zone with Caldwell. The Carranza family came and visited me. Everything makes me super nostalgic. I miss being a new missionary. I spent way too much of my mission wishing I was home.
But it is what it is.
I think I am going to gain 20 pounds here. They feed us way too much... Anyways, I am with another Mexican! Elder Mendoza. He is so awesome.Super fun. Super humble. He knows how to work. He has been out for almost five months. He is mature and focused. We mostly talk in Spanish, and I like that.
Last week was transfers. It was weird to see Elder Pacheco go home, but he had extended an entire transfer! It was time for him to go. I wasn't emotional at all in this transfer conference, which is weird because I usually am. Probably because the next one is my last one. We came home and walked to an appointment. On our way, I think I met
the person I was sent here to find. Her name is Ingrid. We offered to help carry her bags, and as we set the bags down, she told us she had been baptized in Santo Domingo a long time ago. We got to know her and she seems super nice. We saw her again last night and she says she thinks it's time to go back to church. We have an appointment with her on Saturday! Super stoked. Our investigators come to church and read the scriptures, but we don't have any with a set baptismal date. Two of them will this week, and hopefully it is before I leave!
I like my zone. They are all kind and friendly to me. It is fun to be with people that I have met before but never served around them. Elder Mendez actually is in the same branch as I am! It is the first time I get to serve around one of my former companions. Mijo is also super close. He is in Paterson and covers the area that I had when I was there.
General conference was good. We spent most of the week preparing our investigators and members to be ready to hear the voice of the Lord. We watched it all in Spanish (which is actually my first time), and it was great to see who were the new apostles. I learned a lot, and I am excited to study the talks in more depth! Not all of my questions were answered, but I think I will find them as I study the talks. The reason I am emailing today is because we built a park Monday. It was a huge service activity with 4 zones there. Right outside our
house is a big park. There was no playground, but Carmax funds and runs service activities to build parks for children. I think it's called kaboom. It was on the news. Anyways, there was a good number of volunteers there, but most of us were missionaries. In total, we were probably 80 volunteers from the church. We carried a bunch of dirt, cement, sand, mulch, benches, and plants all across the park. We started at nine and worked til six. It was so tiring. It was so cool
to see how hard the missionaries work, though. As missionaries we are blessed with an insane work ethic. We all worked hard. So hard that the ones running the program told us to slow done. Even the sisters were straining themselves to carry heavy bags of sand to get the job
done. By the end we were all dirty and sweaty and sunburned. I cannot imagine working construction! It would be way too hard for me. I enjoyed talking to the missionaries and members. We met some non-members, but not a lot. I met some great new missionaries.I had always thought that my generation was the best, but I saw at the service project that the new ones are even more prepared than I was. They bring a different vibe into the work. They are kind and outgoing. Shout out to David O. and his generation! They are the biggest walking faith bombs. I am so proud of my lil/big brother. He is a role model for me. I read his letter about how many sacrifices he is making, and I am just amazed at what he is doing. It must be very hard to be where he is, but he sounds happy. Sounds like he is having a good time.
I like to be a missionary. I am grateful for the time I have had to serve. And I am grateful for these last couple weeks to continue to work and love and serve.
I know God loves me and all of his children.
Was Good
Jersey Strong
Life is good in the gospel
Elder T. McFarland
No comments:
Post a Comment