The Window on the West

It’s already transfer time and I realized the last email I sent was when I got here to Farmerville around 6 weeks ago! So it’s about time for an update and to make sure that you all know that I haven’t died a horrible death from any sort of the wildlife down here.

Farmerville…

Farmerville is a fun place and the members are amazing, they are very missionary minded. We fared pretty well in the ice storm we had at the beginning of the transfer. But there was still patches of ice on the road for about a week and a half after. Now the thing about Farmerville is that it’s very back country and the largest town in our area is Farmerville. So we get to drive along back roads and basically get to go off-roading to go find our teaching friends. It’s really fun!

Holidays…

Valentine’s Day was pretty fun. We got to share Christ’s love with everyone and in District Council the awesome senior couple, the Stumpfs, brought everyone Valentine’s and treats and then after Mardi Gras they brought everyone Mardi Gras souvenirs. Now Mardi Gras is a pretty big deal here in Louisiana; they basically shut down the entire town for the day and have big parties and parades. So not much missionary work happens on Mardi Gras because we’re not allowed to proselyte at those parties or parades.

Exchanges…

Both of my exchanges this transfer have been with Elder Hallam, a missionary who is just finishing his training this transfer. He is so awesome! He has so much faith and even though he’s still in training he knows a lot and can really teach by the Spirit. I served with him in Farmerville and his area, El Dorado, which is the only area in our mission that is completely in Arkansas. That means I have now been to every single state in my mission: Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

Free time…

Elder Sanders along with Elder Marsh have been getting me into Magic the Gathering. It’s been pretty fun to play with them and I’ve been trying to collect all of the knowledge on how to play every nerd game on the mission. We’ve also been playing Dungeons & Dragons almost every other night which has been really fun to DM them both.

Lastly, for my spiritual thought… Something that I have learned over this last transfer is the power of faith and how God has sent us here at this time, at this moment of Earth’s history, because we are the best of the best for this time. The fact that you and I are here right now means that the Lord has something very special in store for each and every single one of us. Quoting President Nelson in his worldwide devotional. “Our Heavenly Father has reserved many of His most noble spirits—perhaps, I might say, His finest team—for this final phase. Those noble spirits—those finest players, those heroes—are you!” Now the fact that each of us are heroes, with the coolest magic system in existence (the priesthood) is so cool. So what will you do as a jewel of the Lord?