Monday, June 12, 2017

Oreo Milkshakes

June 5, 2017

Well first I'd like to just say thanks to those who wished me a happy
birthday this last week! I truly feel 20 now. Why? Because people
always think missionaries are old. So many times kids guess how old we
are and I get a range of anywhere from 24 to 37. Even missionaries
would find out I'm 19 and think it's pretty crazy because I'd been out
here way longer than most of them. It looks like it's time for me to
stop being a teenager... although I don't plan on growing up anytime
too soon;)

Monday afternoon an African couple, the Kollies, called us and asked
if we wanted to go to Chinese buffet. They picked us up and I had a
wonderful time eating sushi, Chinese food, chicken wings, pizza and
ice cream! I noticed their plates were always just chicken and rice. I
asked them if they liked Chinese food and they said "No, we just like
coming here because everyone can choose what they want!" For being in
an Chinese buffet, they still ate just like they do at home hahaha! In
the evening we went out with one of my favorite members here, Brother
Luce. He's originally from Layton, Utah and knows Mike and Lisa Cena
extremely well! He's been living in Philly for about 10 years and for
the majority of it has lived right in the middle of southwest, one of
the rougher parts of Philly. We taught a great lesson to a less active
and went out for pancakes and milkshakes at Denny's! As we were
talking and he said "I realized that the longer I stay here, the more
ghetto I'm becoming" So we sat and listed off all the things that we
noticed the city has changed in all of us. Sorry if I'm a hood rat
when I come home! On Tuesday we had transfers, so I said goodbye to my
first boy and grabbed another veteran missionary Elder Haws for a
couple days before we got our new Goldens. Elder Haws is originally
from Ethiopia and he has 0 mean bones in his body. He also served in
the south part of P1 a bit ago so in our free time we visited all of
the people he used to teach! He made such a big impact on the people's
lives here.

On my birthday we had to wake up early to get to Broomall for the
golden meeting. It was another wonderful meeting and I got to pick up
my new companion! His name is Elder Lee, originally from Detroit
Michigan, but recently lived in Birmingham Alabama. He's a convert of
3 years so this is definitely going to be a whole new experience but
we already get along great and have had a ton of fun! He constantly
tells me how much he likes how we do missionary work here verses how
it was done back at home. The meeting took up most the day so we got
back and took him to meet a few people before the day was over. It
honestly didn't really feel like my birthday though haha I even had
people tell me happy birthday on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th which made me
question which day I was really born on. Saturday evening we got a
bunch of pizza and baked brownies with the southwest elders which was
way fun too! I love the elders we serve around here, they are
incredible.

Just a few things I'd like to highlight concerning those we teach.
Antoinette is doing so well! She went to a YSA activity on Memorial
Day and had a great time. We were thinking about having her attend the
YSA since her work schedule doesn't conflict with the YSA's meeting
time. During a lesson with her where we were talking about her
options, Bishop Ard called and asked her if she'd accept a calling to
be a young women's adviser and help out with girls camp! She's super
excited and she looks likes she's still in high school anyways so she
will do a great job! We picked up some new investigators last week,
Edwina and her daughter Jamie. Jamie told us she took her Book of
Mormon to math class. She was bored with the video they were watching
so she pulled it out to read. It just so happens our good friend Momoh
sits right next to her and said he would read it with her and helped
her understand it! How cool is that? Later in the week we came back
and Jamie had read chapter 2 and gave us a perfect summary of the
chapter! Elder Lee was so shocked because she's 15 and kept
commitments. He kept telling me about when his missionaries invited
him to read and when they came back to follow up he would just tell
them nah hahaha. Edwina and her kids Jamie, Christian and Micah came
to church in all their African clothes and they are super excited to
be baptized! It's such a blessing to be teaching these wonderful
people. I'm thankful for your support and that I can continue to serve
these amazing people. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

1) found a couple of my favorite departing missionaries hanging out in
Philly before they headed home, gonna miss these guys Left to Right:
Elder Haws, Elder Dyl Pickle, Elder Newman, Elder Neilson, Elder Drake
and Elder Winstanley
2) the district!! Left to Right: Elder Lee, Elder Lee (my companion),
yours truly, Elder Fowers, Elder Makuakane, Elder Yirena-Tawiah,
Sister Greenway, Sister Condon, Sister Stubben
3) pizza with the most diverse squad on the mission - Detroit, Hawaii,
Ghana and your basic Utah
4) not only is there a buncha weights and a broken hoop on the ground,
but a hood hoop made out of wood and a milk crate
5) a selfie brother Luce took when I had a bit of a chubbier face






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