Even more has happened this week for me. I feel like I just went
through a tornado and am now able to stand. So lets start with the
beginning. As I wrote last week one of my companions went home for
some transgressions not taken care of before the mission, Austin
Wade, who still wont respond to me and seems like he has forgotten
the mission. In the mean time I received another companion Elder
Swift who I wasn't sure why he was here with me but for other reasons
in his last area he was paired with me.
So
some more things came up and soon I found myself headed down to the
airport with Elder Swift and my Mission President and another office
worker and a few hours later without a companion. Yeah I sent home
another companion. Seriously I can't keep a companion for longer than
5 days!
So
I am now with 2 other elders that I live with and working with them
covering 3 wards and about 10 square miles with 3 of them about 2
miles away. A lot of biking and a lot of confusion. Oh and in the
Stake I am serving in they realigned the wards and made 2 new wards
which we were surprised about and found out some interesting things.
I lost some parts of the wards I am serving in which made me sad
because some really cool members and people we were teaching were in
those areas. But anyways that brings me to now when I am writing you.
Oh and we were given iPad's to help with teaching people, they are
the new mini's and are quite nice.
When
I went to send a missionary home I got the opportunity to have a
one-on-one talk with my Mission President R. Scott Taylor. We talked
about the situation and he thanked me for putting up with some of the
hectic things that have happened and helping with the few
missionaries I worked with.
He
then told me something that comforted me about missionaries that go
home. Previously when Elder Wade, now Austin Wade, told me he was
going home I took it sort of hard and was sad. When I prayed that
night Elder Moore came in and said a prayer with me offering comfort.
To this day Austin still doesn't know how much that really did effect
me.
Back
to my interaction with my Mission President. He said that it is
remarkable how the things that happen on your mission prepare you for
things that will happen later in your life. When he served a mission
his 1st companion was suffering from depression and had suicidal
thoughts. His mission president pulled him aside and told him I need
you to take care of this missionary and if he doesn't want to go out,
don't go out and just try to be a friend to him. He did his best but
got frustrated a lot because he is a new missionary and wants to got
back out and work. R. Scott Taylor was later send to the mission he
was waiting to go to, Argentina, waiting for a visa. And his
companion ended up being sent home.
Later
in his mission a new missionary came to his mission and asked him if
he knew, John (his former companion that struggled with suicidal
thoughts) and he said yes he remembers him and thought of whats up
with him, not the most positive. The new missionary said that he is
now the state treasury and in the stake presidency and a very
successful person. He was taken back that such a person on a mission
could turn out to that successful of a person, he wasn't expecting
that. (In my mind I thought he was going to say he died, I was
wrong). So the point that he was teaching me was that he would not
know what to do with the missionaries that are going home now in this
mission unless he experienced that back in his mission. Many of the
things we experience on our missions prepares us for later events so
I have been thinking about what this experience is going to prepare
me for. Either way I am excited because the Lord has now prepared me
for it.
President
Taylor and I also talked about may other things one being about the
people that are called to do certain things. I thought of him as a
very smart person and one who had answers and direction for many
things. Someone being prepared for some great calling in life, such
as Apostle. But talking with him he is a normal person no different
than one man his age from the other but he was asked by God to do a
work and that's what he is doing. Assignments are just assignments
and the people are still just people. So be yourself.
I
have learned a lot in the past couple days and I am actually grateful
for the trial I went through. It was difficult but now looking back
at where I was 10 days ago to know I know so much more about me and
the capability that the Lord has given me. I love Trials!! And I love
you too!
Love
Elder LEonhardt
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