Things are, as usual, pretty crazy here. Yesterday transfer calls came in. Transfer calls inform all Elders who will be changing areas and companions that they need to pack and be ready to attend the transfer meeting at the mission office to swap companions and then be taken to their new areas. Transfers happen every six weeks. The last one was on October 26 before I had arrived in Georgia. As of Wednesday the 8th I will have been on my mission for three months. That is one eighth already over! Hard to believe. However, there is progress on the visa. I feel my prediction of being in Brazil by early to mid January is going to be just about right on. The times they are a changin'.
On Tuesday, the rain came down. It was incredible. It came down all afternoon and into the night. It flooded the freeways (thank you very much autumn leaves, you are grey and ugly and have overstayed your welcome), and drenched everything. For the most part we had the opportunity to stay out of it, but we had to knock doors for an hour and a half just after dinner. I was wearing a "waterproof" rain coat that another missionary lent me. The rain coat is a fraud. I was soaked. The rule in this mission is that you must wear a suit jacket if you are going to wear a rain or winter jacket. My fraudulent raincoat was soaked, my suit was soaked, and all the way down to my skin was drenched. My planner was completely water-logged. I did a really good job of keeping the Book of Mormon I was holding dry by painstakingly sheltering it from the rain (I don't know how with a drenched coat). Then right before we got back to the car I tripped, and though I didn't fall down, I dropped my Book of Mormon in a puddle. It sounds dreary and like I'm complaining, but it was actually very fun. The whole situation was pretty laughable and I felt like a little kid dancing in puddles and walking in the rain. I laughed about the book, though of course, scripture deserves to be treated better if possible (it was not possible Tuesday night.)
| Lake by Athens, GA apartment |
| In front of Provo, Utah temple |
| With mission flag in front of Provo, Utah temple |
We finished helping the people move who we helped last week. They are off to Florida. We also helped again at the independent living center. This time they finished the Christmas decor, so part of our time was spent washing the bus they have to be in the Christmas parade happening the next day. Yes, on December 3 I was outside washing a bus in short sleeves. Georgia is a little warmer than Idaho.
There is a restaurant chain down here that is called Waffle House. It is on every corner it seems. One of the members took us out there, and it was delicious. That's all about that I guess. I was pleasantly surprised. It is kind of like a cheap version of IHOP. Yum.
On Wednesday I had the chance to go on exchange with the Spanish Elders again. We actually had three solid teaching appointments and although they again carried the bulk of the lessons, I was able to understand and contribute. We met a man from Ecuador who is a business man and he told us all about how he is going to re-model his home next year and all of the bargain-hunting he has been doing at every store. He is an expert comparison shopper. We met two women, sisters, who were really interested in the Book of Mormon and we read some passages with them in Spanish and had a good discussion with them. It was a long day, but really rewarding.
Remember that investigator I wrote about last week. He committed to live the Word of Wisdom and made much other progress this week. But. But then he didn't come to church and he missed the Ward Christmas Party. Even though he said he would be coming to both and we called to remind and everything. So, we visited him Sunday afternoon. Turns out, he is tired of his life here in Athens and so he is packing up his stuff (he was almost done packing) and was going to move. He doesn't even have any idea where he is going other than "south". So, he is leaving tomorrow. Bang. We told him how to find missionaries where he is going, but now we are without any serious investigators here in Athens 2nd. I wish we could have helped him more.
Oh, remember transfer calls from up above? I guess I will end the suspenseful waiting now. I am going to be transferred, so I have to pack all my things. We don't find out where I'm going or who I will be with until Wednesday morning. So I am sad in a nostalgic kind of way. I really will miss Elders Mortenson and Arnett. They will be staying in Athens 2nd. I like our apartment and our area, and I am just starting to feel at home in the ward. On the other hand, I am very excited and curious about where I will be in the next few days. You'll find out next week.
Our Ward Christmas Party was interesting. Remember the 50ish year old lady who went teaching with us a couple weeks back in the week I titled "kidneys by the way"? She was chosen to lead some of the kids in some Christmas carols just as side entertainment for rowdy children. She had a microphone, and she sang really loud, but she was super off tune and did NOT know the words to almost any songs so she kept apologizing and telling the pianist to start over. That was probably the highlight of the party, for me and probably me only. She is just super hilarious. The theme was Christmas Around the World so people brought in foreign dishes from places they had either lived before or been to on missions. There was Hawaii, Philippines, Vietnam, Guatemala, and of course Brazil. That was fun. I had some guarana. Yum.
We had a mission wide meeting. We learned about mormon.org and all of the features so that we can refer interested people to specific parts of the website rather than just a vague "go to mormon.org". We are also required to make profiles to put up on the website, so we have been working on those. Mormon.org basically explains all the beliefs of the church, has a vast array of profiles from members of the church with their testimonies and personal convictions. It is actually really neat, even for members.
That's about all. The Christmas Devotional last night was cool, but I only got to hear about one half because there were technical difficulties at the chapel we were watching it at. And throughout the second half it kept freezing. That was nice though. I love the Christmas Devotional. I believe that's all the most notable events. We'll see where I get put on Wednesday. Have a happy week.
Elder JOSHUA BODILY
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