First Real Week!

Week 7 - Post Falls, Idaho

First of all, I am in Post Falls, Idaho!!! It’s like 30 minutes outside of Spokane.  IT IS FREEZING!!!!  Actually today isn't so bad compared to the last two days, but holy crap it was miserable! I've never seen snow fall so fast, and I've never felt wind so cold!  We have a car though thank goodness! There are three sets of missionaries in our area and me and my companion are the only ones with the car...we are so lucky! But we live not in our area, so it is necessary!  We have the nicest ward ever.  They all keep offering to get me warmer clothes since they know that I'm a visa waiter and not prepared for the cold.  I got boots and a hat.  I think my coat is good enough, and I don't have to have to worry about finding someone to take it when I do make it to Brazil.  But anyways this is such a great ward!! Everyone is very missionary minded, and our ward mission leader is awesome.  He has the coolest house ever too with an amazing view of the mountain.  He lives like in a mountain with a whole bunch of tall ever green trees all over.  At church yesterday, everyone was so excited to meet the new missionaries.  They kept coming up to us and introducing themselves and offering to come out with us if we ever needed someone.  They have a really good missionary program!  They have 18 ward missionaries and some of them are the 12-18 year olds too.  Every Tuesday night the missionaries go out with the auxiliary leaders, and then every Thursday night we go out with the ward missionaries to less active and members as well.  And then the families in the ward are supposed to be having the missionaries over once a week and we go through all the lessons with them.  They keep our schedules full! And the point of all this is for us to get referrals.

 I have to tell you about my first day! Mom, I think the email you got with pictures was from a member that I stayed with...if it’s the one with the green smoothies and green muffins.  They were so good! But anyways our mission president and his wife picked us up at the airport.  They are so nice! Sister Mullin is the cutest lady ever! She looks like she is 30 and has the best clothes! But they took us back to the stake center and we had to do this thing called fear-busting where we went out and knocked on people doors to talk about the gospel.  I was terrified!!!!!! I was with two other girls and they have already been here for like 7 months so they knew what they were doing.  They were so nice! But we knocked on this one guy’s door and he was so mad.  He was saying how all religion is man-made and there's no such thing as God. They like knew everything what to say and I was just sitting there frozen with fear. After he closes the door I just start crying!!! Hahaha  It’s so funny now looking back at it!  And even after only a week I feel like if that same thing happened to me again I wouldn't even care I would just move on! That just wasn't what I was expecting I guess!  There was another time when I had no idea what to say too! So we went to this younger couple's house and the husband all he wants to do is convert us and prove the Book of Mormon wrong.  I don't even know why we were there, or why the heck we are going back tomorrow!! He told us that over the next few months he is going to take us on a journey and help us find the truth.  I'm just sitting there like what the heck! My companion has the strongest testimony ever and she always knows exactly what to say so she handled everything really well.  I hate how scared I get! I have gotten sooooo much better from just a week, but still it annoys me when I get scared, but it still happens! I read this verse in the Bible I don't remember where but it’s really good! And I don't really remember what it says but it talks about don't fear man, fear God. Something like that I can’t remember! And then my companion told me this that her old bishop used to always say, "Faith is not fearful.  If you are having fear, you aren't exercising your faith efficiently." I love that!! I try to remember that every time I get scared.

 My companions name is Sister Jeffery.  She is awesome!!! She has been out for 8 months. She is new to the area too, so the first few days we were like ummm who do we need to talk to?! Because we knew no one!  She is a great missionary though.  She talks to everyone and invites everyone to learn more about our church.  She is a great example.  And she has really good advice for me when I get scared.  Sometimes she makes me do things that I don't want to do like invite a random person to church.  I'm like I can’t!! And she makes me and then I'm actually really glad that she did because I realize it’s not even bad! She always reminds me that there is nothing that anyone can prove wrong, so there is nothing to be scared about.  She keeps things fun too! We’ve become good friends!  She goes through a pack of gum in half an hour, that's not even an exaggeration! She has a real addiction to gum and mints!

 We are teaching some awesome people.  We have a lot of less active people that we visit too.  They love the missionaries so much! The older ones say that we are like their daughters.  And they open up so much and tell us their life stories! Some of them have had really hard lives, it’s sad. We are teaching this part-member family whose dad served a mission here in Spokane! He doesn’t' come to church anymore, but the whole time we were there he told us all about his mission and how he learned more in those two years then the rest of his life combined! But he told us that there is a reason he doesn't go to church anymore.  He didn't tell us why though.  We were kinda confused. The wife is wonderful! She told us that we better come back and that if we ever need dinner to stop at their house. I wish I could tell you about everyone but I don't have enough time!

 I love and miss you guys!!

 Love,

Sister Bedke

[ Since Malyssa has been reassigned to the Spokane, Washington mission for the time being, her mailing address has changed. Check out the "Contact" tab for the updated information. Thanks for all of the continued love and support! ]

Malyssa with her mission president and his wife and other missionaries that arrived in Spokane the same day, at the Spokane, Washington Temple.

With the mission president and his wife.