Hey everyone!
After this past week, I'm pretty exhausted. We've been running
around at a million miles an hour trying to get ready for the two stake
coordination meetings we had yesterday. Saturday was one of the busiest,
if not most stressful days we've had in a while. After trying to get
all of the information typed up, we realized we still needed progress
records from the whole zone. We drove around getting all those, made
copies of all the packets and whatnot, and made it home at about 10:30,
and weren't in bed until about 11:15. The worst part was just planning
the next morning. We had to be up by 5:45, at the coordination meetings
before 9, at a ward council training at 11, our own sacrament meetings
at 11 and 1, and a baptismal interview in Wickenburg (an hour away) at
12:30. It couldn't be done. There was no way we could have done it all.
We called Elder Juchau, our district leader in Wickenburg and asked if
we could push the baptismal interview back an hour or so, he told us
that it was actually next Sunday. Right then I let out the
biggest sigh of relief. The trip to Wickenburg was going to be the
hardest, and now we didn't have to do it. The day was still pretty
crazy, but it all worked out. I'm starting to understand what Elder
Duncan of the Seventy meant when he said that there's never enough time
in a day to plan.
Just one picture this week: Elder Allred's trunky papers. About a
week before every missionary goes home, the mission mails him or her
their flight plans for going home. The look on his face says enough, but
he wasn't too thrilled to get the letter. With all the craziness this
week, we needed a boost. We got it on Friday and Saturday night.
Remember those baptismal interviews I told you about last week? Their
baptisms were this weekend. Autumn was on Friday and she had a ton of
ward support. The Spirit was strong as close friends bore testimonies in
the baptismal service. Saturday night was Gary, the man whom I
interviewed that took over and hour and a half. His service was really
simple, but with nearly a hundred people there. After he was baptized,
he bore his testimony. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. It was so
powerful as he bore testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel. His
wife was in tears when he talked about their plans to go to the temple
to be sealed for eternity. He pointed to the font and was in tears as he
the only thing he wants now is to bring his daughters and son into the
font when they're old enough. He praised the missionaries. He bore
testimony that we were young, inexperienced, but called and qualified by
God. It was the spiritual boost we all needed for the week, the
powerful reminder of why we do this work.
I'm out of time, lots of other things going on. Mom and dad, I read
your emails and I'll be sure to let you know about everything in next
week's email home. We have a few places to go for Thanksgiving, and I'm
going to make sure Elder Allred has a good last week in the field. With
next week's transfers, the email will be coming on Tuesday. Until next
week, I love you all, take care and be good.
Much love,
Elder Eric James Turner
 |
| Elder Allred with his travel papers for going home |
No comments:
Post a Comment