April 15, 2013

A lot of members here are from Congo. Kind of unexpected right? The branch president is from Congo and when we shake hands we always do this cool snap thing. It's pretty much impossible to explain.
Proselyting is going well. We talk to a lot of people on the street because unlike at home, there are a TON of people walking around. The main mode of transportation is SEPTA(buses and trains) and walking. We have been having poor numbers lately(i.e. lessons, member present lessons, recent convert/less active lesssons) so yesterday we set a goal to have 10 lessons. What was cool is that we ended up having way less time than usual and we met our goal. In a few hours we managed to have 10 lessons with people on the street. It is just awesome to see that when we set righteous goals the Lord will help us attain them.
Sorry, this is going to be a REALLY short email today :(
Just remember that the best way to be a missionary is to be a good example. Preach My Gospel tells us that it doesn't matter as much what you say but who you are. That is why there is a section teaching us how to have more Christlike attributes.
Much Love,
Elder Joseph RIchard Engelman

April 8, 2013

We have barely been able to meet with Carlos and Samantha and we haven't been able to meet with Wanda again. It is a little disheartening but we always get to teach a few lessons to people on the street so we are slways smiling. Carlos and Samantha are moving soon and we haven't been able to teach them enough to baptize them. Hopefully the missionaries wherever they are moving to are as good as Elder Olaveson. It's going to be really cool when their daughter grows up with a foundation in Christ.
Conference was off the chain! During the first session on Saturday we had a lesson so we didn't get to see very much of it. We were teaching a family and we ended up watching the first 30 minutes of conference with them. They seemed to enjoy it. I'm sure it was a bit harder to focus with Phoebe.
The really tall missionary is Elder Olaveson. And yes, that is him on the toilet. Just ignore that one. I'm glad you finally got all of those. I did get the chance to make the birthday dinner and it was pretty dang good. Elder O was pretty much flabbergasted.
Oh yeah, he messed up his ankle really badly! Luckily, I had an ankle wrap, ice, and Aleve(all thanks to you, Mother).
Unless Dad wrote me about Tanner, nobody did. I am sooo excited for him. You need to get me his address too!
Love,
Elder Joseph Engelman

Easter Sunday

 I wish I could hear Sister Mascio and the choir sing. This ward has a lot of people that love to sing just don't hear very well. It is really making me a lot more resilient. By that, I mean that I am getting a lot more used to harsh noises.

 Easter was pretty much awesome. We went to church and during the third hour we watched a few of the Bible Videos the church has produced. We saw clips about the Atonement and Christ's resurrection. It was really cool because after we watched them the branch leader asked for a volunteer to summarize what we just watched. An old man was already standing and so he started summarizing it. He did a really wonderful job becuase he stated everything so simply that you could see the pure beauty of the Atonement. It was really amazing.

 After church was over we headed to a few members' and investigators' homes. We brought them cookies! It ended up raining on the suits we had just picked up from the dry cleaners the day before but whatever. We didn't end up having a lesson with anyone like we had planned but we definitely built some trust and love with some of our members and investigators.

 We didn't end up getting to meet with Wanda yesterday like we had planned because she was sick. We are going to meet with Carlos and Sam this week hopefully. Unfortunately we haven't been able to stay in contact with the twins :(

 Why is Pheobe so adorable?!