Dear Family and Friends,
I think Elder Fryer and I set such a high standard for ourselves last week that anything short of that just seems like a failure. The past few weeks we have just been tearing it up and this week, it was a little bit harder to get lessons. There were a lot of people out of town, and for some reason we just couldn’t get in the door as often. It was especially hard to get member presents because of the holiday. But we still did OK. We got well over the mission standard for the week, but definitely not 18.
Transfers
Honestly, when I came into Pasadena, I was pretty depressed. I was really sad to be leaving my old area in San Jacinto, which I loved. Plus, I was moving into what everyone called a “dead area.” Pasadena South had really been struggling. There hasn’t been an area so far on my mission that I get transferred into that has a progressing investigator already. Not one! So I was pretty discouraged to have to start the process over again in trying to go from scratch in another area, which I feel like I have been doing my whole mission. Also, (and I can say this because I have told Elder Fryer this) I thought my companion was a total creep weirdo! haha I thought he was so strange. That first day, I was really down in the dumps because I was in a zone where I didn’t really know any of the missionaries, in what I called a “rat’s hole” of an area, with a freaky companion.
That first night, while we were planning for the next day and I was just moping around, I read a quote that had been left on the wall by some previous missionary, I don’t know who. It was by Neil A. Maxwell who said, “It is more important to not shrink than to survive.” That quote really stuck with me and it started to drive me. We got to work. We biked around in the heat all day and if we didn’t have anyone to teach, we talked to everyone. In the little Mexican stores, in the car wash.. everywhere. We had fun too! I started to like Elder Fryer a lot and found out he was actually normal and hilarious! We started having lots of success! In fact, there didn’t go by a single Sunday where we didn’t have at least one investigator at church, compared to transfers and transfers with no one at chuch. We had some of the most success I have had my whole mission in that one transfer. We taught so many lessons, and so many lessons with members present – more than I have my whole mission! And of course, we baptized Julianna Saldivar and Alejandro Bastida which is always great. It’s a great feeling to baptize in a “dead area.”
That being said, I guess one transfer is all I’ll get, so I’m glad we worked hard. President Crawford called last night and said that I was assigned to be a zone leader. So, I don’t know where I will go next. All he told me was that I wasn’t staying in the Pasadena Zone. As far as I know, there are two possibilities. I can either go to Magnolia to be a zone leader in the Broadway Zone (that’s what I am really hoping for!!! I would get to end my mission where I started it! I love Broadway! Plus, Elder Erickson is the other zone leader there! He and I have already been companions and we are really wanting to get put together again! It would be a sweet way to end my mission) OR the only other option is that I would finish my mission as an English speaking missionary and go to an English zone (-_-) possibly a new one that is being opened in the Liberty, Texas area. so…. I’m praying for Broadway! I will admit though, it would be cool to be an English speaking missionary and work out in the boonies and get to know what Texas is really like! We will find out tomorrow.
So, for now, if you are going to mail me anything, just send it to the mission office
2815 West Lake Houston Parkway
Suite #109
Kingwood, TX 77339
I’ll email y’all whatever my new address is next week when I know. But that’s all for this week! I love y’all a lot! Thanks for all your support! Today, there is a missionary here who is having his last p-day. He claims that no team of his has ever lots a game of b-ball his whole mission. Today, we are gonna shut him down! Should be fun!
Love,
Carlos
