Good Morning from Baltimore Aug. 7, 2017

Hello all,

This week has been one of big changes all across the Board. I started Monday morning in a residence hall in Provo Utah and woke up on Friday in an apartment in downtown Baltimore. It's been a massive culture shock to say the least but I wouldn't choose anything different. The ward here is so amazing, they've really taken the phrase ward family to heart and I love it. And to top it off, the ward is made up of almost entirely converts which brings a whole new spirit into the building.

There's one member that really loves the missionaries, she's actually the first one that I met. Her name is Mary and she's awesome. She gives all the missionaries nicknames when they first come into the area. Apparently my nickname was harder to come up with but she finally named me "Eyes" on Sunday, not sure why but that's now my name, Elder "Eyes".

My companion is amazing too!! His name is Elder Stafford. He would've been going home this coming transfer but he had to go home for a few months because he got in a car wreck and messed up his knee for a little bit. By the way, Baltimore drivers are nuts!! I'm more scared of getting hit by a car than I am anything else. But he's back out now and going stronger than ever. We both think that it's ironic that he messed up his knee then he comes back out and gets put into the only English speaking walking area in the mission. The only other walking area is the Spanish Elders in the same area. We also are the only elders in the whole ward, an area that was covered by three sets of elders. So needless to say, we take a lot of buses and use the Metro a lot. (Jared says that they are short missionaries, so there is only one set where there used to be three.) (His ward boundaries are also large. Half Baltimore is his ward; the other half of Baltimore is in another mission.)

We also have two Senior couples in our area so they can help us if we simply can't get up to the other side of the area. The Senior Missionaries are great! They really care about us and the ward as a whole, and they do so much for us. 

The members can't really feed us out here so I'm learning how to cook as much as I'm learning how to get around the city. We don't do a huge amount of teaching here, a lot of what we do is contacting referrals that we get from Church headquarters. We're always running from one end of the city to another so I'm really learning how the city is laid out quickly. 

Being in Inner Harbor Baltimore has definitely caused some changes in how I think for sure. I've really had to rely on the Lord because I know without him I wouldn't feel near as safe as I do. Elder Stafford has assured me that the black name tag really carries some weight around here. Apparently, there was a news story about 5 years ago about the missionaries in Baltimore so everyone here knows who we are and respects us. Plus Elder Stafford says this city isn't near as dangerous as everyone says it is. Everyone, especially the news, makes it sound like people are just randomly killing each other but that isn't what happens at all. Most everyone in this city just want to live their lives in peace. That being said, we do have to make sure that the apartment is dead bolted whenever we leave because not everyone minds their own business. 

President and Sister Christiansen are so amazing too!! They're both so caring and focused on the work and our goals align exactly. They are super focused on obedience which is amazing, especially since they don't have a bunch of extra rules outside of the white handbook. They're also really focused on helping us know more about the Spirit and what it feels like and everything involved with that. 

I love it here and I'm so glad that I get to go through what a lot of people have told me is the Baptism by Fire area. That just makes me excited.

2 Nephi 33:1

Elder Howell