Hi Family!
The fall season here is amazing. All the pine trees still have their green needles but the other trees are colors of muted red, yellow, orange, and brown. The trees grow really close together and they are really dense around the roots so it seems like a tunnel into a sunrise.
Thanks to everyone for the prayers and that you are thinking of me. You asked what it’s like having a companion – having a companion isn’t all that stressful. It helps to know you have someone out here to help if you mess up. Elder Beck (my comp in the MTC) and I got to be good friends and he was sad when we left each other. Tell everyone at church that I’m doing fine and have already shot a hundred wolverines. . . just kidding!
Fortunately, I don’t have to wear my suit 24/7; I only have to wear it on Sunday at Sacrament meetings and at district meetings. My new shoes needed wearing in, but they’re good now. The town here is kind of like Banks, Oregon except it’s more spread out. There’s a place here, supposedly famous, called the Virginia Diner, but it’s more of a tourist trap. I will continue to give you a short description of the town and of my work.
The town of Wakefield has three stoplights. The houses and buildings are either broken down or trashed and lived in. There are many fields of corn and cotton. I’m sending you some cotton! The trees are quite beautiful because the vines that grow on them have a lot of colorful leaves. Everything here is so spread out that all of the fast food places like Little Caesar’s, Wendy’s, and Pizza Hut are very far away. Living out here is very weird with everything falling apart.
Everything for me is just dandy. I love the people. Most of our investigators are black, since the town is mostly black. Here is a list of some of my investigators right now:
- Karen, 14 years old, very committed to everything and open to the gospel; she’s read all the pamphlets but her mother doesn’t want her to be baptized.
- Loretta, a black lady, we read the testimony of Joseph Smith to her and she is very receptive to the scriptures.
- Sheena and Arcy, a couple with one child (Kaitlyn), they are kind of looking for a church with gentleness about it because Baptist churches here are really loud. They like our church meetings and Sheena wonders a lot about life after death.
- Jaclyn, a black lady with two kids, she likes the church but needs to read more scriptures.
- Mrs. Nan, an old lady, has her own church that she belongs to; she doesn’t know what some things mean in the Bible.
- Tasha, a black lady who has her niece and nephew living with her, she likes everything about the church but doesn’t come to church.
There are more investigators, but those are the ones I know the most about. Now I’ll sum up my week.
We visited a lot of houses and gave lessons to the people listed above. Even though she is old, Mrs. Nan is so filled with the spirit. Elder Lloyd tried to jump off a ledge and he fell. Later that week we got pranked by a bunch of sisters. They put toothpaste on all the mirrors, switched up the beds, and put baby oil on the toilet seat. I worked out every day so I keep myself toned. I’m constantly trying to better myself with the spirit. I have been called to leadership training and it seems surprising because not a lot of people go this early.
I love you all. Every time I write a letter I know that you will get it in a few days, but in some sense we are connected through the letters by me touching them and then you touching them later. Thanks for all your letters. When I get a letter, I jump for joy to know I have physical evidence that my family loves me. Every day I spend here is a day closer to getting back and enjoying that fun, happy feeling of reunion. Sometimes I really want to return home, but I must fulfill what the Lord needs me to do.
This letter will come to you before Thanksgiving, so Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful to have you as a family. I love you all and I miss you. I want to give you all a hug, but I’m in Virginia. Remember that I will send some gifts that might be hilarious and useless, but bear with me. Write back soon and send me what you would think I would love for Christmas.
Always be the best and stay close to the Lord and the church. Garry, be more joyful that you get to bless the sacrament.
Love you all,
Elder Maximilian McClure
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