New Junior Companion Already a "Pro"; Teaching Seminary a Success

23 November 2009

Hi Dad,

Thank you for your email. I am doing well and you can tell anyone that asks that I am doing well and truly enjoying the mission. It is nice of people to wonder how am doing.

This past week has been a hectic one. With that meeting in Pocatello I had to be at, transfers, etc. The meeting was pretty good. There were 20 trainers attending. That is the largest group of missionaries coming to the mission that anybody can remember. Basically they told us at the meeting that the future of the mission depends on us. That we need to be the absolute best missionaries we can be and then teach the new ones how to be better. It was lots of fun, it was a bit of a reunion. I drove down with Elder Moller, Elder Slocum, and Elder Poppleton. Elder Moller is serving in Terreton, Elder Slocum in Driggs, and Elder Poppleton in Jackson. Elder Poppleton said his dad still reads the blog and loves to find out what is going on.

At the meeting in Pocatello I got to See Elder Travis Taylor. We were in the MTC together and quickly became good friends. We were standing in line to go through all the medical stuff on the first day at the MTC and he told me he was really hungry. We then found out we were both going to Pocatello! We bonded really quick. I haven't seen him since May 3 at Elder Bednar's conference. So we had a really good time together at the meeting. Monday night I stayed at the mission home with the three elders I drove down with. Then Tuesday morning we left right before the new elders arrived.

Wednesday morning Elder Johnsen and I went to go teach the Seminary kids how to give away a Book of Mormon and how to share the gospel with their friends. It went really well. We had to go to transfers after that first class. But Bro. Chelson (the teacher and a high councilman over missionary work) asked us to come back and teach the other classes as well! So We picked up my new companion (Elder Walker from Castle Rock, Colorado) and drove from Rexburg straight to the seminary and began to teach. It was his first experience in the field. His bags were still in the car. Elder Walker did a terrific job. He is a pro already. It was a ton of fun to teach that class and Bro. Chelson asked us to teach every class. He wanted the whole school to experience it. So for three days we got to teach seminary.

It has been really productive already. Two people asked for Book of Mormons to give away, we have a couple less actives we get to work with, and a few referrals and we know that other kids are sharing the gospel with their friends from what we have heard.

We are extremely grateful that the seminary teachers allowed us to use their class time and that it has been so successful already.

It snowed for several hours yesterday and I think it is here to stay.

The work is going extremely well, new things are happening and the doors are being opened.

Love,

Elder Call