Hello Ya'll,
Well I hit 6 months on Thursday. Tim hits a year two weeks-ish after that. Crazy!!
Thanksgiving was ok. We had some good turkey, we went to members homes and enjoyed it with them, and I was sick. Yet again. Monday is when I started feeling it and Tuesday is when it hit. I wasn't feeling good during our morning workout and he told me to go lay down. I slept through personal study, companionship study and lunch. It was bad. The next four days were like that. We would go out and I would get too tired to do anything. We would do our studies in the morning and I would then go to sleep to try and get some energy for that night.
It was bad. Thanksgiving wasn't much better. We went to Enterprise AL for District Meeting and being District Leader I had to prepare the meeting. It was a good lesson, thanks to the comments of the other Elders. We then played a game for the last little bit of the meeting. It was good, but I was exhausted and in and out of consciousness. Good thing I didn't have to drive. We got home and I slept for a couple hours before it was time to go.
We drove to Newton for our thanksgiving Lunch. We got there and the members were just getting done with dessert. We weren't late, they just started early. They had combined the families who were there last minute, so we got the leftover scraps for our dinner, which were still really good.
Then Brother Meservy, the family who was going to feed us, showed us his recumbent bicycles. They were cool. I got some pictures of them. We were cruising around, only about two laps because I was tired, and my pant legs got caught on the frame and ripped the seam (SP?). It is a big rip, but I have three different members telling me that they can fix it for me. haha. After we put the bikes away the Meservy's took us to their home, a small shack they're renting, and showed us the meal they made for us. A full turkey, that hadn't been touched. They gave us half of it and some sweet potato pie to go with it. Because I've been sick I haven't been able to eat any of it yet. Elder Thompson, or Zone Lord Thompson, keeps eating my share of the turkey. I'll I've been able to eat for most of this week is macaroni. But I'm feeling a lot better now and I'm excited to get some of that turkey.
This transfer is going by so fast! We have a week and a half left! Elder Brian and I are getting along. We are working well together, when we are working and I'm not sick, and the work is moving nicely. We have a couple of baptism's coming up on the 12th and we are excited for them. It’s the Metcalf kids; Skylar (12) and Matthew (10). Their father is going to baptize them, but he needs to keep coming to church and meet with the Bishop if he's going to be able to. We'll see how that goes.
The only other thing left to say is that my mission is flying by and I love it. Not because its going fast, but because of everything I'm learning. Captain Moroni is the Man!! So is Joseph Smith. So many examples to look up too. I love reading about them.
I love you all and pray for you too. If there is one thing each of us could do more is read the Book of Mormon. For, "they teach all men that they should do good"(2 Ne 33:10)
Love Elder Call
PS I hope there is medicine in my package. I'm a little low. :)
Elder Call
Off to the MTC
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thanksgiving
Hey Ya'll,
I think I'm getting sick. My head hurts, I have a sore throat and my stomach is churning (SP?). But I got some emergency and I'm going to make me a FAT smoothie when we get home.
This week was great. Planning was so much better than last week. I still don't know everyone, but I'm getting the feel of things. It only took half the time to plan this week. OH! I drove for the first time in about 6 months. That was fun. My companion likes driving so I chill in the passenger side. One day this week he handed me the keys and said, "You're driving." I got all excited and jumped in the car. It took a while to get used to driving the car, but by the time we were done I had the hang of it again, no sweat. My companion had to sit in the passenger side and he didn't like it. I think at first he thought it would be fun, but then he changed his mind. I won't be driving for a long time again. Haha.
We had 14 non-members at church this week. Legina and Lenora brought their kids and their kids brought their cousins. It was Lenora, Tay, Nene, and Lenora's Baby. Legina, Junior, Zi, Mann and their cousins (I forgot their names, but there were 3 of them). It was crazy. James brought his family too. Lisa, Matthew and Nicholas. Matt and Nick would not leave our sides. They HAD to sit next to us during church. We were trying to help Legina and Lenora out but we needed help. We asked the Morrison's, a young couple in flight school, to help us out with all the kids. It ended up being great. I was once again exhausted after church. I thought Sunday was a day to receive strength. Haha. Oh well, loose my life and I may find it again.
This week is Thanksgiving and I'm getting excited. I'm at 192 lbs right now. Woot woot! I know. Elder Brian and I are going to weigh ourselves each morning over the next couple months and see how much we...change.
I'm glad you enjoyed the calls. It was really weird having someone we've never met before ask us for our home numbers. But what was weirder (SP? word?) was having it happen like two days later, again.
I love you all and I'm enjoying the Sweater Weather.
Elder Call
I think I'm getting sick. My head hurts, I have a sore throat and my stomach is churning (SP?). But I got some emergency and I'm going to make me a FAT smoothie when we get home.
This week was great. Planning was so much better than last week. I still don't know everyone, but I'm getting the feel of things. It only took half the time to plan this week. OH! I drove for the first time in about 6 months. That was fun. My companion likes driving so I chill in the passenger side. One day this week he handed me the keys and said, "You're driving." I got all excited and jumped in the car. It took a while to get used to driving the car, but by the time we were done I had the hang of it again, no sweat. My companion had to sit in the passenger side and he didn't like it. I think at first he thought it would be fun, but then he changed his mind. I won't be driving for a long time again. Haha.
We had 14 non-members at church this week. Legina and Lenora brought their kids and their kids brought their cousins. It was Lenora, Tay, Nene, and Lenora's Baby. Legina, Junior, Zi, Mann and their cousins (I forgot their names, but there were 3 of them). It was crazy. James brought his family too. Lisa, Matthew and Nicholas. Matt and Nick would not leave our sides. They HAD to sit next to us during church. We were trying to help Legina and Lenora out but we needed help. We asked the Morrison's, a young couple in flight school, to help us out with all the kids. It ended up being great. I was once again exhausted after church. I thought Sunday was a day to receive strength. Haha. Oh well, loose my life and I may find it again.
This week is Thanksgiving and I'm getting excited. I'm at 192 lbs right now. Woot woot! I know. Elder Brian and I are going to weigh ourselves each morning over the next couple months and see how much we...change.
I'm glad you enjoyed the calls. It was really weird having someone we've never met before ask us for our home numbers. But what was weirder (SP? word?) was having it happen like two days later, again.
I love you all and I'm enjoying the Sweater Weather.
Elder Call
Monday, November 16, 2009
James is baptized
Hey Everyone,
I'm really really tired today. Its been a long weekend, but a very fulfilling weekend. We have so many people were teaching here is Ozark it's great, but sometimes it can be overwhelming. We are trying to help everyone, but they have a lot of needs. We helped get James prepared for baptism and we set up everything for his baptism this weekend. Bro Carroll baptized James and Elder Brian confirmed him and gave him the Holy Ghost on Sunday. Legina, Lenora and Christina are all moving along, but they understand at a really low level so we have to explain everything they are reading to them. Also, Lenora lost electricity in her house for the week, so they were all over at Legina's home. Cassie got glass in her eye, long story, and her daughter broke her arm. Two trips to the hospital in one week for Cassie. The Metcalf kids a chuggin' along, but the parents are leading. They need a testimony of their own. Savannah stopped talking to us so we had to go search for her. we finally found her and set up a time to meet with her. We got a new referral from the Fritz family. Chris Frank. He is a good guy who is looking for a new church and the Fritz invited him over for an FHE dinner. Pulled-pork. MMMMMMM. I finally met Kim Vance and now I know who she is.
As you can see we have a lot of investigators who all have different needs.Elder Brian and I are trying to help them all out individually. However its really hard. I don't know all of them well and Elder Brian doesn't know what to do. He's a great missionary. He knows what he needs to do and has goals of what he wants to accomplish, but he has no idea how he's going to accomplish them. I find him 'wishing' a lot. Our weekly planning sessions take forever. We have so many investigators to go over, less actives to visit, members to work with and new investigators to find. We know what needs to happen we just don't know how we're going to do it. I'm no help because I only know half the members and only a handful of investigators. I've met Savannah and Kim once, Cassie twice. I don't know them and its really hard to find their needs when I don't know them. So its left to Elder Brian. He's still young and he'll figure it out, but it does take us a while. I'm hoping we can meet Cassie, Savannah and Kim this week.
Sunday I felt like a parent. Or at least part of parenthood. We had 10 non-members come to church on Sunday. 7 investigators and James' family, wife and boys. We tried to meet with and speak with all of them. We tried to help them with anything we could and answer their questions. It was a long three hours. I felt like a parent with 10 kids. Some of them were running around, others wouldn't leave your side and all of them asking questions at the same time. It was fun, but exhausting.
This week should be a good week. We have some new plans to help our investigators move forward and also our members.
OH! I got to do my first baptismal interview's this week. The Enterprise Elders had a couple who were getting baptized that weekend, so I spent the day in Enterprise with Elder Christensen. He's a good Elder. He took me to a Tattoo Parlor. ;) CTR for life! or something like that.
I love y'all and pray for y'all.
Elder Call
I'm really really tired today. Its been a long weekend, but a very fulfilling weekend. We have so many people were teaching here is Ozark it's great, but sometimes it can be overwhelming. We are trying to help everyone, but they have a lot of needs. We helped get James prepared for baptism and we set up everything for his baptism this weekend. Bro Carroll baptized James and Elder Brian confirmed him and gave him the Holy Ghost on Sunday. Legina, Lenora and Christina are all moving along, but they understand at a really low level so we have to explain everything they are reading to them. Also, Lenora lost electricity in her house for the week, so they were all over at Legina's home. Cassie got glass in her eye, long story, and her daughter broke her arm. Two trips to the hospital in one week for Cassie. The Metcalf kids a chuggin' along, but the parents are leading. They need a testimony of their own. Savannah stopped talking to us so we had to go search for her. we finally found her and set up a time to meet with her. We got a new referral from the Fritz family. Chris Frank. He is a good guy who is looking for a new church and the Fritz invited him over for an FHE dinner. Pulled-pork. MMMMMMM. I finally met Kim Vance and now I know who she is.
As you can see we have a lot of investigators who all have different needs.Elder Brian and I are trying to help them all out individually. However its really hard. I don't know all of them well and Elder Brian doesn't know what to do. He's a great missionary. He knows what he needs to do and has goals of what he wants to accomplish, but he has no idea how he's going to accomplish them. I find him 'wishing' a lot. Our weekly planning sessions take forever. We have so many investigators to go over, less actives to visit, members to work with and new investigators to find. We know what needs to happen we just don't know how we're going to do it. I'm no help because I only know half the members and only a handful of investigators. I've met Savannah and Kim once, Cassie twice. I don't know them and its really hard to find their needs when I don't know them. So its left to Elder Brian. He's still young and he'll figure it out, but it does take us a while. I'm hoping we can meet Cassie, Savannah and Kim this week.
Sunday I felt like a parent. Or at least part of parenthood. We had 10 non-members come to church on Sunday. 7 investigators and James' family, wife and boys. We tried to meet with and speak with all of them. We tried to help them with anything we could and answer their questions. It was a long three hours. I felt like a parent with 10 kids. Some of them were running around, others wouldn't leave your side and all of them asking questions at the same time. It was fun, but exhausting.
This week should be a good week. We have some new plans to help our investigators move forward and also our members.
OH! I got to do my first baptismal interview's this week. The Enterprise Elders had a couple who were getting baptized that weekend, so I spent the day in Enterprise with Elder Christensen. He's a good Elder. He took me to a Tattoo Parlor. ;) CTR for life! or something like that.
I love y'all and pray for y'all.
Elder Call
Monday, November 9, 2009
What a weekend! - Ozark, Alabama
Hello Everyone,
I really wish I could re-write my message for 'the boys'. I have learned so much from this last week I want to share it all with them. I won't share all of it with you guys, but I will share some of it.
Elder Brian and I are in a great area. We have a really big teaching pool right now and the members feed us almost every night. So we don't get a lot of opportunities to go tracting. Darn. haha. Because of all the work that is going on here, because Elder Brian is newer, if that’s a word, than me and feels overwhelmed and because I don't know the area front and back yet, we had a lot of empty hours. Nothing bad or lazy, just unfulfilling hours. Ones where we'd visit a member and talk to them about nothing important, or we would visit an investigator and not leave a message or a commitment. Above all else we needed some organization. So going into the weekend, that is what we planned to do. We were going to come up with ways to help the members and stay organized. Thursday was our weekly planning. We worked hard to find out the needs of our investigators and set up a path to achieve it.
The Metcalf family was our biggest concern. The parents and Dalton (16) are all baptized, but Skylar (14), Mathew (10) and Emma (8) are not baptized. Elder Brian and Elder Lewis have been teaching them and I jumped into the mix with Transfers. They are a great family, but they have some really awkward needs. They need to feel loved by the ward, they need to feel a desire to go to church and a desire to read as a family. However, the most important need they have is recognizing the spirit. They have no idea what the spirit is, how it talks to them and when it is talking to them. They think that everything we are teaching is so they can 'pass the interview' or 'meet the requirements'. Their dad especially is missing the mark. He doesn't understand that there is a spirit that comes with all of this. You don't become happy by being baptized, you become happy by aligning yourself with Jesus Christ and his teachings. Baptism is part of aligning yourself with the savior. Yes its required to receive the Holy Ghost, yes its required for membership into the church and yes its required to enter into the kingdom of god. However, if you don't keep the covenant, if you don't feel the spirit, what’s the point. You might as well bring some shampoo and conditioner because you won't get anything out of a baptism except wet clothes and hair without feeling the spirit. The spirit that truly cleanses you.
Anyways, we had a couple more investigators with concerns. We finished with them and moved on to the members. We have a dinner appointment every night and after that dinner appointment we usually go visit members until its time to come inside. So we are going to try and maximize these opportunities. How? I had no idea.
Friday came and it was Zone Conference. As always the highlight of the week, yea even the highlight of the month. Haha, scripture talk. We talked about a lot of different topics. President Summerhays told us to come prepared to Zone Conference with questions we want answered. During Zone Conference we shared a couple of our questions, but the rest were left undiscussed. Yet, 9 out of 10 times the questions were answered by either ourselves, president, another missionary or the spirit during Zone Conference. While he was asking us if anyone had any questions I raised my hand to ask. Elder Brian and I wanted to know 'How genuine testimonies are developed?' President looked from me to Elder Brian and asked him if I had a genuine testimony. Elder Brian answered yes, then President looked at me. With his deep, loving eyes he looked at me and said, "Elder Call. You have a genuine testimony of the savior and of the gospel of Jesus Christ that will never grow dim. A pure testimony of Him that will never be broken in this life. How did you gain your testimony?" Wow! That was really powerful statement and I felt really small. I didn't have an answer right off the bat. So I thought, for what seemed like forever, but I thought until I began to rehearse words I've never said before. "My testimony came from everything my Mother and Father taught me. Everything they taught me in my life from teaching me of truth, teaching me about the gospel, church, prayer, teaching me about good habits, working hard, reading the scriptures. Everything they taught me from the time I was born, till the time I left home. THEN, my ability to go out into the world and to try it. To experiment with the word they had given me. To find out for myself, that those things are true. That’s where my testimony came from." The perfect answer didn't come from the perfect son, but the perfect spirit. The spirit I had was perfect. Perfect for my needs, perfect for our investigators needs and perfect for the members needs.
We are working with our investigators and the members in our ward to 'testify of truth'. Things they know to be true. Just like Elder Bednar said. In General Conference we warned us that we need to get comfortable with our testimony. We need to overcome feelings on awkwardness and share what we know with our families, with our loved ones. That is what we want members to do. To share it with their friends, their family, their children and their spouse. We what them to get comfortable in a dinner setting where gospel principles can be discussed and taught. You do not need to sit a child down and have him be quiet to let him know that his personal savior feels his pain, to know that Heavenly Father loves them and wants to answer his/her prayer, or even to know that their parents love them. We want our members to testify to their loved ones. That’s what I got from Zone Conference.
Well I hope my letter wasn't too long. Ozark is amazing. I got the sweatshirts which are fantastic and the long sleeve shirt is perfect for this weather. Apparently it’s supposed to rain for the next couple of days. Some tiny hurricane is in the gulf. Will it count as experiencing a hurricane? haha.
The last thing I want to comment on is something that everyone needs to gain an understanding about. In Zone Conference our mission President brought up a question that was brought up during his Mission President seminar with Elder Bednar. WHAT IS SUCCESS? If any of you would like to reply I would love to hear your responses, but I won't tell you the answer just yet. You can ask Megan in a couple of days. She'll be able to tell you. ;)
I love you all,
Elder Call.
I really wish I could re-write my message for 'the boys'. I have learned so much from this last week I want to share it all with them. I won't share all of it with you guys, but I will share some of it.
Elder Brian and I are in a great area. We have a really big teaching pool right now and the members feed us almost every night. So we don't get a lot of opportunities to go tracting. Darn. haha. Because of all the work that is going on here, because Elder Brian is newer, if that’s a word, than me and feels overwhelmed and because I don't know the area front and back yet, we had a lot of empty hours. Nothing bad or lazy, just unfulfilling hours. Ones where we'd visit a member and talk to them about nothing important, or we would visit an investigator and not leave a message or a commitment. Above all else we needed some organization. So going into the weekend, that is what we planned to do. We were going to come up with ways to help the members and stay organized. Thursday was our weekly planning. We worked hard to find out the needs of our investigators and set up a path to achieve it.
The Metcalf family was our biggest concern. The parents and Dalton (16) are all baptized, but Skylar (14), Mathew (10) and Emma (8) are not baptized. Elder Brian and Elder Lewis have been teaching them and I jumped into the mix with Transfers. They are a great family, but they have some really awkward needs. They need to feel loved by the ward, they need to feel a desire to go to church and a desire to read as a family. However, the most important need they have is recognizing the spirit. They have no idea what the spirit is, how it talks to them and when it is talking to them. They think that everything we are teaching is so they can 'pass the interview' or 'meet the requirements'. Their dad especially is missing the mark. He doesn't understand that there is a spirit that comes with all of this. You don't become happy by being baptized, you become happy by aligning yourself with Jesus Christ and his teachings. Baptism is part of aligning yourself with the savior. Yes its required to receive the Holy Ghost, yes its required for membership into the church and yes its required to enter into the kingdom of god. However, if you don't keep the covenant, if you don't feel the spirit, what’s the point. You might as well bring some shampoo and conditioner because you won't get anything out of a baptism except wet clothes and hair without feeling the spirit. The spirit that truly cleanses you.
Anyways, we had a couple more investigators with concerns. We finished with them and moved on to the members. We have a dinner appointment every night and after that dinner appointment we usually go visit members until its time to come inside. So we are going to try and maximize these opportunities. How? I had no idea.
Friday came and it was Zone Conference. As always the highlight of the week, yea even the highlight of the month. Haha, scripture talk. We talked about a lot of different topics. President Summerhays told us to come prepared to Zone Conference with questions we want answered. During Zone Conference we shared a couple of our questions, but the rest were left undiscussed. Yet, 9 out of 10 times the questions were answered by either ourselves, president, another missionary or the spirit during Zone Conference. While he was asking us if anyone had any questions I raised my hand to ask. Elder Brian and I wanted to know 'How genuine testimonies are developed?' President looked from me to Elder Brian and asked him if I had a genuine testimony. Elder Brian answered yes, then President looked at me. With his deep, loving eyes he looked at me and said, "Elder Call. You have a genuine testimony of the savior and of the gospel of Jesus Christ that will never grow dim. A pure testimony of Him that will never be broken in this life. How did you gain your testimony?" Wow! That was really powerful statement and I felt really small. I didn't have an answer right off the bat. So I thought, for what seemed like forever, but I thought until I began to rehearse words I've never said before. "My testimony came from everything my Mother and Father taught me. Everything they taught me in my life from teaching me of truth, teaching me about the gospel, church, prayer, teaching me about good habits, working hard, reading the scriptures. Everything they taught me from the time I was born, till the time I left home. THEN, my ability to go out into the world and to try it. To experiment with the word they had given me. To find out for myself, that those things are true. That’s where my testimony came from." The perfect answer didn't come from the perfect son, but the perfect spirit. The spirit I had was perfect. Perfect for my needs, perfect for our investigators needs and perfect for the members needs.
We are working with our investigators and the members in our ward to 'testify of truth'. Things they know to be true. Just like Elder Bednar said. In General Conference we warned us that we need to get comfortable with our testimony. We need to overcome feelings on awkwardness and share what we know with our families, with our loved ones. That is what we want members to do. To share it with their friends, their family, their children and their spouse. We what them to get comfortable in a dinner setting where gospel principles can be discussed and taught. You do not need to sit a child down and have him be quiet to let him know that his personal savior feels his pain, to know that Heavenly Father loves them and wants to answer his/her prayer, or even to know that their parents love them. We want our members to testify to their loved ones. That’s what I got from Zone Conference.
Well I hope my letter wasn't too long. Ozark is amazing. I got the sweatshirts which are fantastic and the long sleeve shirt is perfect for this weather. Apparently it’s supposed to rain for the next couple of days. Some tiny hurricane is in the gulf. Will it count as experiencing a hurricane? haha.
The last thing I want to comment on is something that everyone needs to gain an understanding about. In Zone Conference our mission President brought up a question that was brought up during his Mission President seminar with Elder Bednar. WHAT IS SUCCESS? If any of you would like to reply I would love to hear your responses, but I won't tell you the answer just yet. You can ask Megan in a couple of days. She'll be able to tell you. ;)
I love you all,
Elder Call.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Ozark, Alabama
79 B Woodview Dr.
Ozark AL 36360
Yes I got my flu shot. It took like 2 hours to wait in that stupid line.
I'm glad you got my package. Sorry it wasn't anything exciting, I just didn't
want to lugg it around with me to each area.
Hey ya'll,
Sorry my letter to the boys was long. You guys are more than welcome to read and share it. It’s a good one. ;)
This week has been crazy. I said all my goodbyes to everyone on campus. I was really surprised at how many people I touched there. They were giving me hugs and goodies and even a new tie! I said my goodbyes and I left early Wednesday morning for the transfer spot. The Zone Leaders came and picked me up. OH! side note. After Monday when we got transfer info, there were about 4 more unexpected changes for transfers. Nothing affecting me, but campus got changed a lot. One of the new elders from the MTC didn't show up! So Elder Perkins is now in a threesome training. haha.
Anyways, I got to the transfer spots and we were on our way. I got to ride with Elder Durfey. He's an AP and told us about his time in Bainbridge GA. The stake was changing and we were getting a new area in our mission. So Elder Durfey went out there for a week to meet the other Elders and to see how the work was going there. It was terrible. The Elders in the other mission had to follow quotas and get so many investigators and baptisms set by their zone leaders or the mission president. They have had 15 baptisms in the last year! Sounds pretty good, but only 3 now come to church. Their retention is horrible. They even try to set a baptismal date on the doorstep with people. Sad. It really makes me grateful for President Summerhays. He doesn't push us. He trusts us with our areas and when we are with him, he uses the spirit so perfectly it’s like the spirit is standing in front of you talking to you. I love mission president, and Zone Conference is this week. Back to my travel, I met my new companion Elder Brian at the transfer spots.
He's only been out 3 months and is really nervous. I went with him and it was about a hour and a half drive to Ozark. I was exhausted by the time we got there. I slept for about an hour.
Ozark is amazing. It was a little weird adjusting to a family ward. They have about a dozen youth and a million primary and nursery kids! And about half the moms are pregnant!! It’s a big change in atmosphere, but I really like it so far. We get fed every night!! I haven't been here a week yet and I've had more food than I can handle. Its so cool. haha
They have 4 baptisimal dates here in Ozark already and 3 more really progressing investigators. The members all invite their friends to activities and missionary work in poppin' here. It'll be a really fun transfer.
I feel like I'm leaving something out, but I can't think of it right now. I'd love to get a package, but don't worry about sending me food. I have more than I can deal with right now. haha
Love ya'll and I can't wait to share about Zone Conference next week. :)
Love Elder Call
Ozark AL 36360
Yes I got my flu shot. It took like 2 hours to wait in that stupid line.
I'm glad you got my package. Sorry it wasn't anything exciting, I just didn't
want to lugg it around with me to each area.
Hey ya'll,
Sorry my letter to the boys was long. You guys are more than welcome to read and share it. It’s a good one. ;)
This week has been crazy. I said all my goodbyes to everyone on campus. I was really surprised at how many people I touched there. They were giving me hugs and goodies and even a new tie! I said my goodbyes and I left early Wednesday morning for the transfer spot. The Zone Leaders came and picked me up. OH! side note. After Monday when we got transfer info, there were about 4 more unexpected changes for transfers. Nothing affecting me, but campus got changed a lot. One of the new elders from the MTC didn't show up! So Elder Perkins is now in a threesome training. haha.
Anyways, I got to the transfer spots and we were on our way. I got to ride with Elder Durfey. He's an AP and told us about his time in Bainbridge GA. The stake was changing and we were getting a new area in our mission. So Elder Durfey went out there for a week to meet the other Elders and to see how the work was going there. It was terrible. The Elders in the other mission had to follow quotas and get so many investigators and baptisms set by their zone leaders or the mission president. They have had 15 baptisms in the last year! Sounds pretty good, but only 3 now come to church. Their retention is horrible. They even try to set a baptismal date on the doorstep with people. Sad. It really makes me grateful for President Summerhays. He doesn't push us. He trusts us with our areas and when we are with him, he uses the spirit so perfectly it’s like the spirit is standing in front of you talking to you. I love mission president, and Zone Conference is this week. Back to my travel, I met my new companion Elder Brian at the transfer spots.
He's only been out 3 months and is really nervous. I went with him and it was about a hour and a half drive to Ozark. I was exhausted by the time we got there. I slept for about an hour.
Ozark is amazing. It was a little weird adjusting to a family ward. They have about a dozen youth and a million primary and nursery kids! And about half the moms are pregnant!! It’s a big change in atmosphere, but I really like it so far. We get fed every night!! I haven't been here a week yet and I've had more food than I can handle. Its so cool. haha
They have 4 baptisimal dates here in Ozark already and 3 more really progressing investigators. The members all invite their friends to activities and missionary work in poppin' here. It'll be a really fun transfer.
I feel like I'm leaving something out, but I can't think of it right now. I'd love to get a package, but don't worry about sending me food. I have more than I can deal with right now. haha
Love ya'll and I can't wait to share about Zone Conference next week. :)
Love Elder Call
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