A darkening world

Oh boy I'm excited for the fall. It's getting chilly here and I can't wait to pop on a beanie for the rest of my mission. The sun goes down fairly early now so we are getting the police called on us again. The people that we are teaching are doing awesome and we are excited for them.

Abby's friend Andrew aka AJ is another one of those youth that is just.. ready. He had some concerns about being baptized because he knows that if he is baptized he is going to go on a mission. He doesn't know how his family will react. He is a tall skinny kid and easily one of the easiest to teach.

We got to do a couple service projects this week. We helped a man that we are teaching named Tim move stuff around in his trailer home. We fit tons of stuff on this one small room and packed it so that it had more space then when we first started. 

We also got to help the ward in a clean up project of a creek at a park in Niagara falls. We were planting trees and pounding in posts and cleaning up trash. We found a gravestone down by the river so we hauled it up to the top. Interesting find.

I hope everyone decorates for Halloween this week!

My week

This week Andrew Adkins committed to a baptismal date for Oct 13th. His daughter was baptized about 5 years ago and is now in university. He has been going to church on and off that whole time. He stopped smoking cigars right before I got here and last transfer with Elder Hill he stopped drinking coffee after he argued about it for a while. He beats himself up about things but he is a really kind man. It's going to be a good day.

Stephanie decided she isn't interested in being involved with the church yet. :'-(

Saturday Elder Blackham and I were on the sidewalk when a car and an crossover vehicle smashed into each other just off center of head on. So we called 911 and reported it. The girl in the car broke her wrist pretty bad. We waited for the police to get there and then carried on. I regret not staying and talking to the girl.... guess I'll remember that for next time.

Other then that we are teaching a hotdog stand guy from Alabama, and Kara the girl that was just baptized in our ward is moving down to our area.  

Auras

This week Elder Blackham tried going down to downtown Niagara Falls and it didn't seem very effective at first. As we were heading back we met a man named Michael. He opened up as we talked and he had been praying to know if he was going in the right direction in life when we walked around the corner and began walking to him. He said he didn't really notice our cloths as much as he did the light around us. We met him again just yesterday and he said since he met us things have been going well for him.

I got to go on an exchange with Elder Hershey here in Niagara falls. He is always very cheerful. We are both looking forward to being able to wear beanies again.

Returning to the beginning

This week started by us going to transfers and Elder Hill getting his companion Elder Griener. I found out that they were taking the Rav4 back and so I had to put all the stuff in Buffalo YSAs car. I had exchanges with them that day because they are trio training a new missionary as well. So it was Elder Jones and Elder Hawes and I in a trio on buffalo state campus and then UB campus. It was very fun to talk to all the students. For the most part students have better social skills then the adults. 

We taught this Chinese kid who had just got here to America and it was incredibly powerfully. Yan was his name. 

I got my new companion who is Elder Blackham from Moroni Utah. He is cousins with Spencer Blackham who was on lehi's lacrosse team. Elder Blackham is a very personable and charismatic person. I'm pretty sure he is a very good football player. His family has a massive turkey farm down in Moroni.

We found out this Sunday that a lot of the members here are from central Utah.

This is the third time I'm training in a row. 

At transfers President Evans forgot to tell me I was also district leader so I wasn't super prepared for our district council...

We finally got to start teaching Stephanie Snyder this week and we are looking forward to seeing the light of the gospel enter into her life. She is 14 but she looks and acts like a 18 year old.

This transfer is going to be a pretty busy one.