From Landon:
Transfer calls were yesterday and we learned that I am out as
expected. I have spent about 4 and a half months here in Jersey
Village and it feels like a really long time. There are
aproximadamente 26 Spanish Elders in my mission and about the same
amount of sisters which is really small for the entire mission that we
cover. Because of this we always try to predict what is going to
happen at transfers it is kind of fun and we call it the transfer
game. I think it kind of got started because we get the transfer
information really weird. Last night we found out who is leaving from
their areas but not where they are going or anything and tonight we
will learn any new leadership that is coming out. With leadership
information we can usually make pretty good predictions but we don't
find out actually where we are going until tomorrow when we get to
transfer meeting which is alway super chaotic.
This week was pretty cool we had our last Zone Conference with
President Mortensen in which his training was focused on a few really
important things to do with the upcoming changes. He talked about
sustaining the new president and basically trying to forget President
Mortensen and exactly how the process will work as far as
transitioning goes. Basically as soon as President Peterson reaches
Texas he is the president of the Texas Houston Mission. He also told
us about life after the mission and our goals and the things that are
most important in life which is basically marriage and family. At the
end of the conference President and his wife gave each of us a big hug
as we left.
Other than that this week was good and pretty normal, I did a ton of
biking this week. On Tuesday I went on an exchange with Elder Miranda
and he came down to me on bike. It seemed pretty normal to me but I
took him on some our more adventurous routes and it included crossing
this big cement canal thing where you have to go really fast to get up
the other side. He almost made it.
Mario and Maria were doing good and Mario even said he wanted to be
baptized along with his wife so that is great. Except on Saturday we
were supposed to have a lesson with them and when we called to confirm
it we found out that they were in the hospital because Mario got
jumped on Friday night. He was just leaving work when 3 guys stacked
him and stole his money and his phone and beat him up pretty ugly. We
stopped by on Sunday though and he seemed to be doing pretty good.
I am really exited for the new transfer and my new area. I will be
sure to let you know where I am next week.
Elder Hatch
Dallin:
Hey! This has been a very eventful week. We have transfer news, we
had the last Zone Conference with President and Sister Griffin, and we
met lots of great people.
Last Tuesday was a good day. I had a very interesting experience. I
was reading he scriptures that day and thinking about how I could
become a better missionary. I came to a verse in the scriptures
talking about the sons of Mosiah in Alma 17:9: "And it came to pass
that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted and
prayed much that they Lord would grant them a portion of his spirit to
go with them....". As I read this I realized that I need to fast more
if I am going to have he Spirit with me. These stories in the Book of
Mormon are true and we can learn a lot from them. The sons of Mosiah
fasted even though they were traveling through the wilderness. This
was surely something difficult to do walking all day without even a
path to follow. So I thought these things and I thought I should fast
but then I didn't really want to so I ignored it and ate breakfast.
Well I kept thinking about it and I realized that this is something
that I needed to do because the Lord wanted me to do it. In the last
General Conference we learned that 9 out 10 times that first little
prompting we recieve is the Holy Ghost, so I went and did as the Lord
commanded and fasted for 24 hours. This proved to be more difficult
than I though because we ended up doing a lot of physical labor in the
hot sun that day. I decided that the Lord would provide a way for me
to accomplish the thing he has commanded me to do so I would be
protected from dying of dehydration and heat exhaustion. As I fasted
I felt that I learned a lot and had a chance to put off the natural
man more fully than before.
We had an exchange the next day and I went with Elder Hess. We had a
great time and I enjoyed getting to be with a fellow Idaho Missionary.
Elder Hess is from Fruitland Idaho which is about 40 minutes from
Boise. There really is a difference in talking to someone who really
is from the same state as me. Not Utah not Arizona not California,
Idaho! Haha it was cool and we managed to actually have a good amount
of success and get in with a few Investigators that we have that have
difficult to see. Like Maricela, a woman that we met a few weeks on a
hot day that felt like it was pretty unproductive. She is one of the
sweetest and kindest of our investigators. She told us she has been
feeling a lot of stress and that it has resulted in pain. I had the
opportunity of giving her a blessing of healing. We then taught them
some of the first points of the restoration and assigned them to read
the first few pages of the restoration pamphlet. Elder Hess and I
actually did manage to get to bed pretty close to on time even though
it was an exchange. It was a good change up in the week.
The last Zone Conference with President Griffin was a much anticipated
event. The trainings given there were actually all ones that I feel I
can benefit from. The Assistants talked about 4 pillars of missionary
work: Attitude, Obedience, Hard Work, and Knowledge. The STL trained
about the schedule which is something that always is important to
focus on keeping. Sister Griffin talked to us as a mom and told us
that she never wants to here that we are lazy or conceited like the
stereotype for our generation. President Griffin's training was
something different than anything before. He had us all sit in a
circle and asked us questions and then taught off the answers he gave.
He only asked for missionaries questions and the first person he
turned to was me. He asked me why I came on a mission. I wasn't
really given time to think about the answer and I knew he didn't want
a basic "seminary answer" or "Sunday school answer." As I thought
about it and answered his question in front of the entire Zone I
realized how lucky I was to have the experiences I have had. I told
President, and the entire Zone, that I went on a mission for a few
different reasons. Really it is just what I had always wanted and
planned on doing. I have had many good examples and I always wanted
to grow up and be one of the stripling warriors. The stripling
warriors aren't really fighting wars anymore so this is the next best
thing. As I have thought about it since I realized that I really
have had many powerful experiences that gave me the opportunity to
build a real testimony and a true desire to serve the Lord before my
mission. This is a blessing owe to my parents, church leaders,
grandparents, and other family members that have taught me so much and
given me such opportunities. A testimony and true knowledge is
probably my most prized possession here in my life.
We received transfer news on Saturday morning. I am being transferred
to the Cleveland North area where I have been assigned to be the
District Leader. This is actually very unexpected for me because I
will actually be serving as District Leader over the area where I was
trained which is Athens! I had thought that I might one day return to
my first area of the mission but I did not think that I would get to
visit it while I was at my third area of the mission! It's great and
I am very happy and excited for it. Although there really isn't a ton
of Spanish in Cleveland. I will be there with Elder Fillingham who
was actually trained by Elder Macdonald in the Spanish Ward of our
mission in Dalton Georgia. So I will be able to practice and study
Spanish with him.
I love Lebanon and I have loved the opportunity to learn so much and
become a better man and a missionary.
Enviado desde mi iPad
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