It's just cold!

Well I guess missionaries do have a bad week every now and then.....AND they occasionally get sick too. It's nice to see that they bounce right back.  

Hi Mom!

So, this week was a little bit of a drag. I was a little sick and we were having a hard time finding people to teach. And it was FREEZING for a few days. Lows of 10-12 degrees but it's a different type of cold. It's a moist cold and the wind will just about kill you. I would say it felt like it was about -5 at times. But I'm feeling better now and it's warming up and it's a new week. So we've got something more to look forward to.

I know you're curious to hear about Westernia... She did not get baptized :( But it's okay because she wasn't necessarily prepared. We had a lesson where we really broke things down and got to know how she feels. She knows all she needs to know but one of the qualifications for baptism is, "Has my investigator had spiritual experiences with the Book of Mormon, at church, prayer, etc.?" and I'm not sure she has. She hasn't had that "conversion" that we often speak of. There was a feeling that she might be rushed into it and so we called it off. But I am thinking it won't be long before she will be baptized. Oh and we found out during the week that we wouldn't even be able to have a baptism in East Orange because our font is broken AGAIN for like the third time since I've been here. We have another investigator who is even more prepared than Westernia is, and her name is Amanda. She has a date for the 17th of February, and I don't see anything that could hold her back. I hope it stays that way. She is going around telling people in the branch when she's going to be baptized. She is looking forward to it! So that's good.

Well it sounds like you need to walk to school because sooner or later you're going to get in an accident! They do pretty well here to keep ice off the road. They have a huge crew of salt trucks that go around all day and spray salt everywhere. The roads are basically white because there is so much salt; it's kinda weird looking.

Here we go:

1. I got the letter and I think I also got the yellow mailer envelope (did it have all the letters from you, Colby and Rorie in it?). Haven't gotten a notice for a box yet.
2. The Main Sequence and the album was something with a hand grenade on it. ONE THING: See if you can find out if Walls of Jericho is a band that has an album (hymns or appropriate music of course) you can buy/download. We have a cd with a sweet song that I have heard is by a band called Walls of Jericho. The song is Ye Elders of Israel. 
3. You could send some cheap clippers and a set of guards. You could send your old ones too. Cause I don't want to worry if I lose them, and usually clippers work fine even if they are only like $5. My hair looks fine! It's under a beanie most of the day long anyway ;)
4. Of course I see Larry! We had an awesome lesson about the Word of Wisdom where he gave me his can of tobacco and I threw it way far over the fence. We also gave him a blessing and he found a job the next day at ShopRite. Considering he's homeless, that was pretty amazing. So now all he needs to find is a cheap apartment! Living expenses are high over here, and it's not even nice. A 1 bedroom garbage attic apartment in Newark is like 800/month! Crazy stuff. Larry also goes to another ward now that is closer to him, in a town called Maplewood. That ward is way better for him too because it is a wealthier area and the support system is much larger. I hope that will help him, because he needs it. 

Haha Max! Georgia! Stateside Georgia I assume, but what part? We met a CRAZY lady from Macon the other day. We often meet people that even the gospel couldn't help. Hopefully they'll receive the message in the Spirit World. Tell them both congratulations for me.

I read most of the letters I got! I plan on writing back to a few of them today. I'm glad Grandma Sharon appreciated my letter to her... it wasn't much! It was the least I could do in return for her letters to me. The letters from Bro Burr and Bro Rasband and Bro Hunter and others were absolutely incredible. They were all extremely heartfelt and I nearly teared up when I read them!] 

About thursday... yeah we were cold! It doesn't matter what you wear if you don't wear a windbreaker. I forgot to wear the one I brought and it was bitter! The cold goes right to the bone, too. It's weird stuff. But we survived just fine. We would just find an apartment building and sit in the lobby trying to make phone calls while we warmed up between appointments. Note: you don't need to send me any more clothes cause I have what I need. Not a lot of snow, it's usually too cold to snow. Technically, it's not 0 degrees here, but it feels that cold, or colder with the windchill and humidity.

Sounds like you'll beat me at the Book of Mormon challenge. I'm in 2 Nephi! Haha. Two questions: Could you find Meg Boshard's MTC address for me? I wanted to congratulate her before she leaves the MTC and I can't write her anymore. Also, I wanted to know if you saved the photos from the last memory card I sent home. Somehow they got deleted off of my card, so I no longer have the photos from during the hurricane and some other funny stuff. Not that it really matters for me now, but I wanted to make sure you got them before they were gone. Next time I send home a memory card, I'll send you the empty 8gb and you can put the photo and video back on it for me cause I do like to look at them on occasion. Just to be clear, it is the memory card with the light photos and the photos of the cars. Not the other one. 

Ok I have to go now. I love you all and keep up the good work! The Church is true! 

Love,
Tab


Thank you Dad! 

Amazing letter with great advice that I will be sure to remember throughout the coming year. I usually don't make resolutions, so maybe I should start now and make a resolution to make resolutions. 

Sounds like things are going well for you. We had interviews with our mission president last week and I always learn a lot from him. We talked a lot about conversion, which is something I am experiencing every day on the mission. One thing I think that I do well is Resolution 3, finding happiness regardless of circumstances. It helps that I am still a very young missionary and I don't really know what it's like to experience bad days. This last week was one of the worst I have had thus far - don't feel bad for me! - but it ended well. I didn't let it get to me. I'm back to the grind this week and I am determined to work harder! That usually solves most problems. 

Well I still need to write Mom so I'll end here. Thank you again for your support!

Love, 
Tab