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 :)

It doesn't get much better than this!!

summer '06

Hey!

I am excited to report to all that things are going great!!!! I am LOVING my MISSION!!!! I didn't know that I could love it this much!!!

MONDAY we had pday. emailed. the norm. then that night we had a fireside at bishop fannon's. it was a really great success. i love organizing things like that. President Barrett came. We watched the Mormon Myth's video with Steve Young in it then answered some questions people had about the church. Beth shared her conversion story, as did the Fannon's! What strength can be gained from the testimony of others! I definitely felt uplifted.

TUESDAY was district meeting. then we went to our new area... RACINE... to teach Tina and her childrens... Tiana, Mario, Ambrosio and Julius. We set a baptismal date ... JULY 19th!!! After that appointment we went to teach Cheryl... we set a baptismal date for her too.... July 18th! It truly was AmAzing!!! The best part was that this was our first time ever meeting these people. It was the elders last appointment with them, they were both leaving and they were just there to introduce us to their investigators and the spirit was strong and we did it. AMAZING! [i know i am going to LOVE racine] I was so excited to tell President Barrett that that night. After all he was the one that told us to try to make it to Racine to teach before the elders left. He was very excited to! I love that man! For the evening we went to enrichment and I made my own beads out of clay and made a necklace. It was a lot of fun, I could really get in to that! We went to the mission home later that night. . .there were 14 new missionaries there!!! They were such a great bunch. The spirit just radiated from them. Sister Nicole Hogge came and stayed the night with us since she was the only sister to come out! I talked to s.hogge several times before she got here when I was in Green Bay. Her best friend moved out here from Sacramento with her husband and was in the green bay 2nd ward and gave her our number! What a small ward.

WEDNESDAY we took sister hogge to the mission home in the morning and we ate waffles with all the new missionaries! YUM! [It was so SO crazy for me to think that at the end of this transfer I'll have been on my mission 9 months! That's half my mission!!! wow. time flies. I looked at all those new missionaries and thought HOW GOOD THEY HAVE IT! They still have SO much time. I always say this but I never knew I would LOVE my MISSION this much!!!!] We picked up sister nichols shortly after! she was our companion for the day because her companion was training sister hogge and so she was companionless 'til the next day when she was being transferred to Adams! woot woot! We had lunch with julieanne. I LOVE JULIEANNE. We are BFFS! She told me she was coming to visit me in PHX when I get home. I can't wait. Afterwards we taught janice. Janice is still progressing. SHe is doing really well as she progress towards being completely SMOKE FREE! Afterwards we visited some less actives! Oh how I love this milwaukee area!

THURSDAY we went to transfer point here in Milwaukee and dropped off sister nichols. It was SO HUMID. i was so sweaty after being there, outside, for like an hour in the humidity. SICK. I love seeing other missionaries. Elder bratt and elder love are serving here now!!! woo hoo! They were in the mtc with me! The rest of the day we did weekly planning and transfer planning! We had to figure out what days we will be in racine and which days we will be in milwaukee. it is going to be a CRAZY six weeks! In the evening we spoke at the Muskego Lakes ward YW Standards Night. It was a lot of fun. We talked about how we prepared to be missionaries and how we enjoyed the MTC and the field. I already LOVE talking about my mission, can you imagine what I am going to be like afterwards!?? ha.

FRIDAY we went to Racine. I moved half of my stuff to bishop blake's. In six weeks we should be there permenantly, hopefully. so i figured why not move little by little! We taught Tina and the kids and visited some other people. Then we met the elders at a little grassy knoll above the beach and talked about the area. RACINE IS BEAUTIFUL. I love being surrounded by WATER! That night bishop made us doughnuts... YUM! Sister Behrends is convinced they're better than Krispy Kremes! I already know I am going to LOVE living at the Blake's.

SATURDAY we got to know Racine and the people Bishop wanted us to work with. We went and helped Tina clean her home, but mostly I just played with Ambrosio. I love that boy, he's 6 and hilarious... so smart. He reminds me a lot of Blake. [i miss those Weaver children!] That evening we volunteered at the racine symphony orchestra! It was SO good! we were able to talk to SO many people about the gospel.

SUNDAY was the craziest day of my mission! I stayed in Racine and went to church here in the spanish branch and the Racine Ward. Sister Behrends went to Milwaukee. We both had to find companions and she had to find someone to drive her! AHH! Did I mention I went to the Spanish Branch, solo! yes! My companion spoke ONLY spanish! woo hoo! I guess that's the best way to learn. I was CALLED ON to read in sunday school! Luckily I was WELL EQUIPPED because my family just sent me my OWN set of Spanish SCRIPTURES! It was amAZING!!! I really feel like I am going to be OK! I just wish I could get a transfer to mexico for a month or two!!! Guess what? Elder Petrie is serving in Kenosha now! He services the spanish branch too!!! I LOVE elder petrie. He's from mesa, we go home at the same time and he was in green bay the whole entire time i was. we worked with the spanish elders a lot there. I was so happy to see him! I know i can ask him all my spanish questions and he'll answer them! so fun. I love both the branch and the ward. sunday night we met at brother hancock's home, he's the ward mission leader, and talked with the two sets of elders, english and spanish, in racine and the bishop. It was great for us all to be able to be on the same page!!! Then we spoke at the youth fireside about preparing for a mission! THEN we went back to bishop's for apple pie! YUM. I was so exhausted. it was bed time. sister behrends and I finally saw eachother halfway thru the meeting, what a day.

We came back to Milwaukee this morning! Today we played Ultimate Frisbee and Football at the park with the elders! It was a beautiful day! clouds covered the sky and there was no humidity and a nice breeze! I LOVE wisconsin summers!

I am LOVING serving here! I am LOVING serving, period. everything about being a missionary is SO GOOD! Rocky, I am so happy you are starting your papers! I see these new elders, they graduated in '09 just like you! and they are AMAZING! You are going to be a great missionary! I can't fathom that I serve with elders my little brothers age. so crazy.

Thanks for everything. I am still getting a good flow of mail! THANK YOU! I LOVE GETTING MAIL! It's such a great pick-me-up! Keep it comin'!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL! love, sister pamella jo black

ps...
Sophie and Chloe: you better not forget about me! I saw pictures of you!!... you are both looking TOO OLD! quit growing!

Necesito aprender espanol MAS rapido!!!

Hello ALL!

What a week! I think I say that every week! Things have just been SO exciting lately though!

Since we are language missionaries we now get to study for an EXTRA hour every day! I LOVE IT! and I get to study Preach My Gospel chapter 7, "learn the language". I love love love my study time. It's sacred. HA I can't go without it. so from 8-11 every morning, we study.

This week started out pretty normal. Pday on Monday. Tuesday was district meeting and we had a few appointments with our investigators.

Wednesday we went to our new area, Racine, and went to an appointment with the Racine Spanish ELders! MAN... I have SO much to learn still! IT was so frusterating because I could understand everything they were saying, but I didn't know how to say what I wanted to say... I know that I need to be patient... but I never have had much patience! I am working on it! I did say a prayer at the end... but it was shaky. I love the elders, they are very patient with us and they are SO excited to have us.. did I mention that we are the FIRST SPANISH SISTERS EVER in the mission. woo-hoo! That night we taught Janice, who has a baptismal date and we Justin. He made us crab alfredo [i removed the crab... but the alfredo was great!] It was our first time teaching Justin, he is engaged to a member and we committed him to BAPTISM... July 4th! That means we have 5 investigators with a date! AmAzing! The Lord is really blessing this area.

Thursday we went back to Racine and taught Vicki and her children again with the elders. This time she was making fun of how QUIET sister behrends and I were! It is SO ironic because neither one of us are QUIET people! We are just limited by our vocabulary! HAHA Especially when it comes to the gospel, I don't know those words! I am learning quite fast though. Plus, I was way stressed because it's been 15 months now since I have been in school and practicing my spanish everyday! BUT it is coming back fast, luckily. The Lord really does bless His missionaries. After our appointment we checked out the beach in Racine, it is right on the lake and it was BEAUTIFUL! I LOVE how much water there is in Wisconsin! The rest of thursday we did weekly planning and went to institute.

Friday the two sets of spanish elders in Milwaukee met us at their branch building and taught us HOW to learn spanish. Elder Trane was switched to be a spanish missionary after he had been out six months. HE SPEAKS LIKE A NATIVE NOW! We picked their brains about little tricks to help us learn faster. My two favorites, both from Elder Oakes: 1. Pray Alot. 2. Every word you see in english, pronounce it like you would in spanish. ... It was so nice of them to teach us. Elder Trane gave me lots of hope that it's possible. He had no background in spanish at ALL... just 2 yrs of german in high school so if he can do it and be fluent... it's SO going to happen for me!That afternoon we went to lunch with sister kozlowsky, her grandma and becky at Applebees. mmm it was yummy. That night we got to go to the CHICAGO TEMPLE!!! It was AMAZING. Just the rejuvenation that I needed! Sister Behrends went and did baptisms with one of the girls she taught, Janet, who got baptized in January and it was her first time. I went with two of the girls in the YSA ward and did an endowment session. I learn so much each time I go! I felt so ready to go and conquer this language after I left because I realized how much the Lord will really bless us as we do all we can. I LOVE THE TEMPLE.

Saturday we played stake volleyball at the church. I sure love that game. Then we came home, showered and had lunch. [I LOVE living at the Kozlowsky's. It feels like home. and Becky and Brittany are like sisters to me. They remind me of Taylor and Tatum.] Then we went to Milwaukee to the LAKE FRONT. IT was SOO beautiful. We hung up some flyers for a fireside we're having tonight [MORMON MYTHBUSTERS again] at UWM. It brought back all the good memories of serving on the UWGB campus. [ps... i talked to sister warner the other day and we were talking about the fruits of our work on campus. SO many people have been baptized and brought to the fold. Namely: amy, jeremiah, dan, & alex. CRAZY. now, jeremiah's friend is being taught too. Who would have thought!We've been so blessed] Anyways, we went down to the beach and figured out how to reserve a sand volleyball court to play Vball with the YSA's saturday afternoons, welp it's just first come! I can't wait... it's a little tender mercy since I can't go to CA this summer! I love milwaukee... such a fun place. I am excited to get to work on campus too.

Sunday was by far the highlight of the week. We went down to racine for the formation of the Spanish Branch. President and Sister Barrett were there [mission president] and so was the whole stake presidency. It was indeed a "momentous occasion" as many said! The spirit was SO strong! Those people worked so hard to get their own branch! They grew from a group of 12 to now 38 members in 3 years ... that is quite a bit of growth. President Barrett spoke and said that they are such a blessed people, he said they were so blessed because now they get SISTERS!!! haha he had us stand for all to see. I need be fluent NOW is all i was thinking. I looked around and thought I don't know any of these people but I already love them! and by the time I leave this place I know I will love them EVEN more... and I will be able to speak to them too!!!!

I feel like I have been tossed to and fro this transfer. I keep telling sister behrends that I just feel like I am on a tour of the mission!!! haha But sitting in that chapel yesterday I felt so AT HOME! It was the best feeling ever. President Colderwood said the formation of the branch was an answer to "many prayers". I feel like it is definitely an answer to my prayers. I was so overcome yesterday! President and sister Barrett kept looking at me from the stand and smiling at me... I don't think they have ever seen me like that. HA I have ALWAYS wanted to serve spanish speaking... and now I get too... I am so excited...president is so excited... EVERYONE is excited!!!

We also met the Racine Ward we will be serving in as english sisters. They are so excited to get sisters. The elders in that ward are being doubled out... so we are it! Luckily in the spanish branch there are elders there too so we can rely on them heavily this next transfer since we now have 4 UNITS to serve in... 2 here in milwaukee and two in racine. I told sister behrends I am not sure if we are going to be seeing much of eachother this transfer: we'll be doing LOTS of SPLITS! What a blessing this next 6 weeks will be! Such an opportunity to learn and to grow and to stretch like we've never stretched before!!!

I was so overcome yesterday about how much the church is GROWING here in wisconsin! It's shocking to me! The work is accelerating SO much... even since I got to wisconsin 7.5 months ago. The members here are so dilligent!

OTHER TID-BITS OF INFO:

* it's snowing again in wisconsin... at least that's what it looks like... the cottonwood trees are seeding and the air is FULL of them!!!! Grandma- I started taking those allergy meds again! When I take one a day I am just fine, otherwise all i do is SNEEZE and my eyes water.

*The kozlowsky's have a cute little garden in their backyard and right now the strawberries are so RIPE! Becky and I picked a whole big bowl full this week and made a whole bunch of chocolate covered strawberries! YUM! they were AmAzing!!!

*Sister Behrends is 1/2 Chilean 1/2 German. She grew up in Germany. She never learned Spanish even though her mom was from Santiago de Chile and spoke it fluently. She understands it... but doesn't speak it. She, however, looks like she's from south america. People always speak spanish to her... it's really funny when she has to turn to me to reply for her. we laugh about it... she is picking it up fast. Her prayers in spanish get better everyday. If she learns something new she won't tell me... ha.. she doesn't want me to learn anything more til she catches up!!! She was a taxi driver for her dads taxi business in germany before her mission and she drives like a CRAZY EUROPEAN DRIVER. Strangely, she doesn't scare me. She'd kill my mom for sure.

*Dan and Alex spoke at JEremiAh's baptism in Winnebego on Saturday! HOw cool is that? They were both baptized this month too! Amy Brown told me that.

*other words I say too much: CAN IT... geg me... shut the state down... sick... wow ...

*I really fell in love with poached eggs or "cup eggs" at the Fosters because of their grandaughter Ashley and I crave them now.

* I miss hearing Brother Foster and Sister Roth fight about why when he refers to sister missionaries as "Stout Mormon Women" that is NOT ok because stout is what you'd call a barrell!!! haha love sister roth.

*grandpa: bart star is VERY popular here! lots of people know him!!! I tell everyone you played on the All American team with him... is that right?

*the weather here is AMAZING. it was 47* and rainy last week! I love it. this week it's more humid, but not unbearable. it's beautiful. I hear AZ has been pretty mild too.

That's it for the random thoughts.

I love you all. thanks for all you do for me. I am SO blessed. I know this work I am engaged in is truly the work of God. I know that His goal really is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". I am so grateful for the plan that allows me to return and live with my family FOREVER in the presence of God. I am so happy I have this time in my life to spend 24/7 concentrated on teaching people about the Path and the Iron Rod that leads people to the FRUIT that brings JOY that Lehi sees in his vision in 1 Nephi 8. I love my life. I love my mission. I love all of you.

Love, sister pamella jo black

2 moves in 1 week!

[summer '08]

Yes... it is true. I MOVED. AGAIN. I am in Milwaukee now! I LOVE it.

Monday I spent all day MOVING [from adams to mauston]. ugh. my least favorite thing to do. ever. But we moved in to the barretts. I LOVE their house. I got all settled. all situated and moved in. My clothes all hung in the closet. I was EXHAUSTED. it was the sorriest excuse for a pday EVER!!! That night sister behrends called me and asked if i had heard the news yet? WHAT NEWS? She had already called and told me president barrett told her she'd be opening a spanish area, like 3 weeks ago. She was convinced i would be her companion but i wasn't. i had just gotten to adams and there was a lot of work to be done there and president didn't make it sound like i was leaving any time soon. a couple of days after that sister murray called and told us she was going home... so we knew that our threesome would probably get split up to send one of us to west allis to be behrends companion whenb murray left. well MONDAY NIGHT [as i layed on my bed, feeling SO tired and sick of moving] sister behrends kept telling me on the phone to not unpack and to call president BLAH BLAH BLAH. i said NO! then the assistants called and told me not to leave the area on tuesday and that they would be calling me in the morning. grr... so I said whatever I AM GOING TO BED. i was tired. (did i mention that yet?) ya. i was.

I DIDN'T sleep AT ALL monday night. I just KNEW it was me leaving. I could FEEL it. I woke up and got ready tuesday. still exhausted. that morning we were going to leave our house drive to wisconsin rapids for district meeting. then we planned to work on the west side of our area, then drive to appleton to stay the night so sister warner and i could go to leadership in fon du lac the next day. if one of us was moving... we needed to know so we could take their stuff with us. I called the assistants and elder lamb told me to put all my stuff in the car and that president barrett would be calling to tell me about my new area in a few minutes? WHAT? my world was UPSIDE DOWN!!!!!

SO president called. He said, "Good morning Sister Black. I have a secret and dangerous mission for you." I asked if I got armor. He said yes. He told me I would be going to milwaukee to be sister behrends companion. He also told me at the end of this transfer we would be opening a new area in kenosha/racine ... speaking SPANISH in a Spanish BRANCH!!! NO WAY! SO EXCITING!!!! I told president i was a little shocked, I was only in adams 3 weeks. He said he realized that but that those were 3 critical weeks for adams-friendship and that he appreciated my service there. I love that man. I told him if i didn't know he was inspired I would think he is CRAZY! I have always wanted to speak spanish. I always wanted to serve a spanish speaking mission... all in the LOrd's TIming! He kNOWs Me!!

so i packed. again. i had 5 minutes before we had to leave. i told the assistants that they better not tease me about how much stuff i have because i had NO time to pack. we drug all my stuff back down stairs, put it in the car and off we went. we had district meeting, then district lunch [mexican food... yum!] then i went and said bye to the fosters and the caldwells. Then we were OFF to APPLETON to see my sister WARNER! I love her. we REPACKED my stuff. AND we stayed up ALL night talking!!!! it was fun.

we had to wake up at 4:30 wednesday morning. we got ready, i was beat. excited though. We drove to fon du lac with e. pulley. i love that kid. he was my first zone leader. LEADERSHIP was AMAZING. Brother Tim Bothell and Brother Kelly Mills came from SLC from the missionary committee to train us, along with president barrett. Sister warner and I felt so lucky to be there, it was the first time sisters had ever been invited to leadership.

I learned so MUCH! I learned how simple the path is to return to our heavenly father ... the gospel is SIMPLE! [FAITH... REPENTANCE... BAPTISM... RECEIVING THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST ... & ENDURING TO THE END] The world trys to make it SO complicated. I get to help people find that path. How AmAzing. I learned that when I invite people to make and keep commitments the invite is not coming from ME at all... it is coming from HIM!!!! I learned how to use this new tool called a baptismal calendar- the principle behind it is SO inspired and I know it will help investigators as they progress to baptism! I learned that as a misionary I literally have the opportuntity to receive revelation for the people we teach... studying is a REVELATORY PROCESS... AmAzing. and each of us, as we study the gospel, can receive revelation for ourselves and those we have stewardship over: THAT IS HOW HE GUIDES US! God really loves ALL His children. I know that!

It was truly an uplifting day. I left with a renewed sense of wanting to be COMPLETELY obedient so I could receive all the blessings God has in store for me and my family.

That night the assistants drove me and my many belongings to milwaukee to the mission home. I got to spend the night with murray and behrends. We had dinner and then a testimony meeting. It was so sad to see sister murray leave. she was a trooper these past 7.5 months. It made me appreciate my mission that much more. and my health. I am so glad I got to serve with her in the mtc... she taught me a lot.

I went to bed so early that night. 10:00. it was glorious. the earliest i had been to sleep since i was in the 3some. i LOVED the trio. but we talked SO much at night. constant CHATTER! I am SO going to miss those girls. I love sister bishop and sister roth. we had a great time together.

Thursday the work began in milwaukee. we serve in the muskego lakes family ward and the YSA ward here. IT'S SO FUN!!! So much like green bay. thursday we committed Janice to baptism on July 4th and we used the calendar I learned about in leadership!!! woo- hoo! It was amazing. she is SO excited! Independence from sin! yeah. president showed us this scripture when we called and told him [ALma 10:6] look it up ... it's kinda funny. it talks about July 4th, he knows all these random facts in the Book of Mormon. How great to set a baptismal date the day I get here! and we currently have 3 others too, so a total of FOUR! the work is on fire here.

Friday I got to see JULIEANNE KLINGER AND SPENCER TWILMEYER! it really did feel like i was home! Spencer was in my BYU ward last year and dated Layne, my roommate. He's from Milwaukee. Julieanne is my BFF from Green Bay, she is from muskego but goes to school at UWGB. She was less active then made it her new years resolution to come back to church. she is AmAzing. She gets her temple recommend SOON! I lOVE her. we had QUITE the reunion. She is just as excited for me to be here as I am for her to be here!

Friday and Saturday we taught our investigators here and I continued to meet new people. SUnday was busy with church. This is a great area.
i love living with the kozlowsky's. I LOVE SISTER BEHRENDS. we are like the same person. it's great.

In 2 weeks we will go to kenosha and open spanish. we will still commute back and forth [it's only a 30 min drive] to work in this area too. we have been studying like crazy. since we're language missionaries now we get an EXTRA hour to study. it's glorious.

Being here we get to go to the mission home and mission office A LOT. it is SO nice. I think I have been to each place once a day since I got here. It is really cool to see this side of the mission and of the Barretts. I love them. Sister Barrett is the BEST. she is so good to us. we helped her cut up all the vegetables for the BBQ she had friday night for Todd's graduation. Her last one graduated sunday! He's off to BYU today. He had his eagle court of honor last week. Being around him makes me miss Rocky SO much!!!!

Anyways, I absolutely LOVE it here.

I got to talk to sister lisa robertson from green bay on the phone today. she called and left me a message earlier this week on the adams phone, but i wasn't there. Jos is in Tonga! woo-hoo! I also got to talk to Jed and Olivia too. I told bro. robertson i was going spanish and he asked if i was going to come to the GB branch. .. someday i could do that.. that would be AmAzing to go back to GB spanish! we shall see! I have got to learn this language first! What a great family the Robertsons are! I love them! They feel like family.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! DAD, I LOVE YOU! GRANDPA, I LOVE YOU!
[in case anybody is wondering I have the best parents and grandparents ever. you should all be VERY jealous. jk... but really. I got the cream of the crop! thanks for all you guys do for me!!!!]

ok I must go! longest email ever! Sorry. send all mail to the mission office!!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!! love, sister pamella jo black