Hey!
So this
week has been all over the place and pretty stressful. I'm also in a new area
now with 2 new companions so that's fun. But first off let's start with last Monday.
Monday, Elder Steed and prepared and
planned everything that we were going to do. We received permission to drive
halfway down to Nashville, stopping in Cadiz, KY for the night. But first we
went over to have
one final lunch at Ponderosa with some of the members of the Eldorado branch.
The relief society president came as did her husband, the wife of the first
counselor in the branch presidency came, along with a
returning member. It was really awesome to see all of them. After a bunch of
handshakes and hugs, Elder Steed and I made the final preparations and left
Harrisburg as a companionship for good.
The final lunch in
Eldorado
We
stopped by Garden of the Gods on the way down so I could get a final look at
that place. It was super hot outside so we didn't stay too long, but I did find
some new places to climb. It was loads easier with a backpack
instead of a side bag.
Last photo of
Garden of the Gods
We
finally left and headed down a little bit more, passing the Bigfoot statue on
the way. We stopped by this place called Iron Furnace which is basically a very,
very old furnace used back in the day--like 1800's old. Elder Steed climbed on top
of it.
Iron Furnace
After
that we headed to see this thing called Tower Rock but couldn't find it. We
gave up and made our way over to Cave-in-Rock, which was kind of muddy since
the water had been rising a lot.
The Ohio River
around Cave in Rock
After exploring
the cave again one more time, we left and got on the ferry which took us across
the Ohio River to Kentucky.
Last picture of
Cave in Rock
Eventually
we got to Cadiz around 7:30ish. We spent the night with two other missionaries,
Elder Partida and Elder Powell, and slept on the floor.
Tuesday we woke up and went down to transfer
meeting in Franklin. On the way down, we were making good time so we stopped by
what was formerly known as Baptist Hospital (where I was born), and I got a picture
of that and some places around Vanderbilt. It was really cool and a good
moment.
St. Thomas (formerly
Baptist) Hospital
Vanderbilt Bridge
At
transfers, about 28 missionaries were going home. A lot of them were my
friends. 24 were coming out. Transfers were interesting. They aren't telling
you where you're going or who your new companion will be ‘til they
show you on a slideshow.
Departing
missionaries
Eventually,
my name showed up, and it told me that I will be in Thompson's Station, TN in
the Franklin, TN Stake serving with Elder
Bedwell (from Aberdeen, ID) and Elder Nalder (from South Jordan, UT). My
district includes the Sister Training Leaders, Sister Kohler and Sister
Halbeisen, and the Zone Leaders, Elder Porter (the same guy from my district a
few transfers ago) and Elder Danielson. It'll be interesting for sure. I will
also be covering TWO wards, which will be very challenging considering we share
a car with another set of missionaries. After the meeting I said goodbye to
many of the departing missionaries, and then left with the elders to the apartment.
After a
very quick drop off, we got picked up for dinner at the stake's family history
consultant's place, which was awesome. The ward is hosting a giant family
history discovery day at the church, and I may get to figure out more of my
ancestry, which will be cool. After that we met up with a recent move-in couple
and their kids and signed up to help them with service a few days from then.
Wednesday I had my first district meeting as
district leader, which was kind of interesting. It started off a little bit
awkward but then got better. I had Elder Porter train on developing the faith
to find new investigators, and then I copied a bit of one of Elder Leavitt's trainings
on sanctification and followed that up by setting goals. We have a lot of ambitious
goals as a district and hopefully we will achieve them.
As a district
leader, I get to interview candidates for baptism, which is a huge
responsibility. I had the opportunity this week to interview a nice 21-year-old
guy in our area for baptism. He had really appreciated the missionaries teaching
him and enjoyed everything he felt about the church. He was super prepared already
when the missionaries knocked on his door. After I asked all the questions, he
asked me if I ever had any doubts that the church was true. I related a moment
in my life from March 2013 about how my life spiraled out of control until I received
a true confirmation from the Spirit that the Book of Mormon WAS true, and that
everything that is found within this church is true, and that I had the ability
to change my life around, which I did. That touched him and solidified that
desire to be baptized.
Later in
the day we went over to an investigator's home and had a solid lesson with her.
She has found faults in every church thus far and is giving ours a go. She said
that if she found out if the Church was true, she would be baptized. It was
pretty sweet. We also tracked into a kind Catholic family who weren't interested,
but they let us talk about our church with them.
Thursday we went over to this place called “The
Well,” which is essentially like the Bishop's Storehouse except it’s non-denominational.
They accept help from all organizations which is really cool. They support the
needy through food and other supplies. After that we went over and mowed the
yard of the family we visited on Tuesday. We ran into some return missionaries
selling pest control, and they gave us some Gatorade, which was awesome. They
work for Home Shield, which is a company owned by a member from Hendersonville
Ward which was fun. We also had dinner with a family from the 2nd Ward and I
got to pet their daughter's pet rat. After we were done, we cleaned up and went
to go meet the Ward Mission Leader (now on WML) of the Thompson's Station 1st
Ward and talked about the needs of the Ward.
Friday we had a very long weekly planning
session that we used to get to know
the area really well. We then got to
meet up with the baptismal candidate
and answered some more of his
questions about what happens
after this life. We ended the night at a member’s home, which was a lot of fun.
Saturday was awesome! We went over to the
church for the baptism. The guy getting baptized was really excited.
The missionary who baptized him was Elder Hamling, who came out with me. It was
a really spiritual day, and it was super cool. The bishop gave him a set of
scriptures, which contained notecards from everyone present bearing their testimonies
on them. It was super cool.
The baptism (from
left to right: Elder Bedwell, Larry, Elder Hamling,
and Elder Partida on
Skype)
Sunday I got to meet the remaining members
in the 1st Ward including a family that was from the Herndon Ward a while
ago--such a small world. The guy who was baptized was confirmed in Church as
the newest member of the Church! Elder Bedwell did the confirmation and gave
him the gift of the Holy Ghost. The 1st Ward WML taught gospel principles on
missionary work, and then we went off to opening exercises. It was then we
remembered we were over two wards and went for meetings with the 2nd Ward. We
got to meet the 2nd Ward WML who is an animator for a relatively famous kids
website which is cool. Fast forward three more hours of church; we finally left
very tired and overwhelmed.
In the
evening we went over to a member’s home from the 1st Ward and had turkey avocado
burgers which were really awesome. We talked a lot about mission stories. After
that we went back home, and I collected numbers
from the two other sets of missionaries in my district for the week. It was
really fun but stressful.
We have a
Zone Conference coming up that I'm supposed to be playing piano for, so that
will be fun. I'm enjoying the area and working hard to establish unity in the
tri-panionship. It's very stressful but we are working on it.
Hope
ya'll are having a good week! We sure
appreciate your prayers.
Elder Peery
Please
email me at:
You can
write me at:
Elder Andrew
Peery
Tennessee Nashville Mission
1646 Sunset Road, Brentwood, TN 37027
We already miss you! Hope your new area is good to you! Until we meet again!
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