Week 38 - Departure

Hello All!

    Well it sounds like things are just swell in ol' St. George!  Congrats to all of my wonderful friends who continue to get mission calls.  You're all going to be wonderful ambassadors of the Lord, and I can't wait to hear about your successes.  Things here are just hunky-dory as ever, but sadly, I won't be in the Lethbridge West 12th Ward much longer; tomorrow is transfer day, and I received a transfer notice today letting me know that I'm going up to Calgary.  I don't know where, since there are 7 zones in Calgary, but we'll see tomorrow.  Along with my transfer, I also got a District Leader call.  Needless to say, I had a bit of a restless night last night.  I'm grateful to know, though, that the Lord helps those He calls to serve, and I'm sure He'll be giving me plenty of that help in the coming weeks.

    The past week has been great, though we did have to stay in a couple of days due to Elder Law not feeling well.

    I am sad to be leaving the 12th Ward, but things are going well here, and they'll be in the capable hands of Elder Law, so I'm not too worried. 

    Rob is Rob.  I'll be going to teach him tonight on splits, and though I'm sad not to be here for his baptism, I'm so grateful for the blessing it has been to know him.

    We also had a great lesson with Darren on Wednesday, where we talked a lot about his family and his considering baptism.  He's been going to church and meeting sporadically with the missionaries for about 12 years now, and he said he considers joining quite a lot, probably more than anyone thinks. but he just doesn't feel ready yet, for whatever reason.  I've been thinking a lot about that this past week, because I know how much of a blessing for him and his family if he did decide to be baptized, but it happens.  All I can say about situations like his is, don't give up.  Sometimes, hearts need a while to be softened, but our Father in Heaven doesn't give up on any of
his children, no matter how stubborn we are sometimes.  Why should we?

    Darcy is also doing really well.  We weren't able to meet with him and his family on Sunday, but we've seen him a couple of times at church and at a Family Movie Night we put on last night.  As of Sunday, he'd read through about half of 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon.  His mom also had the opportunity to share with him her favorite chapters at the end of 2 Nephi.  It's been so wonderful to see the progress of Darcy and his mother's family over the past weeks.

    Still no word on Sam, Ben, and Beth.  It's been hard to know what to do to help them over the past weeks, but I know the ward will continue to do all they can to bring them back.

    I was reading in Romans this morning, and I came across a fantastic scripture.  Paul is talking about becoming joint-heirs with Christ, and all we have to do to achieve that is suffer with him.  I took that to mean endure to the end.  Then he says, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."(Romans 8:18)  Enduring is hard.  Change, heartache, disappointment, discouragement, it all takes its toll.  But, compared to the glory that awaits us, it's nothing.  All we have to do is endure the puny trials of our mortal lives, and we will receive glory, honor, joy, and peace beyond measure!  How comforting is that?  When we have an eternal perspective, all of our trials become easier to bear, and that's definitely something I know I need at times.

    Well, wonderful people.  I love you all!  I'm realizing how incredibly blessed I am to have the people in my life that I do, and I'm determined to try to bless your lives as much as you've blessed mine.  It'll probably be impossible, but I'm gonna try! :)  Have a great week!  Be good!  Have fun!

I love you all so much,

Elder Hafen