Dear Family & Friends:
I've learned to control my eating. It's particularly difficult on a mission in the Spanish Program. We eat dinner every night at a members house and sometimes several times! They haven't heard of the term 'Self-serve' apparently either. They fill the plate and then insist on more and more food. I've hardly had to buy anything (with the exception of breakfast products, milk, etc...) from the store. I make myself a Egg, sausage, and cheese English Muffin in the mornings often. That's usually all I'll eat in the morning and most of the day until I eat my daily feast or two from the generous and insistent members of the Spanish Ward. Have to save room!
I love attending church at 1:00 now (the Spanish Ward and English Ward switched with the start of the New Year) but we've attended the English Ward here and there with our two English Elders and Sisters. I wish that I could record the meetings because of the New York accents that Bishop Rathgeber and the councilors have. They seem as if they should be in an old movie.
Interesting week we've had:
Our baptismal date/part-member-family was some of the most ripe fruit of our labors. We'd cooked dinner for them, perform object lessons for the children, played games, make smoothies for them, we're going to bring them homemade brownies this Saturday, etc.....fell apart last week when Elder Leal and I were driving to the church building in Bayshore from Huntington Station (he needed to attend a Leader's Meeting with the Zone Leaders). We met Elders Gootee and Gibbs there at the church building back in Bayshore. They told us that Rafael (the non-member boyfriend of Carmen-the family we're teaching) had arrived only a short while before to the church for help. Apparently, they'd gotten in a fight and he moved out. I can't say much because I am limited in my knowledge and to what I should say anyway. He hadn't ever seen Elders Gibbs or Gootee previously but they had opened the door for him at the church. They administered to him a blessing and talked a little to him. We had no idea that this had happened. Anyway, it was a miracle that he had even encountered those other missionaries at the church (particularly because we generally don't hang around the church on weekdays). Also, we contacted Bishop Romero who counselled them. Last night, he told us that he had received his answer according to precisely how Elder Gibbs and Elder Gootee had said in the blessing. He felt a blanket of warmth all around his body! I can't believe it! Two answers to two of our investigators in two weeks! We scheduled March 13th for his baptism and Bishop Romero is going to arrange the Marriage Date with them (it's easier now that they've moved themselves out).
Last week, Elder Gibbs and I went on Exchanges. He's brand new! Hardly four weeks here in New York and seven weeks in his entire mission. He doesn't speak any Spanish, obviously, and I led the entire day (because I'm a little older) and finally have taught the entire day soley myself in Spanish. It's improving a lot. I can understand basically everything. I'm still improving more and more gradually in the speaking. I can speak it, but I still speak rather slowly. Anyway, everybody here is really encouraging, you know.
Last Monday, we went to the beach....really windy but the snow was almost completely melted. It has snowed a bit today and last night.....looks like it's not yet going to be Spring. Elder Gibbs and I were going to go running early this morning to the Bayshore Marina and back but we changed our minds.
Grandma and Grandpa Mills, when we were driving, I spotted a business that read Gildersleeves.....and something. I swore that I saw the word 'Gildersleeves', however. I think that we were driving through Copiague or Babylon. I should have pulled over or something. Anyway, it sparked my curiosity again....do you know where in Long Island our family settled? I'm familiar enough with the area (think about it this way, I'm more familiar with Islip, Babylon, and Amittyville than I was with West Jordan, Utah); although, also, I'm familiar with the major areas here in Long Island. We've had to look all of our appointments' streets up in our map of Suffolk County because they're no darn mountains here. Some missionaries have GPS'. We don't but it's more cost efficient to look it up in the map. Instead of numbers, we go by major road names. Some of the streets here are screwed up!!! Many are more straight and aligned....but not with grid. No grid system here exists.
Anyway, love you guys soooo much!!!!!!!
Love you!
Bye!!
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