Letter #11

hEY fAM..You guessed it. I am in a new area and I have a new companion and I couldn't be happier. I am in a VERY VERY small area way out in the country of Kentucky. My new companion is Sister Hales and she is from Vegas and she only has about 4 months left. We have instantly clicked. She is very loud and very talkative and very dedicated to the gospel. Our area borders the TN and Kentucky state Line. So we go to TN and Kentucky. I am serving in a branch with about 20 people. YES TWENTY PEOPLE! There are 200 members and only like 20 people come. THAT is so why I'm here. I'm bringin back KENTUCKY! This area is really dead. The last sisters had like no investigators and so we are workin real hard to get more people to teach. This area is just like totally dry and dead. I told sister hales that we are Bringin it back and by the time I leave it's gonna be hoppin. So we live in a little apartment right by a train station. YES all night trains go by and it totally shakes our apt. It's like I'm livin in a train station. Easty and Tate would absolutely LOVE it. I will record a video of what it's
like. The first night I was here I couldn't sleep a wink. But now I'm used to it and the trains just put me to sleep. The first night I thought oh my gosh if a train wrecks we are DEAD. haha..I am the piano player for the branch. They gave me a list of songs and everything. haha. We have a lot of part member families and less activies and Sister Hales and I are gonna tackle them with full force.. BEfore I came to the area they had NO CAR.. crazy huh.. as soon as I got here President called us and was like Okay sisters you need a car. I think it's cuz he knows Sister Hales and I have a lot of work to do and we can do it. Our area is so spread out. Kentucky reminds me of Island Park. (well the area I'm in)... I hope I get to serve in every state (georgia, virginia) that would be cooL... Some people we are working with here are pretty awesome. We are working with a less active and her Sister who isn't a member. They are named the Slavens. They really like us a lot. All 3 sister live together and they are pretty heavily obese. I love goin and chattin with them. They fixed us dinner and they were like "sister furniss are you a veggitarian?? HAHA.. I was like no why.. they're
like well you look like it. haha.. It was funny..
I know I tell you all this every week but I really do love being a missionary. I love being able to see people and smile at them and share with them something I love which is the gospeL. One ffunny thing is here they aren't as friendly as in Elizabethton. We met a preachers wife the other day and she started yelling at us and telling us we are so very fallen from jesus christ and that we were going to hell.. Like she was flat out yelling at us. I am getting to be real bold cuz I was just like sayin listen lady and telling her what we believe in. then we just smiled and I shook her hand and we walked off and told her to have a great day. We were real nice to her. .. It was a funny experience.. I have also met a lot of anti- mormon people here. Like the tell me that I need to ditch the bbook of mormon and how I am just so fallen. I am so glad I have a strong testimony and it makes me feel so sad for those people who say that. I just pray and pray for them that their hearts will be soften and they'll want to hear the message of the restored gospl...
We also had a army dude answer his door in his underwear... He was like "Listen ladies I don't think it's very right of you to walk around sharing religion when people are in their underwear." ... I was like "Well sir I don't think it's really right to answer the door in YOUR underwear".. I then laughed and said May I share a card with you? and we gave him a passs along card. It was pretty funny... Just funny things like that happen every single day..I love you all SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCh!!!!! Thanks for supporting me to go on a mission. It really has been the best thing I have ever done with my life. I mean it has been the HARDEST thing too. I have never cried so much,.... but I have never felt so close to my savior jesus christ before and that makes it very much worth it. I know that serving a mission has changed my life.. I can't even IMAGINE how I would be if I wouldn't have decided to serve a mission. i don't even want to think about it.. Well I love you all so much. Today is P day and we
probably are just gonna go shoppin and then back to our apt. We don't live close to any Elders or anything we live very much up in the boonies.. So it's basically me and sister hales all the time. It's okay though because we love eachother.. We figure we will be together for 2 transfers.. and then it will be THANKSGIVING.. crazy huh.. and then I would have been out on my missino for 6 months....Have a good week family. I'll talk to you next Monday...
Luv,
Sister Furniss