Excerpts from Elder Hull's email to his Mom:
Glad to hear girls camp was such a huge success. It's so weird to see how much Madi's growing up in every picture. The color war sounds like it was pretty fun. I'm glad Madi was able to make more friends. She's such a great kid :)
I did get over my sick bit- like, the next day. I've still got the sniffles, though. We had a very hot week. I sweated through my hair gel! I'm also pretty sure that I got dehydrated. I'm not used to sweating out so much of my hydration, so I haven't been drinking as much water as I should. I fixed that pretty quickly, though, and drank a ton of water on Saturday. Other than that, not too much to report.
I get to see lots and lots of miracles here - too many to put in an email. I'm scrambling to write it all down! One of the interesting events of the past week was the Puerto Rican Independence Day celebrations yesterday and the day before. There were all these people wearing Puerto Rico flags as capes, and people kept driving around making literally the maximum noise they possibly could while waving flags out the windows of their car. It actually got super annoying. Anyway, last night they had their little parade, which we were too busy getting one of our investigators THIS close to baptism to see, and the festivities were continued late into the night. We were just going to bed, when we heard what sounded like a gunshot and some screams. Yeah, I'm thankful our curfew is 9:30. The same day (Sunday), one of our investigators rescheduled for 8, so we went around and couldn’t find anyone to teach. We went to a member's house, but they weren't home. Around that time, we were super hungry, and as we left, we saw that their downstairs neighbors were having a barbecue. We waved hi as we
started to leave, and they insisted that we sit down for a bit and eat. It was a little awkward at first, not knowing anyone, but a prayer on the food asking for blessings on the whole family put that to rest. We did what we call 'planting a seed,' which means that while we didn't get to talk too much about the gospel, we did get to present a great public face for the church, that hopefully other missionaries will harvest. We knew it was time to leave when the hookah came out. I hate smoking. Please, everyone in the world, don't do it. It's gross, disgusting, not smart, and annoys everyone around you. Don't smoke.
I'm happy to say that English class is really starting to light up. I'm doing a better and better job teaching every time. Sometimes it's a little wonky, because I'm still learning Spanish, but everyone
leaves the class having learned something. It's so great! We've had enough success to invite everyone of our students and some of our investigators, members, less actives, etc. to a pre-class class on making cheesecake! It's great!
So, yup. We're just keeping on trucking here in Bushwick. Prayers, letters, and gifts of food are always appreciated :D
There's these three little girls in one of the families we're teaching, and she reminds me a little of Madi when she was 6. Kids are one of my niches here in the mission, I've found. I just connect well with them, teach them in simple ways that they understand, and remember, and play with them. I love being with kids. They're just so sincere, so eager to learn. I can't wait to be a dad.
Well, I’ve got to run, but I love you.
Love,
Elder Richard Brandt Hull
Glad to hear girls camp was such a huge success. It's so weird to see how much Madi's growing up in every picture. The color war sounds like it was pretty fun. I'm glad Madi was able to make more friends. She's such a great kid :)
I did get over my sick bit- like, the next day. I've still got the sniffles, though. We had a very hot week. I sweated through my hair gel! I'm also pretty sure that I got dehydrated. I'm not used to sweating out so much of my hydration, so I haven't been drinking as much water as I should. I fixed that pretty quickly, though, and drank a ton of water on Saturday. Other than that, not too much to report.
I get to see lots and lots of miracles here - too many to put in an email. I'm scrambling to write it all down! One of the interesting events of the past week was the Puerto Rican Independence Day celebrations yesterday and the day before. There were all these people wearing Puerto Rico flags as capes, and people kept driving around making literally the maximum noise they possibly could while waving flags out the windows of their car. It actually got super annoying. Anyway, last night they had their little parade, which we were too busy getting one of our investigators THIS close to baptism to see, and the festivities were continued late into the night. We were just going to bed, when we heard what sounded like a gunshot and some screams. Yeah, I'm thankful our curfew is 9:30. The same day (Sunday), one of our investigators rescheduled for 8, so we went around and couldn’t find anyone to teach. We went to a member's house, but they weren't home. Around that time, we were super hungry, and as we left, we saw that their downstairs neighbors were having a barbecue. We waved hi as we
started to leave, and they insisted that we sit down for a bit and eat. It was a little awkward at first, not knowing anyone, but a prayer on the food asking for blessings on the whole family put that to rest. We did what we call 'planting a seed,' which means that while we didn't get to talk too much about the gospel, we did get to present a great public face for the church, that hopefully other missionaries will harvest. We knew it was time to leave when the hookah came out. I hate smoking. Please, everyone in the world, don't do it. It's gross, disgusting, not smart, and annoys everyone around you. Don't smoke.
I'm happy to say that English class is really starting to light up. I'm doing a better and better job teaching every time. Sometimes it's a little wonky, because I'm still learning Spanish, but everyone
leaves the class having learned something. It's so great! We've had enough success to invite everyone of our students and some of our investigators, members, less actives, etc. to a pre-class class on making cheesecake! It's great!
So, yup. We're just keeping on trucking here in Bushwick. Prayers, letters, and gifts of food are always appreciated :D
There's these three little girls in one of the families we're teaching, and she reminds me a little of Madi when she was 6. Kids are one of my niches here in the mission, I've found. I just connect well with them, teach them in simple ways that they understand, and remember, and play with them. I love being with kids. They're just so sincere, so eager to learn. I can't wait to be a dad.
Well, I’ve got to run, but I love you.
Love,
Elder Richard Brandt Hull