Snowflake Bound!

Saturday night was transfer news night, it is always one of those suspenseful days where you are never sure exactly what will happen to you. Elder Nordwald received a call from President Ellsworth at 10pm. President asked Elder Nordwald to be the Jr. Zone Leader in the Papago Zone. After he asked Elder Nordwald to do that I thought that meant that I was staying where I was at, but I was dead wrong. Then President asked to speak with me, "Elder Thomas, will you be the Sr. Zone Leader in Snowflake?" I had no idea what to say, other than, "Are you serious?" He then assured me of where he wanted me to be and that I was very privileged to be going to such a wonderful place. After we got off the phone with President Ellsworth we were both jumping up and down with excitement about our new areas! I am so stoked to go to Snowflake this Wednesday the 21st!

In Snowflake I will be covering 3 wards (one of which is a singles ward). I will be driving a White 2010 Chevy Colorado Crew cab with 4 wheel drive(I'll be sure to take pictures, don't worry). If I am to stay there for 4 transfers like I did here then I would be up there until March 7th of next year, which means that I will be seeing some serious snow! My new companion and I will be over the largest zone in the mission geographically and we'll be the farthest away from the mission home as you can get (3 hours). Elder Ralphs is my new companion, he has been out 14 months just like Elder Nordwald. I guess that is all I know about the area where I am going, you all should look up Snowflake, because from what I hear it is an amazing town. I will get you more information about it as the weeks go on and I am able to spend some time up there.

Something else that happened this week was our Mission Tour. A Mission Tour is when a General Authority comes to the mission and holds a conference. We had half the mission at the conference the first day and the other half the second day. I went the first day and there was a total of 5 zones present. The day before the tour I received a call from the Assistants, they asked me to Conduct the meeting! I was taken back that President wanted me to conduct, but I accepted. I sat right next to Elder Yoon Hwan Choi (First quorum of the seventy) for the entire meeting and I was able to talk with him throughout.

Elder Yoon Hwan Choi

Surprisingly I wasn't nervous to conduct the meeting, and I think that I did fairly well at it, but the real treat was just getting to hear from such a man as Elder Choi (When you say it, it sounds like Chay). He was completely led by the spirit about what to say, and how do I know this? Because I sat right next to him and while the opening song was being sung he opened his scriptures to Mosiah chapter 2. When it was his turn to speak he started with that scripture and then opened to other scriptures that I saw him open to during the same song. I don't believe he had any notes to what he was going to say, but that he was relying completely on the Holy Ghost to guide him. I learned so much from him!

We were supposed to have Dorothy get baptized this week, but she has a bone infection on her foot, by her big toe, and so she is going to be having a minor operation today. After she is all healed up she will be baptized right away! Even thought I will be up in Snowflake we are going to try and plan the baptism for a day when I will already be down in the valley for Zone Leader Council. Dorothy has requested that Elder Nordwald and I are both in the water to help her be baptized, one of us will hold her because she is unable to stand while the other will say the prayer. I am excited for her and the progress that she has made. Please pray for her to heal quickly. Just a funny little note, While Dorothy was in the hospital, she just happened to be in a hospital that was outside our mission! I talked to president and got permission to go out there, so Elder Nordwald and I were out of the mission 4 different times this week to go see and teach her there! That puts our total number of times out of the mission since we have been companions to 6! Don't worry though, all of the times we got permission first.

We set a baptismal date with Patricia this week! We taught her in the Free's home and covered the message of the Restoration. She was very excepting to everything that was said and we were able to invite her to be baptized on October 8th. She is a wonderful woman and her fellowshipping family is great too! Even with both Elder Nordwald and I gone, because of the connection that she has with the Free's she will be able to blow through all the lessons and be baptized on schedule.

Sometimes the hardest part about transfers is saying goodbye to the people in your area that you love! These families are wonderful here! All of them were sad to see us going and said nothing but encouraging and flattering things about us. We ate dinner with our high counselor over missionary work and his family. He poured out his soul in testimony to us and gave us some great advice for our lives. He is a great man and I look up to him a lot! Some of the members and converts I haven't even said goodbye to yet because I am too scared to cry like a girl. The Stoneburg family is going to be hard to say goodbye to! The Mesa Central Stake is amazing, I have loved my time here and I will be back to visit someday!

I can't wait to see what kind of things await me in Snowflake, I will be sure to inform you well next week with all the wonderful things that are happening! Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers! Don't forget to write!

-Elder Thomas