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The Giving Machines

December 23, 2019

HELLO EVERYONE! I hope you all had another amazing week, and hopefully staying warmer than I am! I actually got a little sick this past week because we have been spending so much time outside! It got down to 9 degrees this week which was a new feeling for me! I have never been that cold before, and I would not recommend it. However, this week has probably been my favorite so far! So here's JUST A FEW of my favorite things that happened!

First, WE WENT TO MANHATTAN TO VOLUNTEER AT THE GIVING MACHINES! Oh my gosh what an amazing experience! I got to see what downtown Manhattan looks like for the first time, and got to spend time in the temple! Don't worry, I got plenty of pictures. It was all so beautiful and big! Elder Stanford and I spent 3 hours standing in front of the giving machines asking people off the street if they would like to donate. Most people said no, but it was so much fun seeing all the crazy people and how they reacted to the idea of service. One time, Elder Stanford said "Hi! Would you like to donate to charity today?" and a guy off the street said "No, you donate to me". It was pretty funny, we had a good laugh. On the way back to Queens, 2 things happened! 
1) We accidentally took the wrong train and went to the Bronx! Completely wrong direction, woops! Those subways are so confusing. But we found 2 teenaged girls on vacation who were also lost and were going to Queens, so we stuck with them and helped them find their hotel... and also gave them pass along cards!
2) A group of guys walked onto the subway with giant speakers and did a performance on the train. They played their music and had a whole choreographed dance! They did flips and parkour off all the poles, it was pretty cool! There was also a magician on the subway that tried conning me out of $100. He didn't get me, but he tricked a bunch of people with some dumb magic trick. Pranked.

OH MY GOSH! We have been visiting a guy named Michael the last few weeks. His life is CRAZY! His mother has cancer and his dad is a drug dealer. His mother is in pretty critical condition and seems to be in some of the final stages of cancer :( Michael's life is hectic and he is always super busy so we never get to teach him. But we finally taught him on Thursday! It definitely smelled like the home of a drug dealer and I wanted to leave as soon as possible. But its a good thing we didn't, because we shared a video with him called Because of Him, and HOLY COW it was so powerful! Before we started the video, he asked if he could watch it with his mom, so he brought the video into her room. The video has words pop up on the screen, and Michael read them out loud for his mom because she didnt have her glasses. Its a very powerful video, and having Michael read the words out loud to his mother with cancer was EVEN MORE powerful. It was an incredible moment between them. Michael was crying because he learned that him and his mother can be together forever after she passes away. Elder Stanford and I were holding back tears because you could feel their love for each other and the spirit so strongly. I have never seen Michael so happy! He said he wanted to come to church on Sunday and bring his mom! Unfortunately his mom had a medical emergency and they couldnt make it. Maybe next week! I'll put a link to the video we showed them at the end of the email so you can understand a little more of what I am talking about. I really dont know how to put into words how awesome this moment was, but trust me, it was bien fuego.

During another lesson at someones house, I felt something on my shoe, so I looked down... it was a MOUSE! Crazy!

We also had the ward Christmas party and got loaded up with food and music. The Richmond Hill 3rd ward is wild and doesnt hold back when it comes to parties. 

Last thing! The other set of missionaries in our ward (Elder Ginez and Elder Richie) had a baptism on Saturday and they asked me to be a witness for it, so that was cool. Elder Stanford and I have 2 baptisms scheduled for February 1st (Julian and Marta Lucia) and hopefully Michael will commit to being baptized soon. We are doing everything we can but it honestly depends on people's personal choice, which we cant control. So we will see! As long as we are doing everything we can, I consider that successful.

Have a great week and Merry Christmas!

Elder Webster

P.S. I have been nice this year ;)
116-24 Grosvenor Lane
Kew Gardens, NY, 11418
Apartment 8B


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