Sarah Missionary Letter from Vicksburg—Number 10ish: August 11, 2014:

 

 Hi. You. Will. Never. Guess. What. Happened. This. Week. This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill. I was driving down Grange Hall (long twisty road, lined with trees) while exchanges were going on during the beginning of the week. I HIT A MOCKINGBIRD!!! I KILLED A MOCKINGBIRD! I CAN'T EVEN FINISH THE STORY! Based of the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” I am 75% sure that this symbolically makes me a racist! I SHOULD HAVE PAID MORE ATTENTION DURING ENGLISH CLASS! AHH! It squawked when I hit it...I kind of hate mockingbirds. They will mess with you if you tract near their nests. But still it didn't deserve to die! 

 

   So this week I went on my second “exskrange” (thats what dah homie call it on dah skreets. It’s when we switch companions for a day or two.) with Sister Parmenter, who was awesome and crazy like me. I was SUPER nervous to drive because I still do not feel like I know the area...but I was totally fine...I didn't use the GPS once! We had an awesome productive day and committed two more people to baptism. I have decided when crazy stuff happens I am going to write about it like it isn’t a huge deal. IT WAS SO CRAZY WE JUST TRACTED INTO TWO PEOPLE WHO KNEW IT WAS TRUE AND ARE GOING TO BE BAPTIZED IN OCTOBER! People are nuts...I am glad they knew it was true...because it is...but at the same time I feel like maybe they might want to think about it some more, good thing it is true!

 

We went and met with Trailer Park Allison, and she was telling us about all the crud she is involved in. Sister Parmenter actually decided during that lesson--the Second Coming will be during her lifetime because Allison's life is so horrible and filled with evil. Hey, but she made it to 15 years old! She is going to end up dead before she will make it to High School and it breaks my heart. I am glad I got to see her though, her parents are super Baptist so they always tell us she isn't home even if she is.

 

Tracting this week was AWESOME not because it was productive (because it wasn't) but because we met so many awesome crazy people. This lady spent almost an hour explaining to us how when we go to heaven we won't know anyone there, and that we will have "glorified bodies" a "glorified body" was described as a shimmering techni-color angel body that can go through walls that can make itself look like anything it wants! SO FUNNY! There is more, but it is mostly doctrinal silliness so I will spare you. But it was so sad because she really does believe that when she dies that she will not even recognize her children! By the end of the lesson though she decided that Joseph Smith did see God and The Son, but that he was called to spread "the word" even more which is why God gave him the Book of Mormon. She was very sweet but very confused!

 

Okay so stop whatever you are doing and google ‘Banana Spider.’ THAT IS MY LIFE!! There is one by our apartment and a million around members’ homes by the river. Somewhere on the internet is a video of me flipping out when I saw one for the first time. I. Hate. Spiders. And I am currently residing in a state that makes spiders who are twice the size of my hand. That is a deal breaker, Mississippi. 

 

But yes, exchanges were good! I made curry for Sister Parmenter and we realized we didn't have any peppers/hot sauce, so we used a ghost pepper that Brother Johnson gave me last time we went over for dinner. There are marks from some of the juice that got on my hands! Probably the hottest curry I have ever tasted. But it was actually really good! Sister Walker says that it tastes like spicy ramen noodles, but she is just jealous she cannot eat spicy food.

 

Hrrmmm we cleaned one of our investigator’s houses, and oh my goodness...she is probably one of the only people in Mississippi who does not have air-conditioning. I would send you a picture of how sweaty and disgusting we were when we finished, but it honestly was so gross that I am pretty sure you would disown me.

 

It is so hot and humid that mold is growing on everything! There are patches of mold all over our front door.

 We have been sweating a ton! The weather goes rainstorm to blazing heat every other day! It looked like a tornado was supposed to come the sky was so black! 

 

So this Sunday they changed the bishops! It passed from Bishop Lance to Bishop Johnson! When they asked all of those in agreance (or however they worded it) to sustain Bishop Johnson, Sam, Bishop Lance's 16 year-old autistic son yelled "NO!!" and stood up! Our stake president smiled and told him they would note his dissenting vote and would meet with him after the block meetings. Very funny and sweet!

Sam is very autistic but the ward is so amazing to him! If the church program deviates even a little he will run to the pulpit and make the corrections and then bear a very sincere ten-minute testimony. We all just smile and say AMEN!

 

While we were tracting this week we met a lot of people who would shoo us away because "I am already a Christian! I know about Jesus! Get back to work and find those who are not!" we mostly just went on our way so as not leave a bad taste in their mouths. A lot of people slowed down and thanked us for our service! ONLY IN THE SOUTH!

 And she sends LOVE---abrupt ending due to the letter being sent in pieces. ..