Hola!

So it's already Pday again. Weird. It's been pretty funny lately - one of our Zone Leaders and I have been talking about how the days are starting to feel like minutes. We always say how it feels like it'll only be like 5 minutes from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep, and everything in between feels like a blur. Pretty crazy.

Ok so I don't have a whole lot to say seeing as how it was pday 5 days ago. Not a lot has really happened. We have been focusing more on finding cambodians to teach, and so far it's not going as well as we'd like it to. Although, we do have 3 or 4 potentials, and one of them seems very promising. It's pretty exciting to sit down with someone and just talk to them. I didn't think I'd be able to do that, but apparently I can. Pretty awesome, eh? The one who is very promising is named Veasna. We got a referral from our Zone Leaders for a super drunk cambodian that they talked to a few nights before. Well, we went to visit her, and ended up talking to Veasna instead. He took a Book of Mormon, and seemed like he wasn't super interested, but then out of nowhere he invited us in and gave us some water. We started talking and it was really cool. He is a very busy man, just like all the other cambodians (they work a ridiculous amount of hours every week) but he said that he would definitely read the Book of Mormon and he would come to church when he has time. That is usually never a good thing to hear, but in his case, he was being very sincere, and I believe that he will come eventually. We talked to him for a good 30 minutes before leaving. He told us that we could come back anytime we are in the area again to visit him. So we plan on being in the area a lot. haha. So he's the most promising, but there are a few others so things are going pretty well right now.

That is part of the good news for this week. The other part is that we had 4 people at church yesterday! It was awesome. They were like 10 minutes late, and the only seats available were in the front of the chapel, so we felt pretty cool walking in with a family of 4 to church. It was definitely a good feeling. I guess I should tell you how we met this family. We got a call from this girl in Utah a few days ago. She said that her aunt (Rose) lives in Malden, which is in our area, and that her daughter is sick. Rose knows about the church a little bit, and asked her niece (the girl in Utah) to find someone to give her daughter a blessing. So, somehow she was able to find us and we got in contact with Rose. Her daughter is in the hospital, and they don't allow visitors at all for some reason, so we got to go to Rose's house instead. We talked to her for a bit and prayed with her that everything would be alright. And then she said that she wants her daughters to be part of the church so she decided she'd bring them to church. And then she came. So that's that. haha. Cool story. They're from Haiti too, so they are really nice people. I like Haitians.

So yeah, that is about it this week. No update on Jessica. She is having some personal problems and isn't really progressing right now. So that stinks, but we hope she will still want to be baptized. I'll let you know when that happens. Other than that, I don't think there is much else to say. District Leadering is cool. My first district meeting is this week, so we'll see how that goes... hopefully good. haha.

I don't know if I've said this already, or if you've figured it out, but since I am still in lynn for another transfer, that means that in 10 days I will hit my year mark in-field/in one area! cool beans! I love this area!

Ok well Imma go now. hope you all have a wonderfantastaful week! Cool word, huh, I just made it up. ok. bye! Love you all!

Love,
Elder Hammer!!

Still in Lynn

Ok so we are heading into Boston right quick so I might have to make this the simplified version of what's happened this week. For starters, conference was awesome. We missed the first 35 minutes because nobody had set up the chapel so we had to do it, and there was something wrong with the satelite receiver so we had to fix it and it took awhile. I was kinda bummed, but we got it working so it turned out alright. I loved Elder Gonzales' talk about missionary work. I also loved Elder Ballard's talk- especially when he said that the future growth of the church is not going to happen unless the members start working with the missionaries. That was awesome. Hopefully people will listen and obey that counsel. It sure would make things easier. My favorite talk was Elder Scott's. I loved it. His was one of four that mentioned about getting married after your mission. And one of his lines said "Young men, serve a mission! And when you return, your highest priority is to get married" So, I had this great idea come to me when I heard that. Instead of sending me packages and such, (and this goes for anyone who reads this) you should take the money you would spend on a package sent to me and instead, donate to my "I need to get married as soon as possible after I get home" fund. Yeah, good idea, eh? haha. But I did think it was interesting that so many people mentioned marriage. It was cool. Bottom line - I loved conference.

So yes, being a trainer is fun. I enjoy it quite a bit, actually. E. Greer and I are getting along wonderfully and having a grand old time. He's a good missionary. And now, in addition to being a trainer, I got a call from President Evans this morning asking if I would be the district leader. I told him no. haha just kidding. So I'm gonna be a district leader trainer. Sweet. I'll let you know next week if it's still as fun as it was before. haha.

Progress with Jessica is still moving a bit slow at the moment. She got a solid answer about Joseph Smith being a prophet, but then the next day, instead of coming to conference like she said she would, she went with a friend to some other church that is like an hour away. I don't understand her sometimes. But, she is still awesome and I know she'll get baptized soon.

And to finish up today, I have a great story for you. The other day, Monday actually, we were tracting. Lately when we go tracting I've had this cool thing happen where I drive until I see a street sign that feels good, and go to that street, and continue on until I feel that that is where we should tract. I did the same thing this time around. I felt good about one street, then the next, and the next so we parked. But then I saw one more street sign that felt really good. We went to that street and parked the car. As I was getting out of the car, I saw a house across the street and felt that was the first one we should knock on. As we were walking to the house, a man came out of that house and said, "You guys are great!" haha. I was surprised, because that is not usually one of the things people call us here. So we started talking and he continued "A buddy of mine was moving a while back and two of you guys came and helped out, and I was like wow, those are some good guys" As we continued talking, he told us that was the only reason he came outside - just to tell us how great we were. haha. It was awesome. Then I asked if he'd ever been taught by missionaries before. He said no, so I asked if he'd heard of the Book of Mormon. He looked at it, and asked if he could have it. I told him no. haha. not. We gave him a copy and continued talking to him. As we were talking, his brother came outside and started talking to us as well. He was nuts. He told us all about how he knew everything about our church. He said he was in prison for 6 years and then God touched him and he changed. He just kept going on and on and on, and it was actually really funny. My favorite part was when he said "Who was the guy who started your church?" I said "Well, Joseph Smith restored it" and he said "Yeah that guy, he's the one who broke into the Vatican and stole the scrolls in their vaults and rewrote the Bible." That was just one of many really ridiculous things he said that made me laugh. It was a cool experience to be led to that house and then to have a really odd ending. haha. It was great. I love being a missionary.

So I think that's about it this week. Good stuff. I hope to hear from you all again. OH yeah, thanks for the letters from everyone. Except Kurtis. And Justin, what was up with the last paragraph in your letter? weird. haha. ok well I love you all. Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Hammer