December 23, 2013
Hello!
So much to tell! Where to start?
I´m so excited for Christmas! We´ll be calling at 6:30pm our time which is 10:30am your time. You think thats gonna work? This will be the first time that I´m gonna call from the equivelant of an internet cafe thing.The last two times we´ve talked I´ve done it from american members house's.. way easier.. but the internet place will work too.
Well, the transfer and this last week has been crazy. I´ll try to explain it all...
I was hoping that monday morning, the packages were gonna get to the office so I could take them when I left tuesday.. but they didn´t come.. so tuesday morning, I finished getting everything ready, we put everything in the car, drove to the post office to check one more time if the packages were there, they weren´t and it took so long that it back up our schedule, we pulled up to the train station in málaga I ran inside, went through, was walking up to my train, was like 50 feet away, and it starts pulling away......... hahah so I turned around and walked out, met up with elder flint and elder crapo, we went over and changed my tickets to the next one that is luckily free of charge, we grabbed some food and then I caught the next train. I got to my area right before 6pm, elder erickson (6 months in the mission-trainer) and elder crandall (3 months-in training) picked me up, took me to the apartment, we dropped stuff off and went out to hit up some appointments and get to know the city. At like 8pm that night, President Deere called while we were talking with a less active woman on the street outside her house. I answered, told him what we were doing and asked it if was alright if I called back in just a minute. He said that was fine. About 5 minutes later I called and he didn´t answer. (Let the phone tag being!!!) At like 10 as we were walking home he called again but we didn´t feel the vibration. We planned that night for the next day and then called him. I talked to him first just for like a minute, he asked how my first day was, I told him good. Then he asked to speak with Elder Erickson....... So I passed it over. He had talked with Elder Erickson for less than a minute and his face totally dropped. hah all we hear is "WOW......Yes president, that sounds alright.... Yeah I think I can.... Yeah.... Well... yeah."
Turns out, one of the zone leaders in malaga had hurt his leg. and needed to be on full rest. a missionary from cartagena was transferred to fill his spot and President needed elder erickson to go to cartagena. WOAH.
I was with elder erickson for 16 hours.... and then he left. That phone call was tuesday night. He left wednesday at 4pm.
Needless to say, its been crazy. He wasn´t been able to say goodbye to almost anyone. A family of converts of his drove across the city and found us when they found out he was leaving just to say bye and to take pictures. The mom was crying. Its been hard to tell everyone cuz they loved him. He started here and has been here for 4 transfers... 6 months... then just disappears. :\
I was really blessed to be able to learn the area and learn the names of all the people we are working with quickly. I feel that the Lord has blessed me and that that´s an ability that He has taught me on my mission. Elder Crandall (now my step-son in mission terms cuz i´m finishing his training) and I have worked really hard and are meeting a lot of members. I have learned, through companions and lessons from God, to like a different kind of work. Elder Crandall and I have met a ton of members that they never really even worked with before and we´re going to try to meet the others that we haven´t met yet. I don´t have time to explain this type of work but to put it short and simple, it is work that stablizes and slowly fortifies the ward. ANY MISSIONARY OR PREMISSIONARY READING THIS... WORK WITH MEMBERS.
Saturday was the ward chirstmas party. I wanted to forward you some pictures that were taken but no one sent them to me. At the end of the party they needed a "santa" to pass out the presents to the kids and because I was new, and no one knew me yet, they asked me if I would do it. :PPPP soo fun!
They gave me this suit and hat and beard and
I came out and was like
"HO HO HO FELIZ NAVIDAD!!
MERRRRRY CHRISTMASS! "
And all the kids just stopped in their tracks ... frozen. Haha, I went over to the seat they had prepared for me and like as if they were all like programmed to at the same time, they all got up and just like ran for me! haha and like attacked me!! haha they like swarmed and crowded around me and the adults had to like push them away hahah so funny! I´ll tell you more about it on Christmas.
Yesterday in church was awesome cuz we were able/I was able to meet tons of new people. I´m really excited for this ward. Big ward with Lots and Lots of recent converts.
Hey we gotta go but I love you all! See you soon!
Élder Norton
No comments:
Post a Comment