It was fun to hear the stories of Preston, since I get the
Allie stories, but a certain someone hardly ever tells me Preston (and
Franklin) stories.[1]
It's weird to hear the things he says. I just can't imagine it because he's
older than Allie was when I left. I remember him saying things like
"Mommy! Don't talk to Baba!" and "Mommy, Baba, Shu-shu, go home,
Amen!"[2] (I
don't know the proper Chinese spelling for the equivalent of Mommy.)
Somehow I never got that you were tending the boys without David there. Last week I wondered but I didn't find out for sure until just this email.
It has been pretty hot here lately. Fortunately we supposedly only get another month of the infernal heat. It's transfers tomorrow, but we're both staying here. It's the first companion I've had for more than one transfer since Elder L. back in Ritzville from October to December. So I'm already surpassing my length of time in Hayden and going for tying with Ritzville and East Wenatchee.
We will be having a baptism on August 8 for an eighteen-year-old who's wanted to get baptized for years. We're excited for that, and I'll be here for it. It will be the first time I've had more than one baptism in an area. It will make up for not getting any baptisms in Hayden. (Not that that matters, of course.)
This week we had interviews with President Palmer, whom I really like so far. For some reason he wanted us to look at my transfer board picture when I was about fifty pounds fatter. I haven't weighed myself since I got here, but I do know that sometimes I can now go on a hole of my belt that I couldn't before. I think the uphill biking contributes. I like to bike even when we have the car because we can save miles, and some of the streets around here are more like alleys, so parking gets annoying.
Last week on P-day we were playing tag on a playground with the other missionaries. Elder W. jumped and hit his knee and bruised it pretty bad. So for a day we walked (we had to anyway because my bike was being fixed). Then this Friday we had some surplus miles on the car so we got to go to another small town called Culdesac. I love small towns. If I finish my mission here I'm excited for September, October and November, because then we can save more miles because it won't be too hot, and we can go to other small towns. I'm somewhat bored of Lewiston itself but I love exploring new areas. In August the ward is having a special picnic geared to fellowshipping the less-actives who live out of town, so we'll get to go to the town of Winchester, although I don't know what kind of work we'll be able to do that day. Yesterday we visited some members who live in Waha, which isn't really a town but rather a settlement in a cool glen--twenty degrees cooler than Lewiston.
I'll try to finish my memories of Grandma and Grandpa and send it home. Also, I need the Weights' address.
Love,
Elder Melville
Somehow I never got that you were tending the boys without David there. Last week I wondered but I didn't find out for sure until just this email.
It has been pretty hot here lately. Fortunately we supposedly only get another month of the infernal heat. It's transfers tomorrow, but we're both staying here. It's the first companion I've had for more than one transfer since Elder L. back in Ritzville from October to December. So I'm already surpassing my length of time in Hayden and going for tying with Ritzville and East Wenatchee.
We will be having a baptism on August 8 for an eighteen-year-old who's wanted to get baptized for years. We're excited for that, and I'll be here for it. It will be the first time I've had more than one baptism in an area. It will make up for not getting any baptisms in Hayden. (Not that that matters, of course.)
This week we had interviews with President Palmer, whom I really like so far. For some reason he wanted us to look at my transfer board picture when I was about fifty pounds fatter. I haven't weighed myself since I got here, but I do know that sometimes I can now go on a hole of my belt that I couldn't before. I think the uphill biking contributes. I like to bike even when we have the car because we can save miles, and some of the streets around here are more like alleys, so parking gets annoying.
Last week on P-day we were playing tag on a playground with the other missionaries. Elder W. jumped and hit his knee and bruised it pretty bad. So for a day we walked (we had to anyway because my bike was being fixed). Then this Friday we had some surplus miles on the car so we got to go to another small town called Culdesac. I love small towns. If I finish my mission here I'm excited for September, October and November, because then we can save more miles because it won't be too hot, and we can go to other small towns. I'm somewhat bored of Lewiston itself but I love exploring new areas. In August the ward is having a special picnic geared to fellowshipping the less-actives who live out of town, so we'll get to go to the town of Winchester, although I don't know what kind of work we'll be able to do that day. Yesterday we visited some members who live in Waha, which isn't really a town but rather a settlement in a cool glen--twenty degrees cooler than Lewiston.
I'll try to finish my memories of Grandma and Grandpa and send it home. Also, I need the Weights' address.
Love,
Elder Melville
[1] My
nephews were visiting Utah without their parents, so my parents were in charge
of them. Both Allie and Preston typed gibberish in my email. Allie supposedly
said, “ I was sick today. I was going to give a talk today.
Thank you for sending me money for my birthday.” Preston supposedly said, “I
want to say the words I love you. After Allie's birfday will be mine.” My
dad dictated, “Franklin is mostly just cute. The other day he chased a
deer out of our yard and was just giggling about it. So he is a mighty
hunter.” My mom said, “Franklin will run and jump in your arms when you count
to three. He is happy as long as he is well fed and not sleepy.
Preston has a really cute sense of humor. The other night he came in to
get me about 2:30 AM. He asked sweetly if I could come sleep with
him. When I laid down he told me this story. ‘Grandma, I felled out
of bed and I didn't even get hurt. Isn't that so cool?’"
[2] Just
before I left on my mission, I visited my brother’s family in Tennessee, and
Preston turned three while I was there. When his mom got mad at his dad (“Baba”),
he would defend him. “Talk to” was his word for “reprimand.” I was known as “Shu-shu.”
He liked to say prayers, which were hilarious because he said “Amen” super
dramatically. Allie was four when I left; she had just turned six at the time
of this letter. Preston was four.
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