................Sister Lauren Holmoe..... .......Tallahassee, Florida Mission....: Week 33

HEY Y'ALL!!

SOOOO many things to say today!! GUESS WHAT? HUGE winter storm coming in today and lasting 3 days....SNOW!? The electricity is projected to go out and the roads are going to be wayyy icy and slick! 4-6 inches projected here! WELCOME TO ALABAMA?! Oh Troy, Alabama how I love this place!! It is the cutest little town you've ever seen!! There are so many things to update y’all on I don't even know where to begin!

Sister McFarland is my companion and she is from Salem, Oregon! She’s really sweet! We actually live with the two other sisters in Troy as well so it’s what they call a "four-pad." It is smaller than my last apartment and we have twice the amount of people....we only have 2 mirrors!? It’s quite the adjustment but we are surviving!! The adjustment has been hard for them because they were all in a trio before I came. We had to split the work and the people and it’s been kind of crazy but I think in a week it will be all figured out and normal again! There is SOOO much potential in this area, it’s unreal!!! It’s been pretty stagnant for a long time so there is a lot of work to do but I'm excited!! Being in a new area is really refreshing and I've been able to better see how much I've grown as a missionary since I first came out!! Sister McFarland and I are ready to work hard, set some good goals, and get this area rolling!! It needs a lot of help!!

So we work on Troy University's campus basically every day! It is SO much fun!!! It feels so weird being back in college, seeing all the new clothing styles, and it’s just a whole new mission! Troy is FULL of international students so I've already taught students from Germany, Nigeria, Ukraine, and tons and tons of Asians (: They call Troy "the gateway to China" because of all the Asian students! I always knew I'd go to Asia on my mission! (: You are never bored here because you can always just be walking around talking to people! We walk a lot which I LOVE!! It’s been pretty cold lately though! The campus is really nice!!)

We do a lot of Family History here! We set up booths during the week and try to get appointments to help people with their family history! We've already had lots of appointments for that but now we have to work on bridging the gap to teaching the gospel!!

We did get a new investigator this week named Daseul! She is Korean and SO cute (: We taught her the first lesson and taught her how to pray!! She barely spoke English and yet said the BEST PRAYER EVER for the first time in her entire life! She didn't even know God loved her. I'm not used to teaching people like that so it is all new to me but I love it!! The language barrier gets tricky but it’s awesome. The only hard thing with teaching Asians is getting them to church.....they are SOOO serious about their studies and education that they use Sundays to do that. It will be tricky to get them to church but we can do it!

Crazy story! Ashley from Lynn Haven gave me the name of one of her good friends up here in Troy and I randomly met her on the 2nd day I was here!?! NO COINCIDINCES in the mission life! I also met tons of students from Lynn Haven and Panama City so it’s a good connection to be able to know where they are from and even what street they live on!

There are 6 missionaries in our Branch and 8 in our District and I've been out the longest!?! Isn't that crazy!? I feel so old in the mission life haha! The people in the branch are hilarious. It is a family branch and a couple YSA's! It is so small and cute. In Relief Society we sat in a circle!! SO different than what I'm used to but it’s fun! The people are nice but just like any place it will take some time to make relationships and feel at home! There is a man named Bro Whiting here who was the facility manager at Dad's stake building! He loves you Dad! The Branch mission leader is HILARIOUS and the Branch President is like the most intense man ever. Apparently he does this thing with all the new missionaries where he comes up to them 5 min before sacrament and assigns them a super hard topic and asks them to speak that day in sacrament! WOAH now.....haha! Only in Troy!

Every Saturday we do a Sports Night at the practice field on Campus with branch members, ysa's and students! We play Ultimate Frisbee! Boy oh boy am I out of shape!!! I was sore the next day from all the running! I love how much exercise we get in this area. We share one car with all sets so we do mostly walking, some biking, and the occasional car! It’s really nice to get a variety but walking is definitely my favorite!

So we work mostly on campus but do some community work as well! We are still trying to decide how to divvy out all the areas and work so I'll keep you posted! The town is really cute though too!

I'm excited for all the adventures and experiences I'm going to have in Troy! It’s definitely a hard area and a challenging place to teach but like I said, SO MUCH POTENTIAL! I'm excited for where it is going! I'm ready to work hard!

Leaving Lynn Haven was WOW, SO HARD :( It was almost just as hard leaving there as it was leaving Provo...haha. That place will forever be my home away from home! We were able to have a successful YSA bonfire on the beach on Monday night with less actives there and also teach Ashley’s Mom on Tuesday which went AWESOME <3. The Morses took us out Tuesday night and saying bye to them was really hard but we'll stay close FOREVER! I pray for the people of Lynn Haven every day! Carolyne cried for hours when I left...love that woman so much! Even the picture guy at Walmart tried giving me a hug and then resulted in kissing my hand goodbye haha! He is like 80 years old...haha! I'm so grateful for everything about my first 7 months <3

We had a crazy adventure on the way up to transfer spots...Sister Sam's bike fell off the bike rack on the freeway! We were so blessed that no one was near us so no one was hurt! I hope they can fix her bike...it was pretty wrecked! I love Sister Sam so so much and hope she is doing well!!! She will be my sister for life! Just like I knew it would be, it was hard to leave, but I'm SO happy to be here in Troy!!!! I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I know this is where I'm needed and have prayed a lot for comfort! I've felt soooo comforted and so blessed! GO TROJANS!!!! <3 I love you all so so much and pray for you daily!!!! Thanks for the emails!!! <3/ Sister Holmoe

PS. Be sure to email me for my new address!! lauren.holmoe@myldsmail.net

Last Supper at Newks!