Hey Family,
It is like a foreign country up here in South Carolina. I am having a little bit of a hard time honestly connecting with the people, so I just try to be extra outgoing when I talk to anybody. I was emergency transferred because Elder Lee's companion went home early... I don't really know what else to tell you, but I came up from a zebra trio in Gainesville, meaing a companionship of both English and Spanish-speakers.
The people up here are all so nice, but most of them are really religious in Ridgeland. The members are wonderful people and they will do anything for us it seems. It seems like most of the recent baptisms have been from people that the ward have referred to the Elders. This is where Elder Winward was trained, back when it was a part of the Macon, GA mission, so a lot of people know him. I honestly miss Gainesville a lot and have been having a hard time getting over the sudden change, but I know that it will all work out in the end. Elder Lee is from Escondido, CA and I told him that I knew someone named Marriah from there and he told me that he didn't just know her, but apparently they were almost dating at one point. It's crazy how small the world is when you're LDS. We are pretty different, and it's been presenting some challenges, but I think that we'll be able to sort those things out in the coming days.
Yesterday we were planning on biking down to Hardeeville, but stopped about a quarter of the way and realized it was a bad idea, so we went to visit a recent convert, Brother Spann. He has a great testimony and is so solid and loves the church! He told us that there was a big crash under the bridge right by where he lives. A semi full of mangoes crashed into the pillar! From what we heard, he made it out alright, but it was an intense wreck. We went down and got a bunch of mangoes after they cleaned up the bigger parts of the accident. haha yum.
When we were sitting in sacrament meeting this week a member brought her friend, Melissa, to come and visit the church with us and she got up and bore her testimony because she felt the spirit so strong. Before we could ask her to set up an appointment with us, she approached us and set up her own appointment to meet with us on Tuesday. I am excited for this Ward! We are working both Spanish and English here because we are the only missionaries for miles, so it's a culture shock, but it just means more opportunities to teach and especially to find.
A funny saying that I thought I would share with you that I heard from Elder Lee is that only in the Jacksonville, FL mission: The further north you go, the further south you get. Haha it's so true. I'm sure that I will have a lot of stories to share about this place in my coming letters.
It's been a really tough week, but I am still convinced that the Lord is helping me along. I'm really excited for General Conference and I hope you are too. Keep praying for me and I'll do the same! I love you a lot and don't have a ton of time because of the fact that I had to share a computer! I'll talk to you in a week :)
Love,
Eric
