11/19/2018 Biking in Memphis

Biking in Memphis for the most part is pretty fun. I like being able to go slow enough to see everything. There is something interesting at every corner, whether it's an out of place. Boarded up building, a cool mural, someone to talk to, or so on. But it also comes with drawbacks. There's glass everywhere. My companions have said they've popped numerous tires in Midtown. Hopefully the beefy tires I got do me well. Also, it got fairly cold and snowed one day. We had to go all the way across the area that day (and lady we were supposed to meet wasn't even there). Being outside and biking in the cold and snow was rough. Elder Perkins and I got a cold last week, and I think Elder Paopao got one from us just yesterday. There's no hope if your companion gets sick. Especially so if you have two. Luckily the snow melted a day later and it's been in the 60s for the past two days. Elder Perkins' bike broke a couple days ago. And pretty far from the apartment, so we had to walk all the way home in the dark. Luckily there's an apartment bike frame that he put his wheels on. With only a month left, is it even worth trying to fix his old one?

On Thursday, we had Zone Conference, a big zone conference. We had all the Memphis side missionaries there. We got some good instruction from President Hansen and others. One of the speakers was a therapist. He showed us a Will Smith video, and Will Smith said a pretty cool thing: "the best things in life are on the other side of fear." Definitely the truth with regards to missionary work. A lot of my friends from the MTC are on the Memphis side, so it was fun to see them again. I've also got to meet a lot of the missionaries that have been out a while longer. For lunch there was some bomb corn bread. Too bad I didn't get the recipe. 

Getting to see Aunt Jenni and Uncle Travis on Saturday was great! The breakfast was awesome, and it's always a pleasure to see family. And thanks for the cereal. We are absolutely stacked for cereal right now, sadly we have no milk. Shopping today!

Saturday was also also a month anniversary of the mission. 23 more to go!

I got to go to the branch for the first time on Sunday. I knew a lot of the members already through seeing them at various events like stake conference, a branch activity, and so on. There are about 30-40 people, but a large portion of them are implants from another ward (the entire presidency is from outside the area) or are students or spouses of students at the Memphis Optometry school that have no plans to stay in Memphis after finishing. Just goes to show how much room to grow we have here. 

Also thank you Marla Kucera for the letters! They have been a pleasure to read, and I have used the star stickers. They go great on Missionary tags for when missionaries are being a good noodle.

Today we are going to see the Peabody Ducks. Excited to see some ducks. 

How is living for all of you all? Is it cold? Anything interesting going on in the world?

Pictures (Jenni has pictures. Get some from her):

1) us in the snow

2) I made eggs for breakfast one morning. This one looks like Donald Trump

3) an awesome mural that we took pictures in front of. 901 is the school district number for Memphis I believe

4) we gave the sacrament to some members who are at St Jude's hospital. St Jude's hospital looks really awesome. A very welcoming place for sure

5) a nice mural at a community center. 

Pictures from Aunt Jenni:

in front of their apartment

uncle Travis, Elder Matt, aunt Jenni

strip mall church building