Hey y'all. Monday, November 15, 2010
After arriving at 3:00 pm on preparation day last week (Monday) I had to wait until this Monday to finally email. So here it is. There is lots of news, as you could probably imagine.
First. Five facts about Georgia.
After arriving at 3:00 pm on preparation day last week (Monday) I had to wait until this Monday to finally email. So here it is. There is lots of news, as you could probably imagine.
First. Five facts about Georgia.
1. People are really serious about church here. There are more churches here than in Utah. I had read that about the South (more churches per capita than anywhere in the USA, but only now do I believe it. Lots of variety in belief, lots of passionate believers.
2. People use pine needles instead of bark. Yes, pine needles. And not just here and there. I haven't seen any bark. Just pine needles. This whole town could go up in flames because it is decorated with tinder.
3. Fire hydrants here are metallic silver with neon green tops. Interesting.
4. The autumn weather here is absolutely gorgeous. It has literally been between 60 and 75 degrees this entire week. Today was the first day that it rained. A light drizzle, but still not cold outside. Beautiful autumn leaves on all the trees.
5. People really do say "y'all" as much as you think they do. True. Its not "How are you" or "How are ya?" It's always always "How're y'all?" And it's possessive too. As in "How was y'all's dinner?" Also true. No exagerration.
I am in Athens, Georgia home of the University of Georgia. I am serving in the Athens 2nd Ward, which is essentially the west half of town. It is a really pretty area. It never occurred to me, but Georgia is mostly full of trees. Deciduous style. In those places where the forest has not been cleared away, it is so thick that I don't think you could walk through it and if you did, it would rip your clothes and scratch you up. They aren't really big trees in height or width, there are just a lot of them.
I am in a threesome because we came in on week two of a transfer. My companions are Elder Mortenson and Elder Arnett. Let's just start by saying that I have so far been immensely blessed in the category of companions. All three of my companions have been aces so far.
Elder Mortenson is the senior. He has been out fifteen months, he is from Lindon, Utah. He crochets. He has made three beanies already this week. He is teaching Elder Arnett and I how to do it. (He is making them for Christmas gifts for his family, you see.) He is a self-described drama queen. Basically, he is absolutely hilarious. At the same time, he is very motivated and dedicated to the work we are out here to do. He has an excellent old lady voice and tells good stories. He plays piano quite well and is super good at making sure we are working effectively, but also having a good time while doing it.
Elder Arnett is a little quieter like me. He has six months in the mission. He went to the MTC the week I got my call letter...weird to think about. He is from Gilbert, Arizona. He likes singing, but not as much as Elder Anderson. He is very nice and very level-headed. I enjoy being around him. Which is probably a positive thing seeing as we have to live together. I am very very happy with my companions. We have a car with 1500 miles a month because Elders Mortenson and Arnett are zone leaders.
We live in an apartment on the second floor. It has two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, and laundry room, and bathroom. It is a little bigger than my Wyview apartment. Very nice. Has a tiny balcony overlooking a gorgeous parking lot. Love it. Actually, it is in a very pretty area. There are a lot of trees surrounding the complex, and in order to get to the apartment you have to go through a gate (type in a code and all that) and then drive around a small lake that Elder Arnett calls Walden Pond. It is beautiful. We went running a couple mornings ago--after I persuaded and convinced both of them to do it. We ran past the lake and it was all steamy and awesome. They never want to go running again though. It's okay, it's quite chill in the morning time.
I flew from SLC to Dallas to Atlanta. I sat next a lady while waiting at the gate to board who, with her husband, owns the Tupperware franchise. She was quite an interesting character. I sat next to a really nice but long-winded LDS lady on the flight to Dallas. I had an aisle seat. On the back row. And the window in our aisle had a perfect view of the jet engine. I got to chat with folks waiting to enter the lavatory, however. Then we had a fast layover in Dallas where we ate lunch and tried to use the pay phones, but the first minute cost six dollars in change and a quarter every minute after that and none of us had that much change. So...that was a little disappointing. The flight to Atlanta was not full, though all the window seats were full. I had a middle seat next to two of the missionaries I was travelling with. One was Elder Gneiting who was my roommate at the MTC. One was Elder Nickel from my branch. The other was some other Elder who is waiting for a visa to...get this. PARIS. He is the first French speaking Elder to serve in Atlanta so far as the mission president was aware.
We met President King at the airport after searching for about twenty minutes. He is an awesome individual and yes, his wife is Michelle King the famous KSL 5 News Anchor for any of you familiar with Salt Lake City area news anchors. The assistants to the president took us out to dinner at a place called Atlanta's Best Wings where I ate my first ever BBQ wings and fried okra. Interesting...
(Sidenote: I have eaten dinner at five different houses. And I have done super well at eating things. I ate spanish rice, black-eyed peas, mushrooms, salad with tomatoes in it, chili (first time ever), apple crisp (the hardest thing to swallow all week), etc. Also, one of the meals was with an older man whose children are long gone and whose wife is not a member. She was at work the whole time. They live in a beautiful townhome. Really, I wanted to live there. It was very stylish and comfortable. And to our surprise, this Brother apparently has a PhD in food science and spent several years at chef school. He also worked in a five-star restaurant for part of his schooling. So, he didn't even eat with us. He simply served us a five-star, five-course meal like a waiter. We talked with him as he cooked our filet mignon steaks, warmed our butternut squash soup, served us our salads with three cheese balsamic vinegar dressing, Italian olives, parmesan cheese, and green onions in them, a twice-baked potato, etc. Amazing. And he offered to go out teaching with us whenever we needed him. I like him.)
I got assigned here. There are three Spanish elders and a Brazil visa waiter who live in our apartment building. I was acquainted with the visa waiter at the MTC.
It's been good. A lot of tracting because both Elder Arnett and Mortenson are new in this area as am I (go figure) and the missionaries before us didn't leave too much to go on. It has been scary, but not as hard as I thought. Meeting nice people who are interested makes up for the scariness. Also, many people are religious (as I said above) so they are at least interested in hearing who we are, even if they don't want to talk to us past that. No one has been super rude so far. However, it is a relatively common thing to just yell thru the door "Who is it?" and it sometimes develops into whole thru the door conversations. At yelling volume. Odd.
I have given a blessing to a lady in the hospital who had a terrible skin lesion but who is now recovered, taught a lesson to an awesome lady who came to church yesterday and whose boyfriend's kids are planning on being baptized soon, met a lot of good members. PS I had to speak in church yesterday on how missionary work can strengthen our testimonies of Christ. I received the assignment on Saturday night and it was for a ten minute talk. I had a bad headache Saturday too. And church starts at 9:00am. So it was interesting, but turned out really really well. So much I could keep saying, but I have to go. Here is the address to send mail to.
Elder Joshua Steven Bodily
1150 Cole Drive SW
Lilburn, GA 30047
Please mail, I've had nothing since arriving in Georgia! I am having fun. It is good to be here. So many stories already.
Tchau for now,
Elder Bodily
2. People use pine needles instead of bark. Yes, pine needles. And not just here and there. I haven't seen any bark. Just pine needles. This whole town could go up in flames because it is decorated with tinder.
3. Fire hydrants here are metallic silver with neon green tops. Interesting.
4. The autumn weather here is absolutely gorgeous. It has literally been between 60 and 75 degrees this entire week. Today was the first day that it rained. A light drizzle, but still not cold outside. Beautiful autumn leaves on all the trees.
5. People really do say "y'all" as much as you think they do. True. Its not "How are you" or "How are ya?" It's always always "How're y'all?" And it's possessive too. As in "How was y'all's dinner?" Also true. No exagerration.
I am in Athens, Georgia home of the University of Georgia. I am serving in the Athens 2nd Ward, which is essentially the west half of town. It is a really pretty area. It never occurred to me, but Georgia is mostly full of trees. Deciduous style. In those places where the forest has not been cleared away, it is so thick that I don't think you could walk through it and if you did, it would rip your clothes and scratch you up. They aren't really big trees in height or width, there are just a lot of them.
I am in a threesome because we came in on week two of a transfer. My companions are Elder Mortenson and Elder Arnett. Let's just start by saying that I have so far been immensely blessed in the category of companions. All three of my companions have been aces so far.
Elder Mortenson is the senior. He has been out fifteen months, he is from Lindon, Utah. He crochets. He has made three beanies already this week. He is teaching Elder Arnett and I how to do it. (He is making them for Christmas gifts for his family, you see.) He is a self-described drama queen. Basically, he is absolutely hilarious. At the same time, he is very motivated and dedicated to the work we are out here to do. He has an excellent old lady voice and tells good stories. He plays piano quite well and is super good at making sure we are working effectively, but also having a good time while doing it.
Elder Arnett is a little quieter like me. He has six months in the mission. He went to the MTC the week I got my call letter...weird to think about. He is from Gilbert, Arizona. He likes singing, but not as much as Elder Anderson. He is very nice and very level-headed. I enjoy being around him. Which is probably a positive thing seeing as we have to live together. I am very very happy with my companions. We have a car with 1500 miles a month because Elders Mortenson and Arnett are zone leaders.
We live in an apartment on the second floor. It has two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, and laundry room, and bathroom. It is a little bigger than my Wyview apartment. Very nice. Has a tiny balcony overlooking a gorgeous parking lot. Love it. Actually, it is in a very pretty area. There are a lot of trees surrounding the complex, and in order to get to the apartment you have to go through a gate (type in a code and all that) and then drive around a small lake that Elder Arnett calls Walden Pond. It is beautiful. We went running a couple mornings ago--after I persuaded and convinced both of them to do it. We ran past the lake and it was all steamy and awesome. They never want to go running again though. It's okay, it's quite chill in the morning time.
I flew from SLC to Dallas to Atlanta. I sat next a lady while waiting at the gate to board who, with her husband, owns the Tupperware franchise. She was quite an interesting character. I sat next to a really nice but long-winded LDS lady on the flight to Dallas. I had an aisle seat. On the back row. And the window in our aisle had a perfect view of the jet engine. I got to chat with folks waiting to enter the lavatory, however. Then we had a fast layover in Dallas where we ate lunch and tried to use the pay phones, but the first minute cost six dollars in change and a quarter every minute after that and none of us had that much change. So...that was a little disappointing. The flight to Atlanta was not full, though all the window seats were full. I had a middle seat next to two of the missionaries I was travelling with. One was Elder Gneiting who was my roommate at the MTC. One was Elder Nickel from my branch. The other was some other Elder who is waiting for a visa to...get this. PARIS. He is the first French speaking Elder to serve in Atlanta so far as the mission president was aware.
We met President King at the airport after searching for about twenty minutes. He is an awesome individual and yes, his wife is Michelle King the famous KSL 5 News Anchor for any of you familiar with Salt Lake City area news anchors. The assistants to the president took us out to dinner at a place called Atlanta's Best Wings where I ate my first ever BBQ wings and fried okra. Interesting...
(Sidenote: I have eaten dinner at five different houses. And I have done super well at eating things. I ate spanish rice, black-eyed peas, mushrooms, salad with tomatoes in it, chili (first time ever), apple crisp (the hardest thing to swallow all week), etc. Also, one of the meals was with an older man whose children are long gone and whose wife is not a member. She was at work the whole time. They live in a beautiful townhome. Really, I wanted to live there. It was very stylish and comfortable. And to our surprise, this Brother apparently has a PhD in food science and spent several years at chef school. He also worked in a five-star restaurant for part of his schooling. So, he didn't even eat with us. He simply served us a five-star, five-course meal like a waiter. We talked with him as he cooked our filet mignon steaks, warmed our butternut squash soup, served us our salads with three cheese balsamic vinegar dressing, Italian olives, parmesan cheese, and green onions in them, a twice-baked potato, etc. Amazing. And he offered to go out teaching with us whenever we needed him. I like him.)
I got assigned here. There are three Spanish elders and a Brazil visa waiter who live in our apartment building. I was acquainted with the visa waiter at the MTC.
It's been good. A lot of tracting because both Elder Arnett and Mortenson are new in this area as am I (go figure) and the missionaries before us didn't leave too much to go on. It has been scary, but not as hard as I thought. Meeting nice people who are interested makes up for the scariness. Also, many people are religious (as I said above) so they are at least interested in hearing who we are, even if they don't want to talk to us past that. No one has been super rude so far. However, it is a relatively common thing to just yell thru the door "Who is it?" and it sometimes develops into whole thru the door conversations. At yelling volume. Odd.
I have given a blessing to a lady in the hospital who had a terrible skin lesion but who is now recovered, taught a lesson to an awesome lady who came to church yesterday and whose boyfriend's kids are planning on being baptized soon, met a lot of good members. PS I had to speak in church yesterday on how missionary work can strengthen our testimonies of Christ. I received the assignment on Saturday night and it was for a ten minute talk. I had a bad headache Saturday too. And church starts at 9:00am. So it was interesting, but turned out really really well. So much I could keep saying, but I have to go. Here is the address to send mail to.
Elder Joshua Steven Bodily
1150 Cole Drive SW
Lilburn, GA 30047
Please mail, I've had nothing since arriving in Georgia! I am having fun. It is good to be here. So many stories already.
Tchau for now,
Elder Bodily
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