I Did Not Know You Could Eat That

APRIL 23, 2018

Hey, Everyone! :)

There is a song by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir called “I Think the World Is Glorious”. I have decided that it is my new theme song! :) :) :) Just thought I would share that with you all hahaha

Wow, I have loved this past week! The work is still trudging along :) I have seen the hand of the lord in my life is many profound ways this week! He has answered my prayers and has led us to find those whose lives need blessing. It’s been an incredible week :)

Our apartment had been smelling kind of weird over by the sink all last week. We had no clue why until I found the source of the smell—a SUPER moldy and rotten onion left in the cupboard by missionaries who knows how long ago! Super nasty! Just thought I would share hahahaha Missionaries are always leaving little “surprises” in their apartments when they get transferred! Hahaha

This week, I had exchanges with Elder Lee! He is one of the Korean Elders in my district :) I love him so much!!!!! We had a phenomenal exchange! There was never a discouraging moment during the 24 hours I was with him! Sure, we had door after door slammed in our faces, but nothing could destroy the positive mood Elder Lee brought to our missionary work that day. Elder Lee is also amazing at cooking Korean food! I had Korean food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! My favorite was the kimchi fried rice! For dinner, we went to a Korean restaurant where they served jellyfish, sea cucumber, shark fin, and all sorts of other foods! It was actually super good! And very expensive!

A couple days ago, after we finished knocking a couple streets with no discernible success, we were waiting at the bus stop to had home for dinner. While we were waiting at the bus stop, a very friendly looking Hispanic woman came right up to us and stopped right in front of us. She smiled at us, waved, and said in very broken English, “Hello! I know you. I have your book!” Her name is Alejandra. She is SO cool!!! Turns out that her Aunt is a Mormon. We invited Alejandra to church and she actually came! The Spanish Sisters will be teacher her :)

Lately, we have been knocking out an area near to Bowne Park. It is a beautiful park area with a very nice pond. Sometimes, if we are lucky, the pond is filled with turtles!! If we are extra lucky, the park is filled with lots of people!! Let’s just say that I love it a lot there! Usually, we will walk through the park talking with the people we pass while we are on our way to the neighborhood behind the park to start knocking. The other day, I felt that we should walk a little longer in the park and talk with people there instead of knocking that night. My companions agreed, so we started walking around the pond and trying to have conversations with the people walking their dogs. Sometimes we join the little old Chinese women doing their Zumba and pilates and TaiChi! It gets people to talk with us hahaha. But, this time, I spotted a very nice looking woman sitting by herself on a park bench. I felt that we should go directly to her and not talk to the people walking around the pond. I approached her and said, “Hello! What’s your name?” That’s usually not the best start to a conversation her because people are very skeptical here haha. But, she instantly responded and shook my hand. We then entered into one of the most fantastic conversations I have ever had about the purpose of life and our relationship with God. The best part fo the conversation was that we hardly did anything to initiate it! Christina (the 19 year old woman we were talking with) asked question after question. As we were bearing testimony and answering her questions through The Book of Mormon, she stopped and stared at me for a few seconds. She then told me that she felt a very profound power from the words I said to her and that she has never had so much clarity in her mind ever in her life. I explained to her how the Holy Ghost bears witness of truth and helps us to learn what God needs us to learn in this mortal life. The conversation with Christina lasted about 2 hours. I know that God led us to find her that day and filled our mouths as we relied on the Spirit for the words to say. Talking with Christina was one of the more incredible and sacred experiences on my mission. Truly a moment in my life I will not forget and I am sure neither will Christina. She agreed to read The Book of Mormon to find answers to al of life’s questions and to come to church with us someday. I know that God always has the right people in the right place at the right time.

God is real and will answer your prayers! I am certain of it :) Thank you all for being an answer to my prayers at some point in my life. I love you all and pray that you find true joy and peace from serving those around you! 

Love,

Elder Snell

1) We were lucky but not extra lucky! This was just after knocking for a bit :)

2-3) Wondo at Wendy’s

4-5) When it rains, it pours! It also make cool photo opportunites!

6) This is the Whitestone Bridge. It connects Queens to The Bronx. We missed our stop the other day..........the next stop was in The Bronx. So, we ended up on the other side of this bridge for a little bit. Found THE COOLEST investigator because of it, though! Some missionaries in The Bronx will be very happy to receive her as a referral!