Hurrican't

Well, I have to say I am very disappointed with all this hurricane business. Our mission president quarantined all the missionaries who were in Suffolk county while the hurricane was supposed to be pounding us category 4 style. We were in our apartment for 40 hours while it drizzled occasionally and subtly swayed a leaf on a tree with the breeze that was more non-existent than existent. It was all hype! Like some media scandal to get people to buy sandbags and bottled water to give the economy a slight boost. HA-HA. Literally the wind was stronger after the hurricane past than while it was close to us. I was sad cause I wanted to say I had survived a hurricane and say things like "we missionaries rescued people from the tops of their houses with our raft made out of a desk laundry bags and recyclables". But I suppose it was a blessing, not only did no one get hurt or nothing get damaged, but we were able to do some serious cleaning in our apartment and I was able to get some letter writing time.

So something funny; I sleep on the top bunk of our bunk bed. I noticed the other night that the railing that was at my head was way jammed into one bed post and that the other side was almost completely out and because it was not put together correctly the whole bunk bed frame was beginning to bow. I knew that this was not good; I wanted to save the bed and also a future missionaries life. so I called Elder Kiser. I knew that that piece could be pulled out because the bed support would be holding the bed all together (I guess I didn't take into consideration that the bed was a snap together bed and that it was not bolted together). Well I said, "Kiser, the head rail is jammed into this making it so that the other side is not snapped into the other side. On the count of three I need you to pull hard your direction on the poll while I pull hard my direction on the other piece." I was on top of my bed leaning over the edge gripped onto the frame when I counted "one, two, three!!!!!" I pulled, Kiser pulled, everyone else watched. It worked! We pulled the piece out, but the weight of my laundry bag I hung off that piece plus my own wait on a now unsupported end of the bed caused the whole thing to separate and pull me head first in between the bed and the wall onto where we Keep our luggage and a whiteboard. I was lucky that we had stuff there cause otherwise I would have fallen on my head probably! LOL instead I landed on the whiteboard with my hip and bent it over the luggage. Everyone was surprised and scared but then we all laughed and yelled things like "oh snap!", or "oh my gosh!" They say my face was priceless as I fell.

Well, the other elders found a clarinet left behind by a previous elder who I suppose didn't care about it (since he left it). Well, magically I can play it. I can play hymns with it and everything way easy. Ha-ha! All that recorder playing paid off. So I guess I can play the clarinet. Ha-ha.

Guess what is ridiculous and crazy to me!? Last night I discovered that this time TWO YEARS AGO I was starting my first year of college and in a few weeks from now it has been two years since I was apart of Nosferatu! That is crazy to me! I realized that I actually really miss college and being apart of theater productions. I didn't think I missed that. I wish I would have taken more advantage of my time there at UVU. No worries though because a year from now I'll be back at school.... this also is a weird thought but I am excited as well.

OK, let's get serious now. Elder Kiser and I are rocking the forest like Amazon loggers! We have amazing unity and we feel very trusted and blessed by the Lord. Miracles are happening. Things are working out how they are supposed to, like PMG (preach my gospel) style, yo! Members are being cooperative and trusting us, investigators are being set in our laps, lessons are full of the spirit, and our numbers are good. We taught 17 lessons this past week (this area has not taught that many lessons in a while). Every week we are together things get better and better.

Yesterday was very busy. We went to the church early to teach Harold (the 22 year old film making Colombian) He is awesome. Well the lesson was going well when the elder's quorum president came in and interrupted. He said someone had called on the phone and said that they wanted to know when church started and they wanted to know what they had to do to join the church. So elder Kiser went and talked to her on the phone and set up an appointment for 2:30 while I finished the lesson with the elders quorum pres. Then church started and basically all of our investigators showed up. Judy, Eugene, Harold, Stephanie and Carlos, and Wayne. Then we gave Wayne the gift of the Holy Ghost. There is too much that happened that would take too much time to explain because of back stories and everything but lets just say that fast and testimony meeting was perfect because it was like everything our investigators needed to hear. Especially for Judy, who Saturday night knelt down with us and prayed to know if the date we had chosen for baptism was what she should do (the spirit was so strong and revealed to us that she had gotten an answer; she had felt peace and she was smiling and she told us things like "I know" when we told her she was feeling the spirit and needed to be baptized.). Then the rest of the church we participated in a blessing, a baptism, another confirmation and an ordination to the priesthood! As if that wasn't enough success for one day one of the new couples in the ward, the Beus, invited us to dinner and Harold too! It was awesome! That's what diner appointments are really for and that's what we did! It was an amazing appointment we never had any awkward pauses in our conversation the food was awesome. We all had fun including Harold (plus the baby liked him). Then Harold ended up staying for an hour after we left! Brother and Sister Beus are both music majors and helped Harold select music for his thesis he is shooting from Film Graduate School. Bro Beus attended Julliard and is now at Stony Brook University.

Well we have 5 investigators with a baptismal date right now! There are just too many stories to tell. but no time. so I must go.

Peace Out!
--
-Elder Samuel Austin Morris