"Strawberry Blonde"

An interesting debate has arisen this week, with the subject being the color of my hair. The vast majority of members, fellow missionaries, and investigators is that I have red in my hair. I am of the opinion that my hair is "dirty blonde" but I only have 2 others on my side. And so, as it turns out, I am a "strawberry blonde", as it's called. I'm not sure how to feel about it...it seems like I've been living my life as a lie. Then I remember that none of this is of eternal significance, and I get over it and resume the work of the Lord. =D

Things are going very, VERY well out here. Our number of progressing investigators is very low, but new people are coming up and our recent converts are going strong. We've put in some effort with less-active members this past week or so, and 4 of them came to church yesterday! It was a beautiful sight to see. Elder Langford and I are having an awesome time together - he's a fantastic companion and a great friend. We're working hard and working well together - the work of the Lord moves onward! =]

On Wednesday, we gave some service and helped to build a playground here in Revere! It was a HUGE event, with involvement/support from jetBlue and KaBOOM!, a non-profit organization that builds parks across the country. Us, the other companionship in our apartment, as well as a third companionship of Elders in our zone (whose area neighbors ours) went and helped out. It was so much fun, despite the heat, and the finished product is pretty neat! It was really cool to be involved in such a big thing. The woman in charge of the Revere Public Library (where we do our emails each week) knows us well, and always gives us service opportunities - this was one of them! The "Peace in the Family Day" gig was also a recommendation from her.

Speaking of the heat, humidity is absolutely MISERABLE. I'll be like in the 90s (which is no big deal back in Arizona), but then the humidity is through the roof. It makes it really uncomfortable, especially in "church clothes", but we deal with it and drink lots of water! Also, it'll randomly rain every couple of days for a while, and then go back to hot and sunny. It's rather strange.

The mission got new phones!!!! We had bricks before, and now we have really nice ones - touch screens, QWERTY keyboards...we're spoiled, it feels like. But it also feels pretty legit, so I'm not complaining!!! =D

I've said it many times before and I will continue to say it - I absolutely LOVE this ward. Church was so great yesterday. One of our investigators, Esther, showed up, and when she met Harriet, she flipped out! Turns out that Harriet was a famous actress in Uganda - I knew this, but we just don't really ever talk about it. Esther is also from Uganda, and her daughter, Sabrina, is named after a character that Harriet played on a TV show there. According to Esther, when Harriet left that TV show, everyone stopped watching it. THAT'S how big Harriet was! Crazy, right?!

I'll close this letter with the most exciting portion of our day yesterday, and probably the most exciting portion of our whole week - we are now teaching our FIRST Cambodian investigators EVER!!! Elder Langford and I are beyond thrilled. We taught them the first lesson yesterday. It was so incredible. Our Cambodian was a little rough, and we had to explain a few things (like prophets) a little more in depth than normal, but we're so excited to be teaching them. It's a family - a husband and wife with 5 kids! They are the first Cambodians here that I have met who are willing to learn and open to the gospel. They've been searching for the truth, and they've definitely been prepared by God. I am so honored to be able to teach them - Elder Langford and I hope and pray for the best for them! =D

With an excitement in my heart and a love for the people here,
Elder DeLong! =]