Hello Mom!

     Sorry to make you wait an extra day.  We found out last Thursday that we were going to the temple today, so our P-day got switched to Tuesday instead of the normal Monday.  Hope nobody was worried :).

     That's super exciting about Sherry's proficiency scores!  Does that mean she's in the acting program?  I put on the CD you sent me in the car, and my companion is very impressed.  I forgot how talented my sister is!

     I'm glad you explained the shoes.  I'm not going to be able to wear them here in Long Beach, but they certainly will come in handy when I head down to Brazil.  Also the dress shoes you sent me are good, but they probably won't last very long.  My guess is 2ish months of proselyting every day in them.  My shoes get a lot of wear and tear.  I really need a good sturdy pair of shoes that will last me a long time.  The slip-ons don't usually hold up all that much, the leather gets all wrinkled and starts to fall apart easy.  I still need to ship back the bad shoes.  P-days are pretty crazy, but I'll try and get it done soon.

     We bought ourselves a Christmas Tree for our apartment.  I took pictures but we are at the library this week for E-mails, instead of the Family History Center, and these computers won't allow me to put in a USB drive.  Hopefully I'll be able to send them to you next week.  I know how much you appreciate them.

     This week we had two more baptisms!  Always very exciting to be a missionary when people are being baptized.

     R (9) - R was finally baptized on Sunday.  We met with him a couple times last week and he has a good understanding of the Gospel, although he's still a primary kid.  The best part about this baptism is it has opened the door for us for the rest of his Family.  His Mom has just started coming back to church a couple months ago, and has a word of wisdom problem that we are trying to help her with, and Dad isn't a member.  We hope to begin to teach his Dad, a very friendly man, and we have began to teach Robert's older half-brother Jo.

     J (14) - Jis a 14 year old kid, who recently got in a little bit of trouble with the law.  He was arrested because he punched his Dad (not Robert's Dad), and is currently under house arrest at R's house.  He's just like any other youth growing up in the Ghetto, and he's had his first bucket of cold water thrown on his parade.  He feels really bad for what he did, and has sincere desires to repent.  We are really hopeful that with the Gospel, we will be able to help him overcome his circumstances and grow up to be a respectible man.  He's not baptized yet, and because he's on probation he won't be able to be baptized any time soon, regardless he's a good kid that just needs direction and good friends.

     One thing I haven't talked very much about is how amazing the Long Beach 15th Ward Young Men are.  We have a lot of youth that even though they live in Compton/Paramount/North Long Beach, they have had good parents that have taught them well.  They are strong in their testimonies and strive to share the gospel with their friends.  I'm really glad to see such young men preparing to serve missions, and I hope that we will be able to work with them in our missionary efforts.

     P (31) - P was a referral that we met on Dec 11th, and she was baptized this past Sunday.  She has been going to church for 3-4 years now in Utah but never was baptized because she wasn't ready to give up Alcohol or Tobacco, but she quit a few months back and moved down here.  We were able to meet with her several times last week, and she was able to be baptized.  She has a solid testimony of the Restoration, and reads the Book of Mormon everyday.  I'm very excited to have been able to work with her, and to now review the new-member lessons with her.  The Samoan wards are amazing at preparing people for the missionaries to teach.  They love to share the gospel with all their friends and family, and the Compton 1st ward understands that that is the best way to bring people to the joy of the Gospel.

     Not much more happening on the investigator front.  We had a rather interesting weekend where our world was turned completely upside down.  Things are going well though, and good things should continue to come from our efforts.

     Thank you so much for all the packages, and my companion says, "MORE TOFFEE!"  He really enjoyed it, and I've been hoarding most of it to myself :P.  Thank you for the CD's, they brought back a lot of good memories from the old Boychoir days.

All my Love,

Elder Henry