Merica is a miracle

What is up everyone?! I made it to Washington! I'm in an area called Walnut Grove and it's been great! I'm in a trio with SISTER BOWEN AND SISTER LARSEN! We are best friends and get along really well! 

HIGHLIGHTS:

• TEMPLE! The last week in the MTC we were able to go to the Mount Timp temple and do sealings! This was my first time doing sealings and it was so amazing! I loved it! 
• GENERAL AUTHORITY DEVOTIONAL! Tuesday night we had our general authority devotional and it was amazing! Elder Brent H. Nielson and his wife came to speak to us and it was amazing! It was everything I needed to hear before leaving for the field! 
• TRAVEL DAY! This day is both a highlight and a lowlight of my week! It was so much fun to spend the whole day with missionaries coming to Vancouver and getting to know them! Once we got off the plane, we were welcomed by President and Sister Mann! We got our luggage and loaded up to the mission home! As soon as we got there we called our families to let them know we made it and they fed us Jersey Mike's! I was so happy to get some real good food haha! Then we had some training from the senior missionaries and thennn it was time to meet our trainers! 
• TRAINERS! This was so exciting! I saw Sister Bowen before we found out our companions and it was SO HAPPY to see a familiar face! Little did we know we would be companions! I'm so grateful for my trainers! They are amazing and we have a lot of fun together! (Sister Bowen was on the drill team at Layton High with me for 2 years!!!)
• THE WORK! Right from the get-go we started working! We headed out finding that night and it was crazy! We do a lot of finding and talking to people is so interesting! I love hearing people's stories! 
• 1 MONTH! This week I will hit 1 month of being a missionary! I know 1 month is nothing compared to 18 but it's so crazy that I've already been out that long! The time has flown by! 

LOWLIGHTS:

• GOODBYES! Saying goodbye to my district was SO HARD! They genuinely became my best friends in the 3 weeks I got to spend with them! I cried so much saying goodbye but they are all going to be AMAZING missionaries! 
• TRAVEL DAY! Travel day was soooo long! We started out at 4 am and didn't meet our trainers til 5 pm! It was exhausting! Traveling to the airport was so stressful! We first got on the UVX bus, then we got on the front runner, then we got on the TRAX and then we finally made it to the airport! 27 of us getting our luggage on and off the busses and trains was so chaotic! 

It's been an awesome week! I love being a missionary and I'm so happy to finally be in the field! I love it here and can't wait to see what's in store! 

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT!

This week John 14:18 has been on my mind a lot! It says "I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you". Obviously leaving home and being in a new place with new people is not easy! But I know that God is with me through it all! Everyone has to be pushed out of their comfort zone to grow. Whether that be a new job, moving, or starting a new school, God is with you every step of the way! As you reach out to Him, He will come to you and comfort you no matter what situation you're in! 

Love you all! Please reach out to me! I love hearing from you! I hope you all have the best week and remember that God loves you and so do I! 

-Sister Stringham