An Arm, a Leg, and a Corvette

[....but we have no idea what Elder Hill means by that subject line...]

Malo Soifua!!!

Today on the Elder Hill Show:

• AC is literally what Heaven is made of, I'm convinced
• Met some great members, and they gave us muffins, so that was fun
• We got a referral from one our great friends here, and he's awesome too!
• TONY PASSED HIS BAPTISMAL INTERVIEW
• I started a new show/series/live/thingy on Facebook for every Thursday evening where I teach guitar chords/hymns, and y'all should check it out!
• I was not expecting it when it happened...and it happened twice... Read more below, hehe

So this was pretty fun. Our apartment doesn't have AC, and it started getting really hot and humid, so things were a bit dismal. During the week, however, someone recommended that we call our missionary housing coordinator and ask him about it. We did so, and literally the next day a handyman showed up with two window AC units, and he installed them for us. I cannot tell you guys enough just how beautiful AC really is. Arizona is pretty bad, don't get me wrong, but take that heat, and add the boiling water of Old Faithful into the air, and you've got a proper, humid NYC experience. Needless to say, the church is true, and we now have AC.

One of our friends that we're teaching randomly told us one day during a lesson that he had been talking with one of his friends named Tyrone, and he was also pretty interested in what we had to say! We got Tyrone's number, and we called him the next day, and he's also a super cool guy! We had a great first lesson, and he's pretty interested. Unfortunately, he lives in the Bronx, so we'll have to pass him off to the elders there. We also learned that our friend that referred him actually lives in Harlem, so we'll have to refer HIM too. Major rip.

In other news, TONY PASSED HIS BAPTISMAL INTERVIEW!!! He met with Elder Beach, and he said that the interview went really well! Tony is super excited to be baptized, and the ward is just as excited, if not more (see the spiritual thought for more on that). His baptism is this Saturday, and we're down to just the final preparations, and we're all super excited!!

In regards to that last point on the Elder Hill Show bulletin, we had our first call with a friend that we're hoping to start teaching tomorrow, and she had some crazy stuff to talk about. She's had a lot of pretty crazy and pretty hard things happen recently, and she is looking for a way up and out as it were. In one of her lowest moments, she found herself entangled in some dark things that are much better left alone, and she was worried that she had "gone too far." After hearing her talk about what normally is a unique and one-in-a-million type story, I was surprised to remember that I had taught someone in Staten Island  who had faced an almost identical situation. I was transferred here before I finished helping that friend in Staten, but I was still able to share some insight and testimony based on things I had learned and studied previously. It was exactly what she needed to hear, and she seems really eager to continue meeting with us. Hopefully she accepts the things we teach, because I think she's come to the right place to find the love and peace that she's been looking for for a long time.

Mafaufauga faaleagaga: Yesterday was fast and testimony meeting, and it was absolutely amazing. Tony came to church (as usual because he's a beast).  An old man I didn't recognize got up from the front row to bear the first testimony of the meeting. One of the first things he said was, "Tony, I was about 14, too, when I met the missionaries." And that did it. It was like it was just him and Tony in a room together, and he bore powerful testimony to Tony about baptism and its blessings. Everything was perfect, and Tony absolutely loved it. A little later, another woman (also a long-time convert) spoke, and she too spoke almost directly to Tony, saying all of the things he needed to hear. Finally, little Jeynaliz, our 9 yr old best friend who was baptized just before I got to this area, stood up and bore a short testimony about how she was baptized recently, and it was the best decision she had ever made, and she was grateful to finally be a part of "the right church". She had never borne a testimony before, but her short and sweet words iced the cake, and gave Tony all the strength he needed, and more, to be baptized. The power of fasting is real, and the power of testimony is real. Always look for opportunities to testify of what you know, whether or not you're in church. I promise that you will be blessed for it.

Alofa tele lava atu ia outou,

Elder Hill

Photos:

• Some fun sunset pics from a walk home from a member's apartment (ft. Elder Wall and his kendama)
• A real janky subway station with hexagonal lights
• The One World Trade Center tower being struck by lightning (not my pic, but cool so I stole it lol)
• What a real NYC deli sausage pizza looks like (they're mad good)