Greenie Mistakes

Current Address:
Sister Teresa Whitesell
244 B West 20th St.
Chico, CA 95928
email: teresa.whitesell@myldsmail.net

Hello!
For those who haven't heard missionary lingo, those of us who are fresh out of the MTC (training center) are called "Greenies" for the first 12 weeks. It's so fun :) But I've definitely made some classic Greenie mistakes! Here are 2 examples:

OOPS. First, we did some service this week with a neighbor.

Woodcutting Service!
No fingers were lost in the process

The Elders found her, so the 4 of us went and did some service for her. Well guess what, her name is Teresa! So any time the Elders or Sister Hood asked her for some cleaning supply or question, I would turn my head, and a few times I actually responded...ha! I'm doing well, I promise! But yeah, while I am on a mission, my first name is Sister, not Teresa!

My snazzy tennis shoe outfit

OOPS AGAIN. The second thing: after doing service one day, I brought my change of clothes in the car. I remembered everything except my shoes! So, I got to go around awhile in my tennis shoes and skirt! It's a new fashion trend, check it out :) :)

trying to be a photographer with
the clouds in the rear view mirror

This week was pretty good, not too hot yet and that is a major blessing for me. It's not so great for all the farmers, though, who depend on normal seasons for their crops. When I say "not hot," I mean that yesterday was high 60s low 70s, and today it's in the 70s again. That's uheard of, for mid-June out here!

More Orchards

(Side note from Mom: I just checked the weather and Teresa's cool days are over...90s for 3 days starting today, then it stays over 100 degrees for the next week.)

Real-life California Rice Paddies!
I can't believe we grow so much,
we ship it to China and Japan

PETS. Another side note, I don't remember if I mentioned this last week, but almost everyone here has either a dog or a cat. Mostly dogs, though, so I'm making lots of new animal friends! And the people we live under have an outside dog named Kaya. I basically have a dog now. I love it!

Meet Kaya! I'm determined to get her to wag her tail.
I've never met a depressed dog before, but it's a real thing.
Sister Hood has never seen her wag her tail either,
but I'll make it happen!

AMAZING EXPERIENCES this week: there were actually a few! But I'll talk about the most amazing thing that's happened on my mission so far (not that I've been out that long...). We were going to teach an eternigator (an eternal investigator). She's been looking into the church for over 3 years, and has talked to lots and lots of missionaries, but she's not joining the church unless she has some burning bush/lightning strike experience. (Those are really rare.)

But I totally went into this lesson, determined to make some progress with her. We started reading the Book of Mormon with her, as the missionaries normally do. Then we started discussing, and Sister Hood was teaching, but I felt prompted to ask her a question about her previous missionary experiences, then the moment passed because Sister Hood was still talking...but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Amazing sunsets out here!

And when I did, the most amazing thing happened! She started to open up in a way she hasn't with the other missionaries, and honestly I can't remember the rest of the lesson, because the Spirit was talking through me. We had an amazing conversation, and she became a lot more open to ideas, the longer we spoke. I know she was able to feel it, too. But I thought it was amazing that I finally taught, but it wasn't me teaching! Being a tool for the Lord is one of the greatest things out here. I love it! And I'm having experiences I never imagined I would. Ah, it was just amazing and I can't describe how it was. I just know the Lord definitely qualifies who he calls because I can't do any of the teaching without Him.

Every day is a new sunset, and
we found the perfect grass field, too!

To finish, I'll end with again, how grateful I am to be serving in Chico, it's the perfect place for me to start out! And the people here are very nice, I'm getting fed lots of great food from members of the congregation, and feeling lots of puppy love from the animals I get to pretend are mine.

I hope everyone is doing well everywhere, and I love to get updates!

Sister Whitesell

This made me laugh: in Chico, you paint your house
the color you want your yard to be :)