May 7th, 2019

NEEDLES

If you can't tell how excited I am, I attached about 20 photos.

I love this place. So to break down my new area... here is the rundown.
We cover the booming city of Needles california, which I believe has a population of about 2000 or so. I also get to leave the country while I am serving here, because technically the native American villages are their own country. There are two Mojave native American villages in the area. One is in California and the other is in Arizona. They are not that far apart because my area is the border of California and Arizona, divided promptly by the Colorado river. I love this place a lot.

The houses here look like they same straight out of a slasher film. Like abandoned bomes that are barely being held together. People actually live in them! I learned that needles is more safe than 6% of America! That means that 94% of America is more safe than Needles. Yay!

The people here are actually super nice! Unlike the city of Henderson and Las Vegas, they actually acknowledge that they need us here. Also the church to people ratio is crazy. My companion theorizes that most people here own a church somewhere in needles.

There are trains here. Back in the day that was the only use for the town. It was housing for the engineers! They still live here and most of them are old and some of the only active members.

Also Spike, Snoopy's brother from the Peanuts, lives here. Not really. But in the comics he does. He is Needles mascot.

Everyone here knows who we are and they have been very kind to us.

Our map is digital and it only loads a handful of streets. When we go finding people to teach, we are essentially exploring to see where all the Dirt roads lead. It is super fun! I have found so many abandoned houses and wandering hobos!

I have honestly been waiting to serve in anyplace like Needles. I feel like the Lord knows me so well because He knows what kind of people I like and find easy to Love. And He has blessed me to come here.

Now allow me to explain the photos in the order they seem to appear....
The first is a tree being held together with duct tape.
The second one is the way to Mexico. There are no cities nor settlements in this direction until you get to the Mexican border.
The third picture was given to me by some roving Vagabond at Jack-In-The -Box. He walked up to me with a full beard a long long hair smelling like fast food and marijuana and wrote down this card. He said I could have it. It is the alphabet and when he got to the letter J he wrote Jesus and signed his name. My companion and I laughed. Because it was legendary.
The fourth picture is of grass. They farm it in Arizona. It is just plain old grass. This place is called Mojave Valley, which is it's own town across the Colorado river. It is more rural there.
Here are some cow skulls in front of someone's house in Mojave valley.
The next photo is a Needles Sunset.
Here is a street sign in the Arizona village that my comp and I changed on our phones.
My first meal in Needles.
This is the main road in Needles. A one way underpass. It is fun because you have to not go at the same time as someone else or you will crash underneath a train.
An abandoned house that had some spooky artwork in it.
A booming business guide that shows you where the subway is.
Apartment 212 and a half.
A view of needles from outside our apartment.
A dead snake on a fence.
The funniest door ever.
Two scrubs in the desert.

The Gospel is True and an amazing blessing. The Book of Mormon is one of Gods greatest gifts to us and I love it So Much! I am so excited to give out every last copy I have to the people here because I know how much it will help them realize their potential as Children of God. Jesus Christ lives and I have been so blessed to be in His service.
Love you Bye!

-Elder Moore