Hermana Dimond Takes Florida: September 2017

Well just when you think you have lived it all,,,,

THERE IS MORE! IRMA STRIKES AGAIN lol. Wow. Yep, I think that it is safe to say that this has been the gnarliest month of my life. Yet again I am flustered as to where to begin this email. This last week has been one that I will just never forget. I feel like the luckiest missionary and girl in the world to be having these experiences that I have had. There is so much to say, and I have such little time to try and say it in. Its just like trying to describe Celestial feelings with Telestial words, it is just impossible. But here is a few of my thoughts:

Sister Murdock and I started our week just trying to dig right back in and hit the ground running, just trying to get our minds full back into missionary work. We went out Monday and Tuesday and it just felt good. I was nervous of trying to "go back" into the missionary routine of things, but it felt good to have a schedule again. We were able to start teaching some new people, and follow up with all those we had pretty much lost contact with after the hurricane. We even got to have Zone Conference and just get a spiritual reboost from President, and also information that the Area of the Seventy over our mission was wanting us to go back this weekend to the keys and help again, and that we would most likely be having to CAMP, but he didn't give us any details. He kept apologizing and saying that he was so proud of us, but you just know Sister Murdock and I were just trying to keep the biggest smiles off of our faces the whole time he was talking. ARE WE JOKING? CAMPING? hahah oh we died. But he could tell, and he was actaully so relieved when he found out we were down. It was only a matter of a day when Elder Jones and Vazquez, our Zone Leaders and the elders we share a ward with, called us Thursday night and said, "Sisters soo ahhh how would you like to go down and camp in the keys for the weekend and go do some more service?" President Garns asked only our Zone to go down early, (Friday morning at 3:30am to be exact) and head down to the keys to unload some more trucks of supplies and get started down there, and then the rest of the mission would meet us down there Saturday afternoon. So we Thursday night, we had like three hours notice, and we had no info, but we packed any food we had, a blanket, we considered buying hammocks (biggest regret not bringing mine out here) lol, and a change of clothes, and headed to the church to meet the elders at 3:30. Sister Bingham and Beckstrand, the only other sisters in our zone, had a lesson so they couldn't come with us, so it was literally just Sister Murdock and I and all the elders. The mission drove the 15 passenger van down and they all drove in that, and then Sister Murdock and I drove down with the Assistants to the Presidents, Elder Lewis, Peterson, and Demann, who are literally some of my best friends out here. Elder Peterson also served in the Keys already so he just hooked us up with members and cool facts and just all the ins. Oh good grief, to say we didn't just have the best weekend would be an understatement. Just laughs and memories for days. For heaves sakes we went on a road trip to the keys this weekend.

We got down to the Marathon and Key West Chapel and unloaded the trucks of supplies and tools and we spent hours building wheel barrows for the teams that would come down the next day as well as many other tools. Man Florida is hot. haha We were just all day outside in the blazing heat. It was just such a blessing that none of us got heat stroke or more sick or anything. God is so good and is watching over us. It was really long hard work days not going to lie, but it sure makes it fun and so worth it when you are surrounded by great people and just doing it for the best cause. The rest of that day was spent helping people clean up their yards, continuing to cut trees, talking with people etc. People were just recognizing us by our yellow shirts and it sparked so many conversations.

We even got so lucky because we got to go drive around for a little and just "see" key west, the only missionaries that got to do so. We got to go to the very bottom, the 90 miles to Cuba monument, we got to go to the old train tracks that used to be the only road into the keys, we got to go the beach and we started setting up camp there as that is where we thought we would be staying. (but then president garns told us that other missionaries or members had helped this museum place clean up their grounds and so they offered their museum for us to sleep in that night. haha so we slept in a museum and Sister Murdock and I slept under sting rays. yep. The next night the same thing happened, but rather with this Pentecostal pastor and his church. They opened up their building to us and so we slept in a Pentecostal church, our zone all together, with President and Sister Garns. haha the elders all set up their hammocks in the ceiling and we all just chilled. too fun. We are all just FAM now. There is really nothin more to say about it.

I have just been so beyond touched with the experiences that I have had here and the people that I have met. It has been so amazing to talk with these people down here. Almost every person that I helped told me that they actually had mormon friends. One sweet woman we went and helped cut this GIANT tree out of the back of her yard that had fallen, was just on the phone with her mormon friend the entire time and just balling at what we were doing. I would just look up from working and she just couldn't stop crying. Her husband had been diagnosed with cancer and couldn't work, well he didn't have the energy to do so, and they just didn't even know what they were going to do. She was just so grateful. And almost everyone we helped was just brought to tears. It was just amazing to me to see things people lost. The difference in peoples views on things, those who still had a positive outlook after the storm and those who didn't. I talked with a guy who just really touched me. His entire roof was just ripped off and his windows shattered and he had just bought that house in the keys one month ago, and I felt so bad, and he told me, "why? this is all just "stuff". "stuff" is replaceable. You and I are not." He was just so positive and it just made me think, made me remember truly what is most important. It was interesting to see those that were prepared for this storm and those that were not. They all had the same time to prepare and the same warnings, however some did not choose to prepare themselves. So many little things that have just impacted me so much and have just been going through my head. We are not replaceable. Our lives our not replaceable. We have right now TO GET PREPARED. To get ready and to become what we need to.

I wish I could adequately explain better these experiences. I wish I had more time. But just know i feel so blessed. I am so fine. I am so happy. I love being a missionary. We have transfers tomorrow as well and Sister Murdock and I are BOTH BEING TRANSFERRED OUT OF HIALEAH! we died!!! I am going to miss that goober so much. She really has become one of my best friends. We just laugh every night when we go to bed as we just say, "we did it all together pal". There is nobody that I would have wanted to experience these things with. But I am excited to go up to Boynton Beach, such more north, english again, BUT I am going with one of my other dream companions, Sister Staffieri, from Carlsbad California! (: More memories to come. Only three transfers left and I can hardly believe it. Time is a precious thing.

I love you all. Thanks for being the best

Have the best week!

xoxox Hermana Dimond