I hope everything is going well with you guys. Transfers are today and I am getting transferred to the new Samoan ward, the Dimond Ward. I was pretty shocked at first when I found out that my new companion was going to be Elder W. but I am really excited. We went on exchanges a few weeks back and he is nice. It's weird that I am serving with another palagi "white person" this transfer. No new breakthroughs in the language department. I guess the biggest thing came with me just re-thinking my how I was going about learning the language. I am really going to start focusing on learning 5 words each day. I need to start building up my vocabulary if I am going to be able to speak more effectively. As I said, I am getting transferred but I am not going far. Nevertheless I still need to move everything from my apartment to the other apartment, so I don't really have a lot of time to email today because I have to go and pack the rest of my stuff. I am way bummed out for C. That totally stinks about Amazon.
My ankle is doing much better. I played basketball last evening with a bunch of less-actives and non-members at the church and it held up well. I think I am going to buy a compression brace; just something to help keep it more stable till its back to 100%. It's crazy though because today my whole left leg is way sore and my right leg is alright. The ankle itself was a little sore last night but this morning doesn't hurt at all and it's not swollen. So that is pretty awesome! I am so excited to be back up and moving again.
Cool news! I went over to the mission home this week when we were taking Elder R. over to his interview with President, and Sis. Dance was there. She had sat next to me at M.N's baptism on Saturday and had heard me sing. She wanted me to sing, with her accompanying me on the piano. So I got to sing for a good 40 minutes and it felt SO GOOD! Honestly, I can't remember the last time I got to sing like that. I would do it every day if I had the opportunity. It just reminded me of how good it feels. My voice has changed a ton, so it's really fun getting to relearn how to do everything. So I may be singing a solo at the zone conference coming up... If I do, I'll record it and send it home for you mom. :)
SO the other good news, I got to do another lesson with M. and J. because M. just got back from Hawai'i. It was so good to see him and it felt great to get to talk to them again.
M. N, got baptized also. It was wonderful! Elder O. baptized and I confirmed the following Sunday. It was a wonderful baptism. I spoke with her brother, W., who is 18, after the baptism and asked him how he felt. He said he felt, "Good!" So I explained that the reason he had that good feeling inside is because he had just witnessed his little sister follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized the same way he was. Then I asked him if he would be baptized, and he said, "Yeah, okay!" When I asked him when, he said, "Oh I don't know" so I said the first date that popped into my mind, "How about February 22nd?" Hahaha, and he said Yes! So we both went about talking to people after the baptism and Sister Dance even followed up with W., she talked to him about baptism and shared some scriptures about it with him and then she invited him to pray about the Book of Mormon. It was awesome. We weren't even aware of what the other had done.
I am bummed that I am leaving the Northern Lights Ward. I really liked that ward. It always seems that I get transferred after 2 transfers, and when I have people on date to be baptized in my area. We had 6 people on date for baptism at the end of the week this week which is the most I've had lined up my entire mission. It's exciting though - I know President Dance works through inspiration, and that his vision and Heavenly Fathers vision is much greater than my own. So all I can do is work hard, work smart, and trust in the Lord. And mom you were right about what I would do if I was bummed about getting transferred; right after I got my call I went into the other room and prayed. :)
It's amazing how many hard-working missionaries there are out there, but I think the thing I am beginning to see is that the difference between a stellar missionary and a good missionary is that the stellar missionary is always working to improve upon all the aspects of his missionary work. So that is what I have been focusing my personal studies on lately. Something that I've been doing is creating questions from each chapter that I can ask myself. It is really helpful. They aren't like memorization questions but more of a way to evaluate where I am at in each aspect of my missionary work and they help me see what I need to focus on, and also allow me to think a little deeper into each of the skills. The best part is that as I track it and set goals for my improvement I can recognize the way that the Atonement and my effort to follow Heavenly Fathers will have changed my life, and how much I have improved.
It is frustrating for me to see missionaries who fall into a sense of security and routine. And it is easy to do too! But when a missionary strives to improve then they can have the Spirit. If you are teaching by your own power then you are essentially shutting out the Spirit and if you shut out the Spirit then you are shutting out Christ.
I have resolved to continue to work harder, smarter, and to just become a better missionary, and more Christ-Like.
I love you all and miss you tons. I hope you have a wonderful day.
OH and one sad/happy note. Elder L. goes home tomorrow at 1:00 AM. I will miss him tons. I will see him for the last time at transfers today. I will wear my awesome fur hat. ;)
Love,
Elder Britton Perkins Winterrose.
PS You guys need to watch the Laughing Samoans.
(Thanks for the notes about grandparents - the notes about both grandpas cracked me up, and the note about grandma Billie and the ZooBooks/Magazines are so true. Grandma helped me pass AP Bio. Seriously, everything on that test is taught at one point in time in ZooBooks. Hahaha. I will definitely invest in magazine subscriptions when I get home.)
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