03/24/2009 (Still chuggin along)

Well four weeks down and only two to go on the transfer. The work is progressing but we could do better. Not much is happening other wise.

We had a good experience tracting on Sunday. We were going to only tract for about 15 minutes and we came to this condo-type house and that was the last one. A Mexican guy opened and I introduced ourselves and said what we were doing. Then Elder Flint talked about baptism and the guy perked up. We don't normally talk about baptism on the door step but we did there. He was really interested. Then he said that he and his wife (who wasn't home) go to a different church but the pastor was a little weird. We found out that he told them that he should give them their food stamps which is A. illegal and B. flat out foolish for a pastor to say. He said he and his wife want to get married but don't really have the money to pay for it. So we told him that we can get them married for free and we have free English classes and he can get baptized all for free. He seemed very interested. His name is Efrain. We are going back Thursday.

I bought some new shoes today. They are Johnston-Murphys. I only bought them because they were 50% at a store that was going out of business downtown. They are pretty nice and really comfortable.

Elder Flint gave me his comforter. We went to buy one and he just asked if I just wanted his and I said yes so that was nice of him.

We have been running low on miles so I have borrowed another elder’s bike. I probably look kinda goofy riding but oh well. At least my shirt is on the right way and my helmet isn't backwards. It only takes about 20 minutes to get from one end of town to the other so it’s not bad except it has been really windy. It also helps me get to know the streets better. I feel like I have a good hold on the ward and the streets for the next transfer.

We have been giving a lot of blessings lately. I am kinda happy because I have been able to get the anointing down in English and I also did one in Spanish. That was hard but I did it so hopefully I will do better next time.

We had stake conference this weekend which was really good. President and Sister Belnap came and gave really good talks. I have never been to an adult session of conference but they are awesome. Very spiritual. During the Sunday session President Belnap had us all stand up and he read off our names and where we were serving. That is interesting. The stake president then spoke and said thanks to President Belnap for letting his stake have all of the good missionaries and President Belnap just smiled and nodded his head. He doesn't smile very often so that was interesting.

The weather hasn't been bad. About 50's with rain and pretty windy. But when it's sunny it’s real nice. I haven't taken a lot of pictures, but a few. There are 40 thousand people in Walla Walla. So it’s decent size but not too big. I think my companion is a little excited to go home. He says he doesn't want to but I think he is pretty burned out. He is going to BYU in the summer but I don't know what he is going to do until then. He wants to be a lawyer. He is from St. George.

Well, I am really liking Walla Walla. I told a lady last night that I would stay here the whole time if I could. They actually have a downtown area. They have tall buildings and cool little shops. I really like it. It is a neat town. The city is run by wineries and the penitentiary here. Walla Walla is the second wine capitol of the world behind Napa and the pen is the second biggest in Washington. Someone told me that Walla Walla was supposed to be the New York of the west. It is kinda laid out that way too. A lot of the houses are really old. Like late 1800's. We went in the cemetery and there are graves from people that died in like the 1880's. So it is a cool town.

Well keep on doing what you are doing. I am an 8th of the way done which is scary how fast it has gone. I am really enjoying myself. I love you all.