Dear Family and Friends, Monday, September
1, 2014 at 11:38 a.m. (EDT)
Invites To Learn
This past week has been pretty
great. We have accomplished quite a bit of work. We have been doing really well
the last couple of weeks with getting members out teaching with us. I would say
that we have a pretty good balance of finding through our own efforts and
finding through the members. Recently we have been using a new number in the
mission. ITL: which stands for invites to learn. We count how many new people
we invite to learn every day. Lately we have seen a lot of success from the
ITLs. During the day we are talking to everyone we see on our own. When we are
able to we are visiting members and teaching them 7 minute restoration lessons.
After the family has had the 7 minute lesson we then have them teach us the 7
minute lesson. At the end of our lesson we ask them if they would feel
comfortable teaching that with one of their friends. Usually they say no and
that they would need more practice. We then tell them that that is perfect
because as member missionaries it is not their responsibility to teach
investigators. That is our job. We explain that we study for 2 hours every day
planning and practicing the lessons. We then ask them how they could be member
missionaries then. They eventually respond that they can help by finding people
to teach. We share our success with the ITLs and challenge them to simply
invite. We share the statistics we have seen. Out of every 35 ITLs the Zone
averages 1 New Investigator. We compare that to the statistic we have heard
about member invites. 1 out of 4 people a member invites agrees to investigate.
So far that has worked really well and a lot of members are stoked!
Cemetery Service
On Saturday we did a service
project at an old cemetery. The latest year I saw on a gravestone was 1888. So
very old. A lot of the gravestones had fallen into disrepair. The goal of the
service project was to paint the fence surrounding the cemetery. You can see
from Google Street view that the fence is very old and rusty and is a nasty
white color. About a month ago there was another painting service project and
much of the fence is black now, but theres a lot to finish. Well the person
from the city wasn't there to supply us with the paint. So we did a trash
pickup. There was a ton. A lot of people go there and drink their beer and then
chuck the beer can into the woods. We found all sorts of stuff including, beer
cans, beer bottles, jackets, a blanket, pizza boxes, needles, a suitcase, and a
TV. We entered at the gate at 154-174 Pine Street Manchester, New Hampshire
03103 United States (If you wanna check it out on google earth) We left a huge
amount of trash at 92 Auburn Street Manchester, New Hampshire 03103 United
States.
New England Drivers
So New England does not have
the greatest drivers. I doubt anyone has ever really read the rules of the
road, and the roads are so poorly laid out, maintained, and so skinny, that it
is hard to be a good driver. Some of the streets here are so skinny that if
people park on the sides of the road only one car can go through at a time.
People still speed like crazy and just swerve in and out of the parked cars. A
common way New Englanders tell you it is your turn is by flashing their
headlights at you. There have been many times I was waiting to turn onto the main
road and a driver in the right of way will stop and flash for me to go. Also no
one understands the concept of 4 way stop signs. Either the person thinks it is
always there turn, or they think that it is everyone elses turn. I have showed
up to a 4 way 3 seconds after another person and they still signaled me to go.
Also sometimes when you are waiting to turn left someone in the opposing lane
will stop and flash their lights at you allowing you to turn left. People are
unpredictable because they are very courteous drivers, but they don't know the
rules of the road.
Boston Blitz
In the populated parts of New
England there is a driving technique called the Boston Blitz. As Boston has
grown into a large city many of the surrounding villages are now turning into
an odd form of suburbs. The old existing roads stay in place, and very few if
any at all are widened to accommodate for the increased flow of traffic. This
is especially true in the town of Bedford.
One such place starts at the intersection of NH-101 and Boynton Street
in Bedford. (455-457 Boynton Street Bedford, New Hampshire 03110 United States)
NH-101 is a freeway spur that connects with I-93. Many people in Bedford work
in Boston so they take I-93 then NH-101 which drops them off on Boynton Street.
Heading South West down Boynton Street
which turns into NH-101 the road changes from a 4 lane to a 2 lane. During rush
hour there is no end to the constant flow of traffic on this small 2 lane road.
Most of the traffic lights do not have a turn arrow and during some parts of
the day it is impossible to make a left hand turn without the turn arrow. To
make up for this we have what is called the Boston Blitz. People will wait for
the light to turn green and quickly gun it turning left before the opposing
flow of traffic blocks their turn. Usually one person will do this, but I have
seen up to 2 or 3 people turn in like manner. You've always gotta watch out for
it.
Well that is about all I have:
Elder Jensen