Hi everybody! Happy New Year!
This has been a pretty good week in terms of teaching and finding. We found a family of 5 that we've started teaching, and we taught 20 lessons. We also have a ton of people on date. We're looking at possibly 6 baptisms in January, and another 6 in February. Depending on people's situations that could change of course, but that's the plan at least. And who knows, we might even get more. It's possible. So yeah, it's been a pretty good week in that regard.
Well, I got my transfer call. I get to stay in Enoch West as District Leader again. So this will be my 6th transfer in Enoch West. It'll be 9 months by the end of it, and my first year of my mission will have been spent in just two areas. That's awesome, I love this area and I look forward to being here for everything we have planned, but the situation is a bunch of garbage. My companion is getting sent home, and that's why I'm staying. I don't know why but I guess something happened while we were on exchange with Parowan, and another Elder is also going home. Also, Parowan is being combined with Enoch West, so now I have two areas to deal with, on top of the fact that Enoch West is keeping us super busy, the fact that I'm still district leader, and the fact that this situation with Elders getting sent home is depressing enough as it is. I'm just crazy overwhelmed. And that is the biggest understatement ever. But I guess the Lord and President Center trust me a lot to deal with all that and make it work. And I've felt that. I just kinda wish they didn't trust me that much. But if the Lord trusts me, then I know I can do it. To quote the prophet Nephi, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."
Well enough of that. Here's something more positive.
I'd like to share an experience with one of my New Year's Resolutions. So basically I've known that I need to write in my journal more. A few months ago, I asked the question (as encouraged by the guy in General Conference) "What lack I get". The thought came to me "you should be writing in your journal more". I think I wrote in my journal twice since then, and that was about 3 or 4 months ago. So my resolution this year is to write in my journal at least once a week, though preferably more. And I started that on New Year's Day. And it's been fascinating. I feel a much greater abundance of the Spirit than I did before. Writing in my journal isn't something crazy that is directly tied to feeling the Holy Ghost and being happy, but I think the change came because I'm finally doing what the Lord told me to do. It's interesting, because I never thought I'd have an experience like that. But I did. It was kind of funny. On Saturday, I was reading my scriptures and I was just thinking "why do I feel so good?" And although nothing especially stood out to me in my scripture reading, I was finding myself more engrossed in it, and appreciating it more, and I just felt really good. Then I realized it was because I'd finally stopped dragging my feet and I'd finally started doing what I should have been doing three months ago. So yeah, the Lord will bless us when we do what he asks of us. Even little things like this. The key is to just do it, instead of denying yourself those blessings like I did, until I finally just did it. It works. That's all I can say. And I'm so glad it does because that little spiritual boost was essential in getting through that crazy, depressing, stressful, fiasco of a weekend.
Well, have a great week everybody! It's going to be a great year!
-Elder Oswald
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