I'm In Texas

Hey, I'm in Texas. We got here on Wednesday. I was really surprised to see how flat it was. It reminds me a lot of Fresno, but a bit greener. When we first got here we were greeted by our Mission President, President Thurston. He is a very large man. Probably 6'5" and 300+ pounds. He was very happy looking...

We all piled into a van and a car and headed to the mission home. When we got there President had some opening remarks and then we ate dinner. They served us brisket and beans. It was really good. It is similar to TriTip just not as good. We then had a testimony meeting, we have a very powerful group of missionaries. After that we headed over to the Stake center where we had some orientation and sandwiches. Then all 14 of us new elders spent the night at the AP's (Assistant to the President) apartment.

When we woke in the morning we all got ready---that shower was sooo cold. And then we headed back over to the stake center. All of the new elders waited on the front row and studied for about an hour and then we started the transfer meeting. I was assigned my trainer. His name is Elder Taulanga. He grew up all over the place, Hawaii, New Zealand, Austrailia, and Tonga, but now his family lives in Salt Lake. He is very large, and happy.

We were assigned to the Gainsville area. It is a pretty small town. Probably somewhere around 6,000 people. We went tracting last night, and it was a pretty positive experience. We only had one or two people that were very negative toward us. Then we met our WML (Ward Mission Leader). He took us out for Chinese food, and then over to the church to brief us on how the ward is doing.

Today we went down and played basketball and volleyball. I played a bit but I'm trying to take it easy on my ankle so it will heal properly. Then we went and went shopping for food. I will be eating pretty simply. The budget is pretty tight, but it sounds like we have dinner appointments almost every night.


Love
Elder Rindlisbacher

PS Our Preparation Days are on Thursdays. All of my mail can be sent to the mission office by USPS and it will be forwarded to my apartment.