A day (or 2 or 3...) in THE LIFE!

Hello Everyone! Good Morning!

I really do live "the LIfe" Being a missionary is SO WONDERFUL.

This email is going to be smorgasbord of things! Every week I write in my planner things I want to write home... and without fail EVERY week I never have time to write them all! But today I am DOING IT! My e-mails home are an extension of the journal that I NEVER have time to keep as up to date as I'd like, so I need to be thorough here if I am not thorough there! capeesh? I made a long list and I am getting started on my email RIGHT AWAY...

Here are some things I missed in last weeks email...

*Frank and Karen Ginnie sent me the cutest card from Florida last week that played the Beach Boys song, "Kokomo". You know the one that goes, "Aruba, jamaica ooo I wanna take you Bermuda, bahama come on pretty mama. Key largo, montego baby why don't we go"... It was fun to hear from them and to get the update that they were sitting outside, soaking up the cold 82* weather and thinking of me! I think anyone that is EVER in a WARM climate thinks of me ... then WRITES ME ABOUT IT! haha I get so many letters that tell me the weather forecast in other states. I like it though, it makes me laugh because I CAN'T EVEN FATHOM warm weather! Thanks Frank and Karen, I'm in the process of writing you back!

*Corry was baptized 2 weeks ago today. I was reminded of my baptism and of the spirit of baptism. There is such a special spirit at a baptismal service. A spirit that makes you feel fresh and clean and gives each person in attendance a renewed spirit of hope and determination to do what is right. It made me think of the scripture in John 14: 26-27. It talks about how the spirit will bring all things to our remembrance. I believe that. I know that we are able to remember at times like that, when the spirit is so strong, a time when we felt the spirit that strong ALL the time. We are able to feel within ourselves a desire to return to our Heavenly Father and again feel that spirit ALL the time. Corry chose as her closing song, "When I am Baptized". (I remember singing that song at Brittany's baptism with Britt, Candice Fish and Brittany Rogers!) I love the lyrics. This is one of my favorite primary songs, even since I was in primary:

I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain
and ponder on the beauty of an earth made clean again.

I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.
I want to be the best I can and live with God again.

I know when I am baptized my wrongs are washed away,
and I can be forgiven and improve myself each day.

I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.
I want to be the best I can and live with God again.

It was such a peaceful feeling to sing that song and to think of how my life CAN be as clean as earth right after rain as I renew my baptismal covenants each week by partaking of the sacrament. This gospel can bring us SO much happiness... but we have to do our part to access those blessings. The spirit I felt at Corry's baptism reminded me of that.

*Last week i broke a COMB in my hair!!! It's been AGES since I have done that! When I was little my hair was REALLY LONG and REALLY THICK... it was not unusual for me to break a comb or brush in my hair... but that hasn't happened in FOREVER... until last week! My hair has grown quite a bit since Cristina cut it in October (mom-remember when you and i went? that feels like forever ago, then at the same time like just the other day!!!) and it just feels thicker too. I kept telling S. warner that. But those thoughts were confirmed when I was teasing my hair a little bit and the comb just broke in half! HAHA I laughed so hard and i was all alone in my bathroom (our apartment has 2 bathrooms, it's glorious! I don't think I have ever NOT shared a bathroom, it's kinda nice!) I get so many compliments on my hair these days... when i tease it it just lays perfect. all the women we play volleyball with are jealous. (don't worry, it's NOT the utah tease!) it's funny, i tell people I tease my hair to cover up the horns Mormons have!!! haha I got my good hair from you Grandma Black! So I decided before my mission that I will grow my hair out, we'll see how it goes, it takes FOREVER to blow dry every morning! SO some days I don't wash it and I curl it, that works out nice, i used to do that at byu too... Cristina, will you fly to WI to cut my hair, I am scared for anyone else to do it, especially now since it has been doing so well. (wow that was a whole paragraph about my hair! haha sorry! but it's still important to me!)

*There is an elder in the mission named elder black! He is actually in my same district, so I see him every week at district meeting on tuesdays and at zone conferences. Well, we decided early on that we are going to tell people that we are brother and sister! Even President Barrett is on board, it's hilarious. SO many people believe us, we had our whole zone believing us at zone conference. I have to tell some people we're kidding because I feel too bad, they start asking ALL these questions and are just AmAzed! haha He gets A LOT of my mail too! so good thing I see him once a week! He is good about always bringing it. We'll take a picture and I will send it home next week!

*I know I briefly mentioned Zone Conference last week.. but it was AMAZING!!! It was all about Faith, which I had written down that I wanted to study prior to Zone Conference. It was definitely an answer to my prayer. Preach My Gospel Chapter 6 is all about Christlike Attributes and Faith is the first one. I decided I wanted to study Faith because it is the antithesis of fear, and sometimes when I hear the state of our economy or of all the wickedness in the world that I am naive too because I am a missionary I get fearful! Joseph Smith said that Faith is the moving course of action for all human beings in the Lectures on Faith. How true is that? Faith is a principle of action as it says in the Bible Dictionary. It also says that if we have faith we "enable the mind to place full confidence in him without reservation". Him being the Savior. I love that! That is SO hard to do sometimes, but why? I know for dang sure that I don't have all the answers! President Biolo, 1st Counselor in the Green Bay Stake Presidency, also a member of our ward, had us and the elders over for dinner last monday. He taught us that having Faith in Jesus Christ means that we recognize we can be PERFECT in HIM! I always thought that I will achieve perfection in the next life... but that is WHY we are baptized. When we are baptized we enter in to a covenant with Christ. By doing so we can be perfect in and through Him! P. Biolo taught us how so many people are so hard on themselves, because they don't recognize the blessing it is to be baptized and to be able to renew those covenants through the sacrament. And at the time of judgement we will be able to account for all we did, then Christ will make up all the difference and we will be "confident in Him" if we repent! That is why he sacrificed His life! Baptism is the way we access the atonement! Why not repent and enjoy those blessings NOW!? K... so that has been my latest thought process. I love the gospel. I love that we are always learning. I love the gospel scholars that I am surrounded by here in Green Bay and in this work like President Biolo & President Barrett!

*Speaking of news in the world- I heard about the Hudson River Miracle. It's nice to hear about good things!

*Last week we did our laundry at the Ribbens. We went over later Thursday night. I started it by putting all my darks in. I had a lot (i always have WAY more clothing to wash than s. warner, she doesn't wash her clothes!! just like Meesh and Layne last year at the Y!) SO, it's a front loader washer, so i figured I could put A lot... so i did. Then I transferred them to the dryer and started our whites. THen it was late so we left and said we'd come back and finish in the morning. When we came back Sister Joni Ribbens had done ALL our laundry. She commented that some of the clothes took a LONG time to dry and that some were overly wrinkled beyond repair because I put TOO many in the washer... and consequently in the DRYER! 1st off I can't believe she washed and dried and folded ALL our laundry! SO NICE! 2nd of all: HOW EMBARRASSING! My mom always tells me that I put too much in the washer ... now Joni did too!!!! haha I laughed really hard when she told me that... so did she when I told her it's a disorder I have had all my life because I have 0 patience!!!! I love that the Ribbens always let us do our laundry there, it's just so nice to not have to one PAY to do our laundry every week and TWO to do it in a home with clean machines and with good company! We always play games while we wait! I love the Ribbens! You guys are way too good to us!

*Last sunday i was Deathly SICK. We fasted all day, with the purpose of strengthening the investigators in our area. We have church at one now. Remember that that morning we went to the Catholic Mass. I felt great all day, we went to our ward coordination meeting before church and that was great. Then church started. Our chapel always gets REALLY hot. I started to get a headache and feel just sick, feverish, achey... The feeling continued in sunday school and in the YW lesson we taught. Then we had another meeting after chuch with the ward missionaries, I was going DOWN HILL... by 5p when we got to the Bartell's I was done for. I was SO sick. I definitely had a 'bout with the stomach flu. After i got sick once i felt better, I didn't think I had anything to give because I hadn't eaten since the day before.... So instead of eating the dinner s. bartell made, she gave me Campbell's chicken noodle soup and saltines. that was not a good choice. I wasted that in like 15 minutes... so S. bartell gave me a pillow and a blanket and i layed on their couch and listened to the dinner conversation with my eyes closed wanting to DIE! haha after a few more trips to the bathroom it was time to go! I went straight home and to bed. And I felt SO much better the next day. I had a new lease on LIFE! S. Bartell was so good to me! She was a great substitute for MY MOM, and that is one person that's hard to substitute! She kept checking on me and hurried s. warner and the elders out the door telling them i had to go home! It is SO nice to be surrounded by SO many good people.

*Last week sister warner and I almost didn't make it to our apartment without having an accident... We both REALLY had to go to the bathroom. We pulled in to our underground parking. Jumped out of our seats and opened the doors to the back seat to load ourselves up with our MANY bags of stuff. We seriously move in and out of our apartment daily. We have to take SO much stuff with us, like more clothing because it's COLD and food because we get HUNGRY and then supplies! and Camera! and that day we had LAUNDRY too! SO we finally get in the elevator and I press numbers 1 and 3. We go from the basement to the 1st floor to check the mail. Usually s. warner gets out of the elevator to check the mail and I stay in and make sure the door doesn't close or the elevator doesn't go to another floor before we need to get back on. this time i was too busy looking at pictures on my camera, trying to distract myself from the fact that i REALLY had to go to the BATHROOM that the door closed and by the time i realized it I let out an "Aaah..." as the elevator takes me to the third floor. the whole time I can hear S. warner saying, or yelling rather, "COOMMPPAANNIOONNN!!!" and laughing. so naturally... i am laughing too! when I finally get down to floor one again to get her we are really REALLY wondering if we are going to make it without a puddle somewhere... we press 3 again, the elevator goes, we start to read our mail, it stops. We start to run off and realize the elevator went DOWN to the basement again, man, by this point everything is WAY to funny and we are hysterical. We FINALLY Get to the 3rd floor. run with all of our bags and stuff and half-read mail in our hands to our apt door. S. warner unlocks the door, throws it open and runs, mind you, i am behind her, the door hits me, i stumble in, over the stuff she just dropped as she ran to her bathroom. I was laughing SO hard at that point. I ran to my bathroom. The rest is history, we changed our clothes.... and laughed a little more!

Now on to some highlights from THIS WEEK!!!!! (i told you this email would be long!)

I already told you how on Monday, MLK Jr Day, we went to Diane's Pentecostal Church. Great Fun. Good People.

Tuesday we went to Annie Robertson's basketball game. She is in 8th grade! She is so fun to watch. I established that there is only one thing more annoying than hormonal high school kids!... hormonal middle schoolers! Oh how happy I am to be DONE with that stage of life... the kids sitting below us we SO annoying. Some of the girls playing on the court could barely play because they were so busy talking to the boys on the front row of bleachers. They'd make a shot- then look at their admirers, this went on and on and on... It was hysterical. Not our little Annie though- she was focused on the game and could out run any girl on the court! It made me think of watching Tatum and Taylor play... I miss you girls! WRITE ME A LETTER!

Wednesday we played volleyball with the women- I am getting DANG good might i add! ... Then S. warner and I taught bible study at S. Robertson's home. Sister Ginger Cozzens and Sister Lisa Robertson do their visiting teaching each month with a luncheon and a lesson (that we teach) and they always invite non-members, they're so great. They help us with missionary work SO MUCH. They're such good examples to me! Then we had district meeting, we usually have it on Tuesday, but it was on WED so we could have interviews with President Barrett. He is such a great, inspiring man, and he LOVES us sisters! We always joke that we do NO WRONG in that man's eyes! After interviews he took sister warner and I to dinner at El Serape, our favorite mexican food place here. It was fun to have a little one-on-one with him, we never get that!!!! Later that night he came with us to an appointment at 8:30, we were there from 8:30-11:15 PM! He told us he was going to tell our mission president on us!! haha Basically he spent 2 hours and 45 minutes teaching a less active member of our ward why he never gained a testimony: because he never REPENTED! that's why he claims he "doesn't feel the spirit"! That's what he was missing BEFORE his baptism! He taught him to be sincere, and to forget his past and move on to the future and to ENDURE TO THE END!!!! Basically he told him to leave all his lame excuses behind and that he couldn't be TAUGHT repentance ... you have to DO repentance! President is SO inspired! He told Ron to humble himself as a child and to sincerely repent as Enos. I learned to much that night! And sweet Pat, his wife, The one who used to be a nun, taught Ron too! SHe is stalwart. Such a good example. It was a faith promoting night! It was fun to teach with President. He makes us feel so good about ourselves as missionaries, sometimes we just need that! I talked to Ron yesterday and he thanked us for all we're doing for him. It was good for Ron to meet with a man who thinks "scientifically" just like Ron says he does. Finally, when President Barret had had enough of Ron's run around, he said, "Ron, I have degree upon degree in science and in medicine. You could google my name and find thousands of places where I am documented for my knowledge in science, but I still repent the same way you have to". It was so good! SO bold, but so inspired. Needless to say, we were tired the next day.

Thursday, we woke up early and went with the elders to Bayport Highschool to go to Brandon Robertson's Multi-Cultural Lit Class. It was his Final Exam Presentation. (Wisconsin has finals after the new year, it's wierd) Him and his friend Christian chose to do their report on Mormon Culture. It was SO amazing. S. Warner and I started off teaching the WHOLE first lesson as the background and history of the church! Then Christian (who is not a member might i add) did a report on temples and interesting facts. He claimed, "All Mormon's are good at sports and take state wherever they live, and always do good in the Olympics, ok that's not a fact, but every Mormon I have known is good at sports!" It was funny, we all laughed. The elders taught about missionaries and where we're at all over the world and languages we learn and the MTC and things like that. Then we taught about the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. We were able to bear testimony and answer questions. Even the teacher asked questions. We left copies of the Book of Mormon and pamphlets, they all took them, it was SO amazing. Brandon is SUCH an AmAzing kid. He doesn't even recognize the blessings that will come to others lives because of him boldness. He's a senior and plans to serve a mission, he'll be an AmAzing missionary! He is a ward missionary now and is SO helpful. Kids his age really look up to him.

Saturday Morning we made button magnets and embroidered sweaters with Molly Summers, Jenni Ribbens, Jeannie Ribbens and her friend Taylor at the Ribbens' home. It was SO fun! I felt so crafty. haha molly is the one. she is so crafty. She is the queen shopper of Etsy. That night we had dinner at the Brudnicki's -one of my favorite families, my first dinner appointment- which happened to be Thanksgiving. They tease me relentlessly! haha it's like i am at home! haha little sam and I are EXPERT farm builders... we love to play with the farm he got for christmas. We went there christmas eve and sam was sleeping so i played by myself and sat the whole farm up while everyone was talking, they all still tease me about it! Then we had a game night at the Youngs, with Corry Schrap and Brandon Robertson and Yasmin and Mickey and Eric Torbenson and Heather Millett and Jeff and Elder Oldham and Elder Jolley. It was really fun and good for our investigators to be with members their own age.

Sunday we had ward conference and dinner at the Huzzey's. Bishop Huzzey LOVES chocolate. LOVES it! At the New Years Eve Breakfast I saw him put chocolate syrup on his eggs. CraZy! Good thing his wife is a diabetic! She keeps him in check! But there is always an eating contest. Sis Huzzey and I never participate (neither does their daughter in law Tabby). But Elder Jolley is the reigning champ. Oldham came in a close second, Bishop 3rd and Sister warner took last. This was the first time she ever lost to Bishop! haha it's fun to watch... kind of. Elder Pulley used to eat just like a TURTLE... it was hilarious. It kinda grosses me out... but it's tradition! I love the HUZZEY's!!!!

That was my week... fun filled and BUSY BUSY!

I am still dealing with the animals here in Wisconsin. At the Youngs Saturday night I was unaware of the cat in the bathtub while I was going to the bathroom until I was in a position where I couldn't jump up and run out of the bathroom too quickly! I was SO freaked out. I am learning to deal with cats, but the way they look at me, like RIGHT THRU ME, freaks me out! No wonder we dissected cats in biology and not DOGS! Midwest people have a sick adoration for felines that I DO NOT UNDERSTAND!

Did you know that peoples GAS FREEZE in their tanks here!!!??? They have to make sure that they have at LEAST a fourth of a tank so it won't freeze over night or while they're shopping in a store or something! crazy!!!

I have been really working on memorizing some scriptures... it's a good thing to do in the car and it keeps my mind sharp! also it really helps when I am teaching. SO far I have Mosiah 5:15, Mosiah 3:18-19, D&C 4, The Standard of Truth and the Missionary Purpose Memorized. It's such an accomplishment!

We went to a Piggly Wiggly on Thursday! Yes that store DOES EXIST... i thought the comedians made it up! haha People thought we were crazy for taking pictures in there!

Yesterday in ward conference president kreihbal, the stake president, said we're all going to wear shirts that say "I survived the winter of '08-'09!" If Wisconsinites are saying that, then it must be bad! We haven't had much snow in january- but NONE of it has melted! IT's piled SO high everywhere. In fact, big front loaders come and scoop of the snow, pile it in the back of dump trucks and haul the snow to empty lots to take it out of everyone's way. It's crazy HOW MUCH SNOW THERE IS!

Thanks to everyone who has written me letters! I am on top of it and will get those out by next monday! You guys are great!

I have been reminded of my mission scripture a LOT lately: Moroni 7:45-47

45 And ^acharity suffereth long, and is ^bkind, and ^cenvieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily ^dprovoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

47 But ^acharity is the pure ^blove of Christ, and it endureth ^cforever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

That is the kind of Missionary/ Person I want to be! I know it will be a lifelong task!

I love being a missionary and I love Wisconsin and I love all of you!!!

Love, Sister Pamella Jo Black'

photographs:

*outside the PIGGLY WIGGLY .. yes it really is one ! our BAY PORT guest stickers!

*me with some PIGGLY WIGGLY milk !

*again the PIGGLY WIGGLY !

*CRAFT DAY ! buttons and sweaters !

*I put a bow in my hair... s. warner made fun of me! i like it!

*thank you BRUDNICKI family for our W=WISCONSIN slippers ! they gave those to us at christmas! i love Wisconsin!

ps... i have NO time to write individual emails this week. But I read all of your emails and I love you guys and you are ALL-ALWAYS in my prayers.