It's Autumntime (9/21/09)

OK, so I finally got all the BYU stuff done. You might want to double check just to verify. I got my interview with President Palmer done (I'm glad we had stake conference) so he should be sending it off soon.

This week we committed our investigator by the name of Barbie to baptism, and she accepted. The problem is that she's been coming to our ward and we've been teaching at a member's home in our ward, but she lives in another ward, so we will have to hand her off.[1]

We've had some slightly cooler weather this week, but we hear it's going to get hot here again this week. It had better start cooling down fast if we're supposed to don our suit coats at conference. Six thirty (I have no idea how to spell out times) gets darker every morning. We jog most mornings and today was pretty chilly. I'm so glad.

Thanks for the pictures. I've seen pictures of Preston and Franklin on blogs, but not many of Allie. It's weird how big she is. It's going to be weird to see Preston and he won't be saying things like "Shu-shu shoe" anymore.[2] It's also weird how much of a person Franklin is but I've never met him.

We're emailing at the college[3] today due to various circumstances. I've gotten so used to short email time I don't know what to write now that I have time!

Love,

Elder Melville

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[1] Barbie later fell off.

[2] Right before my mission, I visited my three-year-old nephew Preston. I sprained my ankle, and I had to take off my shoe. He became concerned about my shoe and said, “Shu-shu shoe!” We thought that funny. “Shu-shu” meant uncle.

[3] Lewis-Clark State College.

Stupid (insert something relevant here)! (9/14/09)

The Lewiston library only has four computers. And MyLDSMail is being exceedingly slow today. Thus, I don't have very much time to write.

But I did complete one of the essays for the application process.

I hope I don't need an interview for the ecclesiastical endorsement, because we don't have interviews until October. I also need a new temple recommend.

The orange watch still would be fun but not essential. I will need a lot of new clothes when I get home.

I need the Baldwins' address.

I only have three minutes so I have to wrap it up.

Love,

Elder Melville

9/9/09

The reason I'm emailing today is because they thought it would be a good idea to work on Labor Day, because supposedly many people would be home, but I think we can all guess what really happens on Labor Day.[1]

All my mission I've had one dream area: Brewster, WA. This has been assigned to Spanish missionaries, but they do the English and the Spanish both. With my Spanish background and it being a bilingual area anyway, I really wanted to go there, and since I loved Ritzville, I figured I'd like Brewster, which also covers two branches.

But everyone told me it was impossible, and I figured it was. Elder W. was one of the people to tell me it wouldn't happen.

But it was possible. Elder W., who said it would never happen, and who knows no Spanish at all, went there. And I am staying in Lewiston, likely to finish off my mission. My new companion is named Elder T., and he is from Phoenix. (He hasn't  officially told me Arizona, so I can't really say that's the state :) )

We had a pretty successful week. We started teaching two new people. One's name is Barbie, and she's been coming to church with a member. She's pretty quiet but I think she liked it.

The other is named Heidi, and she lives in Culdesac, ID, about twenty miles away from Lewiston. She agreed with the Great Apostasy; when we went over the First Vision she asked if we believed in the Trinity, because she doesn't; she likes the way the Book of Mormon sounds; and she really liked church on Sunday.

A less-active member has also been attending so we will start teaching his family next week.

This week I prayed in sacrament meeting. Our bishop's wife said when she saw me she told her daughter I couldn't lose any more weight. She said I reminded her of the picture of the little boy in the missionary suit that was way too big for him. I think of myself looking like the character on Beetlejuice who has the really small head.

FYI, with my birthday coming up, I don't think it would be a good idea to have something delivered from a floral shop, just because of our weird situation living with nonmembers.[2] Incidentally, their dog can jump over the fence now. He always barks at us like he wants to eat us but when he jumps out he just sits there. He's the most pointless dog ever.

I sent a package UPS so it should arrive tomorrow. I sent it in case I got transferred, but I sent it Saturday because I figured everything would be closed Monday. But it's good to get rid of stuff anyway, because I'm at the point I need to do that. Elder W. wanted to send a box UPS and since we were there I figured I might as well, too. With that particular box I think it was cheaper UPS, anyway.

I don't have much time and I have to look at BYU stuff. But I'll talk to you later!

Love,

Elder Melville

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[1] Missionaries are encouraged to work on holidays because supposedly more people are home. I didn’t find that to be the case. I was especially annoyed that we had to move our P-day this week for the holiday. Not only were people not home, transfers were the next day! You’re supposed to have a P-day to prepare for the transfer.

[2] For my birthday in 2008, my family had a fruit-and-candy bouquet delivered to our house from a local floral shop.

Last day of August! (8/31/09)

I am so glad the summer's ending. I hate this heat. The problem with Lewiston is that sometimes, like the last few days, it decides to rain or thunder, but it only does it at night and fizzles out by the morning. Fortunately, we are heading into September, and even though September can be hot, we are closer to coolness.

I am going to have to spend some money today. I really need a new pair of shoes, because now both of my pairs have holes in the bottom. One already had them, so I hoped the other would make it three months. But nope.

I also need a new helmet. On Saturday my back tire was low, so we were out and about and I pumped it up with the pump I have on my bike. My tire (not the tube) has been kind of worn. Well, I hopped on the bike and started riding when I heard "PA ssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." Indeed, my tire was flat in a few seconds, and since we were far from home, we did a few things in the area and then walked home with the bikes. But somewhere along the line my helmet must have fallen off my handle bars, and I didn't notice it. We went up and down the street looking for it, paying attention especially to where we stopped and put the bike down.[1] (Maybe I should have bought a kickstand and then it would be less likely to fall off when we stop.) Elder W. had an extra tire which is now on the bike. I expected the flat tire would prevent us from riding. But no, the tire's fine now; I just don't have a helmet.

Well, even though school's started, it appears I have another short session. Transfer calls are on Saturday, so maybe I'll be transferred somewhere with long email time, instead of Lewiston's moronically small library. I have no idea about transfers this time.

Love,

Elder Melville

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[1] I remember this incident. I think I was on an exchange with my zone leader when this happened, and it seems like the zone leader was annoyed that we would be less effective if I wasn’t on a bike. (Zone leaders do get overzealous.) We had talked to some potential investigators, and I think we went back and knocked on their door again to ask if they had seen the helmet in their yard.

Only eight more days of August (8/24/09)

I had to laugh at Pops's comment about a camouflage scripture case, being here in Lewiston. In the high council room of the stake center some of the hymn books are bound together by camo duct tape on the spine.[1] (Speaking of duct tape, I bought a black roll to help keep my shoes together--they only have to make it three more months.)Guns definitely fit in with Lewiston.[2] A few weeks ago we went to a members' home and I was shocked when I saw a large deer rib cage sitting on the kitchen table, along with some other meats and body parts. At first I was like, "It's OK, it's just meat," but after being there a few minutes, I started getting lightheaded. It was gross. 

When I was in kindergarten I thought Mrs. Christensen was really old. But here it is, fifteen years later, and she's still teaching! I'm sure she won't remember me, but how interesting that she's teaching my niece. When I heard that Allie was going to Indian Hills, I thought it was sad, because she wasn't going to school with her local friends. Now I think it's sad because she has to leave all of her Indian Hills friends. But I get sad over silly stuff.

A couple of weeks ago I sent in my departing paperwork. You'll have to let the office know if President Brower's address has changed.

I do have a few birthday ideas. I bought a watch last week and settled for a gray one. But I really wanted an orange one, but didn't know how proper it was for that to be my only watch. I couldn't justify buying both. It was a digital Timex Ironman watch with an orange band (non-cloth, of course) and an orange clock part. I bought a cheapo orange watch from Wal-Mart a few years ago, but it didn't work well. This one is not as cheap so I know it will work.

Also, my razor is five years old. It has a battery in it and tells me how many minutes of charge it has left. Lately it has been dying when it says it has four minutes left. So it's getting old. But it still works so it is a lesser desire.

On Saturday we were going to go tracting so we were locking up our bikes to a stop sign and a wasp stung me on the neck. As scared as I've always been of stinging insects, I was surprised it didn't hurt more. My companion told me we needed to get the stinger out. He didn't believe me when I told him wasps don't leave stingers. He looked at it and thought there was a stinger, and even tried to scrape it out, but then he realized it was just a hair on my neck. He told me we needed to go buy Benadryl (we just bought the Western Family version) so I did. But the medicine made me very tired and the sting didn't hurt much. I think if I get stung again I just won't do anything.

Thursday was the hot day for us. It got to about 104 where we are, but in downtown Lewiston we heard it hit 117. Yesterday and today so far have been relatively cool. I don't care now because I know the summer's descending to a close and some day I'll look back and cherish the days my shirt was soaked with sweat.

I don't think too much interesting happened this week. Let me know when the deadline is for the BYU stuff. I hope when school starts (which is this Wednesday) the library won't be as busy and we'll have more time.

Love,

Elder Melville

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[1] Apparently this part of my letter was included in my home ward’s bulletin, and my mom was embarrassed to have everyone know that I was fixing my shoes with duct tape.

[2] My dad wrote to me, “You are getting close to your 21st birthday.  We were going to get you set of guns since you are in Lewiston.  Do you have room in your suitcase?  Would you like a new camoflauge suit and/or camo scripture case?”

Temporarily tolerable August (8/17/09)

This week we had more rain and clouds so it was a pretty cool week. Unfortunately, the coolness appears to have come to an end, and once again we will be having heat. But the month is halfway over, and in two weeks from tomorrow, the long-awaited September will finally come.

Nothing especially noteworthy happened this week. Today I am going to go buy a new watch. I came on my mission with two watches. One I bought for the mission because it had a plastic band, but it was cheap and the LCD didn't stay working. You had thrown in an old watch in my suitcase, which I have been wearing. But it has a cloth band, which I don't ever want to get again. I have always had a problem with cloth bands, because they get wet and all slimy. I now have a case of ringworm on my wrist, so I will purchase a band that will not get slimy. The problem is that plastic bands usually indicate a cheap watch. Why can't they put good watches on plastic bands? Is there some rule about it?

Anyway, as I said, this was an uneventful week, so I should probably use my few minutes left to look at BYU stuff. (Lewiston's library is stupidly small for its patronage.)

Love,

Elder Melville

A little cooler (8/10/09)

I did get approval today for me to go to besmart.com to commence some of the application process.[1]

And we had marvelous thunder and rain storms this week, which have made even the last few sunny days much better.

But there were things that happened that made me joyful this week.

The baptism we had was excellent. Katelyn's uncle and his non-member girlfriend (whom we have been teaching) attended. Katelyn bore her testimony at the end. The member of the branch presidency who conducted said that when he heard she was being baptized, he said, "One of our most active members is being baptized?!" I did wonder when she started coming if anyone even knew she wasn't a member. Yesterday she even offered to give the spiritual thought at FHE.

We also received word that Nick M., whom we baptized a month ago, received the Priesthood in the Marines, and that he recognizes what the Gospel does for his thoughts and his actions.

One of our investigators, Kim, knows it's true and wants to be baptized, but her mom will kick her out if she does. She told us last night that she has the potential of moving in to a place, so she's contemplating it, and if she does, she will get baptized.

I would like to tell you more. But alas, the Lewiston city library is exceedingly small for a city its size, and it seems there's a demand for computers today. So I must close.

Love,

Elder Melville

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[1] That is the website for applying to Church schools.