6. Holy Crap And Cow

Hola de Eugene!

Today's subject line comes from the first thing I wrote in my journal on my first day in the field. I know everybody says missions are hard, but now I know why. Sorry but this email will be long because Hermana Thrasher has a lot of juice to tell y'all. 

So I finished the MTC! I took a language test, did some ending questionnaires, and logged off the zoom for the last time. A very unceremonious graduation, but I was so busy packing and trying to find a dual voltage hair dryer that it really didn't matter much. Saying goodbye to my district was hard since we had gotten so close, but I'm proud of all of them and the work they will do all over the world.

And then, I got myself on a plane and flew to Oregon. It's gorgeous here and it's hot! Maybe not Texas heat, but my area is a walking area and I am drenched in sweat after 5 minutes outside. I will not lie to y'all, the first few days were muy dificil. I walked into a small, funky smelling apartment, looked around, and realized I really was not in Texas anymore. Tears flowed pretty easy those first few days. But you guys, Heavenly Father is so good. Despite all the weirdness, newness, and crackheads at the gas station, I have been at peace and had confidence in what I'm doing out here. 

My dope, Tongan, gorgeous, funny companion Sister Peaua and I are whitewashing this area (whitewashing means we are both new to the area and don't know anything about this place). The good thing is Sis Peaua has been on her mission for like 15 months so she has the best advice! I love her and the other sister companionship in my ward. They are absolutely insane and if they didn't keep me laughing, I would be having a mental breakdown.

We are in Northern Eugene area and it's not quite like anywhere I've lived before. The members of the Church around here are awesome though and we are taken care of. They all have big gardens and give us tons of fresh produce. Plus, we do so much service and I love it! I have always enjoyed a good service project, but especially now I am grateful for the joy service can bring me.

I'm not in a Spanish branch or anything, so language study has been a little spotty not gonna lie. But I hope I can keep my skills sharp for at least a little longer. Also, we do a TON of Facebook finding. It is not fun, but I have met some interesting people thus far and it has actually given us a few service opportunities with people in the community this week!  

Anyways spiritual thought this week comes from Elder Uchtdorf's talk called "Forget Me Not". In the talk, he discusses some things that we should never forget and my favorite thing from the whole talk was the idea that we should never forget to be patient with ourselves. Life is hard. We are all on this earth to learn and grow and sometimes that road is long and bumpy. Sometimes we feel like we will never reach the end or reach our full potential. But be patient with yourself and celebrate the small victories, you're doing better than you know. 

Love all y'all so much! Thanks for the words of encouragement, they are such a bright spot in my week!! 

Hermana Thrasher

PICS!

1&2: The squad and the truck we had for 2 days (named Gita). She is dearly missed. 

3&4&5: Saying goodbyes... oof

6: bus gang

7: OEM woohoooooo

bonus 8: me