3rd transfer?!

Hello everyone! Can you all believe that I just finished my second transfer?! Craziness!

This week was not nearly as crazy as last week. My week started with a super fun Zone Activity last Monday! We all went to the park and hung out and played sports and talked. It was so much fun to see everyone! I've been in Elko for the last couple weeks in a trio and it was great to see my district in Spring Creek and get to talk to them!

Tuesday and Wednesday were a lot of driving. And I mean a lot. My trio is me, Sister Hingano, and Sister Doyle, and Sister Hingano is the Sister Training Leader for this area. That means that they do exchanges pretty much every week with the different sisters in the area. So we drove halfway to Ely, which was about an hour and a half to 2 hour drive or so, to meet the sisters serving there. I got a good nap in both days and I also got a lot of planning and organizing done for my area!

It was super great because the sister that came to Elko on exchanges was Sister Paul :) She was my companion in the MTC, so it was great to see her and talk to her and catch up on things! She's so awesome. And she's going to be training this transfer!

Thursday was a lot of splits. I went out with a few sisters from the ward and we got so much done! We did a church tour with a couple of investigators we had and it was the first church tour that I'd ever done! It was a little weird because I didn't have a companion with me, but the Hadleys (who I went on splits with) helped out a ton :)

We got so much done on Friday too thanks to all of the sisters that offered to come on splits with me! It was crazy because pretty much everyone we tried was home. Definitely a blessing! And that night we went to the ward's Pie and Ice Cream Social, and I am totally good with free pie and ice cream :)

Sunday was great! The Elko sisters are in charge of 2 wards, so I got to take the sacrament twice! We also went to late night sacrament, which is sacrament meeting for those who can't come because they work in the mines. Not many people came, but it was great to feel the Spirit so strongly in such a small group as I took the sacrament for the third time that day.

Thursday was a little crazy too. We got a call from President Chesnut in the middle of the day, which is kinda weird. It turned out that Sister Doyle's visa had come in so she could go to Brazil! The super crazy thing is that she had to fly out at 6:30 this morning, so she had to be packed and heading to Reno on Sunday night. It was so sad to see her go :( she'll do great though!

Speaking of Reno, I'm being transferred there! Surprise! My new companion will be Sister Johnson, who came out with me :) I don't really know her but she seems super nice! Also, I've heard that the temple is either in or really close to my area. So I'm pretty pumped about that! That'll definitely make up for the culture shock from leaving Spring Creek, which is about 1/40 the size of Reno :D

My new address is 4350 Acadia Way, Reno, NV 89502. The crazy thing is that even though it's farther from home, I'll get mail faster than when you sent it to Spring Creek :) Also, thanks so much Grandma for the gift cards! :) We were super excited that we got to order some pizza on Saturday and have a mini fiesta for Sister Doyle :)

Our district leader will be taking over 2nd ward in addition to 4th ward. As of Wednesday, Spring Creek 2nd ward will have elders. It'll be a change but hopefully it'll be a good change!

I'll definitely miss Spring Creek. It's been a huge change from what I'm used to, but I survived living in a small town with not even a Walmart for 3 months :) The ward here is super amazing and I am going to miss all of the people so much. I'm so grateful for the Baileys for letting us live in their beautiful home and for the Hadleys for being the best ward mission leaders ever. I'll definitely miss my district and zone, who are some of the coolest missionaries ever :) I'll especially miss Sister Hingano, who's been a great companion for these last two weeks :)

Wish me luck in Reno! :)

Love and miss you all!

Sister Ashley Gootee :)