Well well we’ll… 

I have not emailed in a very long time, I think it was all the way back in June when I got my new Mission President that I last sent one out! So, allow me to recount my tale.

Here is the Google photos link for all the pictures and videos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/UgjtCpwxCiYakMVX8

The Passing of the Grey Company (July-August)

During this ancient time I was with the compacted dynamite stick that was Elder Connor. This guy was a blast to be with! I was with him for two whole transfers, which ties him for first with Elder Stubbs and Sanders for number of consecutive transfers together. During this time we had some fun events. The Songs of Hope concert by the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, The great mission purge, America’s 250th birthday, and of course feels like temperatures up to 115.

The Songs of Hope concert was really fun! I was on exchanges with our ZL, Elder Black, (probably the best missionary in the mission) and we were giving out invitations to the watch party until 15 minutes after it started! It was truly awesome, those last 15 minutes were full of cool makes and people to meet.

For America 250, our mission did 250 hours of service for people and it’s on church news too!

The great mission purge was an initiative by our mission leaders for the whole mission to declutter our mission apartments and to throw out everything in what we like to call, our Narnia Closets. We had a massive pile of stuff to take to the dump.

The Muster of Rohan (September) 

Inevitably my time with Elder Connor in Pride had to come to an end. So I got punted all the way to the edge of our mission to the area of DeRidder, I was able to go to the Texas border! The DeRidder area covers half of the United States Army JRTC Fort Polk, so it is a military ward. It was an interesting area and I got to meet a ton of cool people.

One of the coolest people I got to know was my companion, Elder Ebberts. He is from Oklahoma and really liked old technology. I greenie broke him, which in our mission means I was his first companion after training. The funny thing was I did the exact same thing to his trainer Elder Marsh!

The Siege of Gondor (October)

After only one transfer in DeRidder I was sent to McComb! One of the first areas that I served in about a year and a half ago, and funnily enough, it is also in the Zachary District. I have actually served an entire third of my mission in this District without serving in the Zachary Ward, but I guess it would be too confusing for Elder Zachary Ward to serve in the Zachary Ward.

I was at a member’s house this week and they were singing very profound, “The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to break.”

This applies to every habit good and bad, when we try to make a good habit we may stifle at the beginning due to not seeing results or any form of progress. But, as we keep working on it they will become impossible to break. But, this is also a warning to those who wander down paths where they think they will know when to stop. There will come a time when the path we tread becomes too deep to climb out of.

The Ride of the Rohirrim 

At this point I’d like to shout out my friend Zander as he leaves to serve his mission in Eugene, Oregon. And to my mother and grandmother for sending me weekly emails more consistently than I ever have. And everyone else that has sent me an email these last six months, you guys have really kept me motivated and excited to stay on the mission and I thank you!

Now go forth and may the Currents be in Your Favor!

– Elder Ward