Greetings from Burlington, Vermont!

My first assignment is in Vermont, home of the maple syrup and Ben & Jerry's ;D. Honestly, though, I am excited to begin my mission here.

My companion is Sister Vanderhoef and she is wonderful! She is helping me learn all about missionary work both in general and specific to my area. She has been out for about 14 months so she has a lot of wisdom to share, which I am very grateful for because I have so much that I want to learn. She has been making it easier to adjust to missionary work here in the field simply by being patient and explaining the answers to each of my many questions.

This area is an interestingly wonderful one. I have learned that we have small wards and large areas. That just means more people to tell about the truth! It isn't an easy area, especially after hearing from my companion that this is the least religious city in the least religious state (haha) but I am not letting that get me down, because guess what! We've already had a bunch of miracles happen each day so far!

The first person I met here was a less active member, Heidi. She was super sweet and said she wanted to get back into going to church because she wanted to get back into the gospel. We had a good talk with her and set a return appointment for a week later. The first investigator I met this week is Haz. and she has been looking into the church for about 4 years now. She is reading the BoM regularly and she knows it is true! So, right now my companion and I (since my companion has only been in the area for 3 weeks more than me after an emergency transfer) are trying to figure out what it is that is holding her back from joining the church. I'll update you all more as we continue to teach her :).

We have had so many opportunities for service in this area. We have weekly scheduled service activities and we have a ton of miscellaneous service opportunities like helping people move, cleaning houses for those who can't clean, etc. This is also a wonderful way for us to get to know people and show everyone that we are friendly. :)

There are so many thoughts running through my head but I think I'll summarize all that I have left with this: I love my area and there is much work to be done in both mission work, and in organizing the information about this area for future missionaries. I don't exactly know why I'm in this area yet, but I do know that I am here for a reason, more than just helping me get into the swing of things here on my mission.

I love you all! Let me know if you know anyone here in my area that could benefit from hearing about the true gospel of Jesus Christ!

Sincerely,

Sister Tyler

My 1st Missionary Companion: Sister Vanderhoef

 

My current Address: 

Sister Katy Tyler

5 Olde Orchard Park #540

South Burlington, VT

05403

P.S. The end of my MTC (Missionary Training Center) experience was amazing! We got to watch a talk by Elder David A. Bednar on Sunday night instead of a devotional, and then they surprised us all by having Elder David A. Bednar walk into the building and we had a Q&A session with him! He just opened the floor to us to let us ask any questions we had for him. It was so cool!

Here is a picture of the sisters in my zone/branch in the MTC the Sunday before I left :) (from left to right: Sister Stailey, Stevens, Tyler, Banda, Danner, Boyce)

MTC District w/one of our teachers: (from L-R) Elders Baldwin, Detlor, Giroux, Brother Quick, Sisters Banda, Tyler, Danner, Boyce