General Conference, Bentonville, and Planning!

Bentonville! I'm excited to go there for at least three more times during my mission....well, four, if you count the last time before I come home..

My new companion is very tall, and has really long legs.

Saying goodbye to my "old" companion was bittersweet. He has been one of my favorite companions, He was super cool. I get to go on an exchange with him soon, so it's okay. I couldn't help but be a little sad when he left, though. His parents are coming to my homecoming.

We are all planned for the coming week, and major events during the next several weeks (MLC, Zone training meetings, which District meeting we're going to go to for what week, etc.)

We had a lesson with a cool family.

I watched all of the General Conference sessions. I loved Elder Neil L. Andersen's talk and Elder D. Todd Christofferson's talk the best. They're both really good. The second session really focused on missionary work. I was excited about that. I love General Conference! It is awesome!.

Another Transfer...But, I'm Staying!

We got transfer calls. My companion is leaving and is going to serve as an AP (Assistant to the President). I'm super excited for him. I knew he was becoming AP by the first two weeks I was with him. He is a super amazing guy. I'm going to miss him a lot. I learned so much from him.

I'm staying zone leader for my last transfer with a new companion. I'm super excited to remain a zone leader. You learn so much.

I'm super excited for this last transfer. Don't worry, I'm not getting trunky. I miss home a lot, but I'm not close to being trunky. I've changed so much this last transfer. It is amazing.

This week has been awesome. We were able to find a new investigator, help investigators progress, and set a baptismal date. We're planning on having 3-5 baptisms this transfer, which I'm excited for.

Finding, Teaching, Opposition, Success!

Everything is going great. However, I have been a little sad since I found out one of my friends died in one of my previous areas..



We've spent a lot of time finding. It's difficult to find out here We've been working on having the members do missionary work because it is easier for 50 missionaries to have a baptism than it is for two. Along with that, Elder Holland has said that there is no more time for there to be two more churches: a missionary church and a member church. So we're working on that, as well.

We're teaching a couple of cool people also. We have one family who is taking taking the discussions. They are keeping most of their commitments. They're a super cool family.

We've been having a lot of opposition later. However, because of that, we have been having a lot of success as well. It's interesting how those two work.

A Meeting and a Conference...

This week was a great week

We had our Stake Mission Coordination Meeting. The Stake President told us to have the Ward Mission Leaders assign exchanges because this church is a church of assignment not volunteer. When he talked about it, it made sense. He is one of the most missionary-minded stake presidents that I know.

We also had Zone Conference. That was great. We learned a lot about repentance, and how to "Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts", which has been a major theme in the missions around the world since we had a Worldwide Training about six months ago.

I gave my departing testimony, even though I have several weeks left, since it was my last Zone Conference. I was able to spend it with an elder who came out with me, a couple of my former companions, and all of my best friends in the mission. It was great!

We've been doing a lot of active member lessons and seeking for referrals. We're doing a lot of finding, and talking to people on the streets.

The bishop took us to see a less active member. On the way, we talked about priesthood keys, the priesthood birthright, etc. Bishop is super cool.

Transfers Bring a New Responsibility!

Transfer calls came. My companion is staying, and I'm going. It will probably my last area. I really don't want to leave my current area. It's been an amazing area. I'm going to miss it a lot, though I probably will come here again. since I'm going to be in the same zone and I will be serving as a Zone Leader. I'm replacing the Zone Leader who gave the training in the recent Zone Training mentioned last week. My new companion is a cool guy.

Transfer calls were certainly a surprise. I didn't even think I was ever leaving. I had asked the Mission President to stay here for the rest of my mission during last transfers. I thought it would happen and I would either be District leader again, or Trainer for my last two transfers. But, as Isaiah says, that the Lord's thoughts are higher than my thoughts, and his ways than my ways.

We had a guessing game for who would leave and stay. My companion guessed us all right. I was 100% wrong. 'Twas fun. Anyway, this week was awesome. We had two investigators come to church. One was not one of our investigators, but someone from Pennsylvania. She got baptized on Saturday in Pennsylvania :D. The other one came and stayed for a little bit, but had to leave for an emergency. He wants to meet with us on Friday...so I will already be gone to my new area. :p. I'm a little bummed.

July is Over...

Transfers happen on Thursdays every six weeks.. The new missionaries come from the MTC on Wednesday. Transfers are on Thursday. We drive to Tulsa. A van picks us up, and drives to one of five transfer points. Bentonville, Branson, Springfield, Joplin, Tulsa, and Springdale are all the transfer points. We're closest to Tulsa, so we drive to Tulsa. Transfer week is going to be a little different from here on out. Here's how it works:

Monday: We have District meeting. No P-Day (Preparation Day) on transfer week anymore.
Tuesday: We get transfer calls.
Wednesday: It's our P-Day (Preparation Day). Our day to pack.
Thursday: Transfers.
Friday-Sunday is the same as usual.

This week was awesome.

We had District Meeting in another City than usual because our Mission President was doing interviews. We had a personal interview with both President and his wife. They were both amazing spiritual experiences. I was able to see two of my previous companions. It was good to see them.

After interviews. my companion and I talked with a member. While we were talking to him, a guy we had never seen before came in. He talked with us and wanted to be taught. We went into another classroom with him and we taught him the Restoration. He is awesome. He plays the piano really well, he likes classical music, and he wants to be a chemical engineer after he graduates high school. He knew a lot already about our church because he was taught a long time ago. He actually remembered the first part to "Praise to the Man" on the piano, although he hadn't heard it in 4 years. He played it in a different key, but he knew the first part. He really liked what we had to say, and he promised us he'd read and pray about it. It was cool. :D.

Another day we had a wonderful day with our Branch Mission Leader.

My companion and I gave talks on Families and Temples in Sacrament Meeting. It took us a long time to write them because we didn't have that many experiences with temples, and it is a broad subject. I finally talked about the history of temples to the Israelites. My companion talked about the sealing power. The branch members congratulated us afterwards for the talks.

It was a wonderful week!

Week Preceding July 18...A Crazy Storm!

We contacted a referral of someone in a nearby town. We shared with her a lesson on prophets, and gave her a Bible. She asked us to come back to teach her grandparents. It was super sweet. We also started inviting our members to read the scriptures more, pray more, etc. Since then, they've been able to begin to have missionary experiences cooler than we've had :D.

We had a zone training. They gave us these cool white boards that we are going to use for tracting. It talks about prophets and apostasy. It's cool :D We're practicing with them a lot.

One of our families we have been teaching came to church again this week! They are really progressing. They stayed for all three meetings! :D.....We had an extra hour so we indexed several names. I did a batch and my companion did a batch. We then went to a potential investigator's house. They weren't home, so we tried by a couple other people.

We also had a really crazy storm while driving home one day. We saw the big dark cloud coming toward us...We decided to race it back home :j.....Well, it suffices me to say that it beat us. The sky turned black and garbage was flying everywhere. We saw a semitruck that was blown over. I wasn't scared. I knew we would be safe. It was the worst storm we have had since I have been in this area. We were driving some sister missionaries to the church on our way home. When we got to the church, we asked the sisters to pray before continuing on to their home. My companion and I went into the church for a bit. Well, the sisters had a prompting to stay at the church until the storm died down. We waited for an hour, debating whether or not we had to hide in the lowest area of the church. The storm passed by and the sky didn't have a single cloud for the rest of the day. It was weird. When the storm had died down enough so that it was pretty much just rain, I told the sisters that they were probably safe now to go home. We left at the same time they did to visit a couple of people we had scheduled appointments with. We were, due to unforeseen circumstances, a little late. Well, a lot late.

Still haven't been able to take a picture of a tornado, but I must've been close this time ;j.

Missions are cool!

I get along great with my companion! He's super cool. He and I are an awesome team.

Week Preceding July 11

We had transfers!!!! Both my companion and I are staying This is going to be my last area where I get to stay for three transfers or more. I was super shocked about that.

I'm excited to stay for another transfer. We were able to teach quite a few lessons. Most of them were from tracting. We tracted in a neighborhood with much success. It was cool. We also tracted in another area...but we didn't have as much success there.

We were able to have nine less actives at church. That was super cool.

I haven't been the best at taking pictures for the past couple of weeks, but here are some good ones taken six or less weeks ago :D

Me with one of my previous companions.

Me with my current companion.

The Month of June - Third Week!

I did not realize it was Father's Day until our branch president announced it over the pulpit. We had a wonderful sacrament meeting. The branch president's daughters spoke about fathers, and another youth spoke about her first trip to the temple. The branch president then gave a wonderful talk on Heavenly Father and fathers in general. It was good. We had dinner with the branch president's family and gave a special dinner message on fathers. We showed them a new video. It was awesome.

This week was great. Our trip to the Oklahoma City Temple was awesome. We carpooled with elders who live in a nearby area. It was a fun drive. We arrived at the temple before most everyone else. A few of us went around the temple grounds and took pictures while we waited to go inside.























I spent a long time in the Celestial Room reading the scriptures. I found some really cool stuff. I was able to see some people I know from one of my previous areas. It was really good to see them.












After we left the temple, my companion and I talked with the bus driver about his beliefs and ours. We then went to the church right across the street from the temple and had a meeting with the temple president. After that, my companion was gave a copy of the Book of Mormon to the bus driver. It was awesome.

In addition to attending the temple, we had a good week. We almost filled up our progress record, we received a couple of referrals that seem so promising. It was awesome. And we were able to have a less active come to church. It was cool.

I love my current area. Transfers are coming up, and I really hope I'm staying. I told our Mission President I would be happy to stay here for the rest of my mission, so we'll see if he'll keep me here.

The Month of June...Second Week!

This week was absolutely wonderful. My companion and I each received a blessing from our branch president. It was a special experience. The next day, my companion and I tracted two doors. With both of those doors, we had lessons. These two individuals accepted a return appointment. One, especially, was curious about our church. We went back two times that week. As we talked, my companion tried to bring up the Book of Mormon and tried to explain it. The man still looked confused. I expounded on my companion's words. The man accepted a Book of Mormon. My companion told me later that I can explain the Book of Mormon better than he does.

Another day, we went and tracted another door. A woman answered, and my companion, instead of explaining the Book of Mormon, indicated that I could explain it better. I expounded on it, and the Bible, as the Book of Mormon is comparable to the Bible. She accepted a Book of Mormon and promised us she would read it.

Finally, during exchanges we visited a home we had tracted before. My companion and I went back and talked to the gentleman who lived there.. We introduced the Book of Mormon, and gave him an assigned chapter to read (Alma 40). He was not interested in the least bit about joining our church, or saying a prayer with us, so we were just going to start with the Plan of Salvation because of some events he had listed in his life. We went back another day and talked with him. When we entered his home, my companion and I took one look at him, and we both realized his countenance had changed. We also saw the Book of Mormon in the middle of his table. We discussed the Plan of Salvation with him. He asked many questions regarding the chapter he read. As we answered them, he asked one particular difficult question such as "What is hell?", "Who goes to hell?", etc. I sensed, when my companion started to answer the question that he was trying to explain that hell was Outer Darkness. Before he said five words, I interrupted him, saying that Hell as mentioned in the scriptures is Spirit Prison for those who had rebelled against God (for that is, usually, the definition in the scriptures). Our investigator was delighted with my answer, and by the end of an incredibly spiritual lesson, he declared, "Why doesn't everybody join this Mormon church?" We gave him the assignment to start reading the Book of Mormon from start to finish, and he actually prayed with us this time. The rest of the day was super great.

My companion is one of my best companions yet. He wants to do what's right, and he actually helps with my desire to share the gospel and to find people who are prepared. He is an amazing guy.

My understanding of the gospel comes from my love of the scriptures, as well as a gift from God. I love the Book of Mormon. I love the Bible. I read them both every day. As I read the Book of Mormon, I crave to read the Bible, and as I read the Bible, I crave to read the Book of Mormon. They are wonderful instruments, and I find many answers in their pages. As I read them (along with reading the Ensign, for it is scripture, too...especially the General Conference ones), I gain a greater understanding of many of the doctrines. I love studying the scriptures, and I study them as much as I can. In the evening time, I read the Bible. In the morning, I read the Book of Mormon. It's crazy how much you can get out of those books. I love this gospel, and this church. I love being a missionary, and I don't want it to end, but, alas, it must.

I Got Transferred...A Cabin, a Lake, a Storm, No Power!

Here is the installment from the last part of April...

My new area is the greenest place I have been thus far. We are actually opening up an area that has been a dual area for a number of years. My new area has a small branch of less than 30 active members. I had an uber long drive down to the new area, I left my old apartment at 6:30 in the morning, and finally got to my new area around 4-5 in the afternoon. Long day on the road, but on the bright side I did get Sour Patch kids, Twizzlers, and some other candy....All gone in a day or two....well, maybe 4 days. Don't have diabetes, yet, so I'm good :j

My companion and I have a cabin. We live pretty much where our branch president lives. He owns a trailer park, and he built a cabin just for us to stay. It's awesome. It's pretty fun to be in a cabin...you see a ton of bugs, we have to climb a ladder to get into bed. We sleep over the bathroom and the kitchen. Our oven and stove doesn't work at the moment...our branch president is working on it. He's a really cool dude. The fridge was empty, as was expected seeing that we opened up a new area. My companion and I went on a shopping spree to grab lunch food for all meals. We have a furnace, but we don't have an air-conditioner quite yet.

The church is also very exciting. The LDS meetinghouse used to be a Baptist Church...then the Baptist Church became a mortuary, or a morgue. Then it became the LDS meetinghouse. The chapel pews have crosses on the sides. The baptismal font is also in the front of the chapel. It looks really cool. The church is one of a kind. The people really love us, though. Our branch president is happy to feed us if they are not busy....so his family has fed us each night since I came here. His family is super cool. The food is delicious, too! We then share a spiritual thought, which is great because the branch president's mother is not a member of the church. She loves the church and has been to many church history sites including the Hill Cumorah and the Sacred Grove

Church was super exciting. A whole lot different than church usually is. We have a reverence hymn at the beginning, then an opening hymn, and we continue on the meeting. The sound speakers for the stand are actually only at the stand. So when you speak, it sounds loud to you, but to the people in the back, it's difficult to hear.

We are doing a ton of finding in this new area because we have basically no investigators. My new companion is from Utah. He has been out for six months.

Our area has a huge lake in the middle of it. We are in the middle of two towns (about 10 miles to each) leaving us with a ton of miles used because those are the two closest cities, and we have people we teach in other towns that are about 20-50 miles from us. It's actually really fun. We get to cross the lake every day. We have no choice, too. It pretty much surrounds us. We have a ton of less active members that we see, but not close enough to keep ourselves busy. We did meet some cool members one Sunday at a linger-longer (It's theme was Italian food...mmmm. It was quite delicious). They were from Orem, Utah.

I misplaced my camera after videoing the village where we live, so no pictures for a little bit. I know the camera is somewhere in our apartment or our car, though, so it's okay, it's not hopeless.

We had a tremendous thunderstorm hit close to us. It caused a tiny tornado 5 miles north of us, but no fatalities from it, so we're good. We were out of power the day after from 8:00. I was showering at the time, (The thunderstorm kept us awake because of the large amounts of rain that hit on our roof. It was the loud, so we didn't wake up to our alarms in the morning.) So, I half showered in the dark. We were without power until after 10:00 in the evening. We're linked to the power station up north, so the thunderstorm damaged something. Some of our food went bad, but it's okay. We got sick of the salami, and there wasn't much other food in the fridge. We actually had to get a ton of food on Friday ("pay-day" for us) because of the spoiling of the food. My companion took pictures of us in the night with no power, and trying to light up the cabin with two flashlights, because my camera was lost in the darkness of that night. It was super awesome, but I wasn't able to read anything for the evening, which I love to do.

We were able to meet up with an investigator with our branch mission leader. He was able to relate to our investigator in many ways, because they were of the same age group, they had experienced similar trials, and they both loved to garden. It was a really cool visit with him.

We also visited with a family and taught them two lessons. Both lessons were wonderful. We were able to teach some of the kids that were involved in a baseball team, and they provided some amazing insight. The second visit, we were able to answer some of the dad's questions about the church. He asked questions about polygamy and if the Book of Mormon was changed, etc. Some of his questions may have arisen from him reading stuff about the church on the internet. Nevertheless, he did not want to contend with us, they were honest questions, not the other kind of questions used for arguing. We were able to answer all his questions as I have experienced similar questions to his. It was a really spiritual visit.

We tried to find some good OTMing places (places where you could see a lot of people) nearby, but no luck, thus far. We were able to find a service opportunity where we helped clean up the town. It was good.

Sundays are absolutely amazing, with great church services. We were able to help a member on the computer (well, my companion helped him. It was a one-person job). I was looking through an old LDS hymnal that the member had...It was super cool. It had songs that weren't in the one we have today, the songs were named differently after the first couple words, such as, "Count Your Blessings", it was titled "When Upon Life's Billows", and "If You Could Hie to Kolob" had a completely different tune than the one we have. It was sweet.

After we helped him, we had a lesson with the assistant branch mission leader and his daughter. We then had dinner with the branch president and his family. We had delicious grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. We watched the John Tanner story with them. Finally, we went to help the Branch President finish working on our stove...well, he hasn't finished it quite yet. The flames are still too high.

News from the Mission!

There's one set of missionaries for every ward...except combined areas, and Springfield YSA....they have two sets.

This past week we had a ward chili cook off. My companion got first place with his mother's recipe, A ward member got second, and the Young Men got third. It was a fun time. At the end of it, we helped clean up, I was talking with a visitor who knows how to play the piano real well...we showed off our skills with each other. It was fun. We even "improv"-ed for each other...don't know how to spell improv as in improv show, or whatever, so...yeah.

On Saturday, we went to a baptism that was three hours away. Sad fact is, that's about how far my closest area is ;(...oh, well. It was a really fun day. We had Hardee's for dinner. On Sunday, we had dinner at the home of one of the families in the ward...It was so funny. I love that family so much.

Our district meeting was awesome. On set of elders didn't show, and neither did the Zone leaders...a third of our district was gone! It was a great meeting, none the less. It marvels me how big our district is. Our district is about as big as one of the zones in our mission.

Awesome Weeks!

The past few weeks have been awesome. I can't really use any other adjectives. We saw the Lord's hand many times, of which I will give a few examples :j.

1) My companion and I, after all we could have done, went to a local store to OTM people. While we were in the camera aisle, a woman OTMed us, wanting to know who we are, what we were doing, etc. We answered her questions, and told her snippets of what our church believes, etc. She wants to meet with us to learn more.

2) My companion and I encountered a young kid, who passed by us while we were attempting to make a visit to a less active. My companion had an impression we should talk to him, so he led the discussion we had with him. The kid lied a lot, but that's what you get when you OTM someone in the dark of the night. He talked about being Satanic (we could totally tell he was lying about most of this subject, so don't worry, we're safe), that discussion moved to him being Atheistic...and eventually he said he believed in a God. It was a good discussion.

3) While we were doing service at a food pantry, I started talking to this guy who was seeking assistance from the pantry. I talked with him, and a couple of people around him, and we discussed many things, including our church. A few days later at church, my companion nudged me, and asked who a certain guy was. I couldn't see him clearly, so I shrugged my shoulders. After sacrament meeting, a ward member came up to us, and asked us to talk to a guy in the foyer. We went to the foyer and I recognized this guy from the pantry. We talked with him and taught him a lesson. We answered some of his questions, and gave him a Book of Mormon and we're going to continue to meet with him...I am totally excited!

I loved this past week a lot. I'm excited. We're going to have an awesome week, this coming week, too. The best thing about this week, was that I really was not looking forward to anything. Every day, when I woke up, I didn't feel like doing missionary work at all. I was just not looking forward to the same old thing. Well, as I pressed forward through it...I received a ton of help for all of it, I saw a lot of cool stuff...It was wonderful.

This and That!

My mission is the last mission to get iPads, I think. My trainer heard that they were getting iPads at the beginning of his mission...well, he's home from his mission now. So, It's been over two years.

We had a mission conference on Monday, December 21.

We had a baptism a couple of Saturdays ago. It was an awesome baptism. I don't have a picture yet, but my companion will email the picture to me sometime. It was really fun. I played the piano for it :D.

We had a zone conference in Springfield. I was able to see some former companions, and a bunch of my other friends in the mission.

I'm totally excited! We have a few solid potentials. :D. The branch president and his family are amazing. We went a-carolin' around the neighborhood, and we gave away a ton of ham to members in the branch.

Transfer = New Responsibility

I'm the furthest away from the mission office that I can get in the mission...It's pretty fun to be here.

Transfer days are always on a Thursday. Just count every six Thursdays and that's transfer day. Transfers start around 6:30-7 and go until around 4-ish.

I am now a district leader.  As district leader, I can set up exchanges with any elder in my district (besides the zone leaders), I have to collect indicators every Sunday evening and write them down...and then send the info received to the zone leaders. I have to prepare for district meetings every Wednesday...except for this Wednesday and next. We have a zone conference and a mission conference these next two weeks. So...a lot. I was the district leader's companion for two transfers, so I know how to do many of the things.

My district consists of three wards and three branches.  My new area is pretty cool. It's a lot like one of my previous areas, only bigger. We have a railroad crossing right in the middle of the city. We have some awesome members. We have had a Christmas party, and Stake Conference.

My new companion has red hair. He loves to tract. He's from Utah. He's been out for 3 transfers (4.5 months), and he's stayed in this area for all that time.

No Voice, Stake Conference, and "See You Later"...

I lost my voice this week the last week in October.. Losing my voice was fun. We tried to only have me whisper, but that didn't work, so I tried to talk...and that didn't work. I've found almost all of my voice now, but I have a cough now, which isn't going away for a little while based on the experiences I've had so far with laryngitis in my mission, But that's okay, I love cough drops.

We had stake conference, which was really fun. I finally met a General Authority in person! I've always missed them by a tiny bit. I was kinda scared about being transferred to another stake in our mission because this same General Authority went to their stake conference the week before...and I was giving a talk on that Sunday, and based on my previous schedule on talks on the week of transfers...I really thought I was giving my farewell talk in this area.

I was able to visit with a lot of other missionaries on transfer day while my companion and and I were waiting for our car. It's a really nice car. We love it. It has a back-up camera (we still have to back each other up, but it's a lot easier...we just stand and do nothing...well, a bit more difficult than that, but you get the picture. Two of my former companions went home this last transfer. It was a joyous reunion with both of them, right before we got the car. After visiting with them, we went back to our area, while they went to the mission home for their last dinner, and night in the mission. It was awesome to see them and visit with them.

General Conference and Other Happenings!

My favorite thing that happened last month was General Conference. 

I especially liked Dallin H. Oaks's talk on the Atonement. I loved Elder David A. Bednar's talk also, and President Russell M. Nelson's talk, too.  We had an investigator come to General Conference. It was cool

Other neat things that happened:

• While at WalMart, we ran into a lady who had seen us at the library about thirty minutes before.  We talked to her, and she tearfully told us to put her father into her prayers. We told her we would, and we were able to give her a Book of Mormon. She was excited to receive one, and she offered to pay for items. We declined the offer, so she made the cashier put all the items on her card. It was very surprising.
• One Preiparation Day Evening, we had no other plans for the rest of the day, and we still had 30 minutes to proselyte before we could return to our apt. My companion suggested that we pray, so we did. We were thinking about what to do...then we decided to check the mail, even though we already did earlier that day. We walked over and checked the mail. Obviously, there was nothing in there the second time. As we were walking back, however, we saw someone to talk to. We talked to him, and as we were talking to him, a woman came out. We talked with them both for a bit, then a car pulled up to the apartment building. The driver was a woman who was friends with those two we were already talking to. We were able to share a little lesson with all three of them, and the women seemed the most interested. My companion cuts hair, and one of the women him to cut her boy's hair. He told her he would do it, but we had to share a lesson after the haircut. She accepted gladly. It was awesome.

In other news, our trio dissolved on October 13.  One of our companions was transferred to the next ward over. He didn't go far, but we were sad to see him go.  It was totally weird to go back to an original companionship. For the next five days, My other companion and I kept on having awkward rides in the car, awkward lessons, awkward time in the apartment, etc. because we were so used to having an additional companion there. It was totally weird/funny.


Then later on in the month, during transfer call, we found out that my companion and I are both staying in our current area.  I was a little shocked that I was staying...I didn't know what to do when I heard that I was staying. I was so used to packing after transfer calls that I had to walk around and do something for the rest of the night.

My companion and I are so excited for this next transfer. We're helping a couple people quit smoking, with quite a bit of success with one...in fact, she's quit. The other is a little harder, so we've been preparing some DVDs with a TON of Mormon Messages on them because I love Mormon Messages, and it is a great way to help people quit smoking.

We went to our town's Fall Festival (and we were the taste testers for the dessert contest), and we received a ton of new prank ideas from a member who pulled pranks on her mission...It was so funny....My companion and I love pranks. It's an interesting way to have comp unity, but it works!

Transfers...I am in a Trio!

Transfers are every six weeks. My trainer and one of my former companions will be going home during the next transfer. Transfer calls take place the Saturday before transfers. Occasionally, there will be emergency transfers out of the blue.

One of my new companions is from Southern Arizona. We like to joke that he's from Northern Mexico. He's been out for about two months. He's pretty cool.

My other new companion has been out for about nine months. He came out a transfer after I did. He's really cool, too. He's from California.

We drive a Jeep Compass. My fifth different vehicle in the mission (the five being: Chevy Colorado, Nissan Frontier, Chevy Cruze, My bike, Jeep Compass). Pretty cool.

Our new area is awesome. We've had a lot of success in reactivating some of the members, and we've been tracting a lot to get new investigators. We referred a Young Single Adult from one of our great members to the YSA elders. We've had some really spiritual lessons, and we've especially had success with the less actives in our ward.

Still Catching Up! News from September 15...

I found out I was in a trio Monday evening. So, my two new companions got "shotgunned" with me into our new area. It's fun. They're cool missionaries. Plus, one of my former companions served here.

During transfers, I saw some of my friends from my first area!!! It was so amazing. I miss them so much. We have eight hours of church meetings again, which is cool.

Our new area is such a tiny area. About the size of two of our stakes back home. The adjoining city is a lot bigger, but is still really small compared to my previous areas.

This and That!

We celebrated my companion's birthday, this transfer.

We have a really huge spider next to our apartment.

Finally, this is a member's dog. His name is Spencer, and he just roams around the Walgreens parking lot. He goes running with us sometimes.