The Storms Won't Cease July 15/16, 2012

Hello Family

I feel like Paikea the whale rider with all of this rain that's happening here. And no, I haven't seen The Whale Rider. I've just heard plenty about it, particularly when I meet someone named Paikea. We'll have to put on my list of 100 movies to watch when I get home. Of course it will be near the top of the list, with Harry Potter 7 being the first and second.

But anyway, back to the rain. It's been pouring here! And what makes it worse is the wind which blows it sideways. We usually hold our umbrellas almost horizontally to keep our heads dry. I hope imagining that gives you a laugh.

When it rains, continuously that is, Elder Maas and I tend to just walk around with umbrellas rather than biking and getting soaked. Our pants still get soaked, but at least our heads are slightly drier than they would be otherwise. Walking slows us down quite a bit compared to a bike, but Wainui is small enough that if we plan accordingly (like working in one area) then we're still able to get a lot done. Actually the funny thing is that we actually seemed to accomplish a lot more on the days we walk and can only visit a few people than on the days we bike from house to house to see who's home. This happened a few days this week. A mission is strange like that. However one reason for that might be is that when walking, we ponder a bit longer before we decide to go somewhere because it will take so much longer, whereas on bikes, if we think about seeing someone, we'll just go for it. So in the words of President Uchtdorf, we can benefit a lot by slowing down our lives a little!

That's awesome to hear about the information you found about the Jeters. The family history library is even more amazing than I thought! It's funny how some non-members know more about the Library in Salt lake than I do. Will you be able to find out if we're related to Derek Jeter?! ;) Family History is one thing that I really hope to get into more once I get home. I didn't realize it's importance before my mission as much as I do now.

Sorry for the lame email, ans sorry I can't say more. Thanks for all you do for me. I'm still loving the mission and I realize more and more everyday how little time I have. So I work harder!

gotta go

love,

dave