I could not be more stoked about my new area and my new companion! I was transferred to the ward the borders the north side of my previous area, the White plains 2nd Ward. I can already feel a great love from them, and an enthusiasm to do missionary work. My companion is now the Elder Tim Hansen from Kaysville, UT. He was my zone leader last transfer and is by far one of the greatest missionaries I have ever known. His diligence and insight have been a great strength to this mission. I couldn't believe when I found out that I would get to be his companion. We have great plans to hasten the Lord's work in the Suitland Zone, I can't express how inspired I am. I feel like I am part of a winning team.
The highlights of the week have been the opportunities I've had to sit in councils. The work of the Lord does not move forward as one person sits in the big chair and calls all the shots, but rather as we sit together and discuss the needs at hand, and then reach a consensus. We council together one on one, in our districts, and as a mission. Through these group discussions I have received inspired training and personal revelation for how I can better serve. I'm learning that the culture of a mission doesn't change by adding rules and regulations, but understanding correct principles and learning new skills. For example, at the beginning of my mission, I was not trained to talk with people on the metro. In fact, it was preferred to just drive our cars to destinations and that it would be a violation of some public transit policy to talk about the gospel. On Friday morning on our way up to a meeting, we took public transportation and I got to meet two very special individuals. This girl on a car waved to us and we found out that she served as a missionary here 3 years ago. Elder Hansen started talking about the work with her, and I noticed the man sitting next to her was reading out of the New Testament. I took a moment to build up the courage to speak with him, and commented that I liked the chapters he was reading in James. He immediately lit up and started talking about the scriptures to me. As the conversation wore on, he opened up about the struggles he has been having in his life. He recently separated from his wife, and despite his efforts to go to church weekly, read his scriptures and say his prayers, he has not been able to quit his addictions to various substances. I testified to him of the power of the restored gospel and ordinances, of the sacrament. Something sparked in his eye that just lit up his whole countenance. We prayed there together, and I shared passages from the Book of Mormon. We exchanged contact information before our final stop, and I felt like I was able to touch the life of a single soul that morning, because I have been cultured to talk with everyone. On the trip back home, I sat next to a lady that appeared to be very concentrated on her book. After several minutes I got the courage to ask her what she was reading, and she was so friendly! We had a 10 minute conversation about the Book of Mormon and the Church. I realized that I don't need to be a full-time missionary to just talk with people like that. You can do it too. (:
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