Missionaries and Minutemen

So, you're washing your car in the driveway when two guys in white shirts and ties approach you and ask you how you're doing. What do you do? People do a lot of things. In this case, he talked with us about aliens and reincarnation.

I am constantly amazed at how willing people are to talk with us, or in many cases how unwilling. Some people will talk with you for an hour (we really try to not talk that long) and some won't even look at you. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but we first met Miriam (our sweet investigator) on the street. Elder Pritchett and I were walking home at night, singing, and she was taking a walk after work. When we first talked I didn't imagine how close we would become. I love talking with people on the street. It's just so easy in Haverhill!

This week one of the members of the church told us about some of the history of the area. He told us that the minutemen in Boxford (maybe a 30 minute jog?) heard the shot fired in Lexington and left their fields to go fight. A plaque at the street corner about a mile from our apartment marks where the Haverhill Minutemen gathered on April 19, 1775 to march to the Battle of Bunker Hill. This city has history. The sad thing is that most of the well-taken-care-of buildings are funeral homes. Most of the other centuries-old houses have been left on their own. This is one notable exception. No idea who lives there.

The city has some newer history, too.

No matter what, I'll always love Haverhill. This city has something. I can't stop loving the people here.

Elder Jon Harrison Richins