Sunday, March 24, 2013

March 4th, 2013

Mother,
I wish I could have helped Billy do some demolition. I can't wait to see the house when I get back, not to mention my two nieces. David says he's getting a speedo tan so I just can't wait to get pictures of that :P Oh, and I think I can remember the 12th of March. I like the name Wyatt.
So we mainly walk here. Also we take the public transportation called SEPTA which includes buses, subways, and trains. I hasn't been raining very much but it is humid here so I'm glad I have gloves, scarves, and a beanie. If I didn't I would often find myself with numb ears, lips, and fingers. Just a few things you should know about Philly: there are no mothers, fathers, white people, or water. There are baby fathers, baby mamas, and wooder(yes, that's how they say it here), almost everyone smokes, and this is probably the Muslim capital of the USA. Oh, and every person is a young bull or an old bull(instead of guy).
We have had a lot of plans fall through this week. It is a little disheartening but we end up contacting someone on the street that is a little interested or we at least have the opportunity to bear our testimony about the truth of what we share. It is cool because when you tell someone, "I KNOW that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that his church has been restored on the earth, that he calls prophets today, that the Book of Mormon can help you build a relationship with Him, and that the authority to organize his church and perform miracles has been restored to the earth. And I know this because I have prayed and felt the Holy Spirit give me an answer" it is pretty powerful. When you tell someone you know something and it is the truth, it is pretty powerful.
We got to meet with Carlos and Samantha briefly this week and we taught them how to study the scriptures rather than read them. We went through 1st Nephi Chapter 1 and read it slowly. We talked about each verse and they were able to better understand and draw more out of the scriptures that way. We challenged them to read every day together and they were really excited to do so. When we texted them yesterday Samantha said she keeps reading chapters over and over again to better understand them. I can't wait to see them on Thursday and teach them the Plan of Salvation. They are so amazing because they are doing all of this not only for them but mainly for Carli.
The Frankford Branch is pretty small and not everyone is active but I seriously love it here. It is nice to see people that aren't striving to be perfectly mannered but know how to talk to people, laugh, and feel the Spirit of the Lord. During the Fast and Testimony meeting yesterday, a reoccurring theme was that we need to follow our heart because we won't ever be led wrong. It is so true because the Spirit speaks to our heart.
So a few days ago we talked to this guy on the street. It was going good and he seemed slightly/not really interested. We had been asking him some questions and he said that he wasn't 100% sure there is a god. That is when the Elder O(who will henceforth be referred to as baby daddy) made the unfortunate error of asking him," If Jesus Christ were standing here and you could ask him one question, what would it be?" His response,"Is smoking weed a bad thing? Cuz, I mean, it's a natural plant." He then walked away. We were laughing for the next two days about it.
At our Zone Training I ended up singing Come Thou Fount with another elder as the special musical number. It was pretty fun. Baby daddy was like,"I'm proud of you son." Because of that, I am now singing at the Zone Conference with multiple zones tomorrow. My Zone Leader is good and he told me to get warmed up because we are singing together. I'm actually kind of excited.
Thanks for the letter!
Love,
Elder Engelman
p.s. I'm going to try to send you pictures this way, tell me if it works.

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