Crazy Great Week

Hello All,

How is it going over there in all the smoke? Haha I hear it is pretty wild and crazy over there?

Life as a missionary over here this week has been great. Nothing but great. It's been a hard week. But a great week. This week has ZOOMED by. And it's weird. The weeks are flying by but the days seem longer than the weeks. I'm not sure how that works.. But it's true! The days are long and the weeks are short! Haha don't ask me how it happens, but I'm sure every missionary will tell you that it does.

We had a great week full of hard times and great times. Like I have said before we share the car with the Sisters in our area. They get the car half the week and we get it the other half. Well.. While it was our turn to be on bikes it had been a looooong day of biking. So we biked back to our Apartment for our dinner hour. I fixed something fast to eat and I had about 50 minutes left until 6pm which is when we are suppose to be out the door again. So I layed down for a nap because I was exhausted.. Haha well.. I accidentally sleep till about 6:30.. So we quickly hopped on our bikes and got riding. About 100 yards down the road I feel a pop and my back tire kinda starts sliding. Yes.. The back tire popped. And it wasn't just like a little piece of glass that went through it. There was a thick wire weaved in and out of my tire.. I have no idea how it happened and what happened. But my testimony of the Lord having a sense oh humor grew that day.. Because we had to take our bikes 100 yards back to the house and then walk about an hour and a half into E-Town... I took it as a sign from the Lord not to sleep past 6 again. Haha

We also went to a place called Columbia Pennsylvania! It is a place In our area and it sits right on the banks of the Susquehanna River. The Susquehanna River is beautiful and this city gets the privilege of living right on it. It's a huge river and it has a huge bridge connecting to the other side. You can look across the river to the other side and you can of course see all trees, but you can see the houses and the coolest thing is you can see the church steeples Coming out from the top of the trees and right on the banks of the river. The churches and houses kind of live up on a hill which descends down to the river bottom. I wish pictures Could capture the view.. But it's like something you would see in a movie.. Haha

We were knocking doors down there 3 days In a row this week! And it's a WILD city. Haha people in E-Town call Columbia people "River Rats" and I thought that was weird... Till I got there. We knocked and knocked and knocked and then one man opened up. His name was James and he told us that his family was all members down in Baltimore. He told us that he had been to the DC temple and walked the grounds and that he used to go to church with them all the time! So we are going back to teach him this Wednesday!

Anyways the city of Columbia reminds me of downtown Cumberland.. Haha it has the same feel. One of the days we were down there we got Hazed so much! People were yelling out of Cars at us, one guy asked what we were doing on his block and said he had told us to stay off his block and all kinds of stuff! My favorite one is when they yell "Hail Satan!" which they do thinking it will bother us I guess. But there loss right? Haha the best one this week was when we were knocking doors and an old lady came to the door and barely opened. When she saw who we were she gave the door quite a slam. Then a voice from the apartment building across the street yells from an upper window "Well that didnt work!" we couldn't see him but it was so funny! Haha

Then walking around later that night still in Columbia.. We saw an older man with a long Grey beard. We approached him and asked if we could help Him with anything at all. He said no. We got into a conversation and eventually he told us that he was Jewish and then proceeded to say "And nothing you two say will change my mind. It's pretty hard to walk away from what I've been a part of for 5000 years." When he said 5000 years I was confused at what that meant and so I asked! Apparently this man had been there the day Moses had gotten the plates of the 10 Commandments.. He stood there with Moses. I guess. Haha so he was pretty set in his ways. We tried to share with him but he wasn't having it. I mean.. I guess I would be pretty set in my ways as well if Moses has spoken to me 5000 years ago. ;)

There were so many weird and great experiences that I had this week that are written in my journals.. You will just have to wait 11 months to hear them. There are too many to email! Haha

Anyways thanks For all that you have done for me and I hope you have a Great week!

Love, Elder Welling!