Here's an excerpt from what I got from my Dad last week
Did I tell you I’ve found a replacement for NanShan Mountain? It’s about 5K from the house and a pretty good climb once you get there. There is a great looking loop that will get me about a 35K bike ride, the mountain will be the first leg of the ride. As I give it a try and explore a little, I’ll keep you posted. Could be a good one to try when you get here.
This was my reply
The bike ride sounds good, but don't plan anything too crazy, I'm not sure if I'll have any bike muscles left unless they call me tomorrow and say I'm going to Yuen Long.
Any guesses on where I am right now?
Say hello to the new Yuen Long District Leader! I live in the Gam Tin apartment with my entire District; Yuen Long 1 (us), Yuen Long 2 (a pair of locals that I knew fairly well before they started their Missions), and Gam Tin (Elder Mak from Sha Tin and Elder Wong who I met earlier this year before he started his Mission). The only person I wasn't already friends with was my new comp, Elder Beautiful. Wanna see a picture?
Yeah, he got fairly ill, so we missed Church yesterday, but right after I took this picture he got up and ate a small bowl of rice, so he's better now. I got my studies done, organized all of our Ward Member Records by geographical location, made a super legit planner cover (Christmas and Western New Year AND Chinese New Year themed!), and then took a nap for an hour. I would have cleaned the house, but that's not really something you're supposed to do on Sunday.
I live in pretty much the nicest place in the Mission; it's the 3rd floor and roof of a village house in Downtown Gam Tin. First, let me tell you about the location...
Pretend that I started my Mission in Downtown Seattle, with lots of hustle and bustle and pollution. Then, I moved to Lakewood, still a city, but less intense. After that, pretend I went to Tacoma, a more intense city, and figured I'd probably finish my Mission there. Then I randomly got called to the metropolis of Ellensburg. Yeah, I seriously feel like I'm walking the streets of Ellensburg or Grangeville, but to be more honest it's more like Kooskia, Kamiah, or Red River. It's tiny, and has kind of a quaint, home-town, kind of feel to it. It's cool, but NOT Hong Kong! My paradigm has been shifted by this town, and also the house.
ANYWAYS
The house is awesome. We have a proper kitchen (the fridge, counter, and stove make a triangle), six bunk beds in what used to be a sun room (lots of curtains, now), and an office on our roof. And a rusty grill on our roof, I'm thinking tinfoil dinners might be in order next week. The only downside is that our stove is induction, so we can't use the beautiful nonstick pan I found while cleaning the kitchen. First World Problems, right?
I promise next week will be more Gospel related!
Love,
Elder JE O'Gara
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