I Would Walk 500 Miles.. ....And Probably 5,000 More!

What's up everybody??! 

This week was craazy fast, and super rad. I don't have a ton of time left.. (I know, I'm still growing into a responsible adult who can truly manage time.. but you'll need to cut me some slack, I'm only 18!) so I'll try to make this ridiculously interesting, enthralling, captivating, and mind-blowing, while simultaneously keeping this update relatively short. (Impressed with my big words? ..I hope they all make sense, haha)

Round 1.... Fight!

So Monday, last P-day, I got to get a hold of the INCREDIBLE package my mom sent me. 30 lbs worth of unreal goodies!! Scooby Doo fruit snacks, new movies to watch (The Work and the Glory, and Ephraim's Rescue; I highly recommend them both, but I love the Work and the Glory times like... at least 6), goldfish crackers of all flavors, my iPod with fantastic music on it, letters from my family, the works! Even some new stylish ties, and cake mixes! Haha! We spent P-day tearing it apart, and enjoying the contents. We kicked back, watched movies, ate licorice and drank hot chocolate, and pretty much just got fat. ...Best day. That night, we taught an investigator  and he brought us some bread from Paris Baguette (a really famous bakery here, it's EVERYWHERE) and had some yummy egg-salad sandwiches. ..Yes mom, those words just came out of my mouth.

Tuesday was sweet, as we picked up a new investigator! He's 24 years old, and pretty much told us he's always wanted to go to church. He wants to become and actor, and wants to learn English really bad, so we're teaching him English, and the Gospel. Double points! That night, we were invited to Bishop's house again for dinner, and and it was somewhat awkward, haha. I struggle. ..We had these weird rice-paper-crepe-type-things. You take the rice paper, dip it in this boiling pot of water to soften it, and pile your contents in it, wrap it up and shove it all in your mouth. Hahaha pretty adventurous, although .. well, I kept doing it wrong, haha. Then, the Bishop had me share a surprise spiritual thought at the end, and I bore my testimony as well as I could. Rough day, but delicious nonetheless!

On Wednesday we had a District Meeting led by the infamous Elder Chow, and learned about some of the other Elder's investigators. I did an exchange with Elder Hafen and brought him into my area for the day, led 3 lessons, and did really well. It was super fun! 

Thursday Elder Chow had me do another Senior day (in which I carry the phone, contact others, plan for the day, lead lessons, etc) and we had a good time. We got a little artsy, and did some cool watercolor stuff, haha!  We also found a guitar on the side of the road, so I decided to take it with us, buy new strings, string it up and tune it! It sounds pretty good, but man, have I lost a lot of my skill! I think I'll be giving it to Elder Shaver. He can make much more use out of it than I can! ..Then that night, I also gave Elder Chow a haircut, haha! I'm starting to take after my sister!

Friday was rad, we didn't do much, but baked a cake for a member and had English class. Really not much to report for Friday.

Saturday was similar, and taught one of our sweet investigators for probably the last time.. he's not making any progress and solely wants to learn English, making it sound like we'll have to drop him. It's gonna be rough, but we both feel it's gotta happen. 

Sunday we went to church and walked for-ever. We met with a new investigator though, and he was awesome! He went on a European tour a little while ago, and showed us all the pictures from there! He even ran into some elders there! How crazy! In the end, when he prayed he said, "I thought it would be really awkward to meet with these guys, but it they are actually really cool." ..Haha.

Anyway, we're all doing well! Give Hanna a HUGE congrats on her call, and send all of my love to my man Elder Bradshaw if you know him!! We're all praying for him! 

Also, we've been keeping track of how far we walk each day via my iPod (doubles as a pedometer), and we take about 20,000 steps a day. From Tuesday to Sunday this week, we walked 49.4 miles, or 83.5 kilometers!! Isn't that nuts??!

Anyway, keep on keepin' on everyone, I love you all so much!!!

Elder DeMille

Adventure Time

Okay, so this is gonna be a first here.. ..are you ready? This time, I'm actually going to talk about the subject of my email.. FIRST! Haha can you believe it??

So here it is.. are you ready?

..I found out this week that (well, for those of you that watch Adventure Time) Lady Rainicorn doesn't actually speak jibberish in the cartoon. ..She speaks Korean. ..So, I have now decided that when I get home from my mission, I will become a vegetable in front of a television for at least a week in order to discover everything Lady Rainicorn says in that silly cartoon. ....MY SOUL NEEDS TO KNOW.

Haha other than that sweet fact, this week was pretty normal, with a fair share of exciting things mixed in! Let's get started! 

On Monday, we played a sweet game of soccer, and I finally got some pics of us playing, thanks to the sweet grace of my dear friend Elder Gibbons! After that, we went to the bath house, and later attended my first Korean funeral. ..Well, it wasn't MY funeral of course, but it was for a sister's grandmother in our ward. But not a sister, like an Elder/Sister, just a sister. ..Oh boy. You get what I mean. It was really interesting, and sad, but super different. First, we took a taxi there and jammed out to "Do you Believe in Life After Love?” which I'm still not sure I can really answer. Once we got there we ate a bunch of food right next to the burial shrine (incense and stuff) and then did a ceremonial bow, and bow down to the relatives with our faces on the floor for a solid 10 seconds. It was interesting, but hey! New experiences are good, right?

On Tuesday, to start things off right I totally turfed it in the shower.. while trying to stretch a sore quad muscle. ..Don't picture it, but it was pretty silly. And mom, I'm fine, don't worry, haha. It was just embarrassing. ..Who falls in the shower, with shower sandals on? Come on! Then, later that day we got to play some basketball with an investigator of ours. I'm terrible at basketball in Korea. ..Like, absolutely awful. I blame it on the air density, but Elder Chow just thinks I'm not coordinated, hahaha. We ordered chicken that night which was mighty tasty, and taught a new investigator who feeds us every time we meet! He brings us all sorts of snacks as we teach him English, and teach him the Gospel through a 30/30 program. 30 minutes English, 30 minutes Gospel. He loves us so much he gave us hugs at the end too! haha! Great guy.

On Wednesday, transfers happened, but didn't really do anything for us since we're both staying. However, that day, we were walking on the road and I made a terrible mistake. This little high school girl saw us both walking while she was with all of her friends and timidly said "Hello", so out of habit I just said "Hey" back, and she went berserk! She started breathing like she was gonna have a heart-attack and said “Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi!" Like a billion times. ...Gosh, it sure is hard being so devilishly handsome.  ..Later that day we did two 20-minute practice lessons with members, and it was sweet practice. I taught a lot, struggled a lot, and improved a lot. Elder Chow always tells me the the Lord doesn't expect immediate perfection, but He does expect immediate progression. Therefore, I am always trying my best to progress!

Thursday was another "Senior Day" in which I plan for the day before hand, lead all the lessons, and lead.. well.. pretty much everything. It's stressful sometimes, but always a good learning experience. That day we met with Q again, and read the Book of Mormon with him, as well as taught him all about Lehi's dream! We drew a stellar diagram that I'll send to my mom so you can see it. Haha.. it's a mess, but .. the most beautiful mess you'll ever see. That night our new investigator again, and he fed us delicious soy sauce fried Chicken. ...Like, man, It was amazing. (..And the answer is ‘yes’, I'm still losing weight.) :P That night, we went to the nearest Daiso (like an Officemax kind of, with office supplies and toys) and bought some 3D puzzle Spaceships. ..Elder Chow and I now both officially have our own fleet. ..Be very afraid.

Friday was .... wow .. we’re going to just skip to the evening. Deal? …At English class we did a sweet role play pretending to be Weather Forecasters on the News. The students did an amazing job, considering the fact that they're all over 40 and have the funniest ideas of what English people sound and act like. It was awesome! Haha. Mr. Park came and brought the biggest pizza I've ever seen. ..Also, since we taught about the weather, I've decided that someone needs to make a dubstep song called "The Calm Before the Storm." ..so get on that. You'll be a DeMillionaire.

Saturday we taught an awesome investigator, and bought him a sweet triple combination Book of Mormon and decorated a case for him too. We spent almost the entire time talking about doughnuts (since previous to meeting him Elder Chow and I found a Krispy Kreme, yes, in Korea, that was having a 'buy a dozen, get a dozen' deal for like 11 bucks. ..I couldn't resist. ..We had four boxes of doughnuts.) and talked about some place called "Legendary Doughnuts" in Washington that is supposedly just.. well.. Legendary! Haha.

Sunday was pretty quiet, but it's also a day of rest! We walked around for hours and talked to lots of people. It was a good time! 

Everyone, I love you so much! Especially those of you I don't know because, well, I'm sure you're all fantastic people! Keep doing amazing things for the world. You never know whose life you're going to touch. Can't wait to keep in touch again next week! This is Elder DeMille, signing off! 

Elder DeMille

"Life is like a chox 'uh boxolates."‏

So this week.. was.. of course, exciting! I swear the mission never gets old!

On Monday, after we emailed, we went to go learn Tai-Chi from this ancient Korean Legend. Like... what??! Hahaha! It was the hardest thing I think I've ever done, and want to start doing it every day! It is so insane! This old man was stronger than any of us, it was crazy! And he was SO flexible!! He taught us Tiger Style, the Eight Forms, and Chicken Style. Seriously the coolest thing ever. We pushed the ball.. and pulled the ball.. all that super awesome stuff. So rad! 

 Tai Chi Stretches

Next, on Tuesday, we really just went around and talked to a billion people because we had nothing else to do. ..But hey, missionary work is missionary work!

On Wednesday, we had ..wayyy too much fun. We had a District Meeting, and afterwards I got to do a split with Elder Empey, in my area. He's been out the exact same time as I have, and so ... well, we adventured! We went to the far corners of my area, and ended up buying a ton of Pokemon cards.. (Who wouldn't?? They're Korean! :P) Also, as we were talking to people on the street, I got really enveloped in our conversation and his interest in the Gospel.. and.. well, I pulled a classic missionary-worthy move and ran straight into a tree. ..Hahah can you believe that?? I ran full on into a tree mid sentence, and then the Korean man just turned to me and said in broken English, "Oh. Please watch your step.". ..Hahah too silly. Empey and I adventured all night, and stayed up a little late talking about spooky stories, but then the next morning things were pretty much back to normal.

We got up on Thursday and made pancakes and homemade syrup, which was super delicious, and unsplit around 3 or 4 o’clock. Chow and I got back together and that was that! Haha. Mission accomplished. 

Friday we woke up and played football in the morning for exercise, and it was super nice to be able to kick again and throw the football. I learned I've got some pretty good hands, and that Chow is really good at throwing! Another highlight was that that night, during our English class that we teach for an hour (7-8pm every Friday) we taught about body parts, and for our role-play I got to come into emergency situations (me being an EMT) and treat everyone while they explained to me which body part was hurting! Hahaha! It was SO funny! One of our members was drowning, so I had to literally pick him up and carry him out of the water, and make sure he was okay! Another had fallen, and another was giving birth.. haha! Seriously too funny. Don't worry, I only took her to the hospital, nothing crazy. 

On Saturday, the Relief Society brought us another million pounds of food, and we couldn't be more thankful!! I'm seriously beginning to understand why the Relief Society is called what they are! They are so fantastic!!  We had so much food we had to tape our fridge shut!! Haha!! Saturday night we got transfer calls, as this transfer is over (Wahoo! One down!) and Elder Chow and I will be staying, but the new members of our Zone will be Elder Ellsworth, Elder Clawson, and Sister Telford. It'll be fun to get to know them! Also, our boy Elder Schofield went AP!! I love that guy!!!

On a few side notes, Olympus High School is taking over the world; the calls are amazing to hear about, and I've also found a couple of our alum in Liahonas from last year! Haha! Who’d’a thunk? Ah! And also, on Sunday, I had a member of our ward come up to me and start quoting Forrest Gump! It was absolutely HILARIOUS. He pointed to one of the members of our ward who has crutches and said, "Forrest Gump." I didn't even think I heard right! Then he said, "Life is like a chox 'uh boxolates" and started laughing, hahaha. I was dying! He said, "My name is Forrest Gump" just like Forrest would, and it was seriously the funniest thing ever. Forrest Gump, of all people, in Korea?! Ha!

I've learned this week that there are times when you feel like you are not progressing, and that's okay. Everyone has so many things going on in life, and sometimes you just need some time to recoup. This week, Elder Holland really kept me up, and reminded me to be on my toes all the time, no matter my level of exhaustion. He said to me through a talk, 

"Brethren, the Spirit of the work is URGENCY, and we must imbue our missionaries and members with the Spirit now. N-O-W. We are not just waiting for natural regrowth. We must move more rapidly. We must take things up a notch. If we are to call down miracles or angels, then call them down. The drama is unfolding and we must do whatever it takes to ratchet up the work. ..I feel an incredible burden of urgency in my chest. I can hardly breathe.

Every dispensation begins with a vision. We must have a vision. We are the church that dreams dreams. We are the church that has visions. We must believe in miracles. We must believe and build on what our forefathers have done. Are we just going to putter along, be average -- until we wind up on the level when our heart is up in our throat and if we open our eyes, we would expect to see angels? If this is God's work and He still lives, then miracles and angels are still there. We must live up to our potential. God will bless us with whatever we need. God wants us to see what He sees and know what He knows. He wants us to ratchet up the vision. God is easy to please and hard to satisfy…

This is NOT convenient, easy work. We have got to take things to the edge. We have to move into the realm of miraculous. We have to live in such a way that we cannot do it alone anymore - Where we will resort to the Lord. Where we will cry, "Without thy help, I will fail. HELP ME FLY." Go the edge where miracles will happen. Move into the realm of miraculous. Have full faith. Believe in angels. With the power of the Priesthood, Push the envelope!"

I can't stress enough how hard and stressful this work is, but how incredibly empowering it is at the same time. If you feel at times that you've been missing something in your life, or things aren't quite working out for you, take a step back -breathe- and then get that Book of Mormon off the shelf and into your heart. The power of this Gospel and the message it contains is something that is incomparable to anything else. ..You know that. You've felt the power of it before, and felt that limitless love in your heart at some time or another in your life. ..Hunger and thirst to feel it again. Understand why you are here, where you are going, and why you do the things you do every day. Shine with the light of the blessings you have and spread that joy to other people! Help others fly. You are all so amazing, and I love you all so much! Congrats to all of the missionaries receiving their calls right now. You will change the world. 

Love you all!

Elder DeMille

White board collaboration

First crepe night in Korea

One for the Scouts back home ... memories!

Hello Korea!

Here are the rest of the photos Elder DeMille sent us this time around. He is loving life there and has done a lot of growing up in the meantime. Love this guy so much!

Goodbye MTC: January 2014

These photos just arrived from Korea! They're a little out of order in the blog, but I had to post them. We are so glad that the MTC was a positive experience for the whole district. I think many life-long friendships were made there. The resolution of the video isn't the best, so watching it on a large viewer is going to be better than full screen this time. Enjoy!

"A U Rady"?? Three months, check!‏

Alright, so this week, was.. pretty much filled to the brim with swag, and amazing adventures! 

First, on Monday, (a.k.a.) last P-day, we went all the way down to Suwon, and played a massive game of soccer!! We played with a million missionaries from our mission, as everyone was invited, but only a few (compared to how many missionaries there are here) showed up. I got to see some well-missed faces like Elder Shaver, Elder Fowler, Elder McQuivey, Elder Monterrozo.. it was so fun! I ended up pretending to be a professional soccer guru, and scored three goals! ..That's three more than my companion, the actual soccer guru (Elder Chow) scored. ..You could say I'm pretty conceited about it. Haha! Later in the game, Elder Shaver was running around, and went to get the ball from Elder Chow, when all of the sudden you hear a .. WHACK! and you see Elder Chow standing over Elder Shaver who is now lying flat on his back with his hands over his face.. Yikes! We rushed over to learn that the ball had hit Elder Shaver right in the eye, and his eye was bleeding a (more than a bit, but less than a ton) and it was pretty much swollen shut. Before I knew it, Elder Chow was telling everyone that I was an EMT and I had already engaged in "EMT Mode". We cleared everyone out, I checked out his eye and made sure his head and everything were okay, and we got him some paper towels, ice, acetaminophen, and lots of water. He was doing super, super well at handling all of the stress and attention and well.. pain, and man, he was just such a champ! This other sister wanted to rush him to an emergency room.. haha.. but.. in Korea? I don't think so.. haha. We decided we'd wait on it and have him get it checked out by a doctor if it didn't improve in a day or so. Nice call
 
As we hung out on P-Day, I was with Elder Thorup a lot, (fantastic man, by the way) and learned that we also have the same birthday! August 1st baby!! ..Just a fun fact. I'm 9 hours older. Take that Thorup!

Next, on Tuesday we got to go to the Bishop's house for dinner, and BOY OH BOY was it delicious!! I had probably 5 plates of food, piled high with Bulkogi (I think that's how you spell it) and Kimchi (which I am a pretty big fan of after hating it for my whole life..) and Kim! Man, so so so good. Not to mention strawberries and cuties for dessert! Greatest dinner. We talked a lot about sports, and as baseball came up, Elder Chow commented that it was boring just as the Bishop said it was his favorite sport, hahaha. Too good! Bishop asked me what mine was, and naturally I said Ultimate Frisbee which, in turn, translated to "throwing plates" ...hahaha. Oh well, at least now I know how to explain it to Koreans.

On Wednesday, we made cookies for people who had had us over for dinner, and ..well.. they turned out a little interesting. We took them around, and got a text that said, "Thank you for the biscuits!" …Hahaha! We tried, alright? It's the thought that counts! Also, later on, we went to eMart for the first time, like.. a big Walmart, and I found some of the greatest cereal ever. OREO O'S. Does anyone remember these?? I sure do! We got them and basically pounded them in like three days. ...Haha. Cereal is expensive here,but can definitely act as your manna. So delicious!

Next, on thursday I'm sure we did something fantastic, but I totally can't remember for the life of me. ..Probably the Oreo O's. 

On Friday, I split with my companion and headed to Dapdong, with Elder Schofield! It was soo rad. I stayed in a house with Elders Lund and Thorup, and seriously had the best time! First, we went to a hospital as our first appointment, and visited an old man who is in really bad condition. We talked for a long time and ended up reading him some stories out of the Liahona (Korean version, of course) and sang him a few hymns from our hymn book per his request. First, I am a Child of God, then How Great Thou Art, and another I can't quite remember. I think it was Abide with Me Tis Eventide. .. He fell asleep at first, and then as the second and third were sung, he started to cry. Everyone in the hospital room came and gathered around us as we sang. Elder Schofield has a really, really good singing voice! Later that night, we visited an Arabic investigator who taught us the numbers 1-10 in Arabic while we taught him about the Book of Mormon!! So cool! 

Then, Saturday came around and we ended up at the church a lot, and played Choku! It's like soccer, combined with Volleyball. Probably the coolest thing I've ever played. You volley it, and it can touch anything but your hands, and you get one bounce in between each touch, while only getting three touches, just like volleyball. So rad! In English class that night, we taught a bunch of people, and I was partially in charge of the beginner English learners with Elder Schofield. We taught them, and had one member who was so stoked about his English he was trying to show-off a little by writing, "A U Rady" on his paper and saying it over and over again, hahaha! Too funny.

Anyway, people keep telling me I have the most beautiful older sister.. *cough cough Nix* so if she starts to get a million emails from random missionaries... ..like, soo wasn't me. However! It was her smart idea to put my best girl-friend and my girlfriend right beside each other in my picture book so maybe it serves her right.. .. everyone who sees my book is convinced I have two girlfriends when I try to explain that it's a girl.. and a different girlfriend. So difficult.

Well shoot, other random news, we are supposed to have a combined mission tour in March, but it's not on the calendar so who knows if it'll happen or not! However, we have transfers next week, and Elder Cook is coming in May for another Combined Mission Conference with the Seoul Mission so that will be rad! To all you out there on a mission, preparing for a mission, or waiting for someone on a mission, remember that two years is but a small drop in the pool of eternity, but for some those two years are a flood; a never ending flow of hardship. You've got to ride the wave, and at times, when you are submerged beneath the flow of stress and difficulty, don't forget that you need time to breathe as well! ..Don't drown! Float on! Haha. Love you all beyond anything I could have ever imagined. You all rule, and rock each other's socks off! 

P.S. We're buying soccer jerseys this week. Pics soon, I'm stoked!!

Much love, and impeccable style,
Elder DeMille

P.P.S. I was given a Korean name this week! It's 도진리! Or (Doe Chilly pretty much in English pronunciation. The Chilly part means truth, and Doe is the family name of the most popular character in a huge Korean drama right now. Given to me by an investigator in Dapdong! Haha too cool!!) Just call me Chilly DeMilly I guess. Werd out!

Elder Chow cleaning the font
   

The first baptism!

Elder Newton from back home

The huge cotton candy!!!

Crowded subway

Four Weeks Down... Bang!‏

Alright! So.. I’ve decided I'm done with having these mass emails from Korea be terribly confusing and down-right unorganized. This week, you're gonna hear about all of my crazy-oriental adventures. Can you handle the truth??!

Alright so, first of all, when I emailed you last Monday, it wasn't actually our P-day. ....HA! Betch'a didn't see that coming! Last monday, we were given an hour to email, but we actually had our P-day on Thursday because we went to the temple in Seoul!! ..But, before we get to that, let's start where I left off.

First! Tuesday was soooooo rad!! We had a meeting at our mission home in Ogeum, called the "12 Week Follow Up" where we got to see everyone from our mission that is being trained right now! ..A.k.a... my friends! Haha! It was soo cool, and everyone is doing so well! It was so fun. We all got together, reviewed how our trainers are treating us, and learned how to make lesson plans (although Elder Chow already showed me and I had like 7 already prepared which was super nice).

After the 4-hour meeting, we headed back (about an hour and a half) to our church and went straight to an activity with our Young Men which was allllll the way upstairs. ..haha. We played board games and drank Milkis from bowls! Hahaha. We don't use cups that often here in Korea, other than at home or in restaurants. It's always bowls for some reason, haha. Milkis, by the way, is like ...Milk-soda. ..It's straight up divine. We played a game called BANG! that night and it was by far the greatest game I have ever played. I learned they have it in America too, so if you can find it, buy it! It's SO fun! It's an old-timey western-style game with cowboys and stuff, and you shoot each other and lose lives, and unleash indians on each other and stuff, all through cards. It was hilarious. I was the first to murder, and the second to die. Holla!

Next, on Wednesday I went on Exchanges with Elder Hafen in Kaesan, and switched spots with Elder Empey who came to Bupyeong (my area) with Elder Chow. We just walked around a lot, and talked to a lot of people, and had a good time! We heard Ke$ha on the street which was.. well.. ... I don't even know what to say ... ..and mom! You know that picture you sent me of the girl with the GINORMOUS cotton candy by her face?? WE GOT SOME!! It was only $2 and twice the size of my head!! I'll send a picture for sure. SO good, haha, and SO large!! 

Next, on Thursday we “unsplit” at the Temple and had a killer time. The temple is super beautiful, and super tiny. All of the rooms are connected, which is really odd, and really cool. Right after that, we stopped by the bookstore (which is across from the temple) and I was able to pick up a Korean-English combo Preach My Gospel, which is totally awesome. Get one of those if you can. They're sweet. After that, we headed to a soccer field in Bupyeong with a buhzillion other companionships and played a huge pickup game of soccer with a lot of Koreans who were already playing on the field! It was SO fun!! My feet got destroyed  after an hour and a half or so (..I just have old lady feet), so I sat out on the sideline, but got to talk to a few people and even place a Book of Mormon in the meantime! Missionary work never rests! Later, we played a "USA" vs. "Korea" game, and got beat 3-2. ..They are SO good at soccer! It's HUGE here, and you can meet a lot of people while you play. It's sweet. ..Next, since we were starving afterwards we went to Lotteria, owned by Lotte Mart, which is like Korea's Walmart, but bigger. The food was... ....terrible! Haha. It was the first fast food meal I’d had since I came here, and threw me off way bad. It made me feel so horrible that I pretty much vowed to try and never eat fast food again. Yuck! However, fun fact, they only serve Sprite (it's called Cider here) and Pepsi (called Cola) in fast food places. ..Pretty much nothing else exists! It's wild! ..After we ate, we headed to a bathhouse on the 10th floor of this sweet building. It's brand new, and was sooo nice and relaxing. I even got a haircut while I was there! How convenient! ..Haircut, shower right around the corner, get dressed.. like, swag. Elder Gibbons and I were talking about how we should open one in America! Haha. Also, we weigh ourselves every time we go (since there are scales there) and I've lost another 3kg this week! I've lost 2.2kg almost consistently each week I've been out, and have lost almost 20lbs so far! Ha! Take that MTC Cafeteria!!

Then, on Friday, I'm pretty sure we did something cool... ...Maybe not. Haha. All I know is that at some point this weekend we had McDonald's delivered to our house (had to do it eventually.. it might as well have been right after I vowed to stay away from fast food), and I punished a Big Mac and a large fry. ..And when I say punished, I mean punished. This was the first Big Mac that I actually ate everything on! Ha! I finally decided it was time to man up and eat those pickles and onions, and can I say, it was DELICIOUS. ..I think I finally understand why people put those ridiculous vegetables on their sacred slabs of meat. ...It's like.. actually.. ..good.

Saturday was a big day for us, as we prepared for the Sisters' baptism on Sunday! We spent half the day or more cleaning the baptismal font, and recording silly videos while we did it. You'll get those eventually I'm sure, but it was rad. When we finished, coincidentally the Young Women had built us a cake upstairs, along with some complimentary sushi! SO delicious, and quite the reward for our hard work! We came home that night, and relaxed, and Elder Chow broke out his super old Voice Recorder and we listened to his days as a greenie. It was awesome. Then, I thought to myself, hey! I have one of these! So I whipped mine out, and we listened to the messages from my family (so considerate of you, and awesome!) and Elder Chow and I freaked out as the sound was CRYSTAL clear through my speakers. It sounded like my family was in the room with me!! It was SO nuts!! I loved all of the messages, and am now recording on almost a daily basis (It's been like.. two days.. haha) a small journal entry for each day, hoping that that'll be easier for me to do than write in my journal, because I sincerely struggle at that. So, wish me luck!

When Sunday came around, we were pretty stressed, but stoked for the baptism. One investigator, who was supposed to be baptized this day, pushed back her date and we are really, really sad about it. She's really scared and unsure of what to do, and keeps bailing on appointments we've made with her and her dad. It's really sad. She used to be progressing, and now we're really unsure what we should do with her and her father. ..But, we'll pray and figure it out for sure. Anyway, everything went super well, and Elder Chow performed the other baptism, which makes his first! How exciting!! Later, we had some snacks together, and just hung out for a while. ..Then, we had a dinner appointment with a really rad member of our ward, and left around six to get there.. but.. got the wrong directions and went through 3 areas of our mission before we turned around.. haha. It took us 2 hours to get there! It was crazy!!

Anyway, I'm running out of time, but love you all! The key to the mission is positivity. If you can see how blessed you are, you will love every single day! You all rule to the moon and back, and I can't wait to hear more from all of you. You're the raddest!! This church is true, and I know we are out here sacrificing ourselves for the right things in life. I love you so much!

Elder DeMille