Big news of the day: I’m getting transferred! I was not expecting that, but that’s how it goes. And, as if a new area weren’t enough, this is how it’s going down: I’m going to pontinha which is right in the center of Lisbon, where I’m going to be district leader, of 10 missionaries (including myself). So that’s a pretty big deal right? But wait, I’m doing this all while training a Greeny fresh out of the states, which also means I’m white washing, or in other words, both the elders that are there in pontinha right now are leaving, and I’m basically starting over…with a brand new missionary. If this whole thing wasn’t crazy enough, I found out on Monday, a full day before we would find out with president terry. So it caught me completely off guard. I’m excited, and terrified, and wondering how I’m going to manage, but I’m sure learn and grow a whole lot. Meanwhile, Elder Tracy, my comp from the MTC, is coming here to serve with Elder Cornwell, so he’s excited,Elder Cornwell is going to learn a lot and grow a lot too.
By the way, I’m checking out the photos as I go, Yellowstone is really really amazing. Someday when I’m back we’ll have to do some serious Yellowstone adventuring.
But yeah, the transfer is going to be a bit intense. I’ve heard that there’s not a whole lot going on in pontinha (ergo the white washing) but hopefully we’ll have success out there. I have no idea who my companion is, but I’m hoping he’s really solid. The poor kid probably has no idea his companion doesn’t even know where they’ll be living, he’s still on the plane at the moment, probably looking out the window at Portugal as he’s landing. They fly right over this area, if I were outside I could probably spot their plane.
Anyway, so this week, other than transfer madness, was pretty nice, and really quick. This last transfer has gone by really really quickly, I enjoyed serving with Elder Cornwell a lot, and Monte was pretty intense. Now that I’m leaving I don’t worry telling you that I witnessed no less than three drug deals go down, saw what we think is some sort of illegal gambling ring, heard several gunshots, got cursed at in English (that’s actually really funny, because they can’t quite do it right), got yelled at by this crazy old gypsy that sat around all day and wanted money, and then two nights ago we were in the bus and someone threw a rock through the window (from outside). All this to say, I’ve been very protected here, and you don’t need to worry about me betting jumped or anything, since nowhere could be anywhere near as sketch as monte. They’re really good people here, and I hope this area keeps being awesome and that the people I’m teaching keep progressing. I learned a lot here, and it definitely got me better prepared for this next 6 weeks.
Other news…I dunno, it’s nothing else seems to big compared to leaving. I’m sort of nervice and I’ve had a sort of hard time sleeping the last couple nights, because whenever I go to bed I can’t stop thinking about what it’s going to be like and what I want to do as trainer, and district leader, and how to do the work in pontinha. I heard I have a dryer though, so that’s exciting.
So that’s the news, be sure to pray lots for me, this next week is going to be one of the biggest changes for me so far in the mission, but I’m pretty excited all in all.
So that’s all. Have a great week, good luck to all those who are starting school, especially all those named Isaac, and be safe.
Lots of Love
Elder “District Leader”
