TRANSFERS, CASTLEDALE, HERE ELDER D COMES!

Buenas tardes!                                                                      26 Mar 2012

Scouting Out CASTLEDALE, new area!

            Well I am here again! This week was pretty crazy. There was quite a few random things that happened and they are actually pretty funny. So hopefully you will all get a good kick out of them as well.    I know the biggest question on your mind is about transfers, but I wont tell you about that yet, I am going to leave it for the end. So you will have to wait just a little while longer.

Mission Tradition - Burning PANTS at 18 months!

18 month mark, thumbs up!

           One funny thing that happened this week was with our lesson with the Calvario kids. We are still teaching them and preparing them to get baptized on the 7th of April. So they are super excited about that and the thought of baptism, so we asked them if they had talked with their parents about it yet. They just kind of looked at each other and said no, so we told them that they need to talk to their parents and to let them know it is something that they want to do. So just  at that moment, Angelo turns to his mom and says, "Mom we're getting baptized." At that moment I just busted up laughing. It was just the most random thing ever. He just turned around and told his mom that he was getting baptized as if it was him telling her that he was going over to his friends house or something. It was so funny that his mom just couldn't hold in her laughter either. Kids really do say some of the darnedest things.

            The weather this week was pretty good as well, so we were walking quite a bit again. I really forgot how much more you talk to your companion when you walk instead of when you drive a car. Honestly, I forgot how much fun walking really can be. Elder Pedersen and I walked for a whole day, and I don't think I have laughed that hard in a really long time. Every little thing when you walk relates back to something or you can find some random joke to tell.
            Zone leaders are to be involved the other missionaries, we are kind of involved in everything in the zone. So we try to help and support missionaries in anyway that we can, and there are two things that happened this week that really show this. We went to a baptism for the missionaries that are serving on the campus of SUU to give them support. So we were waiting for the baptism to start, and we get a message from the Elders that said, "Big problem...." So we rush out of the chapel and they say that the font was leaking and the water didn't stay in the font. This all happened about 5 minutes before the baptism was supposed to start, and they had about 3 inches of water still in the font. So then starts the operation to fill the font. I think that we had almost every type of container that could hold some water being filled up. We had almost every faucet going in the chapel. It was so crazy to see 4 missionaries and some members running water in pitchers and trash cans back and forth to the font. (Don't worry the trash cans were clean.) Well everything ended up working out and it was full enough that the baptism could happen.
            The next day we went a meeting for all the Spanish speaking missionaries in the southern part for the mission in St. George. It was a really good meeting, but that wasn't the crazy part. When we got back to Cedar, we got a random call from some missionaries. They said that they needed a favor from us and need us to call them back. So we called them and they tell us that they were in a gnarly bike crash and now were at the clinic getting checked and they also had a baptism in less then 2 hours and needed us to fill the font. So of course we wanted them to have their baptism, so we went and started filling it up and then I had to go sit in the doctor's office while one of the missionaries got some x-rays and finished up everything there. So it was just a bunch of craziness. It was pretty cool though, I got to help the nurse take all the x-rays.
            This past Sunday, I was able to meet another general authority. Elder Jose L. Alonso was in the Spanish Branch. He was in Cedar City to give a fireside for the single adults, so he just came and stopped in the Spanish Branch. He gave a great talk to the Branch and it really applies to almost everything pertaining to the gospel. He was one of the funniest speakers I have heard in quite a while. He has a great personality and was really personable.
            I guess now I will let you know what you are really wondering; transfers. Well I am getting transferred. I am pretty bummed to have to leave Cedar City after being here for 6 months. I am getting released as a zone leader and becoming a district leader again. My new area will be Castledale Bilingual. It is really close to Price, so I will be able to see a lot of the people that I met when I was there 6 months ago. I really am bummed about going to a bilingual area again. My heart is really with the Spanish work, and that is what I know how to do. English work is completely different from Spanish work and that is my biggest fear. I guess the Lord qualifies who he calls, so I know that he needs me there for a reason, I just don't know what that reason is yet. I don't know too much about my companion either. I know he is fairly new and he is kind of quiet, so I guess I will have to get him to open up. It should be a pretty interesting transfer. That is basically all I really know for now, more to come next week from Castledale.
            NEWS FROM HOME: (Darin traded in Chad's first car, the green Taurus, or grocery Getter, as Chad called it Darin is the new owner of a 2001 White Taurus.) .Well that is weird to know that my first car officially isn't in the family anymore. But I am glad that you were able to find a good car for Pops to drive to work. Mom, I got quite a kick out of what you said about pulling weeds and that is all Bry will remember in 20 years. (When ever I am out in the yard with the kids, I pull weeds.  Then Bry and Chay help.) I just thought of us at a family dinner in 20 years or so, and Bryson will just ask you, "Momo, why did you always have me pull weeds when I was younger?" Well I guess we will see what really happens in 20 years right. Wow I am going to be old then! Well I am about out of time once again. Thank you for everything that you do for me and for your support! I love you so much!

Live it, Love it, Preach it!     de la viña del Señor!   ELDER D