Baptism!

Hey, how is everyone doing? It sounds like everyone has been having fun. I was so glad that I was able to talk to everyone on the phone on Tuesday.  It was great to hear everyone's voices again. Sorry you had to wait so long in the car, but I guess it worked out cuz it was right during Ian's half time of the soccer game. It sounded like everyone was doing well. I wish that we could've talked longer but we had to end sometime. After I finished calling you, we unpacked and then rode our bikes around to all of our recent converts and investigators. I was really nervous when I was meeting everyone and didn't say a whole lot since I didn't know anyone or even my companion very well lol. We basically had short lessons with different people for the rest of the day and it felt like forever! My bike was too big too so it was not fun to get on and off  it. lol. The next day was a lot better and I borrowed a different bike that actually fit. I still need to get a bike from a member or someone because out of the four Elders in my apartment, we only have three bikes, so sometimes we need someone to sit on the handlebars. haha.

We were teaching this great guy named D... He was a big smoker and had trouble with the law and had a hard family life. We taught him and he was baptized two days ago and then I confirmed him on Sunday! It was so great to see the change in his life. Every time we visit them now, I can feel the love in his home. He has a close friend named J... who lives with him with his two little girls who are 7 and 4. He was inactive and just got out of jail when we visited him with D..., and he's decided to come back to church and bring his girls with him! It's so great that they're all coming back and they are such a loving family with the gospel in their lives. D... really was one of those golden investigators because he basically came straight out and said that he needed to quit smoking before we even taught him the word of wisdom. I was really nervous at first about teaching in English but now I love it. I can really express how I feel. The lessons aren't even like what I taught at the MTC either. We do a little planning, but we basically just apply everything to the listener and teach by the spirit and address their concerns. I love it so much and I'm grateful that I've already seen such a miraculous change in someone's life.
 

  We go to member's houses for dinner basically every night and sometimes we even have two dinners just to make people happy to have us over lol. With two meals I have to force all the food down just to be polite.  One Elder already gained 25 pounds in 6 weeks! I don't think that'll happen to me though, because I try to exercise.  My companion is cool, his name is Elder Carlin and he's been out about 13 months. He's fun and we get along well together. Our other roommates are Elder Firpo and Elder Polegyi (pronounced pology). They're cool too.
 

  Thanks for the story. It was good, and maybe I'll even be able to see the carving when I get to Taiwan. I'm glad that you got the picture of my companion and me. We were meeting a member family and teaching them a quick lesson. That actually was my companion that was going to do interpretive dance, I was going to either play the cello or piano for him lol.

 I'm still not sure how long I'm going to be here, but I'm not really upset to spend some time here. I still want to go to Taiwan, but I'm having a good time here. Teaching the gospel anywhere is a privilege. I'd love to tell you more about my time here so far, but it'll have to wait. I have a lot less time here to email than I did in the MTC so I'll save some for next time. I love you all very much. I'm so glad I could talk with you and I hope you all have a great week!
 

Love,

Andrew

p.s. I took some pics of D... baptism and us golfing earlier today, but I didn't bring my camera to the library with me so it'll have to wait for next time.

 

Elder Stevens and Elder Carlin.  What A Team!