Saturday, June 6, 2009

Hello!

How are things going?

It's interesting that you brought up the temple in your letter, since I just got back from there this morning! There is a member in Fort Sumner, New Mexico who was baptized over a year ago and had gone to the temple to get his endowment but hasn't been back since. Elder Sosi knew him very well after serving there, so he invited him to come. After setting up the appointment and everything, his car broke down, so he couldn't come. We decided to go anyway. There also happened to be a member from Roswell going for the first time, and the missionaries that taught him (some of whom have since gone home) came to go with him. (I never met most of them.) It's so great to have a temple within walking distance of where you live. I just wish I would've gone more often while serving in Lubbock.

To answer some of your other questions: we helped the Peterson family move their stuff. They're moving to a house and they had a lot of stuff. They rented a 24' U-Haul and it was full by the end. Brother Peterson served a mission in Mexico, which is where that sombrero came from. Not too long after that, we got a call from a member of the stake presidency (who's also moving) saying that the people who bought the old house don't want the shed in the backyard, so he needed help moving out. Unfortunately, it just so happened that on that particular day, we got the first rain in several months and the ground was all muddy. The pickup truck got stuck in the mud; every time we tried to slide the shed, it would dig into the ground, and on top of all that, we were still in our white shirts and ties. It was fun. We were cleaning our shoes for quite a while after that. But, hey, they promised us a homemade spaghetti dinner on Sunday, so it all worked out well.

Also, Elder Johnson (the one from Canada) at one point had two typewriters - one electric and one completely mechanical - that he used to write letters. He still has the mechanical one, and it's really cool. It's small, comparatively light and very convenient. I was hoping to find some sort of digital text processor - nothing but a keyboard and a tiny screen - so I can type stuff during the day, hook it up to the computer in the library and email it off. I guess that was a rather dumb idea.

And, I actually understood the Chinese expression that Rachel [Simkovits] quoted! That made me feel kinda better.

Oh, I got your cards, thanks! And I love Nutribars for some strange reason. It must be an acquired taste.

On Sunday, I got to give a talk. The Assistants came to give the 5th Sunday lesson introducing the "Family Mission Plan". It's actually pretty interesting and has great potential. The bishop decided to have the sacrament talks missionary-themed so as to get everyone excited about it. So they got a priest (who's going to go on a mission), a full-time missionary (me)(who's on a mission) and Brother Sybrowsky the ward mission leader (who served a mission). So we spoke on missionary work. The Assistants gave their presentation in each ward and handed out index cards for those who are interested in learning more to give their name and phone number. Apparently, we got the most out of any other ward in the stake. Not only did our talks set the right tone for their presentation, but I think this ward is very (at least more and more than in the past) missionary-minded, but they just don't know how to go about sharing the gospel. This "Family Mission Plan" actually helps out with that.

Anyways, I have to go. We'll talk more later.

I know that the Church is true.

I love you!

-Elder Brandon Wong

Something I wish I knew before my mission: how to take each moment slowly.