What's good family and friends?? I can feel it in the air that change is on the horizon for all of us in the near future. Don't you love change?
The change that will be taking place for me is another good, ol' transfer. I will be moving from the Oconee River branch, in which I am now serving, to the Stone Mountain branch in Lilburn. Lilburn happens to also be the home and headquarters of this the Georgia Atlanta North mission so I will have the opportunity to be around the President and his wife as well as the Assistants to the President a bit more often.
I am excited and of course nervous for this transfer. No one said you couldn't love something without being completely nervous about it sometimes. I mean, if you miraculously found out that the Second Coming was happening tomorrow wouldn't you be a bit excited and nervous? At least maybe at first. But just as with all good changes, one eventually adjusts and moves on and increases in patience and love and joy. Well that's the goal, right? But it seems that we have in front of us all a lifetime of 'bearing with patience our afflictions with a firm hope that one day we shall rest from all our afflictions' (Alma 34:41)
Well there was your Spiritual-V8 for the day. :D But I exhort you all (exhort = big invite. Like, I highly suggest you to do whatever it is I'm inviting you to do..Scripture language. :3 ) to take more time out of your day to read your scriptures. I'm telling you, there are some great hidden treasures in them.
About the work specifically we were able to have one of our investigators, Elvia, come to sacrament meeting yesterday! Yay! She brought her two kids as well. She had been attending regularly about five years ago but them stopped. Now that we found her again we have been really trying to do everything we can to get her to church without literally dragging her there. She is from Peru so she cooks amazingly! They left after the first hour, but I'm not complaining because that is progress. She is just one of the people I am sad to be leaving. But I am being replace by my 'son', the elder I trained, so he will do just fine continuing the work of his great dad. ;D As a missionary you always have your ears open to hear the progress of people in older areas you've been in. Love is strong in the mission field. At least it is as you continually try your best to have the Spirit with you. Honestly, it has been a witness to me of the divinity of this work all the time that I have felt a deep love for the people I teach. Till we meet at Jesus' feet.
The title of this email is a line from a song that was sung in a little Pentecostal church Elder Thomas and I went to. 'La iglesia de dios casa de santidad' was the name, I think (The church of God house of holiness). It was a lot like the other one I previously went to. They were all very enthusiastic about how they worshiped God. You want to randomly shout praises to God from your seat? Feel free when you are there! We saw and heard a nice mini-play about Abraham and also heard a few songs about Jesus. I have great respect for all of the members there and what they taught about raising your family with a strong, strong faith in Christ. Really, it is churches like these that give people the foundation to travel through life and one day accept the Restored Gospel in it's fullness. It did get pretty hot in that little room though. :p
Long email this time, sorry, but sometimes there is just lots to say. Or maybe there isn't anything to say and I just go on and on about nothing. Whatever the case I'm glad you still know who I am and I hope to be able to remember your names when I get home. ;)
con carino,
Elder Vance
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