much to learn

This picture is kind of boring but I wanted you to be able to see our apartment. Sorry, Mama, I will take more pictures of Jasper so that you can get a better feel for where I am. As far as Jasper is concerned, just picture a tiny, but quaint, little Main St. with small shops (coffee shops, barber shops, clothing shops, furniture shops), a city hall, the old Jasper Jail house, and an old wooden bridge that is too old for cars to drive over. Our street (W. Sellers) is just off of Main St. There are a few predominant streets that branch off of that part of town, a few highways down the road a stretch (but they're only 2 lanes) and lots and lots of lush, green forests--everywhere. And when someone tells you "turn at the second street on your left" that does not mean that the first street is within a mile of where you turned or that the two streets are by any means close to each other. This is the country! :)

We had a Zone Conference yesterday and it was great to be with President and Sister King again. Let me tell you a little bit more about each of them. President King is optimistic, innovative, and energetic. He has a great vision for the mission--for what the Lord expects this mission to become. Matt, you won't be surprised (since he did graphic design and advertising/marketing) that he uses a Mac. :) He is very bright. Actually, he reminds me a lot of my brother Jonathan. He testifies powerfully and he has said at least 4 times while we have been in meetings, "I want you to KNOW that your mission president knows that Jesus is the Christ and that this is His work." Powerful.

Sister King is similarly friendly. She is precise, poised and punctual. He is exceptional. They both are. She plays the piano beautifully. She is a gifted speaker.

To tell you the truth, Zone Conferences (and any mission conferences, for that matter) awake in me a broad range of emotions. My emotions vacillate more during those times than any other times on the mission, which is strange, I think. I feel inadeqate and then overwhelmed (my how much there is that I need to work on) and then energized and then...overloaded. There is so much to work on. And of course they had all of us prepare 3 min. talks (this time it was on teaching by the Spirit) and out of the two zones that were meeting the Assistants chose me as one of the two speakers. I did not feel prepared so that made me feel even worse. It wasn't horrible or anything, but I just felt like I disappointed God by not preparing a more organized talk. Conferences are definitely bitter-sweet experiences for me.

Five investigators came to church on Sunday, which was (as it is any time an investigator comes to church) a miracle! The Cooleys (Lisa and James) came and brought their friend, Jessica (whom we have been teaching). Jim Whitaker and Brie (who is amazing!) also came. Brie is going through a tough divorce and has 6 yr old twin girls and a 2 yr old girl as well. She has not been satisfied with her old church or others and her friend Brynn Ward (who is a memb. of the branch) invited her to church and she loved it and is reading up a storm! WAHOO! :)

Sis. Parker and I got to speak on Sunday, and in contrast to the little talk I gave at Zone Conf., I felt very blessed and guided during my talk on Sunday. They asked us to speak about missionary work so I talked about the Atonement and how understanding it and experiencing the joy that comes from using it is what motivates us to share that with others. Sis. Parker talked about a lot of things related to missionary work.

I love you! I am doing really well. Thank you for everything. I would love advice about goal setting because I'm beginning to feel very frustrated with that--especially the comp/personal weekly goals (not the numbers but the study goals, etc). Thank you!

Love,
Sister Mitchell