Traaaaansfers

Well, I got a call on Thursday from President Black, and he asked me if I would like to train a new missionary. Of course, I said I'd love to and I'd do my best. Almost immediately after hanging up, I could feel the responsibility on my shoulders. I'm going to meet my new companion tonight around 5:00, and he's going to be as green as they come; right off of the plane. I'm really excited about it all, and I have a really good feeling about this next transfer. I'm looking forward to tapping into that "greenie fire" that new missionaries carry; they're always excited to work and work hard. I attended a meeting on Friday where they train the trainers, and I think it was then I started to acknowledge the import of these next twelve weeks. I was there with MY trainer, Elder Millar, who will also be training (I'm going to have a brother!), and it got me looking back upon my experience with him. I learned so much from him and am grateful for his example, and I'm almost afraid to think about how influential those first twelve weeks were with him. We grew close and he taught me how to be an effective missionary, never talking down to me or making me feel inadequate; he gave me opportunities to teach and let me make mistakes so I could learn from them. For the next three months, I will have the opportunity to make a similar impact on my new companion. I want it to be as positive and effective as possible, and I'm way pumped for it all.

All of our lessons cancelled on us this week, which is always a bummer. We're probably going to have to move Manny's baptism back a week or two due to the delay in lessons. I have a feeling, though, that these lessons were cancelled/didn't come to fruition so my new companion could have the opportunity to teach them. I have a testimony of "the right missionary at the right time" deal, and I can't wait to see what great things have been waiting for my companion and I as we start this ministry together. I'll be staying in this ward for the next three months, which will make six months in this area, so don't expect to be hearing about moving around any time soon. Thanks for all of the emails and know that I'm praying for you!

Love,

Jesse

Train the Trainers Meeting

Tule Springs Zone

President's Day at Red Rock

Sorry for the delay!

Yesterday was Presidents Day, which I guess is a cool holiday if you happen to be the President of the United States of America, but I happen to be a missionary who has to wait a day to email his family because all of the stinkin' libraries are closed. If I was President, I'd change something about that, methinks.

 

Great, awesome week. We've been doing a ton of teaching and I'm loving it. In one of our wards, there's a seventeen year old kid we're teaching, Manny, who is the epitome of a "golden investigator" of the church. We've been able to teach him three lessons in the past week and a half and his baptism date is set for March 2nd! In our last lesson, we were talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how baptism is essential and a saving ordinance. He then tells us about all of the places he's been reading about baptism in the Book of Mormon and how amazing it makes him feel. We were kind of shell-shocked, especially since some of the verses he had read and highlighted on his own were the ones we were going to share next. Amazing kid; so on-top and soaks up information like a sponge.

 

We then were able to have a lesson with the Hills, and that was great, too. We shared the message of the Restoration and it went really well; she said she had tons of questions but that it all boiled down to one - "What makes your church different from other Christian churches?". In our minds, we were like "what a perfect segue..." and the first lesson covered all of her concerns. Teaching in a three-pack is interesting; you know it's your turn to teach when your two companions have their heads turned towards you (we were laughing pretty hard about that last night). We have another lesson with them this upcoming week on the Plan of Salvation and we're way excited about that.

Yesterday, for P-day, we went as a Zone to Red Rock, a cropping of, well, red rocks outside of the city. It was way fun; I've really missed hiking. The way up was pretty strenuous, as there were no trails, but being on top was way fun. I have some pictures of my friend Elder Houghton and I doing some tai-chi and meditating at the summit, I'll probably send them. Good way to spend a P-day, just wish I could have emailed yesterday as well!

I love you guys, and hope your Presidents Day wasn't as semi-lame as mine!

Jesse

Tai Chi at Red Rock

Elder Houghton and I searching for our inner selves...
Never found them...

Working with the Zone Leaders for two weeks!!

Hey there,

So, Elder Craft flew out at 9:10 on Thursday morning and from then on I've been with my two Zone Leaders, Elder Larson and Elder Woodard (I reflexively typed "Woodlands"). These guys are absolutely great and have made what could have been a very awkward and discouraging time a good one. Larson has four months left and Woodard has six, but both work very hard and I've laughed more in the past five days than I have in the past six months. It's nice to see such a functional balance of humour/fun and missionary work and the Spirit. 

Because they came in and split up our last area, it's been really easy to go back to covering a ward I've already served in (Silverstone). It's only for two weeks, seeing as transfers are February 25th. President told me I'll be back in my old apartment with a new companion, so I'll probably stick around in this area for another three months, which I'd enjoy greatly. This is an awesome part of Vegas and I love the people. I've been able to teach two lessons in the past five days, which is two more than I've taught these past two months! These guys are awesome and I'm continually learning from them; they don't make me feel like less of a missionary due to age or position and they like to work hard, which I'm a pretty big fan of (and they're both Rush fans). 

We have an appointment set up with the Hills, the part member family with the 6 and 3 year old sons, Wednesday at 4:00. This will be our first time meeting with them, and I'm pretty excited. She (the wife) asked us if she could still drink coffee as a Mormon, and we explained the Word of Wisdom (http://www.lds.org/topics/word-of-wisdom?lang=eng for those who are curious) and she said "It's going to be tough, but I can do it", which is encouraging to hear. This has been a very refreshing couple of days, and I'm having more fun than I thought I could have. 

Hope everything is going just as well, if not better, down south!

Love,
Jesse

Me, studying hard

Temple P-Day

Crazy, crazy week.

This week has been weird and, honestly, I'm glad it's coming to an end.
Elder Craft fell on his bike about a year ago on his mission and broke
his left wrist. He underwent surgery here in Vegas and spent a couple
weeks recovering about 6 months ago or so. He's been experiencing pain
a lot lately and so we went to the doctors on Monday to see what's
going on. Really long story short, it's still broken and he has to
undergo another surgery, a more severe operation than last time.
They've decided it would be better if he underwent this surgery in
Seattle so he could recover close to home. Plus, he's been out almost
23 months now, so he's pretty much done anyway. He leaves tomorrow
morning. This is all really soon and sudden, and I'm probably going to
have to three-pack it with my Zone Leaders until transfers, which is
the 25th of February. This means for the next two weeks, I'll be
companion-less and having to bounce between several different wards
until transfers roll around. Pretty crazy stuff...it's been consuming
everything this past week and a half.

Going to the temple today was really neat; I enjoy temple P-days. It
leaves us with a little less time to shop and email and all of that,
but it's way worth it. There's honestly nothing like stepping into the
Lords house. I remember walking into my house on Terraglen in The
Woodlands and feeling like I left the world on the doorstep; my home
was a solitary sanctuary. The temple provides that feeling on a larger
scale, and it's incredibly nice (especially after a weird week like
this one) to walk in and spiritually recharge. Time well spent, for
sure.

I hope everyone is doing alright! Glad to see Oz is still kicking,
even if it is with only half an ear (cracks me up big time).

Love,
Jesse



Desert Fishing in Las Vegas