Excerpts from March and part of April

3/3/14

I'm staying another transfer (at least) in Flushing. I love it here, so I'm happy, but combined with Dyker Heights, more than half of my mission will have been in highly Chinese populated areas. Anyway, Heywood and I are staying together. I'm happy bout it.

So I've been reading a new book, David
good way to help someone? It only makes them feel more isolated and sad. It makes them unable to communicate themselves and feel like they have no one they can talk to or that they are faulty as a person."

and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. I highly suggest you all read it. It's a brilliant book. There's a section about something called Relative Deprivation. You might also know of this in connection with The Big Fish-Little Pond Effect. Essentially you only see yourself in comparison with those around you instead of the greater picture. You get depressed by being a little fish in a big pond but are more successful and happy when you are a big fish in a little pond. He goes through multiple examples of relative deprivation like students in Ivy League schools and suicide rates being higher in "happier places" than in sadder places. The point I loved was that last one. Before I had read about relative deprivation, I posted, "Can we all just agree that trying to cure someone's depression with only being happy is not a

Aside from that on a happier note, things are going well here. We're having fun.

3/17/14

Yet again, not too much to report for this week. Nothing is happening here haha. Yesterday we saw a community garden and it made me think about how you guys had one. That brings up my question, where did you guys live in NY? [113th Street in Manhattan, between Broadway and Amsterdam]

Oh, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! I sent a card with memory cards on sat. How was Moab? Wish I coulda been there.

After talking with a kid I knew at college, he asked if he could give my name to some kid that needed help. So he added me and we've been talking.

Wish the picture could be better but saw a beautiful sunset over the Manhattan skyline the other day.

3/24

We had zone conference, so not much else happened this week.  I made another good friend from a different mission and found support and sense in her. So that's nice.

Last night we went to Brooklyn to help the missionaries there do a MASSIVE less active look up. It was fun. I love Brooklyn. I miss it so much. Even though it was in the only part of Brooklyn that I hadn't served in, it was still home. I just feel different in Brooklyn. I just want to live there. It was way fun too because we were also in the very hipster/bohemian area. Pretty much warehouses filled with apartments and bands practicing. It was glorious and the place I would want to live haha. But seriously, Brooklyn is where my heart lies.

3/31/14

Much more interesting week.  Friday I got to go to Dyker and sing in a concert. It made me so
happy. I miss that place. It was so much fun. I sang a song called His Hands. Not my favorite song, so I did not record it, but everyone loved it.

It was hilarious to see the different reactions of all the members there. Some immediately knew
me, others took a sec and others I had to take off my glasses before they got it. It was amazing and at the end everyone stood and sang I Know That My Redeemer Lives and it was just so amazing to look out and see everyone. I got chills from it.

Saturday we had a groundbreaking ceremony for the new church they are building here. It was fun but rainy. Walked a few blocks, turned some soil, walked some block, ate cookies/drank punch.

We've recently started teaching a kid from Peru. He's 17 and just decided he wanted to learn more. Hadn't had any contact with the church before. It was cool. Just kinda showed up one day after a random contact with an English missionary.

We also are going to start teaching this family from Ecuador that is the sis-in-law of a member. They came to church and agreed to meet with us. They are super cool. It's a mom, 18 yr old girl, and 17 yr old boy. They're super awesome and we’re excited.

It's snowing right now. Lamely, it has snowed or rained every pday I've been here and no other days.

4/7/14

This week was ok. Had the chance to teach that family. They are pretty great. We're meeting with them on Wed. Transfers are next week. I highly doubt that I'm leaving, but anything could happen. I think Heywood's going to go.

4/14

This week has been stressful to say the least. Tomorrow are transfers and Heywood is leaving. I'm both glad and sad for that. I liked him, but it was a good time. The only problem is that I don't want a new companion haha. I'm extremely worried about getting someone who is crazy.

Yesterday was stake conference here. Elder Perkins of the 70 came because one of the districts was being turned into a stake. So the last district in the continental US was just turned into a stake here. That was cool. That was the district that had the Freeport branch. But cool news, Freeport was also turned into a ward. Sad news, another branch was turned into a ward, and they took a member from our branch in Flushing (one of my favorite members) to be the bishop there. So that was sad.

The people we have been teaching are good. Nothing much new. I've been super stressed worrying about companions and just life in general.

Yesterday was interesting too because we were confronted by a man who was about to rob people, but saw us and came and talked to us wanting to know why he always saw us right when he was about to do something messed up. So we talked with him and told him that it was God trying to tell him not to. Overall it went well, but it is up to him. We don't know what happened. We called the cops and explained what happened. Who knows? I probably won't ever.