I hope I catch this...

Wowzers! Hobbs America is a good place to be!  I love love love it here! It's the ugliest place I have ever been too, but the work is booming.  The branch has changed a lot in the past year, too. The best part, to me at least, is that we have a new Branch President, President Reber. Last year he was the Stake President of the Roswell Stake, but they rearranged the Stake boundaries and so now we are in the Lubbock Stake and he was calling-less for a few months. He served his mission in Argentina, so that's why he speaks spanish.  Last year he made a really big impression on me because of how effectivley and powerfully he loved the Saints in this part of the world.  He's just a walking heart...if that makes any sense at all, haha.  He's just powerful. When he shakes hands he hold your hand for like 2 seconds longer than the average person and he makes killer eye contact and you can just know with out a doubt that he loves you. Power house.  Anyway, so now he's the branch president and he has made a lot of really needed changes to the area!  Also, our Branch Mission Leader is a guy named Hector Lopez.  Last year Elder Martin and I taught him the restoration a week before we got transferred and then the missionaries that replaced us baptized him 2 weeks later!!! How neat is that!?  It's cool to see someone I taught be an active, faithful member of the branch.  All the branch remembers me, which is really surprising to me, but they do!  I am happy and they are all happy as well. I cant wait to go hard as ever these next 3 months.

My new companion's name is Elder Austin Whitesides, or as the branch calls him, LadosBlancos.  He's from the booming city of Rupert Idaho!!  Just kidding, it's not booming, it's a puny town.  BUT its really close to Burley (where Grandma Taylor lives) so I wasn't too clueless about it. He grew up on a dairy farm.  How random is that?!  A freaking dairy farm.  He gets a long better with cows than with humans!!  Hahaha, nah for real though he is way sweet.  I am loving working with him so far.  We don't really connect really well on our interest which is ok cause now I get to learn a lot about cows and trucks and jeeping and stuff and he gets to learn about math and sports!  YAY!  He talks and smiles and laughs and everything so I can not complain!  Not to mention he is a way hard worker!  Good stuff.  I am pleased.

For reals though, family, let me tell you, the work here in Hobbs is out of control!! There are so many people out side all the time, so we talk to like 10 a day, at least.  The branch loves missionary work (I'm not sure when that started to happen) so they were getting like 11 member present lessons a week. People come to church, people invite us in, they read their book of mormon and everything. It is so strange to me! I have never had this many things happening at once in my whole mission!!  Elder Whitesides is just 2 transfers out, so it's the only thing he knows, he is lucky cause I've had like 14 transfers without that kind of stuff!!  It is really hard work, but I love it to death!!

We have this one Investigator named Jose Francisco, he's about as legit as they come. He has already read the entire book of Mormon and most of the Gospel Principles book and comes to church every week.  We just need to help him feel like he is ready to be baptized. Every Saturday he sells Carnitas which is just deep fried pork.  He invited is over so I could try some. He gave me the ear of the pig...ew. Even worse than menudo!  Never deep fry a pig ear, ok?

That's the happenings of this week though!  IT was a good one.  I hope y'all can have a real good one this next week as well!  God bless y'all!  Be safe and have fun!

Love,

Elder Porter