Greetings from Henderson! Yep, that's where I'm at. I was rather relieved that that's where they landed me. So don't worry, I'm not in the ghetto on East side or down burning in Arizona. As a matter of fact every time we drive down the beltway I can see Redrock and the mall, so I'm not too far away from home!
First week was alright, I'm not going to lie. They teamed me up with a fellow named Elder Holt. He's been out for near 23 months, so this is his last transfer. He knows what he is doing, and he and I get along just fine. He's going to be going to Utah State and doing the ROTC there, so I was able to relate to that. But the first night was spent cleaning the apartment, and it needed cleaning. I did all the dishes by hand (the dishwasher seemed a little shaky), and cleaned the sink and counters as well.
In terms of actual proselyting, Holt and I do a lot of street contacting in-between appointments. I actually street contacted this one lady living in some lower-down apartments named Brenda and we helped her bring her coffee table inside. We set a date to get back to her, and I was feeling pretty excited about it! Until we met her husband. When we visited back there, the apartment smelled like a smoker's corner, and Mr. Koch (those were their names), went on a religious rant against just about everybody. Fortunately he never turned on the LDS church, but the spirit was far from present, and he and Brenda lighting up a couple more smokes didn't help either. So after letting all his philosophies out, we left. I was polite enough to at least thank him for his service in the Marine Corps, but we decided it best to drop them. Bummer.
So that was my first teaching experience! Fortunately we had a referral named (get this) Dave Matthews. We thought it was a prank. But lo and behold, his wife answered very friend-lily, and we set a return date. There's also another investigator who's been being taught for years about now, and he was once a news broadcaster. So I had the chance to talk to him, and he and I also share a taste for Roman history too!
The members are awesome as well! They've been feeding us good and are very hospitable. I'll have to send some pictures or something like that later.
I don't really need anything right now, but nerf guns are allowed, surprisingly. Harmonica's aren't. I'll let you know if I need one of mine sent over here, but other than that I can't think of anything.
Anyhow, thanks for all your prayers, and just remember that I'm not too far from home now! Remember that I love you all and that the Lord will help us through tough times!
Take care!
Michael
Hey Dad,
Well, that's a bit of a bummer to see what had killed the mower. Doesn't really surprise me, it was being pulled by the cords for a little bit when the bolt connecting the mower to the hitch fell off.
P-days are Mondays over here. So it was an awful nice change to the average Monday feel. First week was challenging in the sense of adapting to mission life, but it wasn't too hard. In fact, I felt more evolved having a set wake up call and exercising. Our apartment complex has a member gym, so it provides most of the equipment. But if you haven't learned from Mom's email, we don't use our bikes. We are given a mission car, a well-functioning Corolla. The apartments we stay at are also at the apex of a very gradual mile-long slope, so biking up and down it daily in the blistering sun would be a bear. Not that it's impossible, but when you have the car, why not use it?
We cover two wards here, so that means about 6-7 hours of church ever Sunday! But after a hectic week, church seems pretty nice if I'm honest.
But yeah, I've come to try to rely on the spirit more often now that I'm out here. First week proselyting was nice, I talked to people very normally actually! But I've also gotten around to feel the spirit when I'm serving someone else, and also after rejection. The latter aspect serves as a nice comfort, although I'm not having any troubles taking things personally. But I've felt pretty spiritually uplifted this past week. Knowing that the Lord will bless me for my service kind of makes me want to serve more!
Anyway, have fun at the reunion! It guess it will be different without me there, but don't let that slow you guys down! Enjoy the water there too, Henderson is pretty much the same temp as Summerlin, but Missionary Uniform adds just a little more weight to it.
Take care!
Well, that's a bit of a bummer to see what had killed the mower. Doesn't really surprise me, it was being pulled by the cords for a little bit when the bolt connecting the mower to the hitch fell off.
P-days are Mondays over here. So it was an awful nice change to the average Monday feel. First week was challenging in the sense of adapting to mission life, but it wasn't too hard. In fact, I felt more evolved having a set wake up call and exercising. Our apartment complex has a member gym, so it provides most of the equipment. But if you haven't learned from Mom's email, we don't use our bikes. We are given a mission car, a well-functioning Corolla. The apartments we stay at are also at the apex of a very gradual mile-long slope, so biking up and down it daily in the blistering sun would be a bear. Not that it's impossible, but when you have the car, why not use it?
We cover two wards here, so that means about 6-7 hours of church ever Sunday! But after a hectic week, church seems pretty nice if I'm honest.
But yeah, I've come to try to rely on the spirit more often now that I'm out here. First week proselyting was nice, I talked to people very normally actually! But I've also gotten around to feel the spirit when I'm serving someone else, and also after rejection. The latter aspect serves as a nice comfort, although I'm not having any troubles taking things personally. But I've felt pretty spiritually uplifted this past week. Knowing that the Lord will bless me for my service kind of makes me want to serve more!
Anyway, have fun at the reunion! It guess it will be different without me there, but don't let that slow you guys down! Enjoy the water there too, Henderson is pretty much the same temp as Summerlin, but Missionary Uniform adds just a little more weight to it.
Still, could be hotter!
Take care!
Michael
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