Slooooooooooooow mail delivery :(

Hello everybody!! It's been a pretty good week over here in NY!! To start off this email I thought I'd just answer some of your questions:

Did you like your presents?

-I actually havent even gotten anyone's package yet!! Because I live out in the dang boonies we only get our mail like once a week from the office (maybe)...and that's usually Friday...so I have to wait a whole 'nother two days to get anything!! It's been killing me!! It was actually a really good birthday. Even though I'm 2000 miles away from home and I don't get to see anyone I still felt special! I got "Happy Birthday" sung to me like 3 times so it was great hahaha. Thank you so much for the package, though! I have no idea what's in it (even though you kinda told me hahahaha ;) ) I am still so grateful!! You guys spoil me WAYYYY too much!! :)

Do you usually go out that early?

-So about that lady that we scared...it was actually like 7 o'clock at night or something like that so it wasn't in the morning. We usually leave the apartment at about 1 or 2 or something by the time we've studied, eaten lunch, and worked online. The lady isn't really interested at all but we actually had a super cool lesson with her husband! He was the one we were really looking for because he said that although he doesn't want to be converted or anything...he really is interested in finding out what Mormons are all about because he doesn't really know anything about us! We had a really cool lesson with him explaining some of our basic doctrines and stuff. He said that he's even read some of the Book of Mormon when he went and stayed at the Marriot one time (go figure). He said that he fell asleep reading it but it was still cool! haha He said that, again, he doesn't want to be converted...he's just interested. But that he'd call us when he's read a little bit more of the Book of Mormon and/or he wants to know more. Hopefully he does!

So are there really wealthy neighborhoods in Monticello too?

-There are actually quite a few really nice neighborhoods OUTSIDE of Monticello. The actual town of Monticello is kind of "less fortunate"...there aren't really any decent houses there. The surrounding area, though, has a lot of really nice summer homes for Jews and for really rich people! We've been thinking about doing a lot more finding in those areas because we've pretty much squeezed as much as we can out of Monticello.

How big is your area actually?

-My "area" is HUGE! It covers an entire county! It would take like an hour to drive from one end of it to the other! Of course we usually just stay in the town of Monticello. (Actually I guess it's called the "Village of Monticello". It's so weird! New York doesn't have any towns! It's all "villages"...kind different)

That is so exciting about your ipads and smartphones.  Man, you really are spoiled!!!  Do you have them yet?

-Yeah, we're super stoked with the whole iPad thing! It's still kind of in the works of really taking off but we're already starting to see the advantages of them. We put all of the people we're teaching's information on them and all of the lessons we've taught them. (a new, modern, area book) We also have all of the members' information, ALL of the literature that the church has to offer on the Gospel Library app, and all sorts of other stuff! Me and Elder Rydalch are actually going to have a Skype lesson with someone in Australia tomorrow!! He's already a member but he's getting his mission call in a week and he wanted to ask us some questions! It was so weird that he messaged me! The only mutual friend that I have with him is an Asian sister in our mission that I don't even know that well. He messaged me on Facebook the other day and was like "hey are you cade?" and I was like "uh...yeah. Have we met before? I don't recognize your name or face or anything" and he was just like "sorry you just seem really familiar so I thought I'd ask if maybe we'd met before!" I was so random! But we got to talking and after a while he asked if we could maybe talk over skype and have a lesson! He's like 21 or something and he just graduated college and now he's going on a mission! This should be interesting!

So how was your week?  Anything exciting?

-Other than that...nothing new has really happened! We haven't really found many new people to teach yet but we're working on it! Things are still just trying to chug along! We've really been trying to work a lot more with the branch by visiting members' houses and less-actives' houses and stuff and it's actually worked really well! We're trying to squeeze some referrals out of them but they just don't seem to want to give us any!!

The C******'s are doing a lot better! Of course they still have their little "situation" where they're living together...but they've had some progress! D*****'s divorce is finally coming along and B***** is going to be able to come to church for three weeks in a row, now!!! It's sweet!!

You sent us a picture of you and some guy and said that it was one of your investigators.  Which investigator is it?

That guy that I took a picture with is J****!! hahaha I thought that I might be leaving the area so I wanted to get a picture with him!

You're on Facebook!!! Haha mom what are you doing????? You said you'd never do that!! ;)

Haha well...I'd better get going. Thank you again for the packages and thank you for the emails!! I love you all! :)

-Elder Stafford

Oh and P.S. could you maybe switch the picture I have for my picture on the Blog?  That's a terrible picture of me hahaha :) Thanks!