This week has been incredible and it was a nice final week for the transfer. I get tight to the transfer news first. I'm staying here and I'm just a regular missionary again no leadership responsibility(I have my personal time back). Sadly Elder Larson is leaving, after all of our progress he's okay to go to a new area that's probably a little easier for him. Now I have Elder Chandler coming here and that's awesome getting to be his companion. We know each other already from being together in the Herndon district for a few transfers. It's going to be awesome.
Due to time I'm just going to cover highlights and funny moments and I'll send a couple emails with just pictures next week. My journal covers the rest, or at least most of it.
We had an awesome lesson with Rachael answering a lot of questions and going over the first two lessons again. I filly stumped her when I used the Bible to teach the Plan of Salvation and the 3 kingdoms. We also made cookies together which was awesome, she's so cool.
I've been becoming more and more like a Sister. Baking cookies and other treats and making visuals for lessons which everyone loves. Now that doesn't mean I want to be a primary teacher, no no, I'm just getting good at teaching kids and everyone with arts and crafts.
We helped Frank and Shirley with going to the doctors and barely getting Frank down the ramp.
Daniel is doing interestingly. I just found out that he can't read, so I'm working around that now. I'm working hard on getting that tired guy to church. We taught another lesson with him and he's spiritual and fun. I'm still just walking in his house like I own the place cause I'm a boss 😎
Seriously I just walked in, talk about getting past smokescreens.
We're still working with the Sao family and DeShawn wants to be able to baptize his daughter. So we'll be working hard with him and make sure he's baptized soon. We dunk that man, but it'll be kinda tricky cause he's like 7 feet tall. His head is going to smack the stairs when he's going down.
The biggest highlight this week and possibly the mission is that on Friday we got to go to the temple. We were joined by the entire DC north mission as well.
We went there for a conference of sorts, but the speakers weren't your average people. Both President Ballard and Elder Cook of the twelve apostles came to speak with us. It's the greatest spiritual experience I've ever had and then some. They spoke about Preach my Gospel(they did make it after all) and how it is compiled from what Joseph Smith amd the early missionaries taught back then. They talked about their mission experience in the British Isles and how it shaped their lives. They shared helpful pieces of advice for the work, like leaving invitations and bringing up the restoration; that was kinda obvious, but still amazing from them. They promised a blessing over all our loved ones from doing this work and that was the greatest piece of assurance for me to worry less and hope more cause I love my family. They also shared a sacred experience which you shouldn't give, but they did and it was so incredible, so strong and special that I won't write what it is, but know this. My testimony was found on the mission, strengthened by the work and experience, and now it's rock solid after what they shared.
Then after our meeting and on the way home we took the fastest route which may or may not have been directly through Washington DC. That was so cool seeing some of the monuments and the white house. We never got out of the car, so I had to get creative for some of the shots.