Still here!

Having trouble uploading pictures - will try to add them later.

I definitely think it’s warmer here than back home by the sound of it. It’s pretty warm here, and kind of muggy...wow, I-Falls has changed a lot in the past month—it’s green!

Ok, Mom, I keep forgetting to write about my back: it's ok, I usually lean back and crack it once or twice a day, but no real pain or discomfort like 6 months ago.

Oh hey, maybe I should tell you that I am STAYING IN I-FALLS again! Oh ya! By the end of this upcoming transfer it will have been 7 1/2 months in one area. Now I like the sound of that. Not only that, but the district presidency totally surprised me when they asked me yesterday to be the 2nd Counselor in the I-Falls Branch Presidency. Whoa. To cap things off, the Osters had a busy week in Fort Frances where Bro. Oster was called as the 2nd Counselor in the Branch Presidency (where he will do phenomenal) AND called as branch clerk, AND Sis. Oster was called as the Primary President. Oh I love the Osters! Speaking of them, they are thinking of moving to Lethbridge this time next year...maybe I could help them move when I get home? Extra incentive for a quick trip through Alberta. We will see...

This week Elder Bodily and I got 13 to 11 in the Monte Carlo game we play. For those who do not know, we scream Monte Carlo! (a model of Chevrolet) everytime we see one, and that is 1 point, kind of like the slugbug game. But Monte Carlos are so weird and have such a....how should I say it...novelty...to them. But 24 Monte Carlos in such a small town? That has to be some kind of record.

So this week was a brutal one. We had 7 out of 24 scheduled appointments actually be able to meet. Most of the others just didn't answer the door or whatever. But it was absolutely brutal, but we know something good is coming because whenever there is a "low" in I-Falls it is always followed up by a good missionary high. So please keep our investigators in your prayers. We are meeting with a number of people still. We taught a referral from a member who lives out past Littlefork, which is just barely in our mission. Danielle (the referral) is looking for a church and really has a lot of potential. Her boys had left the doors open the past few days and so there were tons of mosquitos flying around as we were teaching. Sheesh I hate those things. We are calling Danielle tonight to set another appointment up--I will let you know how that goes. Mike asked me about Mike Wilcox, who I need to update you about. We have set a tentative baptismal date for him for July 23rd (had to readjust a prior date) and am excited for him. He tells us to come by any time, so we will meet with him more this week. I guess the funny part about teaching him is that he smokes so much that his house is just full of smoke and we have to change our clothes and shower after every time we teach him. Ha, but if that is the hardest part in bringing someone to the gospel, then so be it. He smokes a very dense (and expensive) cigarette, and taught him the Word of Wisdom this week and encouraged him to cut down and then to stop smoking. He said he has stopped smoking before, so hopefully this will not be too difficult for him. He goes through a pack a day, and each pack costs $12, so when you do the math and find that smoking a pack per day costs about $4400 per year, that is almost like a side-job in and of itself. So he will have temporal and spiritual blessings when he quits. Mike is great though, and he says that he loves the concept of having a prophet on the earth again today and he told us that it would be wrong of a loving God to not provide a prophet today when he has done so in the past. I was secretly doing a Tiger Woods fist pump, and wanting to slap him a high five, so I just fist pounded with him instead after he said that. So that is a bit about Mike, ha. We are working with a member's mother, named Connie, and she is SO close to baptism, she just needs to quit drinking alcohol to obey the Word of Wisdom. She comes to church every week and reads often, she has given up smoking...she just needs to quit the alcohol. Ga, Connie, she is so close! That is a small update about the work here in I-Falls.

I have not told you too many funny stories lately, so you are due for a few. We were trying to contact a less-active and we walked up to him as he was outside in his gravel driveway when I noticed what he was doing. He was holding something funny...and then I noticed he was blowtorching weeds in the gravel. Blowtorching weeds! I guess that is one way to get them. When he saw us he just told us to "get out of here!" and I almost secretly hoped he would try using his blowtorch to scare us away. People are naturally funny.

We walked up to a house while knocking doors and could see someone on the computer through the main window playing some 3rd person adventure game. When we walked up to the door we could see through the window in the door that this lady was playing an online game, maybe World of Warcraft. She was about 10 feet away from the door and clearly visible. When we knocked she did not budge, no, not at all. We waited a good 30 seconds and knocked louder (maybe she didn't hear, right?). Nope, she did not flinch at all and kept playing her little game. About 10 seconds after the second knock the door opened and a young girl (probably a daughter) answered and I asked if I could speak with either of her parents. She looked back at her mom and then back at me and almost with a guilty face said, "She is busy". I don't know what I did, probably just stood there with my jaw dropped at how ridiculous this lady was, and smiled and walked off the doorstep, laughing. She was so involved in that game that she could not even stop and see who was at the door. People are naturally funny.

Earlier this week we were tracting in Fort Frances and saw some young girls up the street who really were scantily dressed go into a house. Oh, I do not like talking to young girls on my mission for a number of reasons. This story may shed some light. Anyway, we were tracting and saw these girls up the street and thought "great, we will have to knock on their door". We eventually got to the door and I could hear girls giggling on the other side of the door after I knocked. "Oh great, this is the house" I thought. A girl answered the door and had a low cut shirt, and I asked if her parents were home and she said yes and turned around and there was this girl with her back to us doing up her bra. I just left. Just goes to show you that the world is not getting any better. I thought of Elder McDowell's story about that "busty" woman and her button after that. Oh, tracting stories...

Anyway, I sewed my International Falls logo into my scripture case. Are you proud of me? I am so proud of it. Maybe me being a 2nd Counselor will improve my chances of staying longer in I-Falls? That would be great.

I really am running out of time...oh boy. Which missionary in our ward broke their collar bone? You told me that a number of weeks ago but none of the letters mentioned that and you have not told me.

To all those young ladies out there, they need to know that there is nothing better than a girl with a very strong and very genuine testimony of the gospel. So if a girl wants a genuine guy, she needs to have a strong testimony...fyi. The story of the girls in Fort Frances REALLY reinforced that to me.

This upcoming week should be really good. I am really focusing on having a positive attitude at all times. Not that I had a bad attitude last week, but after a few days in a row of lunched appointments I found it hard to maintain a positive attitude. I felt pressure to perform in I-Falls because I have been entrusted with this area. It was tough, but I just reassured myself that I was doing all that I could and that provided me much-needed comfort. By focusing on others all the time, it really makes you want what is best for them, and I really want what is best for the people I am working with, AND the members of the branches here. I feel pretty good about the future. I just have to remember to keep my head up about it all, because the task can easily seem daunting.

I will try to hop on another computer to send you pictures, because this one's SD port is broken. I hope all is well. I love you all,

Elder Galbraith