Week 8 & 9 & 10- My First Transfer!

What's up gang!

 

 

     These past three weeks have been so busy and awesome, after that really dull week God has really answered our prayers and we've been super blessed. Here's what's happened over these past two awesome weeks:

 

 

We had A LOT of exchanges happening around us the first week, and due to the Zone Leaders doing a fat amount of exchanges we had to always stay on our toes. I got to go on exchanges with Elder Clayton, and he was such a good example and really brought the spirit with him, enabling us both to have an incredible day. I learned and grew a lot from him and he really gave me some awesome advice on what I can do to constantly be growing and inviting the spirit into my life. He really inspired me to work harder on getting better at teaching and knowing my material, and I'm mega grateful for it.

 

 

We finally got to talk to a guy named Roy, who we have been repeatedly attempting to gain contact with this whole transfer. He's from the Phillipines and stepped away from religion about 10 years ago, when he moved over to America. He wanted to come back however and Roy had been "looking for a church" for quite a while now. He was super interested and wanted to make time every week if he could to read the scriptures and learn about what they mean with us. We haven't been able to really meet with him again but we'll keep trying and we know that through patience and persistence God will bless us tenfold. Roy is such an awesome guy and we can't wait to someday talk to him more.

 

 

My first transfer finally came to a close! Elder Shepherd, my trainer and 1st companion, got sent off to somewhere else in my zone so I'll still see him from time to time. I got to stay in the Selah 1st Ward however with my new trainer, Elder Sharp, and also my old MTC comp, Elder Haws! It's honestly been crazy how we haven't been able to get rid of each other for over two months now. I couldn't ask for a better guy to be stuck with however, I've seen him grow so much and turn into a strong servant of the Lord, it truly is amazing how fast we can change for the better by simply following the gospel of Jesus Christ to our best abilities. We now have the full ward and there's so much work to be done. I'm super excited and cannot wait to see what the next 5 weeks bring with these two guys by my side. Elder Sharp is pretty cool too, he's my new district leader and he's a really on the ball type of guy. He's hilarious when he wants to be too though and he never goes too over the top with anything.

 

 

Elder Sharp, alongside Elder Haws and I will also be social media moderators for our mission's Facebook page called "Let Him In." Me and Elder Haws unexpectedly received a calling as moderators in the middle of our zoom meeting where our transfers got chaotically revealed and it was so unexpected! I'm so, so down to do even more missionary work however and it's been exciting learning how to interact spiritually with curious people over social media as that's our main job. As mods, we talk to people that comment and interact with posts and do our best jobs to use the spirit in order to virtually set up appointments with people that are really wanting to learn more. It's so wonderful seeing how the spirit can be brought to people hundreds of miles away from you just by talking and interacting with them on social media 

 

 

Pretty soon after transfer day, our new trio,  along with our sick Zone Leaders headed out about an hour away from our homes to do service work at Camp Zarahemla. Camp Zarahemla is a lake-side summer camp owned by the church. It's such a beautiful place and it was really awesome seeing some of God's beautiful workmanship with our Earth just through driving up to the camp alone. We got to gather up, cut down, chopped up trees into massive piles and it was so cold while we did it. I just got all of my winter gear and it was absolutely another blessing that I was able to get that all right before the weather turned really south. God really does take our needs and comforts into consideration and I can see that more and more as I continue to grow and learn as a missionary of Jesus Christ.

 

 

It's been raining a lot more lately and every night drops far below freezing now, it's a wonder that we haven't received any snow yet. I honestly can't wait for it, I'm so excited to live in snow for the first time in 12 years. Lately I've really developed a love for my mission in Washington and the more and more time that I spend here makes things feel more enjoyable and look even more beautiful. I definitely can see why so many people put up with the weather to live here in Selah.

 

 

I know that I haven't done the best at writing emails lately and I'd like to apologize for that. My last couple of weeks during my first transfer definitely were a reward for the weeks of patient, persistent missionary work done at the start of last transfer but I still had a lot going on. My trainer and I didn't get along the best and it was really hard on me because I didn't have any experience involving living with a bunch of random guys that are all my age before. This new transfer definitely was an answer to my prayers, I needed some change and I truly feel like what's happened has been a direct answer to my constant prayers. I can definitely see now in hindsight how God let me get pushed to some of my mental limits before blessing me and taking care of me and I'm forever thankful for it. I know that sometimes it takes a little bit of hardship in order to grow and become a better representative of the Lord. We should never lose sight of the fact that he knows us individually, and that only through his wisdom and guidance we can grow in aspects never thought by us to be possible. I've definitely grown this last transfer, and I'm thankful for that along with my awesome first companion, Elder Shepherd.

 

 

Thank you all for caring so much about me, I'll do better to send off weekly emails even if they don't contain too much in the future. I'm in an awesome place both physically and mentally right now and a big part of the reason for that is all of you guys and gals. I love every single one of you.

 

 

With Love,

Elder Stephen Timothy

 

 

Pictures:

-Cheese Rock(Yes that's actually what it's called)

-Big Lake

-Reddest Trees I've Ever Seen

-Cat Selfie

-Cloud Explosion

-What We'd Look Like if We Didn't Shave

-Rainbow View

-District Hike