Hi everyone!
So here is the story for the week... My new companion's name is Sister Williams. She is from Bentonville, Arkansas. She talks about Walmart a lot... Anyway, she is so much easier to get along with than my last companion and is just super chill most of the time. She is training me well but she stresses out about things more than I do. Also, if I start humming a popular song, she will tell me that it is "apostate" so that's kind of weird. But overall, she's easy to spend all of my time with even though I know we will never be bosom friends ;)
Sis. Williams and I are over 2 wards in the Glendale North Stake. They are the Bellair ward and the Arrowhead Ranch ward. Bellair is kind of small and poor (that's where we live too) and Arrowhead Ranch is really big and everyone is rich. That ward is full of wealthy medical students who are going to Midwestern University. You can totally tell the difference between the two because the people in Bellair love helping us out and giving us referrals. In Arrowhead, they don't even pay attention to us. No joke, the bishop in Arrowhead avoids us on purpose. Even though it's in his job description to meet with us and invite us to ward council, he won't do it! It's so frustrating! He also won't look us in the eyes when we try to corner him at church.
I LOVE my mission president. He is so cool because he's really quiet and doesn't smile a lot but he's pretty laid back and just has that awesome quiet humor. He is more like a "spirit of the law" kind of guy instead of "letter of the law". He really emphasizes exercise. He actually changed the rule so that we have 45 minutes of exercise time every day with at least 25-30 minutes of cardio included in that. So that is super good especially because my apartment complex has a gym. Also, one of his sons is married to a Wiggs from Columbus! Haha! He is very trusting too because he let me drive on my first day here. My companion doesn't have a license but we do mostly biking and some car so I do ALL of the driving. I biked for the first time on Saturday and it was in the afternoon so it was really hot and we went for 15 miles!!!!! (Also I really hate my helmet with a passion) One thing that is hard while I'm driving is that I don't know where anything is. Seriously, look up my address on google earth and look at the surrounding neighborhood. Whoever designed these streets was so obviously intoxicated. It's a never ending maze.
So here is my complaining paragraph (because there always has to be one). So my pinky toenail fell off this week and it hurts. I keep wondering why my eyes always hurt and why they always water and I just realized it's because I constantly have sunscreen all over my body. I'm a big greasy mess. Everyone always makes big meals with desserts because they don't have missionaries over very often but it's like they don't realize that we get that literally every day. I have to bike out in the heat after eating dessert and I feel like I'm going to throw up, but my companion says I'm not allowed to turn down. It's torture. Also, I'm getting used to taking cold showers. Not because I have to, but because it's the only time I feel cool. Ever. For some reason everyone calls this time of the year "monsoon season" even though it never rains so that's annoying. Honestly though, I haven't been stressed out at all since I have been here. The biking and heat are terrible but I try to never complain out loud so that's why it's all coming out now. I have seen all 3 of my roommates cry at least once this week and it's weird. Like, I don't get why it's so hard. If someone doesn't want the gospel, then MOVE ON to someone who does and get over it.
Now for the people we've met and the food we've eaten. My first day here, my companion and I knocked on this random dude's door and he turned out to be a tiny Asian bible basher whose name is not Steven. So that was interesting. But my companion said I took it like a champ. The other day we ate at this member's house who is Polish. She fed us potato and cheese pierogis with sautéed apples and cabbage and it was all super amazing! Also, yesterday we ate dinner at another member family's house. The dad served his mission in Sweden and so raised his kids to all speak Swedish. That was cool. They fed us awesome Mexican food. Speaking of Mexican food, my first day here was a mission conference and transfers which means that every single missionary in our mission was there (that's almost 200 missionaries). It was catered and we had awesome steak taco things. Unfortunately, I got salsa happy and almost died because it was literally the hottest thing I have ever eaten. My whole face was leaking and everyone at my table and the surrounding tables was laughing at me. So there's that.
My first day biking, my comp asked where we should go and I looked at her like "what?" So I picked out this random apartment complex and random apartment and we knocked on the door. Sis. Williams calls it "spirit tracting". Anyway, this woman named Barbara answered. She's older and she takes care of her 15 year old grandson. Well she let us in and told us she's very catholic but she agreed to let us come serve her this week. She was so nice and I think we found her for a reason! My roommates serve in another ward next to us and they have this investigator. She really really wants to get baptized and she tells everyone at church she's getting baptized.....BUT she is a medium and she talks to dead people. Also, she and her husband were married in a weird tribal ceremony where they wrapped blankets around each other so technically they are not keeping the law of chastity because they aren't legally married. So the sisters don't know what to do so they asked the mission president...he said it was above him so he is calling the First Presidency this week to ask them about it! Ha!
Anyway, there's more stuff I could tell you but this is so looooong already... Have a good week!
LOVES
Sister Alex Solomon
4545 W. Beardsley Rd. Apt. 2031
Glendale, AZ 85308
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