Monday, December 5, 2011

The last couple days here it has been about 27F and raining, up here that means instantaneous black ice, they call it freezing rain, we were told not to leave our apartment at all for several days, though it is warmer it is still quite a pain, up in my last area it was much colder, it gets a lot more snow too. And they have the freezing rain, church was canceled in 2 stakes yesterday Eagle River and Wasilla due to the freezing rain.

Elder Collins is from Western Samoa he grew up there and left for his mission from there, he is Samoan, he has been out one transfer (6 weeks) less than I have, his family is very active in the church, don't know a whole lot more than that. Can't think of a whole lot you could help with we get a long very well other than the language difficulties, because he does not speak English very well.
But we get along great together.

Work is definitely going slow simply because our investigators are busy, we have had 2 people recently come up and ask what they need to do to be baptized, they are both around 16 and 17 they did not come together but near the same time, one of them the parents don't want him to be baptized and the other we have been trying to meet at his house but he has not given us his address just phone, and he asked for things he could read in the BoM he has the app on his phone with bible and BoM so we gave him some to read while we get in contact with him, Moroni 10:3-5 and 3 Nephi ch 11

The puzzles help but I don't think they make this one in Samoan and when I use it they speak English well enough i can do it that way.

Learning a language in mission is really hard, its difficult because in order to really do it I kind of need to be submersed into it, but they all speak English for the most part and with all the other elders I have to speak English so it's hard to learn the language luckily my companion is doing his best to help me but a lot of times he cant understand what I am saying in English, its frustrating some times, but other than the language things are going well.

.....and yes when I found out that right after I left there is a truck and plow and snow mobiles, ;( i would love to ride them when I get back home, that sounds like a lot of fun to me, that is quite the hobby up here for a lot of people.

I love you very much.