Week #44 - Ping Pong Dairy Queen

Hey Everyone!

It's been quite the week. I gotta say I was a bit stressed and nervous the first couple days I got here. I felt like I was being trained again. Elder Hinckley (new comp) is amazing- it's his last transfer and you would NEVER guess. He's ready to go out working his lil' butt off which is awesome. I've learned a ton from him and realized I wasn't the pro missionary I thought I was. We're both brand new in this area- He had already been in the Santa Rosa Zone but he was in a different ward. So, it's been pretty intense. My zone here is very "old"...I'm one of the youngest here and the three district leaders have all been out for at least 16 months. They've all been in Santa Rosa for a while. Most people in the zone already knew each other and sadly I didn't know many of them at all. So needless to say, it was a little intimidating and I didn't quite feel like I was the zone leader or even part of the zone at first. Everyone looked to Elder Hinckley as the leader and I was just his companion. Things are way better now though- I'm quickly feeling more and more "in" and I'm way excited for the transfer. Elder Hinckley and I made a zone goal of collectively handing out 1000 copies of the Book of Mormon by the end of the transfer. The zone is WAY excited about it and we're all working like crazy. It's made things a lot more fun and gives a lot more purpose to tracting. The catch is in order to count it we have to have a return appointment, so we're not just passing them out like candy. It's been really effective and this past week our zone handed out 117- so not bad at all. Plus, we first introduced the idea on Wednesday so they didn't even have a full week to get that.

Oh- I believe everyone was given the wrong address. The one you have is another missionary apartment in the same complex so it's not a big deal, but mine is 3717 Sonoma Ave Apt #2 (not 1)Santa Rosa, CA 95405 As for other awesomeness, I am currently the driver of the only truck, a Chevy Colorado, in the entire mission. I'm pretty proud of that. Also I'm in President Stoddard's ward which is kinda cool.

Have a good week!
Elder B

Easter Thoughts on Christ

Alex asked that we add this video of one of our church leaders, Elder Jeffery R Holland, sharing his thoughts on Christ at Easter time. It's a great message- he hopes everyone takes the time to watch!

Week #44 - So Much To Say...So Little Time

Hi everyone!

It was an utter delight speaking with everyone yesterday. It made my year so far. I really don't have a whole lot to say at all. I'm pretty well cleaned out of fun topics and stories. I could make something up for everyone though.

A Really Good Made Up Story
The other night I had a dream where a woman came up to me and said "You will see me tomorrow. I need the gospel." I woke up shortly after. The next day, I didn't think much about the dream. But then, I saw the woman driving her car. I was on foot, but I knew she needed the gospel. I started SPRINTING as FAST as I could. It turns out I'm in really good shape so 35 mph isn't a big deal for me. I picked up the speed a bit and lunged onto her car. I noticed one of her windows was down so I tossed a couple of pass along cards and pamphlets inside. To my surprise, she immediately stopped the car. I was a little frightened at how she'd react to the whole situation, but she got out with a shocked look on her face. "You're the one from my dream!" she said. "You told me that the message you had was of utmost importance, and I needed to listen to it even if you had to jump on my car to get my attention!" So anyway, we taught her a solid first lesson and she was baptized a couple hours later. Too bad I still haven't received my camera card. I would have liked to take pictures before she moved to Nova Scotia.

That about wraps it up for the week. I'm excited to work in Santa Rosa. [Alex will be transferred to Santa Rosa on Tuesday and will have a new address.] It should be the bomb diggety. I hope everyone's still doing well. Have a good week!

Elder B