6 May 2013

Dear Friends and Family,

 

Transfer calls..............didn't happen.

 

We got a text at 9:30 saying that instead of calling that night they would make all the calls at some point today. They also decided to take away P-Day and so we only have from 9-12 today and they said from 2-6pm the entire mission is to stay indoors, clean the apartment, and prepare the area books as if we are all getting whitewashed. No one knows what is going on. Based on the AP calls that were made it seems like we will both be staying in Queen Creek for another 6 weeks and Elder Allen would finish his mission here. We made our own transfer board and have pretty much every option written out haha. Staying here another transfer would almost guarantee me to stay in the Gilbert Mission.

 

Which would mean 16 months here.

 

So a lot depends on the phone call we get today. In the meantime, probably just keep sending letters to the mission home again this week to be safe.

 

____

 

 

It was so hot this week. We have been getting not only hot air but also hot wind which makes it pretty bad. I think the high was 100 and it will still get 10-20 degrees hotter. Everyone always asks us why we wear dark slacks and church shoes. That's a hard one to answer haha. But luckily people are very kind with giving out cold water bottles. Sometimes we just walk holding the cold bottles against our face to keep cool. There is an SUV being sold down the street and the two selling points written on the window are "LOW PRICE" and "COLD AC."

 

I got so acclimatized to the winter in Yuma, this'll be a fun one. I was just remembering too how in my enthusiasm I suggested that we Sawyer and I bike a couple of times a week down in Yuma when it was 120. I must have been crazy haha but we had awesome results. He finishes his mission tomorrow!

 

This past week was probably one of the most upsetting anti's. We talked to him on the street and he told us how his preacher tells them all how our church is false and whatnot. I told him that if our preacher really knew what we taught he would be a member. We headed down the street right after that to visit a less active member. As we were walking into the home the anti biked around the corner of the street, jumped off his bike, and walked into our less active members home to give us a DVD that "proved the falsity of everything we taught." I traded a pass along card for the DVD then put it in my backpack to be disposed of later that night. The fact that he came into the members home to give that was the only upsetting thing.

 

There were many other angry people too.

 

We also met the first RLDS/Community of Christ person I've ever met in my life this week. Actually, she left it to join the baptist church but we got to learn a bit about their beliefs and it was a nice talk.

 

I wrote about that awesome potential from last week, the one who went to church and that baptism for the sisters. This week she told us that she was too busy for us again.

 

Every time we make a little bit of progress it just all falls away.

 

One of the things that has been brought up over and over this week was the temple; people talking about open houses and whatnot. It has been fun to go along with what was said at conference how everyone is invited to the temple! We have told lots of people that and it has been cool to see their interest spike. Unfortunately they were all referrals for other missionaries but the work is progressing nonetheless.

 

I'm 99.99% sure I'm staying here.

 

There's not much more to say. Nothing happened this past week worth much note.

 

 

Thanks for the letters: Mom, Eric, Will, Sis. Hines, Mark, and Grandpa and Grandma W for the package!

 

Con amor,

EJ

 

 

A prairie dog.