its alright, don't beat yourselves up. its doesn't matter that i didn't get any emails this week, save it be my wonderful cousin jackie. i'm just impressed it took this long to forget about me... :)
really, this week was amazing. one of our investigators lost a little conviction, and we probably won't be able to see her as often. but she is incredible. and she'll figure it out eventually. as long as we "go about doing good." BUT! good news! we found THREE, count em-THREE!, new investigators in TWO days! it was incredible.
we tracted for 3 and a half hours on sunday, the weather was outstandingly nice, and on our way back to the rendezvous with one of the members we tracted the main street, and found michael. he's what i like to call an "honest seeker". He desperately needs direction and he wants to do what the Lord wants for him. we gave him a book of mormon at our return appointment and he invited himself to church. pray for him. he needs the strength.
also, we have these things called "windows". they are appointments we make with the Lord to accomplish the goal we feel prompted to meet. on monday we tracted for an hour for our 4th window. and we handed out two copies of the BoM and got return appointments-within 10 minutes of each other. we were truly led to that street. needless to say we felt pumped.
i feel like i've been neglecting the members in the branch. [telling you all about them] they are few, but they are valiant and they treat us well. we've gotten food on our door i think 3 times.
we don't get fed very often, but we get food all the time. there is a family that lives in our apartment complex[its huge] and i love love love them. Paige is the mom, earl is the dad. and Dylan and Haley are their kids. and Paige is preggo due in july. they just got married in august, Dylan and Haley are adopted and from a previous marriage of paiges. Paige is one of the most amazing ladies i've ever met. She's 29 and has experienced so much. she's from georgia, and so her accent is a little out of place, but its awesome. Dylan is now 5 and Haley 4. they are biological sibs and when dylan was 2 1/2, they were in a terrible car accident. Dylan was normal before, and now has the same symptoms as Cerebral Palsy[sp?]. He is a sweetheart though. Haley was thrown from the car but is miraculously uneffected. paige is so patient and stops by all the time. unfortunately they are moving out of our complex but still in our ward. I love them, and i hope you all get to meet them someday.
ALSO! we went and did some cleaning for the Kearton's yesterday. You all know how crazy our family is. And believe me when i say they are crazier than all the crazies in the whole crazy world. IT WAS HILARIOUS! and i felt totally at home. they are two women, a mother and daughter[mom's age]. they live in a HUGE house and they just yell to each other all day. it was a riot and i wish you could have been there. sister porath and i were dying. then the elders showed up and we all had a really good time. so lovely.
well family, i hope all is going good. feel free to send me real letters. i just started getting mail again. so send what you will. i live for mail.
i love you all! i'm doing well. people have always said that being a missionary is hard and tiring. but i disagree completely. i am more focused and my schedule is more laxed than it ever has been before in my life. i love having one thing to do. yes its busy, and yes its draining emotionally and spiritually. but how could anyone get tired of doing this work? it is so rewarding. and the up days are worth all the down days and more. i love being here. i love my branch. there is so much work to do here, and i love that i'm here to do it. you never know the impact you are making, and you probably never will. so keep up the excellent member missionary work! i love you!
love,
Sister McNeil
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
this week's letter
what a week!
sounds like things are moving right along at home! its good to hear from everyone. i got emails from jackie shafer and melia this week! it was super good to hear from them. great advice jackie! thank you so much for that! and i sent home my actual address last week. so feel free to stop by! [my trainer served in princeton for 4 months! i bet she knows your fam! send me their names and we'll figure it out!] and melia... you little scoundrel. i want pictures and i want em now! i'm sad i won't get to be around for all the changes that are happening, but i'm sure you will keep me updated. ps- anyone that wants replies from me will need to send their addresses. i can only email family. so i guess i could have emailed jackie separately but melia, i can't email you back... sad. but i still love you!
okay! so its really good out here! the weather has gotten so so nice! and elder's pena and hill, the rest of our tiny district, went to barnegat lighthouse today! it was so cool! we went all the way to the top! it was awesome! and we spent a few hours on the island. long beach island. the whole island is technically in my area, but its pretty much deserted and doesn't get populated until june. and then its just vacationers. so theres not a whole lot of reason to get out there. but its cool no matter what. and today, the atlantic ocean touched me! haha, it was awesome. if anyone gets the chance, they should get out there and see the shore. its amazing. sister penrod and her daughter catherine drove us out there. it was super nice of them.
so, the people we're teaching... small teaching pool. but that is about to change! alice, who has met with missionaries before... she just needs us. but we're not sure how fast she will progress. we are heading to her house tomorrow to do a deep clean for her. go "about doing good" thats what our idea is anyway. we think she'll come around, but it will take a while. she's got to learn to trust the Lord, not us. and she's got to pay attention to what the spirit is telling her. yelling at her. she's just a little stubborn.
howard is someone that comes every single sunday. he always leaves a "donation". haha, he hands sister porath a 20 and leaves before priesthood because he believes in co-ed education. again, he'll get there. he was out of town this week, so he missed this week and will again next, but we called him and he said, "don't worry, it won't effect my longevity in the church." he's awesome. he was jewish, and he has clearly accepted Jesus Christ, but he doesn't quite get it all the way... yet. again, he'll get there.
OH! so, our service each week is at the food bank at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in the Elder's area, and one of the reverends there stopped us on our way out and asked to learn about our church. so we have an appointment with her on monday. it will be interesting, and sister porath and i are excited. but we need to find some bible scriptures so we don't look like fools. but we are ready. and we read that one article from an ensign about a pastor in england who did the same thing and converted to be lds and quit his job and everything. but we're not getting our hopes up...
as far as people who need prayers go, i need to ask you to pray for kaitlyn gravatt. she is a 13 year-old who wanted to be baptized back in august, but then her mom got cancer and the missionaries quit going over there! gah! i think about her all the time, and i desperately want to teach her again... but we just need the right opportunity. and other than that, we just need investigators. our branch is small, and a little... prickly[ask melanie sharp about that word], but we are going to get them unified THROUGH missionary work, instead of using our time to fruitlessly "strengthen" the members. we've got to get them all loving and striving to be as Christlike as possible and it will flourish. i am totally starting to see why i, personally, was sent to this area. i love love love the members and i can't wait to see the changes happen.
also, i need to send out a little something to abby, and i'm going to just send it home. so hopefully it gets there soon.
AND! daniel! have you ever heard of Ron Jon's? the original shop is on long beach island and it has the WORLDS LARGEST SURFBOARD! we went there today and couldn't stop thinking about how crazy you and abby would have gone in that store. its awesome. i'm sending home the brochure... um... dad, my favorite scrip is alma 17:11. sorry i didn't get that to you last week. and for anyone reading this, i need KRISTIN STERLING's address. desperately. and... cam and kate! look for sister barbara jackson and sister judy roberson if you ever get to the manhattan temple on a wednesday. they are both in my ward and work there all day on wednesdays. they can be found near women's initiatories. i think... but that would be cool to meet them. they are two of my favorites. sister roberson is the ward mission leader's wife and we love them both.
mom, are you so relieved to be done with stake play? it seems like just yesterday i met julie catton doing that... crazy. and dad, how is the job search coming? i hope all is well over there. i love you all! thank you so much for your support. i love hearing from you and i love being here. it is starting to feel normal again. that first week was rough, but i feel into the groove and familiar with the area [man-uh-hawk-in]. i love it here, and i love love love this gospel. be the best member missionaries you can be! its hard for the missionaries to do it alone... and the only, and best way is through the members. i regret not giving the missionaries referrals. they are such a blessing. and such a message of love and trust to the missionaries. help them help you. they will appreciate it.
love you all! hope to hear from you next week.
sister mcneil
ab, tell the missionaries out there good job for me! it sounds like the field is especially white out there. and don't worry about alicia, she'll get there. just keep being the example that you are to her. and please, get me kristin's address for me, huh? or get her to write to me!
loves to the fam.
sounds like things are moving right along at home! its good to hear from everyone. i got emails from jackie shafer and melia this week! it was super good to hear from them. great advice jackie! thank you so much for that! and i sent home my actual address last week. so feel free to stop by! [my trainer served in princeton for 4 months! i bet she knows your fam! send me their names and we'll figure it out!] and melia... you little scoundrel. i want pictures and i want em now! i'm sad i won't get to be around for all the changes that are happening, but i'm sure you will keep me updated. ps- anyone that wants replies from me will need to send their addresses. i can only email family. so i guess i could have emailed jackie separately but melia, i can't email you back... sad. but i still love you!
okay! so its really good out here! the weather has gotten so so nice! and elder's pena and hill, the rest of our tiny district, went to barnegat lighthouse today! it was so cool! we went all the way to the top! it was awesome! and we spent a few hours on the island. long beach island. the whole island is technically in my area, but its pretty much deserted and doesn't get populated until june. and then its just vacationers. so theres not a whole lot of reason to get out there. but its cool no matter what. and today, the atlantic ocean touched me! haha, it was awesome. if anyone gets the chance, they should get out there and see the shore. its amazing. sister penrod and her daughter catherine drove us out there. it was super nice of them.
so, the people we're teaching... small teaching pool. but that is about to change! alice, who has met with missionaries before... she just needs us. but we're not sure how fast she will progress. we are heading to her house tomorrow to do a deep clean for her. go "about doing good" thats what our idea is anyway. we think she'll come around, but it will take a while. she's got to learn to trust the Lord, not us. and she's got to pay attention to what the spirit is telling her. yelling at her. she's just a little stubborn.
howard is someone that comes every single sunday. he always leaves a "donation". haha, he hands sister porath a 20 and leaves before priesthood because he believes in co-ed education. again, he'll get there. he was out of town this week, so he missed this week and will again next, but we called him and he said, "don't worry, it won't effect my longevity in the church." he's awesome. he was jewish, and he has clearly accepted Jesus Christ, but he doesn't quite get it all the way... yet. again, he'll get there.
OH! so, our service each week is at the food bank at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in the Elder's area, and one of the reverends there stopped us on our way out and asked to learn about our church. so we have an appointment with her on monday. it will be interesting, and sister porath and i are excited. but we need to find some bible scriptures so we don't look like fools. but we are ready. and we read that one article from an ensign about a pastor in england who did the same thing and converted to be lds and quit his job and everything. but we're not getting our hopes up...
as far as people who need prayers go, i need to ask you to pray for kaitlyn gravatt. she is a 13 year-old who wanted to be baptized back in august, but then her mom got cancer and the missionaries quit going over there! gah! i think about her all the time, and i desperately want to teach her again... but we just need the right opportunity. and other than that, we just need investigators. our branch is small, and a little... prickly[ask melanie sharp about that word], but we are going to get them unified THROUGH missionary work, instead of using our time to fruitlessly "strengthen" the members. we've got to get them all loving and striving to be as Christlike as possible and it will flourish. i am totally starting to see why i, personally, was sent to this area. i love love love the members and i can't wait to see the changes happen.
also, i need to send out a little something to abby, and i'm going to just send it home. so hopefully it gets there soon.
AND! daniel! have you ever heard of Ron Jon's? the original shop is on long beach island and it has the WORLDS LARGEST SURFBOARD! we went there today and couldn't stop thinking about how crazy you and abby would have gone in that store. its awesome. i'm sending home the brochure... um... dad, my favorite scrip is alma 17:11. sorry i didn't get that to you last week. and for anyone reading this, i need KRISTIN STERLING's address. desperately. and... cam and kate! look for sister barbara jackson and sister judy roberson if you ever get to the manhattan temple on a wednesday. they are both in my ward and work there all day on wednesdays. they can be found near women's initiatories. i think... but that would be cool to meet them. they are two of my favorites. sister roberson is the ward mission leader's wife and we love them both.
mom, are you so relieved to be done with stake play? it seems like just yesterday i met julie catton doing that... crazy. and dad, how is the job search coming? i hope all is well over there. i love you all! thank you so much for your support. i love hearing from you and i love being here. it is starting to feel normal again. that first week was rough, but i feel into the groove and familiar with the area [man-uh-hawk-in]. i love it here, and i love love love this gospel. be the best member missionaries you can be! its hard for the missionaries to do it alone... and the only, and best way is through the members. i regret not giving the missionaries referrals. they are such a blessing. and such a message of love and trust to the missionaries. help them help you. they will appreciate it.
love you all! hope to hear from you next week.
sister mcneil
ab, tell the missionaries out there good job for me! it sounds like the field is especially white out there. and don't worry about alicia, she'll get there. just keep being the example that you are to her. and please, get me kristin's address for me, huh? or get her to write to me!
loves to the fam.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
cont'd
so, i love our ward mission leader. brother roberson. [robe-er-son] he's amazing. he's been branch president twice and he has a love for missionary work that is tangible.
sister jackson- hilarious. crazy lazy eye and one of the most talkative people ever. but we can't commit her to do anything cus she'll avoid us if we do. bummer.
nina- drives a bus for a living. takes care of her 9 year old sun that looks about 15. he's yuge. get it? the eastern accent. its funny. she also prayed for me during relief society that i would adjust well. "we pray that the missionaries adjust, its a big adjustment to being on a mission. especially from california to new jersey, its gotta be." she's the sweetest lady. and she's been a member a year.
alice- not a member yet. studyin to be a franciscan secular. met with the missionaries before and i'm convinced it will be sister porath and i that finish the job and dunk her. she's very hospitable and told me she knows the rules about phone calls, but if i ever need to talk to my mother, i can use her phone. she never had children, but says the lord blessed her with hundreds of children through her volunteering and taking troubled kids into her home. she's amazing. and needs the gospel and a testimony of joseph smith. thats it.
maria and vinny caltagerone- devout catholic that love having the sisters to their house to explain gospel cus their priest doesn't help them understand. says she will never convert, but they have the BoM and always do their homework, yet again, just a matter of time.
i love the branch, and i love the work that is going on here. i love you all. its hard and lovely to hear from all of you. i miss you and love you all very very much. i hope all is well. keep me updated on the haps. good luck with stake play! glad i won't be there to cringe and laugh my eyes out!
love you so much,
sister mcneil
sister jackson- hilarious. crazy lazy eye and one of the most talkative people ever. but we can't commit her to do anything cus she'll avoid us if we do. bummer.
nina- drives a bus for a living. takes care of her 9 year old sun that looks about 15. he's yuge. get it? the eastern accent. its funny. she also prayed for me during relief society that i would adjust well. "we pray that the missionaries adjust, its a big adjustment to being on a mission. especially from california to new jersey, its gotta be." she's the sweetest lady. and she's been a member a year.
alice- not a member yet. studyin to be a franciscan secular. met with the missionaries before and i'm convinced it will be sister porath and i that finish the job and dunk her. she's very hospitable and told me she knows the rules about phone calls, but if i ever need to talk to my mother, i can use her phone. she never had children, but says the lord blessed her with hundreds of children through her volunteering and taking troubled kids into her home. she's amazing. and needs the gospel and a testimony of joseph smith. thats it.
maria and vinny caltagerone- devout catholic that love having the sisters to their house to explain gospel cus their priest doesn't help them understand. says she will never convert, but they have the BoM and always do their homework, yet again, just a matter of time.
i love the branch, and i love the work that is going on here. i love you all. its hard and lovely to hear from all of you. i miss you and love you all very very much. i hope all is well. keep me updated on the haps. good luck with stake play! glad i won't be there to cringe and laugh my eyes out!
love you so much,
sister mcneil
a month down...
hey fam!
weather is nice out here. the snow out here was all melted within a few days. not too bad. the wind really does have a bite though. our apartment is SWEET! it is the nicest apartment i have lived in. wait, not the condo. the condo was better. but most definitely a step up from the compound i was living in last semester. how awful. its nice and big and its got really tall ceilings. did i spell that right? anyway, its awesome. sister porath is great too. she and i are getting along fine. can't really tell how we teach together yet, cus we don't have more than one real investigator. the branch is teeny. 6 women in relief society. our whole building is about the size of half our chapel. again, its teeny. its the stafford branch, and there are us and then two elders. we cover the southern half of the branch and we actually live in the elders area. we have to drive a lot, but once we get to the neighborhoods we try to park-it and walk. the area is called Manahawkin. and its pronounced man-uh-hawk-n. i know i skipped the i at the end. i meant to do that. nobody says it. the accent is going to invade my very soul. i swear. by the time i'm done here i might not say i grew up in CA, nobody would believe me. but i love it. we got fed calamari by some "investigators" that are devout catholic and don't intend to convert, but we're still working on them. they pronounced it caleh-mary. its was funny. but they are great.
so, sister porath and i are both fairly new to the area cus she got emergency transferred here when one of the sisters decided to go home. so she's only been here 3 weeks. and i've been here 1. and i've been out exactly a month today! crazy! but we're both figuring it out and getting used to the branch. which is surprisingly easy to do.
sister porath is 21, she is now a junior at u of u and studying psychology. again, we're getting along fine, but thats because i haven't quite figured out how to be me and a missionary at the same time. its quite the task. adjusting is difficult, and i get homesick about every day, but it doesn't last long. as soon as i start studying or leave the apartment i begin feeling better. i'm going to give myself at least another week to figure it out, but after that i'm not putting up with any more of it. i'm starting a list of pick me up scrips for me to memorize and keep with me always, cus i think i'll need it. i know this is going to be most difficult thing i do. but i know that president hinckley's advice of forgetting yourself and going to work is going to help me. and i can already see that start to work in my life. the spirit is so strong with the missionaries. its amazing. we got to go with the elders yesterday to combined district meeting and see president and sister winegar. combined district meeting, cdm, is really zone conference, and sone conferences are really half mission conferences. so we met with our zone and made some goals and figured some things out. then we went to lunch with the other elders in our zone. that was nice, i always feel at home with other missionaries, cus i know they feel the same way i do.
[ps- i have to sign off, and sign back on again in about 8 minutes, so i will be sending two emails]
they feel the same way about missionary work and they know what i do everyday and they know whats hard and they understand. and for the record, it would have really helped me for someone to even mention the fact the the mission is not at all like the mtc. totally different. i loved being scheduled out all the time and in the field i swear we have to sit and re-schedule everything about every 20 minutes. there are more less actives than actives here and we "stob by" more than 5 or 6 people a day. more if we're not lucky. but i'm learning that you need that time in between meetings to let the spirit guide you and accept the promptings He gives you. so the learning curve is great. I swear i'm picking up on more and more each day. sister Porath keeps saying i'll be training next transfer. which... nope, not gonna think about it....
gotta sign off. send you more about my people out here in the next email. loves!
sister mcneil
weather is nice out here. the snow out here was all melted within a few days. not too bad. the wind really does have a bite though. our apartment is SWEET! it is the nicest apartment i have lived in. wait, not the condo. the condo was better. but most definitely a step up from the compound i was living in last semester. how awful. its nice and big and its got really tall ceilings. did i spell that right? anyway, its awesome. sister porath is great too. she and i are getting along fine. can't really tell how we teach together yet, cus we don't have more than one real investigator. the branch is teeny. 6 women in relief society. our whole building is about the size of half our chapel. again, its teeny. its the stafford branch, and there are us and then two elders. we cover the southern half of the branch and we actually live in the elders area. we have to drive a lot, but once we get to the neighborhoods we try to park-it and walk. the area is called Manahawkin. and its pronounced man-uh-hawk-n. i know i skipped the i at the end. i meant to do that. nobody says it. the accent is going to invade my very soul. i swear. by the time i'm done here i might not say i grew up in CA, nobody would believe me. but i love it. we got fed calamari by some "investigators" that are devout catholic and don't intend to convert, but we're still working on them. they pronounced it caleh-mary. its was funny. but they are great.
so, sister porath and i are both fairly new to the area cus she got emergency transferred here when one of the sisters decided to go home. so she's only been here 3 weeks. and i've been here 1. and i've been out exactly a month today! crazy! but we're both figuring it out and getting used to the branch. which is surprisingly easy to do.
sister porath is 21, she is now a junior at u of u and studying psychology. again, we're getting along fine, but thats because i haven't quite figured out how to be me and a missionary at the same time. its quite the task. adjusting is difficult, and i get homesick about every day, but it doesn't last long. as soon as i start studying or leave the apartment i begin feeling better. i'm going to give myself at least another week to figure it out, but after that i'm not putting up with any more of it. i'm starting a list of pick me up scrips for me to memorize and keep with me always, cus i think i'll need it. i know this is going to be most difficult thing i do. but i know that president hinckley's advice of forgetting yourself and going to work is going to help me. and i can already see that start to work in my life. the spirit is so strong with the missionaries. its amazing. we got to go with the elders yesterday to combined district meeting and see president and sister winegar. combined district meeting, cdm, is really zone conference, and sone conferences are really half mission conferences. so we met with our zone and made some goals and figured some things out. then we went to lunch with the other elders in our zone. that was nice, i always feel at home with other missionaries, cus i know they feel the same way i do.
[ps- i have to sign off, and sign back on again in about 8 minutes, so i will be sending two emails]
they feel the same way about missionary work and they know what i do everyday and they know whats hard and they understand. and for the record, it would have really helped me for someone to even mention the fact the the mission is not at all like the mtc. totally different. i loved being scheduled out all the time and in the field i swear we have to sit and re-schedule everything about every 20 minutes. there are more less actives than actives here and we "stob by" more than 5 or 6 people a day. more if we're not lucky. but i'm learning that you need that time in between meetings to let the spirit guide you and accept the promptings He gives you. so the learning curve is great. I swear i'm picking up on more and more each day. sister Porath keeps saying i'll be training next transfer. which... nope, not gonna think about it....
gotta sign off. send you more about my people out here in the next email. loves!
sister mcneil
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
first area: Manahawkin, NJ
Madeline's first area is Manahawkin, NJ, nearby the famous Jersey Shore.
Here's a map...
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Here's a map...
View Larger Map
she has arrived.
i is herrr.
new jersey is so flat! good grief! it was so cool landing in philly though. i could see the eagles stadium and the phillies stadium from the plane. it was too cool. i flew with 3 other sisters and elder thielen. he was shaking in his boots the whole way. i felt pretty bad for him. he was trying to act excited, but i knew he was nervous. he's the oldest in his family and he's excited, but i think he feels a lot of responsibility too.
so, after meeting donny osmond at the slc airport, and taking pictures with him... yeah. i'll send it soon. we went to our gate and waited for two hours and then flew to philly. we got picked up by our mission president and his wife and our APs. President Winegar and his wife are both very short. and the APs very tall. so it was funny. then we waited for what seemed like forever for our bags, but the elders liked that my luggage was miss matched, so that was worth it.
we went to the mission home, sisters in the van with pres. and sister W and elder thielen with the APs. I think he was glad to be with elders again. he felt out of place seated between two sisters on the plane. we got to whats called a "cluster house" and unloaded. its a big house split into 3 houses. all two stories and pretty nice. sister winegar told us to stay away from poison ivy and keep an eye out for bed bugs and then fed us an all green dinner. dinner rolls, honey butter, salad, enchilada sauce, and green beans. it was pretty clever. all green for all the greenies. we felt special.
after dinner we had interviews. one with sister and one with president. both went well. we had a little meeting with the aps and president told us some stories, and then we went to bed. two hours early for me. i got a ton of sleep. which felt good.
we woke up, took pictures,[they should be sending some to you] ate breakfast, again the APs[bunker and adamson]. then we went to the stake center for transfer meeting. newbies introduced themselves and then the departing missionaries bore their testimonies. then we met our companions.
i got called out first. i'm with sister porath. [pour eth] she was in princeton before, and now we're both in manahawkin. by barnegate lighthouse. i think i'm pretty close to ny. cough cough, ha. its right on the shore[not beach or coast]. we're in the stafford branch and sister penrod drove us back to our area. i haven't been to my apartment yet, but we're on our way. we already got groceries and now we're emailing! that was maybe the most detailed thing you'll get for the next 18 months. well, 17. weird.
but sister porath is from salt lake. she went to u of u and has only been out 5 months. but i know she'll do great. she's super smiley and i think she'll be great. she's only been in this area about two weeks, but we will learn together. so that will be good.
so, we will be going to our apartment soon, which sister porath says is the nicest in the mission. we have a washer and dryer. lucky dogs, we are. but in our branch its just me and sister porath and one set of elders. apparently we have to have a chapperone at district meetings! haha.
anyway, other than that there isn't much. it was hard saying goodbye to my mtc district. i loved them all. and the dummy elders forgot to say goodbye. what jerks. but i'm determined to write them. while it was hard to say goodbye to provo, again, and my teachers and my companion, i was excited. still am. i'm nervous, but excited. and like i keep saying, it feels normal. like i was always supposed to be here at this time. it feels so good.
okay! so, just a few stories. 1- i already got my first missionary stain! when taking my luggage out of sister penrod's car and putting them into our car, they totally fell in the muddy snow, and when i picked em up i got mud on me. how exciting! haha.
2- the lady that checked us out at the pathmart[grocery store] called us sweetheart about a kajillion times. it was hilarious. and yes, katie, i love the accents. i'm currently listening to a k-mart employee yap it out in jersey talk. hilarious. i love it.
at the mtc i only had 30 minutes, and sister porath says we can have an hour to an hour and a half. so i don't really know what to do. its only been a half hour. i don't know what to say. but i am excited because we have a dinner appointment with don smith, a member and his fiance, a non-member and don's mom, a less-active. and their dog. so it should be good. and then after that we have correlation with the ward mission leader. so it should be good.
like i said, i'm excited to be here, and i can't wait to feel at home. it seems like a great place. and i can't wait to see the atlantic ocean! wahoo!
i love you all so so much! thank you for your support!
love,
sister madeline mcneil. i'm for real now.
new jersey is so flat! good grief! it was so cool landing in philly though. i could see the eagles stadium and the phillies stadium from the plane. it was too cool. i flew with 3 other sisters and elder thielen. he was shaking in his boots the whole way. i felt pretty bad for him. he was trying to act excited, but i knew he was nervous. he's the oldest in his family and he's excited, but i think he feels a lot of responsibility too.
so, after meeting donny osmond at the slc airport, and taking pictures with him... yeah. i'll send it soon. we went to our gate and waited for two hours and then flew to philly. we got picked up by our mission president and his wife and our APs. President Winegar and his wife are both very short. and the APs very tall. so it was funny. then we waited for what seemed like forever for our bags, but the elders liked that my luggage was miss matched, so that was worth it.
we went to the mission home, sisters in the van with pres. and sister W and elder thielen with the APs. I think he was glad to be with elders again. he felt out of place seated between two sisters on the plane. we got to whats called a "cluster house" and unloaded. its a big house split into 3 houses. all two stories and pretty nice. sister winegar told us to stay away from poison ivy and keep an eye out for bed bugs and then fed us an all green dinner. dinner rolls, honey butter, salad, enchilada sauce, and green beans. it was pretty clever. all green for all the greenies. we felt special.
after dinner we had interviews. one with sister and one with president. both went well. we had a little meeting with the aps and president told us some stories, and then we went to bed. two hours early for me. i got a ton of sleep. which felt good.
we woke up, took pictures,[they should be sending some to you] ate breakfast, again the APs[bunker and adamson]. then we went to the stake center for transfer meeting. newbies introduced themselves and then the departing missionaries bore their testimonies. then we met our companions.
i got called out first. i'm with sister porath. [pour eth] she was in princeton before, and now we're both in manahawkin. by barnegate lighthouse. i think i'm pretty close to ny. cough cough, ha. its right on the shore[not beach or coast]. we're in the stafford branch and sister penrod drove us back to our area. i haven't been to my apartment yet, but we're on our way. we already got groceries and now we're emailing! that was maybe the most detailed thing you'll get for the next 18 months. well, 17. weird.
but sister porath is from salt lake. she went to u of u and has only been out 5 months. but i know she'll do great. she's super smiley and i think she'll be great. she's only been in this area about two weeks, but we will learn together. so that will be good.
so, we will be going to our apartment soon, which sister porath says is the nicest in the mission. we have a washer and dryer. lucky dogs, we are. but in our branch its just me and sister porath and one set of elders. apparently we have to have a chapperone at district meetings! haha.
anyway, other than that there isn't much. it was hard saying goodbye to my mtc district. i loved them all. and the dummy elders forgot to say goodbye. what jerks. but i'm determined to write them. while it was hard to say goodbye to provo, again, and my teachers and my companion, i was excited. still am. i'm nervous, but excited. and like i keep saying, it feels normal. like i was always supposed to be here at this time. it feels so good.
okay! so, just a few stories. 1- i already got my first missionary stain! when taking my luggage out of sister penrod's car and putting them into our car, they totally fell in the muddy snow, and when i picked em up i got mud on me. how exciting! haha.
2- the lady that checked us out at the pathmart[grocery store] called us sweetheart about a kajillion times. it was hilarious. and yes, katie, i love the accents. i'm currently listening to a k-mart employee yap it out in jersey talk. hilarious. i love it.
at the mtc i only had 30 minutes, and sister porath says we can have an hour to an hour and a half. so i don't really know what to do. its only been a half hour. i don't know what to say. but i am excited because we have a dinner appointment with don smith, a member and his fiance, a non-member and don's mom, a less-active. and their dog. so it should be good. and then after that we have correlation with the ward mission leader. so it should be good.
like i said, i'm excited to be here, and i can't wait to feel at home. it seems like a great place. and i can't wait to see the atlantic ocean! wahoo!
i love you all so so much! thank you for your support!
love,
sister madeline mcneil. i'm for real now.
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