May 13, 2013

I have a little time to write you so don't worry. I dropped off Elder Olaveson at the mission home today and I don't think I will see him again. Tomorrow I get a new companion so as of right now, I am with another missionary whose companion went home. I am in New Jersey for the day and tomorrow I will receive a new companion. I can't wait to see who he is. I know we are going to get a long great because honestly, who can look at this face and be angry. I just hope he doesn't cry when he gets emotional or when he teaches. I think we both know how much I don't like tears.
Okay so I don't know if I told you about Bob but he is the neighbor to the set of Elders that live really close to us. He usually takes us shopping on P-Day and it is often that he feeds us dinner on Monday nights. He is 80 and had a stroke about 6 years ago. He still drives, talks very well, and is super witty. He always has a quick response to tease us. He is pretty much awesome. Yesterday he gave me a safety razor! I have wanted one because I know how close they shave, not that I have much facial hair. It is pretty cool and I am excited to use it. Hopefully I don't cut my face open. I think I'll be fine but I don't want to hurt my money maker. Well, have a good week :)
I am so sure this is where I am meant to be! It is weird how well I fit this place. I love the people and there are some pretty cool missionaries.

May 5, 2013

I have the same companion for now. He will be going home on the 18th but I'll get a new companion on the 13th or 14th. I hope I stay in this area for awhile because I love it! Elder Olaveson and I fasted to be able to find less active members that we could talk to or help out. This week we totally saw those prayers get answered! On Saturday we got to talk to 2 less-active members and we were able to teach one of them. It was pretty cool because I wasn't even thinking about the fact that we had fasted for it. Elder Olaveson reminded me later that night. The Lord hears our prayers and if we are listening and watching for them, we can receive answers.
Love,

Elder Engelman

April 29, 203

So the coolest thing about this last week was Mormon Helping Hands. It was pretty spectacular. Not only did we get to put on regular clothes, but we also got to do manual labor. It was so much fun. I ended up working on clearing off a sidewalk. It sounds lame but it was definitely really tough. we were working for about 3 hours and there were probably 50 people working where I was. This stretch of sidewalk was approximately a yard and a half wide and probably 200 yards long. There was trees that had grown over it and nobody had touched it for, it seemed like, years. The dirt and roots were about 6 inches deep over the entire thing so we had to cut the roots and basically roll it off the sidewalk. The hard part was that a lot of the roots had grown into the crack of the sidewalk of were just so thick that they were almost impervious to any cutting tool we had. The only chainsaw there died after about an hour. It was tough work because there was about a foot of leaves on top that wwe had to clear off first. It was incredibly fun. We got to get dirty and get all cut up. I was sooooo sore the next day! My back and legs hurt but it is a good hurt. One of our investigator came and she had a good time. It was pretty much just awesome. I forgot to mention that I was standing in a lot of poison ivy. Pretty cool, huh?

We had to rush to an appointment afterward so we got to take three minute showers and the shower was just covered in dirt. It turned out the person wasn't home so we ate because we were both dying. We didn't end up having any lessons that night but it was still a great day.

Yesterday ws fast Sunday and I was dying. It felt like my stomach was eating itself but we had a super cool experience, Elder O and I were fasting to be able to find some less active members to teach and then one came to church today. He is 19 and he decided top come today. The best part is that he went up and bore his testimoony. Miracles happen all the time and God truly answers our prayers.

We-we-we-we-well Th-That's All Folks.

Love,

Elder Engelman

April 22, 2013

Did I tell you that I missed the first session of General Conference? We were having a lesson and we watched part of it with them but we ended up missing the whole thing by the time we got back to the church. The priesthood session was killer!
Gertrude, our Haitian investigator moved still within the branch boundaries but out of my area. She now has a different set of Elders that are awesome but I am going to miss her(and her cooking). On Saturday we had Congolie food. It was interesting. I kind of liked it. Do you recall how I always have a stupid habit of heating really hot stuff despite the warnings I get from people? Well I have yet to break that habit. They had some really hot peppers and so I ate a spoonful. It didn't burn at all for almost a minute. The spice pretty much hit me all at once. The best part is that when Jo Jo(the 15 year old boy from Congo) ate some he was crying. It was pretty entertaining.
This month, our zone's focus is to rid our selves of pride. We read a talk by Ezra Taft Benson called Beware of Pride(I think that's the title) and it basically punched me in the face. It tells us how people often think pride is a sin committed only by the wealthy but it consists of a lot more. Pride is what keeps people from opening their mouth about the gospel because they are afraid of what others will think. He said that a proud man cares more about what man thinks than what God thinks. It is some pretty heavy stuff.
I have been having a lot of fun. I have realized that hard work can be synonymous with fun. I have always had fun no matter what but this last week has been a blast and every day was productive. It was pretty cool.
 Yours Truly,
Elder Joseph Richard Engelman