I was thinking...

Hello ALL!

This past week i was thinking a lot about this time last year. This time last year I finished my papers and I turned them IN! I was SO excited to serve... but wanted to pick just the PERFECT time to leave so I wouldn't miss ANYTHING! [anybody who knows me knows that i don't like missing things- Moriah reminded me of that in an email this week- SO TRUE] haha isn't it so funny how that works. I ended up reporting to the mtc November 5th. I left right before Thanksgiving and Christmas. My fear this time last summer was that I would go on a mission and all these exciting things would happen at home and i would MISS THEM! That was the only thing holding me back. well ladies and gentlemen- it happen. I am missing things left and right. I don't like that the babies aren't babies anymore and my little brother is going to be GONE when I get home... BUT you know WHAT? I wouldn't have it any other way. What I didn't know THEN that i know NOW is it's OK! [i love that I have realized this] I am OK to miss some things... what I get to experience here on my mission is AmAzing... and there is NO subsitute. This time in my life is sacred to me and to my family- we just wouldn't have it any other way. I wish i knew that then...

[mon] i saw the dermatologist. apparently being a sister missionary = acne. i am not a fan... i think dr. bahtia got it under control. hallelugiah. (i never spell that word right, but i don't care to look it up either) the elders did not want to play outside. i was SO SAD! but we played CATCH PHRASE at the kozlosky's. I haven't played that for 3 months, since i was in GB. elders oldham & jolley always had it in their van, i miss that. i love that game. Katie wenzel picked us up and we went with her and her friend LIZ to YSA FHE in Elkhorn. I love YSA's. FHE = spiritual thought, outdoor volleyball and a campfire with SMORES. I was SO happy. [i got to play outside & i got to have the SMORES that I've been wanting all summer! S. kozlosky and s. behrends were making them in the microwave and in the toaster oven!!! LAME!]

[tues] district meeting about setting goals. sister ducharme (whom the muskego elders live with) gave us a great little presentation about goal setting. i learned a lot. i love love love setting and achieving goals. we visited an investigator named debbie and also taught the menters. I love the menter family, they have to be so strong.

[wed] SISTERS CONFERENCE in OSHKOSH! i love being a sister missionary. we rode up with sister barrett and sister alder (from the office... we were BFFs before the mish because i would call her ALL the time and ask her questions! I highly recommend that to all new missionaries... call the mission office! they're so helpful!) We met with all the sisters in the mission! I had 5 companions there! it was a party. That is CRAZY! 5. I loved it. I also feel like I have served with sister johnson, she is warners companion. that little girl is a fire cracker. i hope that i get to serve with her. she's amazing. It was fun to get together and talk about ways we can improve ourselves. I learned a lot. On the way home we stopped at the Oshkosh outlets! :) that night we went to racine and had dinner with the sura's. i love them. we are going to start teaching her husband who told us, "I am the most non-member mormon you know." good guy. we love him. we then taught heidi and aaron higginbottom with elders stribling and julian. good times.

[thurs] we were still in racine. we taught tina and cheryl. tina is going through a really rough time and fails to see that the gospel is the ONLY thing that is going to help her- it's so hard to watch her struggle. Cheryl is on top of it. She is a Sarah Johnson. She is an Amy Brown. She is running with it and wants to have ALL the answers. We sometimes can't keep up. i love her. that afternoon we left and went to GERMAN FEST in Milwaukee... it was SO fun. more to come on that.

[fri] we had SO much to do... errand type stuff... then in the evening was the WARD PICNIC! sister menter brought us taco bell and we at lots of watermelon too! We played volleball and kickball and ended up with a water fight! It was a lot of fun! I love little red-headed Jeffrey- he's about 5. We are best friends now. Nobody compares to my little Olivia in GB... but he sure is cute. I taught him to run bases, i was the base coach...haha It was fun.

[sat] we played sand volleyball at the Orne's... then off to German Fest again! I LOVED german fest. Part of it probably was because my companion is from Berlin so she was able to teach me a lot about what was going on. Milwaukee is SO fun though! we were right on the lakefront... THere were several stages and german bands playing and GERMAN FOOD EVERYWHERE! yummy. little stands with souvenirs (junk)and of course... lots and LOTS of BEER! I have never smelled it that strongly before in my lIFE. people wore lanyards with big boot shaped cups hanging from them full of beer. ha, kind of funny. We were there to help in the Geneology tent. I now love geneology. we were trained on it last week. It is addicting. I was really good at the talking to the people part- and s. behrends helped them on the computer. People got SO EXCITED! The church is amazing. Did you know we have the largest collection of geneology records in the world? even the FBI uses the ctr in SLC. We were able to teach a ton of people, hand out copies of the Book of Mormon and invite lots of people to the Family History Library. We helped them find passenger lists of their ancestors that come on boats from Germany to America. We were able to see how their names were changed. We found Census records and birth certificates and ALL KINDS OF STUFF. The people were so excited. Our 4 computers were working overtime... i even got sick of hearing myself talk, can you imagine that? haha i KNOW!, me either.

We also had a little time to explore. Bro & Sis Kozlosky and Kris, the neighbor came and we felt like we were walking in Germany! It was like vacation. We watched the airshow (it was fascinating, how do jets do stuff like that? they are SO loud too! and there was one act with these 4 tiny planes, how do they not hit one another as they're flipping and flying?) We ate Schnitzel and Pototoe Pancakes and Rode the Gondola over the park and watched the fireworks show. It was SO fun! I love the Kozlosky's. They remind me of my own family, did i ever tell you that their oldest daughters name is Brittany Lee? YA. freaky. Bro. Kozlosky reminds me of my dad, a ton! I just love their family, so MUCH! Becky, 13, and I are BFFs. i love her. I loved GERMAN FEST.

[sun] CHURCH. this week i stayed in muskego. Katie wenzel was my companion. we went to SED in the evening. President Barrett spoke about missionary work. They showed the "Called to Serve" dvd. man, it made me cry. they show parts of that movie at the mtc when you say bye to your family. again i thought, if i only knew then what i know now... I LOVE MY MISSION. i am so blessed to be a missionary. What a privilege it is to serve!!!!

*on a little side note: i have the BEST friends EVER! I love to hear from them and get updates on their lives! Thanks! [an email from moriah made me think of that today] Also, here in WI i have met some great people. Amy Brown sent me the BEST letter ever this week. I LOVE her... we'll always be BFFs! thanks, amy. You are my "favorite convert"! as you put it haha

i love my life. i love my family. i love my friends. i love my mission.

thanks for all you do for me!

Love, sister Pamella Jo Black

Hello, My Name is...

... Sister Black and I will be your SPECIALIST TODAY!

We just had interviews with President Barrett last week and again he reinerated that we are "SPECIALISTS" in both Racine and Milwaukee. He told me that I have the attitute of "I can do it all!" haha and I added, "and do it WELL!". He laughed. He said we are not to try to be "in" both areas doing everything we'd do if we just had one area. We are to focus mostly on our investigators and having daily contact with them. He counseled me to not stretch myself too thin. He knows me so well! He always seems to say JUST what I need to hear. I love that- i know it's no coinsidence! So everytime something comes up that I want to tackle I say to myself, "I am a specialist, I am a specialist!" HAHA

The week at our specialty clinic went as follows:

[MON] was a crazy day. some pday. we had solid appts... that's the life of a missionary with 2 areas! It felt SO good though. We taught Cheryl, I love her. She so reminds me of Sarah, she made us a gourmet italian dinner- the woman is great. She loves to cook, and I love to eat what she cooks! She is 100% in on the gospel. it's the best. Her date is Aug 1st! I can't wait.

[TUES] we tried to teach tina- she left us a note asking for us to give her some time. heartbreaking. We left shortly after because we had district meeting and interviews with President Barrett in Milwaukee. That went SO well as stated ABOVE. I feel so rejuvenated after things like that! That night we had a cottage meeting at the Kozlosky's. IT was really effective- all about The Book of Mormon. President and Sister Barrett came, as did President and Sister Orne [s.kozlosky's parents] and two non-members and their families. We started off with a brief, yet powerful intro of the Book of Mormon by President Barrett... we then watched the Living Legacy Of Testimony DVD about the Book of Mormon. [It was a DVD elders oldham, jolley and tryon put together of all the testimonies of converts in the mission. I loved those elders already, but that dvd is such a great tool... and lots of the converts on there are people I know or have taught... its SO AmAZing!] We then had a few others bear their testimonies, then opened it up to questions. I felt so uplifted after the cottage meeting. President Barrett pulled us aside in a little huddle afterwards and thanked us for putting it together. It was good for the non- members and members alike! [and missionaries... we felt the spirit SO strong]

[WED] we worked a lot in Milwaukee. I met quite a few people I had never met before here. I loved it... it's feeling more like MY area now- I felt like a visitor for SO long [esp since s. behrends has been here for 10.5 months].

[THURS] was the day i got hooked on geneology. beware family: i will be bombarding you with papers to fill out soon. Grandpa... you were born in Silver Lake, Wisconsin? That's in Kenosha County! I serve in Racine/ Kenosha right now! The ward is doing an activity soon in Silver Lake! Crazy! I need more info on that! Sister Orne trained us on family history so we can work the church's family history booth at some festivals coming up in milwaukee.... GERMAN FEST and the SPANISH FIESTA. I am excited. [ps on the comps i got to see all the Family HIstory & temple work done for my family! it was SO cool... i looked at census records and saw my great grandma...etc.] Later that day we made jewelry and had dinner with the Menters.

[FRI] was busy here in Milwaukee. We saw Janice, she's still doing great and keeping her baptismal covenants! We also had to get an LOF and taught the guy there! It was SO COOL!!! Missionaries had taught him just the day before.

[SAT] we played sand volleyball at the Orne's and then did weekly planning at the beach in Racine... I've never loved weekly planning SO MUCH!

[SUN] I stayed at church in Racine. Annette was my companion, she's home for the summer, a BYUI student. After going 3 hours to the Spanish Branch... my brain hurts! It's constantly TRANSLATING! I can't wait for that to come naturally. SO the next 3 hours of church... in english... seem so relaxing! ha... but i did sit with the S.King... her children keep me on my toes! That night we taught Cheryl ... she made us another FEAST! i don't like ham... but she made it tast AMAZING. and such good HOMEMADE spinach/garlic mashed potatoes. i usually can't eat them bc they're from a box and have MSG! i loved it! We talked about the Word of Wisdom! She is on top of it! I LOVE HER! I feel so comfortable with her and her family- they feel like MY family!

I love my mission. I love the work I am doing! This gospel has blessed my life SO MUCH! I don't know where I or my FAMILY would be without it!!!

I love you all! LOVE, sister pamella jo black

PS: Happy Birthday ELLIE! You are FOUR on the 23rd! I can't even believe it- you're so not a baby anymore [i still think of you as that little itty bitty beautiful baby in the moses basket on the coffee table- I never wanted to put you down!!] I miss the Weavers!

Time Flies...

...WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN!

can you believe it that in 9 months from this week i will be flying home? i can't. it's crazy. I try not to think about it. but my current companion, sister behrends only has 2 transfers left on her mission and all this going home talk has frazzled me a bit. BUT... i realize that I HAVE only NINE months to accomplish all the goals I set for my mission. I NEVER knew I would love my mission this much. I can't believe it's half over. I still have SO much I want to do. I have been thinking a lot lately about how I am going to make the most of this time- because I can NEVER get it back! I love being a missionary.

I have been thinking about how much it means to me to be a missionary. I love to put my teg and my skirt on and go out and be noticed by the world... to stand out you could say. What a blessing it is. I can't tell you how many times people just stare at my tag and at me trying to figure out who i am.... I love to teach them that I am a representative of Jesus Christ. I love to teach people every single day about the happiness the gospel can bring to their lives. I love that I get to spend every thought & prayer thinking about our investigators and what they need, how I can help them best to know the love that their Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, have for them. It's the best thing in the world.

However, I hope, more than anything, that after my mission I will still be noticed by the world. I hope that when I don't wear a nameteg and a skirt everyday that people will still see that I am different. happier. I hope that I will continue to reach out to people and think about how I can help them. I so admire the members we work with and their dilligence. They have a sincere desire to share the gospel with their friends and family. They help us so much and in turn they feel joy as the ones they love embrace this restored gospel.

this has been the craziest past 2 transfers of my mission. I feel like I served in Green Bay for 6 months and now I am just on a tour of the mission! I feel like a traveling sister. Seriously. 3 weeks in Adams. 3 weeks in Milwaukee. Oh... now go to Racine. ok... Now go between racine and milwaukee. cover 4 wards.... NO BIG DEAL! What a Crazy LIFE it's been. and you all know how I really love structure and normalcy. I LOVE to be BUSY... but i love CONSISTENCY! well.... it has really been a treat these past few weeks. I am learning a lot about being an expert planner, even better than before. We have to be. We need to be better at it. for sure.

Bishop Blake, we live with his family in Racine, says he feels like he is in a custody battle with the Kozlosky's, who we live with in milwaukee!!!! HAHA I feel like that too! I love both places equally as MUCH. The families are always sad when we leave them and we are too, but excited to go to the next place. I don't enjoy leaving and going from one place to another either. It is SUCH a pain. Always packing and unpacking. We spend 3-4 days in each place, then trade. it's always an adventure!

This past week has been just that ... an adventure. We spent Saturday thru last thursday in Racine. When we are in Racine we spend our time teaching our 5 investigators there:

Tina and her 5 children (two of which are eligible for baptism) are continuing to progress. Tina has a lot of faith and has overcome a lot in her life to be able to be at a point where she can now embrace the gospel and allow herself and her family to receive all the blessings the gospel brings.

Cheryl reminds me SO much of Sarah... she came to church on Sunday! I can't wait to see her tonight! Her and Ted have a daughter named natalie. I love that little girl.

Janelle is 10. She has an AT TI TUDE! i love it! she gives the elders a run for their money, poor guys, they try so hard. She keeps me on my toes too though. I love her. Teaching kids is the best, her mom is a member and she's the oldest of four. I love their family.

Racine is a really great place. Since we had pday there last week, and the Elders bailed on us... [because they were "shopping" ...geg me!] sister behrends and I got Jimmy Johns subs (and salt & vinegar chips... YUM) and went to the beach... ate lunch and took a nap! It was the best! I finally feel like racine is "home". more than anywhere else I have been this past 6 weeks! I am ready for somewhere to seem familiar to me. The last time that happened was Green Bay... 2 months AGO!

We also had dinner with the Sura's. I love the Sura's! Bro. Sura is not a member- but acts like one! He LOVES to fish- he writes for a fishing magazine. He has fished everyday for the past 3 weeks! What a life- he is a school teacher so summer = fishing for him. He always places in big competitions. The guy is AmAzing! I love their family and am excited to teach him. She fried some of the fish he caught... I forgot what kind is was... but it tasted like chicken... it was AmAZing. I am sold now. I have never liked fish before... but this stuff was SO good. They introduced us to their German neighbor Gertrude... more on her next week!

Friday we came back to milwaukee and spent the day planning! we went to the botanical gardens- so beautiful! HOWEVER- we were eaten ALIVE by mosquitos. never again will i go outside without BUG SPRAY!!!!

Saturday we played volleyball at president ornes- oh how i love that man. he is in the mission presidency. he is a convert he cracks me up. I can just tease him relentlessly and he does the same to me. it's great. he lives in a really cool old house and has a huge old barn that he remodeled to be a garage. it's a cool place. he has a sand volleyball court in the back. I LOVE VOLLEYBALL... especially in the summer- outside in the sand!!! Later that night we had dinner at JULIEANNE'S! It was the BEST! I met her mom! I SO love that girl! Her mom said that she just had to meet "julieannes new best friend!" haha my mission wouldn't be the same without julieanne! [she might transfer to nursing school at BYU! next year!] i would love that!

Sunday i stayed in milwaukee and s.behrends went to racine. CRAZINESS!!!!! Julieanne was my companion, brittany kozlosky was hers. we both had fun and loved our companion exchanges! BUT... it's so wierd to not be with my companion. Julieanne was a trooper- 6 hours of church is a lot. Later that night the elders had a baptism and the whole Menter family came (our investigators from Milwaukee). It was really good- i know they felt the spirit. I ended the night with a round of Othello with sister Kozlosky. I love her and that game! [earlier in the week we played yahtzee with their whole fam... gosh bro. kozlosky reminds me of you dad! it's freaky. he was so mad the other day bc he left the title of the car they are selling on the counter in a specific place and he knew someone threw it away! HAHA sound familiar?]

Sometimes I wonder how we keep the schedule that we do, but then I remember this is the Lord's work and we can feel His help as we rely on Him!

Today we are going to Racine in a few hours for some appointments. We have to come back tomorrow afternoon for interviews with president barrett. However every waking hour we have there we have appointments. i love that.

Keep the letters coming! i just caught up on all my letters from last transfer. They are all responed too. so ... expect mail.

Sarah- i got the best package ever from you- I LOVED the 12 minute video of the girls! SO CUTE. made me cry. i miss them.

I love you all! I love this work I am engaged in. This week I especially feel the pull to be a little better and do a little more. I invite you to do the same. It's exciting!

Love, sister pamella jo black

HAPPY JULY 4th!

[dorks july 4th '08]

HEY!!!

How are you ALL? LOVING SUMMER? I HOPE SO! This is the first week on my mission where I actually REALLY missed my family. It's just something about the fourth of july, the all-american feeling.... i just missed home. HOWEVER, there is NO other place I'd rather be right now...so take that for what you want. I thought about you guys this week. I love you!

MONDAY we went to the park and played with the elders... that was a lot of fun... first football :( ... then ultimate frisbee! :) ... so that was a good time.

TUESDAY we did transfer planning. We also MEt with our investigator rachel, who is going to spend the rest of her summer in the OC, i am jealous! We made a plan to hook her up with some missionaries there- she is SO ready to be baptized, kinda sad she is leaving.

WEDNESDAY we went to the UWM campus and hung up flyers for our YSA beach volleyball, met janet molina, a really recent convert, for lunch, and then we went to a dinner with a member in the Oak Creek Ward- Dollie. fun fun.

THURSDAY the most exciting thing that happened was JANICE had her baptismal date and was found ready to be BAPTIZED! woo hoo! I love janice, she was the first one I met with when I got to MIlwaukee. It was the day after leadership training and I used the baptismal calendar that I had just learned about with her... she was so hesitant to set a date because she still needed to quit smoking! well... with the calendar we set a date for 3 weeks ... July 4th and she was all set! It has been so amazing to see her faith and willingness to change so much to receive all the blessings of baptism. She quit smoking. It was miraculous, in about 2 weeks. I love Janice. She prays, she reads her scriptures, she knows God is there. AmAzing.

FRIDAY was Zone COnference. oh how i love zone conference... it's like putting more oil in my lamp, just before I feel like I am going to run out. We learned how to better use our baptismal calendars, how to ask for referrals and how to begin teaching. It's just the reboot I needed. After zone conference we had dinner with Katie Wenzel. I LOVE the GIRL! she is a lot of fun, a YSA. That night we went to the Muskego Lake Ski Show with the Kozlosky's and their families. SO FUN! I have never been to one of those. I loved it. Afterwards, there was a fireworks show. What a good time! I love the Kozlosky's. [They remind me of my parents SO MUCH! perhaps that is another reason I have been thinking of my family. Bro. Kozlosky calls everyone "people" I love that, so does my dad, "Alright people, lets go!" haha Also, I went off about organizing with sister kozlosky and he said, "stop it! don't touch my stuff!" "don't throw anything away!" HAHA just like My dad!] ps i have never been around that much alcohol in my LIFE! but the music was loud and those skiers were AmAzing! and the fireworks over the lake were beautiful. I love wisconsin.

SATURDAY was the 4th of JULY! It was also JANICE'S BAPTISM! SO AMAZING. We celebrated the independence of our country... and the INDEPENDENCE FROM SIN all on the same day. she was the only baptism in the mission that day. so amazing. I love janice. Her son, who is also a recent convert, William (19) baptized her. He is about to turn in his papers. I got the opportunity to bear my testimony. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! What a great way to celebrate the fourth of july. I love this holiday. We then drove to Racine and watched the fireworks on the lake at the beach. there were SO many people. I have never seen that many people in one place before, ever, in my whole life. seriously. and it was COLD! i wore a hoody. I have been wearin' a cardigan almost every day.. in july! so crazy!

SUNDAY we had church here in racine. I BORE MY TESTIMONY IN THE SPANISH BRANCH. It was quite an experience... just let me tell you. I somehow had all the words for what i wanted to say. It is coming... slowly, but coming. Everyone complimented me afterwards and said my testimonio fue muy "linda". so nice of them. I then bore my testimony in the english ward so I could better express myself. everyone laughed when i told them why. I love both units we are serving in and all the missionaries I get to serve around. I learn SO much from all of them. We visited some members in the spanish branch who were in the hospital. I even had a full blown 10 minute phone convo in spanish. .. i was even impressed. after that we had dinner with the elders at bishop blakes where we live, then he made us doughnuts.... yum! and then we watched the testaments with the girls! SO FUN! i love that movie. it was my first time seeing it. so good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON THE 3rd TAYLOR! i love you! you should have gotten a letter!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON THE 9th BOBBY! i miss you and your family!

I love you all!!!! Thanks for being AmAZING! i just sent a bunch of letters out... so if you're expecting one.... it's on its way!

LOVE, Hermana Pamella Jo Black :)