It's getting cold‏

email dated 11/30/09
Ok, so this last weekend, an Elder who lived in our apartment previously broke into our apartment while we weren't there and left a goodie for us... When we cam back into our apartment, I opened to door to my bedroom to find a half-naked black man (not wearing pants) holding a baseball bat standing there. I started screaming. I turned on the light only to find that it was a very realistic mannequin that I had been punked. The other elders in the apartment had a really good laugh about it. It scared the heck out of me at the time, but now I can look back and laugh about it. I have great pictures to show you...

Yesterday was another crazy Sunday, and we had 13 less-active Spanish members at church! It was totally awesome! Many of them hadn't been to church in a long time, but Elder Pawlak and I are spending the bulk of our time reactivating the Spanish population here so that we can begin baptizing again. We're crazy busy with appointments for the upcoming week already, and we will continue to see more success. We have an investigator, Olga, who is moving towards baptism in the next couple of weeks. She is a superstar! She loves the Book of Mormon, and she loves going to church. She just has to quit her coffee. It's a hard addiction for many people to break, but we keep praying that she will find the strength to overcome it, and I hope you're all praying for her too.

It's beginning to get colder here. We've had abnormally warm weather for November (50's and 60's with sun), but this last week the wind started to blow really hard, and regardless of the 55 degree weather, the humid wind off of the ocean penetrates all your clothing, and it feels more like its 10 degrees. It's intense! I just can't wait until it snows! I'm eagerly awaiting the winters first snowfall here in New England.

I had a great thanksgiving. We went to our wards 'Turkey Bowl' and got to play some 2-hand touch football. Is was pretty sweet. I'm still really sore, but it was worth it. We spent all afternoon celebrating thanksgiving at a members home: the Bonneys. They have 14 children, all between the ages of 2 and 16 years old. It was crazy fun! We played board games and entertained them while the oldest daughters helped the parents prepare for dinner. After feasting, and a long day of thanksgiving day traditions with their family, we went to the church at about 6:30PM, and watched Ice Age 3. It was awesome.

Well, I'm running out of time, but I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Take some time to ponder about what matters most, and the things that you are truly grateful for.

Mucho Amor,
-Elder Shepherd