This week Elder Hull was able to respond to a few family emails; however, his general blog update never arrived. We found out later that the wifi was not working in or near his apartment!
His response to the picture sent to him at the left and his answers to a few of our questions are posted below:
"We also stole......... THE STATUE OF LIBERTY!!!!!!... the small one from Las Vegas. And THE EIFEL TOWER!!... also Vegas."
It's so fun hearing about your trip! I'm so glad you guys got the chance to go. The m&m factory sounds pretty cool. As far as the tennis shoes go, from what I understand, gangs throw a pair of tennis shoes on telephone/electrical wires to mark the spot where one of their gang members died. Think about it- they can't really put up a little monument saying 'so-and-so was shot here,' because it would get removed pretty quick, and people don't like gangs, but that guy was still their friend, so they mark it in their own way. I think I've reported this before, but Bushwick used to be super dangerous at night, and the subways (particularly in the Brooklyn area) were pretty rough too. What's happening right now, though, is there's a gentrification of Brooklyn, so you see a lot of renovations and new apartment buildings. That, and a lot of hipsters moving in, has displaced an awful lot of the troublemakers. Now, it's still best to be off the streets by 10:00, especially if you're white, but it's still a whole lot safer. We're supposed to be home by 9:00, anyway, and so I haven't seen or heard anything.
Brady sounds adorable. How much is he talking, nowadays? It's also great to hear about the Littles. There is a Sister we take the sacrament to every Sunday who has cancer, whose faith and testimony were strengthened from uncle Matt's story. That lady is absolutely inspiring! Even though she's suffering, and some days can't even walk, every Sunday she takes her two kids to church. Every Sunday, even though she's always too late for the sacrament. She is utterly astounding.
His response to the picture sent to him at the left and his answers to a few of our questions are posted below:
"We also stole......... THE STATUE OF LIBERTY!!!!!!... the small one from Las Vegas. And THE EIFEL TOWER!!... also Vegas."
It's so fun hearing about your trip! I'm so glad you guys got the chance to go. The m&m factory sounds pretty cool. As far as the tennis shoes go, from what I understand, gangs throw a pair of tennis shoes on telephone/electrical wires to mark the spot where one of their gang members died. Think about it- they can't really put up a little monument saying 'so-and-so was shot here,' because it would get removed pretty quick, and people don't like gangs, but that guy was still their friend, so they mark it in their own way. I think I've reported this before, but Bushwick used to be super dangerous at night, and the subways (particularly in the Brooklyn area) were pretty rough too. What's happening right now, though, is there's a gentrification of Brooklyn, so you see a lot of renovations and new apartment buildings. That, and a lot of hipsters moving in, has displaced an awful lot of the troublemakers. Now, it's still best to be off the streets by 10:00, especially if you're white, but it's still a whole lot safer. We're supposed to be home by 9:00, anyway, and so I haven't seen or heard anything.
Brady sounds adorable. How much is he talking, nowadays? It's also great to hear about the Littles. There is a Sister we take the sacrament to every Sunday who has cancer, whose faith and testimony were strengthened from uncle Matt's story. That lady is absolutely inspiring! Even though she's suffering, and some days can't even walk, every Sunday she takes her two kids to church. Every Sunday, even though she's always too late for the sacrament. She is utterly astounding.