May 2011 to May 2013

Monday, June 18, 2012

A Super Interesting Week

This week has been super interesting. I really have not been in my area at all this week because of meetings, exchanges, and service. But it has been a really cool week. I think I have changed as a missionary more than any other week. I guess that is what happens when I sit in meetings. Ha-ha. My meetings were full of training. It has been amazing to see President Gelwix so much this week and I have been able to learn from him. We learned how to work more effectively with the members and with other missionaries.  We had some training on street contacting, my favorite part, mostly because I love it so much. I get to talk to so many people and see so many points of view.

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to be taught by an Apostle, Elder Russell M. Ballard.  It was great. What strikes me as super cool is the simplicity in how Apostles teach and talk. They don’t say anything that all the missionaries go WOW. It is all stuff we already know inside; we just need to be reminded that we know it. Elder Ballard taught that everything we need to know is in the scriptures and in Preach My Gospel.

I got to go back up to Modesto for our meeting with Elder Ballard.  It was great. It felt like I was going back home. I got to drive through all of my old areas, except Patterson, so that was super cool as well.

For one of the service projects I did this week, I got to throw chicks into the chicken houses. We threw about 10,000 chicks from their trays to the sawdust covered ground. It was so fun. The chicks are so small they don’t get hurt when they fall. We really enjoyed the couple of hours we spent there.  We also got to help someone move.  I love helping people move; I don’t really know why, but I think it is just fun.