Bikes and Blackberries

Hey everybody-

Yeah it's been a bit challenging to schedule everything, especially since we sometimes don't have a car to get around to places. We've luckily got the car today, so I'll be able to knock a ton of things off of my to-do list like buy a USB card reader finally. (Sorry, you're not going to get pictures today.)

Sorry to hear that she didn't make the team- I hope that she's dealing okay with it. She can always try out next year though if she really wants to do it. I sometimes kind of regret not doing any sports/clubs in high school. I think that they probably could have been pretty fun, but I enjoyed just hanging out after school too. I'm excited to see how school goes for everybody this fall, especially for Kayleigh and with Ben. It's exciting to see everybody growing up, and I'm excited to see how Ben enjoys his computer classes up at SLCC.

Silas has quite a list of prerequisites for college- city livin' in college is going to be filled with a lot of interesting people. Kind of like Portland, I see some pretty unique people all the time. I've learned to like the strange people Portlandia has to offer though. They're pretty funny. I'm glad that Ben is looking to get a social life- I think that will be a good way for him to meet more people.

My week has been pretty good- we've had some good lessons with people and actually had things to fill our schedule. The weekend is brutal though, we never have anything planned and nobody is around so it's pretty unproductive on those days. We go and hang out with this excommunicated guy in the area usually, and we talk about some of his views on a lot of things. They're... Unique, to say the least. He's a really nice guy though- and he's pretty funny.

Training has been a challenge, but it's been pretty good so far. It's been a bit rough in the mornings though. Elder Olsen was just like me when I first got to Portland- completely blank and zonked because of how tired I was. It's been a challenge to have productive studies with him (especially since we have to study for three hours) but it's getting better. He's still adjusting to the missionary lifestyle, with all it's physical, emotional, and spiritual demands. He's been really good though, I love having him as my greenie! We've had some really good laughs and he's got an amazing ability to talk with 30 to 40 year-old women about pop culture and the Food Network! It's pretty funny- we also talk about Twitter a lot (the only other elder I've met who used Twitter).

With August being here, the blackberries in the area have finally began to come into season! It's awesome, the green-belt that runs through our area is covered with blackberry bushes so we've been stopping before we go home and just scavenging the bushes for the most sweet, delicious blackberries I've ever eaten! They're so good, it's awesome!~

I definitely think that I'm slowly becoming more and more adapted to living in Portlandia. Last week we had to go into a bike shop near our area to get some lights for our bikes and buy a new tire for Elder Olsen's bike (we found it flat on Sunday morning, which sucked). Anyways, so we walk into this bike shop and I freaking loved looking at all the bike accessories and thinking about the stuff I could do with my bike. This moment made me realize that I absolutely love biking now! We went home and I replaced Elder Olsen's tire, and I just started thinking about all the things I want to get for my bike (like new tires with less tread- so it's more road bike than mountain bike)... Just wait, pretty soon I'll probably start liking to recycle. (Not quite there yet though.)

So I'm sure you have heard of the changes to the dress code for missionaries- if not, we can now wear lighter suits and wear flashier ties (they're also trying to get rid of the backpack and make the messenger/shoulder bag the standard). Anyways, there is a light-grey suit that I wore sometimes that Brother Crane gave me a year or so ago. You should send that to me so I can wear it! I'm going to find some brown shoes and belt at a Good Will or Ross hopefully so I can really accessorize my wardrobe. I'm going to be walking these streets in high style as soon as I can get me some brown freakin' shoes (and that suit that you'll send me!)

Anyways- I hope you all have an awesome week! I love you all and miss you everyday!~

Love always,

Elder Samuel A.Burge