I so badly wanted to answer your questions with one word answers like my bratty teenage self muahahahaha but I'm old and an adult so I won't...
Did we even pack you an umbrella?
-Yes, I've used it once! Most of the time I just embrace the rain, though.
Is there anything that you wished we would have packed you? Anything we forgot.
-Not really that I can think of, I'm very comfortable! I'm thinking maybe for Christmas I'm going to treat myself to a better camera though.
I still haven't seen you wearing the tan Sketchers, are they not allowed?
-I've only worn them twice actually! They are super comfy but dont match a ton of my outfits (more than some of the other ones)
Can you take some selfies in a full length mirror? I want to see some of your outfits! There are still tons of shirts and skirts I bought you that I haven't even seen yet!
-I'll make that a goal this week! I've worn everything!
What is your favorite piece of clothing and favorite pair of shoes?
-The black pencil skirt, and brown shoes that I bought! Obviously not together haha. But I like the resistance of the black skirt when we are constantly walking uphill, it's an extra workout!
Have you been receiving any of my pictures and are they good enough quality to see?
-The last pictures you sent were perfect! You can send them to me like that or over facebook messenger! Speaking of which, I think I'm going to make a private album on there and just share them with you that way, it'd be a lot easier and faster!
Do you eat with members a lot? Or do you eat at home or out the most?
-We really only have dinner appts. On sunday after church which is nice, but lately a lot more because everybody wants to give Sister Alton a goodbye party!
Where is your companion from?
-Texas is home for now, but she's going to live in Utah and try to go to BYU or UVU.
Have you got the money figured out yet? Do you need us to put any in your account?
-Yeah money is fine. Can you tell me how much is in my bank account exactly? I try to keep track but I lost a receipt in the MTC...
So what's up with Brittney and Kyle?
-Getting married in December now! Yayyyy! So sad I'm missing it though.
Have you heard from Hannah lately? Sounds like Guam is a little nervous about things going on in North Korea.
-Yeah she hasn't said anything but I think I'm going to email her..
Are all missionaries now on FB or is it just a select group of them?
-We are one of like 8 missions outside of the U.S. that are testing it, its fairly new for us, but I think the American missionaries all use it. Not sure.
What is your favorite experience out there so far?
-The running in the rain story I sent in my group email -(Fire, ZOKO and the Most Awkward Birthday Party) And Sylvia's baptism! Did you get my letter?
What does your room look like and are you glad you brought a pillowcase?
-Its really nice and the pillow is too big for the pillowcase! I'll send pictures next week when Sister A'ltons stuff isn't everywhere (stress is real with leaving in a week!)
Is your neighborhood quiet? Safe?
-Quiet, no. Safe, yes! We are right in the middle of a townsquare, so very busy. Nice that the bus stops right in front of our house though!
What do you do on your pdays?
-Different things but mostly shopping and getting Sister Alton prepped to go. I would like to go see more things but she isn't as down for it, so usually its a nice relaxing day. Today we played volleyball with the zone though and that was really fun!
Have you checked out any castles yet?
-No, there aren't any in our area! I heard about a cool cave though, I'm going to try to go next transfer.
Do you bike, walk or have a car?
-No bike and no car, so we just walk and take the bus! We walk A LOT! I love it.
Who is the funniest person you have met there?
-Ummmm ask me again in a month when I understand what they are saying more. Probably the old grandmas in the ward that are like 90 haha.
What is you favorite food?
-That's hard because I don't really enjoy eating that much, unless it's healthy. The best is probably the homemade wraps we had with members, lots of garden veggies and a yummy yogurt/ranch type sauce!
Favorite treat/dessert?
-I love these things called pickups! Its basically a smore and its soooo good. I'll make sure to send some home in the near future.
Favorite healthy food?
-All of the garden veggies! It only took me twice choking down tomatoes for me to actually not gag when I eat them now! I loveeeee the veggies. All the ladies bring them from their gardens on Sundays, so we always leave with zucchini and cucumbers. Yum!
How is the culture there different from here?
-Completely different but ask me that again next week. That's a long answer. It's wonderful, though.
Does anyone ever talk to you about our government and President there?
-YES. They're all like "what do you think of Trump?" or crack jokes. Other than that, I have no idea what's going on with politics and don't care to know right now haha.
How are Americans generally received there?
-Warmly! Everybody is very nice to me, especially when I'm trying to speak their language. They really appreciate me trying, and listen very intently, or even correct me (out of love!)
Who is your favorite person in your ward? [Not a very fair question because I'm sure she loves them all]
-Definitely Jared and Janina. They are so cool. I might name my kid after her for real (but we thought Jemina sounds pretty too but who are we kidding I'm not thinking about kids right now! ahahah)
Do you miss me yet?
-I will answer that question with the next paragraph! [I saved this answer privately because it was so sweet and emotional for me and I loved it so much that I chose to keep it private, but the essence of it was this: She indeed does miss me and wanted to thank me for the mother that I was to her and am still and she appreciates me so much more now than when she was a teenager]
Everybody loooooves Sister Alton, and all weekend people were inviting us over for parties and BBQs. So. Much. Food. But Saturday I finally ate my first wurst. Tasted okay but I felt so sick after. [She doesn't normally eat red meat when she's at home] On Sunday, we had an eating appt. at none other than the elegant Annarose Jähn's house (she's the one in the picture of us eating ice cream on a hot day. She introduced me to vegan ice cream!). She made a BEAUTIFUL meal, and although it was a lot, it was all heathy. She made delicious veggie burgers, a traditional cauliflower dish, potatoes, a fresh garden salad and more steamed veggies. Oh, it felt so good to eat that way. Well, then for dessert we had soy chocolate pudding, then quark cake (really dense like cheesecake) with whipped cream AND THEN Magnum ice cream bars! Like cmon people, you're feeding me like I'm pregnant with triplets! Haha [She has such a funny sense of humor!]
We went to the temple on Saturday with the ward and it was awesome! We got there early enough to do baptisms, confirmations and an endowment session! The American temple workers were super understanding that we don't get to go as often, so they helped us pull it off. Man, I was a bit nervous to do the endowment because it was all in German, but I understood everything! It helps that I've done it a lot before, but Heavenly Father definitely helped me understand more vocab than I knew. He is the best. I actually loved it even more in German, it is so so so beautiful. The Celestial room is about the same size as the St. Paul temple, and have to tell you that the chandelier was almost as pretty! But I sat in there and prayed for a long time about the people I was teaching and things I needed help with. One of them was that I wanted my personality back. I've been so focused on the language and figuring out peoples needs through a language barrier lately. I prayed amd prayed that I'd somehow be able to do it.
Well, as we know, the Lord always blesses those that ask for help. That night, we went over to the family Jähnert's house for a little BBQ. Their grandkids were all over, and the littlest one was 10 and decided right away that we were going to be best friends! She was so patient with my language, but regardless we played and had so much fun! I danced around and somehow cracked jokes and made her laugh. Eventually I was so comfortable that all of the younger grandkids and I were playing and building a fire. They even taught me how to shoot an arrow at a target (I already knew how to, but it was fun to see their surprise when I got a bulls-eye on my first try! Hehehe). I felt right at home with these people while still being a missionary, and it made my entire week and definitely gave me more confidence with people! I don't necessarily need to have perfect speech for them to know that I love them and I'm solely here to serve them, I can do things my way!
Oh P.S. I got your package and letter! That was so sweet and thoughtful of you, thank you so much! And thank you to Dad as well for being so sweet and getting you to the post office so fast! He's so sweet. So are you. I'm so glad you two foumd each other. The socks are PERFECT! I also loved the quinoa you threw in there, I'll definitely be saving that for a special day! I haven't had a lot of downtime, but I'll maybe try to figure out those footsole things tonight. Thank you for everything :)
Well, transfer calls come on Saturday so I'm a bit anxious about that happening! All will work out how it's supposed to. I'll tell you first thing Monday what happened!
We are on a train to Leipzig for zone pday (playing volleyball wahooooo!) So this is probably more random of an email? Oh well. Thats just me. Love ya!
P.S. I actually left my camera at the members house after dinner last night so I can't send you those pictures this week! Ugh I'm so sorry, I promise to send you double next week!
I love you a million night time stool talks!! [I used to sit on the little stool next to her bed every night and let her talk to me about anything and everything right before bed! Those times were so special to me and, I realized that they were very special to her too!]
Sister Macey Ingalls
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