Well hey everyone! I made it to my mission and it was super sad to say goodbye to my district... but I know Sister Finch, Sister Tobin, Elder Pineiro, and Elder Blanding are all gonna do so amazing in their missions. They each have such a strong faith and testimony of this gospel.
So I love it here already though! I'm gonna start off and say I left my camera at the apartment so I cant send any pictures this week... but I'll try to explain how everything is here even though its tough to type all of it out. So first at the airport in Detroit we went around to hand out Book of Mormons and I got denied once by this older lady, but then I sat next to this other older lady named Barb and talked to her about the role Christ has played in her life and such. I ended up talking to her for an hour about life and her experiences. I then ended up giving her a Book of Mormon and she said she would read it and pray about it. So that was a cool experience handing out my first Book of Mormon and not even in my mission yet lol.
We then got to Syracuse and President Rogers and his wife picked us up and they are so nice and I love them both already! The next day I got to meet my companion and his name is Elder Deka and he's such a good missionary! He's so smart and in tune to the spirit! I've learned a lot from him already! Elder Deka and I hit it off from the start and its so much fun to teach a lesson with him. We work really well together and you can feel the spirit a lot of the times we share the gospel.
So I got sent to Lake Placid and they closed it for 6 months because there wasn't much progress in the investigators here. But they opened it back up and Elder Deka and I are the only Elders in this area and its a huge area! it covers so much area and there is multiple towns that are in it. It's one of the biggest areas in the mission. We have been doing a lot of tracting since we've been here and we have 5 investigators so far and one named Delina has already committed to be baptized. She wanted to be baptized yesterday, but we told her this is a big commitment and we wanted to teach her more before. It's so amazing to see the influence of holy ghost work in people as we teach. Also Elder Deka said after a few lessons that I don't teach like someone who has only been out for a week lol, so that was pretty sweet to here! then on Sunday we got to introduce ourselves and bare our testimonies and when Elder Pack (there is an elder couple here) introduced me he said that I was a greenie, but that you wouldn't be able to tell from meeting me. I bore my testimony of the savior and I love being able to look at all the people as I share what I know to be true.
After that we met the members of the ward and the members are definitely uh unique... lol upstate New Yorkers are quite the people lol, but they are all so friendly just a bit goofy. I love it here so much though! The people for the most part are so nice and awesome to talk to. Also some people just invite you in and give you free food! This one older couple gave Elder Deka and I some homemade apple pie which was delicious. The last thing is the weather... It's pretty bipolar here lol. One day it'll be mid 40's lower 50's and then the next its below freezing and snowing. It's so unpredictable, but its still so much fun to talk to everyone and share this wonderful gospel and here their experiences and stories (I've heard some pretty crazy stories so far)! Well I don't have anything else to say besides I miss you and love you all!
Elder Cahoon
So I love it here already though! I'm gonna start off and say I left my camera at the apartment so I cant send any pictures this week... but I'll try to explain how everything is here even though its tough to type all of it out. So first at the airport in Detroit we went around to hand out Book of Mormons and I got denied once by this older lady, but then I sat next to this other older lady named Barb and talked to her about the role Christ has played in her life and such. I ended up talking to her for an hour about life and her experiences. I then ended up giving her a Book of Mormon and she said she would read it and pray about it. So that was a cool experience handing out my first Book of Mormon and not even in my mission yet lol.
We then got to Syracuse and President Rogers and his wife picked us up and they are so nice and I love them both already! The next day I got to meet my companion and his name is Elder Deka and he's such a good missionary! He's so smart and in tune to the spirit! I've learned a lot from him already! Elder Deka and I hit it off from the start and its so much fun to teach a lesson with him. We work really well together and you can feel the spirit a lot of the times we share the gospel.
So I got sent to Lake Placid and they closed it for 6 months because there wasn't much progress in the investigators here. But they opened it back up and Elder Deka and I are the only Elders in this area and its a huge area! it covers so much area and there is multiple towns that are in it. It's one of the biggest areas in the mission. We have been doing a lot of tracting since we've been here and we have 5 investigators so far and one named Delina has already committed to be baptized. She wanted to be baptized yesterday, but we told her this is a big commitment and we wanted to teach her more before. It's so amazing to see the influence of holy ghost work in people as we teach. Also Elder Deka said after a few lessons that I don't teach like someone who has only been out for a week lol, so that was pretty sweet to here! then on Sunday we got to introduce ourselves and bare our testimonies and when Elder Pack (there is an elder couple here) introduced me he said that I was a greenie, but that you wouldn't be able to tell from meeting me. I bore my testimony of the savior and I love being able to look at all the people as I share what I know to be true.
After that we met the members of the ward and the members are definitely uh unique... lol upstate New Yorkers are quite the people lol, but they are all so friendly just a bit goofy. I love it here so much though! The people for the most part are so nice and awesome to talk to. Also some people just invite you in and give you free food! This one older couple gave Elder Deka and I some homemade apple pie which was delicious. The last thing is the weather... It's pretty bipolar here lol. One day it'll be mid 40's lower 50's and then the next its below freezing and snowing. It's so unpredictable, but its still so much fun to talk to everyone and share this wonderful gospel and here their experiences and stories (I've heard some pretty crazy stories so far)! Well I don't have anything else to say besides I miss you and love you all!
Elder Cahoon