week but I'm seriously loving it, the ward is great the people are
great. It's a new experience for sure! This week has been the longest
week of my life.. Not really but yeah it has been long because I'm
experiencing a new area. We do a lot of street contacting here and try
to talk to people, but people are so busy they don't have time to talk
to us. Especially because we cover the financial district, Wall
Street. Man it's busy but it's fun to talk to everyone!
Thursday we had weekly planning and discussed how we are gonna help
this area progress, because it really needs it. For dinners here, you
can text the members and ask if we can come by to see them and they
will feed us. I don't like asking for food but the members do love us.
We also did some street contacting in the financial district. We take
advantage of people sitting down chilling to go talk with them. I've
said "have a good day" so many times in the past week. It's great! We
talked to this guy named Muhammad but he lives in Brooklyn and he
wouldn't take the Book of Mormon because he is already reading the
bible, we gave him a restoration pamphlet and testified of the truth.
Hopefully he will call us and come to church.
Friday we went to look up this potential named Shaimaine and he wasn't
there. Here in the city you can't just go look up people without being
invited up so the front desk guy called up and no luck. On our way
back we ran into a member from the Manhattan 1st ward and we also ran
into a member from Arizona whose son is coming to our mission in July!
She got a picture with us, it's super cool to get pictures with random
members. We went home and changed into non pros so we could go help a
member move at 2. We helped the Burrs move, they moved back to Utah
but we invited 2 other Elders to help us. We got it done in 2 hours
because we are bosses. It was fun to do a move and it's convenient
when there is a service elevator. They took us to this huge food court
called Gotham west market.. I guess we're in Gotham city or something.
It was super good! So many different options for food. We tracted in
the 26th street project buildings and found a lady named Carmen for
Sister Hart and Vassau. Sister Vassau started her mission while I was
in Scarsdale and I was her district leader. I know sister Hart from
BYU Idaho, she lived in the same apartment complex and she was in my
ward so it's pretty weird. Carmen was awesome though, she has 6 birds
and a couple dogs. They birds were flying around the apartment and the
dogs were barking the whole time we were standing outside the door.
Saturday we had Coordination with Brother Leal who is from Brazil. Our
ward missionaries were there too, it was pretty successful. Sister
Leal fed us all a Brazilian breakfast. I could eat that every morning.
They are super cool and I can't wait to get to know them more. We did
an APF afterwards with sisters Hart and Vassau and Elders Driggs and
Stevens over in union square park. We have this huge board with a map
painted onto it and we had people come put where they are from on a
sticky arrow thingy. It was cool, we talked to so many people! We met
someone that used to live in Poland and met with missionaries, she is
moving to Astoria Queens but is always in our area, she said she would
come to church sometime. We had to wait at the church afterwards
because we had an investigator who was coming to see our church. His
name is Jose Buco. He is from the Philippines. He loved the church!
Then we went and saw our recent convert up around 42nd street, we met
at a Burger King. It was super fun he is a cool guy. We went home and
ate dinner and then street contacted.
Sunday was fun. The union square 1st ward is awesome, there are Aton
of good members here. A cool miracle happened, this guy went to the
Chinatown branch last week and he couldn't understand because he
speaks Cantonese not mandarin, so he had a hard time understanding
what they were saying. He decided to come to our ward and he stayed
all 3 hours and loved it. Jose Buco came to church too! We had 2
investigators at church! Danny wants to learn more and he said he
would love to meet with us. He is 33 but looks 20, it's weird. He is a
super cool guy! We also had Linner with the Vogelmanns, so much food!
I ate like a king. They had their kid visiting from Darien Connecticut
which is in our mission. They are super awesome and they have a cool
view of New Jersey haha. And the Hudson River. They are fantastic!
They are like our grandparents, they treat us like we are their kids.
We walked a lot after to do look ups.
Monday we went to the 15th street chapel to have leadership meeting,
instead of meeting together in one building we FaceTime each other and
it was pretty cool. District meeting was legit, it's us and sisters
Quackenbush, Johnson, Hart and Vassau. It's pretty weird to have us 6
and just to meet with the sisters. It's pretty weird but they are
super legit and we are gonna have a great cycle. They are super
awesome! We did a lot of street contacting and walking around saying
hey to everyone. People weren't interested. We walked so much! Some
members said hey to us so that's pretty cool.
Tuesday was a good day. We are in charge of getting the mail when the
office elders come and drop off mail. They have been doing it weird
and they change every week. So our plans went down the drain because
we had to go pick the mail up and wait for the other district leaders
so we could open the door for them. We waited for the other
missionaries for over an hour and we brought sisters Quackenbush and
Johnsons mail to them at the Lincoln Center chapel and this guy and
his wife are members from Connecticut, just spending a week down here
and we got a picture with his wife. It's always cool to be spotted by
members and it's cool that we can meet members from all over the place
here. We tracted after dinner in some project buildings and talked to
one of the sisters investigators who used to be close to baptism but
it was cool to talk with her. No one was interested. Everyone down
here thinks they are too cool for the gospel but they need to be
humbled and learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ. It seriously
blesses lives as we live it, especially with our families!
This week has been awesome, I'm getting a hair cut today and we are
gonna take it easy. I'm grateful for being able to study my scriptures
every morning, to come to know the word of God and how it can bless my
life. I've been feeling the spirit in my life more abundantly as I
take my studies seriously. I invite all of you to make some time to
study.
I wanted to end on this scripture for you to ponder.
"For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for
he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a
wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.
Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do
many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much
righteousness;
For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And
inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward." D&C
58:26-28
Love,
Elder Casper
1. Financial District
2&3. Empire State!
4. Ladies and Gentlemen! The freedom Tower!
5. Freedom tower at night
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