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