Arrival in South Carolina

36 new missionaries and
President and Sister Holm

I got to South Carolina last Monday (actually June 10). We flew a red eye into Atlanta and then took another plane to Columbia. It was strange to be out of the MTC and still be a missionary. Everyone at the airport was staring at us. We were a big group, 36 of us went to South Carolina. There were 22 sisters and the rest were elders. President Holm, his wife, the assistants to the president and the traveling sisters (which are basically female assistants to the president) met us at the airport. I was in love with South Carolina from the minute I stepped off the plane. The South Carolina airport is small, but it's beautiful, lots of windows and columns and white rocking chairs. It's as close to a plantation house as an airport could be and I loved it. 

We spent the first two days in orientation, so the girls stayed at the mission home and the elders stayed at a motel near the closet stake center, which is where we had orientation. President Holm is wonderful. He is such a great mission president, I feel very lucky to have him. 

The second day we were there all the missionaries who would be training us arrived and we were all sent out tracting for about an hour. I was so nervous, but it actually wasn't bad at all. I had fun. I was with Sister Seaman, and she was very nice and reassuring, which helped me a lot. There was only one girl who was really interested, I gave her a Book of Mormon and she agreed to visit with the missionaries, which made me really happy. Everyone else basically said the same thing, that they already have a church and they're happy with it, but they were all very nice. 

Everyone, well, just about everyone, is very nice down here. That southern stereotype is very true. Lots of southern stereotypes are true actually. People do speak with an accent, but it's not too bad, I can normally understand what people are saying. And the food here is so good and so southern. I've already had fried chicken twice.