So I don't think anyone knows this... but on my calendar I
have all of my transfers laid out like a game. When I entered the MTC is in as game
start tutorial, followed by level 1, level 2 etc etc, with each transfer I level up. Then level 16 (second to last transfer) is sudden death
because that's when the Hodgmans finish their mission and I have to get a new
mission President and wife. Then Level 17 is my final transfer and that's the
boss fight. Then the final day when I go home and get released, is Game End,
Gospel Win! Haha I know I'm a nerd but that's just the way it's gonna be.
Alright before we get any farther into this, you should all know that I'm getting transferred this week and heading off to Vernal for the next little while. I'll also have a new district and new missionary to
corrupt as a District Trainer, a mix between district leader and trainer.... so yeah. All sorts of new experiences there. Honestly I look forward to Vernal (after all who can complain bout free food?)
but I'm going to miss my Ferron. There are so many people there who will never leave my heart. I have had so many experiences, so much growth, I'm sad to leave. I have to admit, there have been a few tears over the last few days... haha but I'm like the cop from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, whenever the tears come I tell myself I have to be strong, I've got a lot of work left to do.... and then I suck the tears right back up into my eye like a real man ;P
But really, I don't know how many of my friends from Ferron are actually even aware this blog exists... I do a really bad job of advertising I guess :P but those of you that are... if any... thank you. My life has been changed, and I hope that I've made a difference in some of yours.
Alright now that that's out of the way... let's talk. Life is good on a mission. Always learning or doing or growing. It's pretty amazing. I'm not gonna go into crazy details this week... but we had some pretty cool experiences I'd like to share. So Saturday morning I'd decided we should go visit a formerly less active member I knew pretty well, and say good bye. He wasn't home but his neighbor was out mowing his lawn and thought we were coming to talk to him. So we did ;P turns out he's from Helper actually but has been having lots of hard times for a long time and asked what we could do for him. How could we help him. We talked about church, we had a prayer with him, and gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon with a 21 day testimony bookmark. He took it and asked us to put our names in it and date it so he could remember it. We also included our number and the number of the elder in Helper. I don't know where that Book of Mormon will end up... but the spirit testified to me that it was in the right place, and some day I'll hear about it. Whether in this life or the next, that's an encounter in which I know I did what God needed me to at that time. Interestingly enough, that evening we got home and one of our new neighbors was standing outside, we got to talk to him some, he was also a less active member and he had some great questions, we directed him to the church and testified before returning to our apartment. The Lord guided our footsteps, and as long as we're willing to be guided, both as missionary's and as members. Remember, an invitation is an expression of love, if you love someone more than you love yourself, you'll want to invite them to partake of the same blessings you experience every day in your life through the Gospel. And here's the most important part.... If you invite with love, you are a successful missionary, member, disciple of Christ. It doesn't matter if they say yes or no, but inviting is success. I can point directly to the words of the prophets if you want... it's that simple. I love you all. I'm gonna miss Ferron. And times are just always getting better!
Have a great day, have a great week, have a great life.
Love,
Elder DeFord
Alright before we get any farther into this, you should all know that I'm getting transferred this week and heading off to Vernal for the next little while. I'll also have a new district and new missionary to
corrupt as a District Trainer, a mix between district leader and trainer.... so yeah. All sorts of new experiences there. Honestly I look forward to Vernal (after all who can complain bout free food?)
but I'm going to miss my Ferron. There are so many people there who will never leave my heart. I have had so many experiences, so much growth, I'm sad to leave. I have to admit, there have been a few tears over the last few days... haha but I'm like the cop from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, whenever the tears come I tell myself I have to be strong, I've got a lot of work left to do.... and then I suck the tears right back up into my eye like a real man ;P
But really, I don't know how many of my friends from Ferron are actually even aware this blog exists... I do a really bad job of advertising I guess :P but those of you that are... if any... thank you. My life has been changed, and I hope that I've made a difference in some of yours.
Alright now that that's out of the way... let's talk. Life is good on a mission. Always learning or doing or growing. It's pretty amazing. I'm not gonna go into crazy details this week... but we had some pretty cool experiences I'd like to share. So Saturday morning I'd decided we should go visit a formerly less active member I knew pretty well, and say good bye. He wasn't home but his neighbor was out mowing his lawn and thought we were coming to talk to him. So we did ;P turns out he's from Helper actually but has been having lots of hard times for a long time and asked what we could do for him. How could we help him. We talked about church, we had a prayer with him, and gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon with a 21 day testimony bookmark. He took it and asked us to put our names in it and date it so he could remember it. We also included our number and the number of the elder in Helper. I don't know where that Book of Mormon will end up... but the spirit testified to me that it was in the right place, and some day I'll hear about it. Whether in this life or the next, that's an encounter in which I know I did what God needed me to at that time. Interestingly enough, that evening we got home and one of our new neighbors was standing outside, we got to talk to him some, he was also a less active member and he had some great questions, we directed him to the church and testified before returning to our apartment. The Lord guided our footsteps, and as long as we're willing to be guided, both as missionary's and as members. Remember, an invitation is an expression of love, if you love someone more than you love yourself, you'll want to invite them to partake of the same blessings you experience every day in your life through the Gospel. And here's the most important part.... If you invite with love, you are a successful missionary, member, disciple of Christ. It doesn't matter if they say yes or no, but inviting is success. I can point directly to the words of the prophets if you want... it's that simple. I love you all. I'm gonna miss Ferron. And times are just always getting better!
Have a great day, have a great week, have a great life.
Love,
Elder DeFord
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