week 28

 Monday, August 16,2021

Week 28- The New Guy Is Here!

Hey Guys!

I had a super wild week this week! Elder Kofford and I said goodbye to the people we were teaching, I got to see some friends at transfers, I picked up a new missionary I am training and he has a WILD story about how he got here, and we saw some miracles with the people we are teaching!

For starters, let me tell you about saying goodbye to Elder Kofford. We worked really hard the last week he was here. Before he left, he signed a bunch of the stuff in our apartment (lots of missionaries do this so people in the future will remember them lol). We found literally everything we could and signed it. Bay City will never forget him! When he left, I gave him a tie and he gave me one and signed the back of it. I love Elder Kofford! He was a great companion and I will miss him. We saw many miracles as we labored with all our might! He and I are going to rip the slopes when we get home. 

I was in a trio with the other two missionaries for a day before I got my new companion. We had fun together! At the transfer van, I got to see my MTC companion for the first time in 6 months!! He is going as far north as you possibly can, so I may not see him for a long time. I told Elder Kofford to go on exchanges up there and save him...

Now to the trainee! Everyone better buckle up for this one. On Wednesday the 11th, the three of us (Elders Candland and Reynolds) drove from Bay City to Lansing. As we were driving (it is about 1.5 hours) a huge rain storm hit us and it was POURING. I was like, this may be bad... We decided to take some fun pictures at the Michigan State Campus and get there a little early. After we saw the campus a little bit, all the trainers went to the Lansing Stake Center to pick up the trainees. This is where it got interesting. Because there were so many new missionaries, they came in two groups and my companion was supposed to be in the first group. Sister Heap and President Heap gave the training while the new guys listened. Then, Sister Heap asked all the trainers to share their favorite parts of the mission, something that helped them adjust to missionary life, and their favorite part of Michigan. I was to go second. As I was about to go, Sister Heap said "Elder Elliott, I am going to have you still share. But, your companion isn't here. His flight got delayed." Another one of the trainers named Elder Housekeeper also had a companion whose flight was delayed. Except, he had been told in advance what was going to happen so he brought extra clothes and a toothbrush. Both of our guys were supposed to get in around 1130 that night.

It was actually pretty fun! Elder Housekeeper and I got to hang out with the AP's! We went to the airport with them and picked up the second batch of missionaries coming in. (None of them were my companion, mine wasn't supposed to come until 11 that night). I got to hang out with Elder Stone who was my first Zone Leader when I served in Saginaw. We picked up the new guys in the Transfer Van and I got to talk with all the new missionaries! It was so fun! I hyped them up about how fun being a missionary will be and it was so fun to see their desire to serve. It reminded me of my first few days of the mission and it made me so excited to actually meet my trainee!

Fast forward, Sister Heap got us and about 10 other missionaries a room at a hotel. Elder Housekeeper and I stayed up with the Assistants until about 11 talking and then we went to the airport to pick up the new guys. I was exhausted but hyped to meet the new guy. Then, both of our guys' flights got delayed. Mine was coming in from Chicago. Then they got delayed again. We waited at the airport until 1am with this random guy who was super nice, but wouldn't stop talking to us  He also told me I was going to "marry a hot blonde" and I was like where did that come from??. Finally, about 130 both the flights got canceled. We were so worried about our trainees!! 

The flights got delayed because of the HUGE rainstorm in Lansing. It wasn't safe for the planes to land! It was so wild driving the huge Transfer Van at about 130 am with Elder Stone. As we drove, we said a prayer for Elder Clouse and that we would make it home safe. It was pouring so hard we had to yell at each other to speak!!!! 

Elder Clouse's story of how he got here is wild. He missed his connecting flight, got stuck on the runway and ended up flying/being in an airport for about 40 hours. The funniest part of his story was he was in the Chicago airport with these random members (who he didn't know, but miraculously were on the same flight as him.) He was at the front desk of the airport Thursday morning and the woman at the counter said there was a flight in 30 minutes that could take him. Elder Clouse was like "can I hop on this flight? I will get into Lansing around 10am instead of this evening". These members were super nice and said "no, we would rather drive you there!" SO THEN this lady from Lansing drove ALL the way to Chicago , picked up this family and Elder Clouse, and then drove all the way back to Lansing. Poor Elder Clouse got 5 hours of sleep in two days. The whole time, this family gave him PLENTY of opportunities to teach. When they finally arrived in Lansing, Elder Candland, Reynolds and I were all at the Mission Office waiting for him with the MLM sign! He was exhausted, but happy to be here! When he arrived, the woman who drove him was like "did you remember?" and he was like "oh yeah I will take care of it" (he didn't know what she was talking about) and while they traveled to Lansing, they had two referrals for the mission office! Usually referrals get sent electronically but these kind people made sure Elder Clouse gave them to the office by hand.

I do not do the story justice. I am secure in the fact that I have a better record of the story in my journal. This email is already a mile long but I want to talk about Elder Clouse. All I know is that Satan was pulling all the stops to get him delayed from coming. If it had been anyone else, he probably wouldn't have made it out here without wanting to go home. It was rough! But he has a great attitude.   

We drove Elder Clouse to Bay City and this man is hilarious! He is a stud!! When we got to the apartment, I figured he would be exhausted. But, he was filled with energy! He unpacked, wrote in his journal, and pulled out his camera ready to take some pictures the next day. He is filled with fire!! I wish you all could have seen the smile on my face as I watched him unpack. I was filled with joy and genuinely said a prayer in my heart, thanking God for the opportunity to train Elder Clouse. He is a stud of a missionary, and we are going to do some great things here. 

It has been so fun working with him because he reminds me a lot of myself at the beginning of my mission. I was filled with so much fire and I was ready to go full steam ahead! I remember Elder Corry (my trainer) commenting on how he had to keep up with me. I feel a similar way about Elder Clouse. He has a lot to learn, but God has allowed me to see his potential and I am going to work as hard as I can to help him be the best missionary he can be. We are going to see miracles in Bay City! 

Patrick and Jazzii will probably get baptized in this transfer. Patrick came to church for the first time and we just finished teaching him all the lessons!!!!!! SO HYPED 

If you made it this far, I want you all to know, I am all in on my missionary service. Missionary work is hard, and tiring. But I wake up everyday with a fire in my bosom, determined everyday to work as hard as I can and find those God has prepared for me to teach. I can't wait to see what God has in store for me in Bay City! 

I love you all, have a good week!

Elder Elliott 

Enjoy the pics below! We have transfers, MSU, picking up Clouse and the past few days with him