Hello to the "801" from the 281.

Houston Texas South Mission: Weekly update:

Or, should I say semi-weekly update. Sorry to have skipped a week. Eldrew’s letter last week was short and not very newsy. I think he was having a dip in excitement from his arrival.

Eldrew is funny. He complains every week that he does not get enough news from us. So this week we wrote a MONSTER email. It was 1,998 words long. His reply that arrived this morning was all of 435 words. I guess Eldrew has no concept of reciprocity. But, we don’t really care. We are happy to hear from him and know that he is okay.

Here are the highlights from this week’s report.

His salutation: “To the 801.” (That’s us in the Utah area code of ‘801’)

The Bike: We bought him a used bike through the mission. We asked how it was doing. Eldrew replied that he mostly drives in a car and only rides every few days when they ‘want to OYM (open your mouth). I can only imagine that has something to do with getting a workout.

The work: Going slow, but they feel like they are seeing results. He believes that he and Elder Rios’ diligence and obedience are paying off.

Testimony: Eldrew’s love and faith in the Gospel are growing every day. He knows the Book of Mormon is the word of God. As he puts it is…”to legit to quit…believing in..ha ha.”

His area and the people: He loves the area and the people. He really enjoys all the different kinds of people he is meeting. He is getting into the swing of it so he is better at talking to people. The better he gets, the more people are opening up. He is learning that a big part of being a good missionary is being personable. (I think he is learning to be himself, and have fun talking to people in a genuine way.)

His testimony: I won’t share the specifics…but it is getting stronger and more articulate every week. I can feel his conviction as he speaks. He is really starting to understand the scope of the Gospel message.

He finishes with some comments to each member of the family and (dare I say this) teases his girlfriend for having the Swine Flu.
The sign off: With Love...the real kind, Elder Bellomy.

(One last note...I'm sure that Eldrew would love to hear from everyone who visits the blog. If it has been a week or two since you've written, drop him a note. If you haven't written him yet...send him a nice long letter. He'll love it!)