September 1, 2014

New York drivers are crazy!  On Tuesday we were in a traffic jam and people were goin' nuts! (He says this with a British accent).  There was grass off of the shoulder of the road and there were people lined up on the shoulder of the road getting off the freeway.  Some were using the freeway entrances to exit.  Some were driving on the grass to get off.  I'm glad I'm not the one who has to drive.

My companion, Elder Byrd, is a nice companion and trainer.  This week we met with A. and J.  (full names will not be given on this blog to keep their privacy).  They are long time investigators who I think are super close to wanting to be baptized.  They had been taught the lessons already, but they had a lot of questions, so we answered them and they said that it is a lot clearer now that they have been taught more simply.  We also have been reading the Book of Mormon with the T. family.  They are recent converts and are really nice people.  I also gave a talk in sacrament meeting which was traumatic for me.

There are a lot of different religions in our small area and a church on almost every other block so every neighborhood has a specific religion that lives in the area.  Our house apparently is in a mostly Muslim and Hindi area.  This week was mainly another week of knocking doors, being called names, and being yelled at.  One funny thing that comes up is the Book of Mormon broadway musical.  They always ask us if we don't see it because it is offensive.  They also think that is how we are, so I'm glad the movie "Meet the Mormons" is coming out soon.  If people go see it they might understand that the members of the church are normal people.

On a good note though, I got to dedicate my first apartment the other day.  My hand is doing better too, after I popped the blister playing volleyball.  A lot of people this week have asked me how old I am and apparently I look like I'm 13.  I'm not sure if I should take it as a compliment or something that I need to pay attention to because it seems like they don't take me as seriously when they find out that I'm 18.  Another thing is that they seem a little underwhelmed and disappointed when I say I'm from Utah.  One cool thing is that one of the main Joe Camel and mucinex artists is a member in the ward.  He's pretty cool and has a lot of cool stories.