So long, Elder Bishop. . . Hello, Elder Hernandez

 

Bits and pieces from the last few weeks -
I am doing great! We have transfers this week - transfer calls are tomorrow. Elder Bishop is heading home.  We are doing well. Andrew was confirmed today and then given the Aaronic Priesthood and now has a temple reccommend! So we are going to the temple to do baptisms for the dead with him on Tuesday. It is so much more exciting when you can go to the temple and do baptisms with your recent converts really soon after their baptism! I don't worry as much about if they will stay active or not because I know that they are starting to enjoy the blessings of the temple. It has been a good week. I love teaching the Gospel and getting to know Heavenly Father's sons and daughters. We are teaching a family in a member's home right now, which sadly doesn't happen very often, and it is amazing! The members are a young family with an 8-month-old girl, and there is an amazing spirit in their home! They aren't afraid to invite their neighbors over for games, for FHE, and then to meet with the missionaries, and it makes a huge difference in our teaching and how the people we are teaching are progressing. Much of the time all we have to do is invite! There are many people who will accept if we just invite them! If we do it with sincere love they will not be offended. Keep up the good work in the service of the Lord!

It has been a wild week for me. We had transfers and tons of stuff to do, and then suddenly we are flooded with appointments! So we have been all over the place teaching and working. We got 17 missionaries this transfer, opened some new areas and created a new zone, which is what is creating all the work for us. It is fun, though. I like to see things change for the better and be a part of it. Everything is going well for us. We had a baptism yesterday and he was confirmed today. I confirmed him and really felt the Spirit as I said the prayer. It definitely felt like my words were being guided.  My new companion is Elder Hernandez. He is from Raleigh, NC and his parents are from El Salvador. He was called on an English speaking mission here. I hope that everything is going well for you and everyone else!

Elder Hernandez is cool. He has been on his mission for 15 months. We get along pretty well and are working hard. There is SO much work to do here that we need to split our area to focus more on individual stakes, especially Grandview East. It probably won't happen until the transfer that I leave to come home, because we are getting mostly Spanish missionaries this next transfer in February. The next baptism coming up is on February 9th. The man's name is Chris and he was really prepared. Everything makes sense to him and he feels that it is true, which is how the Spirit often speaks to us. It is really amazing to see the member family that has helped us fellowship them and the love and the Spirit that can be felt in their home. I just wish that the members of the Church would catch the VISION of Preach My Gospel that the Apostles are trying to get us to see! It is SO important and even more rewarding!

Well, I hope that you have a great week!