Last (possible) transfer

Dear All,

Is it weird that next Monday is my last (possible) transfer day? How crazy is that? I'm making my last agenda, putting baptismal dates for my last weeks, everything is just coming to an end and its like WHAT I JUST GOT HERE. It's a weird feeling.

So this week was good, we had two baptisms, one of which was super chill. Definitely the highlight of the week. Also, in the mission, we are starting something called "The Model Area" which is where the APs and the ZLs have to maintain the highest numbers, most baptisms, strongest support from the members, everything, and then all of the companionships come and do divisions with us so that we can train them and explode the area. This is a change from the old exchanges, where one of us would go with one elder in his area and the other in our area with the other elder. The idea is to keep the best missionaries in the best areas for the most time possible, so that the general success can be greater. So we brought two companionships to our area, one on Thursday and one on Friday, and all four of us worked together, covering double the ground we would normally do. For example, on Friday, for my part, we found 10 new investigators and put 7 new baptismal dates, while my companion had several lessons with member present and helped a family sheetrock their house. So its a pretty sweet system.

But more about the baptisms: one is a guy that's my age, he just turned 21, and his buddy is a recent convert in California, and so his buddy sent us his address, and boom there we were the next day, and 5 weeks later he was getting baptized. He has come to be one of my best friends, and he really is going to do amazing things as a member of the church. He told us the day after his baptism, "Well, I work in the afternoon and I have every morning free, if you want I can come do visits with you guys whenever you want. I kinda wanna hear how you guys preach your sermons to other sinners like me" hahaha I about died but hey how cool is that. The dude wasn't even confirmed yet and he wanted to come visit with us. I'm gonna make sure he goes on a mission.

The other guy is a sister's dad, and when we announced his baptism, everyone got super surprised. No one believed that he would do it. Apparently he had listened to the missionaries a few times and had never wanted anything to do with the church, but then one Sunday he showed up, so we went to go visit him. It was kinda cool, when we invited him to get baptized, his daughter whipped out her phone and started recording, we felt like the Elders from "The District". And then in his baptism he shared his testimony, and most of his kids and grandkids were there, and he told them, leaning on his cane, "I'm doing this so that you can all have a good example to follow. I've studied years and years with the JW, with Christians, Catholics, everyone, and it only took me a month to get baptized here." We were all like wow. This dude is legit.

So yeah we've been having some really good weeks recently. I like feeling like I know what I'm doing, like there really isn't any situation in that I feel unconfortable or out of place or don't know what to say, and I think it's cause I'm finally getting good at listening to the Spirit."Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea,behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever." Alma 26:12

Los quiero mucho,

Elder Rawlings