More snow, rain, ice, etc.

Well, I thought it wasn't going to be a full week before I got to email again, but I guess with the holiday, then with a random snow/rainstorm I didn't know was coming, we couldn't email until today. I'll tell you about that storm later, but to start out, I'll tell you about Steve Green. Steve Green is a referral from some other missionaries. We had tried to contact him a few times but his friend would come to the door and say he wasn't interested. We finally got Steve to answer the door, and he let us right in. We sat down and started talking to him about why he was interested in the Church. As we talked, it sortof shifted to how he has no idea what the purpose of life is. He knows there's a God that watches out for him, but other than that, he's pretty clueless. We started talking to him about the Plan of Salvation. He was very interested. We continued talking for awhile and then we had to get going. It was a good visit though. As we were leaving he said that he'd have some coffee for us next time we came over, and I briefly explained that we don't drink coffee or tea, and that we would talk about that next time. We went back over a few days later, not really expecting much because he told us he couldn't come to church cause he'd be watching the Patriots game. When we realized that the game was actually after church, right when we had scheduled to meet with him, we were worried that he might not be too coherent (he told us earlier that he'd be alcohol free starting Monday) We called ahead and he sounded pretty excited for us to come over. We took Bro. Buckley with us cause they are the same age, and Bro. Buckley gave up smoking and drinking tea, coffee, and alcohol so we thought he'd be a good match. We got to Steve's house, and when he let us in, I could hear the game going, and his roommate was really "excited" to see us, with a big bottle of something in his hand. Steve took us to a different room, and we sat down to talk to him. It was an awesome lesson. Not only did he not drink or smoke while we taught him (as he had the previous time) but he even turned off the game, and accepted a baptismal date! It was amazing. He's had a rough life, and he recognizes that us meeting him is something special. We taught him the Word of Wisdom, and he told us that he would give up coffee, tea, and alcohol, and he is super anti-drugs, so that wasn't a problem. When we had him read the verse about tobacco, he kinda chuckled and said, "Well that's a pretty big kick in the butt. I guess if God doesn't want me to smoke, I'll have to try to stop" Wow. He's such a sincere guy. He really wants to follow the commandments that we've taught him. I'm excited to keep working with him. Unfortunately, he is moving Feb. 1, but he still wants to be baptized so we told him we'll contact the missionaries in the area he's moving to. I think I've said enough of him, but it was just such a good lesson. I never get tired of seeing people that want to change their life and accept the gospel.

Well, that was about the only really exciting thing that happened this week. Yes, even over my birthday. That was really not super exciting. haha. We woke up yesterday to about 3 more inches of snow. We were supposed to have district meeting and interviews with President, but for some reason, they red-dotted us again, which means that we aren't allowed to drive and we should stay inside. We were pretty confused at why they did that, cause it was only 3 inches, but whatever. So, my birthday was spent at our apartment. All day. Not really doing much. haha. The snow turned to rain as the day went on, and it made everything a mess. It's basically been raining since then, so there's lots of water on the ground, and the snow is all slushy and messy. Our downstairs neighbor kids came and knocked on our door when they got home from school, and they told me to come out. They had chuchitos (don't know if that's how you spell it- they're like tamales) with candles in them, and they sang happy birthday to me. That was way cool. And they gave me a really awesome jacket. So that made me happy. I also got grandma Spencer's package. From the letter that was in it, she didn't think it would be here on time for my birthday, but it was. She gave me a crocheted scarf and hat! And they both match the jacket the ninos gave me too. haha. I know you read these emails, Grandma, so thank you very much!

We had a dinner appointment scheduled for lastnight too, so when I saw that we couldn't drive, I was bummed out cause the family we were going to always have awesome dinners. Well, we called to let her know that we couldn't drive and her husband said he'd come pick us up, so we still got to go to dinner with them. They are the Wonnacott's who are the ones in the $2.4 million townhouse in Charlestown that I've talked about before. Dinner was so good. Roast beef with potatoes, squash, broccoli and her homemade rolls that are amazing. And she made me a way cool birthday cake that looked like a ginormous oreo. It was chocolate with ice cream in the middle. So that was exciting.

Well, I think that's about it for this week. I don't know if you've sent something already, but I thought of one more thing that would be extremely useful. The New Oxford Picture Dictionary in Cambodian would be awesome. I don't know where you could get it though. I know they have them at the MTC, so they might have them at the Distribution Center. But yeah, that would be great. Ok I got's to get going now. Hope you all have a fabulous week. Love you all!


Love,
Elder Hammer