I can´t believe it´s September already! The time is flying by way too fast. Yesterday I went to Torreón to pick up my new companion, who arrived in the mission field yesterday from the México City MTC. I´m going to finish up my mission training her- the missionary training program lasts 12 weeks, which is the amount of time I have left in the mission. Crazy!! It´s going to be a new experience, training a new missionary. But I can tell already that my companion is going to be a great missionary. She was telling me about how she tried contacting in the airport and got rejected, and I just laughed and told her that she´ll get used to it. Her name is Hermana Garcia, she´s 21 years old, and is from Morelos, México.
I have to admit, I was nervous when I heard about these transfers. I knew it was pretty likely I was going to be training because my mission president told me in response to one of my weekly letters, but the surprise came when we called the other two sisters who were serving in this ward and they told us that they were both being transferred to Torreón because they were shutting down the area. My companion and I are now going to be in an area that was divided between two companionships before, so this week we´re going to be learning the area. That will be an adventure.
Even though I was nervous, I felt a lot better after the training meeting that we had in the mission office yesterday. I was the last one to arrive because I was coming from Durango, so when I walked in they had started by going around and introducing themselves. A short while after I walked in one of the APs (Elder Devino, the one you talked to on the phone) grabbed Presidente´s phone and connected it up to the projector, putting a picture of Presidente with two people on the screen. It took me a second to realize that it was a picture of Presidente with two of my converts, José Ángel and Flor Adriana. Presidente started talking about how this weekend he was in Durango for the Stake Conference in the stake Durango del Valle, and how as part of the conference the brothers who had recently received the Melchisedek Priesthood were presented. He said that one of the most joyful and spiritual parts of the conference was seeing José Ángel presented as a newly ordained elder, and learning that he was there thanks to the efforts of one of his sister missionaries. He told me that they´re preparing to go to the temple to be sealed with their three children next year. Everything that Presidente said was so sweet, and it filled me with so much joy to see that that family, familia Ramirez Pérez, is progressing. He spoke to the new missionaries about how that is the purpose of this work, helping people to progress in the gospel and have their own eternal family.
I love you all so much!! I am so grateful for my own eternal family. I love sharing this gospel and allowing others to reach the goal of being together as a family forever. That is the finality of this gospel, and I know it is true.
Love,
Hermana Southard
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| If you look at their shoes, you can tell who the new missionaries and trainers are. (Dad's observation) |
