Loved Ones,
Hello! First of all, thank you all for your emails! I had a full inbox today, and my heart was glad. You are all literally the best. We have a mystery on our hands...Where am I composing this email? Where in the vast New York City metropolis have I been assigned to labor? The suspense! I can hardly stand it! Well, I can actually stand it just fine, because I know exactly where I am (thankfully). But, so the rest of you don't have to sit on the edge of your seats, popcorn spilling out of your bags because of your trembling hands, I will unveil the surprise. I'm back in Brooklyn! I am in a lovely place called Midwood to be exact. The city called me back from the oasis of Long Island. It is actually very good to be here. it's similar to Williamsburg, except it's more diverse and there are less angry hipsters. So, basically, it's awesome. There are 9 companionships in my zone, and I'm serving with Elder Cutshall. He's my zone leader companion. Zone leaders nearly always serve in pairs. Elder Cutshall is great. He is a Creole-speaking missionary, so we are technically a zebra companionship. We will teach in both Creole and English. He is from Park City, Utah, but he grew up in Vancouver. Mom, my new apartment is great. It needed some clean-up, but we're all squared away now. I have carpet for the first time in nearly a year! That's kind of nice. There is one elder that I've served with in the past. His name is Elder Wayas, and he's from Laie, Hawaii. He's great. I think he's my favorite missionary here. He just has the biggest heart ever. He supports me in my goal to attend BYU Hawaii. My schedule now really isn't all that different from the past. We still find and teach much like I always have. They have some great activities they're doing here in Midwood that are similar to what we did in Bushwick, so that's been fun to get back to. Being a zone leader just means you have a few more meetings than usual, and I suppose more importantly you have to work harder at being a good example because there are a lot of missionaries who look up to zone leaders. I am grateful that the Lord leads me and guides me along. I cannot succeed without His help. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to serve. I think that the greatest blessing of a leadership position is the opportunity to develop greater love and charity. With the Lord's help, you really do grow to truly love those you serve, and that brings more joy than anything I can think of. I love to love. It's the best. I am so grateful for the Lord's hand in my life. I know that He is always there for me, and I know that I can be successful and happy as I turn to him. If we keep our eyes and our hearts open, I believe that we will come to recognize each day of our lives for what it truly is - a miracle. We are so richly blessed, and it is important to recognize this and be grateful. It is a happy way to live, and I hope to more fully master this principle as I serve. So, there's the update! I'm doing well, and I feel very blessed, especially because I have such wonderful people in my life. As always, thank you.
I wish I had more time to write, but there just isn't a lot of it. I'll have to be brief, but, boy, do I have a story for all of you. Do you all remember the miracle of the seagulls. You know, when the seagulls came and ate all the crickets who were destroying the pioneers crops? Well, I was a witness of a similar event, but with a New York twist. Sparrows took the place of seagulls, and maggots took the place of crickets. Are you curious now? Well, let me start from the beginning. Elder Cutshall and I walked into the church yesterday morning, and all seemed to be normal except for a strange odor that permeated the building. In fact, it was more than strange - it was downright offensive. It just didn't smell good. We searched out the source and took out some of the trash bags, but it was all to no avail. The odor remained, as did our ignorance as to its source. Several minutes into sacrament meeting, a member pulled Elder Cutshall and I out of the chapel to enlist us in a search for the source of the smell. So, we embarked on another hunt for some terrible something that was, as yet, unknown to us. Finally, to our absolute horror, we discovered the spring from whence the foul smell sprung: a dumpster filled with rotting Deseret Industries meat. Somebody had cleared out the bishop's storehouse, and they neglected to put the meat in a garbage bag. The result was pounds upon pounds of maggot-infested meat. I am sorry for the distasteful nature of the story, but if I spared the details, it would not be nearly as intriguing. Well, we knew what needed to be done. It was up to Elder Cutshall and I to eradicate this very problematic problem. We slipped on some gloves, and began the terrible task. Eventually, we realized that we would not be able to reach down to the bottom of the dumpster, so we wheeled it out to a patch of dirt and tipped it over to provide access to its spoiled contents. Words cannot describe the awful scene that was spread before our eyes. I now have a great addition to my list of reasons to be vegetarian. After much travail and anguish, we prevailed. We bagged everything up (twice) and then cleaned out the dumpster. The project was a lovely welcome to the Midwood ward. It was not the kind of activity I could have ever anticipated doing on the sabbath day, but the ox was in the mire, as they say. Actually, in a quite literal sense, it was more like the ox died in the mire and then began to rot there. Now, the ordeal is a funny memory, but I'm afraid the image of thousands of maggots crawling around will linger in my nightmares for years to come. And that brings me to the sparrows and the maggots I mentioned earlier. After everything was cleared up, there were still a shocking number of maggots at the spot where the bulk of the clean-up was done. These ferocious and disgusting creatures were surely seeking to terrorize the people of New York and wreak havoc at every squirm of their vile bodies. But, our friendly New York sparrows came to the rescue. They flew down and began taking up mouthfuls of maggots, saving everyone from their nefarious schemes. A few hours later, not a maggot was to be found at the scene. Ok, so maybe it is not quite as impressive as the seagulls and the crickets, but I thought it was pretty awesome.
In addition to the dumpster adventure, there were many other great moments this week. I look forward to all the fantastic things that lie in store. There are moments of great difficulty, when I'm sure that nothing will ever work out, but somehow, someway, help always comes. On a more serious note, the sparrows are symbolic of solutions that come just when you need them, but often in a completely different way than you would have imagined. God is never far from us. His hands are always stretched out, and He will never leaves us comfortless. He will never leave us unaided. I know what it is like to feel like all is lost and hope is dead. I want to offer my testimony that hope is never dead. If we will have faith, we will find our way. We must hold fast to what we know and love, and be willing to step forward into the darkness. I love each of you. I thank you for so often being my light in darkness. Whether that light comes in the form of a letter, a prayer, or even a happy memory, it has so often saved me from despair and pulled me from gloom. So, from the bottom of my heart, I offer my gratitude. Each of you is so important to me. And I know that each of you is indescribably important to our Heavenly Father. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.
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