"Aim for the Donut, Not the Hole."

Good Morning!

As anyone with a Facebook account can see, I'm now in the mission field! My first area is Mt. Pleasant, which includes Fairview and Indianola and whatever other small towns are between here and Indianola. This is the furthest point North in the mission, and Indianola is reportedly the coldest part of Utah. I think it was a mistake to tell my Mission President I wanted to go to Ephraim (which is right below me) eventually. But I'm super excited, because it's not even that cold yet!

For reference, following an amazing final Sunday at the MTC, my entire district just ditches out on Elder Collier and I before we even are supposed to be awake. So we spent Monday and Tuesday fighting depression and 'not wasting time'. Which just means we found out how bad we are at ping pong, and how to hijack a TV and CD player to play one of the CD's I brought. I know, super convenient. Also, I ran into Elder Ethan Trowbridge, my family may know him. That was pretty cool. He's definitely better at ping pong than me.

Now, it's a good thing I set my alarm in the morning we left, because my companion said he was going to, but completely didn't. So we didn't miss our bus and did make it to the airport on time. While driving in the dark it's fun to guess the nearby temples, because they're all lit up at night. I couldn't tell you which is which. I haven't even been in Utah more than a month my entire life! Regardless, it isn't until we're at the airport that we realize there's like 5 sisters going to St. George too. So, we almost left them behind on accident.

After a couple hours and some improvised breakfast later, it's time to board the plane. There's a few minutes of delay because I guess the luggage was balanced wrong or something (it's a small plane, a third of the passengers were missionaries) so we didn't take off until about 10 minutes late. Then of course we land in St. George like five minutes early or something. Flight times confuse me, I don't like it.

My first impression of the area was a redder Phoenix without the heat. Visually, it was a 100 degree day. Literally, it was probably 60. Elder Speed said it was cold, but he is from Hawaii. I don't know if that's an excuse or a reason. He's here somewhere now. But after some time going to different stations (so we know what responsibilities we have) at one of the Stake Centers, and listening/meeting President Kaluhiokalani, it was time to meet our companions.

A bunch of missionaries walk in, and it's about this time that I'm nervous. I want a good companion, right? Well, after the 5 Sisters are given their companions, I'm the third Elder called up, which was weird because my name starts with a 'W'. While I'm standing there, my companion's name is called, and a missionary walks up.

My companion is Elder Koyle. He's a wonderful friend, and I'm really enjoying being up here in the North (technically Central Utah but close enough). I've learned a good bit from him, and he's only been out three months, so this is his third transfer and he's already training. He's a pretty neat person, he's smart, gets along better with kids than I do, and overall we hit it off fairly well. He's also about 5'5", so that's fun.

Everyone here is amazing. The members are very friendly, the non-members are just as friendly, though a bit hesitant about talking with us, which I understand. It would be a bit awkward if a Jehovah's Witness walked up to me and started bugging me about religion, for a number of reasons. We found some Mexican street tacos outside a Christmas Party on Main Street (right outside our door no less). Best tacos ever. Well, my mom knows how picky I am on tacos. Sorry. Her lasagna is amazing though! But most people here who aren't members already have their own opinions, and it's going to take a lot to reverse that. Apparently most of the baptisms here are children, because they're the most impressionable and haven't had a chance to go inactive yet.

Thanksgiving also went well. My companion is allergic to dairy, wheat, eggs and nuts. This one member's family was super awesome and worked with him on what he could/couldn't eat, then we played a couple card games at their house for a bit. Afterwards I did get a chance to call home, but now we have too many leftovers.

While here I have a number of animals I want to see. Elk, Moose and Bears are the top three. But I missed the only deer we saw on the drive from St. George to Mt. Pleasant, so I was a bit disappointed. Well, on our way to Walmart to go shopping (because we had no food) on Friday morning we nearly nailed some poor deer in the center of Ephraim. My companion got an 'aggressive driving' alert too, which was hilarious. Apparently the trick for deer is to just run right through them if you're going at high speeds. My goal is to avoid putting that theory to the test, though. We'll see. I'm not allowed to drive yet.

On Sunday we passed through a herd of sheep on the highway. Don't worry, we slowed down. They were awesome though. Sunday was a bit awkward because I know nobody, but I guess the solution to that is to give a talk. The microphone went out during the first ward's sacrament meeting, and wasn't fixed by the time the next ward began. My companion and I both gave pretty stunning talks without the aid of a microphone, which I kind of liked. Of course, then everyone was super happy to talk to us, or at least, I was more comfortable talking to them.

If you're wondering, the quote above is from one of the High Councilmen in the Stake. We cover the Mt. Pleasant North Stake in its entirety. There's 8 wards, I think we rotate which one's we attend on Sundays. Also, it turns out one of my MTC teachers is a singing celebrity, and has been on 'The Voice' and sang a song in one of our church's youth albums, but whatever. But now I know a famous person. So that's cool.

Don't worry, I've been settling in well. I only woke up this morning at midnight and threw up and had a splitting headache. My companion gave me a blessing and I feel much better now. Then we went and hiked in the mountains and the headache returned. I think it's altitude sickness, and some meat I ate Sunday night (no, not the Mexican tacos). Regardless, I'm loving it here. The work is going well, and together Elder Koyle and I are already showing a lot more progress than was in this area a couple months ago. It used to be pretty dead, but we both have high hopes and a lot of faith. Keep your own faith in God, he'll bless you more than you can imagine.

- Elder Williams

Here's my mailing address if you feel like getting me something for the holidays, or in general. Not required, but I know everyone's asking already.

Elder Talmage Williams

P.O. box 412

Mt. Pleasant Utah, 84647

Pictures:

1. A cool Buffalo inside the Salt Lake Airport. Sent it to my dad to honor our Buffalo ranch (on YouTube at Blackacre Ranch).

2. The Manti Temple we stopped at when we drove from St. George to Mt. Pleasant.

3. An awesome pie tin Sandra will love. And maybe everyone else in my family.

4. Snow! In the mountains, but it counts. Found in Fairview Canyon.

5. An old photo of the annual hare run. I guess the goal was to chase the rabbits away. There were too many of them.

6. Just a height comparison at the Christmas party.