Hey Everyone!
I flew in around 3 and then we went to an orientation. I was SOO tired and felt like I had been hit by a train and then had to sit through 5 more hours of training. President Walkenhorst and his wife were waiting for us at the baggage claim and MAN he is SOOOOO tall. Sister Walkenhorst told me in the car that there was only 1 sister that was English speaking that needed a companion and so I would be serving with her in the University ward. I am serving in the University of Central Oklahoma area in Edmond. We have a car too which is way nice in this weather. So we serve in a singles ward for the University. It is super fun. It is kind of a blessing and a curse to serve with only singles. I love it because we get to know the investigator on a deeper level because there is only one of them but I also am quite intimidated by girls my age. I am probably here so I can get over that haha. The sky here is amazing. The sunsets every night are to die for but it is super cold and REALLY flat. Our apartment is great. Definitely old but not as bad as I thought it would be. We each have our own bathroom and there is plenty of space for everything. I ended up having to buy a ton of stuff that I needed like hangers and a comforter and detergent and such. We get $135 a month which is CRAZY. There are so many restaurants and food places here it is crazy. The first night we got here we ate at this place called Braums and then the other day we had ice cream at a place called Freddies. The food here is way too good and the members have fed us every night which has been really nice and the food they make is delicious. We had taco soup, tuna pasta salad, pork sandwiches, and chili. I am in huge trouble. Working out in the morning is tough because Sister Odom cannot run she has a few health issues and so we work out in our living room at 6:30. I just feel like I don't get a good enough workout. We are working on trying to go to a gym. Sister Odom is honestly AMAZING. We click so well and have a ton in common. We are both HUGE girls when it comes to accessories and shopping and decorating our apartment. She wants to be an interior decorator. She is 21 on the 3rd of February so we are going to celebrate like mad :) Well I want to at least. She is from Indiana and has been out for 10 months. She was engaged before she came on her mission but they both decided to break it off so that they could go on missions. She is so loving and patient but treats me nothing like a new missionary which is great. When I got there she had decorated the apartment to welcome me and had starbursts all over my desk with a little gift. I LOVE her. She and I laugh so so so hard every day and get along great. We are both really outgoing which makes lessons so much easier. My first night there she had said that she couldn't believe I was a new missionary. It is really easy to feel overwhelmed and inadequate but she has helped me a ton. A lot of people I have met have asked how long I have been out and when I say 5 days they are a bit shocked. I can be myself more than I thought which is I think why I felt at ease so much. Her style of training is more straight forward which is good. I was worried that a mission was going to be really strict just like it was in the MTC but it isn't. YES. there are rules we definitely have to follow but its a lot more realistic than I thought. I feel so much love for the investigators and less actives I have met. A lot of our investigators are have some really rough lifestyles and most of the girls here have teen or early early adult pregnancies and are on their own. There are so many I repeat so many churches here and most people are Baptist. That makes it a little difficult sometimes. I have learned though that there is no point in trying to master the bible perfectly though because there is always someone who is going to know it better. The first day I was here Sister Odom and I went to a couple appointments and one of them was with a couple and a baby. (they are newer wed so they are in the University ward and go to school there). Their last name is Sigastizados...harder then mine!, which btw is so hard for most people to say. One of our elders calls me sister Ankle Breaker. SO funny. ANYWAYS, this family was so sweet but the husband is less active and the wife is a nonmember. I guess the missionaries have been teaching them for a really long time, the wife wants to be baptized but won't do it without her husband who is really not there yet. However, the night we had dinner with them and taught them we asked them what is was about the gospel that draws them in and the spirit was so strong that they both opened up so much and all of us were crying. Mathew the husband had said that he really needed to trust in the Lord more and stop trying to get through things on his own and Ashley said that she wanted so badly for her family to be together. THIS IS WHAT IT IS ABOUT. Missionary work is real life and miraculous. It was a good way to start my mission in the field. Over the past week we have also met with a guy named Rodney. He is autistic and lives in the North side of OKC (which is still our area, we cover a whole stake). He is so funny, he is black and is so sassy haha. We have been reading the children's book of Mormon with him and then from the real one and he seems to get it. The city is pretty run down and really unlike something I have ever seen. Rodney's house was the same, but I really loved it. I loved that it was so humble and yet we were sitting there teaching him about Christ. Another one of the people we have been teaching is a return missionary who is less active. He also had a pivotal moment this week and decided after about 6 months with the missionaries that he needed to start coming to church again. He was really worried though because he felt like God didn't want him anymore. The Atonement is so real. I have never seen it like I have here. He came to church yesterday and I felt like I was going to cry when he walked through the doors. Yesterday we got 9 less actives there and 2 investigators. It was a serious miracle. The work here is so full and the University starts school today too so there will so many new people in OKC. I am loving it. Everyday I thank God that I can be a missionary. It really is the most humbling thing. I miss you all so much, but keep writing because I love hearing from you.
I flew in around 3 and then we went to an orientation. I was SOO tired and felt like I had been hit by a train and then had to sit through 5 more hours of training. President Walkenhorst and his wife were waiting for us at the baggage claim and MAN he is SOOOOO tall. Sister Walkenhorst told me in the car that there was only 1 sister that was English speaking that needed a companion and so I would be serving with her in the University ward. I am serving in the University of Central Oklahoma area in Edmond. We have a car too which is way nice in this weather. So we serve in a singles ward for the University. It is super fun. It is kind of a blessing and a curse to serve with only singles. I love it because we get to know the investigator on a deeper level because there is only one of them but I also am quite intimidated by girls my age. I am probably here so I can get over that haha. The sky here is amazing. The sunsets every night are to die for but it is super cold and REALLY flat. Our apartment is great. Definitely old but not as bad as I thought it would be. We each have our own bathroom and there is plenty of space for everything. I ended up having to buy a ton of stuff that I needed like hangers and a comforter and detergent and such. We get $135 a month which is CRAZY. There are so many restaurants and food places here it is crazy. The first night we got here we ate at this place called Braums and then the other day we had ice cream at a place called Freddies. The food here is way too good and the members have fed us every night which has been really nice and the food they make is delicious. We had taco soup, tuna pasta salad, pork sandwiches, and chili. I am in huge trouble. Working out in the morning is tough because Sister Odom cannot run she has a few health issues and so we work out in our living room at 6:30. I just feel like I don't get a good enough workout. We are working on trying to go to a gym. Sister Odom is honestly AMAZING. We click so well and have a ton in common. We are both HUGE girls when it comes to accessories and shopping and decorating our apartment. She wants to be an interior decorator. She is 21 on the 3rd of February so we are going to celebrate like mad :) Well I want to at least. She is from Indiana and has been out for 10 months. She was engaged before she came on her mission but they both decided to break it off so that they could go on missions. She is so loving and patient but treats me nothing like a new missionary which is great. When I got there she had decorated the apartment to welcome me and had starbursts all over my desk with a little gift. I LOVE her. She and I laugh so so so hard every day and get along great. We are both really outgoing which makes lessons so much easier. My first night there she had said that she couldn't believe I was a new missionary. It is really easy to feel overwhelmed and inadequate but she has helped me a ton. A lot of people I have met have asked how long I have been out and when I say 5 days they are a bit shocked. I can be myself more than I thought which is I think why I felt at ease so much. Her style of training is more straight forward which is good. I was worried that a mission was going to be really strict just like it was in the MTC but it isn't. YES. there are rules we definitely have to follow but its a lot more realistic than I thought. I feel so much love for the investigators and less actives I have met. A lot of our investigators are have some really rough lifestyles and most of the girls here have teen or early early adult pregnancies and are on their own. There are so many I repeat so many churches here and most people are Baptist. That makes it a little difficult sometimes. I have learned though that there is no point in trying to master the bible perfectly though because there is always someone who is going to know it better. The first day I was here Sister Odom and I went to a couple appointments and one of them was with a couple and a baby. (they are newer wed so they are in the University ward and go to school there). Their last name is Sigastizados...harder then mine!, which btw is so hard for most people to say. One of our elders calls me sister Ankle Breaker. SO funny. ANYWAYS, this family was so sweet but the husband is less active and the wife is a nonmember. I guess the missionaries have been teaching them for a really long time, the wife wants to be baptized but won't do it without her husband who is really not there yet. However, the night we had dinner with them and taught them we asked them what is was about the gospel that draws them in and the spirit was so strong that they both opened up so much and all of us were crying. Mathew the husband had said that he really needed to trust in the Lord more and stop trying to get through things on his own and Ashley said that she wanted so badly for her family to be together. THIS IS WHAT IT IS ABOUT. Missionary work is real life and miraculous. It was a good way to start my mission in the field. Over the past week we have also met with a guy named Rodney. He is autistic and lives in the North side of OKC (which is still our area, we cover a whole stake). He is so funny, he is black and is so sassy haha. We have been reading the children's book of Mormon with him and then from the real one and he seems to get it. The city is pretty run down and really unlike something I have ever seen. Rodney's house was the same, but I really loved it. I loved that it was so humble and yet we were sitting there teaching him about Christ. Another one of the people we have been teaching is a return missionary who is less active. He also had a pivotal moment this week and decided after about 6 months with the missionaries that he needed to start coming to church again. He was really worried though because he felt like God didn't want him anymore. The Atonement is so real. I have never seen it like I have here. He came to church yesterday and I felt like I was going to cry when he walked through the doors. Yesterday we got 9 less actives there and 2 investigators. It was a serious miracle. The work here is so full and the University starts school today too so there will so many new people in OKC. I am loving it. Everyday I thank God that I can be a missionary. It really is the most humbling thing. I miss you all so much, but keep writing because I love hearing from you.
Love Sister Engelbrecht
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