Mission Memories -- Port Charlotte -- Sister Wilson: Part Four

Mail is a big part of a missionary's life.  Every p-day (preparation day)-- once a week, every Tuesday for us (Wednesday for the Elders) we would spend time writing letters to our families back home, the mission president of course-- a letter home and a letter to the mission president were required by mission rule.  So we had to write at least two letters every week.

Of course there were usually other people to write such as extended family, friends -- including boyfriends for people like Sister Wilson, people we met in the MTC, sometimes ward members back home would write, etc.

One of my biggest memories concerning mail on my mission was when the Elvis stamp came out.  :-).  It must've been August 16th because that would've been the anniversary of Elvis's death.

I remember being so excited to go buy the new Elvis stamp at the post office.  Sister Wilson was also an Elvis fan.  I remember her telling me that she used to like to watch all of the old cheesy Elvis movies :-)

In fact, when we went to buy our illegal, cassette tapes -- she almost chose an Elvis tape :-) that's what I remember.

I think we actually went to the post office the day that the Elvis stamp came out to buy them and have them postmarked on that day.  :-)

You can see why Sister Wilson, and I got along so well :-).

For those of you who don't know me that well, my Dad is a huge Elvis fan and Elvis music was a big part of my upbringing.  I remember Saturday mornings Dad would put the vinyl Elvis records on the record player and blast Elvis music all day.

My siblings and I always said that Elvis was like an uncle to us.  :-)  

Sister Wilson showing off the letters she's about to mail.

I think I caught Sister Wilson off guard in this picture :-) getting her letters ready to mail.

I think I might be holding the aforementioned Elvis stamps :-)

The Port Charlotte Post Office is one of the nicer post office's I've ever been in :-)

I bought a lot of Elvis stamps there :-)

picking grapefruit at the church.

This was a big grapefruit tree on the grounds of the Port Charlotte Ward building.

We were told that we could pick all of the grapefruit that we could eat.  So we took advantage of that offer.

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but the church was next door to our apartment complex in Port Charlotte.  So it made call ins every night convenient.  Much better than using a pay phone every night.

It also is very convenient to go pick grapefruit.  I remember eating a grapefruit every morning while reading my scriptures during my personal study.  My scriptures still have the evidence.  There are brown acid spots all over the pages of my scriptures from the grapefruit splattering onto my scriptures as I read while eating my grapefruit every morning.  :-)

Those were the scriptures I still used after my mission and every time I saw those brown acid stained spots.  It would bring a smile to my face.

me, tippy toeing, trying to reach the grapefruit.  :-)

Sister Wilson picking grapefruit

again, me picking grapefruit at the church

I think this was an orange tree in a member's backyard.  Apparently we ate a lot of citrus :-)

check out the awesome mission pager clipped to my pocket.  :-)

picking the oranges/grapefruit, whatever citrus fruit it was, using a tool to reach the top of the tree.

showing off my success :-)

Sister Wilson doing the same.

she got one!  :-)

one of the perks of serving in the Florida Tampa Mission with all the free citrus fruit that we got to eat.

That's the first time I ever tried a kumquat.  And other fruits that I had never heard of before.  One interesting fruit, which wasn't citrus, but is common in Florida is called starfruit.  Those are kind of cool.  If I remember correctly a kumquat is small like a big grape and you pretty much eat it like a grape.

Okay, this will conclude today's mission memories.  Plenty more to come :-)