Greetings From Paradise

Hello friends, family, and mere acquaintances!

Just kidding. No one is a mere acquaintance.

I must apologize however, for I did not send an email last week as you probably noticed by the absence of an email. I know you were all very concerned at this, as my weekly emails are the only thing you look forward to in the week. So I am very sorry to have disappointed you all. The reason for this though is that I was very busy with a plane ride, two train rides, and a relatively pointless bus ride, as I moved to my first area of my mission. 

Before we got to my first area though, the other new missionaries and I stopped at Scottsdale to meet the Mission President and his wife. Then we immediately split up with some other missionaries who weren't new, to knock on doors. So the first person I talked to in the mission field was super nice and was excited about learning more about the church. Then walking back from that house, I met the second person I talked to in the mission field who promptly informed us that he called the police on us for doing absolutely nothing. And guess what, the police couldn't do anything to us because, surprisingly enough, walking on the sidewalk is not actually against the law. So that was a fun story from my first day out in the field.

So as I said, I got to my first area within the Scottsdale Mission. And it is called Paradise Valley. 

Now I know what you may be asking yourself, what is Paradise Valley? Where is Paradise Valley? Who is Paradise Valley? Is it really a Valley? Is it really Paradise? 

So on a map, if Scottsdale is here, then Paradise Valley would be here, and if you could see me, you would see me pointing to different places on a map. Paradise Valley is actually a section of Phoenix. Interestingly enough there is more of Phoenix in the Scottsdale Mission than in the actual Phoenix Mission. We cover two wards, the Shadow Mountain Ward and the Granite Reef Ward, probably the coolest sounding names ever.

I have a new companion now as well. It was really sad to say goodbye to Elder Adamson. I'm with Elder Bower now and he's pretty cool.

So the weather here is much warmer than in Michigan. It gets like up to 70 in the afternoons. Then it gets chilly at night, not even that cold, except everyone here thinks it's the second Ice Age and they're in their parkas and whatnot.

Here's a random story of the week for you: 

We were riding our bikes and I accidentally brushed my leg against a bush, as one does. And then I realized that it was a painful bush. Then I realized it was a cactus and not a bush. So that was a blast. 

So yeah this has been a really great week. I have had a lot of really cool spiritual experiences and I've learned a lot. Something I've been studying a lot about is Faith. And in the Book of Mormon, in the Book of Alma, it talks about how Faith is not having a perfect knowledge of things. It's hoping for things which are not seen but which are true. 

The point of Faith is not to understand everything about the Gospel of Jesus Christ or about God. We literally cannot comprehend everything. So when we don't understand things perfectly, it doesn't mean we don't have strong faith or a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and of our Heavenly Father. It just means we have to have faith. And believe even though we can't see or understand perfectly. And trust in the peace, in the love, and in the joy that comes from having faith and following Jesus Christ.

Well it's been a great week, thank you all for the support and everything. 

Oh yeah and Happy Thanksgiving!

Talk to you next week!

~Elder Oswald 

P.S.- I appreciate all the personal emails from people, however unfortunately I don't always have a ton of time to write emails. So it might take me a while to respond. Keep sending them though, because I love to read them! And I will eventually get around to responding.

An Arizona Christmas tree (aka a painful bush)

Definitely not in Michigan anymore.