Week 1 - Leland, North Carolina

Hello everyone!

So, this has been a crazy week so far. As you all know, I flew into Raleigh on Tuesday afternoon. All of my flights went well. I was a bit worried, because I've never flown by myself before, but it all went well. I even met some other missionaries on the flight to Raleigh, and get this: one of them was a sister missionary who is Elder Ward's cousin! If you don't remember, Elder Ward was my companion in the at home MTC. He told me that I might meet her, and he was right. 

After we got into Raleigh, the Assistants to the President (APs) were there to meet us at the airport. Normally the President would be there to meet us, but he was stuck in meetings, which was understandable. That same day that we came in, around 10 or so missionaries were going home, so he had to take care of that. However, after we got to the mission office we got to meet President and Sister Maurer (pronounced more-uh). They are super nice, and they are from Australia, which is super cool! We got some training, and some dinner that night, and then we went to a hotel to stay the night.

The next day, we got to meet our new companions. My companion is Elder Alexander. He is pretty cool, you can tell that he is dedicated to the work. He will be a great trainer. We got placed in Lelend, NC, which is about as south as you can go, and only about 15 minutes from the beach! I knew I wanted to see the beach, and that is a very real possibility now! However, Elder Alexander and I have to whitewash the area. This means that they pulled the two Elders that were here before, and placed two new Elders (us) here. Normally, when someone gets transferred, one person stays, so that there is always one person that knows the area. Because we are both new here, when we got here we didn't know anybody. It has been hard, but I know that we will get through it.

The best part of North Carolina has definitely been the people. Everyone is so nice here, and I can attest that southern hospitality is real. The members of the ward were all so kind and inviting, and it was a nice welcome. We have already had meals with 3 different families of the ward, and we've been here less than a week. That part has been awesome.

Hopefully by next week we will be teaching more people, and I will have more to share.

Elder Orchard

 

 

 This is the view from our apartment. We are on the third floor.

 

There was a Christmas tree set up when we got here. Not sure whu, but we'll probably leave it up.

 

Here is kind of an overview picture of my apartment.

 

This is my desk, with all my study materials.

 

Here is my bed area.

 

 

Preparing for NC - Weeks 4/5/6

Bonjour!

Comment va tout le monde aujourd'hui?

Well, I said that I would try to send out an email at least every other week, and I failed at that. There just hasn’t been much to write about that’s new, with the same things going on everyday, but I’ll write what has been going on.

So, since I’ve been preparing to go to North Carolina, there have been some things that I’ve had to get that I wouldn’t need in Africa. For example, we had to get me a new suit. I’ll add a picture down below, but I really like it, and it fits me well. They recommended two suits, but only required one. We figured, since it’s just a reassignment, we’d get me just one suit, and send me out with one of Coleman’s old suits, which fits me well enough. I also had to get a smartphone, which is unfortunate, since my Africa mission did not require me to get a smartphone, and since North Carolina is only (hopefully) a reassignment. Plus, they have all these requirements with the specs, storage, make, model, a whole bunch of stuff. However, we did end up finding one, for a pretty good price.

So, this last weekend was General Conference. For those of you who don’t know, General Conference is basically when all the general authorities of our church meet to address the members of our church. It is held on the first weekend of April, and October every year. Normally, people can go watch the conference in Salt Lake City, but obviously due to Covid, that didn’t happen this time. However, it was still a great experience to hear from them! I’ll share some of my thoughts/favorite talks. Dieter F. Uchtdorf shared probably my favorite talk of the conference. Basically, he talked about how God has prepared us to live in this time, and that he hasn’t forgotten us. That really resonated with me because of my reassignment, and being a missionary for Covid. It really made me realize that God has planned on me going to North Carolina, and that there are people there who need my help. 

I could talk all day about what I learned from General Conference, but I’ll just share one more insight. Another talk I liked was by Gary E. Stevensen. He talks about how we can be blessed, even if we are facing afflictions. He shares the story of Nephi from the Book of Mormon, and how one of the first things he says is “having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days” (1 Nephi 1:1). The first thing that Nephi writes is that he endured many hard things, but he has also seen many blessings. I think this can be applicable to anyone, knowing that we can go through tough times, and see many hard things in our lives, but that doesn’t mean that we are stripped of God’s blessings. Those are just a few of my thoughts.

As most of you know, this past week was my last week in the MTC. Just yesterday, Friday, was my last day of classes. I am definitely not fluent in French, but I am getting better quotidien (everyday). Plus, I am going to an English speaking mission first, so that will give me some more time to polish my French. These past six weeks have definitely flown by, and I did not think they would. I still remember my first day of classes, and how stressful it was. I remember thinking that these six weeks would drag on, and I would never leave the MTC. One reason it has flown by is definitely because of the people I met here.

Now, you probably don’t know these people, but I’m going to say why I am thankful for each and every one of them. Starting off with Elder Ward, for being my companion, and being an awesome friend. Elders Comer, Albertelli, and Wright for always goofing around, and making me laugh. Elder Woolston for sharing jokes, and talking about Avatar, Lord of the Rings, and other cool stuff. Elder Weyand for being basically fluent in French, but not rubbing it in our faces, but using his skill set to help us out. Elder Woodbury for his wit, and for his epic photoshop skills (I’ll attach a photo below). Sister Schnebly and Sister Howard for their infinite wisdom, and helpfulness for when it comes to French. Also, Sister Schnebly put together this awesome video of all of us bearing out testimony that I shared on my Facebook page. Sister Royall for having an amazing testimony, and always inspiring for me to become a better missionary. And finally, Sister Reed, for always encouraging me when I am down, and for always making me laugh. Like always. Also, my teachers, Soeur Sorena and Frere Lerohl, for always believing in us, and for just being great teachers. I love and appreciate everyone in my district, and these six weeks would have gone so slow if they weren’t here.

Now, I am just ready to hop on that plane to North Carolina on Tuesday, and get ready to teach the gospel to those who need it. I can’t wait to get out there and meet my new companion, mission president, and everyone else there. It will definitely be an interesting experience, and I’ll try to keep up on my emails. Hopefully, I’ll have more to write about once I get out there, and I can keep a weekly email. I feel bad for not including much, but like I said before, it’s been more or less the same thing everyday. I’m certain that will change here soon.

Au revoir,

Elder Orchard

Here is our “District Photo” Elder Woodbury Photoshopped us all in there.

-Top Row (Left to Right) Sister Royall, Sister Reed, Elder Albertelli, me, Elder Ward, Soeur Sorena, Elder Weyand

-Bottom Row (Left to Right) Sister Howard, Frere Lerohl, Sister Schnebly, Elder Wright, Elder Woodbury, Elder Woolston, Elder Comer

Here is a little throwback, in honor of the start of October

Here is my dapper suit