Morgan Samantha: life is better in a mansion.

Hello family & beyond.

well let me tell you a little bit of info & then i'll get to the good stuff!

i arrived in TN at like 2ish here. went to the mission presidents home, had interviews and then ate at 5 (i hadn't had a bite to eat all day long and was gonna pass out!). then we had this little devo & had a opportunity to write a letter to you... but i had written one on the plane ride there so i didn't have much to say other than "hi i am here!" hahaha. so thats why the one with the pictures coming sucks, just know i sent another one that was a little bigger. be sure to tell me how long it takes to get there. i sent it thursday.

then we got to go to bed early! thank heavens, after being up since 2am and flying i was going to DIE. literally, i kept thinking to myself... "how are they expecting this of me?!" and since i was the only sister i got to sleep in the basement by myself... kinda like at home! hahaha i had 10 glorious hours of sleep! then woke & ate breakfast & went off to meet my trainer!

sista stewart! from tasmana austrellia... cook, right? hahaha she has been out 9 months. so when she goes home i'll be at my halfway mark! she is really the sweetest little thing & gorgeous as all get out. hahaha... i get confused with my accents now. just because i have 2 different types and i feel like im picking up a little from each which just ends up making me sound really stupid.

maxine is a doll. she's not a member of the lds church, but loves us. hahaha. all the missionaries joke around and say "life is better in a mansion!" its not a mansion... but its a house & we live in the attic. & its a really nice house, maxine INSISTS on buying our food. its ridiculous! but it makes her feel good... so who am i to take that away?! plus it gives us the opportunity to make her cool foods like cheesecake. she has a sweet tooth, worse than me! btw! she really wasn't supposed to call you... but shes a little stubborn & wouldn't have me not dial the number. but yeah, don't call her. just wait until i can email you. plus it takes all the fun out of telling you things if maxine has already spilled the beans.

how funny is it that i ride bikes?! uh thanks mission prez for letting me know that i would EVER be on a bike?! haaaa. i dont have to buy one though, there is only 2 areas where sisters are on bikes & i am in one, so they provide the bikes but take out $10 month for us. but im a little bit bugged i wasn't informed, i would have bought a backpack and biking shorts. because otherwise my G's show. but yeah every thursday we trade cars with the elder. thrusday i'll be back in the car. i love the bikes for the fact that we get to do more street contact, and i dont worry about gaining as much weight on them... tennessee has some massive hills... literally it kills the legs, if i stay on bikes i'll have some hard rock thighs when i get home. so look for ward to that all y'all.

anyways... the humidity isn't that bad. honestly... lisa my hair is ALWAYS natural now though. its actually a lot prettier with the humidity because it makes it a little more curly.

yes i know im in kourneys mom's city. she called sister stewart and said i know your traineeeee! hahhaa i talked to her for a second in front of a good old baptist lady, who glared at my name tag. gotta love it.

so let me tell you about the funny stories i have so far. hahhaa my first interaction with someone from TN was on the plane to TN! hahaha. these two ladies... they were like...

"y'all are mormons?" and me & the elders said "yeahhh" and they said "why don't yunz get mit romeny to run gain?" literally they said it like i typed it. i had to hold my breath to keep from laughing. yunz = you guys (i think?). like everyone told me the stereotypical 'southern' and yeah sure i thought a few might be like that... but nope. almost everyone in the south is like that! hahaha! well the ones who have lived here there whole life are. its interesting, dental hygiene is not a thing here, let alone personal hygiene.

almost everyone here has a church. there is a church on every corner... definitely not a mormon church! hahaha here are some of the names "park & pray" "faith promise" "st johns methodist lounge" --- yeah. idk! but its interesting. everyone likes jesus, so thats cool!

its really hard to teach here. i guess i dont have experience anywhere else! but... people are "nice" i guess, they act nice but really are rude to you in the nicest way possible. we have a few investigators--- who never seem to keep their commitments. but! we did get someone to commit to baptism on july 19th. he's the sweetest, and he's one of the few who do keep his commitments. but he has to give up smoking between now and then in order to be baptized so we will see. PRAY FOR TIM!

its hard sometimes... you ride your bike in the pouring rain over these massive hills to an appointment-- in which the person doesn't answer the door. oh well.. its the Lords work. it's not gonna be easy "because salvation isn't a cheap expense!"

btw i cannot chat back in forth! mission rule. I have a hour and half on the internet though! so thats why my email is pretty long. dont forget to post on blogs lisa!

love you y'all.

till next week!

ps i wore the necklace the first day in TN! people think im so cliche for being from utah & being mormon-- if only they knew that im so much cooler than that cliche! hehehehe (:

& forward to emily! thanks : )