Monday, August 29, 2011

Quise ser soldado fiel, y el Senor me lo concedio!

2011 August 29
Dearest Mom and Dad,

So, I have some really big news... I've been transferred to Spanish to finish the mission! Holy crap talk about the most ridiculously awesome/out of the blue change EVER!!!! Oh my goodness. When I talked to president Morby about finishing in Spanish, I figured it would be a waste of breath, but I guess not haha. I got a call on Tuesday morning asking if president Morby could come over to talk to me about a special assignment. I agreed, and he came over around five in the afternoon. We chatted for about 45 minutes about how things were going, and about an opportunity that had arisen to be placed on special assignment to finish out the mission. As part of a five companionship move, he asked if I'd like to go back to Spanish, and I whole-heartedly accepted! He said he couldn't tell me where because he wasn't 100% sure how it was going to work out, but he told me it would be a great way to finish the mission. He said that within the next couple of days he'd let me know when to have my bags packed and where I was being moved to... he also told me to get elder Yack completely updated on the area, help him meet everyone, and get locked and loaded to pull this mantle off my shoulders... I must say, that thing is pretty dang heavy in the Tualatin zone! haha.

Anyway, I spent the week saying "hi, this is elder Yack. He's your new elder and I'm peacin' out!" to just about everyone we could. I was kinda sad in certain respects, because the elders in the zone that came in this transfer absolutely rock! The McMinnville district, which used to be kind of a cesspool of iniquity has entirely cleaned up, and now there are five training companionships... it's awesome! All obedient, all spiritual, and all working hard. It's so amazing to see the spirit that they bring as new missionaries, and the desire they have to serve the Lord with all their heart, might, mind, and strength. I feel like an old fogy of a missionary, but being around them kinda helps you catch the fire and want to be just as awesome as they are... except be more experienced and good at it haha. wow that sounded prideful. Anyway, Wednesday after district meeting, we ate at a cool little place I'll have to take you guys too in Lafayette called... ummm... on the way or by the way diner. Anyway, I'll take you guys there. It's delicious, and the owner actually knows Colin Cornett from the Bend days. Random, right?

Thursday turned out to be a good day to start packing all my crap and consolidating. I actually ended up completely packing this HUGE tote full of stuff, and leaving it there in the garage for pickup once the mission is over... I hope you guys are gonna have space to pack it, cause it's pretty dang big haha. During all of this packing, I helped elder Yack get as up to speed on what's going on as possible. I wrote down the entire schedule as far as monthly meetings and events go, wrote down a list of all of our investigators and where they're at, important Sherwood facts, etc.. Kind of a whitewash status change, but with a five day overlap, so he was introduced to everything by the original missionary in the area... made it a little bit smoother I think :-P

That night, we said some goodbyes to Scott and Heidi, the Hamms, Nikki, Joe, and some others... gosh I'm gonna miss this place a lot. It was good though. We did basically the same thing Friday, but ALL DAY this time. We were seriously all over the place trying to catch people home so that elder Yack could get to know the presidencies and bishoprics for both wards, along with the families we're working with.

The hardest goodbye of all was Ella Rose... it was really sad to say goodbye to her... I spent a good chunk of the night talking with her on Friday after I found out I was gonzo on Saturday morning. We just chatted and laughed about the good times, and made plans for visits in the future, as well as phone calls periodically to keep updated on what's going on. It's really sad in a way... I feel like I'm losing my best friend in a lot of ways... at the very least I'm losing my prophetess and counselor! I'm just glad the separation is temporary so I can come back in five weeks haha.

Saturday morning came, and I was picked up by a new couple that's working in the office named the Bettridges. They're awesome! We chatted and laughed as we drove off, and I found out that I was going to the Mollala Spanish area, which covers Canby, Mollalla, and Oregon City. The trick is that we live in Mollalla, so it's a LONG haul to get to any of the areas we actually work in, because Canby and Oregon city are where most of the work is haha. Oh well I guess... it'll be an adventure with miles :-P. The best thing about being here however, is that I know some people, and I'm really close to Woodburn! I really love this place, and it's fast becoming my fav. area.

I apologize it's a short email, but really, this area freakin' rocks, and what better way to finish off the mission than in SPANISH! I miss my Sherwood friends,, but this place rocks. The presidency is sweet I'll write more next week gaaah!@ Oh, my comp is elder Hernandez, trained by elder Rangel :-0)

Love you@!

Elder Mooney

No comments:

Post a Comment