Hello everyone! Greetings from Tennessee. I flew from California to Atlanta on Tuesday. We got there and met the assistants to the mission president. We had a good southern feast, did some training, and then just hung out with all of the new missionaries. We stayed in a hotel for a night. In the morning, we went to hear a few people talk about important tips for the mission. One surprising thing is that it snowed a little bit here! I'll include a picture below. The moment then came to hear about my first assigned area and my trainer. I was assigned to the Spencer area in the Sparta district. My companion's name is Elder Cohn. It's been great to get to know him! He is originally from Virginia near the DC area. He went to a year of college at BYU and has been out here for 4.5 months.
We drove about two hours to the small town of Spencer that is just outside of Sparta, TN. I heard from him that we were living in a trailer. After we met the four other missionaries in the area, we headed for it. We pull up to this building with trash all over the floor, barely a door to be seen, and almost had a full roof. He parks and says to get the bags. I pull them out. He says to put them back in the car because this wasn't where we were staying. He drives me to the actual trailer and it is better by far. Although it does have a weird smell, it is much more put together. I don't have any pictures of it sadly.
A couple great things about Spencer is that it is a small town of about 5,000 people I believe. This ward is known for having members that love to help the missionaries in any way they can! I have already been fed 3-4 meals by the members since I came here and it is all good food. These people love to be active in missionary work in ways that amaze me. Most of the members in this ward are converts to the church so they understand what we go through. Almost everyone in this town is already religious in some way. People here love the Bible and Jesus Christ which great in so many ways. Even though this is a small town, we still find people to teach.
One interesting thing about coming to this area is that I really wanted to go to a small southern town just to experience what it was like. I definitely got that, as this is one of the smallest areas in the entire mission. I don't think I knew what I was asking for when I wanted it, but I got it regardless. A lot of things have been wildly different than I expected and I am definitely still learning everything. There is one scripture that comes to mind.
Mathew 7
7 ¶ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
In this experience, I have learned that we will find exactly what we are looking for, whether it be good or bad. If we seek to have a stronger relationship with God, we will find it. If we want to study the scriptures to find answers to our deepest questions, God will help us find what we need. I plan to use this scripture a lot more to remember to seek for understanding and love for the people in this area. In short, I would just like end with this.
You will find what you seek, so seek for good.
Elder Oram
Note from Mom: So, I wasn't planning on continuing these side notes but I wanted to include a memory that popped up on Facebook from 10 years ago today. It's too perfect.
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