Rachel made a banner to send in his "Over the Hump" care package
We sent him the traditional stuffed animal "missionary camel" to commemorate his half way point! 
A view from his new neighborhood and pictures of his new apartment...
The cozy kitchen...
The office...
The Master Bedroom...
The laundry room...
The scary bathroom...? :)Wow one year out!! I always heard missions went by fast, but I think mine is the fastest of all time! I have been out of the world for one whole year, and this one year has completely changed my life. There is nothing more important than serving the Lord for 2 years. I have enjoyed every minute of it and I really could not have done it without your love and support, so thank you all so much! This next year is going to be amazing because I have all the tools I need to be more effective and baptize more, if it's God's will. I am super excited to share all the fun miracles with you!!
Well the Central Area is know as the most fun area, because you see so many crazy people and have the scariest/strangest experiences, which equals great memories! Our apartment is very sketchy and in a very sketchy part of town haha. Like washing my clothes is the strangest process ever, I will have to shoot a video of it ha. Elder Brandon is from Fresno and is great. I am now in the Elbow River Spanish Branch. Sunday was the weirdest day for me, with tons of people I don't know. The branch is wayyy smaller than the ward. Like way smaller. There was maybe 100 people there, if that. It was just a pleasant welcome for me as they asked me to speak for 12 minutes - ugh nerves out of my mind! At least everybody knows who I am now right ;)
We have a 2009 Pontiac Vibe, it's fine. I have not been too busy with the DL position. Our District has the Zone Leaders in it, so really I only have to worry about our companionship and the other, Elders Harker and Davies. So every Sunday I call them and follow up with them about their week, I get their numbers, help them set goals and see how they can improve. Then I report that all to the ZL's. My other main responsibility is teaching district meetings, and our first one is next Tuesday. So it's not really being more busy but having to think about other elders and trying to help them. It's fun, leadership is just a chance to serve others. But I do have to go to all this extra meetings that the mission has for leaders, like tomorrow we have one from 9-6! I honestly would rather knock doors all day, cuz at least you get sweet experiences and meet people.
This first week here brought so many sweet miracles I can't even share them all! On Thur. night we had a contact at 8:45 pm, the last thing planned, but we knocked it and nobody answered. We were right by our pad, so we still had 15 minutes left to work, but with no idea what to do. I suggested we pray and ask the Lord to tell us what we could do. As I ended it, we both had the thought at the same time that we should go through the stake directory and go by a random English member in the area. So we picked a random one (Dale Draper haha relative??) and his address either did not exist or we could not find it. So now we are standing in the street again with nothing to do, so we start walking down the street and both feel prompted to knock this house on the corner. There was hard music blasting so I was doubtful haha, but a man answers and we do our door approach, and he says come again. Sweet! So we talk to Michael, a native Canadian, and he says he loves the Mormon church and lived with a Mormon family growing up (his own family was pretty dysfunctional). He accepted to be taught by the English elders! So I will let you know if anything happens there. Just a testimony to me that the Lord is willing to guide us in every aspect of our lives, we just have to ask and then start walking and make decisions. I have never been guided by the Spirit like this during my whole mission. Then last night we taught a man named Alberto Garcia from the Dominican Republic (yes he is straight up Dominican with dreads...so legit!) You will definitely get to see him because he is getting baptized! He did not accept a specific date, but he said he has made the decision and wants to do it. He has a family matter going on right now (going through divorce) and is waiting for that to get through so he can shift his attention to baptism. He is one of the coolest people I have met and has so much faith. He is shooting for the 5th or 12th of June, depending on the situation. Today we have 2 more gator lessons, and one more the next day.
So many things happening I can't even describe. Last few weeks have been super tough, but we are getting around the corner and seeing the fruits. I love you all, thanks for everything, and I hope you have a great week!!
Love Elder Draper
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