What a great week! Sent Sister White off on Tuesday, which was actually just really weird... maybe hasn't sunk in yet that she's back home in Washington. BUT I picked up Sister van Geenen that day also, and it has been awesome. She is from Holland, but her English is perfect and she actually served in Amsterdam for a month before the MTC while she waited for a visa, so she pretty much already knows how to be a missionary. She is 24 and really wonderful. Lots of fun and very competent. Of course, she still has a lot to learn, particularly about the sites and the people we are teaching, but she has been really diligent. It has actually been really good for me to "take over the area." I don't know everyone or everything (Sister White was here for a long time and actually opened the area), but I know that the Lord will make the most important things happen. We have been able to adjust our focus a little bit, drop some investigators that haven't seen missionaries in months, pass some less-actives off to the senior couples in our ward, and are really focusing on helping our investigators and a few less-actives we've been working with closely progress. It has been a huge blessing to have those couples and to be able to have that focus, because we are SO busy with meetings, the sites, the people who are progressing, and our studies. Hooray for being busy! We are loving it.
That really is all of the new news this week. We hardly taught any lessons because of everything else we've had going on (new missionary meetings, sites, 4 hours of study/day). But this week will be better with the lessons, we hope. We have a few exciting appointments coming up. Thanks for all of your updates, love, and support. I really am so proud of all of you and excited to hear there are some letters on the way! Our family is amazing, thanks to each of you for who you are. Be good!
Love you,
Sister Schank
