WEEK 10: The Sparrow Is Taking Off

¡Hola, mi familia y mis amigos!

This has been a wild week!! I was transfered out of the Railroad Pass Zone in Henderson and into the Sunrise/Central Zone in East Las Vegas. My companion is Sister VanLangeveld, we cover the Morning Sun and Sunrise Mountain wards, which are 2 of the wards surrounding the Las Vegas temple. We are roommates with Hermana Wright and Hermana Housley, who cover the Spanish branch in our area! When Sister Wood and Sister Mudrow took me to transfers, I felt like I was being dropped off at college by my parents all over again haha. There's definitely been many highs and many lows already, but I am happy to be here.

Lows, because I use humor to cope:

- I'm in a biking area now, and we cover the neighborhoods surrounding the temple. That in and of itself isn't bad, except for the temple is on a hill. And so is our apartment. And so is everything else we bike to. The majority of our biking is going uphill, and my legs simply no longer work. President uses this area as the ultimate "at least you're not the sisters biking up the hill to their apartment in a dress in 110⁰ every day" example, so that makes me feel really good haha. This week I've been too sore and too cramped to sleep any other way than stretched out like a vampire. 

- We've been experiencing a heat wave, every day has been over 110⁰. Of course my first week biking had to be absolutely roasting!!

- The AC in our apartment was broken for 2 days, and we almost had to move in with the Hermanas on Nellis Blvd for the weekend. 

- Something really irritated my eye the first day, so one of my eyes was red and bloodshot, and I looked absolutely crazy for pretty much the whole week.

- When I crawled into bed Thursday night, I glanced down at the floor underneath my bed stand. And there was a scorpion just chilling there. Yes, you read that correct, THERE WAS A LIVE SCORPION. IN OUR HOME. NEXT TO MY BED. He caused quite the commotion, and it was a whole process getting him outside. Hermana Wright was an actual hero, trapping it in a cup and then throwing it outside. We had the vacuum nozzle ready at any moment in case he tried to make a break for it, but thankfully he seemed pretty lethargic and wasn't moving quickly. He was thrown on to the concrete outside and was still there when we came outside the next morning. RIP to him, but also it was rude of him to assume he was welcome within the walls of our home, and especially next to my bed! So anyway, I am now much more anxious about where I step on our carpet. Just like the 'roach incident last week, thankfully we lived to tell the tale.

- Apparently the water in our kitchen sink has an electric current somehow? It shocks people. But only randomly, it's kind of inconsistent. Sister Van has never felt it, and neither has our landlady. But Sister Wright and I have! It kind of hurts, it's like little tingly shocks on my fingers. I haven't been able to help clean the dishes all week because I get shocked by our water stream in the kitchen. #rude. If someone could riddle me that, I'd appreciate it. I don't understand the science behind this phenomenon. 

Highs:

- We get to see the temple every single day!

- I'm convinced we have the best view of the Strip in the entire mission. From the streets above the temple, you can see the entire valley and the lights are so pretty at night!

- Hermanas Wright and Housley are amazing roommates, we all get along so well!

- One of our ward mission leaders tuned up our bikes, filled the tires, fixed the brakes, and changed out/adjusted our seats for us! It's been approximately 85 years since I've ridden a bike, so his help was greatly appreciated. 

- God truly answers prayers! I was feeling so overwhelmed and discouraged Wednesday morning, and was kind of a mess. I was so sore, and still had the entire day of more uphill biking ahead of me, and it was SO. ABSURDLY. HOT. But throughout the day I felt sustained and strengthed and it ended up being a wonderful day. 

- We found two wonderful women right before the end of our night on Wednesday! We were walking around an apartment complex and ran into them. We talked to them for a second and shared a scripture, and they said that what we shared was God-sent.

- Our district is super great! Sister Van and I are the only English sisters in our Zone, so we're kind of outnumbered, but the missionaries here are great. It's going to be a good transfer, and I know we're going to see a lot of miracles.

- We found 2 people to teach on Sunday, and we know it's because we felt guided to stay in a neighborhood for a few minutes after our dinner appointment. We decided to walk instead of bike, and had to get across our area up to the temple. When we made it up there, a woman stopped us and asked if she could give us hugs. She's a member from Philadelphia, and is here for a week to recieve job training. She said she had been missing her kids and feeling very overwhelmed, so she'd decided to visit the temple grounds. And then we walked by right as she was leaving! She gave the best hugs, and we know it was divinely orchestrated for us to meet. Because her name was Sarah too! (I don't think I've clarified this, but Sis Van's first name is also Sara). We know that all 3 of us needed that boost of meeting each other.

In summary, Sister Malmstrom has been taking some L's this week. But there are always so many things to be grateful for, and there are always tender mercies that will be found when you look for them! Some things you just have to laugh at, because only as a missionary would you have these random, chaotic experiences. It hasn't even been a full week of me being here, and so much has happened. I've been thrown so far out of my comfort zone, but I'm already seeing progress in myself because I have no choice but to do the work here. It's uncomfortable, but if you can handle 15 seconds of awkward, you can do anything as a missionary. 

Thank you to everyone who responded to my email last week and offered advice, it has been greatly appreciated. As missionaries, we can definitely feel the prayers offered on our behalf from family and friends, and it's very special. Thank you to all those who keep us in our prayers, I have felt extra strength and protection this week and I know it's because of all of you!

I love you all so much!

Always remember to Live, Laugh, Love!

Sister Malmstrom 

Pictures:

- I forgot to send this last week, my last Pday with my RRP district.

- Karen crocheted Book of Mormon covers for all of us before I got transfered! I love it so much, and it's perfect to carry my Book of Mormon and pamphlets!

- At transfers!

- Biking with Sister VanLangeveld. It's literally all we do hehe

- Walking from one side of our area to the other Sunday night 

- El escorpión >:(

- #plantingseeds by using pass-along-cards and heart shaped rocks. You never know who could walk by and see it:)

- Picture with Sarah at the temple!!

P.S. Here's my new address! :)

2110 Los Feliz St #1004 Las Vegas, NV 89156 United States