November 20, 2010

Estimada Familia Mia,

lesson learned:------ don't get too comfortable where you are, because everything can change SO fast.
For whatever reason there was an ET (emergency transfer) in the Gila Valley, SO I, being in a threesome in south Tucson, got a call late (1045-late for a missionary) Wednesday night telling me to get my bags packed, I was moving south to Sahuarita! I threw all my stuff in my bags and by 1 the next day I was down here in my second area. I am serving in a place called green valley, in two English speaking wards here in Sahuarita and I like it a lot more than I thought I would.
When the news came that I was going to an English speaking area I was pretty bummed. My Spanish is probably the thing I am most worried about, so I wasn't excited to go serve somewhere where I wouldn't be using any! But Heavenly father had a lesson to teach me - and that is that the work is the same everywhere, and that for some reason, some really old retired white people need Elder Spencer to bring them the gospel.
My new companion Elder Holyoak is a REALLY nice guy from Pocatello Idaho and we get along really well. He's pretty green still, been out 6 months, but knows the area really well which AMAZES me because I am so lost here in the suburbs. Our area is actually kind of split up, we live in a pretty open rural-esque area between our two tracting areas -- Green Valley, a community of really old people, mostly "snow birds" who come down for the nice weather (you have to be over 55 years old to live there) and Rancho Sahuarita which basically looks like Rancho Cucamunga. There is one more little branch of out area called the McGee Ranch which I can tell is going to be my favorite place to go. We ride our bikes about 20-25 miles a day back and forth from home, to Green Valley and Rancho, Mostly knocking doors(white people are so mean) but we have to drive about half an hour up into the desert to McGee Ranch.
From what I've gathered so far, McGee Ranch is a HUGE plot of land where about 75 families are spread out. You have to be somehow related to the McGee family to live up there, they all work together for what they call "the company" (construction I think) and most all of them go to "the company church" except for the few Mormons who live up there and investigating family that we go and visit. --from what I can tell, the company church seems to be kind of a branch off of Mormonism ha ha they supposedly believe in the book of Mormon, but not that you have to be baptized and they don't live the word of wisdom--. They kind of live the law of consecration too... the company makes money, and gives it out to all the families evenly.
I still know very little, but this place seems CRAZY and I'm really excited to learn more. Oh yeah and they are a bunch of red necks and hunt every weekend. The couple houses that I've been to up there so far have had enormous elk and deer heads and antlers and even bobcat and mountain lion pelts hanging up all over the house . This place is awesome.
All the people who live down at the bottom here in Sahuarita in the suburbs do one of two things: young families, nerdy dad working for Ratheon, OR super HUGE scary dad who works for Border Patrol. One of the members told me 85-90% of the population here fall into those two categories.

Overall, I thought I wouldn't like it here, but I'm actually LOVING it. We have a couple AWESOME investigators and I actually end up using my Spanish about once a day. I miss South Tucson and Elder Burns and Elder Barlow and my tiny Mexican branch, but !asi es la vida! (lit. trans.--> "like this is the life")

I'm pretty excited for thanksgiving, and I'm pretty stoked to be in a gringo English speaking area for the holidays too! I think we got at least 3 or 4 thanksgiving dinner invitations at church yesterday, but I think we're only going to go to two. Church was AWESOME. It's weird to be in two, Glendora 5th size wards after a little struggling branch, but I got a little more out of church -it being in English. I've been thinking a lot about thanksgiving and what a cool holiday it is and I just wanted to say that I'm thankful for my family. I love you all so much and I'm so proud to be a Spencer. I think of all the GREAT memories I have of growing up and I am so grateful for my childhood. How cool is it that I have family on both coasts and a rich history on both sides. I think back to all the cool things we did as a family growing up, driving to new Mexico, flying out to the east coast, getting to see Indian reservations, white sand dunes all the way to civil war battle fields and Washington DC. We've been lucky enough to go to Hawaii, NYC, and that is just vacations! We live in Southern California of all places! Emily has gotten to study in the Mountains and snow and I study by the bay, where I can see the golden gate bridge and San Francisco. We are all healthy, and happy, and together. Thank you Mom and Dad for everything that you've sacrificed and done for this family. I love you all so much and I love the Lord for putting us together. It is no wonder to me that God LOVES and works through families, and I see that every single day, doing his work.

Love and miss you all!

ELDER SPENCER