FINALLY! The 1st P Day....

Holy moly...this has been the longest 6 days ever. I swear I watched every single minute pass by. I didn't really but it sure felt like it. I was so excited to get to talk to Kaitlyn today.

I woke up today to get kids out the door and was met with an email response from Kaitlyn and it just made the whole rest of my day so good.

My email to Kaitlyn:

From: Mom
Sent: Sunday, February 28, 2021
Subject: 1st Monday

Holy crapola! It’s FINALLY Monday!  Maybe this week has flown by for you? Tyler and I were chatting tonight and watching your two new videos you uploaded. He was saying it has probably been a great fast week because you have been busy and have companions around to hang out with rather than sitting in front of a computer doing zoom classes alone. He is pretty wise to say such things. All I was thinking was I hope it has been a great week and that you have found a new great ‘norm’. Thank goodness for Tyler keeping me grounded.

Thanks for the sweet note and talk you left for me. I have read it a lot this last week and your cute heart is officially in my wallet. It’s crazy that you remember when I got you one so long ago. ️ I love when I get into my wallet and see it. Makes my heart swell.

So, how has this first week been? How is your companion? I think (think) it looks like there are 4 of you in your apartment? How is your housing? I can see your location on your phone and then we got on the Google maps to see if we could see a street view. Mostly I just see a courthouse or some government building? But I am not real great at the maps so...talk to me. Tell me all about it. And is there a mailing address I can get for you? I have Sara next door asking and a couple others plus I would like to know too.

Things here are good. Moving along each day. Some faster than others. Christian went to Davin’s cabin overnight on Friday. He hasn’t said much about it but I hope he had a good time. Brooklyn said last week went fast and she doesn’t want to go to school this week. 🤦🏻‍♀️That girl! She does have Madison and Lukes birthday party on Friday and Kohen will be there. Crazy, he is friends with Luke. She is so funny to listen to when she talks boys. We took her and Kynlee to see Wonder Woman 1984 on Friday. Seriously, worst lamest movie ever. She loves it though and she even cried in it!

It snowed. Something ugly and fierce. But it is supposed to be almost 60’ by the end of the week so it won’t stick around long. Let’s hope anyways. Tyler bought some pool furniture this week. He will say we decided it together. I mostly only put my foot down on the loungers for the upper deck area. Other than that, he is pretty set on what he wants out there. And I don’t really know that I care much. I just want summer here and the weather warm enough to use the pool anytime you know?

Jaime had another seizure this morning. We were there last night playing games with both riddles and Millers but only until 10:30 or so. I was getting out of a shower today and she sent a text. I don’t know what she is going to do. Crazy that it make 5 in less than a year. We took dinner tonight and Banning pretty much told Tyler he is beyond frustrated. I know we can’t put ourselves in their shoes but my heart aches for Banning. Jaime just seems to think an up in her prescription will be enough but they have done that already and it clearly isn’t working. And to top it off, she says she can’t get in to see her because I guess she is so good? Doesn’t make sense. You have a patient who needs to get figured out but you can’t get in? Anyways...

Not much here really. Christian will start his immunizations and passport stuff this week which is nuts. Thankfully the Herriman passport office is open and he won’t have to run around like you had to for stuff. June is going to be here before we know it. Oh! Robyn’s daughter, Lauren, has her papers in. She is just waiting for her call. I’ll keep you posted.

I don’t know what you want me to keep you updated on so you’ve gotta help me out? I don’t know what kind of pictures you want me to send you or add to your drive?

I sure love you. It’s been a week of trying to figure out my new normal without you but I love knowing you have arrived and it looks/sounds like you are doing well. The kids talk about you each day and wonder what you are up to. Tyler searches Connecticut a lot on the internet web and you are always in my prayers. I’m so proud of you. Thanks for being wonderful and for being just you!

Love you to the moon and back,
Mom

 *****Kaitlyn's reply

From: Kaitlyn.Garcia@missionary.org
Reply to Mom's email on February 28, 2021

Mom!!

Oh my gosh I have so many things going on! But I wanna hear all about your week too!! :) okay so I was kind of a slacker, but in my defense I didn't have my phone set up at all and I didn't know what I was doing haha! These Samsung phones are so weird! WOOT WOOT!!! IM SO EXCITED TO TALK TO YOU!! Okay so let me explain too. So the Boston Massachusetts mission is made up of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. I'm currently in Bridgeport Connecticut right now, but it's still apart of my reasignment, so that's crazy!  I live with 4 other sisters too. I'm in a trio right now, more to come later. And then there's 2 Spanish sisters that also live with us. ALSO! I'm in a português area!! So I get to use all the stuff I learned in the CTM!! Everyone is so nice and we all get along super well. I feel so loved and welcomed too Okay so I'm just gonna give you a super quick little run down of my super crazy weird week and then go from there okay?? But before I start, I love you so so much!! 🥰

TUESDAY 

Okay so let me just say that saying goodbye to you guys was the hardest thing I've ever done. but I loved your letters and they only made me cry a little bit but I really did love them. I feel bad for the guy that had to check my ID because my mask was all wet and stuck to my face When I got to my gate I found other missionaries that were flying out to Boston too so I made some new friends It was actually kind of cool too! One of the sisters dads was flying out and snagged some pictures and videos and sent it to our parents. We stayed in a hotel and then it was on to Wednesday! I was OUT too!

WEDNESDAY 

I got to meet my new mom! But honestly you're still by far the BEST! Okay so we left the hotel and went straight to the church building. When I got there it was like a freaking high school reunion! Tanner Mons, Tyson Holverson and Matthew Norman (Hannah Tycksens bf) all saw me as I got out of the car We of course had to take a Herriman 'H' picture so that was cool. Then I got to meet my trainor, well both of them! I have Sister Womack and Sister Gonzales!! They're so super sweet too! I couldn't have asked for better trainers. I was only supposed to have Sister Womack but the place that Sister Gonzales is supposed to be has COVID, so she's with us until she can leave, but she's awesome. We had a fat drive because we had to go from Boston to essentially the coast of Connecticut. The drive was actually so fun! We had quite the adventure trying to get sonic too We just talked and got to know everyone. We live with the Spanish sisters too so it was a full car (and a full house) Then we got to pur apartment! Its a pretty standard apartment,  kind of falling apart but it works ya know? ALSO! Sisters are dirty! Like what the heck?! Its so gross! And they eat so loud, but ya know I'm gonna take this as a learning experience and try to not it bother me. I got to unpack and get my bed all set up. I need to put up my pictures still though. If you wanna send me some print offs of us or me and the kids I'll put them up too Sister G (Gonzales) has this ice cream sandwich looking air mattress too, because I was supposed to take her bed, kinda fun IM A FACEBOOK ADMIN TOO!! Sister Womack had to show me all the ropes, but I think I got the hang of it. Its a lot but nothing too terrible, they're pretty organized so that's nice. We post a lot and it's a lot going on, but I think I'll get the hang of it. I honestly was so tired I had no trouble sleeping in a new place either. Tiny blessings

THURSDAY 

This is when the work really got started! I had to set up all my phone stuff and get me all the Facebook stuff too. I also got to teach my first little lesson! We do this thing called Prime Proselytizing from 6-9pm every night and part of that was teaching Matheus! He's a recent convert so we've been talking to him about the follow up lessons. He's super nice, but kind of has a lot of family drama stuff, but it's okay. I even got to BEAR MY TESTIMONY IN PORTUGUÊS!! I was so nervous but I managed I also feel like I kind of live on Facebook right now because I'm still learning. But I get to see all the posts and work with the Instagram sisters and YouTube elders so that's pretty cool. The sisters I live with are an absolute party too! They're all super welcoming and just super open so its a fun time. 

FRIDAY 

Friday I got to go to District Counsel woot woot! Not gonna lie, it was very overwhelming, but all the sisters said its just because its transfers and there's a lot to go over. This transfer we're focusing a lot on prayer and praying as a zone. Such a cool concept! We even started a prayer roll like at the temple that honestly took a big chunk out to the day, but my mind was so full of information I didn't mind it. We also teach English lessons! We had to prep for our lesson that morning and I learned about it We have 2 women that we teach English and then share a message with them. Today we taught a woman named Elisangela! She's super sweet and has the cutest kids! We also shared a little bit of the story of Ruth with her and she seemed to like it so that's good! I actually really enjoy the English lessons too. I didn't know that was a thing, but it's super fun. Oh! We do everything over video call too. The MBM is pretty shut down. The only thing we can go to is church and some meetings like District Counsel. But we do get 2, 15 minute breaks in the day and we get to go for walks or just get out of our study room. It's kind of like the CTM, but different. I went on a walk the other day for one of our breaks and its SO PRETTY HERE!! There's so much color and its so cool looking! Everyone here called it 'Bridge dump' but I really like it. It's a little ghetto and stuff is kind of falling apart, but it works I didn't take a ton of pictures this week, so sorry about that but I'll be better. 

SATURDAY 

Not gonna lie, it was weird to not have this as my Pday! But it was a full day so I didn't mind too much. I was totally exhausted though so for one of our breaks we literally took a 15 minute power nap We had a lot of meetings for Facebook and had to make assignments too. Basically President Mav wants us to promote General Conference and because we're admins we have to make assignments for everyone in the district. But there's a lot of moving parts so it takes a fat minute. We also had 'Walk in the Light' it's a super cool thing that we do every Friday that's basically like TED talks or just devotionals. I really enjoyed it actually We were supposed to have an English lesson after, but it fell through so we ended up going through my Facebook and making sure I have people from my zone and follow all our pages. We're also like the only Português sisters so we're also kind of (ish) in charge of 'Andar na Luz' which is 'Walk in the Light' but Português, it just gets translated. But we did have a solid dance party to some mission appropriate music. Sister Womack has so much music! (I might have to steal some ) It was such a good time though! We live in the same apartment complex as our DL's too and man are they something. They basically are wanna be pimps and want to always bug us. They literally piled juice outside our door and knocked and then left. Just as we brought that all inside, they put some on the fire escape and then made a while circle back to the front door. That time we caught them and talked to them for a little bit. They're interesting people to say the least

SUNDAY 

Oh my gosh! What a day!! It was my first Sunday out here, but also FAST SUNDAY!!! Holy cow was it hard! but we made it and we're good. We're apart of a Spanish ward so class (relief society) is just a bunch of Spanish ladies talking really fast kinda hard to understand and follow, but it was good. We get to have Sacrament at the actual church too! But there's a little catch. The Português ward just started so we meet in the Relief Society Room. I counted today and there was only 13 people including me and my 2 companions. Definitely a change from home. Everyone is super nice, but I still don't understand everything. After the bispo asked if we could stay and do music for the next hour in the Spanish ward, so we did. I learned that if I pay even more attention than Português I can actually understand them. We had some solid talks today. We also had to upload a live and get that all figured out. Long story short, we got to the church at 1pm and left at 5:10pm. It was a big day for me I had 2 sacrament meetings, both in other languages, fast Sunday, and we were at the church forever! When we came back home we broke our fast with a super yummy dinner. Sister G (Gonzales) is truly a mom and made a crockpot dinner for us. GUESS WHAT ELSE?! After dinner we had a lesson and we didn't plan to use a scripture but I found one on the spot! Granted it was my plaque scripture but it worked out really well. Teaching is still hard for me in Português but I try. We also had 'andar na luz' tonight. In all honesty, none of us really paid much attention but its okay. Sister G ended up dubbing and translating for it so that was cool. We also had a lesson with Matheus. Him and his wife are kinda struggling and he's a recent convert so that's no good. But the lesson actually went so well! He even asked me to say the opening prayer and I could! And good news! Everything is going good with him and his wife! Nothing is 100% fixed, but it's a step in a good direction I already love the people so much! Its crazy to think that I've never even met them in real life.  

Okay here's your answers and my thoughts on your email!  

-its definitely better than the CTM because I'm not by myself and they're all so amazing so I feel really welcomed. Its an adjustment having to share literally everything, but I'm figuring it out. 

-That heart got me through some tough times! I could never forget that! 

- My companion is good! Her name is Sister Womack and her original assignment was in Africa do that's cool! She does kinda talk like a baby, so that's a little hard but its okay. I explained up above but I have 2 companions right now. That means that there are 5 of us in the apartment. Its crazy sometimes! The walls are super thin so I can hear everything, the garbage man comes at 4am on Thursday so that's a good wake up call a few hours early, girls are SO gross! Like I want to deep clean everything g here, but I don't wanna be that person ya know? Our apartment is by the court house, post office, and police station, pretty good Google map finding! 

- Davin again huh?? How are you feeling g about that?? She's always hated school though! That girl Oh! She told me that when she went and saw Wonder Woman with Madison and Liyah that she cried too. What a dork! 

- I saw your videos! Thats so so much snow! There's like none here, there's a few little patches but nothing too crazy. Hopefully it'll melt soon though if it gets to the 60's. Do you like the furniture though?? 

- Oh Jaime. Hopefully she's okay. I can totally understand Banning being upset, I can't imagine. That's weird too that she can't get in, especially because seizures are a big deal. 

- It's a good thing that the office is open for him! Definitely gonna save some gas unlike I did That's so exciting for Lauren too! You'll have to keep me updated for sure! 

- I love this email and your pictures in my mission folder! It made my morning I think you should just keep me updated on the week, what you're up to, the kids, I'd love to know it all! And I love to see the pictures!  

I love you guys and miss you guys so much! I don't know when I get to call today, but I do get to so keep your eye out! It'll most likely be on Facebook. Also I'll ask for the address! Oh! If you have a chance too, I literally forgot to pack stuff to send letters so when we go out today I may just buy some so I can write to you guys or something This is a huge adjustment and luckly I've been busy so I don't have too much down time to be in my feels, but I miss you guys so so much! I love you to the moon and back forever and for always

*****Mom's reply back to Kaitlyn

Holy crap! So so much going in less than a full week. That is awesome. How are you staying up on it all? Do you keep a journal or are you using your little planner you bought? I can't imagine your small little planner holds all of this? Plus how do you track of who is who?

I am beyond THRILLED that you are in an area that you get to use your Portuguese. Like that is the coolest thing ever. All that work is totally going to pay off. :) And man, do you have a full house indeed. I was telling Tyler when we were watching your videos last night that it looks teeny with beds everywhere! And he just keeps telling me that that is how it is. I told him it would be hard for me to go to no privacy, having to share literally every ounce of space, and just having someone all up in my business. He smiles and laughs and just tells me that if I was 19 I would be fine and that you are a very different 19 year old so you will crush the heck out of it. The latter part he is correct. (I am not so sure he knows how much I enjoy my own stuff and space and time.)

CRAZY story...you ready for it? The guy who took our family picture that morning before you headed off to security was Sister Lee's dad!!! When I got the pictures and video (which by the way I uploaded to your drive. I don't know if you have seen it or not) we chatted back and forth for a minute and he sent me a picture of the two of them. It was his shoes that gave it away! I couldn't believe how crazy loud they were and definitely memorable so it was fun to text for a little bit. I was so happy to know that someone was there on the sidelines watching as you all boarded and took off. It honestly was the craziest day as I waited for you to get to each leg and then to Boston. I was refreshing the Boston facebook page like mad hoping for some updates and then it finally came!

I am so glad you explained the Herriman H pictures. I seriously have showed the Millers and the Stephens trying to figure out what you were doing. Makes SO MUCH more sense now! We all thought it was maybe a temple sign or maybe just something that mission did. And we just assumed it was with two guys who were new there too. I am laughing as I type this because this here is a lesson in assumption. Never do that again, or at least I am sure going to try!

Talk to me about Facebook Admin. What the heck is that? And is there somewhere else I can see what you are doing besides the Boston mission page? I found a Facebook tutorial on the line and am working to understand and learn it better so I can keep up with you. I am trying my hardest so help a girl out. Where do I find you and all this stuff you get to be in charge of? This is super rad too. They clearly know the goodness you are and will bring and that is why you are in charge. Party Dance Britney style! Woop woop! Also, did you think you would be teaching English at all? I hadn't even thought of that being a possibility but it makes sense. And I love that you will be able to do that in addition to your Portuguese.

Okay, I am crying I am laughing so hard at the DM's. Like seriously so hard. This is hilariously awesome and I love that it is work with plenty of play involved too. Talk to me about the juice. Like gallon jugs or cans? It had to be a lot right? Dorks! Seriously reminds me of something Jason, Banning, and Tyler would do. I love it. Now you just need to find a way to get them back...tell me you have started to work on that? And if you haven't and need some ideas let me know. I am probably almost 100% certain I will be able to get some suggestions from the grown men around here. :/

Your new convert, Matheus, sounds sweet. Life is indeed hard and even harder when you have made the right choice. You know this firsthand. It may not always line up with what others thought they had in mind for you but ultimately it comes down to it being your choice alone. And Satan knows the struggle. Satan knows the weakness and the hard spots to attack. We will keep Matheus in our prayers and in our thoughts so he will be able to find the strength to muster through the trivial real world stuff that comes no matter what but that he will also be able to rely on his Heavenly Father to know that the choices he has made are good choices. He is lucky to have you in that area as a source of strength for him. Even if he doesn't know it yet.

I logged onto your Into the Light this week. I loved it. I had no idea about this guy, but that shouldn't surprise you. I am just barely learning how to binge watch shows on the Netflix. I am realizing now there is a whole new world of binge content on the YouTube. How am I ever going to stay caught up? This is something new each week or the same guy hosts it each week?

Okay, I forgot a few things so I will jot them right quick before I take B and Kynlee to school

- Tyler is dropping pounds on this new diet. Like to the point where Banning asked him if he bought too big a tee shirt or if he was losing weight (I am so glad. It helps so much for his confidence!) The diet is ROUGH...I have only lost 6 pounds but 6 in 5 days I can't complain.

- The Riddles still make me nauseous. Like Rich and Andrea I have gotten pretty good at tuning out. I don't even hear them when they are in the same room. I can't stand them. Chuck is always talking money and Shawna just wants everyone to cater to her because she thinks she is so great with money that I don't know that they have. They were real quiet on the St George house thing playing games the other night but I am sure Jaime will keep me posted. Chuck really wanted Tyler to tell him he bought a new ski boat and was real interested to know if he got a timeshare on a houseboat. Tyler was chatty but I just put my hand on his thigh and he kept it all quiet. There is no reason any of them need to know anything. It is none of their business how we spend our money!

- Jaime is going to either do something or not. I just have to sit back and let her worry about her. It is hard though when you love someone

- DUDE!!!! Remind me to tell you about Freddie Freeman and his wife's twins! Plot twist like you can't even begin to think you will know! I am still processing it all!

- I no longer have 'black beauty' on my chest. I am now fresh pink skin and it is healing nice. I told Tyler I needed his help with a small piece of the scab that was hanging on and he didn't want to. I realized then if you were still here you would have been happy to help.

- The Millers ask about you everytime I see them. And we see them quite frequently right now. It is nice. I love that they love you so much. Boston and Dresden are so cute when they ask too. The smiles on their faces are super cute.

Okay, I have an antsy 13 year old so I am going to run. I turned my google hangout on (I don't know what that means, it was a suggestion to do on my internet search) and I have ZERO clue how a facebook call works. Now I am panicking. Do I need to do something there to figure out how to do that? I can't wait to see your face and talk to you. Man do I love you.

Forever and for always,

Mom

*****Kaitlyn's reply

I'm definitely writing in my journal but, we don't have a lot of time at the end of the night so I typically start and then finish up in the morning. We have this awesome app called Area Book Planner. It was made just for missionaries and its so nice! I'll try to screenshot it and show you I honestly have no idea how I'm remembering everyone! I sure try! 

Its so crazy that I can teach and (mostly) understand these people. It's a full house, but everyone is super nice and really welcoming. It's gonna be an adjustment to share everything for sure, but it's going good 

I instantly saw his shoes too! I knew it was the same guy! Big blessings for sure! Im glad you were able to get them and the video. I did see them in the drive so thank you I did realize when I got here just how many missionaries leave and come in at the same time. There were 14 of us coming in and then on Friday there was like 15-20 that left. Crazy how it all worked out. 

Maybe I'll make a hand sign for the temple now it's crazy how small the world really is! It was just the og Herriman gang thats all  

So Facebook Admin basically means that we're in charge of the Facebook page. You can follow it if you want its called Church of Jesus Christ in New Haven CT. Its a lot of work, but I'm trying to get the hang of it. We have to filter through all the posts submitted and post then and respond to comments and all that good stuff. I had no idea that English lessons were a thing honestly! Its so fun though, I actually really love it. 

The ZL's are seriously Tyler, Jason, and Banning I'll put a picture in the drive of our juice! Its ridiculous! I don't know what were going to get them back. 

Matheus is so sweet! I got to really meet him yesterday, still over zoom but like more one on one with him. Satan is working super hard, and his wife is definitely hard with him, but he actually pulled through with his faith. 

Walk in the Light is super cool too! Its different every week so we have to promote a new person and topic every week as well. 

- I'm glad I'm not there for this diet thats good that it's going good well though! How's he feeling about it?, 

- They always were nosey with money stuff. So weird! Just mind your own business! 

- It is hard, but I guess if Jaime knows what she wants then it is what it is 

- DID THEY HAVE TRIPLETS OR SOMETHING?! or like a boy and a girl?? 

- RIP to black beauty! I totally would have helped, but I'm sure Tyler managed  

- I love the Millers!! Their letters were the sweetest!! I'll have to take some licture for them when I see something cool. 

I'll just call you on Facebook and then you just answer and sorry it took so long g for me to respond, I did my first grocery shopping and I can only use my phone with WiFi. I think were grabbing lunch today and I'll probably just call you after to around 1:30pm my time! I can't wait to talk to you! I love you!  

I seriously am SO happy to have heard from her today! Notice on the last paragraph of her last email though...I will just call you on Facebook she says. I have NO clue how to do that but I am going to run with it and trust that it will work out. 

Can't wait for her to be done with lunch,

 

Missionary Momma