Wow! Sounds like some exciting things going on! Good job to you Noah, getting a B in bio! The other grades are good too, but I'm most impressed by that. :) And Abbey, it's weird seeing you at the Bishop's youth outing and not being the youngest one there! You're supposed to be the little baby! Sigh... oh well, I guess you can grow up. And happy father's day to you dad! I thought of you when last night a member in our ward was showing us the clock that he got his dad for father's day. Hopefully you got some good stuff too! Mom, I hope all is well with you too (I'm sure it is!)
As for me.... AHHH! Being out in the field is CRAZY!!!! I don't even know where to begin.... I'll just start rambling, and tell you the first things that come to mind.
First off, the driving in India is INTENSE! There is no such thing as having the "right of way" in India. You just do your best to avoid the rest of the traffic. My companion told me he has been paying a game ever since he got to India. It's called Don't Get Hit By A Car, and unfortunately, he says he's lost the game a few times since he got over here... haha but it's alright, people usually aren't going very fast. I kinda like the roads here, because it makes traveling a lot more exciting!
Oh, and speaking of traveling, I am in an area that is a bike riding area. Our bikes aren't the best, but they get us from point A to point B, and I guess that's what's important!
Okay, and you know how I was called to an "English speaking mission"? haha ya, that's.... some what true. There are people here that speak English, but it is NOT America English! The first few days here I literally could not understand anyone, even when they were speaking English! The accents are so thick! Luckily, my ears are slowly adjusting, and now I can understand like 50% of what English people are saying to me. But a lot of the time, people don't even speak English! My area is filled with people that speak Telugu (that isn't how it's spelled, but that's what the language name sounds like and I don't know how to spell it). Like at church, half of the lessons and talked will be in English, and the other half will be in Telugu, just because the new members don't know English well enough to learn Gospel topics solely in English.
And yes, I've been working on my own accent, so hopefully when I call on Christmas I will be sounding a little bit different! :)
The members are THE BEST EVER! No joke, without them I would be dying right now. Being out here in the crazy heat, speaking to people I can't understand, eating food that doesn't make me feel all that great, and other such things can really bring me down at times... but then when I start talking with the members, I realize how much I love being out here! They have such a great love for the Gospel, and the Elders! Almost all of them (like 80-90 active members in our branch) are converts, so they are all super enthusiastic about the work. Many are more than willing to come out and help us! Referrals, showing us where things are, translating for us, and more! I love the people here!
Even people walking around the street are great! All the kids shout "Hi! Hi! Hi!" when we bike by, because that's all the English they know but they want to talk to us white people! haha it's great!
Me and my companion are both brand new to this area (white wash!), but with the members help and the other companionship's help we are gettin' the ball rolling pretty quickly.
I'm also sending you guys some pictures of our apartment, outside the window of our apartment, and a restaurant that we went to for lunch today. I only spent 85 rupees there (like a buck fifty), and got soup, bread, AND ice cream! Food is so cheap here!
I can't believe I've only been in India for 6 days... I've learned so much already, and I can't wait to start teaching even more!
You can mark my words, India is going to be the next Brazil for missionaries in 50 years! The people here are ready for the Gospel!
Have a great week, and enjoy the start of your summer break!
Love,
Elder Anderson
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