First Week in Bayshore, NY -- April 20, 2015

I didn't email last week cause I was traveling, but it was mostly getting ready to leave the MTC, making sure I had done everything and then goodbyes. It was weird and hard not to be able to hug my teachers goodbye, they were like friends to me too cause it was just me and them in class forever each day. BYU men's chorus did our devotional last sunday. I loved hearing a beautiful choir sound again, and it reminded me of my semester at BYU.

When I got to New York my companions picked me up at the airport.

Their names are Sister Layton (my trainer, called ASL) and Sister Ewell (switching areas at transfers next week). We are in an area called Bayshore, it's on the island about halfway across on the very south end. Here they call any of the NYC boroughs the "city" (queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island) and everything else the "island". I am being trained English, but there are some Haitians in some of the town/cities in our area. There's us and two sets of elders in our area, district, and ward. My district leader is Haitian, and two of the other elders were called Creole speaking so I can practice with them. We all live in the same apartment building, as well as 2 Hermanas (Spanish ward but Bayshore area too).

My first day we went "fearlessing" or contacting on the streets of Jamaica, Queens with the 2 other Creole sisters then went to the President's house. We went out to dinner at a seafood place and they did a little intro to the mission for me. We've been really busy and it's made me feel overwhelmed and exhausted. I thought I had adjusted to life on a mission at the MTC but it's turns out there's a whole ton more I have to figure out, get used to, and learn.

There's about 50 members in the ward. There's a whole bunch of recent converts and less actives were trying to help. In the morning we run down to one of the piers and see the ocean. It is super crazy rainy today!! The power was going in and out this morning and it's really windy.

I have met sooo many people and done so much I don't even know what else to tell you about. We use our iPads all the time for our area book and planner, it's really helpful to have that with us. We're trying to clean up our area book because for awhile nobody was good at putting what they did in.

I will be here for the next 3 months aka 2 transfers for sure as I am trained. My address is

94 4th Ave #309

Bayshore, NY 11706

Sè Amanda Hardman