Photos

April 7th & 14th, 2014

April 7^th, 2014

Dear family,

Wow. I didn't think things could get much crazier, but they just did. Holy cow. Craziest week of my life. I'll go day by day so you can catch the full effects.

Monday we had a final lesson with J and R. Both of them were some of the best lessons I've had with them, so it was a good way to go out. 

Tuesday was crazy. Basically this whole week we didn't eat at a normal time and didn't take more than 10 minutes to do so. Tuesday we helped Sister D for a final time with her fence. We came back in a few hours and taught her the Word of Wisdom with Sister S and A too. It was a really good lesson. We committed her to live the entire Word of Wisdom (she just needed to quit coffee and tea) and she easily accepted. She said she doesn't even like either of them and it made sense that she would be more in tune with the Spirit. Yes! We tried committing her to baptism, but she wouldn't accept a date, but said when she gets there she will. We said good-bye and she was very thankful for all we did. She told me that I helped her understand things better than anyone has ever done in the past. She said the Book of Mormon has been much more powerful and meaningful since we've been teaching her. I'll send pictures of everyone when I have my camera and a cord (long story). We had a lesson with M as well on the Word of Wisdom. It went well too and she asked me if she can visit in a few years once I'm settled in Utah again. She gave me a really nice note and I think I'm one of three people she trusts. We brought Sister W and she was sad to hear I was leaving, but she started crying and thanked me for the things that I had taught her. She said she was so impressed by how much I have matured and she was thankful to know me. That was a little shocking from her, but it was cool. We ended up taking R out to dinner one last time which was fun. We had a lesson with S before mutual and it was a great lesson on baptism. We have been working with his mom to set a goal for his baptism and they should find out soon when her work schedule gets figured out. We had a lesson with the Ss too and it turns out that Sister S went and bought a cake that said "Elder Pew is the best." That was too nice and I felt really bad for Elder W. I've been getting so much attention. We had a great lesson on Easter and Sister S asked if I could say the opening and closing prayer and she just really loves me. We got picked up by McNeil because Elder J drove me, and Elder S down to the trainer/district leader meeting. That night I heard a rumor from Elder V down in San Antonio that I was going to be the new moving Elder. I'll explain more later. 

Wednesday we drove down to San Antonio because Elder J was training and me and Elder S were becoming District Leaders. It also turns out that Elder I was at the District Leader meeting so that was three of the eight were from our MTC district. After the meeting President asked me if he could talk to me and he confirmed the rumors that I was becoming a Moving Elder. I was absolutely shocked! The moving Elders are usually two of the biggest, strongest missionaries that travel the mission and pick up and deliver furniture, pick up new cars, new missionaries, run errands for the mission office, and do many other things. Basically we are the assistants to the assistants and mission office. President Slaughter told me that the moving Elders have developed a reputation for being disobedient because they do have more freedoms because of the assignment. We can go in sister's apartments, drive separately, wear normal clothes, miss studies, etc. as needed. He said that they wanted to pick someone they could trust with obedience to basically change the reputation of the assignment. He told me that I needed to be smart and safe and not hurt myself. It was cool too, because he said that even though we would have less time to proselyte that the Lord would bless us for our sacrifices and we would be able to have a normal area. I was kinda freaking out because it also so happens that my district will also be me, my companion, the assistants, and one sister companionship. He also told me that my companion, Elder N would be out longer than me but I'm still Senior Companion and District Leader. It was a little intimidating, but I was excited to do something new and that President Slaughter trusted me. The ride home was fun and me and Elder S talked like the whole way. That night we had a lesson with A and the S were sad to see me leave, and boy I love their family. They said I'm welcome back anytime. We had a lesson with the Ms, and then to close we had a really killer lesson with the Fs. We talked about the characteristics of Christ's church and actually had them build a house out of cardboard and each piece represented something from Christ's church. They liked it and I did start crying when I bore my testimony at the end and expressed my love for them. They got me a pie for all the times we gave them something and a nice letter. I also gave them a letter and we took pictures and I told them I'd be back someday. It was sad to leave them, but it ended on a really positive note. H was actually getting teary-eyed when I bore my testimony too so I know that she felt the Spirit and is really close to just giving it all a shot. I hope they do. I told them in my letter I hope to be there when they get sealed in the temple. 

Thursday morning I had to pack basically everything because I hadn't had a chance yet and I wasn't able to fit hardly anything in my suitcases. I had to leave out my blanket and my nice jacket, but I can easily get it sometime we have to go to Round Rock. When I said a final prayer in the apartment I was crying too as I thought over the great experiences I had in Brushy Creek. I asked a special blessing on everyone in the area especially those that are still investigating. I really am sooo thankful for the experience I had and I love the people so much and I'm filled with gratitude over all that I was able to be a part of. I don't think I could have the area at a bigger peak and I can't express my gratitude that I was able to make such an impact for these "precious souls" (Alma 31:34 I think). Elder W was almost near tears when we did our final companionship inventory which is unheard of for him. We had a lesson with E and we basically just bore our testimonies of the church and L was yet again considering baptism and asked about her family though that would hate her for joining. I told her that sometimes we have to make hard decisions but if we know it's the right thing to do, we should do it anyways. It was a good meeting. We went to transfer meeting and I think that EVERYONE was surprised to see me as the new moving Elder. Everyone was really excited for me, but it was a shocker. My companion is Elder N. He is from Gilbert, Arizona and has been out for one transfer more than me. He is really cool and of course really strong, although he's only a little taller than me. We had to go straight to work once the meeting ended and we put everyone that was going to Austin's bikes into the trailer. Yeah, I drive a huge Chevy truck with a trailer on the back, who would have thought? I always told myself when I came into the mission that if there was one thing I knew I wouldn't end up doing, it was being a moving Elder. You have to love working out, being strong, driving trucks, and carrying things. I still chuckle about it when I think about it. When we got back to San Antonio we had a bunch of things we had to deliver to missionaries all over, and we had to stop at the missions' storage units that I have to keep track of. We didn't even have time to proselyte that evening. Our area is the S ward, and we are in northern San Antonio, pretty close to the temple, mission home, etc. 

Friday we got up really early and worked out pretty hard. Elder V and Sister C were both saying that I better be 185 lbs of muscle soon. At this pace I probably will be. I'm still sore from working out. We are in the mission office a lot and we work with the Senior missionary over apartments and finances. We didn't even finish companion study and we had to head out to run errands. We didn't get back until about 5 for dinner. We proselyted that evening and we did teach a less-active guy. He said he was interested in coming back though. We really don't have a ton going on here, and we really have one investigator who is solid, but he already has a membership record but doesn't remember being baptized at all, so that situation needs to be figured out before we can baptize him. We have a few active non-members too, but I have the faith that those can get worked out. 

Saturday was just a Conference day which I absolutely loved! Conference was incredible! The talks that stuck out to me the most were of course Elder Holland's pulpit pounding, Linda S. Reeves, Richard G. Scott, Quentin L Cook (I was waiting for one on family history), Dallin H Oaks in Priesthood (that was a really cool talk), M. Russell Ballard (of course), David A Bednar, and my favorite was Elder Corbridge. That was such a good talk. I felt the Spirit very strong with the message of the Restoration. I can't wait to share that one with investigators. It was also pretty cool to see Brynn! I counted four times and everyone was asking about her, so that was fun to see! What a neat experience to sing in Conference! We didn't really have time to proselyte because the extra time we had we weekly planned. We watched all the sessions except Priesthood at the Stake Center, and we went to our building for Priesthood. I met a few people from the ward and they were really friendly. It was strange since I met a few of them before at the baptism me and Elder T went to, but I don't think any of them recognized me. 

Sunday was similar except we had time to proselyte afterwards. We were able to have a lesson with this cool less-active couple, the Ps. They seem pretty open to coming back, so hopefully they do. 

We have a lot of work to do. It's also tough because Elder N has been here way longer (this is his 4th transfer) and has been out longer, so he's led the way so far, and I'm not sure how to tactfully lead more. He's determined to do better this transfer and once I get the hang of things here I think he'll let me lead because I have a lot of ideas on how to help the area and he has done things differently in the past. He's a really good missionary though and has a solid testimony of the gospel and is really effective if he's doing the right thing and puts his mind to it. My point is, we need some extra prayers to know how to handle the situation and to pick things up in the area. I want this area to still be proselyting focused despite our other duties, instead of it taking the back seat, but it will take time to change the culture. Anyways, thank you for all the support and I know that if we have the faith we really can accomplish miracles. I know that we do have living prophets and Apostles and I loved hearing their words. It's up to us whether we will be quick to remember or forget their counsel. I know that God knows us and watches over us. Despite the crazy changes and heavy load ahead (pun intended) I know that In the Strength of the Lord I can do what is required of me like Elder Bednar said. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Pew

April 14^th, 2014

Dear family,

This was another crazy, crazy week, but that is the life of a Moving Elder. It has been pretty tough for me to not proselyte very much, especially since there is not much going on in the area and we don't have a ton of time to get things going, but it's been a fun new adventure. Basically every morning is the same. We get up at 5:50 and work out. Hard. I've put on a bit of muscle weight and I've already gotten stronger. Elder N calls it the Swol Factory and I am definitely swollen, but it does feel good to work out hard. My body feels great and awake. I bet none of you expected me to come home super in-shape and ripped, but that might be what happens. I know I wasn't expecting it. We study at 8 and then have to leave at 9 to go to the mission office. We talk to Elder W about things missionaries have called him about, upcoming moves, etc. and then we head out to do our deliveries. We usually aim to be back by 5 for dinner and then proselyte the rest of the evening. The hard thing is that there is no "set" rules or agendas for us. We have a lot of liberty and a lot of people who want things. One of my possible suggestions has been to go to each zone just once a month on a date they know and they can just request the things they need and we bring it out in one big load, that way we don't have to drive all the way to R just to deliver a shower curtain or something. My other idea has been to do a bit of companion study in the car and to call people in the area book, investigators, or less-active members while we are driving around to be more efficient. I want the area to be more focused on proselyting than Moving Elder stuff, and do that when needed. It will be a slow process, but I think it will work.

Monday night we stopped by a lot of people and ended up having a lesson with this less-active guy named B. He's like 64 but really energetic and funny. He has been coming to church off and on the past few months and his wife isn't a member. He said he's working on her, so that would be cool to teach her. 

Tuesday we had to run a bunch of errands. We organize everyone's orders and mail for each zone to pick up after MLC (Missionary Leadership Conference) and then we ran around picking up a bunch of things and buying supplies at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Office Depot. It's pretty strange going to stores like everyday. We had a lesson with our only kinda investigator Brother H. He is the one who we have records for him but he promises that he's never been baptized. He started trying out our church a few weeks ago and has progressed pretty well, but we need to have our bishop interview him and find out if he really remembers or not. If not, President Slaughter has said to treat him like an investigator. We watched a CES Devotional that I saw a few weeks ago on P-Day called "the Blueprints to Christ's True Church" by Tad R. Callister in January of this year. It is an amazing talk. Super powerful, I highly recommend it. Anyways, he really loved the talk and the only things holding him back is he is in leadership in his other church that's falling apart, his wife isn't interested, and he needs to know more doctrine. I asked him though at the end if he believed that our church is Christ's true church and he said yes. The more I've thought about the situation the more I've thought that he doesn't have a very strong testimony, but he loves missionaries and the way the church is run, so he's got a good start. We just need to help him understand our purpose, help his wife, and teach him doctrine. He's a good guy. Also a free-mason. 

Wednesday we had to deliver some things to East Zone and take some bikes different places. We were able to finish by dinner. We had dinner with the Ms, a super nice older couple from South Africa. They are really cool. They said they knew several Louws, but they didn't know for sure. They are really awesome. We had a lesson with a recent-convert J and he is a solid 20 year-old with a member wife and two kids. They are going through some rough financial situations but they are holding on to the gospel which is great. We had a good lesson and then we had a lesson set with a lady whose husband doesn't live with her and isn't a member but comes to church every week, so we were going to talk to her, and we asked J if he could come so we could go inside and he came. It was sweet and he bore some solid testimony. Sister G is really nice and has recently become much more active. She made a deal with her husband that they would go to church every week. He doesn't live with them because of conflict with the daughters. She is trying to figure the situation out and she said he's been taught before, but we asked if she would invite him to be taught again. She agreed and thought he would be willing, but I guess he doesn't like being pushed. We'll see how that one ends up.

Thursday we were really busy. We had to go to Lockhart and Bastrop, which is like an hour or more away. It was cool to drive and the cities are SO cool! They are really old and there are like these manor looking houses. I loved it a lot. We went to a super good BBQ place called Blacks. They have delicious brisket (?) that just melts in your mouth. Gotta love Texas. We also had to go to pick up all the furniture and supplies for the senior couple that moved into Eagle Pass on the Border because they needed to move in on Friday. We had a ton of stuff to do and then we had to go to East San Antonio again to pick up some more stuff and we didn't get home unitl after nine. It was a crazy day. We just have to eat whenever we have a second.

Friday we had zone meeting. Our zone is much bigger and it's really impressive. The Spirit was strong the entire time. As usual it was a bunch of things that I need help with. After the meeting we actually had a Zone Council with the leaders in the zone. There are a lot. There are the zone leaders, three district leaders, two sister training leaders, the Assistants, and the Sister Assistants. It was an intense meeting and they have a really high vision of what they want to accomplish. We were talking way above where I'm even at, so I came out of there feeling pretty insufficient and a lot of things to work on. Sometimes I do get discouraged hearing where the leaders of the mission want us and where we are. I know I'm not the only one who is far below the bar. President Slaughter has been talking a lot about "breaking the ceiling" which I basically explain as having the faith to work and witness miracles. I am curious to go on exchanges with the zone leaders and Assistants to see what they are like and if we are all just talking about a level that none of us are really at or close to, or what. I know that's bad to compare but I just know that the level here (at least talked about) is waaaay higher than the zone I came from, whether that's just a hope and vision, or a reality, I'm not sure. Anyways, we had to hurry out of there to make it to the Border at Eagle Pass. It was pretty exciting to get to go. You take the 35 south which is pretty well populated until you move out of San Antonio, then it's more country. Then you get off and take a little country highway the next 99 miles to Eagle Pass. There is absolutely nothing. There is lots of trees and shrubs and things, but no people. There is like 1.5 towns in between. Our car got caked with bugs. It was much different than I expected. Eagle Pass is a pretty nice place. It looked like any other city, unlike the shack, dirt road streets I was expecting. The zone leaders there did say it is much more ghetto once you leave the main city, but it was cool. You could see a huge Mexican flag waiving just across the border and we were about a mile away from it. The apartment was pretty nice and we got everything in and assembled by about 8. They got us Super Tacos which is a famous place down there and it was really good. Steak and chicken tacos. Also my pants ripped at the crotch while we were working which was pretty funny. It was super noticeable. We had to make the long 2.5 hour drive home afterwards. It was a little freaky flying down the one-lane road with no street lights at like 80 mph. We were about halfway back the 99 mile stretch and I got pulled over. The officer said I was going 84 on a 75 mph road which wasn't true since I had the cruise control set at like 78, but we were just really polite and he asked what we were doing and we just told him that we help other missionaries move their furniture and things and that usually we are suppose to be home by 10:30 but because we have a special assignment we have some leverage but that might be why we were in a hurry. He was a nice cop so I think he realized it would be ridiculous for giving someone a ticket for only going 9 over on a completely empty road and just gave me a warning, so that's three times getting pulled over with 0 tickets. Yes. We got back around 10:45 which just feels super weird.

Saturday we had to go up to Austin to deliver a book-shelf, filters, chairs, etc. to some missionaries up there. It was weird because we drove on the 45 which goes through Brushy Creek a bit and goes right next to the apartment. That was kinda freaky. We got back around dinner and headed out to proselyte for the first time in a few days. We weren't able to teach any lessons, but we made a lot of visits. There are a ton of less-active and part-member families that we don't know so we are hoping to find new people to teach through those, but no success yet. 

Sunday I had my first time at church which feels weird since it feels like I've been here for awhile now. It is a really cool ward and the bishop's funny and a great guy. It's a great ward and I'm excited to be here. We stopped by a bunch of people again to no avail. It's has been a little difficult because Elder N hates anything but stopping by those people and won't street contact or knock, so have spent a lot of time in the car driving to the next house. The few people I have been able to contact have been really nice and we taught one guy a bit about prophets, but he wasn't super interested and we left a pamphlet with him. I understand the effectiveness of member work over street contacting, but since we have so little time, we need to talk to as many people as we can. It's been difficult but I am confident that the Lord will bless us for the efforts we are making and things will pick up in this area. 

I know that this church is true and that this gospel brings us true happiness now, and in the eternities. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live and love us and that everything they do is for our benefit. I know that trials are given to us to help us grow and develop into who we need to become.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true and is the word of God. I love the gospel and everything it teaches and I know it will help us through the whirlwinds of life. Thank you for being such a great support!

Love,

Elder Pew

p.s. I should be able to send pictures next week hopefully

March 24th & 31st, 2014

March 24^th, 2014

Dear family,

Alright the subject line (running over Elder W) is brought to you by probably the funniest moment so far of my mission. We were backing out of an apartment complex last night and Elder W stands right behind the car until there aren't any cars and then he backs up and I follow him. Well he started to back up so I put the car in reverse and started backing, but then I heard a smack on the car so I looked back and Elder W had ran up to the car and smacked it because there was car coming, but they saw that I was starting to back, so they were stopped, but I didn't see Elder W at first so I accidentally bumped him with the car and he had a water bottle in his hand and it made him spill it all over the car and a little on himself. I looked back to see the thumping noise right as I saw that I had bumped Elder W and watched him spill the water everywhere. The person in the other car was probably really weirded out and I was laughing hysterically. Of course he wasn't hurt at all but it was really funny to watch from my view in the driver's seat. We had a pretty good week. We found some new investigators, but struggled to have many lessons with our other ones, but had lots of RCLAs, but didn't get people to church, but half the F family came. I really hope I can stay here a few months longer.

Monday was pretty sweet. We dropped by the Ks to see how they were doing, and Brother K came out and we talked about his family history quest. He and his wife had caught fire in family history and his wife was able to trace her line back to work that had already been done that went all the way back to like 200 AD. Instead of just saying they were busy, he came out and asked us a ton of questions about the church, mostly about the temple. We explained eternal families, but he had some tough questions about people who are divorced, what happens to the righteous spouse in heaven if the other spouse is disobedient, etc. It was awesome for him to be open and immediately I knew it was going to end well with his daughter. Sure enough, his final question was, "My daughter is nine and she wants to get baptized, where should we go from here?" He said that he already asked her if she wanted us to come over, but she is really shy so they said she won't do it until she feels comfortable. He told us he was planning to come to church last week but he got confused about which ward to go to, but that they were going to come this week. Unfortunately he had a job interview so they didn't come, but hopefully we start teaching their daughter this week. That was such a cool experience! It went exactly how we had hoped! We were super grateful for that.

Tuesday we had zone conference and interviews with President S. He gave a really good training on the Restoration and explained the little-known four accounts of the first vision so that we would be armed with the facts. He has an amazing understanding and testimony of the Restoration. My interview went well and it was pretty short. We have continued to receive more referrals lately but I'll explain a few of them later.
Wednesday was a good day. We had a lesson with M and we invited her to bring her friend M. M is a retired Methodist minister. We were planning to teach the Restoration, but M and M and such big talkers that we didn't get to Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon so we are meeting this week. I don't think M is really interested, but we'll see what happens this week. We had a pretty slow day until just before dinner we contacted the referral that we got from a lady in W and this time the lady J was in better health so S (her brother) let us in. We sat down and we invited S and some other dude who was there to join us, but only S and J came. J is really sick, but she never said what it was. They are really nice people and we taught them about the Atonement from the Book of Mormon since that seemed like something that could help them in their state as well as show them the power of the Book of Mormon. They liked what we had to say and were grateful we had stopped by. We can't really set things up with them since J's health is pretty hit-and-miss. We stopped by Saturday with copies of the Book of Mormon and J didn't have the health to meet but S was pretty excited to get a copy of the Book of Mormon. They are great people. We had a lesson with the Ms and Bro R came since he is their home teacher. It went better than most weeks and Bro M actually warmed up to Bro R pretty well. We had a lesson with R and he was really grateful we didn't give up on him since he ran off to San Antonio again but we told him it's never too late. I gave him a bunch of those papers that mom gave me and he loved them, especially the picture of Christ. He's going to be alright. 

Thursday we had a lesson with J ith Bro C who has a TON of evidence of the Book of Mormon from South America. It was really really cool. Basically he was a retired CIA agent who stumbled on a book in a library in Peru that was written by a conquistador who wrote the stories of the natives. He recorded legends of four brothers who fought because the youngest brother could shoot his bow the highest, a white God who came to them after there was no sun for three days, and a few other Book of Mormon stories. He was shocked and decided to search out other books like the one he had found. He has collected more than 70 rare copies from these Spanish conquistadors and priests that wrote the legends and stories of the Native Americans and found so many Book of Mormon stories. I don't have time to tell all the evidence but he knew stuff about Hagoth the ship builder from the end of Alma, the Jaredite people, evidence of Jared from Genesis 10, what the Curelom and Cummoms are, etc. It was fascinating. He goes to conferences all the time with his research and has a book called Voices From the Dust about it all too. J really liked it and he had watched the Restoration DVD. I think he really wants to know this stuff, he just has a hard time and can be stubborn at times. Him and D (his wife) took us out to Denny's and they were hilarious. I love those two. We had dinner with the Ss and G remains nice and supportive but not interested. Oh well.

Saturday we were going to bring R to some lessons with us but he bailed on us. We taught S and Sis D. Our lesson with Sis D was interesting. She asked if we believed on Mormons were going to heaven. I told her the explanation wasn't that simple, so I explained priesthood authority and how everyone will have a chance and that just because someone isn't going to be condemned if they never had the chance and that it was authority, not Mormonism that mattered. She didn't really like that a whole lot and she seemed to think that was what I personally believed but she was happy that I believed it but she doesn't think it's true for everyone. We listened to Come, Join with Us, and she really liked that so that was good. She had to leave out of town so she didn't come to church. 

Sunday was eventful and pretty solid. Church was great even though only E, T, C, and Bro F came to church. We offered to make them breakfast again but they said it's too hectic in the mornings for them. They told us that Bro F was taking some of the little ones. It was good to see them in church and we heard from the Primary President that they seemed to enjoy it. Our meetings went pretty well and we were able to make some plans for the week. We had a lesson with B and he's doing alright despite the fact that he's missed church the past three weeks due to work. He is really trying to figure things out and he's at a huge crossroad in his life. He wants to find a real career and find a wife and be able to focus more on spiritual things like he wants. We talked about Prophets and Apostles and how he can receive answers to prayers at General Conference (by the way I am SUPER excited for Conference) if he goes in with faith and a desire to know what he needs to do. We also had a quick lesson with the Ls and they wanted us over for dinner today, so we accepted and then we realized we should try and get an investigator to come, so we invited S and his family and his mom accepted, so we are having dinner and a lesson with the Ls and the Ks tonight. Sweet! We contacted two pretty solid referrals and one was from J and it's his neighbor. She's a really nice older lady and she got choked up and was happy to see that there were still nice people who cared in the world. I testified that the things that we teach will help her through all of her trials and we set up a time to come by this week with J. It was really sweet to be an answer to someone's prayers. Oh we also had a cool experience where we were in a complex and I felt like we should talk to this lady that was pretty far away in her car, so we walked by but she didn't get out, but I felt like we should try again, so we looped back around and this time she came out and walked right up to us and asked who we were and we told her and she said she was from Utah and her sister is a member. She said she took it as a sign, but we weren't sure if she meant a sign to learn more, or a sign that she needs to move back to Utah, but she was really glad she saw us and we gave her our number so she can call when she wants to learn more. I hope she does call, she seemed really awesome. 

I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ and that true happiness does come through living the gospel. I know that we are blessed when we are obedient and work hard. I know that with faith we can accomplish anything according to the Lord's will. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and is the evidence of the marvelous message we have that God still speaks to us today. Thanks for all the support!
Love,
Elder Pew

March 31^st, 2014

Dear family,

Well this time we can pretty well know what happened, so I'm just going to get straight to it. This was my last full week in B. It was a good one. I'll just get right into the good stuff.

Monday night we set up that sweet lesson with the Ks and Ls, but when we went with the Ls to pick the Ks up, S wasn't there. It turns out he had baseball and they didn't know it. That was sad especially because that made it disobedient to have a dinner without a non-member there, but the L family sacrificed a lot to work everything out so we went with it and it was good to be able to teach Sister K and her daughter. The L family is awesome! 

Tuesday we had a lesson with Sister D and Sister S and it went really well. I really wanted to commit her to a baptismal date, but Sister D and S ended up side-tracking our conversation at the end so the Spirit wasn't really there. We did a lot of biking the rest of that day, but we were able to meet with the Fs briefly. We went over and Sis F, H, and A were gone, but they got back when we were talking with Bro F and E, and they had us come in even though they were busy. They sat us down and made us eat some of the Indian food they had just gotten and we talked. They are just the best family ever (The Indian food was good by the way). Like I said, they were busy but we asked if we could share a quick thought with them, so we talked about the Atonement. We also set up a final lesson before the transfer. That is going to be an intense lesson. 

Wednesday we had district meeting and we didn't have any lessons. So we did a lot of biking and not much teaching, but that's okay. 

Thursday we weekly planned which was strange to plan and finally know that I wasn't going to be there for all of the week. We had a lesson with M and we pounded the importance of the Book of Mormon. She is progressing ever slowly. We really emphasized praying to know if it's true. She accepted a commitment to pray about the Book of Mormon which is more than she would do before. I have a strange connection with her. Her friend M got basically eaten by a couple dogs so she's out for a few weeks. We had a lesson with J's neighbor and he came. She is a great lady. She isn't super religious so we taught her the Restoration and the Book of Mormon especially. She understood everything and that it would make sense for there to be a prophet on the earth today. She liked the part from 2 Ne 29:7-9 (I think) that talks about there being more nation than one and that God loves ALL people. She accepted invitations to read and pray and come to church, but she got sick Saturday night. J was great too.

Friday we had a lesson with this sweet dude named R. He did most of the talking, but he was asking for advice, so we just taught him principles here and there. We invited him to church and he really wants to try it and he wants his whole family to also. We later found out that he knows R and A who are members that live close to him and they are a cool family, so we told the Gs to work with them. He wants to meet every week.

Saturday we realized we were almost out of miles, and even though in the past we just went over, we decided it was more obedient to not, so we brought our bikes and then drove to the middle and biked around and then drove home when we were done. We had a lot of things fall through but we had an amazing lesson with R, one of the best experiences of my life. We talked about being consistent and staying firm in the faith. He said he has finally made a change of heart and no longer wants to sin (Mosiah 5:2). He said our dedication and not giving up on him has helped him more than anything else. He told us he was about to give up and take a bus as far as he could and start over, but it was us that made him come back. He got very emotional and said that if her were the only person we were to convert on his mission it would be worth it to us. He cried and said that when he finally makes it to the Celestial Kingdom he will be so proud to see us and that we will deserve so much for all that we have done. It was an absolutely beautiful thought and the Spirit was SOOOO strong. I was crying it was very powerful. I'm really going to miss him. It was a very tender moment and made me realize why I do what I do, to help people, motivated by love, come to Christ so that they can have eternal happiness in the Celestial Kingdom. I don't think it was moved by the Spirit, but he keeps getting discouraged so I told him that by the time I come back to visit he will be married to "his mormon girl" like he always talks about if he stays strong and is patient. Such a great guy. We had dinner with the B family which is the couple that speak different languages. Bro B is an inactive member who speaks only English, and Sis B is not a member and only speaks Spanish. It was the BEST dinner ever! We had chips and dip, then tostadas, then corn on the cob, then steak and potatoes, then smoked salmon, and finally...crab! We were in heaven and they are awesome. We shared an Easter thought and Elder W bore his testimony in English about the Atonement and how we can be cleansed from sin (for Bro B) and then I bore my testimony in Spanish as best I could about Christ and invited M to church at the Spanish Branch and to their baptism that was the next day for Sister S and A's dad. My Spanish wasn't too bad, but she just didn't see the point in going to a baptism. Bummer. We had a lesson with E and E was really sad about me leaving, but it was fun to see him again. 

Sunday was the day of days. At church both me and Elder W bore our testimonies and it was a good experience. I got a little choked up and it was cool to look around and literally know every single family. Elder W did a good job too. Of course everyone could guess that transfers must be rolling around and we had a TON of people come up and thank us and wish me well even though I never said I was leaving. In PEC Bishop thanked me again and everyone was asking about me leaving, but we just said likely, but won't know until tonight. I was very pleased that they asked what they needed to do to help some of these people we are working with. This meeting was great and they really want to help the F and S. It was sweet. They expressed the need to help the Fs since we wouldn't always be there. Bro A said, "yeah it will be tough now that the icon is leaving." It was a little uncomfortable but I'm glad I could have made an impact here. We had a lesson with the S family again. It went super well and they read the Intro to the Book of Mormon. We taught the Restoration and they understood it really well. They were excited to read from it and were open to watching conference and going to church. I felt really clear-minded with them and we explained things really well and the Spirit was strong. They are a great family! Bro J picked us up from there for an early dinner which was kinda awkward since it was fast Sunday. We had a good dinner and then for the spiritual thought, Bro J asked if I could bear my testimony and if Elder W could share some things he has learned from me. I bore my testimony and I was a little choked up thinking of all that I've learned since I've been here. It was a tender moment and the Js were crying, thanking us for the work we do. I got waaaay more attention than I wanted this week. We ended up getting back to the apartment really late from our lesson, dinner, and other visits, so we just decided to head back out instead of studying. We got our transfer call at 8:30from President S. He said that I was leaving, unsurprising, and that Elder W was staying and getting a new senior companion, also unsurprising. Then he said that I would also be a district leader in my new area. That was a little surprising. Of course I accepted, but it was strange to think about and I did feel like I was being prepared for something a few weeks ago. I am both excited and nervous to go to a new area and to be a district leader. I have a lot of thoughts and yet I'm not sure what I think. We had a TON of members that wanted to know what was happening, so we texted them all. I am so thankful for the many things that I've learned here in B. I'm grateful for the amazing relationships I have developed for so many people. I have seen the power of Charity, the pure and perfect love of Christ. I know that when that is our motivation, our effectiveness increases. I'm thankful for the members in this area and all they have done for me the past 8 or 9 months. I truly love these people. "Their souls are precious, and many of them are [my] brethren." (Alma 31:35) I will forever think of these people and what they have done for me and the friendships we have. I know that the gospel is true. It makes bad men good and good men better. It truly is what will bring true, eternal, happiness. I know that we have prophets and apostles on the earth today and we are so blessed to hear from them this weekend. I know that our message is true and a marvelous work and a wonder. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Christ lives and he knows each of us individually and perfectly and he loves us. Thanks for all the support!
Love,
Elder Pew