New Transfer. New Comp. 11/6/2017

     Hello friends. It's been quite a week. Got a new comp, completed "training", became "senior companion" and the designated driver. I've been in Massena for 3 months now. That alone is kinda crazy, I'm no longer a greenie (or a "golden" as Pres. Rogers calls them.) Allegedly I'm a fully trained, fully functioning, and responsible missionary. However, there was no graduation, nor was there a final test. So I guess I'll just fly under the radar until someone realizes that like 4 months ago I was probably laying on the couch asking my Mom "I'm bored, what can I do?" 

     Tuesday/Wednesday- As you know it was Halloween, and we are not allowed to proselyte on Halloween. So, Elder Davis and I went around and visited a lot of the members, and he said goodbye to all of them, and took pictures. That night we had a St. Patrick's Day party at DD's house. Yes we are aware it was Halloween, but DD is Irish, so for every holiday, he throws a St. Patrick's Day party. We played games, ate pizza, passed out candy, etc. It was a little weird, because it was (likely) the last time Davis, Jarman, Bellon, and I will be in the same house for quite a while. I've realized that the whole "transfer" thing is one of the hardest parts of being on a mission. You become close with your comp, and the missionaries close by, then they get sent across the state and you don't know if or when you'll see them again. After the "party", Davis and I went home to pack. He's been in Massena since the end of June, so he'd collected quite a bit of stuff. So, we were up considerably late, packing, talking, and having a good time. We then woke up at 4:00 am, and drove to Ogdensburg. In Ogdensburg, we put all of Jarman's stuff in our car, Bellon and I said goodbye to our dads (your trainer is your dad, mission lingo stuff), and the Bellon and I went to bed. Davis and Jarman drove 4 hours to Utica, where they met up with their new comps. Davis is with Elder Austin Nielsen, who went to Davis High and was in the MTC same time I was. Elder Jarman is with Elder Kyle Vorkink. If you don't know who Kyle Vorkink is, look up the song "Thy Will Be Done" from this year's Mutual theme album. Kyle Vorkink is an incredible singer/piano player. Anyways, Bellon and I worked in Ogdensburg for the day, while we waited for our new comps to arrive. Once they got there, we unloaded Bellon's comp's stuff, and then Elder Tanner Hill and I headed back to Massena. When we got there, DD took us to dinner. And naturally, because I'm not the new guy, DD had to roast me all night, and all day, every day, since Wednesday. And I don't see signs of it letting up soon. DD is a huge blessing, and he helps us a lot, but he likes drama and exaggerating things. Sooooo it's.... Fun.

     Thursday-  Thursday we had our usual dish washing at the Methodist Church dinner, however we had to leave a little early for an appointment with Ana. For a minute we were worried she had disappeared, because we hadn't heard from her in a bit, but we tried by her house Wednesday night, and she said to come back at 5:30. We came back, and we brought her a Spanish BoM. She said she would probably struggle wanting to read the BoM, because she hates all the thee, thou, ye, nevertheless, etc. I had heard over the years, that the Spanish translation of the BoM is one that's much easier to understand, because the translation goes more cleanly or something. So, I tracked down a Spanish BoM, and we took it to Ana. She was very excited to have this, and promised to read. We also introduced her to Mormon Channel, and she is starting to listen to the music and talks that are on there. I guess that in a sense, we're slowly but surely filling her life with all things LDS, and the Spirit will be working on her as she listens. So we're praying she has good experiences reading and listening. After our lesson with Ana, I took Elder Hill to meet Brother Sterling. You may remember the legendary stories of John Scott Sterling, and wow it got even better. Brother Sterling was almost in tears when he met Elder Hill, because he "hadn't seen him in 37 years. The last time I saw Brother Hill was when we were golfing in Scotland, after the big battle against the worms." Now, Brother Sterling is lucky enough to not have a harsh boundary between reality and the imaginary. So conversations with him are always fun. He reminded me and Elder Hill about the time we spent in the hangar, as Brother Sterling designed the F-117 bomber, and we read him the Gospel. That was an awesome memory, and I have no idea how it had simply slipped my mind. 

     Friday- I'll be honest, I don't really remember what we did Friday. I know we did service at Salvation Army, and got Taco Bell. But other than that, it was the usual "knock-get rejected-walk away disappointed-repeat" cycle. I like tracting, but it gets on my nerves when people yell very rude, ignorant things at us. The football player in me wants to have a little "conversation" with them, but the white handbook on me suggests otherwise. So, we walk away.

     Saturday- Great day. We spent the first part of the day doing service at a less-active member's mobile home. We were installing insulation underneath, so we spent the morning laying in the dirt/mud, shooting staple guns into insulation, boards, and (not) hands. That was fun, I miss projects. After that, we ran home, showered, and hurried to the Church, where we did a Church Tour with Aja. Aja was supposed to come to church yesterday.... Buuuuuuuuuuut she got called into work, so that was a bummer. However she's promised to come next week, and we gave her some homework. Reading, watching the Bible Videos, praying, etc. So that should be good. We also had Branch Coordination. Where the missionaries report the week's work to the Branch mission leader. This meeting is always fun. Usually goes about 2 hours, even though it's only supposed to take 1 or less. And usually involves an unnamed individual talking about how if an investigator or even a member, is struggling with a commandment (WoW, Law of Chastisty, Tithing, etc.) then they DONT, and CANNOT have a testimony. I think her view of a testimony is like a light switch. It is either on or off. I've learned more and more that that is most definitely not the case. It is like a sunrise, or, as Alma 32 puts it, like a seed. It is a gradual process, constantly growing and changing. Testimonies are most definitely not something you either have 100%, or you don't have at all. 

     Sunday- Church was surprisingly normal this week. A lot of people got up and shared their testimonies, including me. Even Brother Sterling got up, and shared a "flashback" of when Elder Hill and I spent a number of months with him, in an airplane hangar, as he built a plane for us to escape in. As he built this plane, we read the Gospel to him. His testimony contained a lot of good points, but also some "flashbacks," so I had to try not to laugh. It was great he got up though, however, we did have a member of the new District Presidency in attendance. I'm sure he enjoyed it. His name is Aaron Cooper, and he's actually from Farmington, Utah. His niece (or cousin, I don't remember...) Is Mary Jones, who was a manager for the football team, and dated Jake Hadley. So any of you who are reading this and know her, ask her if she knows an Aaron Cooper in Potsdam, NY. Sunday night we had dinner with the Marsey's. That's always my favorite part of the week. They're an awesome, normal couple, who makes good food, and understands how we feel, and is just generally awesome. So that was nice. 

     So, this week was rather interesting. A little surreal, realizing I'm done being trained, I have a new comp, and I'm "in charge" in Massena. I miss Elder Davis, but Elder Hill and I get along well, so I think it's gonna be a fun transfer. I've also decided to only eat broccoli, bananas, oranges, and cottage cheese. And I do like 100 something pushups a day. So I better be super ripped by Christmas. 

Love you all, miss you all. Happy 3 months in NY. 

Here's a cool photo of literally every missionary in the NYUM.

Ooh another cool thing just happened. Sitting in the Church emailing, I heard a car honk outside. I look out and see a lady walking towards the back door. I run downstairs and open it. She said she's from Cottonwood Heights, Utah. She is a member, but hasn't gone in about 30 years. She moved up to NY to get married, but recently broke off the engagement, and she said she's alone in a place she's never really been, and doesn't have anything familiar. And then she drove past our building. She stopped and wanted to just come in and sit, because it's the only thing that's familiar to her up here. She didn't know there were any churches nearby. But she happened to drive past, as we were here. And now she will be coming to Church on Sunday, because she thinks it can help her feel some peace, and get her through the week. That was rather cool. "Coincidence"? I think not.