Keepin' it Cool in The Dalles, OR

Homies back home,

This week has been filled with so much good. The Dalles, OR is such a great place to be. It gets so dark here so early however, so by 6:00 it's pretty much pitch black. Makes for some interesting evenings!

Something really cool that happened this week was my companion and I had a lesson appointment cancelled on us, so we just started walking the streets and knocking doors to see if we could share a quick message or provide some service. As we were walking, I saw this lady trying to change the windshield wipers on her car. Having done that a few times here and there, I asked if I could help her out. I chatted with her and got to know her a little bit while changing the wipers, and after I finished Elder Wilson and I shared a quick thought with her and went on our way. Elder Wilson looked at me as we turned the street corner and jokingly said, "Why don't we just keep walking around and see if anyone else is placed in our path for us to serve." Less than a minute later we saw an older woman sitting in her car by herself with the light on. We walked over and explained who we were and asked if there was anything we could do for her. Without a moment of hesitation she replied, "Yes! With groceries!" We gathered all of the groceries out of the back of her car and carried them up the stairs to her apartment. She explained that her daughter, who normally helps her, was out of town, and she wasn't sure how she was going to be able to get her groceries up the stairs. I absolutely love serving others, and it is just so cool to see that people are placed in our lives for specific reasons. There are no coincidences.

Another night we knocked on a door and met such an awesome family. They immediately invited us in for dinner and didn't even know us. Their names were Jose and Beatriz, and they had two kids. They fed us some of the best food I have ever eaten... cactus! It is so good, And super healthy too! They were some of the nicest people I have ever met.

One of my favorite things that I get to do out here is teach an English class to the hispanics in the area. It is a blast. I have about 10 students and they all work so hard on pronunciation, we spent nearly an entire class just learning the word, 'young'. Each week more and more people attend and it is just so great to get to talk with all of them and get to know them.

Something I've been learning ever since I've left Mexico City and arrived here in The Dalles is the important of attitude. The work out here can be incredibly hard and difficult and frustrating, but I've come to learn that we can either permit our environment to determine our attitude, or we can let our attitude determine our environment. 

I love you all so much! Be happy, smile more, and may the force be with you.

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder King

Picture Update: I actually have my own camera now! I'm still trying to get used to taking pictures of things I do, hopefully I'll get better. The first picture is a picture of Elder Wilson on Halloween and I with the kids of this awesome woman we are teaching, Jackie. The second picture is of Elder Wilson and I after a long day of work back in the apartment in front of our famous Thug Zone sign, because yes. I am always thuggin'. Even out here in The Dalles.