Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Letter from May 21, 2012

Howdy!!

Well this week has been one big crazy adventure! Although it is true that we have had doors slammed in our faces, curse words yelled at us, and all sorts of other rejection, I love Slidell. It is such a cool place with some very interesting people. A lot of the people we talk to have seen a lot of devistation (Slidell is basically a suburb of New Orleans, and Hurrican Katrina had a huge effect here) in their lives. We ride our bikes by places where homes used to exist, and now only a shattered foundation exists. Our area covers a huge demographic range - from ghetto (kinda where we live) to very wealthy bayouside homes. That in and of itself lends to an interesting experience. There are some gorgeous areas - as we ride out to Eden Isles, an upscale area, we pass Bayous that blow my mind with how beautiful they are. We've had to stop to take pictures a couple times because it felt like it was too good to be true. Hopefully I can send those pictures in the next couple of weeks. There is nothing quite like having Blue Jays flying around everywhere. So cool.

 The ward here is phenominal. The members are all very cool, and I love listening to them tell their life stories. Especially some of the older members. This past week we talked to a man who was born in 1919, served in the war, and builds his own boats. What a cool guy. And the old married couples that make fun of each other after 50+ years of marriage. They are all so happy, despite the huge tragadies in their lives. Because we are in a new area the work is going slow, but momentum is building, and if we keep up this work, success can and will happen. My companion is awesome - we are always finding a way to laugh throughout the day. For example, we had 45 minutes before a dinner appointment, so we decided to tract out the area around the park we were to meet at and some guy answered the door, obviously weary from the nap he had just been taking. Before I could stop myself, I found the words "Hi! Good Morning!" leaving my mouth at 6 pm. He looked me in the eye and slammed the door in our faces. We looked at each other, and just busted up. That was my first day of tracting. What a way to start off the mission, eh?

 No amazing stories yet, because the one contact we made that had good potential was actually outside of our area so we had to turn her over to the ZL's. I was not too happy, because she seriously had questions about the church, wanted to learn more, and had us over more than once. Grrr. Really that is all for this week, because a lot of our time was spent getting our bearings and becoming cofortable with the area and members. Hopefully I will have more next week. I love the people of Slidell, love my companion, love Lousiana and southern sunsets, and love this Gospel. The church is true, I promise!!

Love,

Elder Thomas

PS - I also love Waffle House. If I ever go into business, I am making sure that I bring one to Utah. Their waffles are straight from the Celestial Kingdom. Huzzah!

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