The guys at the bike shop are getting to know us pretty well

Hey!

Okay, again I'm emailing on a Tuesday, because yesterday was Veteran's Day, and again, the libraries were closed. I'm glad to hear about all the things going on. I had forgotten that Kylie and Rebecca were there in the Phillipines--must be a pretty crazy start to their missions. Hopefully they'll be safe, and will be able to help out the people there. I'll be praying for them and also for Spencer.

This week was an odd week. We honestly didn't get to do a ton of teaching, because of a variety of causes:

A) We got to do some good service at the food bank (the stake had had a food drive, so we were able to help unload the half-ton of food that was sent to the food bank.) Service takes up time, though, so that took away from like teaching time.

B) Stake Conference and Transfer meeting, but honestly that didn't take up too much time.

C) This was the big thing: We had tons of bike troubles. We both got flat tires on P-day, which we had to take some time patching up (hopefully we'll be getting new tubes today), and then on Thursday, someone clipped my companion's back brake cable. His front brake wasn't really working in the first place, so we had to leave the bikes at home and walk places, which was like the opposite of efficient. We also had to take some time to fix the cable. So that was an adventure. The guys at the bike shop are getting to know us pretty well.

So we didn't get too much teaching in, but we did get some, and it went pretty well, I thought.

We finally met with an investigator that we've been trying to get in touch with for a while. She seems really religious--she's like a Sunday School teacher at her current church. Right now her interest in the church seems mostly academic, but hopefully as she reads the Book of Mormon, she'll come to know how it can bless her. 

We also met with a couple who can't attend regularly because work conflicts with church right now. It was pretty lucky(?) that we stopped by when we did, because Brother was able to tell us that Sister was going to have surgery, and that we should drop by and help out with some things. So that was pretty cool.

Stake Conference was pretty cool. They were reorganizing the stake, actually splitting it, so there was a member of the first quorum of the Seventy, Elder Teh, there with us. We were invited to the Adult Session, which was pretty cool: it was all about missionary work, and how members and missionaries can help out, and rather than it being a lecture from Elder Teh, he basically just conducted a discussion with the members who were there. I would guess that your stake conference will be similar, at least the Adult session--it seemed like a thing they'll be doing worldwide.

Sounds like a lot of fun with the whole technology thing. Oh, speaking of technology, the rumor is that we'll be getting iPads in April, to replace the Area Books. The less-reliable part of the rumor is that the iPads will be individual, as in each missionary will be getting one, and that we'll be able to take them home after our missions. That'd be cool.

It is such a weird feeling (to be finishing my first transfer period). I can look back and think, yeah, that was six weeks, but it also feels like I just got here, and that I've been here forever.

I don't know if I ever sent you a picture of the missionaries in the ward, but one of the sisters in the trio here left. She's now in the Spanish ward that covers our stake.

You all should tell me things that I should get for you guys for Christmas, btw. Tell the kids to send me their lists, so that I can like make replicas out of old socks or something :)

Love,

Peter