Oh the Joys of New York City!

Hello to all from the Island of Manhattan!
It is so weird to be in a different place emailing this week. I just got so used to the Bronx. Ha ha, it really did become like home to me. It feels so strange to be in a different place with all new missionaries to work with. In the Bronx, all the missionaries worked very close together but here we are all pretty spread out which makes things interesting. I am living in a two man pad so it is just me and Sis. McMillian. Luckily she is AMAZING and we have so much fun together. She is a blast! She only has this cycle left and then one more.... which is so sad! She goes home with Sis. Walker (my trainer). Sis. Walker is in my zone which is also fun, I get to hang out with her on P-days and stuff.

So, Inwood is similar to the Bronx in many ways. For example: It smells funny here, we have learned to "not inhale" and also to "look before you step" because of all the dog poo. Of course, I learned these things in the Bronx but it's nice to know I can use my previous education to help me out here. Ha ha. We continue to get hit on ALL the time. But here it's a little different because there are SO many spanish people, we get cat called at in spanish more than in the Bronx. The same "Bronx Juice" hangs out in the streets which makes for fun puddle jumping in the rain. The aroma of weed is everywhere, especially in the the projects.... good times.

Here's a fun story: On Saturday we were sitting in McDonald's waiting for a member to come meet us. We were sitting there for about 10 minutes and in that time I saw THREE that's right, THREE drug deals... ha ha. It was a shock for me let me tell ya. I never knew McDonald's was the place to buy drugs.... interesting.

The people we teach here are wonderful. Our area is really small so we walk everywhere but our teaching pool is huge! We have a lot of people to teach and they are all so great. I feel like my spanish is already improving because we speak it so much here. It's great! Oh guess what? We are teaching Maribles mom! Isn't that cool! Maribel is one of my converts in the Bronx who is AMAZING and her mom is getting baptized in September! Small world right? She is great and so fun to be around! We also are teaching this family who have been taught for a long time and they FINALLY came to church this last week! So cool! I love it! The work here is going strong! We keep VERY busy and have about 10 to 15 more lessons a week here than I did in the Bronx which is nuts. Sis. McMillian and I come home exhausted every night.

Oh one more funny story: On Sunday we went to this members house to eat. She is really nice but then she started kind of digging into the elders because they forgot an appointment they had with her the night before. Then she starts going off on a rant about how the missionaries can't speak spanish.... literally she went on FOREVER! She was like, "You don't even understand what I'm saying" when in reality we ALL understood her. We all left frustrated because she dug into us, the funny thing is that we understood her and answered her questions and everything. Usually people area really patient with us because we are learning spanish but I guess it wasn't good enough for her... Oh goodness, just when you think your spanish is getting better, someone shoves it in your face that you are still a "gringa" and have a horrible accent and can't express yourself. There are always challenges but it's ok!

Oh guess what? Sis. McMillians brother is going to be in the MTC with Brian! (Speaking of, will someone please forward Brian my emails until I get his email address? Gracias!) Her brother is going to Peru and will enter the MTC next week! They have to be friends! I am so excited for Brian and for him to be in the mission field with me! Woo hoo!!!!

All in all I am doing wonderful. The letters have been getting a lot fewer people! Ha ha!!! But really... here's my new address so feel free to write :)

678 Academy St #A5
New York, New York
10034

I love you all! I am so grateful for the blessings I have in my life. Being a missionary is the best thing ever. It is hard, almost every day, but the blessings I see in peoples lives amaze me. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything!

Con Amor- Hermana Passantino