What it is?!
Sorry about my "slang." The Bronx is getting to my head, haha. We actually met a guy on the bus who said: "Where dat is?!" He asked us for a bible, and we actually ended up having one on us which was weird because we don't normally carry around bibles. Copies of the Book of Mormon, yes, but bibles, not very often. So we gave him a bible and started talking to him. He said: "Yeea man. A brothas always gotta read the word of god!" We casually brought up the Book of Mormon being the word of God and he was so happy to hear that there was more, it was so cool. He told us to tell him what to read and he would read it. We told him about our church, and he asked: "Oh! Where dat is?!" It was so hard not to laugh! That Bronx vocabulary is the funniest to experience first hand. Oh, and something pretty cool that I saw the other day. I saw a guy on the bus who was wearing a Colorado Rockies hat. Needless to say, I was impressed. I seriously thought that only people in Colorado were fans of the Rockies. As if not a single person outside Colorado knew who they were. It's true. If you think about it, you never really hear about them on ESPN or any sports radio. They are just...there.
This last week, us missionaries got a new "watch" system on our iPads. Basically what this new system has, is the missionary department AND the mission president can remotely control our iPads if necessary. If we were to download an unapproved app (missionaries have done that before) the iPad would automatically detect that there was an unapproved app installed and it immediately sends a notification to the missionary department in SLC and to the mission president. If that doesn't make you want to be more obedient, then I'm not sure what will! It's awesome, but a little odd at the same time. I feel like my freedom is being stripped from me, but at the same time, what am I doing on my iPad that I wouldn't want my mission president to see? So, it helps us to stay focused. It reminds us that we are here to do the lords work, not mess around on our iPads. That's something I really need to learn. It's so tempting to just whip it out and start doodling during down time.
We currently do not have any progressing investigators. Devon has temporarily dropped us at the moment. He has run into some problems in his life, and we are still trying to encourage him to pray to his Heavenly Father. It's really sad to see that most of the people here in the Bronx have such miserable lives and the real sad part is seeing that they enjoy living their miserable life. They aren't willing to change their ways are accept Jesus Christ as their savior. I understand that they have their agency, it's just a little frustrating when we get someone SO CLOSE to baptism and a huge change of life, and then have them just do a complete 180 degrees and turn the other way. It just makes you wanna tie them up and literally drag them to church. Ah! Anyway, just keep Devon in your prayers. The dude is really having a tough time in his life.
Elder Rydalch and I are still doing great. It's so fun being with him. I better enjoy having an awesome companion. I'm not always gonna have a companion that I like or get along with.
I love you! You are such a big help in keeping my head on straight. I am so thankful for your support and encouragement as I embark on this mission. It's tough, and it won't get much easier, but I know that I can make it through with the support that I am receiving.
Love, Elder Branndin Brian Long
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