February 4

I have not posted in a long time! The idea of having someone post for me while I was on my mission did not work out so well. Ha. Oh well. I have been home for almost a year and a half. Since I have been home I have pretty much just worked. I am assistant manager at Seagull Book. I have a niece, a few friends married and a few babies, my mom is getting married, had leg surgery, I turned 24 four days ago... and I am out. I have a lot of friends that blog about their lives. I don't really have much to tell. So I decided to write a book review blog. I write about books and authors I like, book signings at work and new books coming out. All sorts of fiction books. I stay pretty well in the loop. I might post on here once in a while but you should check out my book blog!!!

thecrazybookgirlandherthoughts.blogspot.com

November 8

Wow this week went fast and I have a lot to talk about and not a lot of time to do it. We had zone meeting on Tuesday and so we went down and staying with theMillington sisters Monday and Tuesday nights. It was fun to see Sister Miller again. We did splits with themTuesday night and I got to go out with Sister Miller again. It was weird, I have changed a lot as a missionary since then. It was really fun. We then went and got our new car from down in Memphis. It is a brand new 2011 Malibu and it is NICE!! The other Elders in the district are jealous because they still have really crappy cars. I told them that if they were sisters they would probably get a new one. Oh well. Ha ha
We will be moving this week. To a nice apartment building not too far from where we live now. It is really nice and a lot more roomy but I will miss our little shed. This week will be busy and we actually have appointments... awesome. Good but tiring too. Ugh we helped this recent convert family paint their new trailer and wow gross. So many cockroaches. I almost freaked out. Ew ew ewewewewewewew. Everywhere. Not the big old ones. But little ones but still so gross. We had a family here feed us stake for dinner one day this week. Awww my favorite. And a less active lady fed us too. She just works a lot but she is a chef so she is working on it. Basically she is awesome and in a lot of ways a brown version of me and I love it. We have so much fun talking as Sister Kirkpatrick listens. It's fun. She made us chicken and awesome cuscus. So good. Her name is Marci. She is cool. We have driven so much this week I am so sick of it. Ugh that's all right this next week will be bad too. We went down to Millington monday, then Frazier in Memphis and back up to Millington tuesday. Then down to Germantown (further into Memphis) and back to Dyersburg Wedenesday. Friday down to Jackson and back for President interviews on friday. Ugh. And today we went down with the Relief Society President to go to the temple!!! Awesome. That's why I am writing so late. It was great. Sister Pabst and Tuneti were there too. It was great. It is such a small temple so it was a cool different experience. And last but not least. Daylight savings was awesome and I have been waiting so long for it. The extra hour of sleep was amazing. Sister Kirkpatrick and I really enjoyed it. This week is going to be really busy too. Ugh good times. I'll tell you about it next week. And that was this last week in a nutshell.
LOVE FROM THE SOUTH
SISTER BROADHEAD
P.S. It has been getting really cold here. Freezing at night. Of course no snow but cold. President told us to be careful because northern Tennessee gets really bad ice storms. Cool. The picture is of me pointing to a 31 mph sign. Only in the south. We saw it driving to Trenton to meet the Elder's this week. Silly Trenton Tenessee.

November 1

Wow this week has been interesting. Lets see. I found out that Amy Hall in Camden got baptized. I knew she would because she is a rock star but it still makes me so happy. Also I heard that another guy we found and were teaching (who was super promising) in Camden moved to Jonesburrow but is getting baptized too!!! That makes me so happy. Planting seeds and it is nice to know they did something. It has been getting pretty cold here. Not like snowing in Utah cold but now I have a new spectrum of hot I don't know cold very well anymore. But it does get a little cooler here than it seems because of the humidity. But it has been nice.

First on Monday I wanted to carve pumpkins and so we did and had a lot of fun doing it. They are basic but we had fun. And I made cookies. They turned out good but a bit crumbly. Here is words of wisdom. No matter how poor you are, flour from the dollar store is probably not a good idea. we get fed so well here. Which is funny because it is a branch but they love to. And Sister Kirkpatrick loves to bake and cook so it is awesome. Even though we do not have a dish washer here I do help with them. This week was also her birthday on Wednesday and I am pretty sure it is one that she will never forget. So we went to that baptist revival. Eek!!! It was weird and not comfortable but definitely an experience. Oh wow. It was just like I thought it was going to be and that shocked me. We went to New Life Missionary Baptist Church and it is a little bitty black baptist church of about 30 members. Oh wow. We were the only white people which was fine really but we just already stood out. Man they wanted to save us and there was a lot of fire and damnation. Oh wow. They used the saved scriptures in Romans (if you read more it explains what it really means). Wow the guy doing that stared at us the whole time. Trying to save us. I am like I am good dude. It all just made me #1 kind of scared and #2 sad for them. That is all they have and there is so much more. The preacher screamed the sermon at us. Almost seemed like he had turrets when he would randomly burst out with an amen. I swear I could see the veins almost pop out of his neck and forehead. It concerned me. I just could not feel the spirit. It was too much and then the spontaneous southern baptist singing with clapping and amens. Strange. I am very open minded but it was just too much for me. But worth going once. They invited us back and we said we had to check out schedule. Luckily we were busy. Then we went home and Sister Kirkpatrick made the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten. Oh my gosh!!! So good!!! We ate it all.
We had a branch Halloween party on Friday. It was pretty fun. It was a chili cook off that we were judges and one guy loves spicy chili. He used 5 hobenyeros (I have no idea how to spell that but they suck!) I had half a spoonful and my face was on fire. My face does not like to be on fire. Ugh!!!! He did win hottest. Gross! A little spice is all right but that was awful. Also one was temp. hot so it burnt both our tongues for like three days. Not cool. But that party was fun. There was a cake walk too and one Sister in the branch always makes a cat little cake. It tastes good but really looks like cat litter and Sister Minton's son got it and she hates that cake. So she gave it to us. I think it is kind of funny and needed a picture of it. I'll send one. We also trunk or treated. I went as Sister Kirkpatrick and she went as Sister Broadhead. It was pretty good. The girl in the picture with us in the granddaughter of a Recent convert here who loves us. If you look closely we have switched name tags.
I am excited about this lady we are teaching right now. We taught her three times last week and it is going awesome, but her husband it not really for it so I hope all goes well. She is so awesome and genuine. I just love her. I am just praying about it now. That's all I can do.
OH I turn 8 this week. 10 months to go. This week should be good to. We are getting a new car and we have Zone Meeting so we are going to be staying with the Millington sister for a couple days. Fun. Sister Miller is there. I have not seen her since we were comps. It will be good. yay.
LOVE FROM THE SOUTH
SISTER BROADHEAD

October 18

Hello, there will be no letter writing this week. I am off to another somewhere else on wednesday. Transfer calls where this morning and I am leaving Mississippi. I think I will be going to Dyrsburg Tennessee (northern Tennessee) with Sister Kirkpatrick but I am not 100% sure. I will have to let you know next week where I am. I was totally not expecting to be transfered but oh well. I am kind of glad. This area is wearing on my nerves. I need a change. But that means I have to start packing. It is stressful because there is so little room and you end up having to leave things and squish and squeeze to get everything in. I will be glad when winter is over and I can send all my winter things clothes and extra blankets home and I will have more room. There is not that long of winters here so it will only be like a few months from now.
I was totally planning on staying and being here for Halloween and Thanksgiving because they are both next transfer and then Christmas the next one. Well I guess it is all right. I am off to another adventure and Sister Kirkpatrick is really cool. I think I am going there because her companion is moving and me and I think that is all for the sisters. Sister Miller and I called all the sisters and I think that is it. So I pretty much know where I am going. So that is nice. Grocery shopping will be easy today. It is good because I hit my limit of stupid people (mostly closed minded-slam-the-door-in-your-face-baptists). There are probably some in Dyrsburg too but oh well.
Ha I was talking to Sister Miller this morning and she told me that President Drewes can't read me/figure me out. And it is driving him crazy. I don't tell him my feelings. Shocking I know. I mean. I don't talk about my feelings to like anyone. And I barely know him. Anyway. I think it is pretty funny. I can see in interviews how hard he tried to tell what I am thinking. But he just can't. It is very entertaining. He tries so hard to get things out of me. But you know how stubborn I can be if I don't want to. He asked me last time if I would rather him not pry but I told him that it doesn't really matter because if I don't want to say anything I won't. Ha.
The church's are so weird down here. They refuse to practice Halloween because of how it can be construed as "demonic". How silly. A lady asked us what the church thought about it and I told her that I think that is silly. You can make anything demonic and that as long as halloween is done the right innocent way dressing up like princesses is demonic. And the more that you oppose it and the more you make it seem demonic that more it will be portrayed that way. The ward here is having a drunk or treat on the wednesday before and a ward dance on the saturday. While all the other church's are having "fall festivals" or "fall carnivals" so silly.
Anyway, the weather is still weird. Getting up into the 90's during the day and 50's at night.
So I just found out that there is a super duper poisonous spider that is in the south. A banana spider and we have seen 3 of them this summer. We heard that they we harmless. Apparently not. Ugh. They are huge and yellow and probably the size of a tennis ball. Gross. Here is a picture. Gross I know.

And then I enclosed a picture of the district this last transfer. The picture last week was of the Elders in my last district and then is sisters.

Then last but not least. Sister Pabst and the awesome skirt her mom sent her that she made. That is like three sizes too big. She wears it anyway. Lets just say I make fun of her a little.

LOVE FROM THE SOUTH

SISTER BROADHEAD

October 11

Hello everyone. Here are some pictures. One is of me and my current companion Sister Pabst and I and the other is the Elders from last transfer being stupid. It was pretty funny though.

Lets see. This week was nice weather until the weekend where it spiked up to the 90's. IN OCTOBER. What the crap!? Weird. At three yesterday the car said that it was 99 degrees. UGH! Hopefully it will go a little bit lower than that soon. The south is so weird! On Monday we had dinner with Sister Oravis, she is very interesting but a good cook. She gave both Sister Pabst and I new skirts. Last time we where there her dogs (she has huge, really furry dogs) that basically made huge holes in her skirt. So she felt bad and bought us new ones. Mine is black. I always wear black skirts when I am there. I don't mean to but it just seems to happen. A lady in the ward gave me two black skirts and they are too big for me but still fit mostly and they are super comfortable so I wear them a lot even though I really don't like black that much. So now I own 6 black skirts. Oh well. They are all different. So that is nice. The one she gave me will be nice in the winter. It is super long and will hide lots of layers underneath. She is a really good cook too. Even if she is a little weird and WILL NOT COME TO CHURCH OR GIVE UP HER COFFEE AND WINE!!! We had an lady/girl? Anyway she lives in Memphis. She is like 26 and went on a mission to Russia. Anyway we met her at the General Relief Society Broadcast. She really wanted to come out with us so she came down friday. No one was home because of the fall break so it was a long day. She came tracting with us and we got a few new things to try from her. It was fun. Well this has been a long week. We helped the Hoopers move away, that was sad. And I am pretty sure Gina is dodging us. Oh well. It wasn't too bad of a week. No one few us because of general conference and the calender was not passed around so that was sad but sometimes people would feed us when we went to their houses. Sometimes investigators or member. That's cool. Transfers are next week. I doubt I will be going. I bet I will stay for another 3 months but you just never know. After this next transfer I will be half way done with my mission. Cool.

LOVE FROM THE SOUTH

SISTER BROADHEAD

September 27

All right lets see for this week. We are teaching this new lady named Gina. We tracted into her and have taught her a few times. She is pretty promising. She is married and has two cute children. She said she won't be rushed but I think she is curious. She goes to a non-denominational church here in Southaven so she is not focused on what she was raised in but she is afraid of corruption. Anyway. We are working on it and she said we could come back some time this week. So that is good.
As usual it is a lot of meeting with less active people. Working on that and the weather this week was divine. We had zone conference on Friday here in Southaven. That was good and the Relief Society broadcast was just awesome. If any of you relief society friends did not see it. It was great. We went up to Memphis for it.
Oh on Saturday we tracted into this lady. Her husband is cousins of some active members here that they like a lot. I think she was trying to save us. Yeah she was kind of rude as we tried to explain all the things that she just could not understand. I just laugh about it because she would tell us to show her where it is in the scriptures and then we would. And then she would tell us to read it in context and read all the verses around it to get the whole picture. And I told her I had and just stopped talking about that subject because... sigh. She was still nice eventually after she told us we were deceived and Joseph Smith was an evil corrupt man. I laughed at that one. Yes I have read MANY more things on him then she has. Then she fed me lunch. Ha weird baptists.Good times.
Oh my gosh. Gospel principles was a nightmare on Sunday. There was this less active guy and almost everyone else was recent converts. The topic was eternal families. He had a lot of questions. All of them concerning DEEP doctrine that you just should not bring up in a gospel principles class. I spent the whole time stressed out trying to do damage control as the topics got more and more weird. No there will never come a time when God runs out of spirits to send down and so a baby is born without a soul. He is God! Really?!? Polygamy, how we can potentially become gods, when babies receive there souls before they are born.... etc. And the teacher has only been a member about 5 years. Poor guy. It was awful. Oh gosh.Good times. Luckily it did not cause too much damage. That all from me for now.
LOVE FROM THE SOUTH
SISTER BROADHEAD

September 20

Holy crap. I either have 1 year left from today or 10 1/2 months. Sister Missionaries since we go home at 18 months instead of 2 years our 18 month mark is in the middle of a transfer. So we can either come home the first one or the last one. So Either the beginning-ish of next August I will come home or the 20th of September. Probably September so I have One year left TODAY! I will have a new mission president by then (for my last transfer or two) so I really don't know. The one I have now, President Drewes, would probably keep me. He is pretty cool. But intimidating. He was a three star general in the Air Force. Hard core. But he is kind of like Christ. He does everything in a loving way so it's not too bad. We don't have super strict rules either. Which is nice. Still missionary but not as bad as it could be.
Let's see. This week has been not bad. We got fed pretty much every night which is nice. We did not catch most of our "progressing" investigators which kind of sucks. But of well. We will work on it this week. We did meet a few more people tracting that said we could come back. Yay. Oh my gosh it is still in the late 90's here. Crazy. It is the middle of September and it is not cooling off hardly at all. It is so weird. It is better then August but still. This is crazy!
The new Elder here is annoying. But in a sincere way so it is a little hard to make fun of him... but not much. The only people I can make fun of are my companion, poor Sister Pabst and the Elder's so I take advantage of it. Elder Rubio does make it too easy sometimes. But he sometimes does not get it so that makes it entertaining. He doesn't get that I am making fun of him so I just look at Summers and he and I just laugh. Good times. Oh I remembered something. Ha ha Rubio told me that they were getting ready one day and blasting Sister Fry's music and they had someone call the cops and complain. I would too whether it was loud of not. Her music is awful. You cannot understand the full extent of the awfulness until you hear it yourself. Sister Fry is a lady in the ward who writes her own music. The Elder's have a copy of her church music Cd. It is so painful to listen to but it gets stuck in your head and you find yourself singing it ALL THE TIME. The pure awesomeness of it is that it NEVER rhymes. Ever. How is that even possible? It is so bad. And she uses the same repetitive melody for like half of them. Ugh!!!! Anyway, the cop looks into their apartment and starts asking them questions and they have to explain that they are missionaries (they have a big map and pictures on the walls and pins with little names on them in the map like they are planning something). Suspicious looking. Ha good times. I thought that was pretty funny.
There was a pretty good moment when we went back to this lady's house that we tracted into like 2 months ago. Well no one answered the door. So we were just talking about what we should do next when a guy came out the back door and saw us standing there. We had been there about 5 minutes. We just thought no one was home. I was like, "wow, this is awkward. I am sorry we are creepers." He was like oh no big deal. It was the lady's husband and he has family that has joined the church. He said we could come back so score. They are "really busy" apparently though so ugh! Just set an appointment will you!!!
LOVE FROM THE SOUTH
SISTER BROADHEAD