I Really Hate Playing Basketball!

So we all get up at 6 and walk to the stake center and play sports for exercise, mostly basketball. I. Hate. Playing. Basketball. So.

Freaking. Much. I like watching it. It's great to watch, I love rooting for teams and stuff. It is not meant for people who are 4'11 and everyone else is 6'2. How about no. And I wanna believe that the other missionaries aren't judging me silently for how bad I play sports but they are totally judging me hardcore. I'm pretty sure that's why no one voluntarily talks to me, because I am so bad at sports. But hey give me a piano and I'll blow your ears off.

Anyway this week was great. Second week of the transfer already? What?

Wasn't it just Christmas yesterday? I don't even know what I had for dinner last night, this transfer is flying.

We have taught so many lessons this week to random people. We're out of people to teach so we've been tracting. Like five people have let us walk into their homes and allowed us to share a message with them.

What. How bizarre is that? They are mostly older folk, but they are really sweet and loving. I'm trying to see everyone I walk past as a child of God, or how God would see them.

Sister Morrison and I have started a contest on who can wave and say hi to the most people. Whoever gets the most responses wins. We aren't sure on the reward yet. We're just trying to be friendly to everyone.

We are teaching this progressing investigator named Assata. She is 17 and wants to be baptized, just not at the moment. I like her a lot, she has class and style, two things I have never owned in my life.

Teaching someone who is remotely interested is nice.

We went over to this recent converts house named Arielle twice this week. Turns out she is into hardcore screamo music just like me. I love it when people love my music. She had a girl named Sunny who had a stroke at 3 and it messed up her brain. She is the cutest kid ever who doesn't understand the meaning of personal space. But it's just two more people I am growing to love. We went over there for dinner and sunny accidentally spilled a pitcher of water all onto sister morrisons lap. I have never laughed so hard in my life. It was great.

Our ward mission leader, brother Carlisle, is the greatest man ever.

He is old. He is sweet. And he is funny. The three main characteristics you needs for a ward mission leader. He is so nice to me , oh my gosh. I love him. We had a meeting with him at his house Saturday morning and his wife baked us bread to eat with our meeting.

Apparently there is no hope of ever actually losing weight on a mission.

Sunday was good, we go to two sacrament meetings each Sunday. So I get to take the sacrament twice. We ended up going to three sacrament meetings this past Sunday, we helped the elders with a musical number.

I played the piano. It was interesting to take the sacrament three times in one Sunday. Every time I took it, it still had the same spirit as the last sacrament meeting did. I was tripley reminded of everything my savior did for me and the sacrifice be performed for me.

I love my savior so much. He knows how I feel 24/7. He knows when I am sad and how to best comfort me, and he knows when I am happy and how to rejoice with me. He does that with all of us. Knowing my savior gives me such a sense of belonging. I am glad to be here spreading that with others. It gives me joy to help people be happy.

I love you all so much. You are all my favorite people in the whole world. Thank you for all the support and love you give me. You are all children of God and I love you.

Love,

The Incredibly Awkward Human Being Called Sister Ginn (at least in California)

Cute little girl names Sunni

Haircut!

Playing with Sunni!

The People In Lincoln Are Rich

Ok so it's really fun and sad at the same time, I had completely forgotten what two story houses looked like because in Corning there's nothing but trailers and poverty. Then there's Lincoln. Dang these people got money. There's townhouses, giant mansions, bushes cut into rabbit shapes, and fancy water fountains galore. It's impressive. And our area is nice and close. Its lovely. I like it.

Anyway, my new companion is Sister Morrison. So far we get along just fine. She's exactly like me in a lot of ways, and we both have the same motto: "Work hard, play harder." So that's nice. The missionary work is done totally different then Corning is. I cover two wards instead of just one, Lincoln 3rd and 6th ward, so we have way more people to work with. We honestly don't see too many members, and every night we get dinner with them. It's great. Someone told people not to make us desserts so maybe I'll actually lose some weight. That would be nice.

So sister Morrison is sister training leader and she had to go to an all day meeting on Thursday which meant I was stuck in Lincoln and I had no idea where anything was. Another sister, Sister Patterson, was my companion and she's new to Lincoln too. We basically spent the whole day completely lost and didn't see anyone. So that was interesting.

The missionaries in my zone are great. They've all been serving around each other for about a year and a half so they're all great friends.

I'm kind of the awkward one around, I don't know any of these people.

I'm realizing that my entire life is just awkward and I'm okay with that. That's basically my first week.

We did a huge zone service project on Friday. We all did yard work for about three hours. Oh I miss yard work. It was fun, I raked soaking wet leaves into piles. It's been raining hard for the last week and the ground is absorbing none of the water since its rock hard so it's all just sitting there flooding stuff. The rain smells different here than in NC.

Saturday was a loooong day. We had every single appointment cancel on us so we spent the entire day finding, with little to no success. It wasn't until 4 that we finally found this part member family who actually let us in the door. We talked to them forever about the church and about Jesus and things like that. It went pretty great. It was such a tender mercy, especially after not seeing a single person all day. What a tender mercy. I was so tired after that, but I felt good about myself because I knew I had tried my best. It's whatevs.

It's only other people's salvation.

Sunday was nuts, so one ward starts at 9 and the other ward starts at 10:30. We have to flip flop every Sunday with church and ward councils and PEC and holy freaking heck so many meetings in one day. Our two bishops and two ward mission leaders are great though, they are willing to work with us and don't get offended when we don't attend their ward.

So far there's four progressing investigators here and I've met none of them. Hopefully I will meet some of them this coming week.

I live in an apartment again and it's wonderful. All the elders and sisters live in the same apartment complex.

The church is true guys. I wouldn't be on my mission if I didn't know it was true. I have never been a people person. I'm still not a people person. Ha you should see me interact with some of the elders. I have come to find that being a missionary really doesn't change you too much at all. It changes your testimony and how you act, but other than that you are still the same person. I'm still Caroline. My relationship with my savior has changed, and I've matured a lot, but I'm still Caroline. It's actually kind of great, I have zero tolerance for immaturity and idiocy because it just ticks me off. I am not a fan of dumb people.

My new address is 174 South O St. #22 Lincoln, CA 95643

Love you all! Talk to you next week.

Love,

Sister Caroline Elizabeth Ginn

New Companion Sister Morrison

First baptism for Caroline on her mission in Corning.

So I Skyped My Family and it Was the Greatest Thing Ever!!

Hello to all. I hope your Christmas was great this year. I had a good Christmas, I really did.

This week was one slow week, that's for sure. You know how people say that the holidays are the best time to proselyte? Well that is a lie and if anyone actually believes that then clearly they have never served a mission, at least in the United States.

Anyway. Not many lessons were taught. At all. We mostly just visited with members all week, which hey, members are one of my favorite parts of being a missionary so I'm not complaining. Tuesday we had a California Roseville Mission Christmas devotional and it turned out great. I played the piano and we all sang Christmas songs. I saw some missionaries I haven't seen in a while and it was fab. I loved it.

Wednesday was kind of slow, but we ended up helping one of our investigators make Oreo truffles for like three hours. I ate so many and I wanted to die. There's no such thing as a diet during Christmas.

Thursday on Christmas Eve we helped the same investigator cook her Christmas Eve dinner. Her name is Marybel by the way. Then we went to the Finefrocks, a family that loves missionaries, and we ate and talked and laughed and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Christmas morning sister Mackay and I recited the Living Christ to each other. That's right. I memorized it. And I suck at memorizing. We opened our presents and headed out to our relief society presidents house. Turns out the entire ward had gotten together to get us these GIANT SANTA BAGS filled with presents. I got these warm cotton pajamas that I try to wear as long as I can in the mornings and nights. We skyped our families at another members house and I didn't cry as much as I thought I was going to. I love my family soooooooo much. It was so good to hear them speak to me. I will never take them for granted again. Our Christmas dinner consisted of nachos and Oreos and jello.

It was delicious.

Saturday and Sunday were kind of a blur. They went fast and slow at the same time. I don't remember too much that happened but that happens a lot for me. I did play with playdoe with a little girl who's grandma is our investigator. That was fun.

I love the members here. They are like a giant ward family and I love it. The Relief Society President here is Sister Ellen Van Dyke and she is amazing. We are over at her house all the time. I adore her. We get along great.

Even though Christmas is over, I still feel the Christmas spirit inside of me. It's a happy and joyous feeling to be sure. I want to try to keep this feeling with me as long as I possibly can. Everyone else should try that too.

I know this gospel is true. I know the Book of Mormon is true.

I love knowing that I am sealed to my family forever. It's amazing to me to be able to know that for sure.

JESUS IS REAL AND HE LIVES.

I love you all ok? Happy New Years! 

Love,

Sister Ginn