Oh, wow! Things have been a blur this past week! We got up at three last Monday, boarded a charter bus, and set off for the airport. At the airport, we got a chance to call, but everyone else got to call, and call for an hour long, so I resolved to call in Detroit. Our first flight from Salt Lake to Detroit was pretty smooth. I got a little sleep, and overall had an enjoyable time.
I didn't have the chance to talk to any non members, because I was sandwiched between two of the 19 missionaries we were traveling with. When we pulled into Detroit, we found out that our flight to NY was cancelled due to weather. We were in a pickle. No more flights would be going out that day. Fortunately, the mom of one of the missionaries in our party had sent him a small, pre-paid phone (she said she had felt prompted to do so, and boy was she). We called President Calderwood, and worked out a hotel for the night, and a flight the next morning.
We arrived in NY the next day safe and sound (we were rushing and worrying too much to call), and lickedy-split, we got put into our new companionships. My trainer is Elder Ruiz, from Orem, originally Chihuahua Mexico. He started his mission in Reno, Nevada, but had to go home to work out some things. Anyway, he's here now, and I couldn't have asked for a better trainer. I'm in Bushwick. The ghetto of NY. To be perfectly honest, I'm sketched out here at least once a day. It makes me appreciate my mom and dad, and how lucky I have been. Honestly, though, this place is starting to grow on me. There's a lot of people here who are hurting, and don't know how to make it stop, and that's a huge part of why I'm here. I have a testimony that I have been called here for a specific reason.
All those times mom got me to practice piano by saying that I'd get sent to Mongolia, where nobody plays piano, were actually prophetic. The Bushwick 2nd branch hasn't had a pianist in forever, so guess who plays the hymns in sacrament meeting?
We've already got a golden investigator. He kept bumping into the missionaries in Seattle, and now he's ready to make the change. Hopefully, I'll have a baptism to report here in a week or two. Also, I've given two blessings to the sick while I've been here. Sister Keele, one of the sister missionaries in our district, was pretty sick, so I got to anoint her. It was so cool to be using the Melchezideck priesthood. The other was to a sister who was confined to her house because of her cancer. We went over to give her the sacrament, and she asked for a blessing, and we obliged.
The trains here are fun. I love riding the metro and the subway. We've met and talked to quite a few people on the trains. Our biggest source of new investigators are free Ingles classes at the church. Yeah. I teach English :D
My Spanish is improving. Understanding the natives is hard for me, but I have great faith and patience with myself and the Lord. I'm plenty warm, and I've got plenty of food. Despite their rough exterior, the people here are really nice.
With all my love,
Elder Richard Brandt Hull
I didn't have the chance to talk to any non members, because I was sandwiched between two of the 19 missionaries we were traveling with. When we pulled into Detroit, we found out that our flight to NY was cancelled due to weather. We were in a pickle. No more flights would be going out that day. Fortunately, the mom of one of the missionaries in our party had sent him a small, pre-paid phone (she said she had felt prompted to do so, and boy was she). We called President Calderwood, and worked out a hotel for the night, and a flight the next morning.
We arrived in NY the next day safe and sound (we were rushing and worrying too much to call), and lickedy-split, we got put into our new companionships. My trainer is Elder Ruiz, from Orem, originally Chihuahua Mexico. He started his mission in Reno, Nevada, but had to go home to work out some things. Anyway, he's here now, and I couldn't have asked for a better trainer. I'm in Bushwick. The ghetto of NY. To be perfectly honest, I'm sketched out here at least once a day. It makes me appreciate my mom and dad, and how lucky I have been. Honestly, though, this place is starting to grow on me. There's a lot of people here who are hurting, and don't know how to make it stop, and that's a huge part of why I'm here. I have a testimony that I have been called here for a specific reason.
All those times mom got me to practice piano by saying that I'd get sent to Mongolia, where nobody plays piano, were actually prophetic. The Bushwick 2nd branch hasn't had a pianist in forever, so guess who plays the hymns in sacrament meeting?
We've already got a golden investigator. He kept bumping into the missionaries in Seattle, and now he's ready to make the change. Hopefully, I'll have a baptism to report here in a week or two. Also, I've given two blessings to the sick while I've been here. Sister Keele, one of the sister missionaries in our district, was pretty sick, so I got to anoint her. It was so cool to be using the Melchezideck priesthood. The other was to a sister who was confined to her house because of her cancer. We went over to give her the sacrament, and she asked for a blessing, and we obliged.
The trains here are fun. I love riding the metro and the subway. We've met and talked to quite a few people on the trains. Our biggest source of new investigators are free Ingles classes at the church. Yeah. I teach English :D
My Spanish is improving. Understanding the natives is hard for me, but I have great faith and patience with myself and the Lord. I'm plenty warm, and I've got plenty of food. Despite their rough exterior, the people here are really nice.
With all my love,
Elder Richard Brandt Hull