I am Alive..part 3

Hey hey! I'm doing a lot better here, even though the temperature is dropping almost as fast as Elder Van de Graaffs' receding hairline! hahaha that's mean that's mean xD We're getting a long really well now, which honestly surprises me! I think the relationship started getting better after i schooled him in basketball, then especially after we went on exchanges with the other missionaries in our district.

I was exchange companions with Elder Plumb for two days, who is from Casa Gande, Arizona. He fits the stereotype of a hardcore conservative Arizona desert rat PERFECTLY. He made me laugh a lot, but we also got in little arguments fairly frequently about whether being a Democrat is sin or not. Yeah. I know -_- While with elder Plumb we rode bikes. I hadn't done that yet, but I actually enjoy riding more than driving! It makes me feel like I'm a real missionary and makes every successful appointment feel that much more rewarding. However, biking in the freezing rain in dress clothes is a paiiiiinnnnnnnn.

Once Elder Van de Graaff and I were reunited I think we both realized how much better we get along with each other compared to our exchange companions. From then on we've been warming up to each other bit by bit and this morning he opened up to me about his inactive father and it was really sweet.

Our street contacts and tracting contacts generally go one of two ways. Here in Arnold there are super rich reitred old people, or lower-middle class black families. Most of the time with the rich old people we are given a colllllldddd shoulder or, more commonly, given stone-faced silence with a strongly thrusted fist and a point to leave. They don't even talk to us most of the time.
on the other side of the spectrum, I absolutely LOVE meeting with black families because of how warm and kind they are to us. Everyone here goes to a church; I don't think we've met a single person who doesn't go to a specific church around here. So saying prayers with the families is an almost guaranteed event. As we meet with these strongly religious black families, my vocabulary and language is slowly changing. It wasn't until yesterday when we were eating dinner with one of our investigator families, the father of which is the head minister of a black Methodist Church in downtown Baltimore, that I realized how far I've changed. I always say, "mhhhmmmmmm" as we discuss Christ and I say "Praise the Lord" and "Lord bless us" allll the time now!!!! It's hilarious!!! 

I've made the goal of sharing my testimony at every fast and testimony sacrament meeting on my mission, and I started it off yesterday. It's when I sincerely open up in testimony and with faith of the spirit to guide me to help others that I can see what I truly believe. I don't even think about what to say or how to say it. My feelings and emotions are what testify of what I know to be true, not the words. This is only the fourth week of my mission and yet I can feel and know with an absolute surety that my faith has grown beyond my comprehension. Seeing the light in others' eyes spark when they receive the hope of happiness through the gospel of Jesus Christ brings enough faith in itself to keep me going for days on end.

I'm so eternally grateful to have all of you in my life, backing me up and supporting me. I wouldn't be here without Christ, I know that, but I also know that I wouldn't be here in the fulness of my life without all of you and your influences on me. I love you all more than I could ever hope to explain

Here's my inspirational teacher from the MTC, brother Whiting, who served in Spokane! <3​