Just Imagine Duck Dynasty

EVERYONE –

Sorry I had no time to email this week.  We took cute Sister Donohoe to the airport because she got her visa to Argentina!  So we had to get her all packed and ready to go, go grocery shopping, go to the post office and mail some things home for her and do all our studying.  It was insane, but we got her there in the early afternoon.  Then we got a call from the Mission President asking if he could take Sister Jensen and I to dinner.  Of course!  What kind of missionary would turn down an evening with the Mission President AND free food?  He truly is the greatest guy ever.  He knows EVERYTHING about mission work.  I’ve learned so much from him already.  But anyway, we got done talking with him at like 5:30 and p-day ends at 6.  We got to the library to email at 5:45 so by the time I finished reading most of my emails it was 6:00.  Crazy day! 

So after that EXTREMELY long explanation, I’ll tell you all about my first week in Alabama.  I LOVE IT HERE.  We are in an area that is so redneck you would die.  I learned very quickly to keep a straight face, but some of the things we hear and the people we meet are so dang funny.  Just imagine Duck Dynasty and that’s like half of the people we meet.  I love my life here.  It’s a blast. 

We started BIKING this week.  Yes, I’m a biking missionary now.  We have a car too, but we have limited miles.  So I get to wear a helmet in the 500 degree weather AND bike in a skirt.  IT IS SO MUCH HARDER THAN IT SOUNDS.  We have to wear leggings (and it is SO hot here) and clip our skirts in all sorts of places, do an awkward little skip-jump to get on our bikes and somehow get going.  It is so dang funny and awkward and embarrassing.  But we love it and we just embrace it.  We get to our appointments all sweaty and nasty, but at least we bring the spirit.  It’s a joy.  Honesty, bike riding is the best.  We love it. 

We have 10 English investigators and 4 Spanish ones.  I TAUGHT TWO LESSONS IN SPANISH THIS WEEK.  My languages are all over the place.  I speak Portuguese at home with Sister Jensen, English with everyone else, and Spanish lessons and contacting.  To be honest, I can’t really speak any of them now, but I’ll get it!  They are all jumbling up!  Pray for me!! I need it!

We have a baptism this Saturday with a cute girl named Chandra.  She’s been going to church for 4 years and her mom finally agreed to let her get baptized.  There’s still a lot of skepticism from her family, so it might not go through, but we’re praying a lot!  Pray for her too if you can.  She NEEDS to get baptized.  She’s so ready. 

Other than that, it’s just a lot of miracles.  We started visiting a home for troubled people.  Seeing their joy when we walk in makes all the hard times worth it.  They truly love their Savior and we have 3 or 4 of them reading the Book of Mormon.  Sister Jensen and I have A LOT to figure out, but we’re learning!  I guess one week with a trainer is better than nothing!  I’m getting pushed in so many ways that I couldn’t imagine before.  This is the greatest thing I’ve ever done.  I love this gospel.  I want to share it with everyone, and I’m trying to!  The Lord helps so much.  He directs everything that happens out here.  It truly is His work and I’m so grateful to be a part of it!  I love you all.  I miss you all.  I pray for you all!  The Church is true! 

Sister Card

xoxo

Sister Jensen and Sister Card - Alabama BBQ Dinner (photo compliments of http://alabamamissionupdate.blogspot.com/)

Fried Green Tomatoes -- love them! (photo compliments of http://alabamamissionupdate.blogspot.com/)

Sister Holzapfel, Sister and Elder Aston, Sister Jensen and Sister Card (photo compliments of http://alabamamissionupdate.blogspot.com/)

Safety Training at Zone Conference (Jazzy is on back left w/pink shirt on; photo compliments of http://alabamamissionupdate.blogspot.com/)

Montgomery Zone Conference Training (photo compliments of http://alabamamissionupdate.blogspot.com/)

P-Day Activity - Polishing cars followed by pizza and activities with Jazzy's District (photo compliments of http://alabamamissionupdate.blogspot.com/)

2 Minute Note

Everyone!

K, I literally have two minutes to write you. My P-day is ending. I just wanted you all to know that Alabama is incredible. There are so many miracles happening here. I see how much the Lord is blessing me every single day. The people are so prepared here. They really are. The work is moving so quickly. I love it. 

Mom, I'll write you a letter tonight and you can send that out to everyone too! Just know that I am safe, I love my mission and I love this gospel. We have a baptism on Saturday and I can't even wait! I am so excited. Seeing all this change and goodness because of the gospel is the most rewarding experience ever. I am so beyond grateful to be here!

I love you all. I pray for you all every single day. You are all such amazing examples to me. I feel so blessed with everything I've been given! I will send pictures and stuff next week. I'm turning so redneck, it's embarrassing. I'm saying ya'll, even though I swore I never would, and I'm ALREADY getting an accent. It's fine though. Alabama is the best.

I love you all.

Sister Card

xoxo

Alabamaaaaaa

Hey ya'll!

Ha. I'm NEVER going to say ya'll, ever, in real life. Alabama is the greatest place in the entire world. I am so beyond obsessed with it. The people are the nicest ever, the area is absolutely beautiful and the missionaries are the best. I feel so beyond blessed to be here right now. I LOVE IT.

We got in late Saturday night, got in a van, and started going somewhere. We had no idea what was happening. Sounds super sketchy, I know. But they told us we were going to some little town called Prattville, Alabama. It's about an hour and a half outside of Birmingham. It's the cutest little town you've ever seen. We pulled up, got out our things, met our new District Leader (who just so happens to be AARON INGERSOLL! What???), and went to our apartment. I'm in a trio, with Sister Donohoe and... SISTER JENSEN! We are still together!!! Yes! We are so pumped. Sister Donohoe just got her visa to Argentina and is leaving next Monday. So we literally have one week of training and then we go to work. It's insane. But we are so excited to be here and to get to work here.

Yesterday, our first day, was the best first day we could have asked for. We went to church and met all the members, who are amazing! There's about 100 people in our ward, and they are all families with little kids. I am in love with all the members. They are so nice and inviting, and you can tell that they totally have Christ in their lives. I love them. One of our investigators, Michelle, came with her two little daughters. There was a confirmation that day, so it was perfect for her to see that! She is getting baptized at the end of June, so we were excited for her to see a confirmation! 

After church, we went to a trailer park and started tracting. Yes, TRACTING. REAL LIFE TRACTING. Everyone, I'm like a real life missionary now. I was before, but now, this is like the big time. I love it. Apparently, the trailer parks are where it's at. Everyone tracts there because the people there are so kind and so humble. Well, most of them at least. So we start going around, knocking on doors, blessing their homes with them (a prayer that gets you inside the door and gets them feeling the Spirit), and setting up appointments with them. We met some VERY interesting people. One man told us his theory about how Jesus Christ wasn't a man; He was LITERALLY the LAMB of God. Like an actual lamb. He went off for seriously half an hour about how Jesus was a lamb and a gift from the shepherds to Mary. We had no idea what he was talking about. But he wants to talk with us again, so we will definitely have to clear some of that up with him haha. It was the best though.

Then, we had a straight up miracle. One of our appointments fell through, so we decided that we were going to tract a little more before we left the area. We ran into these three men, who were the type of people I would have never guessed wanted to hear the gospel. But, we stopped and talked to them for a little. They were asking so many questions about our church and seemed so interested in it. One man had just moved here and was looking into a new church to go to. So all three men promised they would come to church with us this Sunday! Then, one of the men told us about his wife, Donna, who had just gotten chemotherapy for breast cancer recently. He told us that we should go over to their house and pray with her. So, of course, we did. It was incredible. We knocked on the door, and she came out, very hesitantly. We told her who we were and that we wanted to pray with her. She started sobbing. She told us that she had just prayed for people like us to help her, how much of a hard time she was having, and how this really was an answer to her prayers. We all kneeled down on her front porch, and prayed with her for her health. She was so beyond grateful for our love and our prayer with her. I felt the Spirit so strongly. It was such an amazing experience. We are going back tomorrow to go visit her and begin teaching her. It was entirely the Lord directing us to her. If our appointment hadn't fell through, we would never have met Donna and had that experience. It truly was entirely due to the Lord that we met her. It was seriously the greatest thing ever. I love being out here and I love being a missionary. I love sharing this amazing message with the people who really do need it the most. The Lord led us to meet her. 100%. 

This has been the greatest experience of my life. Just the fact that we are out here, teaching people about the pure love of our Savior Jesus Christ is amazing. I am so grateful to be here. I know that this is where the Lord needs me to be. I know it's just a reassignment, but I don't see it that way. This is my mission. I'm going to do everything I can to be the best missionary out here. It requires a lot, but I know I can do it with the Lord's help. I just found out we have 3 or 4 Spanish investigators, so I'll be teaching in Spanish too! I'm so excited! The Lord will help me out. This work is perfect! Thank you so much for you love and prayers. If you want to write me, my new address is:

100 McQueen Smith Rd S

Apt A-6

Prattville, Alabama 36066

I love this gospel, I love my companions, and I love my Savior. I LOVE ALABAMA.

Sister Card

xoxo

Our other teacher, Brother Willardson, who did this face ALL the time.

Our teacher, Brother Kartchner, on our last day! 

Our sisters on the last night! I miss them!!!

5 am, heading to the airport!

Companheira!!!

Santa Maria missionaries, IN ALABAMA

Our cute trio!