June 6, 2016

Transfer week, it's always a killer. Find out what happened below...

Tuesday, well we had Stake reports as usual and, it being transfer
week, we went out to lunch with some of the missionaries in the zone
believing it would be our last time together... We were right. After
lunch we had to continue with the Stake Reports  before having an
appointment with N, the young man who's mom asked us to go over the
lessons with him. Then we had our dinner followed by a few people who
weren't able to meet so we ended up trying to contact people the rest
of the night. And then... The dreaded transfer roster. Elder Gill and
I only had one transfer together so we thought we would stay together
for one more, turns out... We were WRONG! Elder Gill was being
transferred out. With the new method of transfers you no longer know
where you are going or who you are going with, only that you are
going, so it's brutal. An entire day of just freaking out about what
is going to happen.

Wednesday, we basically just went around and said goodbye to people.
It's always pretty sad when it's time to say goodbye to people. Elder
Gill was super bummed... He has had a new companion EVERY single
transfer for the last 6 transfers, Well, we were able to have a lesson that evening with
J. B., a guy missionaries have met with in the past but we have
been struggling to get to do anything really; but in his last meeting
we had a good experience talking about the importance of acting and
reaching out to God to receive his aid.

Thursday, transfer day. It was rough to see Gill go but I am excited
for the opportunity to now serve with Elder Odland, pronounced
Ode-Land. He is a fairly new missionary who has been out about 10
months, is fired up, and... Is Spanish speaking so it's great to have
him here! He is from Maine, so it's nice not to have the classic Utah
companion lol! We got home and he unpacked for a little while I tried
to figure some things out with a car rotation and just relaxed,
transfers are always stressful, especially taking over an area. We
then went and met the ward mission leader and discussed some people we
are working. We tried visiting some other members and then later on we
went to an activity for the Spanish relief society where they made
'Papusas' which are an El Salvadorian dish and extremely delicious! We
ate with the sister and a guy who wasn't a member and got to know him.
At the end we were asked to share a message on the spot so we talked
about daily bread and how we take care of ourselves physically every
day but how we also need to be taken care of spiritually every day as
well and how the relief society ladies do that by caring for others.

Friday, we had a meeting with some elders to discuss plans for the
zone this transfer. After that we had to finish stuff situated dealing
with miles for the coming month and that took a while but we got it
figured out. We were able to visit the D family, who fed us last
Saturday out of nowhere and guess what? They just fed us again! Which
was sweet then we talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon
and set an appointment to come back next week.

Saturday, we had like a surprise meeting with a general authority
which was cool. Elder Soarez from the 70 came and talked to our
mission, probably because we aren't really hitting our baptismal goals
so we are 'on the radar'. He was also joined by Elder and Sister
Rawson who is the new area authority here. It was a good meeting. They
talked about the principle of setting goals and then believing we can
hit them. They also discussed the importance of loving the people and
each other, which is something I want to work on. They discussed how
love is the greatest motivator and that we aren't here to ridicule or
rebuke, but to love people into the gospel; that's powerful. After the
meeting a few Elders went to lunch and I was able to see Gill again
which was awesome. We had a good time at lunch. Sometimes it's nice to
just take a seat and relax for bit haha. Well, we had to rush home and
help someone move some things around and then we spent the rest of the
evening contacting people, where we found a good amount of success! We
had dinner with a super awesome family then were able to talk to a few
more people afterward and have two tell us they were coming to church.

Sunday, we had correlation in the morning. Which was good and church
was good except for the fact that we didn't have anyone show up when 3
people told us that they would.... Well, church was pretty good. After
church we had dinner with a super cool family that I had never met.
And to finish it off we had a sweet Spanish lesson where we talked
about the basic principles of the gospel and discussed the importance
of baptism; we discussed why it's important and he realized that he
needed to be baptized so we set a goal of July 2 for a date for
baptism! We are pumped to do some sweet Spanish work with two Spanish
companions!

Well, I hope everyone is doing well! We are super pumped to have
things rolling here in the area! I hope everyone is doing well! Have a
great week! Take care!
Elder Hinrichsen