Dear Family,
So a quick update on the weather here. It has gotten really cold in the last couple of days. It is pretty interesting on a bike with all of the wind and the cold. It snows on and off but nothing really ever makes it to the ground and it is all pretty mild so far. The wind is pretty biting and sometimes it makes it pretty difficult to ride bikes but that hasn't really stopped us from getting anything done. We just keep riding no matter what the conditions are or what part of town that we are in.
The other day we had a english speaking lady tell us that we shouldn't go to certain parts of town because the were to dangerous. I kinda started to laugh and told her that she just told us to stay out of the areas were we spend 90% of our time. I told her that that is where all of the hispanics are and that we would be fine. She then told us the bike route that we should take home to avoid a supposedly dangerous street; it added about 2 miles if we would have taken it so we just went home the normal way. It was kinda funny to think about how crazy that lady was and even though syhe was really nice she didn't seem to know anything about the hispanic part of town and was trying to avoid it as much as possible. I can understand not going to some of those parts of town at night if you are a woman by yourself but this lady was pretty ridiculous. Maybe we need to step outside of our comfort zone a little and try to understand the other people's side before making judgments. It goes the same for hispanics; lots of them have horrible stereotypes of white people and they don't really want to change them at all. We talk to a guy on the train yesterday from La Ciudad de Mexico and he said that he was kind of ashamed at the hispanics here that refuse to learn english. I just think that it is kinda sad that people don't want to learn about other people and their culture.
Anyways, so the story of my foot. First off I will answer a couple questions I am sure some people have: 1 Yes it was the same left foot that every other accident has happen 2 No I was not wearing anything on my feet because I was in my apartment. Ok so it happened this past friday. One of the elders in my apartment had recently bought a root beer is a glass bottle. He had placed it is the fridge to cool down. I had just finished lunch and went to open the fridge to get the pitcher of water and when I opened the fridge the soda fell out of the fridge and broke on top of my foot. It gave me a good long gash out 2 inches. I of course remained calm and hopped to the bathroom and washed it out in the bathtub. There was a decient amount of blood but not anything super huge. So then I wrapped it up and the english elders to us to the hospital( Robert Wood Johnson). We spent about 3 hours there and the stitched me up and sent me on my way. We went home and I jumped on my bike and we got off to our next appointment. So I have 9 stitches on the top of my left foot and it is not slowing me down at all. The first couple days I limped because I didn't want to bend my foot but now everything is fine. All of the members in our branch have given me advice on what I should do to make it heal quickly. I am not sure if everything they have told me is legal to do in the US. One member gave me 4 600mg penicillin pills from when she had a c-section (I am not going to use those). I actually didn't take any drugs except advil that night. It was all a every painless process.
So everything is good here out in the east. A little cold but really fun. We have tamales waiting for us back at our apartment, so we are going to go cook those. One of our investigators gave them to us so I am very excited. \
Love,
Elder Haslam
PS Mom, I really am fine. I tried to convince Sis Winegar to not call you but that did not work. I am perfectly fine and you don't need to worry. This is really just a minor injury, you have seen much worse.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Just a Quick Note
Dear Family,
So today is going to be a really busy day so this email is going to have to be a pretty quick one.
So the news this week is that we are teaching a really cool lasy named Gabriela. She is from Honduras and she had requested a video from the church and we started teaching her because of that. We taught her about the restauracion and she was really amazed that some one had seen God and that there were preophets on the earth today. This happened about a month ago but then she disappeared and we could not get in contact with her for about two and a half weeks. So this past week we were finally able to talk to her again and when we were teaching her she told us that she knew what we were teaching was true and that she wanted to get baptized. I was really shocked when I heard her say that, because we hadn't taught her about baptism at all. The only thing that we had done was marked Mosiah 18 because she asked us what is our opinion on baptism. So she ended up reading the entire chapter and then marking a scripture in 3 Nefi 11 that says we must repent and be baptized. These lessons with her have been incredible. She is very excited to learn and she is willing to do anything to be baptized and be a member of God's kingdom. She is going to get baptized at the end of this month so we are working really hard to teach her everything and to get her ready. It has been a pretty amazing experience with her, and she was definitely prepared before we came along.
Well it is definitely getting really cold here. The high during the day yesterday 49 with a low of 29. So I have devised a system with my scarf and beanie so that no skin shows and only my eyes peak out. I also got the thermals yesterday(thank you very much Mom) so I think that those will help me a bunch while I am on my bike. We are also going to go to Burlington coat factory today and I am going to buy myself another scarf, another sweater, and some really thick socks. It rained at little bit earlier this week but fortunately it has been dry for the past couple of days. It is always pretty humid though with I really like. It does make the tempature feel more extreme but I definitely prefer this to the dry cold in Utah. The cold is kinda fun though because a lot of people call us crazy for riding our bikes but then it usually turns into a conversation about why we are here so it works to our advantage.
My spanish is coming along pretty well and I will try to send a tape off to today so that everyone can judge my progress in the language. I really love learning the different words that the different countries have for things. For example most hispanics call a bus a bus but Dominicans call a bus a wawa. Also mexicans use the work cambar instead of trabajar. It is also really fun to learn all of the words people have to say 'cool.' Just to name a few: chido, chevre, que heavy and there are a bunch more. And people all talk really differently especially people from Republica Dominica, Puerto Rico, and people from Honduras. It is fun to try to copy accents from different countries but I think that I prefer the Mexican accent because it is the most clear.
Other than that life is really good. Being a missionary is the best thing that I have ever done in my entire life. It is the funnest, hardest, coolest, most spiritual and overall best thing that I have ever had the opportunity to be involved in. Nothing has ever brought me more happiness and I am so excited because I know that I still have more time to work out here in New Jersey. Tal and Dallin, if anyone ever tells you a mission is not worth it (or asks to do something that would make you unworhtly to go) tell them that they are crazy and they do not have the foggiest idea of what it means to be a son of God. I know that Jameson and Dad will agree with me; just remember who you are and things our parents have taught us.
Thank you everyone for you letters and the things you send me. For the holiday season everything has to be sent to my New Brunswick address (10 Commercial), because the mission office cannot forward anything during the holiday season.
Love,
Elder Haslam
So today is going to be a really busy day so this email is going to have to be a pretty quick one.
So the news this week is that we are teaching a really cool lasy named Gabriela. She is from Honduras and she had requested a video from the church and we started teaching her because of that. We taught her about the restauracion and she was really amazed that some one had seen God and that there were preophets on the earth today. This happened about a month ago but then she disappeared and we could not get in contact with her for about two and a half weeks. So this past week we were finally able to talk to her again and when we were teaching her she told us that she knew what we were teaching was true and that she wanted to get baptized. I was really shocked when I heard her say that, because we hadn't taught her about baptism at all. The only thing that we had done was marked Mosiah 18 because she asked us what is our opinion on baptism. So she ended up reading the entire chapter and then marking a scripture in 3 Nefi 11 that says we must repent and be baptized. These lessons with her have been incredible. She is very excited to learn and she is willing to do anything to be baptized and be a member of God's kingdom. She is going to get baptized at the end of this month so we are working really hard to teach her everything and to get her ready. It has been a pretty amazing experience with her, and she was definitely prepared before we came along.
Well it is definitely getting really cold here. The high during the day yesterday 49 with a low of 29. So I have devised a system with my scarf and beanie so that no skin shows and only my eyes peak out. I also got the thermals yesterday(thank you very much Mom) so I think that those will help me a bunch while I am on my bike. We are also going to go to Burlington coat factory today and I am going to buy myself another scarf, another sweater, and some really thick socks. It rained at little bit earlier this week but fortunately it has been dry for the past couple of days. It is always pretty humid though with I really like. It does make the tempature feel more extreme but I definitely prefer this to the dry cold in Utah. The cold is kinda fun though because a lot of people call us crazy for riding our bikes but then it usually turns into a conversation about why we are here so it works to our advantage.
My spanish is coming along pretty well and I will try to send a tape off to today so that everyone can judge my progress in the language. I really love learning the different words that the different countries have for things. For example most hispanics call a bus a bus but Dominicans call a bus a wawa. Also mexicans use the work cambar instead of trabajar. It is also really fun to learn all of the words people have to say 'cool.' Just to name a few: chido, chevre, que heavy and there are a bunch more. And people all talk really differently especially people from Republica Dominica, Puerto Rico, and people from Honduras. It is fun to try to copy accents from different countries but I think that I prefer the Mexican accent because it is the most clear.
Other than that life is really good. Being a missionary is the best thing that I have ever done in my entire life. It is the funnest, hardest, coolest, most spiritual and overall best thing that I have ever had the opportunity to be involved in. Nothing has ever brought me more happiness and I am so excited because I know that I still have more time to work out here in New Jersey. Tal and Dallin, if anyone ever tells you a mission is not worth it (or asks to do something that would make you unworhtly to go) tell them that they are crazy and they do not have the foggiest idea of what it means to be a son of God. I know that Jameson and Dad will agree with me; just remember who you are and things our parents have taught us.
Thank you everyone for you letters and the things you send me. For the holiday season everything has to be sent to my New Brunswick address (10 Commercial), because the mission office cannot forward anything during the holiday season.
Love,
Elder Haslam
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Transfers and Snow
Dear Family,
Everything is well in New Jersey and I think that I will start off with the weather report. It snowed yesterday in New Brunswick and it stuck to the ground which was pretty suprising. It was really cold but fortunately we were not out in the cold much because people would let us in. It has been raining on and off for the past week but that still doesn't really stop us as we go out and try to teach people. We just put on a couple layers of clothes on and we are fine. Most people think that we are crazy for riding our bikes in the rain and snow but we don't really mind. More often than not in helps us get into to doors because people feel bad about us standing outside in the rain. I have not gotten sick or anything from being in the cold so we will just keep doing it. The closest I have gotten to being sick was the 30 min I spent in the bathroom a couple days ago. We had eaten at a member's house and she made us enchiladas whic were very good and very spicy. Needless to say the next morning I spent a little bit of time in the bathroom.
I do really love all of the food the members give us and I esspecially love beans. They are a key member of every meal and I really like them. One thing that I also tried which was very good which I was not expecting was cow tongue. A little lady from Nicaragua made it for us and it was really good. It was nice and tender and tasted like a very high quality steak. It was just cut into slices that were shaped as if they came from a loaf of bread. I really enjoyed it.
My companion got transfered and he is now going to be the zone leader of the spanish zone in the south. I am in the north spanish zone so I really dont know when I will be able to see him but that is okay. I really enjoyed being his companion and we had lots of fun together. We worked really hard and did lots of good work together. I really liked him so I hope that my new companion will be just has good. My new companion is from Gremany\Japan and was born in Utah. His name is Elder Johnson and everyone says that he is really a great guy so I am really excited for this upcoming transfer. I will keep everyone updated on how it goes.
As far as we are doing with teaching people things are going really well. We are teaching this man and is family and he says that the Book of Mormon has changed his life. It was really awesome to hear him say that and the only thing that is holding him back from being baptized is that he is not married. That is going to be a long proccess but we are going to work hard to try and get him to that point. We just need to make him realize that he needs to have faith and act. That is one of the main difficulties that we have here with the hispanics is getting them to commit to change their lives. But we will keep at them and try to make sure that they realize that they need to act.
The hispanics are really great people it is just hard some times to get them to commit to somehting concrete. They always say that they will but then more often than not they forget to do somehting or they just don't do it. I really love being in spanish work and I am excited for everything that we can do here in New Brunswick. I feel like I have something of an idea of what I am supposed to do so now I will just try to do it. That is pretty crazy that Bernie is getting married and that you got a TV. I am not really sure which one of those is more shocking but I think that I will have to go with the TV being more unexpected.
I hope everyone is doing well at home annd I will try to get a tape off to everyone this week.
Love,
Elder Haslam
PS Mom, you can send packages to my apartment just send them through USPS(government) so that I do not have to sign for the package.
Everything is well in New Jersey and I think that I will start off with the weather report. It snowed yesterday in New Brunswick and it stuck to the ground which was pretty suprising. It was really cold but fortunately we were not out in the cold much because people would let us in. It has been raining on and off for the past week but that still doesn't really stop us as we go out and try to teach people. We just put on a couple layers of clothes on and we are fine. Most people think that we are crazy for riding our bikes in the rain and snow but we don't really mind. More often than not in helps us get into to doors because people feel bad about us standing outside in the rain. I have not gotten sick or anything from being in the cold so we will just keep doing it. The closest I have gotten to being sick was the 30 min I spent in the bathroom a couple days ago. We had eaten at a member's house and she made us enchiladas whic were very good and very spicy. Needless to say the next morning I spent a little bit of time in the bathroom.
I do really love all of the food the members give us and I esspecially love beans. They are a key member of every meal and I really like them. One thing that I also tried which was very good which I was not expecting was cow tongue. A little lady from Nicaragua made it for us and it was really good. It was nice and tender and tasted like a very high quality steak. It was just cut into slices that were shaped as if they came from a loaf of bread. I really enjoyed it.
My companion got transfered and he is now going to be the zone leader of the spanish zone in the south. I am in the north spanish zone so I really dont know when I will be able to see him but that is okay. I really enjoyed being his companion and we had lots of fun together. We worked really hard and did lots of good work together. I really liked him so I hope that my new companion will be just has good. My new companion is from Gremany\Japan and was born in Utah. His name is Elder Johnson and everyone says that he is really a great guy so I am really excited for this upcoming transfer. I will keep everyone updated on how it goes.
As far as we are doing with teaching people things are going really well. We are teaching this man and is family and he says that the Book of Mormon has changed his life. It was really awesome to hear him say that and the only thing that is holding him back from being baptized is that he is not married. That is going to be a long proccess but we are going to work hard to try and get him to that point. We just need to make him realize that he needs to have faith and act. That is one of the main difficulties that we have here with the hispanics is getting them to commit to change their lives. But we will keep at them and try to make sure that they realize that they need to act.
The hispanics are really great people it is just hard some times to get them to commit to somehting concrete. They always say that they will but then more often than not they forget to do somehting or they just don't do it. I really love being in spanish work and I am excited for everything that we can do here in New Brunswick. I feel like I have something of an idea of what I am supposed to do so now I will just try to do it. That is pretty crazy that Bernie is getting married and that you got a TV. I am not really sure which one of those is more shocking but I think that I will have to go with the TV being more unexpected.
I hope everyone is doing well at home annd I will try to get a tape off to everyone this week.
Love,
Elder Haslam
PS Mom, you can send packages to my apartment just send them through USPS(government) so that I do not have to sign for the package.
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