August 1, 2016 -- Elmira . . . Here We Go

So much has happened in this past week. First off was all the goodbyes to the people in Oneida. After being there for six months, I became very comfortable. It didn't feel like I was leaving as I was saying goodbye. It didn't hit me until the night I was in my first area. I am going to miss Oneida. The branch was amazing and the people there were awesome as well. On transfer day, I went to Utica and then drove all the way to Enidcott to pick up my new companion Elder Hubbell (yes it sounds like the telescope). He was working there for the day. That was about a three hour drive to Endicott but I got to drive through Johnson City, one of my past areas, so I was good with that. Once I picked up my comp in Endicott, it was another hour drive to Elmira. It was a good chance to get to know my new comp Elder Hubbell. He is from Northern California and is farly new in the mission. He converted to the church at age 14 and has been going strong ever since (except for the time he was less active one month. . .but that doesn't count in God's book because he was out of town). We get along pretty well and joke around sometimes.

Elmira is a pretty decent sized city. It's a bit of a college town and there are plenty of people.

Elder Hubbell and I live in an apartment that is in this cool green house. It's amazing because I don't have to duck under the doorways because they are 8 1/2  feet tall. I still do out of habit but it's nice to know that I don't need to. . .in the apartment at least.. We drive a 2015 Toyota Corolla and surprisingly I fit in it pretty well There are three sets of missionary in the Elmira Ward, which is amazing by the way. There are the  Elmira central elders -- we go over there for lunch a lot of the time because they live close.  Then there are the Horsehead sisters who are in the area where the church building is. The Elmira ward is pretty good sized and they feed the missionaries about five or more times a week so thank heavens there. I'm super excited to be in Elmira!! We are teaching a bunch but there is still a lot of good work to be done.

Now for a cool story. Last night Elder Hubble and I got back a couple of minutes before nine so we decided to go tract two houses really quick. The first guy said he was all set but the second guy was open to talking when we knocked on the door. We started talking about the Book of Mormon and how it could bring him closer to God. He recognized that Joseph Smith translated it. Turns out that some relative of his was a Mormon so we asked if we could stop back and share more because it was late and he agreed.

The sky is blue, the Church is true and life is good.

 

Love, Elder Carlile

 

 

Elder Hubbell
 

Elmira Apartment