April 22, 2013

Well, I'm staying in Flagstaff for at least 6 more weeks! And so is Sister Harrah, which is nice. Her trainer was transferred after 7 weeks so I'm her 3rd companion, and I will be one she's had the longest! At least 12 weeks, probably not any more than that. If she stays ANOTHER transfer, she will have been in Flagstaff for more than 6 months! Probably not happening. Anyway! I'm really sad that Mariah didn't get a letter from me. I drew her pictures every week! Or I had the Elders help me. That makes me so sad! But no one is getting letters from me this week, I'm sorry, but I didn't get any so I have nothing to reply to! Can you help them make their letters more interesting? It's hard for me to come up with stuff when they aren't telling me anything or asking me any questions... I got my package. We haven't used the P90X yet, maybe we're lazy, but we also haven't gotten it approved from President yet. Can I tell you that running in Flagstaff is so hard! It makes my heart cramp up because I can't breathe! And Sister Harrah likes the music you sent me. There's one song in particular that we listen to multiple times a day :) But can I ask that you burn a few CDs for me? I just know that on my iTunes account I have two full albums I bought on iTunes that I would like on CDs. It's okay if it's inconvenient and it's not urgent, but the albums from Paul Cardall would be nice. And I also decided I really love Josh Groban so if you, and Vic :), could help me get some of his music? Really, it's not a big deal, so don't feel like you have to! Grandma and Grandpa Tolley emailed me. I just read it. Grandpa was mowing the lawn! I want to write them today. I've had an envelope with a stamp and their names on it for 2 weeks, I just need to fill it! Watch Kelly get married first, like she keeps saying I will :) HAHA! This week was CRAZY! I had quite the experiences. But I'll tell you about it backwards! Yesterday, we were tracting, and this guy answered the door and started challenging us. It was the first "Bible-bash" I'd ever gotten myself into. He was trying to say that he believed in science, not God, and was trying to disprove me with the law of gravity. It was weird. Just because there's gravity doesn't mean there isn't a God who makes it all possible! He was just being rude, though, because he was saying stuff about beer and Lamanites, too. That was interesting. And the other day there was this other house we knocked on. We heard them laughing really loud before we went up to the door. Sister Harrah was worried they were drunk because it was Friday night. When we told them who we were, they invited us in to sit on their couch and visit with them! We were in there for 20 minutes talking about the church and missionary work and about their interesting Chinese deserts. The two girls were from China and there were two boys who were white. The one was a Roman Catholic and kept saying everything about our church was "beautiful." But on Saturday, the Institute had an all day activity called "Rent-A-Puppy" where the humane society brought four of the cutest little puppies that people could pay $5 to play with for a half hour at a time. It was so cute! I got some sun, but it's embarrassing because it's only 4 inches up my ankle and on the inside of my forearms... It was a great day anyway :) Okay, here's the crazy part. NO ONE WILL BELIEVE THIS! But I, Sister Tolley, donated blood on Wednesday!!!!!!!!!! I really wasn't going to. Sister Harrah was one of the first appointments. I was in the room, of course, but I sat in a chair that faced the wall the whole time. I was very uncomfortable! But we were asked to be there the whole time (we have some institute council members who like to keep us busy, as if we aren't busy enough, but it's fine! We do what they ask). This girl in one of the wards kept demanding that I donate. She kept calling me a baby and said she'd hold my hand the whole time. She actually signed me up. Doesn't mean I'm going to do it! But then the lady came out and had me go back for testing. I can get my blood tested and still back out! By the way, my whole life I thought my blood type was A- but it turns out it's really B- which is crazy! Anyway, she pricked my finger to test it and I started to cry. Not because it hurt, I'm not THAT big of a baby! But because of the sight of blood. Who knew? I'm scared of blood. Actually I did know that. But the lady had me sit in the chair. Her name was Susan. She reassured me that she's very experienced. But she also told me that I don't have to donate if I don't want to. Hanna, the girl who signed me up, sat by me and started "talking" with me, but she was really distracting me! I started freaking out! Get me out of this chair! But before I knew it, the lady had a needle in my arm. I was FREAKING OUT! And it was worse than I imagined. It didn't hurt and even though I wasn't doing what the nurse was telling me to do to keep my muscles circulated, I felt fine. No headache, no dizziness, nothing. But I cried really hard the whole time. And for some time after! It literally traumatized me. Now I know! I really do have a fear of blood and especially of donating it. Sorry, that was a long non-mission related story. But let me tell you another one! This morning, my district went to what they call the "lava-tubes" which turned out to be a cold and scary cave. It was weird! There was a big hole in the ground and before you even got in the cave there was at least a 20 degree drop in temperature and ice all around the entrance. It was fun, though. I almost killed myself. But I'm just being dramatic. I really almost twisted my ankle a few times, though! Anyway, I guess this is a lame letter this week. I should write down the spiritual experiences I want to share in my letters from now on. Love you Mom!!!! -Sister Tolley P.S. Did Dad get the letter where I asked him about the lady who knows Grandpa Tolley? Just wondering what happened with that information, if he told him, and if he knows her?