Sunday, June 27, 2010

No Big Stories This Week

hola viajeros,

thats crazy you all went. but really i would rather not go to mexico next summer. i dont want to think about it too much anyway but id much rather go camping somewhere. but thats cool you all are having a great time clear over there in europe.

i bet the people are way into the world cup. we are pretty into it over here and the people always talk to us about it. yesterday the united states won and when we'd talk to people they'd ask us if we were happy and we'd say ya why? theyd then respond because US won and it was a great game. i am slowly starting to like soccer a little more.

but this past week has been great. we have been teaching a lot of people and had some great learning experiences. i have learned a lot this past week in my personal studies about having a personal devotional every morning with Heavenly Father. I really enjoy studying the scriptures for a time and then secluding myself for a moment and praying. the days have been great because of that. It has been hot though and so its hard to stay energized and do the best you can.

but we found a great family that is from the Dominican Republic and they are really cool. we are going to teach them tonight. but i dont have any big stories to tell ya. just that in my old area in south Philly that is part of my district, the members are falling apart and the Elders down there are having a hard time together and working with the people when there isnt a foundation. its sad to hear about that when people choose to follow Satan and not follow God. they really are lost and cannot feel the greatness and warmth of the love of God.

Happy Fathers Day dad. for Fathers Day we had a little party at the church after church on Sunday. A lot of rice and beans and others food and then music and dessert. it was pretty good and the members are great.

things are going good though and i dont have anything to complain about. just maybe i might complain if i have to go to mexico a year from now. but enjoy your trip and have a good week.

cuidense alla con todos los alemanias que siempre estan borachos y jugando futbol.

love

norman

Bike, Car Door and Not Crashing

Bon Jour,

what the heck are you doin in Paris? thats a little out of the blue if you ask me. i guess big plans happen when you dont have summers packed of sports and only 5 people in the home. But thats cool you guys are there have a good time.

This past week was great for us here in Philly. we didnt have too much success as to our investigators coming to church and all but i taught the class in Principios del Evangelio and it was great. we are gaining a lot of trust from the members here in the ward that was lost when i got here. tonight we're going on splits and have other members coming out later this week.

I had my last interview on tuesday with President Murray and Sister Murray. It was really good and they are awesome. I think one day when i go to a Gonzaga basketball game with Kroup or other friends that im going to invite President Murray. but I asked Sister Murray her last words of advice for me and she told me to "marry well." " marry well with a long courtship and short engagement." so i thought that was pretty funny but i wont be thinking about that for a while.

We have had a great week so far and have really tried to push ourselves more and more. We have found some people who have a lot of questions that we have the answers to with the restored gospel. also i have strengthened my testimony of the Restoration by learning about other religions and how confused people really get when there is no Prophet in the earth. last night we talked to some people from Palestine and learned all about Islam. We gave them some pamplets and they told us to look up islam on the internet. but we were talking about the plan of salvacion and they have such a broad, unclear understanding about it. It was a great culture learning experience and am grateful for the many blessings i have from being born into the Church.

Last week though i had an incident with the bike and a car door. we were riding along pretty good speed going back to the apartment and then a black lincoln navigator opened its door about two feet in front of me. i swerved but caught the side of it with my handle bar. i was wiggling back and forth and then my front tire caught the back of a car driving past us. i then got my balance back a little bit and skidded to a stop. but it was pretty intense and no one got hurt so all was well. but we now ride a little off from the parked cars and still cruise along.

All is going well though and we are working hard. we have really tried to talk to everyone lately and through our extra efforts we are finding more Mexicanos and more humble people. Thanks you guys for your help and have a good trip.

faith hope charity and love

norman

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Drug Deals and Real Joy in Life

hola hola hola,

North philly is wet and cool. we had a big rain storm yesterday and i was soaked through my garments so it was an interesting and weird day. we saw some drug deals in the morning and then on our way to a one oclock appointment someone had gotten shot and there was the crime scene policemen and helicopters so it was crazy. things are really good though and we have found some awesome people through stopping our bikes and talking to them on the sidewalks, knocking doors, and english elders efforts.

but no we dont teach english people. we teach mostly Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Mexicans. there are a ton of puerto ricans here and a lot of them speak both english and spanish so sometimes in our lessons we have to explain more in depth to them in english. but if they speak english they will always talk to us in english even if we keep talking to them in spanish. so we have to ask them if we can practice our spanish and talk in spanish with them and then they speak spanish.

The apartment is big and the only bad thing is it smells funny. but its really good. we live by ourselves and its located right in the middle of our area. we went out to eat last week for our year mark at a puerto rican restaurant and it was ok but we dont eat out so i dont know. The heat isnt too bad but its just rough some nights because you get hot. but the heat isnt bad. my garments are good and i havent got the taco pits yet so all is well. the ward is great and we have a lot of great members but the only problem is basically everyone lives up out of our area in the other elders area. there are 4 missionaries in this ward and all the pro active members live far away from us. we have had trouble getting member presents lately and so thats what we're focusing on now.

President and Sister Murray leave the 29 so they are saying their lasts for this transfer. Tuesday we had Zone Conference and it was awesome. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot about myself and what i can do to improve my life. it was an awesome experience though and i was able to grow more. we arent going to have a party though, nothing special just a good bye and hello President Schafermeyer. but im really looking forward to my interview with president this next week so it will be great.

but things are going really good and we have had some great experiences here in Philly. I think this next year is going to fly by and a lot of stuff is going to happen. I have been able to look back on past experiences and points of view and seen the change in me. this has brought me a lot of joy and i am grateful for all the many experiences i have had in my life. life is good though and i dont have anything to complain. the gospel will bring us more joy than winning the state championship in football or shooting a big buck. i have a clear mind now and am enjoying life as a missionary. The Plan God has for us is real and we have all these commandments to help us feel happiness in our lives. Repentance is key to this Plan and only through it can we receive the promised blessings. congradulations on finishing your year of school. have a good summer and make the most of it. try new stuff and dont do anything that will bring you guilt. all is well and its gonna be a good summer. love you guys, thanks for the cookies they were good. my companion really liked em.

norman

oh did you guys ever receive that package i sent to you? let me know if you did

Thursday, June 3, 2010

HUMP DAY!

hey family,

This past week has been great. It has been a rollercoaster of many ups and downs. we had a great sunday with an actual ward and i didnt have to teach or bless or tell anyone to do anything so it was good.

the heat is not too bad but i am always thirsty and even though i drink a ton of water i still have that urge for water. im sweating a ton though. the bikes are great though and the only problem is my crotch gets sweaty from sitting on the hot seat and then riding gets a little rough.

but we went on exchanges earlier this week with the other elders in the district and i got to reunite with south philly. i was with an Elder Hansen and he is a stud. we're basically brothers and get along really well. hes from wyoming, star valley and is about 6'5 270 so hes a big boy. i didnt try and wrestle him cuz he'd just sit on me and it'd be over. but we had a great exchange and taught great together.

South philly is so much better though than North Philly. the puerto ricans up here are really hard hearted and its has been hard finding people that want to do good in their lives and listen to us. yesterday was a great day. we had two lessons in the morning that i just wanted to slap the people because they were so stubborn and tried to contradict everything we said. then in the afternoon we met with one guy from guatemala who was rough. he tried to prove us wrong and make us feel stupid with his limited knowledge of the Bible. but he was trying to tell us how God only cares for the people who do good and that he distances himself from those that dont choose the right. he asked me if that was right and i said no, youre wrong God is a loving God and he doesnt care what you've done, he still loves you and is always there for us. he just kind of sat there blank starred and then started rambling about something else. but after i said that i felt that God really does love us and he is always there for us. it was an inspiring feeling to know that my Heavenly Father is there and with me in this work. so i know that God lives and that He loves each of us. I know that we can always repent and come unto Him and He will accept us with open arms. Im grateful for that experience and how my mission is so beneficial to me.

but funny story about yesterday. we went looking for mexicans in another part of town, mexicans are a lot easier to teach than puerto ricans, but we found this house by looking at their dish tv satellite and it had 3 prongs instead of 1 for spanish. so we go over there and knock the door and its a black lady. but we aske her if there are any hispanics on the street and she points to one across the street. we go over there and knock on the door. a kid in the window of the door waves at us like he knows us. so we're a little confused, but then the dad answers the door and hes Dominican. he opens the door and invites us in. we see a families can be together forever poster thing on the wall and finally figure out that theyre members. so after we got talking and getting to know them they got us some juices from the fridge. they gave me a fuze juice and my companion a glass bottle juice. i open mine and start drinking it, the dad goes back into the kitchen, i look over at my companions drink and see that it says Parrot Bay on it. i remembered seeing that somewhere and hearing about it but wasnt quite sure . my companion takes a swig and then i tell him i think that his drink has alcohol in it. we look at the bottle and its got 4 percent alcohol in it. haha we told the member we couldnt drink it because it has alcohol in it and he gets all embarressed and goes and throws it away. they had gotten the bottle from a barbeque they went to the day before and so they didnt know. but im glad i told my companion about that and knew what parrot bay was from the friends i had had.

but things are going really good and we are excited for this next year. its been a great year and ive learned the most in the past 12 months than in my entire life. thanks you guys and have a good week.

love

norman