Papaya Salad

Ahhhhh! This week has been insane, but every insane thing makes me happier and happier. Life is just good. :)

Well let me begin my letting you know one of the sources that has brought me the utmost joy this week... I got a hold of a guitar!!!! Woooohoooo! My callouses have already disappeared so even playing it my fingers are sore all over again. I am going to be singing at a Junalyn's baptism this Saturday. I'm going to sing the same song medley I sang at my nephew Payton's baptism a while back. Sister Cox is really throwing me under the bus with the singing thing too because now I'm singing at our District Meeting on Tuesday. Haha, I don't mind. I need to do that. A big aspect that President Eaton (my Mission President) has been focusing on is using your talents. So that's what I'm gonna do. Although, I will probably have to return the guitar back after the baptism. It's a teen in the wards and I told him I'd teach him some chords. He's a funny kid. So often on my lunch breaks Sister Cox and I have been making up so pretty incredible songs. Bahaha! All about mission life and inside jokes that we have along the way. It's great.

We had yet another exchange this past week. I got to spend it in my area with Sister Hill. She is from Utah... like most of them have been. It was good. She has pictures... I don't. So I don't know if I'll ever see those again. Haha. During the exchange we were able to teach Carol. A woman we've seen once a week each week for the past like 4 weeks. Every time we see her I'm on an exchange so it's always me and another Sister. It's interesting. She is amazing. She has the best questions and she is slowly, but surely progressing. The teaching circumstances are a little confusing, so it's kind of a difficult arrangement, but I've got nothing but faith in what's to come. :) It's incredible to watch people change.

Soooo... like I said before the week has been pretty crazy. Pretty dang peculiar actually. Some of it I will not put in this email... just due to lack of time. But let's just say there are creepers in ALL areas of the world. Haha. :) The rest I will mail to my mom. BUT although there are creepers, there are many brilliant people on this earth and it's a beautiful thing really. I LOVE meeting every one. So many unique people. It's awesome.

Sooooo.... we haven't been having to much success with finding people who actually want to meet with us again.

Ha. Sweet, right? Yup. So we decided we'd tract (go door to door) for 8 hours on Saturday!!!! Woohooo! ;) I actually loved it. We went to a slightly more rural place and started knocking. From there we met some potential investigators and one actually wanted us to come back next Sunday so we're on for that. At the end of our road the most friendly guy was like "HEYYYYY! SISTERSSS! How are you doing?! Are you thirsty? Can I get you some water? So you're Sisters does that make me Brother?" He. Was. Awesome. So he got us some water. We actually caught him as he was unloading some trailer thing. He told us he sells stuff at the Farmer's Market somewhere and we were like wow cooooool. And he excitedly offers for us to sample. (assuming it was fruit or something) We were quick to accept the offer. It was not fruit. It was a Philipino "Papaya Salad" of some sort. His special recipe. It had like papaya noodle things and lime peels and tomato chunks and peppers and some sort of fish oil juice stuff all saturated in it. So he grabs a fork and wraps it around it and gives it to us. (of course my fork had the much larger bite on it) I turned around so I could fit the whole thing in my mouth and I almost DIED! It was horrific! I literally was gagging and thought I wasn't going to be able to handle it! Not only was it super spicy, but something about it was just awful. I turned around and tried to muster up a small grin... and probably a thumbs up. All the while making small eye contact with Sister Cox expressing my feelings of "I'm going to die." Of course he suggested we take the small bowl of it. We went to the apartment, took a couple pictures, and sadly had to dump it. Ahhh. Every day I am more grateful to be in Washington. I just don't think I could eat Papaya Salad one more time... one more bite of it for that matter.

Aside from the papaya salad, yesterday we were making a right turn (Sister Cox drives) and some impatient man behind us is on our tail. We literally couldn't go yet and he HIT OUR CAR! ...and then flipped us off. We motioned to pull over to the side to be safe and there he went. Speeding away into the distance. Luckily the car had no damage, but our day was made a little more interesting. Gotta love it. :)

During our tracting endeavors, we went to some apartments. I just think it's really funny when the person answers the door and immediately after we introduce ourselves he says sorry, sorry, sorry as they slowly inch the door shut on our faces. Sir, there's no need to be sorry just tell us to leave. Haha, people crack me up. :)

We have been trying to meet a lady, but haven't been able to catch her. However, her dad is there everytime. They are Hindu or Hindi (I don't know which term to use) and where formerly living in Fiji. It's amazing how praying with someone at their doorway can help them. We had seen him a couple times and this week we went back and he told us how much we had been helping him. We are getting him a Hindi Book of Mormon and meeting him next week. He's awesome.

So Junalyn is super excited for her baptism this Saturday. So am I! It's soooo amazing to see someone so ready! She was definitely someone God had been preparing. She will be the first person I have taught her entire time up to her baptism. :) Something I will never forget.

Life as a missionary is so strange. Time is definitely weird. I can't believe the first transfer will be happening on the 2nd. I don't know what it holds. I am terrified. Haha. :) But we will see. What I do know is with hard work, God will help. Prayer is real and we are ALL on our own timelines. What's my best won't be someone else's best. What's someone else's journey won't be mine. Luckily, God is the judge. :) What I am continuing to learn is there is ALWAYS hope. No matter what situation someone is in there is always more. More room to progress to have a better life, to be happier, to know more. I love that about life. God never wanted us to settle for anything. He always wants us to become more. That's something I love about the gospel. It's never about being complacent about where you are... it's about going and doing more and becoming more! :)

A couple weird things for everyone...

The clouds seem so close around you over here, you feel like you're in a snow globe.

Everyone picks black berries over here. Everyone. In fact the first person I ever approached on my own was picking black berries... too bad he didn't speak English.

It is SO diverse here! I love it. I have prayed with Muslims, Christians, Catholics, Buddists, Athiests and many more.

Welp, life keeps moving on. Before I know it, it will be 2 months. Time moves fast. I just keep trying to be a little better each day. :)

Until next time I'll be doin' it the Federal Way.

Love you all!

Sister Mikayla Pearson :)