Lancaster, PA - August 8, 2016

This has been a super good week. I don't even know where to start. Here in Lancaster it's crazy because everyone knows my family. Today I went by the house my dad was born in. I also went out for breakfast with my grandparents to Shady Maple. They are the same as ever. THE BEST! They're excited I'm here. They tell every missionary they see. Everyone is like hey I met your grandma the other day. She ran into my mission president twice. Grandpa gave me some family contact info that live nearby to visit and teach. My life is like a family reunion out here because everyone in the ward knows my family or is related.

It's crazy. This week was temple week so we got to go to the DC temple. It was good seeing so many missionary friends I haven't seen in a while who just happened to be going at the same time. I got to help my dad's cousin move houses. I love the ward here. They're too nice, I'm getting pretty fat already. But don't worry I found a bench press in our apartment that I didn't know was there. I'll get there.

We started teaching the Haitian family and they remember members of the church helping them during the earthquake. It's awesome to see the influence of the church worldwide. I don't have the pictures yet, but we got to go to the Philadelphia temple open house and guess who we took with us! 39 Amish people! We went in a huge bus! It was awesome they loved it. We sang their hymns during the bus ride and got super tight with them. They loved the architecture of the temple and a couple of the families are going to invite us over. They came because of a member of our ward Bro Ride. It was cool seeing them amazed at planes and the TV. It was the first VIP tour of Amish and Elder Gong our area president came! I'll get the pictures next week.

I love it here in Lancaster PA getting in touch with my roots. It's cool knowing I'm here for a reason. My grandpa has nonmember relatives in the area and you know I'll hit them up. Elder Duffy didn't feel good part of this week so it was hard not working for a couple days, but it's good.

Love you all!

Elder Ressler