Dear Mom,
So this last week has been good but it was a little slow and because it was transfers week, not as much work got done. there have been some changes though. Wednesday was P-day and it was a bit different cause other people were busy packing and stuff so we saw all the guys in the morning for basketball but then it was just us for the rest of the day. That night we went to a BBQ in the hood with some of our "homies" who we talked to and are trying to teach. they invited us on Wednesday and said they wanted to talk about the Church and BBQ and stuff. So we went. We were there for a little while, he was barbecuing ribs and then he barbecued chicken wings. We were chilling behind his apartment and the back of the apartments right behind his in kind of an alley way but it was grassy. We talked with him and answered his questions as he cooked the food. Eventually like 8 other people showed up, one by one. they were so glad that we felt safe with them because most people, if they were the only white people around and a bunch of other guys from the hood just randomly showed up and stuff, would feel scared and nervous, but honestly we felt as safe as if we were at home. We met some potential investigators while there and met a guy who said he has come to church before and knew where it was at and told us to look him up cause he probably has records. So it was fun and we were able to make a good us of our time even though we were chillin at a BBQ. The ribs and wings were pretty good too :) That night we stopped by the Oak Grove Elder's pad to talk with them a bit before we had to go to bed and Elder LeCates got a call, and was called as the new District Leader and then later I got a call and was dropped as the District Leader. I was told that I got dropped because the area that we are in needs extra work and attention because it is struggling and it has been that way for a long time. Also our branch needs our extra attention because they are struggling with strong unity and there are some dissensions within the branch. So, I got dropped so that I can put my full focus on our area and on the branch. It is bitter sweet, I don't get to go on exchanges with the ZL's anymore and it was forcing me to get out of my comfort zone and become better. But at the same time it is a big relief not having to do all the responsibilities of a District Leader.
Thursday was transfer day, we didn't have to go to the church cause we weren't being transferred and Elder Bryson didn't have to be there til noon so they came over during our studies and talked to us for a bit and then we went to IHOP for lunch as one last hoorah for Elder Bryson. Later we went to the Library to make a flyer type thing for General Conference to give to our investigators and people we meet so that they know about it, where to watch and such things. After spending some time making it, we needed to leave to an appointment and as I was about to save it, the program crashed and it was gone. I was very frustrated and we were not able to spend any more time to redo it so that idea got flushed down the drain which was disappointing to me because I was excited for it. Then our appointment fell through and I wasn't in the best mood. We decided to go visit some members that our phones said lived near us. We don't know any of the members that live around our area because they are in different wards that we will work with if we have English investigators come to church. So we wanted to get to know them. None of them were home and a few didn't live there anymore. Kind of a bum afternoon. We then drove to Sumrall for dinner with the Valenzuelas in our Branch. Afterward we watched a video of Thomas S. Monson with them. We had to leave early though because the sisters texted us asking us to go give a guy in the ER a blessing. We quickly left them with a prayer and drove all the way to the hospital in Hattiesburg. we walked through the maze of a hospital it was and got to his room. It was a teenage boy who had got in a head on collision. It was a bad crash but he made it out with only a broken ankle as well as many bad bruises and scrapes and cuts and he said his organs hurt from the seat-belt and the sudden stop. We gave him a blessing and he and his family were very appreciative.
Friday we did our studies and then we went to do some of our weekly planning in the library as we had some things we needed to do on the computers as well. Well, we got to the library at USM and it was closed for Easter, even though it wasn't gonna be closed for Saturday or Easter Sunday. We then decided to go to the Oak Grove Public Library and online it said it was open and the other Elders said they drove by and it was open. When we got there, it was closed. This was frustrating as we had wasted a lot of time and miles due to really bad traffic. We then went to the church, which was nearby, and did our weekly planning there. That evening we tried to contact former investigators but none were home and the day turned out to be a bit of a bust besides our weekly planning and studies.
Saturday was a pretty great day. We texted all of our investigators and potential investigators who we had received numbers from and gave them all the information about conference, because our flyer idea didn't work. It was a reminder to many of them who we had told about it before. We watched conference at the church because we invited many to join us, plus if we went to a members home, we would not understand much of it due to being in Spanish. We got there and we were the only ones at the church, but the broad cast was set up as we were told it would be. We expected to see more people there watching. Then right before it started the other Elders arrived so it was just us 4 for conference. Then between sessions we went to some appointments and a lady dropped us which wasn't cool and then we all 4 met at Panda Express and got lunch. We all 4 watched the 2nd session and then we went to more appointments but no one was there. Then we all 4 attended priesthood session at the church and this time there were other people there.
Sunday was another great day of conference. There were some other missionaries from our zone at the church with some investigators for the Sunday morning session and then we stayed in between and prepared the church for a tour we were going to give after the last session. Some sister missionaries in our zone also stayed and so we talked with them a bit and then got to know their investigator that came for the 2nd session of Sunday. He was a pretty cool guy who is our age. Us and another older gentlemen or two were the only 7 or so in the building. It was a wonderful conference weekend with some wonderful counsel! And a wonderful Easter Sunday! I am so grateful for all the wonderful examples of Jesus Christ that we have as our Prophet and Apostles. How exciting it is to be a part of the Lord's work at this time. I am looking forward to this next week of this new transfer. Until next time!
Love,
Elder Acton
Elder Christensen during our weekly planning
Living life on the "edge"
When you are the only ones who
show up for General Conference
Us at General Conference
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