The Week Where I Went to My Fifth Area‏

On this week's episode of Sister Cale in Columbus-packing continued to
be Sister Cale's least favorite thing ever, Sister Cale left one of
her favorite companions so far and said peace out to Babylon, Sister
Cale received not only her seventh companion but also her eighth
(#triolife), being back in a family ward included all sorts of perks
like cute kids and people who want to love you, pictures were hung on
the walls, Sister Cale had to insist that they be treated like ladies
(details in the e-mail), and Sister Cale's new desk was the comfiest
missionary couch that she had thus far encountered (you can imagine
the potential ramifications this might have with her morning studies).

Hey Darlings!

Greetings from another part of this strange and wonderful Ohio land. I
am now serving in Pickerington 1, which is partially in Pickerington
and also in Reynoldsburg Ohio. I think we're kind of south-eastish of
Columbus. I really don't know anymore. I pretty much just know that I
get assigned to an area and I get in the car and go there. Some major
perks of this area include Target, Walmart, Hallmark, Joanns, Bath and
Body Works...and many other stores that I haven't heard of, but am
quite excited to explore. We went to Walmart and Target today and I
have to admit that I may have lost some of my ability to shop. I find
that I get overwhelmed by so many options and don't quite know what to
do with myself.

Something else that is pretty awesome about this area is that I have
two companions! They are so different from one another, but they're
both fantastic and I'm really excited to see what we accomplish
together in the next few weeks. Let's have a moment for formal
introductions since I have two new people that all my stories are
going to include. Sister Clark is most recently from Buffalo, New
York, but she's lived in Tennessee, California, and Utah at other
points in her life. She is an only child and has a rocking
relationship with her mom. I love hearing her talk about all the
admiration and respect that she has for her mom (it makes me think
about how great my mom is #shoutout). She is really good at listening
during lessons and you can see in her expression that she genuinely
wants to help those that we are teaching to come closer to Christ.
Sister Davis is the sixth child of seven children. She hails from
Logan, Utah and her family owns the Pickleville Playhouse in Idaho
(Juanito Bandito that the Parkinson's talk about all the time-her
brother writes a new one every year). She is like straight sunshine
and is so focused on the work. I love these two sisters so much
already. It's super fun to have two new friends. We had a lot of fun
while shopping today.

I still haven't met everyone that they have been working with, but I
love the people that we have met so far. I am always so grateful for
the way that the spirit enables me to contribute in new areas as soon
as I get there, despite the fact that I haven't met the people yet. It
truly is a testimony to me that God knows his children perfectly, even
when we don't. Our ward mission leader is super awesome here. He
really wants to make sure that we have everything that we need and
that we are able to do this work as Heavenly Father has planned for us
to.

The weirdest moment that we have experienced thus far this week
happened when we went to give a copy of the Book of Mormon to a
potential investigator. Sister Davis drove up to where she was sure
that Marilyn lives and it wasn't the right place. We decided to knock
on the door that we had walked up to anyway. We had a decent contact
with the woman who lived there and she let us leave her with our card,
though she wasn't interested in learning more at this point. We then
realized that we were right by Eric's apartment. Eric is an
investigator that had asked for a break to figure out his head space.
As we stood and talked we felt that we should go and check on him,
because clearly the spirit had led us there for a reason. Sure enough
Eric answered his door and set up an appointment to meet with us this
week right away. While we were talking to him the neighbor who lives
across the hall (but it's not a hall, it's like a deck) came up the
stairs. The first thing he said to us was "there isn't a God". Not
okay with leaving things alone I just very kindly said, "I'm sorry
that you feel that way. I know if you ever wanted to know otherwise
that you could." The man went inside and we thought that was that. No,
instead he came back out and demanded that we tell his daughter the
same things that we had been telling Eric's eighteen month old
daughter. We turned around and told her that we know that God loves
her and that Jesus Christ is her older brother and is always there for
her. I love the way the spirit accompanies what we say when we testify
of truth. That silenced the man for a moment. Then he made a complete
u-turn and started talking about the Amish and how strange he thinks
they are. He then became crude. I wasn't going to stand for that. I
looked at him and said, "We are ladies and you will not speak to us
that way", turned to Eric and told him that we would be happy to see
him later this week, and then we left. Major thanks to Chelsea who
taught Sister Harris and I that we are totally allowed to insist that
we be treated as ladies. I don't know that I would have had the right
words to handle that situation otherwise. I'm grateful for the safety
that companions provide and for my knowledge of my eternal identity as
a Daughter of God, and for the sass that exists in me that allowed me
to stand up for myself and my darling companions.

The Church is true, life is good, God's in charge, Satan hates you,
and I love you!

Love,

Sister Cale