11-12-2013

So today marks the last day of the transfer, and exciting things are happening! My current companion Elder Pili will be leaving me and he will be going to serve in Farr West, Utah! This will be his last area, as he goes home in February. I will be staying here in Preston, Idaho and will be getting a new companion, and by new, I mean brand new, fresh out of the MTC. This next transfer I will be training a new missionary! I do not know anything about him, not even his name. I will find out tomorrow morning when I go to Ogden to pick him up! It's pretty crazy! It's a lot of pressure when you receive a brand new companion. You don't want to mess them up and ruin the rest of their mission! Haha. I won't do that, I promise! There is more exciting news though! One of my previous companions, who is also one of my favorite companions, Elder Lima, is coming up here to Preston to serve in the North Stake as one of my Zone Leaders! This transfer will be very fun! The only thing is that it will only be 5 weeks long instead of the normal 6 weeks. It will end the week before Christmas!

In other news we have been working hard to prepare a few of our investigators for baptism. We should have a few baptisms this next transfer. One of them, a 16-yr old named Tristan came to us. He had been going to seminary for 3 years(he is a junior) and talked with the missionaries a couple times, but he finally decided that he wanted to sit down with us and take the discussions! In the first lesson we asked him "Why did you decide to meet with the missionaries?" His reply? "I know the church is true and I want to be baptized." This pretty much blew our minds. This kid is totally ready. He has been going to seminary for years and knows almost everything. We hardly have to teach him because he knows it all already. He will be getting baptized on either the 23rd or 30th of this month depending on his football schedule.

We have been praying for miracles this whole transfer and we have experienced a big one! There is a girl names Marti, she is 13 years old who has wanted to get baptized for years. However, her dad said that she can't until she turns 18. She was, obviously, upset about that. It always sucks as missionaries when you see someone get help back by something so stupid. One day, though, her dad changed him mind. He decided that as long as it's something she wants to do then he will let her do it. This may seem like a small miracle, but it isn't. It is huge! Her dad is a very stubborn man! He wants it his way or no way! To see him change is mind is clearly an act of God. I was so glad to hear that great news! We expect Marti to enter in the waters of baptism towards the end of December! :)

Love,

Elder Ervin