I'm Staying!

Alright, we got our transfer info lastnight. I am staying here in Lynn again, which is awesome. Elder Winslow is leaving, so I will be getting a new companion tomorrow at transfer meeting. It's between 2 other Khmer Elders, who are also being transferred, so I'm not sure which one I'll get. We'll see tomorrow, so I will let you know next week. I'm so happy I'm staying though. Alright, so last week my email was full of sad news how we didn't have anyone to teach, and that it was a pretty tough week. This last week was about as opposite as it gets. haha. We ended up teaching 18 lessons last week, which is pretty good compared to the normal, and we picked up 2 new investigators, set a baptismal date for one of them, and have a few potentials to talk to as well. Last Tuesday, we were tracting, since we didn't have anyone to teach, and we came to a house and did our normal door approach. What wasnt't normal, is that she actually let us in! haha. We taught her a great lesson 1, she didn't have any questions, and said that she needed to be baptized, so we set up a date for the 26th of September. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to meet with her again since then, but I still think she can make it for that date. She was really cool.

The other new investigator we picked up is named Nurinato. She was out on her porch with her 5 dogs, and did not look like she would be interested, but she was. Funny how that happens. We taught her a lesson 1 also, and when we gave her a Book of Mormon and said she could keep it, she was so happy! She said that we made her day, and that she would be sure to read it. She gave us her phone number so we could call to confirm our return appointment, and when we called it a few days ago, it went to her daughter's phone, and she told us that her mom has Alzheimer's. We weren't really sure what we should do about that, since she probably didn't remember us, but we decided to go back to her house. She did remember us, and she said that she hadn't been able to read yet, cause she got sick. Chances are that she won't continue being taught, since she won't remember much, but we still are going to meet with her in a few days.

The highlight of this last week, however came on Sunday. The 3 sons of the family we live above, and 1 of their cousins were baptised! It was so awesome. They asked me to give a talk at the baptism, which I was happy to do. The funny thing is that since they are going to be in the S[anish Branch, the whole service was in Spanish, so I was the only one the whole meeting that talked in English. haha. It was pretty funny. But yeah, it was such a great experience. Even though the whole thing was in Spanish, I understood a lot of it, and was feeling the Spirit so strongly. It was amazing. I'm so happy that they finally got baptized! They are such awesome kids.

So that's how awesome the last week has been. I also realized that I really like cooking. I bought a bag of shrimp that were on sale, and when I got home, I realized I had never cooked shrimp before, and didn't really know how. haha. So, after thawing them out, and de-shelling them, I threw them into a pan with some butter and garlic, and watched them turn from grey to pink (which is pretty cool, actually) then I boiled some pasta, and mixed it all together in some alfredo sauce. Mmmmm. It was delicious. I made it for the other Elder's in our apt. too, and they all said it was really good. While we were at the Buckley's the other day, he told me that he had an idea that he would buy the ingredients for whatever I want to cook, and while we are watching Conference next month, we could have dinner with them. Therefore, I was wondering if you could send me a recipe book of some sort. That would be very useful. Thanks.

Alright, so we were at a dinner appointment the other night with one of the approx. 20 newly-married couples in our ward, and we got on the subject of sports. He asked me if I was a Jazz fan, and after I said yes, he said, "So you've heard what happened with Boozer?" I told him no, and he then told me that he and Korver got traded to the Bulls. He didn't say who we got in return, so I have been wondering what's up with that. An update of that plus BYU would be great. That's nuts that they have such a young team. I'm excited to hear how they do.

Well, that's about all I have to say for this week. I'm anxious to hear who will be my new companion tomorrow. Kurtis, I'm still waiting to hear another update of your games. keep me posted on the varsity games too. Thanks. Oh, I totally forgot to tell you that I survived "Hurricane Earl". That was about the most disappointing thing ever. I was so stoked to experience a hurricane, and then we got an evacuation notice on our phone telling us that we might need to be evacuated, but it turns out, that we didn't even get any rain from it. haha. I was so bummed. I was expecting some wind or something, but it only rained for maybe 10 minutes. Oh well, maybe we'll get another one soon. Alrighty, hope you all have a great week! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Hammer