Adjustment to Senior Companion

I am going to miss my companion, Elder Allred!

Hey!!! How’s it all going?? Thanks for the email! And I’m so jealous that you were able to head down to St. George to escape the weather back home.  Wait, it’s actually pretty nice weather here so I’m not too jealous!!  Ha-ha. What else is new back home?

My first week as a senior companion was a looooonnngg one for sure.  Ha-ha.  My new companion is Elder B**   He is a really cool kid from Rexburg, Idaho. He served about 4 months in Peru at the start of his mission, but then got sick and was sent here to finish his mission. He is a really quiet guy and doesn’t say a whole lot, but he is a good obedient hard worker.  This week was a crazy one having to drop off the Elders to the airport, and then realizing that I was now in charge of the area.  This means all the planning, teaching, contacting etc.  The area isn’t thriving like I would hope it would and we don’t have a whole lot of people to teach.  We are still in this "finding mode" for like the past month.

Our district - The serious side of a missionary

The crazy side of missionaries!

We do have L** however and she is doing really well!! We had two super spiritual and powerful lessons with her on the First Vision and Book of Mormon then we followed up with a Gospel of Jesucristo lesson. She has been reading in the B of M and truly believes that we were an answer to her prayers when we came knocking on her door for the first appointment. However, she still doesn’t feel ready for baptism and says she needs to work on some things and with her relationship with God.  We had a church tour scheduled with her on Friday with a member and we were going to set a new baptismal date with her after we showed her the font and chapel, etc.  At the last minute, she cancelled on us which was a huge let down...I had been looking forward to that for like 8 or 9 days.  Super frustrating.  That pretty much sums up what Elder B** and my week has been like.  A week full of cancelled appointments, people hiding and pretending to not see us or know us and a whole lot of walking around.  I mean a ton!

Another positive note, we did find one new investigator named M** while we were out knocking by some formers and potentials.  She was very receptive and was willing to have us come in and teach her right then and there. We started to teach a lesson, but the lesson soon turned into the world’s biggest Novela of all time. It is very difficult to teach in another language when they start talking about their own personal affairs and are giving detailed explanations of their lives etc.  We did get another appointment set up so hopefully that one is a little more organized.

Elder C- heading home!

I am going to miss these guys!

It’s been a very long and rough week for us both, and I am so glad that it’s over. All the stress of being a senior companion really slapped me in the face and our area needs a lot of work.  The Spanish needs to improve quickly, but I feel that with all the new changes I have been making and how much more I actually have to talk now in lessons, contacts etc, it will improve as time goes on.  It’s still good down here in sunny CA! The weather is awesome and the beach is fantastic :) We go every day! Ha ha (jk)  Well, that’s it for me this week!  It is a holiday and tons of missionaries are waiting for computers here at the stake center. Hope everyone has a great week! You’re all awesome! Love you!

Mucho Carino,

Elder Woffinden