3+ Weeks

This will be the last post by J.D.'s Dad.  In just a little over three weeks, he can make the final post himself!

6-08

This week had both its ups and downs. Overall I'd say it was good though. We'll start off with the irritants since I'm really good at those. I found out that a friend from high school passed away this week. We weren't really close, more just classmates; Brianna was really close to him though, so it's tough on her and I wish I could be there for her since she's in CA and doesn't have anybody else around to help her. 

This next part is more frustrating than anything else and is kind of funny, but since I got here I've been getting a few bites every so often. Just me, not my companion. They started getting big. Like extremely big. So I showed the mission nurse who is in our area, she took a picture, went and compared the bites to pics and diagrams. We were extremely worried it was chinchas (bedbugs) and we did NOT want to deal with that. Thankfully it was not, but instead, get ready for it... Fleas. Fleas haha. What am I, a dog? Or even more ironic, a goat? So I had to go wash EVERYTHING. It cost me about $10 to do it haha. In other words, I need more quarters. Our landlord then came and sprayed our floors. So far no more bites, just dealing with the ones I have. I've had to withstand a few dog jokes from the zone but those are funny and in all good humor haha.

Now for the good stuff. A member invited a family to have us over and they loved it. They were all at church and really enjoyed it. I really like them. They are so nice and amazing. There's a mom, three daughters and a sister. I'm extremely happy that I get to work with them. I also got to help a Dominican family move. Oh. My. Goodness. I love Dominicans. The DR is mi país adoptivo. (My adopted country.) It was so much fun. They'd fight, they'd laugh, they'd sing. One of the best days of my mission. I love it.

I read another interesting book called Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo. You might've heard of it. I know they're making a movie of it, but it's about this kid who nearly died and lived, but says he saw heaven. It's a fascinating story. I'm a little skeptical on some things in it, but it's interesting to say the least.

I've met a lot of amazing members here and I really am enjoying this area. I've made a lot of friends with the members and it's barely week three starting today. So I'm happy.

6-16

This week was pretty good. It had its ups and downs. The World Cup started as you know, which is both great and awful for Spanish missionaries haha. As well as being with a Spanish companion. We've been to restaurants with TVs for our lunch/dinner to watch some of the
games. It's been fun though.

Had a really good lesson with a family we are teaching and had a really fun Father's Day party followed by an even more fun youth barbecue the next day. I really love this area. It's slowly becoming one my favorite. I really love the members and families here.

I also was asked by an investigator in Flushing to come back for her baptism and baptize her. That was a really cool and heart warming experience. I was honored that she asked me to do it. Due to trains we had been late and so I was still hyped up from being late and accidentally said her name wrong and had to do it again. Whoops. It all worked out in the end.

Something incredibly peaceful happened this week. One day I saw an article on FB about how two activists were getting excommunicated. I hadn't read it, but I was sure it had to do with their participation in the women's stuff that's been going. I was thinking, "how dumb and awful are these people in-charge to do this? Why are the leaders of this church so stupid with sex and gender and equality? How can I keep going with these dumb leaders?" Later, while I was studying, I sat and watched some Mormon messages. Take them to be propaganda or whatever you think of them, but there are some that are so incredibly good. I watched two in particular. The first one called Wrong Roads with Jeffrey R. Holland in it. There he talks about some things, but what struck me was this, he said, "I have a knowledge, a perfect knowledge, that God loves us." I remember talking once with dad and he told me how he heard once a leader say how he "knew" and how dad was sure he did KNOW. I frankly brushed it off as, I still don't believe you dad, but whatever. No one can really KNOW anything. Watching this, I felt it. He KNOWS. I felt it. I feel it. I got a truly wonderful feeling that pierced my soul in a way that nothing else really does. In a way that elaborate and fanciful talking made to move the masses never has. This was different. So simple, so pure, so comfortable that it was special. I put this as one of the moments I have undeniably felt the spirit. And it was a confirmation to me. A reassurance that this is true. There may be awful people and horrible leaders, but this is true. The purest part of it is true. And I want myself to always remember that and never forget, even though there are those who are in-charge or in it that will make it seem less. No matter what happened, through whatever means it came by, even if it was differently that was has been told, this is of God, He is real, this is right for me, and there is so much more than what we see.

And it was good that happened because after reading the article a lot of missionaries were extremely dumb about it and it really irritated me. So I feel I needed it then to help me withstand the barrage that was coming.

6-22

Well, this week was incredibly difficult for me. I've never watched so much soccer in my life, but that meant that we went to members houses. Not because they invite us, but because my comp wants to watch a game. Which you know, I'm not necessarily against except that it's not [about fellowship].  I really do love this place though. I love the members here and the people I work with. I've had such an amazing time with the investigators I'm teaching. I love them so much.

I'm nervous, excited, and apprehensive about going back to Utah, because I'm so unsure of anything I want anymore. Oh well.

6-30

I’m getting along with Nisguritzer a lot better. I think we kinda figured each other's sense of humor out a little better. I was super sad that Mexico lost yesterday, but that's ok whatever haha.
 

What is my homecoming talk supposed to be about? (Side note, it is extremely weird that my talk is scheduled...)

Our investigators are doing well.

7-06

So I'm getting transferred. After just six weeks. I wanted to do so much work and finish so strong. And I had really gotten to like Nisguritzer. Really. I hadn't wanted either of us to leave. We both changed in the past two weeks. We get each other and like each other. Last night he comforted me. He told me he loved me and was sad I was leaving. And it was heartfelt.  

7-07

So I talked with president in person. He came for a baptism. He talks with me to see how I'm doing. (We're pretty sure he came because I sent him a text about how stressed out I was over the transfer.) He's worried about me and gram. We talk about the transfers and how I do not want to go. It seemed like he wasn't keen on letting me change. He asks me if I want to think about it, but I was feeling sick. He wasn't going to go down to the baptism but wanted to stay and wait, but then he was told by others to just go down. So he cared. Then after a cold sweat, I went down to the baptism. The baptism went wonderfully. I had brought my uke in case we needed a musical number, which we did. So on the spot I made something up and the other missionaries sang with me. It went REALLY well. Boom. Then bishop talked with Pres. Calderwood and CW said he'd think about it. Later I got a call from him saying that he'd support anything I decided, but that I needed to discuss it as a companionship, pray about it, and seek the Lord’s guidance. So I did. We prayed. While thinking about going to Dyker I got the impression that it would be for [a certain person] who got baptized when I was there, so I did some investigating and found out [the person] was fine. I talked to [the person] a little bit. I then went to [a member's] house. I asked him for a blessing just to kind of give me comfort to find guidance. He was extremely nervous since it was his first time. It was my first time having it be given in Spanish to me haha. He speaks English as his first language, but knows church Spanish better than church English. Either way, it was really good. As soon as he started I felt peace. It was really spectacular. Truly amazing because I'm going to be honest, I've never felt such relief during a blessing which is a testimony to me, because it wasn't beautifully worded. It wasn't perfect. My head was being pushed down on haha. In other words the showiness of a good blessing wasn't there, but the spirit was so incredibly strong and touched me and calmed me, because up to that point, I felt that I was alone. I was trying so hard to get comfort from The Lord even by doing the things I usually
do, but there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Then the blessing and the feeling of solitude completely washed away. I'm so happy I got that blessing, and that I got it from the member. It was very special.

He hadn't known the situation or why I wanted it, so that was cool too. After more thinking and discussing with Nitzcritz, I felt it was fine to stay, and so I decided to stay. After explaining to Pres. Calderwood, he was very happy with all that I had done and said I did it the right way and that he supported me. I have to admit that he truly has done a lot for me. Truly he's done more than others would have. And I'm so grateful for that.

So I'm staying. Everyone is extremely happy. EVERYONE. Members told me they had cried after finding out I was leaving. This ward really loves me and it's nice.

7-14

Well this week was pretty good. A lot of people were happy I was staying. A lot of people in Dyker were sad I didn't go there, but it's ok.

A while ago I was asked to sing in ward conference which was yesterday. Great, I love singing. Only problem, I'm the only one who plays piano except for one other kid who isn't amazing either. So I give him the music three weeks in advance to practice. Doesn't do it, then tells me that he can't do it because it's too hard. Ok frustration enough. I write my own version that's simple enough for him to play. Well turns out the brand brand new kid (of three days) plays piano, but can't read music. Only makes stuff up. So the kid who was supposed to play has him do it. Whatever, fine, as long as someone plays. The piano isn't the important part either. Of course the conference is at 9 so I've got morning voice. I forgot, the song also doesn't have a Spanish counterpart so I have to translate it. Not too difficult if you're just speaking, but singing it is a different story. So I did that, and it was pretty crappy. Morning voice plus crappy translation plus nervousness about piano plus unpreparedness when pianist started (he really didn't know how to play for people and just kind of started)  plus just plain nervousness equals my vowels sucking, my voice sucking, the song sucking, and my vibrato sucking. So, I'm down on myself now. And the majority of the people liked it, but I still feel like crap because I know I can do better. [Someday this will be a funny story.]

Also, Argentina lost. Dang. I didn't want Germany to win. I didn't really care, but Argentina would have been cool.

Excerpts from mid April to June

4/21

So ends the first week of the new transfer.  Stuff has happened, but I'm too frazzled and tired to be able to
write it all down.  I'm drained right now.

We sang in sacrament and it went well. I got to say bye to one of my favorite members that is now the bishop of a different ward, so that was really nice.
Sorry this was kind of a downer email.

4/28

[J.D.’s grandmother was put in hospice, and we thought the end was near; so we got permission from his mission president for him to call.  She rallied, though, I think in part because of the lift she got from all her grandkids, although she is still in hospice.]

This week has been better.  My talk with gram went well.  She sounded strong.  We had a good 20-25 min talk.  Pres was really supportive about it and it was nice.
This week has been fairly good.  Met with a bunch of people.  Got a lot done.  Had a good lesson with the investigator family.  Definitely a better week than the last. Partially because I stopped being so angry and prideful.
Recorded some vids for Grandma, will send them today. Will record more later.
It hit me this week how close I am. Especially when I got that email about you picking me up. Less than four months. It's crazy.

5/19

Transfers are next Tuesday. I have no clue if I'm going to be staying or leaving. It's very possible for both to happen. I want to stay, but Idk, I'm just extremely tired today and my patience is very low.  Haha seems like this is normal for me lately haha.
The visit [to PA] looked fun. Wish I could have been there too.

5/25

We're going to a Mets game for Memorial Day. Guess who they're playin? The pirates! And
we all know how I hate baseball so the only redeeming quality is the pirates haha.

5/26

Well, so ended my last week in Flushing. I'm really sad about it, but I'll deal with it and move on. I had actually thought I was going to stay. I didn't think I was leaving so it was kind of a shock to me.  I'll know tomorrow where I'm going but I think it could be back to Dyker to my old pool cuz I had asked to go back to Brooklyn a while ago, and that's the only place open in Brooklyn.
I was pretty sad because finally things had started growing.  I had 10 investigators. 10! That's never happened in my entire mission. And all of them were progressing and close.  And the thing was that I wanted them to be baptized because this was the right thing for them and I knew this could help them. It wasn’t any of that getting a number stuff.  The same thing happened in Midwood. Right as I started seeing progress, I got removed. Which was frustrating.
Then I remembered a lesson we had shared two days before on the Will of God. We watched a Mormon message about it with that same title. I recommend watching it, because I won't do it justice.  In it, it talks of a man who cuts down a bush that had grown too big. He imagines the bush asking him, why did you cut me down I was doing so well?  He goes on to say, I had a better plan for the plant. Then he relates it to himself and God and God loving us enough to hurt us. Which is something I firmly believe.  To grow, we must fail.  And what I had seen for myself is not what God had seen for me, and he has a better plan. He has something much better in store.
I'm still really sad. This had been my favorite place by far. I cried a lot during my testimony, which is the first time I've cried in almost 2 years. I really love this place.
So we'll see what happens and what's in store.

6/1

So, I didn't get moved back to Dyker.  In some ways I'm sad about it, in other ways I'm fine with it.  I really like the area.  It's very nice.  Slightly ghetto but not extremely.  The members here are pretty nice.  I've had a couple of really good visits and the youth is really cool here. 

My companion is a kid named Nisguritzer.  He's from Sandy but his parents are from Argentina so he's a native Spanish speaker.  He and I started the same day, but he was only in the mtc for 3 weeks, so we would have been going home together if he hadn't torn his ACL and gone home for a few months. So now he's going home later.  I knew him a little bit before being comps, but really only because we'd had the same companion.  We think he'll be my last comp.  

I'm back to a pool where there's literally nothing, so essentially we're starting from scratch.  Frustrating definitely, but it's whatever. At this point in my mission I'm used to it... Kind of haha. 

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.

February 2014 Excerpts

2/03

I like this new area. A member gave me an accordion. A freaking accordion. I can't even. I'm so excited. Now to learn it.

2/10

So yesterday I was asked to sing in sacrament. I sang where can I turn for peace. It turned out well and I'm happy about it. On Saturday we did something really amazing and fun. We got to be in a Chinese New Year’s parade. We danced and played the drums and were in lion costumes. So much fun. I’ve attached some pics from the parade. That's me in the mask.

As for the things we do here, I've never had this many progressing investigators. We aren't doing that many less active visits, and it kinda makes me sad. But whatever, we're picking up on those so that should get better. 

2/17

Well it's been a pretty good week. We had a baptism this last Sunday of a really cool kid. Amazing. He's so smart and humble! It's crazy. I got asked to sing last minute at the baptism haha. Good thing primary songs are easy. Also got asked to sing a song at a zone meeting. No big deal but it was funny because they wanted Time to say Goodbye... Haha it was interesting. My comp played the ukulele and I sang. It wasn't too good cuz of ya know, not having music haha but it was fun.

This week I go to the temple for my year and a half mark. I also have that concert on Sunday. I'm
singing Where Can I Turn for Peace? I'm excited.

Went to a Vietnamese place and had ShabuShabu. I don't know if you know what that is but it's pretty good. An investigator took us there and it was interesting haha. So they give you a pot of broth and in the table there are stove tops for each person. The broth boils and then you add veggies and other things and then meat and it boils it... Or so we think. The problem is that we didn't know how to do it. They took the menu that explained it before I could read it all haha. The investigator, who goes there once a week, didn't know how to do it either--so we trail-blazed our way through it haha. Everything tasted good and it was fun, but still hilarious. At the end I watched how others did it and figured out that we more or less did it right.

2/24/14 

It's weird to think that if I was a girl, I'd be coming home next week. It weird to think I only have six months left. It weird to think about school, granted I've been thinking about it since the beginning, but still. It's weird to be one of the oldest missionaries here. I still feel young. I feel like all these people are older than me, but they aren't. 5/6ths of the missionaries are younger than me. That means only a sixth of us were here for Sandy. No one knows the legends I knew. Now we are the legends. Well, not me, but others haha. It's also weird because I know very few people anymore. If they came in after Waidmann then I probably don't know them. Weird.

The concert went well. There was a whole lot of frustration getting us to there because of miscommunication and lack of thinking, but we got there and sang. It was good. Not as good as I feel I could've done, so you know that bothers me, but it's ok; it was fine. The rest of it was good. Not too many people showed up, but it was fun and the spirit was strong and calming. Overall it was great, I'm just frustrated with my part haha.

Another frustrating incident happened this week. A kid we’ve been teaching was sent here to his dad by his mom, who lives in another state, to focus on school this year, and he's been coming to church with his dad. Eventually he told us he wanted to be baptized. What we didn't know is that supposedly the mom didn't know and so she came up and took him back, right in the middle of the school year. That's the last they know of what's happened. She won't answer the dad or respond to anything. No one knows if they made it back or not. They are blocking the dad from knowing anything. So we didn't get to say goodbye or anything, but it's frustrating to us that we couldn't say goodbye and that he couldn't do what he wanted and that she took him in the middle of the school year. I mean what the heck? Some people do not realize how important school is! They just take their kids out on whims and don't care if it messes things up. I knew a girl in [another place] who was living with her aunt and because the girl disobeyed on one thing, she sent
her to [another country] in the middle of the year. So when she came back (after aunt realized that the girl didn't actually do what the aunt thought she had) the girl couldn't go to the next grade with everyone else, but had to go and repeat the entire grade again. My point is, this isn't the first time I've seen something like this and it pisses me off. I mean, it wasn't even the dad's idea for him to come here in the first place, so stop acting like that he had the mastermind plan. So we're trying to figure out what happened, but who knows.

I also got into a bash with a Muslim dude. I want to point out that I do not bash and I do not think bad of people with different beliefs, but if you come in and turn what could be a good informative discussion for both parties into refusing to listen to simply what I believe and instead telling me that I'm wrong, stupid, ignorant and blind, then I refuse to give you any respect and I will point out your nonsense. So I did. He didn't listen and misquoted the Quran, which I've read. He told me things and was just dumb. I kept calling him out and was like, if you want us to respect what you believe and accept the possibility of being wrong, you too have to do both those things. He didn't listen and it was dumb so eventually I said, "you refuse to listen to me and show me respect so I'm leaving," and walked away.

An amazing dude in English ward was baptized yesterday. He's been all our friend and we were so happy for him. He was practically a member to begin with. He always went and taught other people with the missionaries and helped with the ward and was just a part of everything. So it was a wonderful day for him and for everyone else.

Excerpts from Dec and Jan

12/09

The concert went really well. I'll post pictures and recordings today.
The talk went over well.

Transfers are this week, but no one in our district is changing.  I like the people here, but I really dislike being in a car, and I would like to be back in the city.

12/30

Well this week was fun...ish haha. As you guys know I got really bad food poisoning, but now I'm all better, thank heavens. I got it worse than anyone else in the district. I still have like no appetite which is nice because then I don't eat bad things haha. (A member took us to a Chinese buffet. Haha you gotta realize usual it's a decent place haha)

I'm so glad I got to talk to you guys. I miss you a ton. I love seeing
my dog. :D

How's everything out there?
We were pretty boring this week being sick and all so nothing is new or is exciting. I have another concert on the 19th in Belle Harbor. (It's close to Far Rockaway, in my mind they are the same thing.)  Still don't know really anything about it and the date isn't even for sure haha so we'll see. That's really it.

1/06

Not much to say this week. We got about 9-10 inches of snow. It wasn't too bad. We helped shovel a lot of people out. It's sad how snow makes people unable to drive.

Um... Well I'm frustrated with missionaries, but what else is new. The __ guy, M, really wants to learn, but he's been having the missionaries for about 3 years. Many missionaries see him as a waste of time. Now he's asking for people to teach him. He wants to go to church. He's praying about Christ. He's progressing, but he takes time, so some missionaries don't see him as worth the effort. He is in a different area, but only by 20 min. We do service for his mother and so because of that we've become close. Too bad the missionaries in his area ignore him and don't go visit him. So we do. I would be more than happy to give him to the missionaries there, and I would prefer it, but until they actually start going over, I'm going to continue teaching someone who needs it.

New Years was good. Nothing special. We had to be in by 6. So they all played Dungeons and Dragons while I read. I now am out of reading material haha. Why did I not like reading this much when I was home?

That's really it for me. I hope all is well there. (If you can't tell, I wrote this before I see your emails because I write this while doing laundry where I have no wifi.)

1/20

Not much to say here. We're both leaving. We think they'll put sisters in. About time. It was a dumb idea to take them out in the first place. Anyway, I'm happy.

How are things there? Everyone's getting engaged, married, or pregnant. Crazy.

I have no clue where I'm headed next, but we'll see. I had a really good goodbye with everyone here. I do love this place overall.

1/27

So now I'm in Flushing Queens. It is even more Chinese than Dyker Heights was. I am in Asia. When we visit, after my mission, you will understand. I am so much happier in the city. I really can't explain it. The island is not for me. The ZLs here are my friends from before, and I'm friends with everyone in the zone. My comp is Elder Heywood from Riverton. He came out with my kid, Elder Waidmann.

Here in Flushing there are few Spanish, so it's a little tough, but the branch had 3 baptisms yesterday. An amazing family. Found through Facebook. I'm excited. I like this group. Especially since it is only Spanish and not eng/spa [as in Freeport].

Excerpts for fall

[Sorry that I have been so bad at keeping this up to date.  J.D. is now taking care of his face book site, but I am still responsible for the blog--Steve Goates]

9/30

Not much is new this week. Sorry, I'm really boring.  We've all been sick here. I just recently got over it but now my comp has it. I've spent way too much time in the apt these last few days. I'M GOING STIR CRAZY! Oh well, no one's fault. I just have nothing to do haha.  [It was at this point that they recorded his singing of “You Raise Me Up” that he later posted on facebook.]

Eng classes are going well. We just recently got a new investigator from it. He came to the class, then made a comment of not having a church and that he was looking for one. So we asked him if we could teach him a little bit and he said yes. It was a wonderful first lesson. So we'll see what happens with him.

10/7

Saturday was an amazing day. I too loved the talk on meekness. I loved Elder Holland's talk. It was one of my favorites. For once someone has come out and talked about actual depression, and it was good. Pres. Uchtdorf's was a wonderful talk. And I was actually going to suggest that everyone read it too. I liked what he said, which has not been said before, "the church is not perfect. God is, but He works through imperfect beings." This is different than the statement, "the church is perfect, the people aren't." I like that he notes that the church will never be perfect because we will never be perfect, but the love of God is pure and that's what's important. It was necessary that I heard that Saturday when I could listen.

I'm better and so is my comp. We recently found a new investigator who came to conference this past week. He's the one from eng class. I don't remember if I told you about him. He's way cool and actually knew a few members from the church who he hadn't seen in years. So that was really cool.

We start facebook this Thursday or something. Joy.

10/21

Some funny things this week. While walking down the street we passed two guys walking in uniforms with a basket. As we passed them they stopped us and said, "would you like some free condoms. We're just out here giving out free condoms to the community." It was fairly funny. Not to mention the fact that they weren't individual condoms they were giving us, it was a pack of like 20.

The next night we passed a long white bus with blue lights on the inside. Immediately I saw the pole and then noticed the woman started her lap dance for some guy. Hahaha it was hilarious. My comp was truly oblivious to it. Then, the next night we found a less active member who wasn't on our records who I am pretty sure has schitzophrenia.

As for facebook, it's been interesting. They require us to change our names, change what pictures we have, and really everything about who we are/were. Don't get me wrong, I love this ward, the members, and my investigators. We've in fact made a lot of progress! I just sometimes get frustrated with mission rules and lack of trust.

10/28

So I am for sure getting transferred and I'm unhappy about it. I've finally gotten places with investigators and less-actives. I worried these people are going to be forgotten about. On a sad note, I'm also leaving Elder Erickson. I have never had someone I have trusted more in my life. He is the greatest friend I have ever had. I can tell him anything. He also says I'm the person he trusts most in his life. I never before have had a friend like that. So I'm sad to be leaving him. I'm really hoping my “child” takes my place here because I actually trust Waidmann to do a good job.

I made turkey and beans. Thank you for the recipe. I spiced it up a little bit with peppers and rice. DELICIOUS! So thank you, Mom. I've learned that I really do know how to cook, and I'm pretty good at it. Whenever we have meals to make for dinner, breakfast, etc., the district always has me cook. What up!

A agreed to a baptismal date for the 17th of Nov. We'll see if that happens. I won't be here, but that's ok. I'm not upset about that, I'm just happy it's happening.

11/4

I'm now on long island in a place called Freeport. I like my companion a lot. His name is Elder Chris Nielson from Highland. We get along pretty well which is nice. It's a small branch here, combined Spanish and English-speaking, and I now play the piano. I really like all the members and all the people that I'm working with. They're all super nice! I just miss the city. 

[We responded that we knew the area because it was near where my Aunt Elaine lived.]

Yeah, I thought you probably knew this area. Also, I have a car. It's weird haha

11/12

Glad to hear all the missionaries are safe there [in the Philippines]. I have a few friends there, so I'm glad they're safe.

Things are ok here. I get along really well with Elder Nielson, my comp. He's a great guy. We got our first snow storm of the season today. Nothing too big or that stuck, but still. Winter is definitely here, or has it's foot in the door. 

Tomorrow we get iPads. Weird. I don't know how I feel about it. Every missionary will have their own personal iPad. iPhones are coming like next month or something. Again, weird.

Having a car is weird too...

Um... nothing else is really new. Not too much to tell. 

11/25

Well, this week has been pretty good. Started off with Eng class which is always fun then continued to a very memorable experience with a member. We got a call from a member asking us to come visit. When we got there he explained how he was going through hard times and had even thought about ending his life. He felt bad because he family left him because he had been drinking too much and when he'd finally started to stop, things just got worse and then he started drinking again. We talked with him a lot and I hope we brought some comfort. He wanted us to come over again the next day, but when we did he wasn't there and didn't answer his phone. He hasn't been home since whenever we've tried and hasn't answered his phone, so I'm a little bit worried. We'll see what happens.

The next day was a wonderful exchange with a way cool kid named Elder Mueller from CO (not too far from Castle Rock.) One of the best exchanges I've ever had. I would love to be comps with that kid one day.

We had a mega zone conference this week. This is when 3+ zones (in our case 4) get together to have a conference and hear from president and the APs. I hate missionaries haha. It's funny because you can look at a missionary and be able to tell what type of missionary they are. Some are city missionaries and some are island missionaries. I am without a doubt in my mind a city missionary. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love this area and the people here, but it just doesn't fit my personality that well. I used to think that I was too crazy for my zone, but when I got together with all the island zones I realized I was just too crazy for the island haha. Maybe energetic is a better word. Either way, you can look at the missionaries that don't fit in extremely well and it's simply because their personalities are different than the other missionaries, but would fit in perfect with the missionaries in the city. There's nothing bad about the island missionaries, they're just a different personality than me. Oh well. Así es la vida. Other than that the conference was ok.

I'm glad to hear gram is out of the hospital and doing better. I asked pres for permission to call with the thought that this was the end, but he never responded. I understand because he was super busy this week dealing with all the mission conferences, so I'm not really upset because nothing ended up happening. I was just going to call if things really had gotten bad, but I still wanted to let him know and ask permission.

Something cool from the video on FB. A Jewish man we are working with (who is a really, really good friend of mine) saw the video and loved it. I got a call from him one day and he was choking up. He told me that I have a very special gift and could really make it if I tried. He was very serious about this. More than anyone ever has been. It was very nice. Not as an ego booster, but because it's nice to know that someone thinks you are really special. He asked if he could share it, but specifically with one of his friends who is in the opera industry. I said sure, knowing that it wasn't professional quality and that a professional wouldn't think of it the same way he did, but what the hey. So he shared it and the guy said it was good and I had potential, but I need training, which he could get. My friend explained that I wouldn't be done with my mission till next summer and the guy was ok with that. So now I have a possible connection and might have the possibility to go to NYU for opera. I still don't think I'm good enough right now to get that connection, nor do I think I'm wanting to go into opera, but I have been considering going back into music. So that was very nice and we'll see what happens.

I've been thinking about doing more covers of songs and posting them on YouTube as well as doing video blogs instead of letters because I'd be a lot better at that haha. Idk, we'll see.

Speaking of singing, I got asked to do another concert in the same mall, this time for Christmas. I have no idea yet what I'm going to do. Probably O Holy Night, I'll Be Home for Christmas, Do You Hear What I Hear, and/or Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. I'll keep ya updated. It'll be on Dec 4.

Having a car sucks haha. I'm tired and car sick all the time. ALL THE TIME! Haha lame! I would rather be walking 24/7 in the cold. And I can say that because I did that last year haha.

This week is going to be fun. We have Turkey Bowl Thursday morning, dinner with a member (english so actual thanksgiving food!) and then another dinner with a different member from Honduras where I'm getting baleadas! The greatest food on the planet. I AM NOT JOKING! So I'm excited.

As for the internet missionary work, interesting things have been happening. I've been able to talk with a few friends and really help them come to terms with their personal issues and church policies. Granted, it isn't because of me, but it's still cool that I got to talk to them about it. It definitely couldn't have happened if we weren't using fb.

Funny quotes of the week:

"Oh winter, where all gender identification goes out the window as we become giant blobs of genderless clothes."

"You know you’ve truly made it in life when you buy toilet paper for comfort instead of necessity."

Fact of the day: Carrots are the most dangerous vegetable on the planet. Choose one wrong and your taste is ruined for the rest of the day. 

Fact #2: No matter who you are, you will always choose that carrot."

Fact of the day: True guilt comes when you cut through a red light a little too close. True relief comes when you see that the person behind you also went through that light."

From English class:

Teacher 1 - “Oh, that’s karaoke”

Spanish student - “Que es eso?” (What is that?)

Me - “Karaoke” *with slight spanish accent*

Student - “Ooooooooohhhh ok”

Teacher 1 – face palm

The joys of teaching English to Spanish speakers."

I also got a nice jacket that has been perfect for winter. :) In other words it is freezing here.

12/2

If anyone asks what I want for Christmas tell them nothing. I have way too much stuff and am trying to cut it down. Letters are nice and so are gift cards, to like subway but I really don't want or need anything.

This week was pretty dang good. It's already week 6 which means transfers are next week. We'll see what ends up happening.

On thanksgiving we went over to the house of the ___ family, and played with their two little boys. It was a wonderful time. She reminds me of Brianna in both looks and personality, so it was like I was with Nanna for thanksgiving. Couldn't ask for more. He's in his 3rd year of residency at a nearby hospital, and we had a lot of good conversations about it all. After that we went to a Honduran house and had so much fun. It was a wonderful time. I got my favorite food (baleadas) and just enjoyed myself.

The next day we went over to H's house. He's the guy who loved the video of me singing. We went and did service for his mom, then he asked us to stay for their thanksgiving. I don't know how many Jewish family gatherings you've been to, but I'll let you know it's exactly like our Italian family get-togethers. We yell, we fight, we piss each other off, and we love each other. It was a really nice time and they were all so much fun and so nice to us. It was funny at first because we were asked who we were and what we did. We replied Mormon missionaries, we go and teach people about our church. You could tell the thoughts running through their heads, "How the hell did you get into a Jewish household?" Haha they always asked how we came to know M and his wife and one guy even asked how we made it to this table haha. We explained that we were friends of M and we just do service at his mother’s house every week. Everyone was very nice and asked a lot of questions and it was just fun. It felt like if I had been with the Boerios for Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately all wasn't well for long. (Before I tell this story, know it ends well so read this willing to laugh.)  M's mother is 92 and bed ridden. They wanted to try and have her down at the table, so they asked us to help move her, which we did. The whole thing was an ordeal, mainly because she was really scared. "If you I fall I will die!" was the expression I heard most during this move. We got her from the bed to a chair to the chair lift to another chair to the table. That all went well, and she was content when she was at the table. I need to mention that she has severe dementia and can't remember things that well. So it came time when we needed to help take her back to her bed and because of the dementia she couldn't remember that we had made the trip down in the first place, so it was another scary ordeal for her. We got her to the chair lift and up the stairs when her head plopped down. She passed out and everyone freaked out. To paint this picture all you need to do is again imagine how an Italian family would react in this situation. Lots of "what do we do?" and "call 911." All very good questions and all things that were done correctly. The funny part is the convo of, "should we move her to her bed? That's where she wanted to be." At which point they turned to me and said "Jim, (they all called me Jim for some reason) what do we do?" How would I know haha I'm 20! I WANT to be a doctor, that doesn't mean I know how to yet! Haha so we decided to put her back in her bed at which point I picked her up and ran her to her bed where she regained consciousness and color. The paramedics came and they decided to take her to the hospital. She is fine now. She got a blood transfusion because her hemoglobin was low. After getting her to her bed, I left the room because I didn't need to be there and pretend to know something when I didn't. That's just dumb. So I sat downstairs with the nieces. Now talk about similar culture. I got the in-life version of the movie group of older women friends gossiping and talking about everything. Glorious. We helped clean lock up and then went off to our branch president's house. All in all, a very interesting day. We went and visited her the next day in the hospital and she was fine and surprisingly remembered us. It didn't last long, but it was good to see that she was well.

This Saturday is the concert I'm singing in. I believe it's at the mall again.