Changes Comiing

I have lots of exciting news for this week! Where should I start… how about this, I’m getting transferred! Woohoo! I’m so pumped to not be an Assistant anymore! This is the first time on my mission I requested a transfer from President Berrett; I think my soul has died a little bit since I got here. But now I’m happier and feeling the Spirit more than I have for months! I’m so excited to get transferred!!

I actually gave myself the transfer call… I got two phones, and gave myself the transfer call. Elder Anderson really did a good job of pumping me up to receive my new area… haha.

I did that just for kick and giggles with my fellow elders, but the real fun is that I actually got to choose my transfer. We were discussing with President about who the trainers should be, I told him “Well, I sure wouldn’t say no to becoming one of the trainers!” And he replied “You know what, I was already considering making you one of the trainers, so let’s make you one. Which area would you like to whitewash with your new missionary companion?” I quickly responded, “Well, I’ve actually thought about that. I know Convent Road has been struggling, and I served there briefly last year, and I really love that branch, so I would love to go and serve there again.” To my delight he said that he thought that sounded like a good idea, so this is officially my last full week as an AP! Back to my favorite area with my favorite position in the mission! ALSO, I get to be a District Leader, which is my other favorite position. I can’t wait!

Here’s another piece of exciting information. As of now, my release date has been pre-poned to April 22nd. Whoa. It’s kinda crazy how that’s not even that far away…

Actually, it is my decision to come home in April instead of June. As I learned that I will be training starting next transfer, that means I will finish the training on the April 22nd transfer. So, if I stayed until June 3rd that means I would transferred to a new area, and only be there for 6 weeks. That would be the slowest 6 weeks of my mission. I would have no motivation to learn the area, so I would just be being dragged around for that transfer… that’s not a good note to end a mission on. But if I go in April, I can push hard with my trainee through the end of his 12 week training and then go home on a high note. Also, I realize that I have no money when I come home. I don’t want to lose 10 pounds at college again from starvation due to poverty, so I want to earn some money before I go back to school. Giving myself that extra 6 weeks will make finding a job much easier (because who wants to hire someone that can only work for 2 ½ months?), and give me more time to work. So after a lot of pondering and praying, and I feel like going in April is what I need to do.

Still, even with those reasons, I felt kind of guilty going to President Berrett and asking him to go home earlier than expected. I felt very relieved when he told me “Oh Elder Anderson, don’t feel guilty about that at all! That is totally fine. Since your start date is right in the middle on the two transfers, it’s perfectly acceptable to go on either day.” Whew! That made me feel a lot better about my decision. However, my missionary batch mates are mad at me because I made this choice without consulting with them first… haha I didn’t know I needed to ask them before choosing when to go home!

Here is one spiritually inspiring story from the week. We visited a member named Ineyavan this week. He is about 23 years old, and a really nice guy. However, he is the only member in his family. He has been a member for a little less than 2 years, and he is about to put in his mission papers. Wow. I can only imagine the amount of faith that takes. Fortunately, his family is still supportive of his choice, even if they have no interest in listening to the missionaries themselves. However, I would not be surprised if that changes while he is on his mission; I have seen many families have miracles worked in them because their son/daughter is serving a mission. Hopefully you guys have gotten some blessings from my service as well.