The temple is getting close. They just installed the maple leaf stained glass windows. There's still not date set for the opening house/dedication.
Here we go! Well I'm not going, I'm staying in the same area!
My last transfer begins today! I can't believe it came this fast. I am no longer in leadership after basically a year. I am so excited to be a normal missionary again and being able to focus on our area. I am staying in the Foothills stake and my new and final comp is Elder Rodriguez from Andalucia, Spain. I was praying to have a native speaker kill me off (missionary lingo) so I can fine tune my Spanish before I go home. I have to help him with English though too, so hopefully we can find a balance. He is a really nice kid and of course connects well with the people because he is native. I am pumped! Today we are going to Gauchos the Brazilian BBQ place again (like Tucanos) for lunch. I will be sure to take pics with all the members. I don't think I will get to see Rocky this transfer. I will invite him for sure to my farewell fireside May 30.
So you want to know what happens next transfer and the going home process? Ok on Wednesday May 30 we are in the mission home all day, and they give trainings to help you get ready for the world again, like girls and school and work. Then there is a nice big dinner, and a fireside at the chapel down the street. We get to personally call and invite anybody in the area that we want during the 2 weeks leading up to that day. They show a slide show of us and then we bear our testimonies. I am only going to speak Spanish for sure. Then we probably stay up all night talking and the AP's drive us to the airport bright and early.
My talk went really well! I felt inspired to base it on the talk by Elder Perry from April 2011, "Perfect Love Casteth Out All Fear". He talks about how we need to advance the understanding of the church, even though it is much more well known in the world, and how loving our friends will take away all fear in sharing the gospel. Probably my last talk in Spanish :( Brendin was baptised Sunday. He is Canadian and a friend of Oriana Amaya. The only reason we went was because Victor (our investigator) went. We weren't able to teach him this week, but now have an appointment for tomorrow. We have an amazing lesson plan for him, about the gift of the Holy Ghost, so we are confident it will go well. We had a pretty neat miracle this week. We felt prompted to visit this English member family in the stake directory, the Kirkmans. We met them and Bro. Kirkman is from Europe somewhere but grow up in Colombia, so he speaks spanish. His wife is chinese. They are actually moving to Irvine pretty soon for a new job, so we got talking a lot about that. Really nice couple. Anyways we asked them if they know any Spanish people and they said no. Then we get into the lesson and share lesson 1 with them, and invite them to find a Spanish speaking person to teach in the next 7 days. All of a sudden he is like, we just rented out the basement last week to a Colombian couple and a single man, I'll invite them. We were like what!? So tonight we have a first lesson set up with those 3 people! We met a Mexican family at ESL, a family of 4, and the wife came up to us and asked about the church and said she is looking for a Christian church. She has breast cancer and is interested in going to church again. We are teaching her, her husband, and her two kids tonight as well. They are so warm and friendly, I connected to them very quickly. I have a lot of faith that we can help them become converted to the restored gospel. That is really about it from this week.
It's kinda funny, my two children here, Elder Rios and Elder Dutson, are now serving together in the Central, where I trained them! My posterity is doin work haha. Well the mixed emotions are becoming more and more intense. Bro. Davis sent me a really nice email. Please tell that I really appreciated that and we'll talk in a few weeks. What he said really made me want to be a missionary forever. Tell him thanks for that too! This has just been the best experience of my life seriously. I always catch myself reflecting on the experiences I've had and lessons I have learned. We were talking with Victor's parents this weekend over dinner about the mission and the changes that it helps you make. What really hit me is that as missionaries, we receive so much spiritual strength. Like, it is so easy and natural for us to pray and study the scriptures and make good decisions. Apparently, when you return that "easiness" is taken away from you. I don't want that to happen to me! So that kind of scared me when Bro. Morante explained that principle. But I know I am now ready to go back into the world and keep the gospel the foundation of my life. I can't thank Heavenly Father enough for His mercy and long suffering for me. I am just so excited to continue in my progression here on Earth and become like Him.
That's my sermon for this week haha. I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week! Thank you all for your wonderful examples to me :) Nos vemos!
Elder Draper
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