February 9, 2011

February 9, 2011 - Week 1 of Transfer 9 (there is 17 in total)

A new start.

Hello, hello! Sounds like Mexico was great but I will have to say the stories about Grandpa and Macy are what got me. I miss that dog, I just hope she is as bright as she was when I left. Lots to update on and as always very little time so let me get started.

Transfers... Elder Dick and I are staying together! We were both pretty happy about that. He totally thought he was getting the boot, we had a few hints he was so he basically started to pack. It seems like the longer we are together the better we get along. This is the first time for him and I to have a companion for more than two transfers, its actually kind of nice. Elder Dick expressed he was glad it was me and not any of his other companions and that felt pretty good! When we got the voicemail from the assistants that the mission roster had been emailed to us it looked like E. Dick was about to pass out. He was pretty nervous and glad he's still in this UNREAL area! There are some big changes in our zone though and it is looking pretty good. E. Atwood (our favorite DL, and great friend) was transferred out and now serving as a zone leader with E. Ames. E. Atwood goes home with E. Dick in June and he will be a great zone leader, both E. Dick and I were thinking he was going to be my companion. We are a little sad to have him leaving, at 5:15 he would drive over to our house, his companion would jump in my bed and we would go to the Stake Center to play basketball with some guys from the stake a few times a week. It was the highlight of the week! Well not actually but was fun. Will have to figure something out now.

We have two new DL's and it should be really good. Elder Hill is one and he has been in his area for ten months and for the first time in his mission he is training and also being a DL! He goes home with E. Dick as well and this is exactly what he needed to finish his mission. He will do great. We have a new DL E. Gates who goes him in a couple months as well, similar situation as E. Hill. Then E. Torres who is serving in my "greeny area" or my first area who stayed this transfer. A few other changes but its quite a bit for one transfer but they were needed! And we are excited. I hope we can keep some of these wild guys under control.

I'm sorry this email wasn't to "spiritual" or hasn't been full of touching stories and its just more of an update. There were some really good moments this week though. I was able to do an exchange with E. Torres former companion in my OLD AREA! And that was fun, yet challenging at the same time. Everywhere we went it was like a reunion and hard not to talk for half hour. But who am I kidding I loved it, felt like I was going home. I was able to visit quite a few people who I really do miss. Luke Fairman (all grown up now!), John Aslami, Ruth Ann Vigil, Pat Christenson, Bro. Jones (WML) and many others! I'm sorry if I missed you (if your reading the blog lol). It was nice to be able to share the gospel with them once again. John Aslami still isn't baptized but making some little progress. He is a good man but has a hard life.

At the Taylorsville Institute this Sunday night there was a musical fireside that was focused on sharing the gospel. It was held by this YSA choir from a Tongan Stake in the valley. They are called "one voice" and it was their fifth year doing it. I am terrible at describing things so I'm not going to attempt. All I'll say is that they are an amazing choir and it was really spiritual. There were alot of people there who are not members of the Church and in total probably around three hundred people. In between songs they had people speak for about five minutes and mainly share there testimony. They asked if I would speak on sharing the gospel, obviously not that hard so I did. I was to speak near the end and when it came time everything I had planned was already spoken on. Mainly fear that is. Dad's talk he shared with me a long time ago kept coming to my mind minutes before I was to speak so I went with it. Well what I could remember from it. It was the one focused on Joseph Smith and coming to a knowledge of spiritual truths in our life, so I just squished it into five minutes. It was a little weird because while I was speaking they had the piano playing softly in the background and it was just so hard not to sing to my talk! Inside of me I was cracking up thinking what would happen if I did?

Anyways I sat down after I spoke and the very next song was all about Joseph Smith and it worked out perfectly! I wasn't even planning on talking about Joseph Smith and sharing the first vision until a few minutes before. No such things as coincidences, I have definitely learned that in the past year.

By the way, last Pday as the best. We were with the Curley's the entire time. They took us to their artchey club and after, for all you can eat sushi! I love sushi. This week we are hanging out with Rocco and going to this new trampoline place. They have someting like 50 trampolines, Rocco will be teaching us some new tricks. We must head to the mission office to pick of mail for the zone, Love you guys! Can't believe we are basically at one year. People say the second year goes faster, I don't know if it can.

Love Elder Pizzey

Abbreviations:
E-Elder
DL-District Leader
ZL-Zone Leader
YSA-Young Single Adult
WML-Ward Mission Leader