Date
January 7, 2019
Area
Tanasbourne YSA - Hillsboro
Companion
Hunter Tucker
What doesn't kill you...
Man, I don't even know how to sum up everything that happened this week into one email. This was probably the most stressful week of my life, and I feel like I've never learned more in a single week in my life.
It started when we got a call from the assistants last week telling us that the day of transfers (Wednesday) we would be getting a guy from the missionary department who would work with us from 2-9 Wednesday and spend Thursday morning with us. Because of that call I assumed that I would be having another transfer with Elder Schettler.
Well, Sunday night we found out Elder Schettler was leaving which meant I would have to haul trash back from transfers with a new companion who doesn't know the area to have a guy from the missionary department shadow me. Not only that, but like most of my zone changed, so I had a ton of tedious things to do with transfers that I couldn't really do because the missionary department guy was there to see how we worked.
We had a zone p-day party on Monday night for new year's, and the next morning I woke up at 2:30 to pick up a missionary who was flying out early that morning for Ecuador. I got back to bed at around 4 and woke up the next morning and we began to all pack because we were being moved to a new apartment. Because we both had to pack and close down an apartment we literally were working on that from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm when we went to bed.
The next day I got my new companion, Elder Hunter Tucker from Cottonwood Heights, Utah. He has been out 2 transfers longer than me and just got assigned to be a zone leader, so he hasn't known exactly what he is doing with everything, but I can't blame him. But man I was stressed. We came back to the apartment to meet Brother John Gonzalez who was a mission president about 8 years ago and spent 25 years undercover for the CIA in LA, and we went out to work.
As we were working in an apartment complex he stopped me and said, "Elder Sonne, what are we doing here?"
"I don't know, this is what we usually do for our finding time," I said. "Why are we not with the members? They are the key to missionary work," was his response. Brother Gonzalez then taught me how to work with the members of the church to find, teach, and baptize. We stopped what we were doing right there, and went to the church and met with our bishop for an hour and hashed out how we would work with the members of the ward. The way we have been working since then has been a complete change. If I were to type up everything I learned I wouldn't be able to fit it.
The next morning we had him over to observe our weekly planning. Again, we didn't make it far into it before he stopped me, "Elder Sonne, why are we doing this?" "This is how we plan, it's how I've been taught." Boom. For the next 2 hours he absolutely changed how I plan for my people and plan for my finding. The next day he taught the MLC what he taught me and Elder Tucker. It was such a blessing to be able to have him working with us, the things I learned in those few hours with him have changed everything about how I work.
This week was a rough finding week. We had to grind for it, but we finally found someone to teach on Sunday afternoon. We already have had so many amazing experiences with members.
To cap it all off we received word this week that on Friday, January 11 we will be having a mission conference with Elder Quentin L. Cook. I am so excited to finally be able to meet, shake hands, and learn from an Apostle and special witness of Jesus Christ. I am trying to do all I can to prepare myself spiritually for this Friday.
Y'all, I know this work is true. It really is the work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have the answers and restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ continues to unfold every day. I am grateful for a church built on the foundation of "apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone" (Ephesians 2:20) that provides a "unity of faith" that we are "no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:13-14). What a time to be a missionary.
Make it a great week.
Elder Sonne
Pics:
- Ran into Devan and Cayman while at the temple! Blessings!
- Elder Tucker and I with Avery!
- A picture that CIA man Brother Gonzalez of Elder Tucker and I doing our weekly planning. He thought it was pretty hilarious how much our minds were being blown.