Colin's last transfer
‎Sept.‎ ‎11 at ‎10‎:‎19‎ ‎PM
This week President Weed and the Assistants called Elder Davis and me to ask us about some logistical issues regarding the areas in our zone. So I gave him my suggestion about what should happen. On Saturday we got transfer calls, and lo, and behold, what happened? Exactly what I suggested is what happened. Alright, I will tell you what's happening: I am staying here and Elder Davis is going to Sandbridge with Elder Davis (No, that's not a typo, they will be "Elders Davis"), and the Zone Leader area will be moved there. So they will take the car with them, then Elder Morris, who's currently in Sandbridge, will come up here to be with me. I will become the District Leader here of the Sandbridge District (we reorganized the districts in the zone as well), and Elder Morris and I will be training a new missionary, so we will be in a trio. Lastly, we will be an all-bike area(!!), which is going to be so good for this ward. Pray that my trio will be safe on the roads. We are going to work so hard and have so much fun! This is going to be the best transfer ever. It is also funny because Elder Davis, my current companion, will still be a zone leader, so this transfer I will go on exchanges with him! So that, too, will be fun.
It feels rather odd that I only have 6 weeks left on my mission. It feels like October is so far away, but it's, . . . well, October starts in like 2 weeks or so. We always joke about "Missionaries of Transfers Past." We figure we could make a pretty funny rendition of "A Christmas Carol," but we probably won't because that would really only be funny to people who have served missions. We joke about Missionaries of Transfers Past mostly because every time there is something that has been done poorly or improperly in our area we blame it on them. For example, we may be doing service for someone and they will ask us to use a chain saw, which is a tool we are not allowed to use, and we will tell them so. Then they tell us, "Well, the last missionaries used chain saws!" Then we blame our frustration on "Missionaries of Transfers Past," or when under the fridge or behind the stove have never ever been cleaned--and when we finally clean, and it's disgusting, we usually blame it on "Missionaries of Transfers Past". Well, in my time here with Elder Talbot and with Elder Davis, we have spent much time, blood, sweat, and tears fixing the problems left for us by these "Past Missionaries," AND FINALLY, I feel this area is where it should've been for a long time now. The members we work with are now understanding our purpose and responsibilities, and they better understand their own missionary responsibilities, too. We have everything clean and organized, both in our apartment and all of our important paperwork and records. Now I really feel like this area is running smoothly. We leave church and our meetings feeling uplifted and edified.
This week I was on exchange with Elder Morris, who will be coming here to the Cape Henry Ward to be with me on Wednesday, anyways. While we were working with Brother Parry from the Bishopric (he's the best, he used to live in Tacoma and was a professional reggae drummer, but now he's a behavioral analyst), I felt prompted to go try this one investigator, and he wasn't home. However, as we were walking downstairs from his apartment, his downstairs neighbor, who is another of our investigators, walked out and invited us in, even though earlier that day she told us she didn't want to meet that day. We had a very Powerful spiritual lesson on the Book of Mormon, where she explained to us how she felt, her fears and concerns. Brother Parry shared with her a very special experience about being in a Sacrament Meeting held in a children's hospital for the parents who had children who in the hospital, and how strong the peace and comfort of the Spirit were for him there.
Later that night we again felt prompted to go and check on another person, this time, the Sunday school president in the ward, who hasn't been to church for months. As I reached my fist up to knock on the door, the door opened, and it was this member's very, very inactive son. In the end of this situation with the member and his son we ended up giving both of them blessings: the son to help him overcome being alcoholic, which was very special. He had literally prayed that day that he would receive help, and when he opened the door, there we were standing on the front step. He is now going to come back to church and attend the Addiction Recovery Program held by the church here in Virginia Beach. The dad had apparently been seriously hurt by the comments of some people at church. He told us that he had said he was never coming back to church, and is himself dealing with many health problems. After the Priesthood Blessing we gave him he told us we would see him back in church. This week over all was very miraculous, and I hope that Y'all have a blessed week, yourselves!
--Elder White