Stand-off at the gas station

Hey y'all!

Another week down folks! And this one was pretty busy!

First order of business: transfer news comes this Saturday! 😑

I never know how to feel about transfers because yes, I love the people in my areas I'm in, but it's also exciting to wonder where you could go! So yeah, I could be packing next Monday!

This ward really puts us to work! We did so much service this week! I got to play in the mud at Holly's transplanting chrysanthemums and playing with her Boston terriers, Prescott and Charlie, and it was the best! We helped this older couple clean their ginormous house because they are moving to Philidelphia, and that was pretty fun. Then we got to weed and do some bush trimming for this 88 year old gal who is neighbors with our bishop and his family. She was so darn cute! She tried to pay us and we had to be like, "no Dotty we can't take your money!" We got to teach her the Plan of Salvation the next day and that was super cute! Love her!

Carly wants to be baptized y'all! She went around arranging things for it to happen in November and holy cow I couldn't be more excited for her! She wants so badly to learn and to be a part of the church, she is one incredible 18 year old! We got to have dinner and a lesson with her and our favorite family! She went to institue and was answering questions like a champ! She came to church and man she's just doing so great! She came with us to a service activity at the church too! We were helping the ward make tons of syrup for the fall festival that is coming up on October 1st, we're pretty pumped for that.

Seriously though this festival is a huge deal for this ward, like, I had no idea. They used the kitchen at the church and they covered it in duct tape and plastic. I thought it was overkill until we came later and saw the huge mess. The blenders and buckets and cinnamon everywhere. It's a good dang thing there was plastic! I had powdered sugar all over me! The booth that the church has in the festival is called Monster Ears and it's fried dough with this syrup and apparently it's been a huge hit for years. The Fall Festival is supposedly second in the nation to Mardi Gras. Can't wait to see it next week!

Did I already tell y'all about how Carly has nick-named me and sister Pankey as sister Pancake and sister Waffle box? I think its hilarious so I'm saying it again even if I already have!

We did more finding and tracting this week and actually met some cool people we might get to teach. It's been getting darker faster though, and our mission president just announced that we can't be out after dark. We are trying to figure out how to work around that still because it starts getting dark at six... so, yeah.

The title of this email is due to an awkward but funny story. So the Broshears moved 2 blocks outside of our boundaries, it takes a good amount of miles to get there! We hadn't been able to get a hold of them for a few days and neither could anyone else really. So we decided we were just going to drive up there with the Mt. Vernon sisters and see them. We got there and nobody appeared to be home, so that was great. We were going to just head home and the sisters wanted to tract the neighborhood. Well on the way back, we saw the Broshears van fly by on the highway so we flipped around to head to their house. I spotted them at a gas station and we decided to get gas too and be sneaky. I didn't really know how to get their attention without being super awkward or obvious, so I ignored them and hoped they saw me dinking around getting gas. Getting back in the car, I noticed brother Broshears was looking at us and did this little slow wave, so I took that opportunity and yelled to him that we were just going to his house to visit! And it all worked out and it ended up being really good! Except Ashawnta had a giant brown recluse spider on her blanket and that was no bueno! That's the story!

Yesterday we ran around dropping off cookies to all the sick people we know. There is something being passed around people! It is not good!

Oh, and it's been pouring for 3 days and can I just tell you how much I love this weather? I LOVE IT! I've missed it! True Oregonian no? That reminds me! A member in our ward texted us the other day a d was like, "ask Sister Wilcox if she's ever seen Bigfoot up in Oregon." Except he spelled it Oragon. Then Oragan, then Orogon, because it took us a while to respond. By that point I was so done 😐. I got a good laugh out of it though, I hope y'all do too.

My speech is getting progressively worse folks. If we're around hood people, I start talking like a hood wannabe. If we're around the southern style folks, I get this southern accent going on, it's weird. And also probably annoying for everyone. Oh well.

I can't think of anything else from this week, so I love y'all very much and I hope this week is a good one for everybody!

With love,
Sister Wilcox 😘

Raven and Lyric Broshears wanted to do my hair (soooo cute! 😆)

Us eating dinner with the Anderson's and Carly