Hey All!
I'm great but this has been an.........interesting week. The work is going well in Salto. Unfortunately, we've been doing a lot of contacts just trying to fill up our investigator pool again. The good thing is, I've become rather personable and I enjoy talking to the people. We've met a lot of really cool people. We had a lot of ups and downs and been doing a lot of work. I've been trying to lock it into high gear for the last month of my mission. Trying to stay on top the area book and keep the house clean and write letters and keep my journal, up to the day and keep studying the scriptures as much as possible.
Changes! That was hectic. I'm going to Flores as District Leader which will be fun. President called a lot of us personally Sunday which was new. I really liked hearing from him. I felt like it helped me have a specific vision for this change. He just wants me to finish strong and show my companion how to finish strong. That should be fun.
I've been having so much fun with Elder Barlow. I'm really sad to be
leaving him. He's been stressing out a lot these past couple of days
because he's going up as senior companion and training a new Elder and
we were planning on that happening the change after this change. That
means he'd been planning on a lot more wiggle room and time to learn
from me. I guess he's really looked up to me as a companion. I've
learned a lot from him and we've just had a blast. These last couple of
days have been really stressful changes and problems with some of our
best investigators. One of them disappeared two days ago and has been on
drugs and drunk since he left. That's always a stressful situation. And
changes came by surprise, especially with president calling personally.
While I'm sad to leave this area, I'm really happy for the
chance to go out without the focus being on me. By the time I get to
know the area and the ward in Montevideo, I'll be gone. So nothing that I
do in the next 4 weeks will have to do with me. I won't really know anyone in the zone so I can just focus on the area and working hard and being district leader and just catching up on letters and on the journal. So in reality, I'm very excited to have this one last shot to go out with a bang. A bit like Alma really...think Alma 45.18 -19
18 And when Alma had done this he departed out of the land of Zarahemla, as if to go into the land of Melek. And it came to pass that he was never heard of more; as to his death or burial we know not of.
19 Behold, this we know, that he was a righteous man; and the saying went abroad in the church that he was taken up by the Spirit, or buried by the hand of the Lord, even as Moses. But behold, the scriptures saith the Lord took Moses unto himself; and we suppose that he has also received Alma in the spirit, unto himself; therefore, for this cause we know nothing concerning his death and burial.
I'm thankful for the gospel. I'm thankful for the scriptures. I love
reading them. The hour I have in my personal study is never enough.
There's never enough time to read all the things I want to learn and the
list of doctrines and principles to learn and study seems to constantly
be growing.
I haven't told anyone in the area that I'm leaving yet. They were all
counting on my leaving from here, but I think it's going to be better this way.
I just don't like drawing attention to myself as an elder. I just want
them all to focus on the Savior. This is my swan song to the Lord as a missionary. This is my last chance to give it all and the lose myself in His will. I'm thankful for the time I've been able to give and the time that I have left to be fully immersed in His work. A lot of my friends are leaving the zone of Salto as it is so it's okay that I'm going. I'll just be able to fade into the dark sweet embrace of death as a missionary. It's going to be epic!
Here's a thought from a talk on Sunday. "What we can't forget in our actions is love. The world is so cold and people need to feel the warmth of our love and the love of the Father." I also liked this thought. "Every time we have a trial, there is something small that we can learn, something that strengthens our faith." I like that I can fully comprehend messages and conversations in Spanish now, most times without even trying. Such a blessing.
Elder Andy
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