Fayette and a new companion

Apologies for the delay....

 I was transferred, to Fayette, Iowa. It is the biggest area in the mission, and also the farthest from the temple (3 3/4 hours or so). We cover up to the northern border of the state and all the way down to Aurora (?), to the eastern border to a good two hours west of that. We don't have the miles to cover it (1700 miles – and it’s not enough), nor the time of day, and we're in a branch. There are many struggles this area faces, including weak leadership and high inactivity (in part due to the sheer distance it takes to get here- some families travel upwards of 2 hours to get to church- be thankful there's two+ stakes in our valley.) The nearest Walmart is an hour away, so we do our shopping when we meet our district on Thursdays. Hm. Also we have no laundry facilities of our own (we are in an apartment), so we end up paying a total of $2.25 per load, so... Think I'll be a little more judicious about what goes into the laundry from now on so i can minimize number of loads (I loathe to combine whites and colors but I guess that’s why I have a garment bag? I don't know.)

The new area has a lot of potential though, so we're planning to baptize all the people here, and become a ward, and build a temple here so we don't have to go so far. All before I go home or leave this area. Good plan. ;)

My new companion and I both love Star Wars and have lamented together the fact we can't see it. She doesn't go home until 2017 though, so she's lamenting even more than I. Poor girl.
Sister Baransky is a convert to the church of about 1 1/2 years. What. A. Champ. I love her- we have VERY similar personalities and approaches to life, and she loves to serve and love and cook and clean and hunt and fix cars and I’m like WOW! We're going to get the work moving here. Also with her talents at cooking I'm probably going to finally gain all that weight missionaries talk about. Mmm.

We have two houses for sure lined up for Christmas, one in the morning and one in the evening, and a few ifs besides. It’s a little harder because it’s so much travel time between locations and only so many people that will talk to us on their doorstep.

We got a little more snow this week, but it’s almost promptly melted off. Which is good, because we're in the boonies in the worst sort of way. Don't want the roads any more dangerous than they already are with deer and such. ): We have had a few flurries of rain. But I'm still keeping in mind everything I know about driving on ice. :(

No pictures from me this week- the computers here are archaic and I didn't think to bring my usb camera cord. So companion pictures next week.

Love love love!!

Be well! Staying warm!

Christine

We Skyped on Christmas Day evening, and the whole family was able to talk to her for about an hour.  She looked wonderful, and didn't even cry this time!  Neither did Mom!  She was in good spirits and ready to work in her new area.  We are very proud of her and grateful for her service!