My Thanksgiving was fabulous. We had breakfast with a member of the ward, then played football with the assistants and about half the zone. It was sweet! I will have you know that I had some sweet diving touchdown receptions. In case you were curious. Afterward, we had Thanksgiving dinner with the stake high councilman assigned to missionary work, Brother Vance. On the outside, he seems like a pretty dry guy, but he got to talking about his childhood shenanigans growing up on the farm and I had to question how he ever survived his younger years! The rest of the day was chill. Just did normal preparation day stuff.
I found out this morning that I am being transferred. Of course, I can't say I'm surprised. So it should be exciting! I don't have any idea where I am headed, and I'm pretty sure I will no longer be assigned as a zone leader. I heard that President Bonham will be assigning a number of the zone leaders to be junior companions this coming transfer. I am kind of excited, but also super nervous. It's been a long time since I was transferred! But that's ok. Change is good for growth. I have really committed myself to giving my all this last twelve weeks. I want to be sure I do it right. I want to make sure that whoever I serve with gets the very best of me!
On Friday, before I began my personal study, I received a phone call from Brother Tuck, a member of the bishopric, asking me to speak in sacrament meeting on Sunday, as one of his others speakers had cancelled. Since I'm a missionary, I was happy to oblige (Either way, I think I would have been happy to help)! So I spent the next few personal studies and lunches putting together a talk on "expressing gratitude through obedience". I felt like the talk went pretty well, and I certainly learned a lot about gratitude and obedience. I think the most valuable insight that came to me was this: Heavenly Father doesn't ask us to be grateful or obedience for his profit (Mosiah 2:20-21); he asks us to be grateful and obedient because to do so profits us. These attributes are necessary for us to grow spiritually and become like Christ.
A number of my close mission friends went home yesterday. I really look up to a lot of those missionaries and I will be happy to see them again someday, but I will certainly miss them. On to the next phase!
I am really grateful for Elder Foster. I have grown so much with him as my companion. I have never had a companion that took scripture study quite as seriously as he does. I admire him for it and hope to know and understand the scriptures the way he does one day.
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| He is the Gift card/link |
I feel bad that I used to be super detailed in all my emails home, but now I just kind of struggle to share anything cool. Like Christian's emails. Haha. I promise I'm having a great time and learning a lot! I will really miss the mission when it's over. But that ain't yet!
Like I said, I can't really think of anything for Christmas. Maybe new road bike handlebar wraps? I've got some electrical tape holding the old wraps down, so that's not a big deal. I think a written letter from each member of the family (current goings-on and testimony included) would make my day! I know I don't often reply by written letter, but I love receiving them!
I love y'all!
Elder Cole Martin
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