Don't you wish you could be a missionary too?

"I have never seen Wisconsin without snow"

This picture was taken at EA in '07.
(Thanks mom for finding it.)

Hello All!!!

Happy Monday! I have SO much to tell all of you! It has been quite an exciting week- since the holidays are over, people are MUCH easier to contact and even though we were busy in November and December, we are REALLY busy NOW!

First I want to relay two stories that happened about two weeks ago (I finally have time to write them!)...

The Prayer Story

The elders are teaching a young girl, 18, named Yasmine. She is Hispanic and a Seventh Day Adventist, her mom speaks barely any english... SO naturally I LOVED visiting their home with the elders and talking to them. I love to be able to use my Spanish, I am so inadequate in speaking fluently, but when I am the only link between the two languages words seem to come to my mouth SO freely. The Spanish elders that we serve with here in Green Bay are going to give me some materials so I can learn more church related Spanish! I am excited! ANyways.... Yasmine! Yasmine and her mom were supposed to be at church one night for a fiesta so all four of us missionaries determined we would go and then afterwards Yasmine would come with us to a young single adult activity at the home of the Carlsruh family. We went to the church but Yasmines mom had told us the wrong time so she was still setting up and the party didn't start for an hour, at the same time as the YSA activity that we had to be at. AND yasmine flaked out and wasn't even at the church. So I talked to her for a while and with her mom we determined we'd just go "kidnap" Yasmine and take her with us. We can't drive non-members in mission cars so we called brother Carlsruh and told him to be at Yasmines home in an hour to get her. We left the church and drove to her house. We had been calling her the whole way there, but there was no answer on either phone. When we got to the apartment we stood outside and rang the buzzer for like 10 minutes (all apts in WI are indoors, so to get in the building you have to buzz in, that is a whole new concept to me! kind of annoying when it's cold and the buzzer is FROZEN and won't let you push it down!) So, we went and sat in our car and the elders went back to theirs and we didn't know what to do. The elders called brother Carlsruh and told him she wasn't home, he told us to keep trying and to call him if anything changed and he'd be right there. We were all a bit discouraged and had every intention of just driving to the activity. We knew that Corry would be at the activity and her and yasmine are the same age and have similar personalities and could be great friends. Also this would be a great way to introduce her to members of the church her same age (there was to be LOTS there because everyone was home from college) So I suggested we say a prayer, E. Jolley offered it. We sat there my passenger window rolled down, and E. Pulley's driver side window rolled down, snow blowing in like crazy and gathered our faith and prayed for help. After the prayer we rolled up our windows and sat quietly. Then I decided to call one more time... and SHE answered! It was so amazing and we all just wanted to cry. The Lord is so aware of even our simplest desires. She let us in and we told her she just had to come (mind you we still had to convince her to come with us!) to take her with us. She had a lot of excuses so we did her dishes, finished cleaning the kitchen, she got ready, bro carlsruh came, we all got in his van, she met corry, they actually KNEW eachother from school, she had a great time and we witnessed a miracle! The elders just told me yesterday that they committed Yasmine and her mom to incorporate the Book of Mormon in their morning bible study together each day! Good things are happening there.

Caroling

About a week after Christmas, all the missionaries in the area, had the opportunity to sing at the Green Bay Botanical Gardens Festival of the Lights. Sis Warner and I have been volunteering there since my first weekend taking tickets, we met so many quality people. SO this time we just got to stand and sing. We took Corry and the Andrus sisters and the Ribbens children with us too! It was a Sunday night, we sang some Christmas Carols, then some traditional hymns. It was SO amAzing to see how many people stayed for two or three songs and just sang with us. 'How Great Thou Art' was definitely a favorite. So many people thanked us for coming and we were able to talk to SO many people about what a group of a bunch of young people like us do all day! We even sang some songs that are familiar only to Latter Day Saints, people LOVED those as well. E. Chapman and Caralynn and Camille Andrus played piano solos and captivated people young and old. These two little girls (ages 3 & 4 wouldn't leave, they just stared at Camille and her fingers playing those keys. THeir parents said they were going to have to start lessons soon apparently!) And even though they didn't recognize it, I know people were so drawn to us because of the spirit they felt. I love being a missionary! It was such a testimony building, humbling experience for me.

Now for the Current update! ...

This week I was at the church building after going on exchanges with Tamara North, we were waiting for S. Warner and Caralynn to come back so we went inside to wait. There was a facilities manager for the church there and after talking to him for a while I asked him who he was (since I am still fairly new I have to ask everyone that!) he said his name was Randy Darnell. So of course I asked him if he was related to any Darnells in Phoenix, he said yes.... I said like Dave Darnell? DJ Dave? Flippin' Dave's Cakes (Dave's Flippin Cakes?) Dave Darnell? haha he laughed and said, "yes, david is my brother!" It made so much sense because he looked and talked just like Dave. SO we talked forever and he taught me a lot about the history of his family and of that of the church in wisconsin and history of the families in the ward I serve in (He knows everyone!). Seriously, when you're mormon your world is SO small!!! SO he called Dave and I talked to him for a bit! It was so nice to just have a few minutes where I KNEW SOMEONE! haha Randy is a branch president in Chilton and the missionaries that serve in his branch are in my district. I just love little connections and reminders of home like that. I love the Darnell family even MORE now!

Another exciting thing this week... I got a Hmong Name! That is pronounced "MONG". Yes there are lots and lots and lots of people here in Wisconsin that speak Hmong. They are from Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. The missionaries that learn Hmong are in the MTC for 12 weeks (spanish missionaries are only there for 9!) It is such a CraZy language! But the Green Bay 2nd ward has a set of Hmong missionaries that serve the Hmong population of Green Bay. The people can give you a Hmong name and then you become a part of their family in a sense, you have your first name they give you and you take their last name. So, I have been bugging Elder Chapman and Elder Boam That I want to go to a Hmong dinner appointment with them and get a Hmong name! They invited us this Tuesday to the home of a woman in their ward named Ying Muas! She lives in a tiny little upstairs apartment, where she fed 8 of us missionaries! Ying Muas is so great, she made us a FEAST! seriously, like we kept eating and she kept cooking and refilling! It was cool to hear the elders speak to her, I rarely ever hear them speaking Hmong for that long of a time. We had soup and egg rolls (they have rice noodles in them... yum!). I am generally not a fan of that genre of food ... but it was SO good (as promised by anyone who has ever sat at the table of Yang Muas!) Also I heard that it is not rare for a Hmong dinner to consist of rare animal organs or chicken feet soup, but the elders assured me church members don't cook for us like that. Whew! I was so nervous! So after dinner she named me... Paj Dawb ... meaning White Flower.. and I take her last name Muas. SO my full name with the title "sister" on the front is: NTXHAIS TXIB PAJ DAWB MUAS ... that is SO cool! My name Paj Dawb is pronounced "Pa -Der"!! I am getting Hmong tags made! I can't wait... I will send one home. I love experiencing new cultures, and for that hour and a half dinner appointment I felt like i was in a foreign country! so CooL!

We met a woman this week named Millie that we are teaching. She was a media referral from FOREVER ago that never got her video, she called in after watching a commercial. We called to follow-up with her, we just had her name on a piece of paper and found out that missionaries had tried to contact her before, but could never reach her. She stayed home from work that night and had us over. We taught her a brief first lesson, committed her to read the Book of Mormon and to find out for herself if it is true. That is my FAVORITE thing about this gospel. It is either true or it is NOT... and only one person can find out... YOU! We can teach people all day long, but until they pray and ask if the things we are teaching and they are reading out of the Book of Mormon are true, they will never know. She is 75 and works at the Nursing Home right across the street from her apartment as a CNA. She has crazy hours and loves it. She is so intersted in us and will be at church next Sunday. I know that she is ready to know more, she has a desire to grow closer to God- that's all it takes... a DeSiRe!! I am excited to get to teach her.

CORRY'S baptism is TODAY! yeah! I made her a bracelet last night, pink and blue her favorite colors, with a mustard seed charm. Steph- you'd be proud... It's pretty dang cute with what I had to work with... at least 15 times I said, "man, I wish I could just call steph, or go to her house so she could HELP me with this!" She invited all her family, all NON-MemBerS! and her friends. Corry is an AmAzing example to me and I am so happy I get to be here for her special day! The Gospel of Jesus Christ really does CHANGE people's lives! Even the life of a 17 year old girl who needed something MoRe in her life!

I love WisConSin! It is so down-to-earth HeRe! People still sit around the table with their families EVERY NIGHT and have "supper"! The people of Green Bay seem to really have priorities straight and religion is a driving force here- it is SO easy to have a Gospel Centered Conversation here because there is a church on every corner and people are very religious! I love that, sometimes it makes our job easier and sometimes it makes it harder! But all in all there are Good, Faithful People here who have strong values! I love Wisconsin!

I am going to address something now that my mom called to my attention last week in her email: ANIMALS! I currently have a LOVE/HATE relationship with the creatures. I have always liked animals (dogs, not cats), but people in the MID-WEST love their pets. Cats and dogs that SHED are the specialty! I wear their pets home everynight! I always heard as a missionary you become an animal hater- I now believe it! My mom said the missionaries in my home ward have all kinds of good stories! I have only been out only 6 weeks and I too have some good ones AlrEadY! I don't think I will ever have pets... EVER! I have grown to appreciate my old, faithful golden retriever at home... SImBa! I used to loathe her and her slobber, but she is a ROYAL PRINCESS in Comparison with some of these dogs, and... she smells GOOD!

It is supposed to make a record low since 1994 this week: -50* with windchill! In that kind of weather we stay inside and don't go ANYWHERE! I can't even imagine it! OF COURSE we'd set snow records in december and temperature records in January of my FIRST WINTER HERE! of course.

I have never seen Wisconsin without snow, that is hard for everyone to fathome. I came out just 2 days prior to Thanksgiving and Wisconsin got a pretty decent snow storm the Monday of that week. Thus, everything has been white since I got here, Even Milwaukee was snow covered. But... It is so Normal for me now! I can't imagine what it will look like WITHOUT SNOW! I have learned how to dress, layers, turtle necks, boots, lots of socks and gloves... with that combo and my AmAzing coat, i never have a problem! We'll see how i manage this coming week. It is the talk of the town, everyone we see says "Hold on for this week! ... it's going to be COLD!" I just can't even imagine, that's probably a good thing!

Jennifer: Congrats on being accepted to the Police Academy! I still think you are crazy!, but whatever makes you happy!

I LoVE You ALL AND I LovE BEING A MISSIONARY! ThanKS FOR BEinG SUcH GrEat SUppOrtERS OF ME AnD ThIS WorK THAT I AM DoInG... WItHoUT all of YOU- I COULDN'T and WouldN't BE HERE!

love, sister pamella jo black

ps I have officially been out one transfer now!!! That's 6 weeks! I am not NEW anymore! I just experienced my first transfer. It's wierd to see missionaries come in and out. Elder Pulley was transferred down to Appleton and we now have Elder Oldham(who came from serving as an Assistant to the President) serving with Elder Jolley (they're the Zone Leaders) with us in the GREEN BAY 1st WarD! Change is wierd, but good at the same time, it mixes things up and keeps the work fresh. I LOVE THE WISCONSIN MILWAUKEE MISSION!

pss: mom and dad, grandma & grandpa: Did i send that very first tape you sent to me back to you with my own recording on it? Let me know... i am going crazy looking for it.