Crazy. Never be afraid to talk about God, k? Within reason, naturally. It shouldn't be something you keep to yourself.

Saw lots of new critters this week!! Saw my first possum, a cardinal, and some HUGE vultures (eating squirrels at the end of our street. Sister Tall couldn't quite focus on them and thought they were chickens. hahaha.) And I am up to catching 5 flies with my hands. I always wash them afterwards, no worries.

Dad, they have delivery steak here. No joke. Like the pizza man in his pizza car, but STEAK. I forget what its called but it's catchy. I laughed and thought of you. Are you all going to have a BBQ for fathers day?? I am craving madre's potato salad with dad's grilled chicken. (love the ribs too, but chicken is the fave. kind of a purist.) Take pictures for me if you do? How is miss Jenni and my soon-to-be niece? Did Brandon and J get to see that picture i mailed? of the balloons?

We had dinner last night with the Spanish speaking elders in a Hispanic family's home. It was really cool. They spoke English about half the time, but we could kind of pick out words when they spoke. I am bound and determined to pick this language up. I am still working on reading the SP BofM. Whats really cool is they have 6 kids. One of them, Dillon, is adopted and is white as the rest of us. But he speaks fluent English, Spanish AND french. (french from school) Smart kid. They made real Mexican fajitas that were to die for. Their salsa and pico were amazing. When Sister T and i sing hymns in the morning, we will replace words here and there with spanish words. Wakes things up a little.

Three days a week we go play volleyball at the church at 6 am with the Elders. We are reallly bad.... and the elders are really good. But we bring treats and they let us serve multiple times, so its a good trade. We have really good elders in our area.

So a dog peed on Sister Tall's foot the other week. Apparently it happens often. She compared herself to a walking fire hydrant? hahaha. Sister Doxy (sp?) of the General RS board told us in the MTC that when you have the light of Christ with you you not only attract people but sometimes animals too. needless to say, Sister T fits the description. :)

Some of you have been wanting to know more about my comp. She's a 5'0'' blondie from Sacramento, vegetarian, loves water sports and is super smart. She and i get along really well. She's super social and loves to teach. Lots of energy.... like a cricket. or Tinkerbell, if you will. heh. There is nothing boring about her, and is excited for the work allll the tiiiiime. I pray everyday that God will continue to bless her with patience for me and my flukes. its working so far. Some days i feel so.... green. But I'm lucky to have a trainer that's aware of that. :)

I got the letters from the ward!!! It was so fun to hear from so many people. I loved it :)

Anyways, i love you guys. sorry the letter is so short and .... stuff.

Quote of the week, "I don't care if we are Mormon or not, we are getting SEALED!!!"

Sister Orr

p.s. no joke. saw a squirrel the size of a cat. it was insanity.

I want to be a mercenary now...

Olah Familia!!!

This is my one week mark for being here in San Ang. It's been eventful. Throughout the week i have been writing little notes on post-its so i could remember the things i wanted to write home about. Forgive me if it seems fragmented.

The animals here are different. I saw my first armadillo, but it was dead. I wonder if they are fast critters? Reminds me of an over sized potato bug. This one was bigger than Jill's armadillo mandolin! There are squirrels everywhere!!! Sometimes it requires self discipline to focus on the investigator at the door instead of the squirrels in the yard. In the heat, it can be hard to focus - period. It's been around 100 degrees for days! But oddly enough, i really don't mind it. The wind blows all day which keeps us sweaty missionaries cool. I caught a fly with my bare hands yesterday and though of Grandpa Orr. Skills.

There are two different kinds of people here- those who drink the water and those who purify it for themselves AND their pets. It's pretty bad. Does someone want to be an Erin Brockovich and google who poisoned the water hole? I'm super curious. The sacrament water had the consistency of clear milk. But it's holy still, right?

We have been assigned to a student/young married/military base branch. The turnover is high, seeing as most of the military personnel is only stationed here for 4 months at a time and students at ASU come and go regularly. I actually ran into an old friend from my old avenues ward in SLC! Mark Streeter (military stationed) who married a buddy of mine Leana. It was weird to see a Utah face all the way down here! Super cool. There aren't too many members in the branch, but it really is a great one. The branch president is absolutely amazing. He really goes out on a limb to help the members and the missionaries. I feel as if the members loved Sis. Tall and I even before we got here! We have an extensive list of people who want to come teach with and feed us. They are already so missionary minded.

There is something special about majority of the people I've met here while knocking on doors. They'll talk all about their trials but always make it very clear that they aren't angry with God, ex's, or others. I've met less than a handful of people who are actually angry or bitter because of their situation, whatever it may be. We see more sorrow and despair, apathy and denial than bitterness and resentment. It's as if they aren't as quick to lash out and get offended. It's such a blessing to them and us as missionaries, because they are more teachable that way. Anger and pride are some of Satan's greatest tools to keep us from having the ability to learn by the spirit.

I have never said so many prayers in all my life, of course, I have never seen the Lord's hand so frequently in all my life either. At home I could thrive without the spirit but as missionaries we can't teach, let alone function properly without that unseen support system. Every night we make a plan for the next day who we want to teach and visit. Funny thing, we rarely get every person on that list checked off. Branch President Davis gave us a lengthy list of inactive and former members of the branch for us to visit. So, each day we make a list of people to go see. Funny thing, we RARELY find the people we have planned to find, but we always find SOMEONE.

Last week, Sister Tall and I met an older man in the driveway of someone we weren't able to find at home. He is the perfect image of what I had originally pictured western Texans to look like, (don't laugh!) overalls and a plaid buttonup, cowboy hat, boots, handle bar mustache. Around 70 years old out taking his dog (looks JUST like taco, if you remember him) out for a walk. We started to talk to him and he was very receptive to our conversation. Apparently his wife died not too long ago and has been in despair ever since. We were able to set up an appointment to go explain to him about the Plan of Salvation and how he can see her again!!! He was so sweet. We will probably have to hand him over to the elders since we only work with the students and young marrieds in the city, but I hope to be able to meet with him again. That is just one instance this last week that we ended up finding someone else who needed the message. We met 2 others just yesterday the same way.

Funny story. A few days ago, we went to visit a man in a place Sister Tall and I call "Lil'Mexico." Because it looks like.... a little Mexico. Naturally, the man we went to visit wasn't home so we went to talk to a guy a few doors down who was checking his mail. I was ahead of my comp, so i started the conversation and we talked about his religious background and such. Not too far into the conversation, i discovered that he was mentally disabled. So I explained things a little slower and he had some great insight and experiences with religion. Sister Tall kept giving me the sly "time to go" glare, but i really felt like this man needed to hear our message. We talked longer and i gave him a Book of Mormon with the promise that he would find comfort and answers through reading and praying to know. When we were walking away, Sis. Tall said "We probably shouldn't do that again. He was so drunk." Mental news flash: not disabled. Just.... intoxicated. I laughed. Hard. But I sincerely pray that when he doesn't have a hangover, he will be able to feel the spirit from reading what we gave him.

I am constantly in awe at who we are able to reach and who is already for the message. For the first time ever, I understand it for myself. Throughout my life, i have done what i was supposed to because it felt right. But after studying the gospel in depth, it really makes sense. The Bible is rad, it's been fun to see how it really is comparable to the BofM. Texas is the bomb. I love getting "yes ma'am" s. For some reason it is endearing.

My companion and i are getting along great. We eat rice cakes together and have MoTab dance parties. Sometimes after a long day, you just have to let loose to some Called to Serve. Good news, music isn't just limited to Hymns and MoTab. I could really use some Copeland and maybe some of hopes orchestra stuff? If you get a chance.

Love you all!!! I look forward to the letters.

Heart you mucho.

Sister Orr

Deeeeep in the heart of TEXAS!!!!

I am finally here in Texas!!! And I absolutely love it. My p-day is now Thursdays. Story time, let me start from the beginning.

Monday morning, Sis Fretz and i woke up, packed up and left the MTC around 5 in the a.m. It was raining like crazy, but we decided to embrace it because Lubbock is in a draught. We piled on a bus and headed for the airport. Talking to you all on the phone was awesome. Some of the missionaries got a little homesick after calling home, but for some reason it was just reassuring and helped me push forward. Don't take that the wrong way, I miss ya'll.

The plane ride(s) were good. I sat by an elder in our district that had never been on a plane before and has a history of getting extremely car sick. Our trip consisted of me asking random questions about his childhood to distract him from turbulence and his white knuckles gripping the "motion discomfort" bag, courtesy of American Airlines. We had some cool conversations about making saddles and the flight went by fast. Through out the flight, Elder and I would talk to a gentleman and lady (worked together) who sat in front of us. He was a member and she a convert of about a month. Near the end, she turned around and said "I am going to give you your first referral" and wrote down a couples name and city for me. Yay!!! I didn't even have to ask for it. Kind of exciting. We had a layover in Dallas, where i met an old couple who were from Ohio. They both are Methodist and love MoTab. So, i told them i would mail them a copy of the Choir's new album I got before I left. I am thinking I will send it to the mission office in Ohio and have the missionaries deliver it personally. :) Basically Sister Fretz and I talked to as many people as we could in the airports. I met someone from Aunt Peg's stake and the Clarks from President Augustin's old Bountiful ward who knew Aunt Mary and Uncle Steve. Small world!

The mission president and his wife are so great!! They picked us up at the airport and brought us back to the mission home in Lubbock. I have never seen so many different churches in such a small area in my whole life. Every street corner had a different church building from a different religion, many of which I have never heard of. We drove by our temple, reminds me of the Bountiful temple. :)

While we were driving, President Robison told us about the areas he assigned us to. It was kind of sad to think that Sister Fretz and i would go different directions! We have come through so much and near the end of the MTC got quite close. She will be staying in Lubbock (with p-day access to the temple, lucky duck) and my area is San Angelo. It's as south as they will let the sisters go, three hours south of Lubbock. The city name rang a bell when he said it and I pulled out the referral I picked up on the plane. It was a family from SAN ANGELO!!!!!!! AAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy crow, the Lord wastes NO time! I asked myself "Why would the Lord trust me with that this early in my mission!?" But then I remembered that He calls the weak things to preach the gospel. (D&C 1:9 me thinks?) Exciting.

We had two days of training at the president's home and I got my very own bike. Its blue and white. Total sister missionary bike. We have a car too, but only a certain amount of miles we can use a month so we will be using our bike rack a lot and biking areas we drive to. As Jr comp, it is my responsibility to 1.) carry and answer our cell phone and 2.) stand behind the car and spot while my Sr. companion backs out. It feels silly and people love to stare, but mission rules are mission rules. All I need is a orange vest and perhaps some flares. heh.

Sis Tall and I drove to San Angelo yesterday afternoon. Sister Tall, my trainer, is the bee's knees. Her personality is very much like a little Alayna; super smart outgoing blonde. Contrary to her name, she stands at around 5' even and is a vegan from Sacramento. It'll be easier to eat good with a comp who has similar eating habits. She really knows her gospel stuff. Its been great to ask her questions and study with her over the last two days. We are "white washing" San Ang, which means we are a completely new companionship to the area. Normally they switch out one comp for one in transfers, but we are replacing the Elders in our area. Its the most humid and green area in our mission. Very much like Utah with humidity and hotter. it's been around 90-95 for the last bit. Don't know a whole lot about the city yet, but there is an institute we will be working with. Our ward is a student/young married ward by the Univ.

Apparently we aren't allowed to drink the water, or even cook with it. We have been buying jugs of distilled H2O. I have my own bathroom and walk-in closet. Best day of my life. I don't think i have EVER had my own bathroom!! They take good care of us here. I am really excited to get out and start meeting people! We already have set up appointment to meet with the Branch Pres, RS pres and we are going to go pop in on a few former investigators tonight between meetings. In studies this morning, Sis. Tall had me practice explaining certain principles and lesson to her. It's been a blessing to have a patient trainer.

Anywho, I am almost out of time.

Don't you reset that preset, kids. I'll be here allllll week.

Sister Rachel Orr

I forget what you all look like....

Hellllo Family!!

Thank you THANK you for all the letters. I didn't know that getting snail mail would be so uplifting here at the MTC, but it really makes my day. I love hearing all the stories and stuff. I will be writing ya'll later today. We can only write letters on P-day. That's a struggle. i want to reply as soon as i get the letters. Sometimes i read them to the other sisters in my district. Sister Christison has decided she likes Eli the best. That letter was the beeeessssstttt. Thank you madre for sending me my blanket!!! I have been sleeping so much better than when i got here. Such a baby, I know. Heh. And i'd also like to thank all the small people who allowed me to get this award.... okay. just kidding. Done with the thanktimony.

This week has been eventful. My comp and I had a some issues to work through. She gets offended when I ask about her background and family (chitchat, not pry). I am so used to talking about mine I guess I never considered that someone else would be bugged when i asked. hmmm. We talked about talking things out or being positive in spite of situations because bad attitudes scare away the spirit. Since then we have gotten along and taught better than ever. I am so glad we were able to address things and get them handled. There have been times when I wonder if she wants to just pound me. So far so good!!

My classes are getting more interesting and studies are more meaningful. Sometimes I study for so long I can feel my pulse in my eyyyeee ballllssss. I FINALLLLLLLLY feel like I can teach by the spirit. I've been able to ask the right questions in the perfect moments and bring in personal stories to illustrate the love of our heavenly Father. Really cool. I feel like I have changed so much since I left and it has only been 2 weeks.

Story time. I have been running during gym time to get rid of frustrations and think a little. On saturday, I was runnging around the corner of the track when I stepped wrong and rolled my right ankle. I seriously thought I tore something, the pain was so bad. With frustrations surfaced combined with pain, I accepted defeat and laid crying in the middle of the track as the World's Wimpiest Missionary. With my tough disposition sacrificed and care for running time dashed, elders helplessly surrounded me asking questions, attempting to help without breaking code (no touching but a handshake). A sole sister made her way through the crowd like a beacon of hope, as she was the only one permitted to appropriately help. She hoisted me over her shoulder as a fireman would a lifeless body and sprinted down 5 flights of stairs only to be greeted by a herd of medical personnel ready to operate!!!!!! ...... okay. not really. She helped me down to the med room where they wrapped my ankle and iced it. Nothing but a sprain. Which we all know I have a history of. I am walking alright, just a limp, but can't work out for another week, and after that it has to be with my ankle braced. Same ankle that I rolled back in the summer and tore the ligs in 2 years ago. gag.

I've been buying scripture mastery cards and stuff to help me with my studies. Had I known back in seminary that I would be here, I would have memorized more. Curses. I miss going to the temple!!!! We go to the provo temp here every P-day, but I really miss live sessions. I fell asleep last week in a session and Sis. Christison had to wake me up. Luckily it wasnt for that long and I didn't miss anything that..... would effect the salvation of others. I have learned that sleeping in is overrated and taking naps is underratted. Too bad there is no time for either. heh.

I leave for Texas next monday!! When I know details, I will mail them. I get to call from the airport. As a leaving district, we get to sing in sacrament meeting this sunday. The sisters and I are arranging Come Thou Fount and I am on the MTC cello!!!! yeyeah!!!! We changed the key so it is supa easy. lol. Really excited. I'll let you know how it goes.

If you want an AMMMAZINGGG FHE idea, look up an MTC address by Elder Bednar on recognizing the spirit. Dunno what it is called. He talks about "20 marks" in it (german currency?). I've watched it twice and it has answered so many questions. He is great to listen too.

I love you all!!! The letters have been the greatest blessing for me this week. I love hearing funny stories and sharing them with comps. Thank you thank you! Not sure if I will be able to check email before I leave for the great state of TEXAS. Just FYI.

More stories to come :)

Sister Orr