HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! (hahaha I had to re-type this opening line after I realized I put 'HAPPY THANKSGIVING!' I'm glad I caught it! hahah! ...silly...)
ANYWHO! Things are going mah-velously! The weather here is picking right up! It's all FRESH and bright! I'm rockin' the aviator sunglasses (only while driving... promise.) and it's JUST about warm enough to lose the big heavy winter artillery coats and wear our normal suit jackets!! HooRAY!!
This past week has gone so well! Elder Fotu and I have found some great new people we are teaching. One is named Marosi- she is from the Dominican Republic, but has lived in SPAIN for the past 4 years and has adopted the "Theta"... all C's with an 'e' or 'i' after them and all Z's sound like the consonant sound "th". So "Gracias" sounds like "Grathias". It's cool! Our Branch President speaks that way too- as he lived in Spain for 11 years after serving his Mission in MEXICO! Marosi is 15 years old, and LOVES the Young Women program. She's already been reading the Personal Progress and has gone to a Stake Dance! So cool. We had a touching Family Home Evening with her and a family in our branch- she is very excited and receptive to the Gospel.
On Friday, the 25th, ELDER DAVID A BEDNAR of the 12 is coming to SPEAK WITH US! Just the Missionaries! In a question / answer setting! And I'm playing the ORGAN! AHH! hahaha! Numbers 5 and 6! High on a mountain top, and Reedemer of IsraeL! I'm nervous- but excited! :)
Haha today Elder Fotu and I went to the Beach in our area- right on the Hudson river. It basically looks like a picturesque alien landscape. A lot is frozen- but the parts that aren't are riddled with big (1-3 feet across) discs of ice that have been well rounded from bumping into each other. There are THOUSANDS of them, pulsating with the waves of the river- it looks SO cool. PLUS, Elder Fotu and I practiced good stress-relief techniques: throwing HEAVY ice chunks off the Pier, knocking down HUGE icicles, drawing in the sand and making sand/ice castles, jumping off of rocks, taking pictures of distant Manhattan from the dock, and trying to communicate with the shivering ducks. The only part that caused me to be disturbed a bit was when Elder Fotu had a 45 minute conversation with a bamboo reed. Hmmmm. :) It was a succesful P-Day activity.
A few days ago, Elder Knuth and I went on a Split in MY area, Sleepy Hollow. As you are on the freeway heading TOWARDS the area, you HAVE to take EXIT 9, or you will CROSS the Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson river and into Rockland County, and LEAVE MISSION BOUNDARIES!! AHHH!! So... I've been extra careful to MAKE SURE and take EXIT 9. It's been kind of a common joke... "Hey, you wanna get outta this place and meet up with the New Jersey Elders today..?"... Of course we would never really do that.... BUT- on this split with Elder Knuth- we were on our way to dinner, and the GPS led us this random route I'd never been on before, going towards the freeway. I figured my little Garmin buddy knew what he was doin, so I followed... SUDDENLY I realized we were merging with 4 lanes of traffic... and about a quarter mile STRAIGHT in front of us was the GIANT GLOWING FRAME of the Tappan Zee. FAIL. WIth no other turn around points, we were FORCED to cross the bridge (which, was actually pretty cool- AMAZING veiws of the Empire State Building..). I'm pretty sure the GPS the Mission Office gave us, ONLY WORKS in Mission Boundaries... and has a Tracking Device in it... becuase ONCE we got to the other side, the GPS lost service and a little flashing sign in the corner turned RED. Elder Knuth and I were SURE that we were going to shortly hear the whirling of the blades on President Smith's Helicopter. Anywho. It took us 25 mintues to get UNLOST and find our way BACK to the bridge, cross it again, and pay the 5$ toll. Luckily, we weren't late for Dinner. :)
All is going well with the people we are teaching. We continue to visit Jose and his family- and many other wonderful people. I feel so blessed to be here at this time. We are knocking doors and teaching and learning and laughing and awaiting the beauty of SPRING. We got transfer calls last night, and Elder Fotu and I are both up again for round 2 here in the Deathly Hallows! Wish us luck!
Love you all so MUCH! Be safe!
The Church is TRUE!
All is well!
Elder Hellberg
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