Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Adios Amigos! Transfer time in Mesa week #57

Hey! 

Its that time again! Transfer week! This past transfer disappeared into oblivion. Sometimes it was slow but even when it's slow it's super fast. I did find out on Saturday that I will be transferred. I am really bummed about it, I will miss this area a lot. I love the people here and even though the work is slow, I'm going to be jealous of the missionaries who serve in these wards. Actually funny story, Elder Child will be one of the new missionaries in my area! He's excited, I've told him all about it. Sunday was hard saying goodbye to everyone but I will be back to visit. I have had plenty of homes offered for us to stay at when we all come to Mesa after my mission😁 

As far as where I will be going and who my new companion will be, I am going to the Citrus Heights Stake. My new companion is Elder Bird😂 He actually came out with me. He lives to play basketball, that's the first thing he told me when we met. He was Elder Karren's companion at one time. I'm excited!  He's from Idaho. Whooo! First comp from the potato land! It seems like all the missionaries here are from Idaho. Interesting thing about my new area, I will be covering 4 wards now and I'm back on bike! Well, we have a car but we only have 300 miles a month. So I'm basically biking for the next while. I got super lucky that I skipped past summer without having to bike. I mean it's still hot now but everyday I had a car I was super grateful. Anyways my wards are Avalon, Estate Groves, Hermosa Groves, and Valley View wards. From what President Townsend told me this area is tougher than the area that I'm in right now...but he said they are awesome wards and it will be great. So I will work hard and hopefully see miracles happen once again.

Also I will be moving in with members again. I'm pretty excited about that. That means it will be easier to keep our place clean. I'm excited to not have to clean after roommates anymore😂 The cool thing about it is that I will live up the street a few houses from the mission office! The mission office is in the parking lot of our church building, so that will be really nice. 

Elder Karren will be getting dropped off at the mission office today at 4:( I don't like sending missionaries home because then you have to wait until you get home in order to see them again. My other companions who are still in the mission see me all the time, so it's pretty nice. Our mission is so small that we just bump into each other all the time. Anyways Elder Karren has been really good at keeping focus and it's made it easier for me to focus too. I'm going to miss that guy, luckily he lives really close to me so we'll be able to do something fun when we are both home. 

This last week was pretty good. We visited some good families, talked to a crazy guy on the street, and did lots of service. Since we were in a car accident last week we had to take it in so they could fix it. So for a loaner car we got a Nissan truck! Man I was so happy, I hadn't driven a truck in like a year! So I've been driving it all week and it's the best car I've driven on my mission. It puts the Chevy Cruz to shame....Chevy is weak....everything about it goes against my name😝 But hey I like having a car so I can live with it. Speaking of cars I told Elder Karren this week that I thought it was peach days and I was right! I love peach days. I'm glad both of the trucks were in it. You know what I miss a ton? Utah peaches. There was a family we had dinner with this week who bought some peaches and said "these are the best peaches we have ever had!". I took a bite out of it and it was so hard, it was like biting into an apple. I'm my head I was like "what kind of peaches are these?" Haha now I realize how good Utah peaches are😂 I won't take that for granted ever again...

As I was reflecting on these last four and a half months I was pondering the question "what is the biggest thing I've learned here?". Instantly the scripture from 1 Nephi 3:7 came to my mind. The Lord promises that he will prepare a way for us to accomplish the things that he commands us to do. When I first got into the area I was super discouraged and was thinking to myself how in the world am I going to be able to find success here? There are no people outside, everything is gated, we aren't allowed to knock doors, and people aren't looking for anything else in their lives because they feel that they have it all. This last transfer I realized that the Lord DOES prepare a way for us succeed in all we do. Even if it seems impossible, I have no doubt in my mind that we will find success though hard work and patience. I know that because I saw it, I've seen so many miracles come way out of left field where I never expected them to come from. The Lords plan is bigger than mine. He knows the way for each of us and will help us in all things that we do.

Well I hope you all have a great week! I love you! Thanks for all of the love and support from home! 

Love, Elder Findlay

This is the #1 largest Elk in the world.
Bro Miller shot it a while back, point to point it's 502😱


Arizona sunsets!!!! 😄😄😄

accidental smolder shot