It's so cold here! It got down to -1, and with the NY humidity and windchill it's been one of the coldest experiences of my life. Good thing I have a scarf, hat, coat, and gloves! I also found that I can wear my fighting wraps underneath my gloves and be even warmer. It's pretty sweet, but it's still deathly cold! We're still out doing good work, though.
I also translated in Sacrament Meeting for the first time! It was really cool. The Stake speakers didn't speak Spanish, and the people they were asking to translate for them weren't confident enough in their English to be able to translate effectively. Then they asked me, and I was like 'well, I haven't done it before, and I might butcher it, but it'd be great practice.' So, I did it. I think one thing that's changed about me is that I'm a lot more willing to take a chance and make a mistake, and that making mistakes (including in front of a lot of people) don't bother me nearly as much as they used to. My first little bit was shaky, because I was so nervous, but after a few minutes I started getting into my rhythm, and I started doing a lot better. The first guy went over by five minutes or so, so we skipped the intermediate hymn and went straight to the next speaker. I was doing pretty well with that one, until he pulled out a scripture. I was like 'oh, shoot!' Scriptures use an older form of language that I still haven't gotten the hang of. I did my best to translate it, and it worked, but it was a bit of a curveball. Overall, though, I feel like I did well for my first time. It was fun, and I definitely want to do it again.
Glad to hear that Spencer's doing well in choir and starting to drive. The Utah drive is a milestone :)
We also just got transfer calls. Elder Cintrón is moving to a different apartment, and we're both getting new companions. I wanted one more with him, but that's ok. They're also splitting our district into English and Spanish, so I might get called as a district leader again. We'll see. President Reynolds told me I have more leadership callings in my future, so the question is only which ones, and when.
Sounds like you all have a wild week. I'm glad uncle Matt had a good funeral. That dream the Stake President had is pretty profound stuff, and from what I've learned about the Spirit World, uncle Matt will have some good work ahead of him, and he's where the Lord needs him most.
Honestly, I don't have a whole lot to report other than that. It's been harder to meet with people now that it's cold, but there have been a few less actives we've visited who were nice enough to let us in and serve us some herbal tea and cultural breads while we work out how to help them get to church. I also love hot chocolate. I'm still finishing up the hot cocoa from Christmas, but it'll be time to buy some more pretty soon. I usually drink a mug and do a little brain puzzle like Sudoku or one of those 'Sherlock Holmes' puzzles I told you about last week to wake me up in the mornings. It works pretty well :) We also found an Asian market nearby with decent prices. I'm going to shop there a lot more, but I want some traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean recipes to try out. Some different ways to cook meat and vegetables, and some soups would be good. I also have a blender in this area, so I think it's high time I made some malts.
Well, we're going to play some volleyball soon, and I've still got to write Brittany and Kaitlyn, so I'm going to sign off here :)
All my love,
Elder Richard Brandt Hull
I also translated in Sacrament Meeting for the first time! It was really cool. The Stake speakers didn't speak Spanish, and the people they were asking to translate for them weren't confident enough in their English to be able to translate effectively. Then they asked me, and I was like 'well, I haven't done it before, and I might butcher it, but it'd be great practice.' So, I did it. I think one thing that's changed about me is that I'm a lot more willing to take a chance and make a mistake, and that making mistakes (including in front of a lot of people) don't bother me nearly as much as they used to. My first little bit was shaky, because I was so nervous, but after a few minutes I started getting into my rhythm, and I started doing a lot better. The first guy went over by five minutes or so, so we skipped the intermediate hymn and went straight to the next speaker. I was doing pretty well with that one, until he pulled out a scripture. I was like 'oh, shoot!' Scriptures use an older form of language that I still haven't gotten the hang of. I did my best to translate it, and it worked, but it was a bit of a curveball. Overall, though, I feel like I did well for my first time. It was fun, and I definitely want to do it again.
Glad to hear that Spencer's doing well in choir and starting to drive. The Utah drive is a milestone :)
We also just got transfer calls. Elder Cintrón is moving to a different apartment, and we're both getting new companions. I wanted one more with him, but that's ok. They're also splitting our district into English and Spanish, so I might get called as a district leader again. We'll see. President Reynolds told me I have more leadership callings in my future, so the question is only which ones, and when.
Sounds like you all have a wild week. I'm glad uncle Matt had a good funeral. That dream the Stake President had is pretty profound stuff, and from what I've learned about the Spirit World, uncle Matt will have some good work ahead of him, and he's where the Lord needs him most.
Honestly, I don't have a whole lot to report other than that. It's been harder to meet with people now that it's cold, but there have been a few less actives we've visited who were nice enough to let us in and serve us some herbal tea and cultural breads while we work out how to help them get to church. I also love hot chocolate. I'm still finishing up the hot cocoa from Christmas, but it'll be time to buy some more pretty soon. I usually drink a mug and do a little brain puzzle like Sudoku or one of those 'Sherlock Holmes' puzzles I told you about last week to wake me up in the mornings. It works pretty well :) We also found an Asian market nearby with decent prices. I'm going to shop there a lot more, but I want some traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean recipes to try out. Some different ways to cook meat and vegetables, and some soups would be good. I also have a blender in this area, so I think it's high time I made some malts.
Well, we're going to play some volleyball soon, and I've still got to write Brittany and Kaitlyn, so I'm going to sign off here :)
All my love,
Elder Richard Brandt Hull