White-washed!

2010 November 2
Dearest Mommy,
White-washed! That's right, I said white-washed! Not only that, but we white-washed as zone leaders in Beaverton! What the heck!? I had heard whisperings of this possibly happening, but never thought it'd come to pass. Not only that, but I think this is the first time in the history of the OPM that they've white-washed a zone leader area (minus when they opened it for the first time).... It wouldn't be such a drastic move, but neither elder Van Hook or I have been a zone leader before. Oh yeah, my new companion is elder Van Hook from Ogden, Utah, and he's the man! We served near each other when I was down in Salem at the beginning of my mission. Anyways, now here we are in Beaverton and feeling a little lost haha. What makes it funny is that up to this point in our missions, we've both been serving in the South zone, but all of a sudden POOF! Here we are in Beaverton! I can't lie though, I'm pretty excited about it. The elders we're going to be serving around are way sweet, and Elder Jackson (MTC companion) is in my area again!!! Yay! We'll be able to go on exchanges once in a while which will be good.
Now, to explain a little of the work situation here in Beaverton... When we got to our apartment, we read the list of "to do's" that the previous ZL's had left us, and this is the line that stood out to us: "The only good investigators we were teaching moved back to Mexico. Happy knocking :-)". Dangit. That's all that came to mind when I read it... I promise... haha. Anyways, I was a little discouraged about it, but then last night we talked to the group leader and the bishop of the ward and I'm feeling a little bit more assured. This area has a lot of potential... I feel like the previous elders might have just kinda dropped their packs because one was finishing his mission. Who knows. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm excited at the opportunity to help this place grow! Yup yup that's the excitement from this side of the world... I would say I'm excited to serve as a zone leader and help out all of the up and coming missionaries, but I'm more just scared to death. Elder Van Hook and I have so much to learn and have no idea what we're doing, so we're going to have to rely solely on The Lord. I think that's definitely a good thing though. It'll help us stay humble and definitely help with the work.
All right, I'm all done writing about all of that for now. I will write you next week and try to respond to letters... I'm not making any promises with how busy it's looking to be, but I'll do my best. I love you all so much and your prayers are much appreciated. Have a great week!

Love always,

-Elder Kurt Mooney