Reunited with my Mission!

I have officially been a missionary for four-ish days!

Its so weird honestly. I was telling my family before I left that it didnt even feel real yet. And now that I am here, it still doesnt! It all feels like a dream, everytime I wake up I think I am still dreaming, haha. Its good though. 

Just as a warning, this is going to b a crazy long email. Read at your own risk, haha. Feel free to skip around if you want!

Okay, so here's the deal. 

If you are deciding to serve a mission, don't come home early right after being in the MTC. The transition from being at home, to going full force, 24/7, in the field, is easily the hardest thing I have ever done. The other missionaries that were coming in with me had just come from the MTC where they were accustomed to living as a missionary, which makes things a little bit easier. HOLY COW THIS WAS SO HARD. But of course, Heavenly Father had a plan and I am already seeing it come to pass. 

Let me just start from the beginning. 

On April 25th, I woke up at 2:00am to get ready to leave for the airport. My flight left at 5:00am and I had said goodbye to my sisters the night before. Needless to say, I didnt get much sleep that night. I think my Mother has already explained a little bit about the chaos of the day on Facebook, but Ill summarize here for you. I said goodbye to my parents and went through security to make the 5:15 flight. I get up there and they tell me that the flight is taking off. I was too late. Which makes no sense because I was on time and they left a bunch of people behind who were also on time. 

I waited in line for an hour to see if they could reroute me and they finally said that the earliest flight they could get me on  was at 7:00 pm from Eugene to LA, LA to Chicago, and Chicago to Pittsburgh. It was a red eye flight and I wouldnt arrive until 7amthe next morning. I discovered that my parents were trying to get a hold of me and I left the gate and went back to the bag check area. I used one of the phones there to call my parents and they came back to see what could be done. I was so tired and discouraged because I felt like I had fought so hard to make it to my mission. Cant I just leave already??

Anyways, we called the missionary department and the travel office, trying to explain the situation while they rerouted me. It was either fly out today, fly out Monday, or wait for the next transfer. Yikes!!!! It had to be today. 

They got me on flights that will get me into Pittsburgh around 8:30 but I would have to switch from Alaska to Delta once I made it to Portland. It was just insanity. 

Anyways, I finally get tickets, say goodbye to my parents once again, and sit in the gate heading to Portland. Almost immediately, we hear over the intercom that the flight was delayed an hour. Which would mean I was going to miss my connecting flights. 

So, again I left the gate and saw my parents. We called and worked with the people in the airport and tried to get things sorted out. It turns out, that the church had only funded my ticket to Portland! So even if I had made that flight, I wouldve been stranded there and they wouldnt have let me get on another plane. The next hour and a half was filled with refunding, rerouting, and trying to fix tickets with errors written in them. 

Finally, by 11:30, I go through security for the THIRD time and head to a get that would get me to Seattle. I said goodbye once again, and FINALLY,  I made it onto my flight. 

NOT TODAY SATAN!!!

Anyways, by the time I got into Pittsburgh, it was 11:30pm and I finally fell asleep at around 3:00am. I had been awake for almost 22 plus hours. And then I had to wake up at 6:00 am, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Hilarious. 

The nice thing about it though, was that on my flight from Minneapolis to Pittsburgh, I sat next to a man named John and he and I had an awesome conversation about the restoration of the church. He was a Catholic and was very receptive. I only wish I had a Book of Mormon to give him at the time! When we landed, President and Sister Bednar were sweet enough to pick me up personally after such a long day. They are the BEST. They are so sweet and hilarious. I cant wait to get to know them better. 

The mission home smelled like Grandma and Grandpa Millar's house which was really awesome. Made it feel more like home. 

As soon as my head hit the pillow though, I panicked SO much. I was really struggling and didn't know what to do. I guess I just convinced myself that I had made the biggest mistake of my life and now I was not able to turn back. I was sobbing and I wanted to go home so bad. I hadnt even started yet but my anxiety was SO over the top bad. 

I woke up exhausted and felt sick to my stomach due to stress. I didnt know any of these missionaries and I didnt want to do this anymore. I cant do this! I tried to eat just so no one would ask me why I wasnt eating.. but I really just wanted to throw up. It was miserable. 

We drove to the Green Tree Branch just outside of Pittsburgh and started training. It took quite a while that morning, but slowly the day got less painful to bear.. 

There were three sisters who came in as our trainers and we anxiously anticipated where we would serve and who would be our companion. These three sisters had only been out in the field for three months. They started training, finished, and now they are training us! 

I was the very first missionary to be assigned and I learned that I was going to be serving in State College, PA. We are serving on Campus at Penn State University and are in charge of the students. This area is different from every other area because of the school schedule and also the campus layout. We are in a walking area and we take the buses everywhere. We also dont have a washer, dryer, or dishwasher, haha. Its pretty fun!

Sister Cutler is my trainer and let me just say, that there is no coincidence that we were assigned as companions. We are the SAME person. If I had a clone it would actually be her. We may not look completely the same, but we are no different when it comes to interests. 

Let me just explain why. 

Sister Cutler and I both have blonde hair and blue eyes. Okay, simple enough. We both like the EXACT same foods. Okay. Sister Cutler and I were both very much involved in Theatre in High School. Okay, better. We both criticize the acting in the training videos put out by the church. We both SING. 

In fact, she went to one semester at BYU Provo and is studying vocal performance so shes really good. She has an effortless soprano voice so we have been harmonizing because I am more of a mezzo soprano. 

We talk about broadway shows and our favorites all the time.. She has seen a lot more than I have but we have similar favorites. 

Before she left on her mission, she performed as a chorus member in the "Lamb of God Oratorio." I JUST DID THAT. CRAZY. We listen to the music and sing along. Its pretty swell. 

Also, you wont even believe it, BUT. She worked for an event company in Centerville Utah and played Princess Rapunzel and Princess Anna at... you guessed it. BIRTHDAY PARTIES. 

IM IN SHOCK. 

But wait theres more!!!

Two years ago, I went on a road trip with my Aunt, Charlotte Booren, her boys, and my sister Jillian. We went to Utah to go and see our uncle in "Shrek the musical." 

Sister Cutler played teenage fiona in the very same show that we went to.

WHATTTTTTTT. 

Isnt this insane?? Like what are the actual odds of this? There are none, thats why. True inspiration. President Bednar truly knows best. 

I will only tell you a little bit about the past few days, because this email is getting really long. SOOOOOO. 

I got my companion, my area, and I headed out the door. Through the glass window, I saw two sister missionaries in a crowd of a hundred missionaries chatting at transfers. As soon as they turned around the three of us ran. Yup, I saw Sister Willes and Sister Peterson. And yes, there were tears. 

Sister Willes got a video and took some pictures. I will try to attach them, but it might have to be next week when I get them from them, haha. 

It was so good to see them again and Sister Willes had a care package already to go for me!! She is just the sweetest. 

About an hour later we climbed into a tiny little car with other missionaries headed to State College and nearby areas. We were crammed together and our location was about three hours away without traffic or delays. Well, lets just say that we definitely had both traffic AND delays. 

I really started to panic BADLY while sitting in that car. I was ready to cry but there were so many sisters around me, how could I? Forget yourself, get to work. Forget yourself. Get to work. Forget yourself. 

I was in so much agony, I begged my heavenly father to take the burden away somehow. I told him that I wanted to be the best missionary I could, but this panic and anxiety was seriously overwhelming me. 

I finished my prayer and immediately needed some air. I was so claustrophobic all of a sudden and couldn't breathe. I rolled down the window and stuck my head out. For a second I thought I might throw up. How embarrassing would that be on my first day with these new sisters? I cant even imagine. 

Oh wait. I can. 

I totally threw up all over the outside of the car, on my dress, and on the inside of the door. 

It was so embarrassing. BUT. 

Let it not be forgotten that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. As soon as I had thrown up, I felt SO much better. The idea of serving a mission didnt seem so awful or intimidating. I could do this. 

We stopped at a gas station to clean up and I did my best to wipe up the puke from, well, basically everywhere. 

Three hours later we made it to State College and we pulled into a church parking lot. 

I saw Sister Hill and we both ran and hugged and cried a whole lot. I looked gross and smelled awful, and didnt even know what to say to her. But it was just what I needed because none of that even mattered. We were back together again as missionaries and that made it worth it. I cant wait to see Sister Green and Sister Skinner. I miss them so very much. 

I told Sister Cutler that I was really struggling that night. I was worried about falling asleep because I didnt want to wake up in Pennsylvania. I was afraid to wake up in Pennsylvania. 

She totally understood and suggested that we listen to a conference talk as we tried to fall asleep. We listened to a talk by Elder Holland and it was just what I needed. It filled my head with the spirit so it couldnt wander off into fear. 

On saturday I tried Thai food for the first time ever! It was DELICIOUS. That same night, Brother Owens, Austin, and a nonmember, Dimitri took us to dinner at a place called, "Golden Wok." It was a restaurant with authentic chinese cuisine and by the time we got there, they had already ordered for us. Sister Cutler and I dont really love fish, so when they brought out the SPICY shrimp with hot peppers, Talapia in Soy sauce, and Flounder (Pretty sure it was raw) we did our best to keep smiling. They later brought out Beef ligaments... Like legit tendons. And boiled bamboo root. How cute. 

Luckily, they had pot stickers and rice!!!!!! Man, it was a good thing that it was the kindof place where you dish up as much as you want so that no one really knows that you didnt eat very much. 

Dimitri really wanted us to try the beef tendons and we almost got away without doing it. I managed to scoop up some of the vegetables mixed in with it while he wasnt looking and ate those, but Im pretty sure Sister Cutler wasnt so lucky. 

Church Yesterday was super great. We are serving in the University 2nd Branch and it is SO tiny. There were probably around 35 to 40 people in sacrament meeting total. 

It was awesome though because one of our less active members, Bailey, was there! She said that she would only come if she could bring her cat Tabitha. So, she brought her cat to church. I told her that when I was at home, I knew a cat named Georgia and she even got baptized once. (Long story short Georgia jumped into a hot tub). 

Well, I am going to try to end this email now. For those of you who made it all the way through it, congrats. But honestly, my next emails will be shorter because now you know who my companion is, what my area is like, and that I am beginning to figure this whole thing out. 

I will leave my mailing address at the end of this email for you all. Please send me mail! I love hearing from all of you so very much. Also, email me whenever your heart desires. I promise I am reading your emails. I will even respond once a week. Isnt that kind of me? Haha, anyways...

Sure do love you!

The gospel is so true brothers and sisters. The spirit is strong and I know that this is where I am supposed to be right now. Its never easy, but always worth it. 

Talk to you in a week!

Sister Westover