With Willy and the Mathis family
Wow. So yeah, lots happened this week.
On Monday
we went down to Manchester where we met up with the Manchester elders and the
Tullahoma elders and we played a ton of baseball. It was loads of fun. Elder
Beckett didn't play too much, so he was the commentator. After that Elder Cox
and I went on exchange in Manchester. Not much happened that day.
Manchester water tower
Tuesday Elder
Cox and I tried a bunch of people, but majority of them were not home. We did
get to meet the Anderson family who were really nice and fed us scones. We also
got to teach one of their friends there as well. After that I got him some
Zaxby's shakes, which apparently are very high in calories. Still tastes good
though.
Seminary with Elder Cox!
Wednesday Elder
Cox and I were invited to help out with the early morning seminary class. It
had been the first time I went to seminary since I was inactive from the church,
the 2nd semester of my Senior year in high school. They were
memorizing Malachi 3:8-10, and we studied the Atonement. It was awesome! We
then met back up at district meeting, and I went with my regular companions,
Elders Barrus and Beckett, to go try some people, but ended up striking out.
Thursday we followed
up with a lot of our investigators and also found some new ones. We also saw
the Mathis family, and they were kind of sad because of a sickness in their
family. We then went on an exchange with a member and tried a few people but
not much luck, however, he did take us to Captain D's which is essentially like
Long John Silvers. After that we were able to contact a less active who moved
here from Soda Springs, ID so it was fun talking about southeast Idaho for a bit.
I think part of the reason I'm skimming a bit on
the first few days of the week is because of what happened the next three days
since they are kind of huge...
Friday morning
around 9:05am, President Andersen texted asking to speak with me. I was very
nervous ‘cause it could mean a number of things. Sadly, it was what I feared. I
called him right back, and he informed me that a missionary would be leaving
early because he was homesick, and since I was in a trio, I'd be called to fill
his spot. I would leave Sunday after church for Spring Hill, TN to serve in the
Spring Hill ward which is the neighboring ward to Thompson's Station, one of my
old areas. I was very sad to say the least because I wanted to finish my mission
in McMinnville. And once again was being emergency transferred from an area I
liked. But I told president I'd do it.
We spent the rest of the day saying goodbye to
people. In the afternoon I went on a split with Bro. Street and saw the Majors
family. Bro. Majors should be receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood in a few
months, which is exciting. In the evening we went out
teaching with Bro. Pennington and saw Debra. It was sad saying goodbye, but I
know I will see all of them again. We had a jam session with Bro. Pennington in the late evening after some dessert.
Saturday we went
with Bro. Shoemaker and tried to see a few people but no luck. We did get to
try a referral and contacted her. In the evening we went over to the Hoyles'
spa, and they gave us these scone sandwiches which were really good. We also got to
try out their massage beds which was kind of like a waterbed mixed with a
jacuzzi. The jets massage your back but you don't get wet or anything. It was nice. Most of the day was spent packing for Sunday.
Sunday was kind
of rough. Reminded me of when I left Hendersonville. I was asked to bear my
testimony in sacrament meeting which was hard to do. Debra came to church to
see me off. Elder Beckett tried to take care of Willy during sacrament meeting
but failed miserably. So me and Elder Barrus had to go watch him. I also watched
him during second hour. During third hour I taught Elders Quorum on the talk by
Neil L. Andersen on "Faith is not by chance, but by choice." I can't
really remember everything I said, but it was really good.
Here is the link to the talk, so you can watch it
and/or read it, too.
Bro. Mathis gave me a Liberty Bell in honor of my
nickname "Thomas Jefferson". After that, we said goodbye to a lot of
people, and then we went to the apartment where President and Sister Andersen
were waiting. I said goodbye to Elder Barrus and Elder Beckett, and then off we
went.
Riding with President and Sister Andersen down to Spring Hill
The drive down was kinda quiet for the first bit.
They were listening to Acts 3-7 before I finally started a conversation. I
talked to them about their lives before the mission and what they want to do
after the mission. It was like a two hour interview with
me asking the questions. It was fun.
Finally we got to the Spring Hill apartment which
is located in Columbia. I got out, the missionary going home got in, and I
loaded all my stuff into the apartment and met Elder Hinds, my new and probably
last companion. He's from Kaysville, UT and has been out about 9 months. He's a
pretty strong guy and was Elder Ihler's MTC companion.
Elder Hinds demonstrating how to skin a fish
We talked for a bit and then went off to this
Easter party at the Pennington's who are relatives of the Pennington's in
McMinnville. (Small world!) It was kind
of like drinking from a fire hose--so many people to talk to and meet. Elder
Hinds showed off his hunting skill by catching and skinning a fish, which we
later cooked and ate. After that they had an Easter egg hunt with all the
little kids. It was fun to watch. In the evening we had dinner at a returning
member's home. They want us to teach their daughter, which we will begin doing
tomorrow.
Easter Egg chase
Today we did all kinds of stuff, which is why this email
took a little longer than usual to send out. It's kind of strange all this
happened. I literally had 4 companions this week. I'm hoping things will be
good here even if it's just for 8 weeks. I'm grateful for all the members and
nonmembers back in McMinnville and hopefully will see them again.
See y’all next week,
Elder Peery
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