It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood (June 11th)

This past week will probably always be known as one of the most noteworthy weeks of my mission! I don't even know where to start!

First of all, you are probably all wondering what happened with transfers. Welp I'm staying! And so is Sister Thomas!! We get another 6 weeks together at least! That was the best possible scenario so I am quite pleased. For those of you coming to pageant, (AHH! One month!) we will be shipped back to the sites for 2 weeks while it's being put on, so I'll still see you all! The interesting thing is that none of the Buffalo gals are leaving. We were expecting Sister Lee at least to go back to the sites, but all of us will have lived together for 3 transfers! Here goes nothing! After the brilliant week we've had Sister Thomas and I would have been extremely unhappy had anything changed.

So to give you a bit of background, North Buffalo has a history of small teaching pools. People are pretty closed. I think I've mentioned this before, but the joke between the missionaries in Western New York is that "we're all set." Everyone always says that and it just makes us laugh. One man even went so far here as to inform us that he "can't possibly get any closer to Jesus Christ." Those who esteem themselves as comfortable enough never care to learn more. Heck if Christ himself came to their doorstep I assume they would tell Him they know enough about Him and that He could use his time better somewhere else. Funny. So! With that in mind: Wednesday was spent meeting family after family who wanted to learn more. By that I don't mean someone who said, "yeah, yeah sure come back whenever." I mean people with real questions who we sat down with and talked with right on their front porch. People open to answers, willing to see for themselves if we hold them or not. At the end of the day we had 4 new families to teach- 15 individuals. By the end of the week we had 18 new individuals to teach, and about 14 more potentials who had asked us to come back at a better time. I really have NO idea what just happened. In a mission where everyone knows everyone and what is happening in that area, the news spread like wildfire. Believe it or not, there are people searching for truth. Whether or not they come to build faith in the Book of Mormon or modern day prophets, it is comforting to me to know that there are people who are seeking truth. It's a beautiful thing.

I have to expound a little more about one of the families- the crowning event of that unbelievable Wednesday! We came to a house where a lady (Jasmine) was sitting outside smoking. We introduced ourselves, asked if she'd be interested in learning more, and she said, "Well I'm not really interested, but I think my mom would be." She led us inside, and we quickly found ourselves sitting with Jasmine, her mom (Tiffany), and her husband (Christopher). They didn't say much at first but listened intently. We ended up teaching there for around 2 hours! After a half hour of talking with them, they decided their 13 year old son, Justin, needed to hear our message so they called him down. They a half hour later their daughter, Tierra, got home and they taught her what we had said before we even got a chance to. Then, realizing this was a legitimate deal, the 15 year old son, Devontaine, came in and wanted to know what was so important. Each of the family members had been going to different churches and it had kind of been tearing them apart. After listening to us for awhile, they started opening up about some of the concerns they had as a family in different religions. I really can't express what an amazing experience it was to be sitting there in that living room! We're going back this week- we have been in contact with the family over the weekend and they are doing well. I never thought this would happen in my mission. Keep in mind, that was only one experience out of back to back teaching that day! I love teaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ. It just feels good. It feels right.

So we are also teaching this great gal from CUBA! Yessirs! She's wonderful! Her name is Akelis. She is young, recently divorced, and has recently found a love for the Bible. She didn't grow up religious and it's been really inspiring to see how much she can't get enough of it. The word of God really does heal wounds! I need to remember that more, I think. Sometimes when it's always there I think we learn to take it for granted.

Quick stuff!
-This week Sister Thomas was trying to remember the name of the Grand Canyon and said, "What's that big crevice in Arizona?" Hahaha busy weeks do things to your head. If she wasn't so intelligent it wouldn't have been quite so funny.
-Today we're going on a hike with the rest of the Buffalo Zone! The best part is the hike is called "eternal flame." So unnecessarily epic.
-Happy 2 years to Austin this week! Crazy, isn't it? Most unexpected and best 2 years ever. Cheers to many more.
-Happy Fathers' Day to my dad and also to Dad Dressman! I miss both of you and hope you have the greatest patriarch's day ever.
-Sister Thomas and I sang "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy" in church yesterday! Scary. But it went well! Our voices are pretty dang different but they blend surprisingly well so that was cool. She's easy to sing with.
-Last week I wrote 22 and a half but I'm really only 21 and a half. Thanks for noticing that, Dad :) I must not have been able to believe that I was 22 and a half because...I'm not. Ha! That explains it.

Welp my brain is done for this week I think so...that's all. See yous guys next week!
Sista Rayynes

PS the picture I'm sending is our district from this past transfer! Elder Harris is getting moved to Penn Yan (near my first area), Elder Halterman will be with Elder Pascual, and Elder Hole will get a new trainee. We are pretty ticked about losing Elder Harris, but hopefully the new guy will be good!