June 2, 2021 - Arrival Day
Hello there!
I am currently writing this in a hotel room after my first evening in Pittsburgh! It's been a fun time so far and lots has happened, but its ten minutes til sleep so I'll have to leave you in suspense til p-day. For now, I'll let you know that I'm happy and well and super excited to start this next part of my mission! It feels really good to be back.
Give Cooper some scratches in my place. Love you guys!
Sincerely, Elder Brown
June 7th - P-Day
Hello there!
Well, I guess I better start from the beginning since I couldn't put much in my last email. Got onto my first flight for Chicago. Gave up the no-leg-room middle seat so that a couple could sit together. Turns out they were headed to Pennsylvania as well, though not Pittsburgh. The wife grew up there so we had a nice talk of what Pennsylvania is like.
My next flight was a bit delayed, but I got to visit with Elder Penrod while we waited, who had the same flight. When we finally arrived in Pittsburgh, President Wright, his wife, and several other missionaries were waiting for us. We missionaries all piled into the mission van, Teancum. (Wanted to ask how many people that car assassinated, but I forbeared, lol) The rest of the evening and the morning of the next day, we had orientations and meetings. President Wright met with each of us one by one and talked about why we were serving a mission.
with President & Sister Wright
All of the new missionaries who arrived on June 2nd
President & Sister Wright and new companions
Finally, at about noon on Thursday, I met my new companions! I'm in a trio with Elder Rushton, my trainer, and Elder Taylor, my district leader. We went to BWW with some other missionaries for lunch before heading out. So funny to have that table of nine or so missionaries, each with trays of wings in front of them, then the one Elder in the middle who had to be different with his burger and fries. 🤣
The drive to our area took about 5 hours and we arrived at about dinner time. We had a video lesson scheduled for that night, but sadly the person didn't pick up.
The next morning, my body ached from the first exercise I'd done in about a year. Other than that, it was a good day. We had district council in the morning, and a lesson in the evening. The lesson was with a guy we found on Instagram who knows a lot about the bible, so we weren't too sure what to expect, but he turned out to be an awesome guy. A lot of our beliefs lined up and he's curious about learning our perspective and beliefs. It was a good lesson and he's trying out the Book of Mormon, so can't wait to see what happens.
On Saturday, we had Japanese district council. There are four other elders in my mission who speak Japanese, so President Wright grouped us together online. One of the Elders shared a grammar principle and then we played Jeopardy with Japanese related questions. It was a fun time. The rest of the day was finding with a bit of teaching.
On Sunday, I got to meet the Mansfield branch. Met some really sweet people during church. One member asked who of us could play piano. I think I'm playing next week, lol. After church we had a couple in person lessons with some less actives and another investigator.
All in all, its a great area with some great people, and I am super excited to be teaching here.
Love you guys!
Elder Brown