Hurricane Clean up

some pictures of the supplies sent by the church to help those affected by the hurricane

Good afternoon!

well i'm glad your trip to the ranch was fun! Sounds like traffic took its toll on ya.... hopefully you were able to rest well. And I’m sorry about the heat..... It’ll go away sooner than later, considering it’s now September. Yesterday and today we've been in the 60s with rain and some wind.

So the pictures were outside the member’s home we stayed at. I didn't get any pictures of our area. All day Sunday (2 weeks ago) we cleaned out the basement of the member’s home then we went to other members homes to clean out more water from basements. That entire day was spent out of church clothes and service..... Our minds were being flipped around trying to comprehend not teaching during the day (and we didn't have church)....

So with my companion... we get along great. he was born and raised on a farm.... he's used to working super hard all the time and wants to get things done one after another. It’s great! We have half and half for English to Spanish lessons and a lot of the Spanish people know English to a point where he can say some things and they'll understand. And he'll say some things in Spanish but not very much. So I’ll teach most of the lessons on my own (well the spirit will guide) then in English we both teach. It’s pretty fun. I enjoy it a lot. And transitions.... for the most part it's not too hard yet at times during a lesson i might say a word or two in Spanish and catch myself half way through the word. It’s funny.

So this past Saturday and Sunday were interesting. All day Saturday we were put to work physically going to one of the hardest hit cities in NJ to help clean up. One guy told us the water reached 26.7 feet (26. something for sure) completely engulfing homes. They said there was 2 rivers that had met and combined creating one large river or lake etc. and that had never happened before.... we were tearing out walls, carpet, furniture, appliances etc. due to water damage. Such a sad yet humbling experience to see the disaster yet truly become grateful for the blessings of the Lord for His protection over us. I didn't take pictures and it would've been bad if i did; someone painted on ply board "sightseers go away". These people have lost almost everything!

On Sunday all meetings in my stake were changed; only sacrament meeting was held and it was only 30 minutes long at 830 am for the entire stake. After the meeting all wards were invited to go to a headquarters and put on a yellow "helping hands" shirt and that Sunday was dedicated to give service. That Sunday definitely did not feel like a Sunday to me at the end of the day. The area seventy for our area, Elder Olsen, was in my sacrament meeting and he also was out helping clean up too. He had a photographer with him who was taking pictures of everything. I had the opportunity to ride with them in elder Olsen’s vehicle and talk with them a little. It was a cool to be in the same car as an area seventy. Are area 70's different from a normal 70? I looked in the gen. conf. ensign from May and i couldn't find his picture in either of the 2 quorums of the 70.... Anyway lots and lots of service. I did not feel like a missionary at the end of the day and we showered and dressed and taught a lesson or two after service so it was a very long day for us (sat and sun both).

Monday was p-day.... we went to a chapel to play basketball and it happened to be the chapel where salt lake set up headquarters for a command center for the hurricane relief and a 54. 3 foot long semi/trailer was coming in to drop off emergency supplies and we were asked to stay and help unload..... I’ve never had such a work out unloading a truck like that.... i am still sore today from everything. I’ll send pictures so you know what I’m talking about.

3 days of service..... It was a super fun and humbling experience. Always be grateful for what you have and food storage is always a great idea, especially water. That’s been our experiences for the week. The photographer with elder Olsen took some pictures of me while we were out and about. I don't know if you'll be able to see them or not or what will happen with them. Just a heads up. I know the church is true. It teaches correct principles and warns and exhorts long before disasters occur. President Monson is guided by the Lord to instruct us in all we do so we may be safe and worry free when those times come. Follow the prophet and all will be well. You will not have to worry about anything because the Lord will provide. That is His promise to us His children. We need to have to faith to walk and do and we will be blessed. the sons of mosiah didn't know where they were going or where they were going to sleep or what they were going to eat etc.... they were protected and guided by the spirit and had success in all they did.

I love you all. Thank you for all you have done and do for me. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. Enjoy the week! I hope and pray that work and school are going well for everyone! Stay safe and cool. Let me know if can do anything to help out.

Love Craig!