Happy New Year!!!

Well here I am again. I wanted to write an email last week but unfortunately none of the libraries were open that day, so I had to wait until now.

Well anyway, Elder Schoepfle (pronounced Chef Lee) and I are trying to get used to the area and figure things out. He's super stressed because he is the only zone leader here so sometimes it gets a little hectic around here. Oh and by the way, I am the designated driver for the rest of the transfer :) Elder Schoepfle can't drive because he has gotten two tickets before his mission so church policy says he can't drive. So it’s me behind the wheel of a 2012 Chevy Malibu.

It’s taken some time, but Elder Schoepfle and I are beginning to warm up to each other, as we both are relatively shell-shocked at the sudden absence of our dear companion Elder Houston. (He left last Wednesday to become AP.)  He knew the area and the people so well, so we tended to have consistently successful days.  Anyway, we finally had a good day yesterday, and pulled in 4 lessons.  Wow that was super hard to do and we were going crazy last night trying to find people.  We were sprinting back to the car to try and make it to as many places as we could.  But since it's the holidays, everyone was either gone or sick. (Probably my fault, as I got SUPER sick last week.)  Now Elder Schoepfle is sick, and I’m all better :)  Anyway, it’s all about figuring things out, but I am getting desperate for a BAPTISM.  We have people that we could really push for baptism, but man it's hard to catch them at home these days.

Well I don't know what will happen at transfers yet so we'll be on our toes and I will keep you posted. I love you all and thank you so much for all the wonderful Christmas presents! I had a great Christmas and New Year! This year is my "black hole year," or in other words the year spent entirely on my mission. I love you all and Happy New Year!

Elder Bringhurst