Transfers are still going I guess

Today marks a sad moment in the mission for me. Because of the extra time we Spanish missionaries spend in the MTC, we don't go home after exactly two years, but a little bit before. That being said, I go home in exactly one year from today. This ain't cool, guys. Ain't cool at all. 

 

So, it's been another crazy week of not much progress! There was still some good stuff going on though. Here we go:

Tuesday: We got on our bikes, because we don't have many miles left on our car for the month. We rode to the college to do English classes with Professor O. , a member from Brazil who can speak Portuguese, English, and Spanish. We help out in Conversations, where the students can get lab hours outside of the lab by going there and talking in English with us. Most of them are from Saudi Arabia, but there are a few from China and a Turk. Mostly we play Uno and chat with them about everything. Because it's a school, we can't strictly talk about the Church, but They ask us about our beliefs and we ask them about theirs. It's educational on both parts, and Prof. O. hopes that when they open their home countries to missionaries, they'll be received well because of this. Then, we rode to T., a teenager who was taught by missionaries before and shows a lot of interest. Of course, it's hard to get in without her parents home, which they hardly ever are. So then we rode to Sam's Club to have dinner with the R's. yay, bulk store pizza! But yeah, we couldn't get into anyone's house that day even though it was cold. 

Wednesday, we drove to specialized training with the other elders and Sister C., a super nice lady who lives an hour away from Jonesboro. It was a good meeting, we talked about obedience, the New Testament, and being bold in inviting people to be baptized. All in all, a great meeting. Then I did my first Exchanges as a district leader. I went with Elder H. to his area of Pocahontas, Arkansas, while his companion Elder H. went with Elder Diaz. Let me just say that Pocahontas is a LONG way out there. We got back to town about 5:30. We went to see a less active member's house to teach his daughter, who is preparing to get baptized. She is almost 9, and the most hyper kid I have ever seen. But it never ceases to amaze me how smart they are when it comes to the gospel. She already knew everything we taught her, and she could explain in 5 words what takes five minutes to explain to an adult. I love teaching kids. Then we went to a sort of Gospel Principles class for new members wanting to learn from Preach My Gospel how to introduce their beliefs to their friends. There were four people there, and two of them left before we started due to an argument with the other two. Great start. But anyway, the rest of the class went well! Then we tried to see some other investigators, but they were all asleep. 

Thursday we walked around to do some finding in the morning. We found a few people, left a note on some other houses, and then went to a gas station halfway to Jonesboro to switch back. Then we did the english classes again, and went off with F. to go see some people. We finally got in with a guy named B., who we've known for a while now, but never have been able to catch him. The lesson went well, and he should be reading the Book of Mormon now. Then we stopped by T.'s house to invite her and her brothers to play basketball with us and the young men that night. Then we had a lesson with D. about the Plan of Salvation. He understands it already, he just really wants to go to the temple. Then we went to basketball.  The guys we invited didn't show up, but basketball was still pretty fun! There were several nonmember kids there, and it was great.Then that night, we received news that they were TRANSFERRING Elder L.

Friday was actually a normal day. We just went around and did the usual proselyting stuff, while Elder L. got packed and set up Elder M. We had dinner with the Ms, which was nice because we gave them very little notice, Elder Diaz just called them and asked.  Afterwards,we went to S. and W., the two  "spies" from last week. We taught them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the basic principles of the gospel. They taught us about how grace actually works, and that what we do will not help us at all. Well, at least we learned a bit about another church's doctrine.

Saturday we went and picked up Elder M. and the APs picked up Elder L. Then we went to lunch with the Cs, a couple who loves the missionaries a lot. They are planning on getting sealed in the temple next month, from what we know! Then we dropped off Elder M with his new companion, Elder Z from Jacksonville, Florida. He seems really cool. He came out with Elder Diaz and M. So I am the oldest missionary in Jonesboro. Then we went to the Regional Band performance for B's region. A lot of members were performing, as well as a few of the guys who came to play basketball. They were happy to see us there. And it was an incredible concert, too! they have a lot of talent. A few of the members are moving on the State level, which is awesome too.

Sunday, none of our investigators showed up, which was sad. D had vertigo, so he couldn't even come! We tried seeing some people, but nobody was home. We looked up some members who had moved in recently, and said hi/invited them to church next week. Then we had dinner with the  Bs, whose son is serving in the Salt Lake City South mission. As it turns out, Elder Z has Crohn's disease, which severely limits his diet. But they cooked accordingly, so it was fine. They also have a schnauzer which reminds me of my dog back home, which was nice.

Aaand that's my week! Hoping to pull off a lot of success this coming one, so here goes!