Hello friends and family!
I live in New York now! It was a great last week at the
MTC. It was hard to say goodbye to the others in my district but I kept
looking forward. I knew it was going to be fine if I trust in the Lord
and embraced the adventure that lies ahead. Well yesterday I packed up
and left the MTC at 4am and we took a bus to the airport. We flew
American airlines and the two planes I was on (the first to Chicago and
the second to New York) were the smallest planes I think I've ever been
on. I wish my dad was on the plane so he could tell me what kind it
was. I can always count on him for his knowledge :)
Dad to give you an idea of how small they were picture
this: when you walked to the end of the ramp to the plane, the plane was
about half the size of the ramp cover and you'd have to walk across a
ramp connecting the plane to the ramp. I'm not sure how well I'm
explaining this. Therefore, let me try to give you a better idea for
the second plane. The rows of the plane was one on one side and two on
the other. There were only about 17 rows, if that, and the over head
compartment was only on one side and instead of having doors that raised
up they rolled down. After we landed in New York (Westchester County/
White Plains) we walked off the plane on to the runway. The flights
weren't too bad I just was intrigued by how small the plane was.
When we landed we were picked up by a couple of
missionaries and the mission president, President Smith. They were
pretty nice people. It was crazy because we didn't really know what to
expect. One of the missionaries who I immediately became friends with,
Elder Sorensen looks like Quinn to me! lol. He drove some of us in the
van back to the mission home. He's pretty funny. Unfortunately he's
leaving tomorrow. He'll be heading back to Orem Utah. I think he said
Orem.
That first night at the mission home we met some of the
other new missionaries. There was a Sis. Portugal from Virginia
(original born in Puru) who didn't get sent to the MTC but is super
nice! Sister Broderick and I immediately became friends with her.
There were some other Elders who came from Eastern states that were fun
people. A few of them had Skype training instead of reporting to the
mtc. I thought that was really interesting! We were all on our best
behavior because we were all new and unsure of what to expect. We had a
lovely dinner with the mission president and his wife. They let us
call it a night early since most of us had been up since 3a.m. Before
the night was over we had the couples who help support the mission
presidency come over and discus with us the logistics of the serious
things like driving rules (if you get in a mission where you will
drive), support cards that have our money, and MTC insurance info. The
next morning we had breakfast and talked about the spiritual side of
life on a mission.
When the APS and some of the other missionaries came we
received our assignments! I have been assigned to serve in the Bronx!
My companion's name is Sister Tu'Akalau. On the way to meet everyone
for the transfer meeting I asked Elder Sorensen and his companion (who's
name starts with an S but slips my mind at this time) told me she was
like a gangster Tongan haha. I was excited. When we arrived at the
transfer meeting in the parking garage underneath the Bronx chapel
everyone was filled with excitement. I'd say there were about 70 or so
missionaries there hollering and cheering. It was pretty intense but
very cool at the same time. All of the new missionaries introduced
themselves.
After all the introductions we were introduced to our
companion ships! I met Sister Tu'Akalau (To-Walka-lou) and she seemed
pretty nice. I met a lot of new people today. There were a few people
from Arizona that I made some connections with. Hermana Sanders was in
my ward in Flagstaff my freshman year of college, but we never met.
However, she knew Sister Jones (Tayna) and Janice. It was weird making
those connections. Even weirder though I met Elder Blake Rossell that
is really good friends with my friend Ashley Wright and lives about a
mile from me. It's weird because once we started making the connections
I realized I had hung out with him in a group a few times! I knew he
looked so familiar to me, but I didn't place it until I asked him his
first name. Anyhow he's flying home tomorrow so I asked him to send my
love to Arizona! There is one sister here who is staying for one more
transfer. She is down in Harlem, Sister Dunacan, but she's super amazing
and has made me feel so welcomed.
Sister T, as others call my companion lol, seems super cool.
I'm excited to get to know her better. Everyone tells me she is awesome!
Our building that we live in is kind of smelly outside, but our actual
apartment is pretty cute! I love you all! I appreciate your love and
support. It means more to me than I could explain.
I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and I am excited to teach and meet the people here in New York.
Love,
Sister Johnson
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