I am in Decatur!

Hello:

I am in Decatur, Alabama! This week has been quite jam-packed with activities and full of sadness because of leaving my last area but I also love my new area! Decatur, Alabama is a city west of Huntsville. It is a small city and a whole lot different than Birmingham. It has more churches per capita than any city in the United States. In other words, there are a lot of very religious people here in Decatur. Everybody we have talked to seems to attend a different church in the area. It almost seems like there are two houses for every one church!

I have already had a lot of very fun experiences with my new companion, Elder Virtue (I know – quite a name), in which people we have met are either scared of us or invite us in to do a little “Bible bashing.” It is all so much fun though. Also something that makes this area a little more interesting is that Elder Virtue and I were “double transferred” here so we are both new to the area and we are starting with no leads. Neither of us knows the area or any one that lives here so it has been quite a bit of fun trying to figure out this small city. We have both agreed that we might have to get ourselves lost a few times in order to get this place down. I am so excited for this wonderful opportunity though and I am looking forward to a lot of success.

There are also a lot of Hispanic people living here! I originally thought that it was going to be very hard to find Spanish-speaking people here, but Elder Virtue and I have already found a lot! We have had a few funny experiences already with some Hispanic people we have met. So as a Spanish-speaking missionary in the U.S., I have perfected the skill of identifying Hispanic homes. One of those signs is a lot of cars out front. This is because many families usually live under one roof. So Elder Virtue and I used our honing abilities and walked up to one house and they were blaring Spanish music when we knocked on the door. Then it stopped and the door opened and they said, “Quien?” Then when they saw who were they said: “Misioneros!” And then there was a pause and they swung the door open and let us in and then blared the music again and started dancing – ha! It was hilarious and it eventually calmed down and we were able to teach a lesson. It was a fun experience.

I am so grateful for this wonderful opportunity that I have to be a missionary and all of the wonderful experiences I am having. There is a talk that I read this past week that is absolutely amazing. It is entitled “His Grace is Sufficient” by Brad Wilcox. I encourage everybody to read it! I love and miss everyone back home and hope to hear from you soon!

Love,

Elder Neser