"We had arrived in the Big Apple"

Well hello there everyone!!

Yes it is good news! I am alive! I don't know how I am feeling quite yet but ya know!! Ok just kidding. But really though since i have been here in New York I still don't know how to take it all in exactly. It is interesting. Very interesting here but hey here is the good news!! I am loving it!! It is so crazy here in New York! Like wow. Definitely not what I had expected!! But well now that I think about it I am not sure if I expected anything really. I was just so excited that I could hardly stand myself!! Haha ok!!! So here we go! I will try to tell about as much stuff as I can from this last week that I think all of you might find somewhat interesting or at least I hope so!! Ok so we got up last monday at about 3 in the morning and got ready to leave the MTC! Then we went to the travel office and we checked in and we loaded our bags onto a truck! I was privileged enough to be selected to help everyone put their bags in! Yeah I know what you are all thinking too...why him?? I am not sure why they picked me either!! Haha!! They probably were thinking wow this elder is so  tiny and has like  no muscles soooooo we should make him lift all of the bags in the truck so when he gets to the field he will be huge!! Haha just kidding! But it was all good!! I loaded all of everyone's stuff in with the help of other people and then we got on the bus and we headed to the airport! 

Wow it was crazy to leave the MTC. Like seriously I don't know how anybody could not like that place. It is the best!!! It is so much fun there and the spirit there is absolutely incredible!!! Anyway so we got to the airport and got in the line to put our bags on the plane and mine were 48 and 46 pounds! Success!! :) It was great! Then Elder Woolley and I got in the Suuuuuuperlong security line and finally got through after our bags got checked and I would have the one carry on bag that gets checked. :) It is all good though! So then we got through and went to our gate and waited for our flight to come! Then I went to use my calling card that I bought from the bookstore at the MTC and then BAM!! Some guy came out of nowhere and gave me and Elder Woolley his phones to use which was so super nice of him! So I got to call home for like about 5 minutes and then we had to board! So we had a wuick flight to Denver and then right when we were getting off of the plane some guy on the plane who was sitting next to Elder Woolley offered to buy us all breakfast!! And I was like WHAT???? But it was so nice of him! He was such a nice guy and he bought us all breakfast and then went on his merry way to another flight! It was just our district from the MTC and another sister not the entire plane of missionaries because there was 22 of us!! 

View from the Brooklyner

Ok so then after we ate I got to go to a phone thing and call all y'all for freee which was way cool! Like awesome! So basically I bought 2 phone cards from the mtc as souvenirs...nice :) Haha it is ok though! But then right after we were done talking on the phone we went straight onto the plane and flew to New York! It wasn't too bad of a flight! So then we landed and bam! we had arrived in the Big Apple! Pretty sweet!!! Then we went down to the baggage claim to wait for our bags and yeah we waited for quite some time let me  tell ya! It was ok though! But after we had been waiting for a while for our bags we met Sister Calderwood! The mission presidents wife! She is super duper nice! And then the assistants came a minute or two behind her and we got to meet them which was cool! So that was great! Then President Calderwood showed up!!! Ah it was so good to meet him! He is an incredible man. You can just feel the spirit of his calling being around him. He is awesome! So we threw our bags into a big van and headed off to the Brooklyner! It is a super tall and nice apartment place in Brooklyn and it has an incredible view! We got to drive there with one of the assistants. WOW. Let me just say, best car ride ever. It was insane and crazy and maybe life threatening....okay the last part was maybe a little exaggeration, and maybe not :) Just kidding! But we got to go up the the roof and enjoy the incredible and beautiful view! It was so awesome!! And we also got to have New York pizza! Way cool! President got us some! It was pretty good! So while we were up there we did some mission goal setting and things like that and also had a mission orientation. That was good! Then after that we went to the mission home and had another meeting there which was super great! President and Sister Calderwood both talked to us and it was just wonderful! :) I really loved it!

Then it was time to go to bed! So that was that day! It was awesome! Then we got up the next morning and got ready and then headed out to the mission office for our transfer meeting!! Wow! It was another wonderful car ride there :) And then we got in the mission office, that is the mission office combined with another church building and had more orientation and things like that and then we went to meet our trainers! So wow! Yeah! We got into the room and they read off who was being trained by who! Ok so my new companion is Elder Goates! He is from Utah and is on his 5th transfer! He hasn't been out super long but his spanish is pretty awesome! And so we are serving on Coney Island! Yep! It is pretty sweet! Our area is technically called Dyker Heights! I wish I could describe more to you of where I am but you know...yeah I am lost like all the time. For real though. I like never know where I am haha :) But it is ok I am doing my best to try to get used to it and to try to adjust. So yes. The city is huge! I guess we are in the burrough of Brooklyn! So that is cool! And we don't have a car because we are in the heart of the city and we walk, and ride the subway and take the bus everywhere! And by everywhere I really do mean everywhere :) So yeah on tuesday we went back to to pad and then dropped off my stuff, then we went shopping for some things since our pad was completely empty on food. Then we went to my first dinner appointment where I met one of the members in the ward! It was great! Rice and beans all the way baby :) So then the rest of the week has just been normal missionary life! Get up early and have long days! :) It has been really good though. So the area in which I am where our church building is. Oh man Josh would be in paradise. I think that they accidentally built the church building in China. Like no joke. It is a huge population of Chinese people where the church is at! So we share the building with a chinese ward! And I can say free english class in chinese! Pretty sweet! :) But so what me and elder goates have been doing is trying to work on getting in contact with people that haven't been to church in a while and to have them come back. And also great news!!!!! We have a brand new investigator!! Wow! We taught her for the first time yesterday! She came to conference and watched a whole session and then we taught her the first lesson and she seemed to love it! It was way cool! So hopefully she will keep progressing! It was cool to be able to teach! 

I know this is why I am here! To help bring others to Christ! That is the goal! I just want others to know of the love that the Savior has for them and the joy that comes when we follow what he has asked us to do! It has been an insane week. Like just crazy but I am really enjoying it so far. My spanish is ya know not good. But I am trying to be patient! It's a virtue!! It's just hard because I am not fully immersed in it so its tough to learn everything that I want to I guess. But I will try to get better! :) So New York is crazy! It is one big city filled with so many different people. It is crazy. The work here is tough because there aren't too many members of the church but that is what I am here for! I am going to find those who really have that desire to follow Christ. Because I know that when we do the darkness in our lives disappears and is filled with pure light and happiness. It is amazing what the Savior can do. I love Him so much. And just being here has strengthened my testimony of the Church and of Our Savior Jesus Christ so much! Because I just see all of these people and think...how? How is it that he could suffer and know each one of us? I don't know exactly how I just know that it is true because I have felt His love in my life and I know that he knows me and each one of us individually. He can call us by name. I know it. I know that this Church is true and that Christ leads it through a living prophet on the Earth today. I am so grateful to be a missionary. Yes. It is hard. It really is. And I am so tired all the time. But I know that this is what I need to do because there are people here that need the truth! I am going to help them know it! I love you all so much! General conference was soooooooooooooooooooooooo good! Oh my goodness! But it went by so fast! I can't wait to be able to learn more from them in the Ensign! I love you all so much! Stay strong! Pray for me please! I need it. Like really bad! :) Because I am praying for all of you! I know that this is God's work! It is awesome! :) Love you all so much! Life is great and amazing! And of course it is beautiful! :) I love you all so much! 
Love,
Elder Waidmann