Better Than Ever
Hey everyone, Greetings from the Tar Heel State! Wow, I feel like a totally different person from last week, I think I have finally gotten over my 2 cases of the Cold and I feel great!! How was everyone’s Halloween (o Noche de Brujas por aquellas que hablan espanol)? Mine was pretty miserable, I was actually in bed the whole evening. But we actually had a decent week, ending up teaching 19 lessons…not bad for 2 missionaries who were feeling a little under the weather.
Well, my first transfer period has ended and I wasn’t transferred, so I’m in Cary, NC for another 6 weeks! Our actual area covers the whole city of Cary and a little bit of Raleigh, including the campus of North Carolina State. The Zone Leaders reside in the student ward there and I went on exchanges a few weeks ago up there. It was pretty sweet, I actually didn’t get to prosilyte on the campus, which I hear is a good thing…talking to all of the college aged girls is sometimes a hard thing to do for missionaries. But I’m hoping to get some memorablia or something from NCST and something from all of my areas. I’ve actually already bought a Duke blanket..hehe, just because sometimes they don’t provide a bed sheet. Yeah, this area is really cool, especially now with all of the fall colors and the leaves from the tons of trees. It’s pretty good temperature right now, in the mid 70’s but could get a little chilly soon.
We have a pretty good pool of investigators…but none of them are progressing right now. It’s so hard to help them fulfill their commitments and keep their appointents. It’s actually recommended to see them everyday, but sometimes it’s difficult to see them once a week. That means lots of tracking when appointments fall through. I think we’ve finished off a couple apartment complexes and a huge trailor park…yeah, the life of a missionary…it’s sweet, isn’t it? Just the other day, I think I saw my first shipment of illegal aliens while we were walking through a trailor park. Two huge vans pulled up, both chuck full of hispanics and blankets and clothes and stuff. One opened up, a guy hopped out and went into a trailor and then the vans took off again. One of the drivers also had a beer in his hand…hmm, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many illegal things happen in place. It’s kinda funny though, because I bet some of our investigators are illegal aliens and we’ve already had a few that have dissapeared on us. And I saw somewhere that President Bush and the US are really starting to crack down on immigration…NOOO…WE NEED OUR HUMBLE MEXICANS!! Seriously, most Americans won’t even give us a chance to give our message but hispanics will listen to us even if they are busy or talking on the phone. That’s why we need to be careful not to force them to hear.
Well, Thanksgiving is coming, the 2nd one I won’t be present at. I’ve figured that it will be 4 years between the 2 Thanksgivings I get to spend with family..that’s unbelievable! But time does go fast out here, by the end of next transfer, I’ll already be out for 6 months! My shirts are already beginning to turn a different color and I already have a rip in my suit pants. Oh..the signs of experience. Elder Jensen has already told me I don’t act like a greenie and I seem to be more experienced and weathered then greenies. He is leaving Wednesday to go back home, he’s reached the end of his road, so that means something. But we get new missionaries, so I’m no longer the one of the newest missionaries to the mission.
We had our stake conference this last Sunday, Elder Robert Orton of the 2nd Q of the 70 came, it was pretty cool. President and Sister Mabey also talked, they should have been given more time…but I found out in the next Ensign, they coming out with the 20th anniversury DVD of Mr. Krugers Christmas!! How sweet is that!! Anyways, I got to go to the Recent Convert meeting that was held by Elder Orton. It was awesome, he asked to the converts what first attracted them to the missionaries and there were some pretty cool answers. I guess you don’t really notice how much you can affect someone. That’s why it’s important to be a good example always…
Con Amor,
Elder Hardy