Dear Family,
So it finally snowed a good amount here. We got a couple inches last night, so when we woke up this morning a blanket of white covered the ground. The snow here is a lot different that the the snow in Utah that I am used to. It is much wetter here and so a majority of the snow just turns into ice in a couple hours of being outside. All of the roads are covered in slush so we will see how that affects our bicycle riding. It should be pretty fun.
Thanks for all of the emails and the large slab of chocolate. It am not sure how long it will take me to get through all of that sugar but I think will the help of my companion and the other elders in our apartment it should be gone in about a week.
This past week has been a really good week. My companion and I have really changed how we are working and we are trying to have the members help us out much more in the missionary work. We want the members to be more involved in finding and teaching people so we have been trying lots of ideas to get them involved in the work. My companion and I actaully taught the lesson in priesthood this past sunday about what the members can do to share the gospel. It was really cool and we tried to change their perception of what is success in missionary work. We talked mainly about how trying to share the gospel and inviting your friends to learn is success and tried to shift away the perception that baptism is the only way to measure success. It went really well. Our high councilman in our branch asked us to do that part of the lesson because he was supposed to teach the entire thing and he barely speaks any Spanish. He is actually from Puerto Rico but he moved here when he was very young and he knows next to no Spanish. We have actually been working with him a lot and he is really happy to be in the branch so that he can improve his Spanish.
The missionary work is coming along well. We have been teaching this lady named Dina Ventura and she is very close to being baptized. She is actually the wife of the second counselor in our branch presidency. She is a really nice Dominican lady and she comes to church every week and all of the branch activities. When ever we try to talk about baptism with her she always just says that she is not ready and that if she is going to be baptized she wants to be sure that this church is true. I am pretty sure that she knows that it is true she is just having trouble connecting all of the pieces in her mind. We have been working really hard for her and this past Monday we had a lesson where we told her that we were going to baptize her on the 8th of Feb. I then asked her if she would prepare herself for that date and she did say that she was not positive but that she would pray about that specific date. We had focused a mjority of that lesson on what it means to have faith and works. We read in the James about how he says that we should demonstrate of faith by our works. We also talked about making decisions and then asking God if our decision is right rather than asking Him to make our decisions for us. It was a really good lesson and then at the end her husband gave a very amazing pray and asked that his wife would be able to be baptized on the 8th. I really love her husband and I can tell that it is really hard for him to hear his wife say that she is not sure about the church. Almost every lesson we have with them he bears his testimony about baptism, the temple. and eternal families. I can see the love that he has for his wife and I can also feel how much he longs to be able to go to the temple with her. i wish I could do more to help them both but at this point it is completely up to her. My companion and I are going to fast this Friday for their family. She will get baptized soon, I am confident.
Missionary work is a really get thing and I really love being our here on my mission. I love being able to serve the people around me and to serve our Lord. We have really been trying to serve the members here more and we actually helped a family here switch out all of their furniture yesterday. It was just three of us ; me, my companion, and Hermano Henry. He is a really big guy for the Dominican Republic. He is about 6'5" and around 300 lbs. He is a really nice guy and a ton of fun to be around. It was pretty funny moving everything around in their house. The funniest part was that they bought a queen size mattress and it would not fit in their stairs to get it to the second floor. We actually had to basically fold the mattress in half and then shove it through the stair opening. It took us about 30 min to get is up the stairs with lots of laughing, sweating and a few cuss words thrown in. The entire time he was impersonating his wife about how she convinced him that they needed a big mattress. It was a bunch of fun and they really needed the help.
I really love Camden and everyone that is here. It is pretty cold and wet but that does that keep us from going outside. Thanks again for everything that you guys do for me. For the letters and for the prayers.
Love,
Elder Haslam
PS another great thing about Dominicans is that they love baseball. It is fun to talk to them about it and I hope that when the season starts up we will be able to go to some games with the members at Campbell's field. We will see what president says.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Transfer
Dear Family,
So this transfer has ended and for the first time I will be experiencing no change in my companion. I am really excited to be able to stay with Elder Rhoton for another transfer here in Camden. He is a really great guy and we get along really well so hopefully we will be able to keep it up for this next transfer and have some success.
This past transfer was quite a bit different from the others. I am not really quite sure if it was the cold, Camden, or being senior companion and district leader. I am sure that it was a combination of all of those put together. When the transfer started off I was really excited to be down here in Camden and really nervous to be senior companion. I kinda felt like I was not up to the task that I had been given. It really helped to have Elder Rhoton as a companion especially because he really likes to work and I didn't have to worry about him. It has been pretty overwhelming at points trying to communicate with people esspecially because my Spanish was not at the point I thought it should be to be senior companion. But fortunately through everything I learned fast enough just to keep my head above water. I have definitely learned a lot but I must say that I still don't quite feel I am at where I should be. I have been actually thinking about this a good amount, mainly just what I can do to be a better missionary, and I read a talk that really helped me out. It is in the last conference called "Lift where you stand" given by President Uchtdorf. It was really good about how what we need to do in our callings as church members. It talks about how everything that we are doing will help us become like our God and that our callings are for us. So we should work our hardest in the callings that we have; we should not shirk our responsibilities and not say if we had a 'higher' calling we would be able to do a better job at that. That talk by President Uchtdorf and the another talk by President Eyring (o ye that embark) have really helped me out alot.
All in all this past transfer has been a really good growing experience for me. I don't think that I have master what I need to do but I think that at least now I have a better idea of what needs to be done to be a good missionary and to work hard. So this next transfer should be a really good transfer and even though I am going into it with the same kinds of feelings that I had last transfer I hope that I can do better.
In other news it is cold, windy, and icy. But that is to be expected in New Jersey in the middle of January. I am staying plenty warm though and I don't really need anything else. Thanks to everyone for the letters and Mom, a large box of wheat thins or cheezits or gold fish sounds really good. Other that that I am all set. I feel that I understand how to combat the cold and it really doesn't bother me anymore, but I will be happy when spring rolls around. I will then have to learn how to deal with the hot humid summer so then it will be another adventure.
That is pretty much all of the news from Camden this week. I hope that everyone is doing well and that you are enjoying those harsh Southern Californian winters.
Love,
Elder Haslam
So this transfer has ended and for the first time I will be experiencing no change in my companion. I am really excited to be able to stay with Elder Rhoton for another transfer here in Camden. He is a really great guy and we get along really well so hopefully we will be able to keep it up for this next transfer and have some success.
This past transfer was quite a bit different from the others. I am not really quite sure if it was the cold, Camden, or being senior companion and district leader. I am sure that it was a combination of all of those put together. When the transfer started off I was really excited to be down here in Camden and really nervous to be senior companion. I kinda felt like I was not up to the task that I had been given. It really helped to have Elder Rhoton as a companion especially because he really likes to work and I didn't have to worry about him. It has been pretty overwhelming at points trying to communicate with people esspecially because my Spanish was not at the point I thought it should be to be senior companion. But fortunately through everything I learned fast enough just to keep my head above water. I have definitely learned a lot but I must say that I still don't quite feel I am at where I should be. I have been actually thinking about this a good amount, mainly just what I can do to be a better missionary, and I read a talk that really helped me out. It is in the last conference called "Lift where you stand" given by President Uchtdorf. It was really good about how what we need to do in our callings as church members. It talks about how everything that we are doing will help us become like our God and that our callings are for us. So we should work our hardest in the callings that we have; we should not shirk our responsibilities and not say if we had a 'higher' calling we would be able to do a better job at that. That talk by President Uchtdorf and the another talk by President Eyring (o ye that embark) have really helped me out alot.
All in all this past transfer has been a really good growing experience for me. I don't think that I have master what I need to do but I think that at least now I have a better idea of what needs to be done to be a good missionary and to work hard. So this next transfer should be a really good transfer and even though I am going into it with the same kinds of feelings that I had last transfer I hope that I can do better.
In other news it is cold, windy, and icy. But that is to be expected in New Jersey in the middle of January. I am staying plenty warm though and I don't really need anything else. Thanks to everyone for the letters and Mom, a large box of wheat thins or cheezits or gold fish sounds really good. Other that that I am all set. I feel that I understand how to combat the cold and it really doesn't bother me anymore, but I will be happy when spring rolls around. I will then have to learn how to deal with the hot humid summer so then it will be another adventure.
That is pretty much all of the news from Camden this week. I hope that everyone is doing well and that you are enjoying those harsh Southern Californian winters.
Love,
Elder Haslam
It is Cold!
Dear Family,
So quick recap on the weather: it is really cold. Average for today is 22 with the chill factor at 11(humidity and wind) and tomorrow is supposed to be in the mid teens with a single digit chill factor. But we will just keep keeping on and hopefully people will let us into their house so that we do not turn into ice cubes. There is one sister in me district that I am afraid she might die in the next couple days with the cold. She is from Hawaii and I have never seen her without a huge parka on, even when we are inside she never takes it off because she always says that she is cold. The cold really hasn't bothered me at all but I am a little afraid of what the weather has in store for us for the rest of the week.
So President called us last night to tell us about transfers next week and Elder Rhoton and I will be staying together for another transfer which I am really happy about. He is was fun and I am sure that we have a lot of success in store for us this coming transfer. I was going to be really sad if we got broken up but it looks like we will be able to stay together for at least one transfer more.
I got the tape and the letters from everyone, thanks a bunch. It really picked me up after a pretty hard day. The only thing that is hard about being Elder Rhoton's companion is that he gets a ton of mail. A package a week and at least a letter every other day. It does kinda start to get old, but your letters really helped me out. The only person that writes besides you family is Janelle Cab. so you can always suggest to others my mail address.
But I will stop being pathetic and tel you some of the cool things that happened to us this week. We have tried to find a lot of new people this past week. So we went around to a lot of different houses and to different streets trying to talk to people. One of the funny things that happens when we knock on a door is that people usually ask us if we are afraid to walk around outside on their street. There are some pretty bad places in Camden but I am not afraid to walk anyway during the day with Elder Rhoton; so we usually tell the people we are not afraid and then tell them we are missionaries and the then tell us we are crazy. It always makes me laugh when people tell us how dangerous their street it for two reasons. The first reason is that everyone seems to think that they live on the most dangerous street in Camden and the second reason is that everyone tells we are crazy for walking on their street but they are the ones that live on it. Maybe they just never go outside(which is true for lots of people). I just think that it is funny that people tell us to avoid all of these parts of town but those places turn out to be some of the places where people are most willing to talk to us.
The work is going really well. We have about three people that are really close to baptism and we are hoping that it will happen in the next month. All of them are Dominicans and so we are going to try to have a big Dominican party (family night) where we get all of the Dominicans from the branch together and all of our Dominican investigators with them. We are hoping that will make some strong ties in the branch. I really like all of the dominicans in our branch and I like dominican people in general a whole lot. It is fun to talk to them because they have a really cool accent and they all love baseball. They are really fun people to be with.
Well I have to go becuase we are going to go to the aquarium today and I have to run back to the apartment to grab my camera and my scarf. I hope that everyone is doing really well.
Love,
Elder Haslam
PS Dallin and Tal this is for you. I think that you guys should start preparing for your missions right now and I think that the best way that you can do that is to fulfill all of the priesthood responsibilities that you have right now. (dallin that you will have in just over a month) I really liked Elder Oaks' talk in this past conference about the sacrament. You should both read that talk and then teach the family about what the sacrament means and how you as priesthood holders should look, think, and act so that you can have the privilege of blessing and passing the sacrament. They way that you prepare to administer the sacrament takes all week and is really a daily process versus just waking up in the morning sunday and combing your hair. Your prepare by the way you treat those around you during the week. (do you talk about people behind their back, do you do something kind without being asked and without seeking something in return, does virtue garnish your thoughts). A great man and priesthood holder is able to forget about himself and follow the example of Jesus Christ. And all of that starts by fulfilling the responsibilities that you have been entrusted with. So in other words treat Mom and Kendall with kindness throughout the entire week and work hard with Dad in the yard. You only have a limited amount of time when you can do those kinds of things. And most of all remember to have fun. Life is not supposed to torture you and you have complete control over you happiness.
So quick recap on the weather: it is really cold. Average for today is 22 with the chill factor at 11(humidity and wind) and tomorrow is supposed to be in the mid teens with a single digit chill factor. But we will just keep keeping on and hopefully people will let us into their house so that we do not turn into ice cubes. There is one sister in me district that I am afraid she might die in the next couple days with the cold. She is from Hawaii and I have never seen her without a huge parka on, even when we are inside she never takes it off because she always says that she is cold. The cold really hasn't bothered me at all but I am a little afraid of what the weather has in store for us for the rest of the week.
So President called us last night to tell us about transfers next week and Elder Rhoton and I will be staying together for another transfer which I am really happy about. He is was fun and I am sure that we have a lot of success in store for us this coming transfer. I was going to be really sad if we got broken up but it looks like we will be able to stay together for at least one transfer more.
I got the tape and the letters from everyone, thanks a bunch. It really picked me up after a pretty hard day. The only thing that is hard about being Elder Rhoton's companion is that he gets a ton of mail. A package a week and at least a letter every other day. It does kinda start to get old, but your letters really helped me out. The only person that writes besides you family is Janelle Cab. so you can always suggest to others my mail address.
But I will stop being pathetic and tel you some of the cool things that happened to us this week. We have tried to find a lot of new people this past week. So we went around to a lot of different houses and to different streets trying to talk to people. One of the funny things that happens when we knock on a door is that people usually ask us if we are afraid to walk around outside on their street. There are some pretty bad places in Camden but I am not afraid to walk anyway during the day with Elder Rhoton; so we usually tell the people we are not afraid and then tell them we are missionaries and the then tell us we are crazy. It always makes me laugh when people tell us how dangerous their street it for two reasons. The first reason is that everyone seems to think that they live on the most dangerous street in Camden and the second reason is that everyone tells we are crazy for walking on their street but they are the ones that live on it. Maybe they just never go outside(which is true for lots of people). I just think that it is funny that people tell us to avoid all of these parts of town but those places turn out to be some of the places where people are most willing to talk to us.
The work is going really well. We have about three people that are really close to baptism and we are hoping that it will happen in the next month. All of them are Dominicans and so we are going to try to have a big Dominican party (family night) where we get all of the Dominicans from the branch together and all of our Dominican investigators with them. We are hoping that will make some strong ties in the branch. I really like all of the dominicans in our branch and I like dominican people in general a whole lot. It is fun to talk to them because they have a really cool accent and they all love baseball. They are really fun people to be with.
Well I have to go becuase we are going to go to the aquarium today and I have to run back to the apartment to grab my camera and my scarf. I hope that everyone is doing really well.
Love,
Elder Haslam
PS Dallin and Tal this is for you. I think that you guys should start preparing for your missions right now and I think that the best way that you can do that is to fulfill all of the priesthood responsibilities that you have right now. (dallin that you will have in just over a month) I really liked Elder Oaks' talk in this past conference about the sacrament. You should both read that talk and then teach the family about what the sacrament means and how you as priesthood holders should look, think, and act so that you can have the privilege of blessing and passing the sacrament. They way that you prepare to administer the sacrament takes all week and is really a daily process versus just waking up in the morning sunday and combing your hair. Your prepare by the way you treat those around you during the week. (do you talk about people behind their back, do you do something kind without being asked and without seeking something in return, does virtue garnish your thoughts). A great man and priesthood holder is able to forget about himself and follow the example of Jesus Christ. And all of that starts by fulfilling the responsibilities that you have been entrusted with. So in other words treat Mom and Kendall with kindness throughout the entire week and work hard with Dad in the yard. You only have a limited amount of time when you can do those kinds of things. And most of all remember to have fun. Life is not supposed to torture you and you have complete control over you happiness.
Rain and Bike Problems
Dear Family,
So to start off it is raining. It has been raining consistently for the past 48 hours. It is the kind of cold rain that, in combination from the freezing wind off the river, chills you to the bone no matter what you wear outside. It doesn't really bother me anymore though. I think it is pretty fun to go outside and to see the people that walk around even though it is really wet. You meet the most interesting people that way. The other day on the train we met a man that said he was Muslim and then asked us how many wifes we had. I told him that I only had 4 but I was looking my number five. The guy was taken aback for a second (I don't think he was expecting that answer) and then he asked me if I was being serious. I told him that I was just messing around, and then he laughed and thought that it was pretty funny. He then went into a long story about how there was no may he would be able to handle that many women. He told us that he had enough problems between his wife and his mother trying to control his life. It was a fun train ride. On another train ride we got into a conversation with a guy about being missionaries. He was pretty funny and told us all about how he wasn't afraid to die anymore because he was a true believer. The best part about it was that just before the train stopped his friend asked him to stop talking about Jesus because it made him feel worse about what they were about to do. He then turned to us and said he was going to do something bad and would appreciate it if we could change the subject. Elder Rhoton and I started laughing when we finally got off the train. We figured that they were going to go buy some drugs. (they got off the train and started walking to North Camden - lots of drugs).
So is other news we have been walking because my bike is out of commission. We were riding at night last week and I didn't see a curb until it was right in front of me. I tried to jump over the curb but I ended up hitting me back rim and denting it pretty badly. I was able to ride home that night but we just walked for the rest of the week. Fortunately today is Pday so I will be able to go get my bike fixed. I need to get the wheel trued and hopefully it will not cost me too much money. It is the beginning of the month so I have plenty of money on my card, the only issue is that I am going to have to be really careful about what I buy so that I will have plenty of food at the end of the month. I shouldn't have any problem and the members are good about feeding us here so I am not worried.
So I guess I should tell you about my companion, Elder Rhoton. I can't remember if I have or not but this won't be very long. He is from Mesa, AZ and is a really cool guy. He likes to work hard so we get along really well. He can also enjoy himself and the truth is that most of the weird conversations we have with people are initiated by him. He likes to walk onto the train and pick out the weirdest person and then talk to them. He has a tendency to pick someone that is on drugs and it actually is really fun. I have a lot of funny stories from people we have talked to because of him. One day we talked to a lady who informed us of two very important things in her life. The first was that she had been smoking weed all day long (which was not hard to figure out by the way that her legs were in the air and she seemed to have a different pull of gravity than anyone else on the train). She also informed us that she couldn't read Spanish because she was a Negro and that God must be with us because we haven't been shot yet. It was another fun train trip.
Well, I need to go. I hope that everyone is doing well.
Love,
Elder Haslam
So to start off it is raining. It has been raining consistently for the past 48 hours. It is the kind of cold rain that, in combination from the freezing wind off the river, chills you to the bone no matter what you wear outside. It doesn't really bother me anymore though. I think it is pretty fun to go outside and to see the people that walk around even though it is really wet. You meet the most interesting people that way. The other day on the train we met a man that said he was Muslim and then asked us how many wifes we had. I told him that I only had 4 but I was looking my number five. The guy was taken aback for a second (I don't think he was expecting that answer) and then he asked me if I was being serious. I told him that I was just messing around, and then he laughed and thought that it was pretty funny. He then went into a long story about how there was no may he would be able to handle that many women. He told us that he had enough problems between his wife and his mother trying to control his life. It was a fun train ride. On another train ride we got into a conversation with a guy about being missionaries. He was pretty funny and told us all about how he wasn't afraid to die anymore because he was a true believer. The best part about it was that just before the train stopped his friend asked him to stop talking about Jesus because it made him feel worse about what they were about to do. He then turned to us and said he was going to do something bad and would appreciate it if we could change the subject. Elder Rhoton and I started laughing when we finally got off the train. We figured that they were going to go buy some drugs. (they got off the train and started walking to North Camden - lots of drugs).
So is other news we have been walking because my bike is out of commission. We were riding at night last week and I didn't see a curb until it was right in front of me. I tried to jump over the curb but I ended up hitting me back rim and denting it pretty badly. I was able to ride home that night but we just walked for the rest of the week. Fortunately today is Pday so I will be able to go get my bike fixed. I need to get the wheel trued and hopefully it will not cost me too much money. It is the beginning of the month so I have plenty of money on my card, the only issue is that I am going to have to be really careful about what I buy so that I will have plenty of food at the end of the month. I shouldn't have any problem and the members are good about feeding us here so I am not worried.
So I guess I should tell you about my companion, Elder Rhoton. I can't remember if I have or not but this won't be very long. He is from Mesa, AZ and is a really cool guy. He likes to work hard so we get along really well. He can also enjoy himself and the truth is that most of the weird conversations we have with people are initiated by him. He likes to walk onto the train and pick out the weirdest person and then talk to them. He has a tendency to pick someone that is on drugs and it actually is really fun. I have a lot of funny stories from people we have talked to because of him. One day we talked to a lady who informed us of two very important things in her life. The first was that she had been smoking weed all day long (which was not hard to figure out by the way that her legs were in the air and she seemed to have a different pull of gravity than anyone else on the train). She also informed us that she couldn't read Spanish because she was a Negro and that God must be with us because we haven't been shot yet. It was another fun train trip.
Well, I need to go. I hope that everyone is doing well.
Love,
Elder Haslam
Happy New Years
Dear Family,
So it was really cool to be able to talk to everyone on Christmas; I will give you a quick rundown on how the rest of Christmas went. So I finished talking to all of you and then Elder Rhoton and I went over to a Mexican bakery/grocery store and bought some stuff to make salsa. So we went home and made some salsa before we had to go to a house to eat. We went over to the Familia Campos' house and ate posoles. It was a soup thing made out of corn and it was pretty good. The bowls were huge and they also brought out 10 tostadas to share between me and my companion. It was the most food I have ever eaten in my entire life, especial since they brought us out a second bowl of soup after we finished everything that was in front of us. I felt like I was going to throw up and at that point that brought out dessert for us. By the time we finished dessert neither me or my companion were feeling very good. We thanked them for everything that they had given us and then started our walk home very slowly. About half way home Elder Rhoton looked at me and said that he was going to throw up, so I held his scarf for him and we had a representation of dinner underneath the Ben Franklin Bridge. So we got home around 7 and I went to bed because my stomach really hurt. All in all it was a really fun Christmas and my companion and I had a really good laugh about it the next day.
Other than that things have been really good here. My companion and I are really trying to work hard because we are not having as much success as we would like. There are definitely a lot of people to be taught here the problem has been that many of them have been gone for the holidays or very busy and not willing to listen to us. So hopefully with some more effort and more people being at home after the holidays we will find more success. I am really excited for this fast sunday. We are going to fast with a part-member family in our branch. They are the Venturas and really great people from the DR. The dad is the second counselor in the branch presidency but his wife is not a member. She is really nice lady and goes to church every sunday and goes to all of the branch activities. Her daughter has been baptized and she really needs to be baptized also. The problem is that she keeps saying that she is not sure. So we are all going to fast together this sunday for her to receive an answer. Hopefully everything will go well.
Well I hope that everyone has a great New Years.
Love,
Elder Haslam
So it was really cool to be able to talk to everyone on Christmas; I will give you a quick rundown on how the rest of Christmas went. So I finished talking to all of you and then Elder Rhoton and I went over to a Mexican bakery/grocery store and bought some stuff to make salsa. So we went home and made some salsa before we had to go to a house to eat. We went over to the Familia Campos' house and ate posoles. It was a soup thing made out of corn and it was pretty good. The bowls were huge and they also brought out 10 tostadas to share between me and my companion. It was the most food I have ever eaten in my entire life, especial since they brought us out a second bowl of soup after we finished everything that was in front of us. I felt like I was going to throw up and at that point that brought out dessert for us. By the time we finished dessert neither me or my companion were feeling very good. We thanked them for everything that they had given us and then started our walk home very slowly. About half way home Elder Rhoton looked at me and said that he was going to throw up, so I held his scarf for him and we had a representation of dinner underneath the Ben Franklin Bridge. So we got home around 7 and I went to bed because my stomach really hurt. All in all it was a really fun Christmas and my companion and I had a really good laugh about it the next day.
Other than that things have been really good here. My companion and I are really trying to work hard because we are not having as much success as we would like. There are definitely a lot of people to be taught here the problem has been that many of them have been gone for the holidays or very busy and not willing to listen to us. So hopefully with some more effort and more people being at home after the holidays we will find more success. I am really excited for this fast sunday. We are going to fast with a part-member family in our branch. They are the Venturas and really great people from the DR. The dad is the second counselor in the branch presidency but his wife is not a member. She is really nice lady and goes to church every sunday and goes to all of the branch activities. Her daughter has been baptized and she really needs to be baptized also. The problem is that she keeps saying that she is not sure. So we are all going to fast together this sunday for her to receive an answer. Hopefully everything will go well.
Well I hope that everyone has a great New Years.
Love,
Elder Haslam
Merry Christmas from the Ghetto
Dear Family,
So this email will not be very long because I am going to call you tomorrow, but I am just going to give a quick run down on Camden and send you some pictures.
So I really love Camden and the east coast. This city is amazing. Granted I have never seen as many people that are drunk, homeless, on drugs, and in general shady people; but I love it. There are pretty much no white people here at all. In New Brunswick we would see a white person every once in a while but here we go all day without seeing any white people until we get back in our apartment. The truth is that I really don't know how to associate with people that are not hispanic, black, or missionaries. We went to a Christmas breakfast with the english ward here and I felt really awkward until I found a member who had served his mission spanish speaking and then I could talk to him. White people just talk about different things like the economy, football, or politics. I just think that it is easy to talk about futbol, food, immigration with hispanic people.
The weather here has been pretty cold. It hasn't gotten out of the 30's for the past couple days and is usually in the the low to mid 20's. On monday it dropped into the teens for a good portion or the day. On friday it rained all day (we rode in it for about 4 hours and got very wet), Sat all of that rain froze on the ground and by sunday there was about a half inch of ice covering everything. We rode to church sunday morning (very carefully) to find out they cancelled church because all but one bridge going into Camden had been closed because of accidents or ice. We decided to stay inside our branch building and study until it stopped raining and warmed up. Yesterday wasn't too bad and there wasn't too much ice. I did fall on my bike when I hit a patch of ice though. Nothing happened to me though because I was going pretty slow. The weather doesn't really bother me because I bundle up really well. I wear my thermals, a sweater and my two layered jacket with thick gloves, a beanie and scarf. I have gotten really good and covering every part of my body so that if you look at me you can just barely see my eyes. It is pretty fun.
As far as missionary work goes (the spiritual side at least) it is going great. We are teaching some really great people that want to know what the truth really is and what they can do to find it. We are working really hard with these people to help them realize that they do not need a huge sign to know the church is true. That is one thing in hispanic culture that is very different is that they look for signs that things are true (especially in their dreams). So we try to help the realize that in small and simple ways, great things are brought to pass. I love hispanics because they will always listen to what we have to say. Getting them to keep commitments is a little harder but it is very rare that a hispanic will ridicule us for the truth we know. Like a couple days ago an older man told us we were to young and immature to know anything for certain. We had taken refuge in a dunkin donounts ( they are every where out here) from the cold and he proceeded to tell us that we were fools for believing in "all that malarkey about Joseph Smith." I didn't really get angry at him, probably because I was soaked to the bones and too cold to be. I gave him scriptures to counter all his arguments ( James 2- faith without works is dead; Matt 10- authority to the apostles; Amos 3:7- profetas etc.) but he wasn't really listening to anything that I said. But I did go home that night confident in my own testimony and grateful to know the truth. That man just seemed very confused to me. When we were talking he did not try to explain his own beliefs to me he just tried to tare mine down. I still am not completely sure why people do that because it doesn't ever convince someone to destroy all of their beliefs; you have to give someone something new and meaningful so that the can build and grow upon it.
I really love my companion here Elder Rhoton. He is a really fun kid that really wants to work hard and get stuff done. His spanish is not very good and he is uncomfortable speaking because he says he cannot understand people very well. I just tell him to fake it and talk anyway. In one lesson I wouldn't talk, I would just give him help on the words that he didn't know, I think that will help him the most. His trainer didn't really let him talk or help at all with his spanish but he is working hard and learning fast. He is a really great kid and I love serving with him. Once he gets a couple teaching skills down he will be one of the best missionaries in the mission.
As for my spanish it is coming along. I still lack quite a bit but I am working. It is a lot more work as senior companion and district leader because I have to worry about three other people besides myself and help all of them do well also. I only have two transfers (which one of the sisters in my district likes to remind me of) so I am trying to do the best that I can. We are working hard and I rely on the Lord. If I do my part I know He will bless me.
Ok. As for calling tomorrow in Christmas. I am going to buy a phone card today and we are going to call home from our branch building. I am going to try to call around noon our time so that puts it around 9 am your time. This is the phone number there: 609-541-7539. I hope you have a great Christmas.
Love,
Elder Haslam
Merry Christmas from Camden
Dear Friends and Family,
So that wonderful time of year has come around when the spirit of generosity touches people's heart and they give something to their loved one s that are near and dear to them. So I fell like I should give you all something, and since I am very far from most of you, live off 140 dollars a month, don't know all of your addresses, and since I am a missionary for my Lord, Jesus Christ; I will write this letter and hope that it gets to most of you.
So just a quick update for any of you that do not know where I have been for the past six months. I am living in New Jersey, speaking Spanish, and being a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am currently living in Camden, NJ which is right across the rive from Philly. I go all around Camden on my bike and teach the Hispanics about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I live in an apartment with 3 other missionaries: my companion, who I go around with and teach with (he also speaks Spanish), and the two other missionaries work in Camden also but they speak English. Basically what we do is that we talk to everyone and anyone that will listen to us, that speaks Spanish.
My days usually go something like this. I wake up at 6:30 AM, exercise (which usually involves me jumping on the treadmill an running two miles). After that I shower and get ready for the day. By 8:00 AM I am in a white shirt and tie and I study the scriptures for two hours from 8 till 10. Then for an hour after that I study Spanish. Then I eat lunch, confirm plans for the day, and then jump on my bike and teach people about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We come home at night some time around 9:00 PM plan for the next day get ready for bed and go to sleep at 10:30 PM. During the day we knock on doors, talk to people in the street, teach people, visit members of our church, and hope that we don't have any bike problems.
I have been cussed at, spit at, called a liar, had doors slammed in my face, made fun of because of my Spanish, and I have had the best time that I have ever had in my entire life. What I am doing right now tops everything and anything that I have ever done before. I have the amazing opportunity to share something that has changed my life, something that I know will bring unending happiness to those who listen, and I have seen the changes that have happened to people because they chose to listen. I am able to give to other people all day long and not have to worry about my self at all. Everything that I own fits into a large suitcase, a duffel bag, and a small carry bag. I don't watch TV, I don't follow any news, I don't talk to my family except for a weekly letter or email, I don't date, I don't listen to music, I don't swim, and I am the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. Everyday I put on a black name tag that has my name on it and says that I am a servant of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. I serve the people around me in every way that I can.
I know that what I am teaching is true. I know that Jesus Christ died for me and you, so that we can repent of our sins, be resurrected, and return to live with our Heavenly Father after this life. I also know that His church has been restored on this earth through the prophet Joseph Smith and the power of God, His holy priesthood exists in the world today. God has not stopped talking to us, His children. He continues to reveal His will to us, so that we can be happy and so that we will know He exists and loves us. The heavens are not shut; they are open and blessing pour out upon us daily if we are willing to except them. I know this because our God has given me the knowledge through the Holy Ghost.
Otra vez, les digo que estas cosas son verdaderas.
I hope that everyone is doing well. Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas.
Love,
Elder Dalton Haslam
PS If you want to write me letters are always appreciated:
Elder Dalton Haslam
505 S Lenola Rd. # 124
Morrestown, NJ 08057
So that wonderful time of year has come around when the spirit of generosity touches people's heart and they give something to their loved one s that are near and dear to them. So I fell like I should give you all something, and since I am very far from most of you, live off 140 dollars a month, don't know all of your addresses, and since I am a missionary for my Lord, Jesus Christ; I will write this letter and hope that it gets to most of you.
So just a quick update for any of you that do not know where I have been for the past six months. I am living in New Jersey, speaking Spanish, and being a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am currently living in Camden, NJ which is right across the rive from Philly. I go all around Camden on my bike and teach the Hispanics about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I live in an apartment with 3 other missionaries: my companion, who I go around with and teach with (he also speaks Spanish), and the two other missionaries work in Camden also but they speak English. Basically what we do is that we talk to everyone and anyone that will listen to us, that speaks Spanish.
My days usually go something like this. I wake up at 6:30 AM, exercise (which usually involves me jumping on the treadmill an running two miles). After that I shower and get ready for the day. By 8:00 AM I am in a white shirt and tie and I study the scriptures for two hours from 8 till 10. Then for an hour after that I study Spanish. Then I eat lunch, confirm plans for the day, and then jump on my bike and teach people about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We come home at night some time around 9:00 PM plan for the next day get ready for bed and go to sleep at 10:30 PM. During the day we knock on doors, talk to people in the street, teach people, visit members of our church, and hope that we don't have any bike problems.
I have been cussed at, spit at, called a liar, had doors slammed in my face, made fun of because of my Spanish, and I have had the best time that I have ever had in my entire life. What I am doing right now tops everything and anything that I have ever done before. I have the amazing opportunity to share something that has changed my life, something that I know will bring unending happiness to those who listen, and I have seen the changes that have happened to people because they chose to listen. I am able to give to other people all day long and not have to worry about my self at all. Everything that I own fits into a large suitcase, a duffel bag, and a small carry bag. I don't watch TV, I don't follow any news, I don't talk to my family except for a weekly letter or email, I don't date, I don't listen to music, I don't swim, and I am the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. Everyday I put on a black name tag that has my name on it and says that I am a servant of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. I serve the people around me in every way that I can.
I know that what I am teaching is true. I know that Jesus Christ died for me and you, so that we can repent of our sins, be resurrected, and return to live with our Heavenly Father after this life. I also know that His church has been restored on this earth through the prophet Joseph Smith and the power of God, His holy priesthood exists in the world today. God has not stopped talking to us, His children. He continues to reveal His will to us, so that we can be happy and so that we will know He exists and loves us. The heavens are not shut; they are open and blessing pour out upon us daily if we are willing to except them. I know this because our God has given me the knowledge through the Holy Ghost.
Otra vez, les digo que estas cosas son verdaderas.
I hope that everyone is doing well. Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas.
Love,
Elder Dalton Haslam
PS If you want to write me letters are always appreciated:
Elder Dalton Haslam
505 S Lenola Rd. # 124
Morrestown, NJ 08057
Camden
Dear Family,
So I moved into the Camden apartment last night. We took the train down from New Brunswick which was quite an ordeal. We took a train from New Brunswick to Trenton and then we took a train from Trenton to Camden. I didn't have that much stuff to take on the train but one of the english elders from New Brunswick was also coming down to Camden and he had a ot of junk. I am not his biggest fan and this will be transfer three with him in the same apartment so we will see what will happen.
I was sad to leave New Brunswick but Camden is really cool. I am glad to get away from some of the elders that are in New Brunswick though. The one engish elder that was staying has really been wearing on my nerves so I am glad to be starting over new with people that I do not know.
The Camden apartment is in the old RCA building called the Vector. It is a really nice place, definitely the nicest apartment in the mission, and also that most dangerous area in the mission. (don't worry mom I will be fine) Later today we are going to cover my bike in seran wrap and duck tape to make it look like it is not worth anything so that it will not get stolen. I bought an extra lock and my new companion has two locks all ready so I am sure that we will be fine. Elder Rhoton is my new companion and he only has one less transfer than me but for what ever reason they made me senior companion and district leader over him. I am going to have to work really hard to live up to the new resposibilty. He seems like a really nice guy but he does not know any spanish at all and I have heard that his trainer didn't help him out much, so that should be fun. I am really excited to be able to work down here and we will definitely baptism someone this transfer.
Brunswick will have a baptism this coming sunday. A lady named Gabriela is going to get baptized. She actually ordered a finding faith in christ video and that is how we found her. I have been teaching her all along the way and it is cool to see her get baptized. I don't know if I will be able to go to the baptism because I am down here now in Camden but I will ask President Winegar and hopefully he will let me go. I really like president winegar; he has done great things for this mission. I will be alot closer to him now that I am in Camden. Sometimes in New Brunswick you feel isolated from the rest of the mission. I don't really know if that is a good thing or a bad thing but done here in Camden we are really closer to everything that goes on. We also are at the intersection of two train lines that take us anywhere in New Jersey which is pretty cool. The river line goes from here to trenton and the Patco goes from Philly, through Camden to Atlantic City. (There is a great view of philly form the roof of our apartment)
And in the midst of everything that work progresses. It is really amazing how the Lord's hand is in everything that we do. I am just going to leave it at that and then I will write a letter explaining myself because we have to go to transfer meeting.
Love,
Elder Haslam
PS Mom, I am sure it would be fine to forward Mahonri's emails and mine. I really want to hear from him and if you could send me his address I would appreciate it.
#1 Christmas gift: socks "you can never have too many pairs of socks" - Albus Dumbledor
So I moved into the Camden apartment last night. We took the train down from New Brunswick which was quite an ordeal. We took a train from New Brunswick to Trenton and then we took a train from Trenton to Camden. I didn't have that much stuff to take on the train but one of the english elders from New Brunswick was also coming down to Camden and he had a ot of junk. I am not his biggest fan and this will be transfer three with him in the same apartment so we will see what will happen.
I was sad to leave New Brunswick but Camden is really cool. I am glad to get away from some of the elders that are in New Brunswick though. The one engish elder that was staying has really been wearing on my nerves so I am glad to be starting over new with people that I do not know.
The Camden apartment is in the old RCA building called the Vector. It is a really nice place, definitely the nicest apartment in the mission, and also that most dangerous area in the mission. (don't worry mom I will be fine) Later today we are going to cover my bike in seran wrap and duck tape to make it look like it is not worth anything so that it will not get stolen. I bought an extra lock and my new companion has two locks all ready so I am sure that we will be fine. Elder Rhoton is my new companion and he only has one less transfer than me but for what ever reason they made me senior companion and district leader over him. I am going to have to work really hard to live up to the new resposibilty. He seems like a really nice guy but he does not know any spanish at all and I have heard that his trainer didn't help him out much, so that should be fun. I am really excited to be able to work down here and we will definitely baptism someone this transfer.
Brunswick will have a baptism this coming sunday. A lady named Gabriela is going to get baptized. She actually ordered a finding faith in christ video and that is how we found her. I have been teaching her all along the way and it is cool to see her get baptized. I don't know if I will be able to go to the baptism because I am down here now in Camden but I will ask President Winegar and hopefully he will let me go. I really like president winegar; he has done great things for this mission. I will be alot closer to him now that I am in Camden. Sometimes in New Brunswick you feel isolated from the rest of the mission. I don't really know if that is a good thing or a bad thing but done here in Camden we are really closer to everything that goes on. We also are at the intersection of two train lines that take us anywhere in New Jersey which is pretty cool. The river line goes from here to trenton and the Patco goes from Philly, through Camden to Atlantic City. (There is a great view of philly form the roof of our apartment)
And in the midst of everything that work progresses. It is really amazing how the Lord's hand is in everything that we do. I am just going to leave it at that and then I will write a letter explaining myself because we have to go to transfer meeting.
Love,
Elder Haslam
PS Mom, I am sure it would be fine to forward Mahonri's emails and mine. I really want to hear from him and if you could send me his address I would appreciate it.
#1 Christmas gift: socks "you can never have too many pairs of socks" - Albus Dumbledor
Transfers
Dear Family,
So first off I am getting transferred to Camden, NJ. It is the city right across the river from Philly. I am really excited to go there. Everyone that I talked to that has served there says that they loved it. I am going down there with Elder Rhoton, who was a greenie last transfer so I will be senior companion. I was pretty surprised when I found out because I was pretty sure that I was going to be staying in New Brunswick for at least one more transfer with Elder Johnson but I guess not. I am going to moving down there next week Wednesday so I will put my new address at the end of this email so that you guys can just send everything to that apartment down there. I am going to miss New Brunswick because the people here are really great and I love all of the Hondurans that are in our branch here(especially their cooking). This past monday we had baleadas at la casa de la familia Paz, and they were really good. There are kinda like tacos but honduran style. They use flour tortillas and cover them in frijoles and then put in eggs, cheese, and sour cream in them. They were really good, I at five of them. I am not sure how to make them but I am sure if you look up on the internet how to do it you can find the recipe. And you can just buy flour tortillas and make everything else.
I fixed my bike and it is running really well. I went and bought a new chain so everything should be up to working order now. I have been told that I have to make some adjustments to my bike though so that it won't get stolen. I guess the missionaries usually wrap their bikes in trash bags so that the bikes look like they are not worth anything. I am also going to buy a new lock for my bike (probably a U-lock) so that I can lock my bike to the pole and then but the lock I have right now through my tires. It should be really fun so I am way excited to be going down there. Elder Ritchie (my trainer) with be my zone leader down there so it will be really cool to be around him again.
As far as news goes for the work of the Lord, it is amazing. This past week we found a really cool family and they are reading the book of mormon. It is always really cool to teach families because they are few and far between (the ones that are married at least). Usually most people are single and working here to support their families back in their own countries. And more often than not they break lots of commandments because they are lonely. But it is always really amazing to see the changes in people as they realize that the gospel is true and they want to follow it. There is a member in our branch who is from Nicaragua and his wife and daughter just got baptized back in his city there. And it is really incredible to see how excited he is to be able to go to the temple with them. He hasn't seen his family in 3 years and I love to listen to him talk about his wife. He is always really concerned about how they are doing and how he can be a better man to help them out. He says that he is going to go home in another year and that then they will all go through the temple together. His name is Denis, and I am so grateful to have gotten to know him.
That is the best part about being a missionary; seeing the hand of the Lord in other people's lives as they learn and grow in the gospel. Nothing has made me happier, and I am so glad that I have been given this opportunity to be a servant to the hispanics here in New Jersey.
I hope that everyone is doing well. And please spread the word that my address has changed, thankyou
Love,
Elder Haslam
Elder Haslam
One Market St. Apt #439
Camden, NJ 08102
So first off I am getting transferred to Camden, NJ. It is the city right across the river from Philly. I am really excited to go there. Everyone that I talked to that has served there says that they loved it. I am going down there with Elder Rhoton, who was a greenie last transfer so I will be senior companion. I was pretty surprised when I found out because I was pretty sure that I was going to be staying in New Brunswick for at least one more transfer with Elder Johnson but I guess not. I am going to moving down there next week Wednesday so I will put my new address at the end of this email so that you guys can just send everything to that apartment down there. I am going to miss New Brunswick because the people here are really great and I love all of the Hondurans that are in our branch here(especially their cooking). This past monday we had baleadas at la casa de la familia Paz, and they were really good. There are kinda like tacos but honduran style. They use flour tortillas and cover them in frijoles and then put in eggs, cheese, and sour cream in them. They were really good, I at five of them. I am not sure how to make them but I am sure if you look up on the internet how to do it you can find the recipe. And you can just buy flour tortillas and make everything else.
I fixed my bike and it is running really well. I went and bought a new chain so everything should be up to working order now. I have been told that I have to make some adjustments to my bike though so that it won't get stolen. I guess the missionaries usually wrap their bikes in trash bags so that the bikes look like they are not worth anything. I am also going to buy a new lock for my bike (probably a U-lock) so that I can lock my bike to the pole and then but the lock I have right now through my tires. It should be really fun so I am way excited to be going down there. Elder Ritchie (my trainer) with be my zone leader down there so it will be really cool to be around him again.
As far as news goes for the work of the Lord, it is amazing. This past week we found a really cool family and they are reading the book of mormon. It is always really cool to teach families because they are few and far between (the ones that are married at least). Usually most people are single and working here to support their families back in their own countries. And more often than not they break lots of commandments because they are lonely. But it is always really amazing to see the changes in people as they realize that the gospel is true and they want to follow it. There is a member in our branch who is from Nicaragua and his wife and daughter just got baptized back in his city there. And it is really incredible to see how excited he is to be able to go to the temple with them. He hasn't seen his family in 3 years and I love to listen to him talk about his wife. He is always really concerned about how they are doing and how he can be a better man to help them out. He says that he is going to go home in another year and that then they will all go through the temple together. His name is Denis, and I am so grateful to have gotten to know him.
That is the best part about being a missionary; seeing the hand of the Lord in other people's lives as they learn and grow in the gospel. Nothing has made me happier, and I am so glad that I have been given this opportunity to be a servant to the hispanics here in New Jersey.
I hope that everyone is doing well. And please spread the word that my address has changed, thankyou
Love,
Elder Haslam
Elder Haslam
One Market St. Apt #439
Camden, NJ 08102
Thanksgiving is tomorrow...
Dear Family,
So first an update on my foot. I am doing perfectly fine and it is healing up nicely and I took the stitches out this morning. It looks like it will be a pretty good scar. I am being careful on it but I am definitely not letting it slow me down at all.
In other news I have had some bike problems this past week that have left us stranded far from home. The first major problem that I had was that we were biking home form the far side of our area and I stood up to pedal fast through an intersection and as I tried to pedal my chain snapped. I was able to control the bike so that I didn't fall but the pedal did whip around and give me a big bruise on my thigh. So I got out of the road, picked up my chain, and we started walking. We walked for about 45 min before the english elders could bring me the bike tools I needed to fix the chain. I then tried for about a half an hour to fix my chain in the cold. I couldn't really do anything because a couple of the links in the chain had frozen up (the chain has had a lot of abuse) so we called a member to pick us up and our bikes. So by the time we got home about two hours had gone by and I was very cold and dirty. Sergio (the member) was nice enough to take us to the rest of our apointments that night. I came back that night and throughly cleaned my chain and put it back together. Unfortunately it was about 3 links too short so the next day I was limited on the gears I could use. But the bike made it all the way through the day until 7 pm last night. This time I was pedalling up a hill and the chain broke. Fortunately it was right next to our next cita so we just locked up our bikes and went in. So after that we walked home, it only took us about 30 min because parts of it were down hill and I could coast a good part of the way. So today we are going to go to the bike shop and buy a new chain. It was a pretty eventful week.
So this Thanksgiving I am grateful for warm jackets, helmets, and great members that are willing to help out the missionaries.
For dinner tomorrow we are going to a member's house. She is from El Salvador but goes to the english ward so we will see how it goes. We are having a preThanksgiving dinner tonight at a member's house (Hermana Paz) which I am very excited for. She is definitely one of the best cooks in the branch and is a really nice lady. She is always helping us out so last Sat. we went and cleaned out her garage for her. It was a huge mess so we went over in the morning and took everthing out, sweep it, threw lots away and then re-organized it. (Thanks Dad, saturday chores are helping me out) I really had a good time doing it and she made us hot chocolate which was nice especially since it was some in the high 30's outside.
It has definitely cooled off and the humidity will cut right through you if you are not careful. Thank you for the sweater it has really helped. When it is really cold I wear my longjohns, a white shirt, sweater, jacket, gloves, beanie, and scarf. I have gotten really good at wrapping my scarf and I can get it so that only my eyes show when I am riding my bike. I really love it here on the east coast. I have never been happier in my entire life.
We are teaching are really cool lady from Honduras, and she is going to be baptized on the 6th of Dec. It is really cool to she her take the steps to get ready to be baptized and she is really excited. She has a really crazy personailty but is pretty funny when you get talking to her. She told us a story about how a couple years back she got in a fight and broke another girl's nose. She is a live wire but willing to change in anyway so she can go to church and be baptized.
So I think that is the main news from out here in the east. I hope that everthing is going well back hope and that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Love,
Elder Haslam
So first an update on my foot. I am doing perfectly fine and it is healing up nicely and I took the stitches out this morning. It looks like it will be a pretty good scar. I am being careful on it but I am definitely not letting it slow me down at all.
In other news I have had some bike problems this past week that have left us stranded far from home. The first major problem that I had was that we were biking home form the far side of our area and I stood up to pedal fast through an intersection and as I tried to pedal my chain snapped. I was able to control the bike so that I didn't fall but the pedal did whip around and give me a big bruise on my thigh. So I got out of the road, picked up my chain, and we started walking. We walked for about 45 min before the english elders could bring me the bike tools I needed to fix the chain. I then tried for about a half an hour to fix my chain in the cold. I couldn't really do anything because a couple of the links in the chain had frozen up (the chain has had a lot of abuse) so we called a member to pick us up and our bikes. So by the time we got home about two hours had gone by and I was very cold and dirty. Sergio (the member) was nice enough to take us to the rest of our apointments that night. I came back that night and throughly cleaned my chain and put it back together. Unfortunately it was about 3 links too short so the next day I was limited on the gears I could use. But the bike made it all the way through the day until 7 pm last night. This time I was pedalling up a hill and the chain broke. Fortunately it was right next to our next cita so we just locked up our bikes and went in. So after that we walked home, it only took us about 30 min because parts of it were down hill and I could coast a good part of the way. So today we are going to go to the bike shop and buy a new chain. It was a pretty eventful week.
So this Thanksgiving I am grateful for warm jackets, helmets, and great members that are willing to help out the missionaries.
For dinner tomorrow we are going to a member's house. She is from El Salvador but goes to the english ward so we will see how it goes. We are having a preThanksgiving dinner tonight at a member's house (Hermana Paz) which I am very excited for. She is definitely one of the best cooks in the branch and is a really nice lady. She is always helping us out so last Sat. we went and cleaned out her garage for her. It was a huge mess so we went over in the morning and took everthing out, sweep it, threw lots away and then re-organized it. (Thanks Dad, saturday chores are helping me out) I really had a good time doing it and she made us hot chocolate which was nice especially since it was some in the high 30's outside.
It has definitely cooled off and the humidity will cut right through you if you are not careful. Thank you for the sweater it has really helped. When it is really cold I wear my longjohns, a white shirt, sweater, jacket, gloves, beanie, and scarf. I have gotten really good at wrapping my scarf and I can get it so that only my eyes show when I am riding my bike. I really love it here on the east coast. I have never been happier in my entire life.
We are teaching are really cool lady from Honduras, and she is going to be baptized on the 6th of Dec. It is really cool to she her take the steps to get ready to be baptized and she is really excited. She has a really crazy personailty but is pretty funny when you get talking to her. She told us a story about how a couple years back she got in a fight and broke another girl's nose. She is a live wire but willing to change in anyway so she can go to church and be baptized.
So I think that is the main news from out here in the east. I hope that everthing is going well back hope and that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Love,
Elder Haslam
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