Maganda ni Florida

Kamusta y'all!

   I'm in Florida now. It is hot and humid and rainy, so it's pretty much like the Philippines. And I love it! Everyone is super nice. I ate pretty much nothing on Tuesday while I was traveling here, because I didn't have time. So it was so great to have a home cooked meal when we got to Florida. I got to spend my first night at the mission home. President and Sister Lee are pretty much the best. They are so kind and they take really good care of us.

   The next day we had some trainings, and then we got our kasamas and headed right to our areas. My kasama is Sister Topham and she is absolutely wonderful. She's been here for 3 months and she's helping me learn so much.

   The members here are amazing! They are so involved in the work and they feed us almost every day. We've been practicing some lessons with them, because I'd never taught a lesson in English before. And we've had some wonderful experiences encouraging them to share the gospel with their friends. We had a super awesome miracle the other day. We went to give a Book of Mormon to a woman who had expressed interest, but she wasn't home. So we went to say hello to a lady they'd met before who was super sweet, but was a committed 7th day eventist. She invited us in to have breakfast with her family... at 2 in the afternoon... But she was super nice and we had a great time together. Then we decided to check at the first woman's house and she was home! And she was moving the next day! We were so blessed to be able see her before she moved and we wouldn't be able to find her, and just because a nice lady felt like she should invite us to breakfast.

    The ward here is so great! It was so good to be in a family ward for church on Sunday. And two of our tinuturuan were there! They just surprised us and showed up, and they seemed to both have a great experience.

    Overall, the Florida Jacksonville mission is pretty much the best. The people are great, the weather is great, my kasama is great, and I love being a missionary. I'm excited to keep learning and get better at being a missionary and to get to know the St Johns area better. My address is 546 Scrub Jay Drive, St. Augustine Florida, 32092. So if y'all wanna send me something that would be fun, it's a lot easier than sending something to the Philippines. ;)

    Ingat y'all!

 Sister Harrison

  (Yes, people use y'all regularly here and I've been adopting it) I'm still getting used to the humidity, but I actually really like it. I noticed it the moment we walked out of the airport, it felt like it had just rained, but that's just how humidity feels. Also, we've had a couple thunderstorms and they make me really happy. It's been hot, but it actually hasn't bothered me too much. We've been driving most places, because the bike they loaned me doesn't work. It doesn't want to turn right, or pedal, or do the things a bike is supposed to do. We're gonna get it fixed, because we have a limited number of miles we can drive per month.

  Our townhouse is super nice. We have lots of space, walk in closets, and I get my own bathroom. It's pretty luxurious. There are trees and little ponds literally everywhere. It is absolutely beautiful and I love it. My kasama Sister Topham is super cute, and she's still new so we're figuring things out together. She only just finished her own training, and now she's training me.

 I don't know when I'll have my visa, or when I'll know I have my visa, but I definitely will only leave at a transfer.

   I do have a phone, which is something to adjust to. But I can only read my emails on P-day, which is actually nice so I don't think about it or get distracted.

   The St Johns area is one of the nicer areas in the mission, which is a good thing but also a bad thing. Everyone here is super Christian and goes to one church or another. There are so many different churches here! The people who are well off are more rude and less interested. There are a lot of other areas around here that are pretty poor, and the people there are more humble and willing to listen. But I love my area, and there are a lot of great people here. We have some great tinuturuan and I'm so excited to continue teaching them.

    I love the Florida Jacksonville Mission. All of the missionaries and leaders are so fun and enthusiastic. Sister Topham is so fun and I already love her so much. I am so grateful for whatever time I get to be here and serve the people here. I know this is where I need to be right now and I am so blessed.