June 29, 2015 Buenas!

Lemonade elliptical! This was our best one yet.

My six month temple trip! I love the Manhattan temple

Well I am continuing my "English fast", but I will write you all in English. I figure that's an exception since not everyone reads Spanish. I've come to appreciate out here what it means to speak a language, how much of a skill it is. It's crazy realizing that eight year old kids have mastered this skill which is so difficult. I've also come to appreciate the value of reading. It's an important skill. It is something that gives you the ability to learn anything. I'm so grateful I was raised in a home where books were important. Because of that, I can read well. By my second transfer I could read Spanish better than most adults here. Simply having the ability to read has given me an advantage learning Spanish, along with most other skills I have.

 For example, eating pop-tarts. I've always loved to hear Brian Regan's discourse on pop tart instructions, but it's so much more meaningful now that I know somebody did it wrong and ended up with second degree burns because he didn't read the directions. Another companionship walked into our apartment with pop tarts, only intending to commandeer our toaster, and walked out with only half of the companionship having the ability to shake people's hands for the next three weeks. Elder St. Rose's hand has finally made a recovery.

On a more serious note (than melting multiple layers of soft tissue), the inability to read well (i.e. read fluently and comprehend what is on the page) is a serious problem for the progression of investigators and members of the church. Many people cannot even effectively read the church's pamphlets, and the scriptures are yet more difficult. It's left me scratching my head since I arrived in New York. Investigators cannot progress if they do not keep commitments, and reading the scriptures every day is an irreplaceable commitment. Yet however difficult it is for good readers sometimes to be committed to reading the scriptures, think how difficult it would be if you could only read at half the rate and still understand just about nothing. I feel that illiteracy is one of the principle underlying factors for members becoming less active. Like we learn from the Savior's parable, the gospel had to have deep root in our hearts if we want to survive hard times, and you get that root by studying the scriptures. It's been a tough problem as a missionary here.

This is a picture of Hugo. He's my Puerto Rican grandpa. Elder Vi says he's never had so many homeless investigators before, but some of them really have a special place in my heart. This picture about describes the work for me right now. There's a lot of work to do in New York. A lot of weak to be succored, a lot of hanging heads to lift, and people that stand in need of comfort.

I've discovered that gluten is actually kind of an American thing. We eat beans, rice, and chicken. And things normally made out of flour are made out of corn flour in e Hispanic world. 

Notice the type of employment