Hi !!!
I am so glad i finally get to e mail you I feel like I have so much to tell you!! This week has been insane so you are right! I am so glad you are letting the missionaries live with you!! That will be such a blessing! I am jealous of them though compared to where I live but we will get to that haha. That sucks about Ryan though... I hope he recovers quickly and can start playing tennis again.
Ok so first my address.
2275 Eastwood Ave
Apt. 21-B
Akron Ohio 44305
Ok so first off right after I got off the phone with you and on the plane to Cleveland I had one of the most amazing experiences. The plane was tiny and there was 11 missionaries in the back of the plane and then a woman named Joyce that I sat next to. She was a bit overwhelmed by all of us and started asking me a bunch of questions about us and to make a long story short I taught her all about our church and the restoration and the plan of salvation because she lost a daughter when she was only 3. I gave her a mormon.org card and a book of Mormon. It was so cool! She was so interested and accepting and was highlighting things in the book of Mormon that I was showing her and she really wanted to read it. She got my name and asked if I could meet her sometime and teach her more. It sucked because I had no information to give her but I got her card and when I told president about it that night he had me call her and find out where she was and to set something up with the elders in her area. She really wanted me to teach her but that wasnt really possible but president said he would make sure he kept me updated if she progresses. After I got off the plane I was so pumped and just wanted to go to work! It was silent in the back of the plane because all the other missionaries were trying to listen to me teach and were handing me material as I was talking haha it was really amazing.
That night we had dinner and meetings at the mission home. The mission home was way nice and we met the AP's and got all of the information we needed. We slept at the mission home that night and got up and headed to Kirtland that morning. Kirtland was amazing!!! Carl Andersen took us around and taught us so much. The spirit is so strong in those buildings. We spent over an hour in the school of the prophets in the Whitney store. I can not tell you how much more some of those sections of the D&C mean to me now that I have read and learned about them in the very room they were revealed. The scriptures talk of the Whitney store as a temple because of the revelations and appearences that happened there. At the end we had time to individually kneel down in the school of the prophets and covenant with the Lord about what kind of missionary we would be. It was one of the most spiritually uplifting days I have ever had. When we were in the revelation room Brother Andersen looked at me and said I know you have ancestors that have been in Ohio who were they so I told him and he asked me if I thought it was coincidence I was called to serve here and after I told him the area I would be serving him he told me that that was one of the closest areas i could be to where my ancestors passed through and a lot of really cool stuff that just gave me goosebumps but I cant remember exactly what he said. I wish I had more time to tell you about Kirtland but i have so much more to tell you haha.
So after kirtland we had transfer meeting. I am serving in the Talmadge area which covers most of Akron Ohio. President said he sent you a map so hopefully you can see where I am. My companion is Elder Johnson from Idaho Falls Idaho and I love him. We have gotten along great and have a lot in common. He has been out about 7 months and it is his first time training. His last companion he didnt really like and drove him crazy so he is glad to have me. When we got to our area we dropped my stuff off and immidietly had an appointment. We cover University of Akron so we go contacting there a lot and my first night we taught the first lesson to a student at Akron which went really well. I am loving the area so far and am having the time of my life.
So I want to tell you some stuff that I probably shouldnt tell you but I want you to know what its like here and I have to make you worry about me a little bit haha so I will probably never tell you again. So there are some VERY ghetto parts of our area. I have been in some houses and tracted in some areas you would have never even let me set foot out of the car in haha but it is awesome. We found a mattress on the sidewalk covered in blood on saturday haha Someone has only tried to actually rob us once but people ask for money ALL the time. I have tracted a bunch since I have been here I have probably already trippled what Jeff said he tracted his whole mission. I am so shocked about how mean people are to us!! I have only been called a few names but Elder Johnson almost got punched by some guy haha not like trying to fight him but he was just a crazy that opened the door and just swung at him haha it was pretty funny. When we tract we can get like 50 return appointments but NO ONE will keep the appointment or committments. Its really frusterating to try and find real investigators. Elder Johnson said our appartment is one of the worse ones but I dont think its too bad. I will mail my memory card back to you but now that I know where Kris and Craig and all those guys are living I am not one to be complaining haha. Haha I probably shouldnt tell you all of that but I have to make you worry a little bit!!
So the good news is that we have 8 people with baptism dates! Only like 2 are probably going to be baptized on their date but we will see how the others go. Oh and an elder Prince came up to me at transfers and he is the one that knows Rachel skalla Parcell. I am curious about that story because when I told him she was married now and his companion was like we know and gave Elder Prrince a hug haha so I laughed about that.
Elder Johnson and I have a car but we bike a lot. He got a flat tire on saturday so we put his bike on my handlebars and he jumped on my back haha we looked pretty crazy and only had one really bad crash haha but it was fun. Sunday was a killer. We cover the Talmadge ward and also the singles branch so We are at church from 7:30 to 4:00 every day with 6 hours of church and 2 ward council meetings I thought I was going to die on sunday haha going to church twice is rough.
Sorry this e mail is so rambling but I keep remembering things I have to tell you. I wish I could just have a video camera attached to be you could watch. I think it would be pretty entertaining I have seen some pretty interesting things and people in a week haha I wish you all could experience it. Doing the Lords work is truly an amazing thing and I am so blessed to be here and share the gospel with these people no matter how crazy they are sometimes haha.
Well I am sure I will think of a lot more to tell you but that is all I have for now haha hopefully when things settle down I wont have so many things to tell everyone about and can tell you more about my experiences. I hope everyone is doing well and you are all in my prayers!! I love and miss you all!!
Love,
Elder Skalla
Things I need: Now you can send food! haha we get fed well but we hate having to go buy stuff! If you have any extra rolls of quarters send them because we dont have a washer. I dont need these right away but I need more g's just a coulpe of the cotton/poly briefs and a couple drilux medium tall crew neck shirts. I think thats it and if you want some nice pencils with a metal clip thing not the plastic kind with .5 led. (its hard to write in my planner with .7) and a couple nice pens with a metal clip. Thank you :)
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