WEEK 45 T/CALLS

April 08, 2022

WEEK 45 T/CALLS

Monday, December 13, 2021

Good Afternoon everyone!!

Wow, it was a wild week here in Traverse City. We got Transfer Calls, did the Blazin challenge, went on exchanges and had some cool things happen. Let me tell you about it!!

Well I will start off with Transfers. On Friday night I was in the middle of going to the bathroom when the phone rang and the AP's were calling. All that week we had been anxious about what was going to happen because we had no idea. Turns out Elder Tueller is leaving and going to Jackson Michigan (the hood) and I am staying here to get a new companion Elder Anderson!! Elder Anderson has been on his mission for a long time and only has about 4 months left. Crazy!! I am super sad to see Elder Tueller go. We had way too much fun these past 6 weeks. It felt like it was only 1 week! I remember when I first got here it was always a little awkward with a new companion. I mean, you just met each other and you are supposed to live with this guy now! So it was a little awkward those first few days. I read in Mosiah 28:3 about how the Sons of Mosiah. These guys were about to go on a mission to teach wicked people who HATED them. Yet, all they wanted was to be friendly with their enemies. They truly loved them and it says they just wanted to be "friendly" with the Lamanites. So when I arrived here in Traverse City I knew Elder Tueller and I could be good friends. I could just feel it. I began to plead with the Lord that we could be friends or become "friendly" as it says in that scripture. The Lord answered my prayers. Elder Tueller and I have become very close and I am going to miss serving with him a lot. We already made plans to live out our dream and move to Hawaii for a summer. He is such a good guy and I am going to miss serving with him! Our time together was never short of laughs and he is going to do some great things in Jackson.

I am so psyched to get Elder Anderson. I have heard he is a very diligent missionary and I know we are going to see some miracles here in Traverse City. I am going to learn so much! The bottom line is that I am going to plead with the Lord like I did with Elder Tueller so we can become friends. Because this work is so much better when you and your companion are best friends!! I will be dropping off Elder Tueller tomorrow and getting Elder Anderson!

On Monday we went to Buffalo Wild Wings with our District Council and did the Blazin' challenge and it was rough. Elder Tueller and I were getting so psyched to do it we really thought we were going to win. The challenge was against the STL's to see who could eat the most in 5 minutes. We were dreading Monday for so long because of the Blazin' challenge and when it came we were so nervous. We took pre-workout in the car to prepare for it haha. And then... we failed. Elder Tueller finished his wings super fast but I only got down 8 of them. I had a hard time eating them quickly and ended up choking on them at the end. It was gross. Both the sisters finished in 5 minutes and we were honestly shocked. SIster Averett was eating them and swallowing the wings without chewing. It was so weird. But, we lost and it was all my fault. The Lord humbled us hardcore and we were just down the rest of the day lol. I was so mad we lost and I am going to do it again before I go home from my mission.

On Tuesday this week Elder Tueller and I woke up early and made the trek to Petoskey. We were too broke to buy McDonald's breakfast this time haha but our exchange was a blast. I went with Elder Stoner (who was trained in Saginaw just like me!) He and I had a really good time seeing the sights of Petoskey. It is a beautiful town and we had a great time. There are two sets of missionaries in Petoskey and when we got there the Elders we were with were telling us about the prank war they have been having with the other Elders. Naturally, we wanted to join their prank war. SO we may or may not have helped the Elders we were with sneak into the other Elders apartment and put laxatives in their water and milk... It was hilarious while we were doing it because Elder Reese was supposed to be on watch for them to come back. He buzzed the apartment and we all thought we were going to get caught so we started SPRINTING to get out. Elder Stoner was about to leap off the balcony but then Elder Reese told us it was a false alarm haha. We came back later to say hi to the Elders and we had to hide our laughs as the Elders started chugging the water we had put laxatives in . It was a fun time.

We were able to do a lot of missionary work don't worry. Elder Stoner and I called a lot of people and we were able to set up some lessons for their area. It was actually a really successful day! Elder Stoner is an absolute stud and I just love going on exchanges with these wonderful missionaries!! We slept the night there on air mattresses and drove to Alpena the next day to join their District Council. We do a lot of driving here in Traverse City!

This week we had some really cool lessons with Mike and his family as well as Fred and his family. We met with Mike and it was such a good lesson. Mike has some really deep questions about life that we were able to answer with the Plan of Salvation. He is so prepared!

Fred and his family are just so much fun. We stopped by their house a few days ago and I was so discouraged. Illine (Fred's fiance) came to the door and was like "Hey guys we started going back to our Catholic church so we don't want to change religions". But, she invited us over for dinner on Sunday. I left their house that day so discouraged. I just wished I could help these people understand how important the Book of Mormon is and how much it can change our lives. Anyways we came back Sunday and the two kids love Elder Tueller and I. They and are always laughing and joking with us when we come over. On Sunday we had Little Caesars pizza they bought us, salad and spaghetti with them. It was so much fun! While we were leaving I asked Fred how he liked the Book of Mormon and he told me he really enjoyed how simple it was. He said he liked it and our church a lot more than the other things he had been to. We think that his kids do as well and it lifted my spirits so much. I really think he is interested!! It is so exciting.

Illine is the funniest woman alive. She is a really straightforward Filipino woman and she is always yelling at her kids in her accent. It was so wild! Her kids would be misbehaving and she would yell "Stop it! I am going to ground you!" "Stop, I am going to send you to Boot Camp!" (That one was funny, Christopher was like, "What is Boot Camp?"). The kids were asking if we could play Fortnite with them and Illine was like "No! Jesus will ground them!" It was pretty funny. She does not hold back at all and she LOVES giving us food. Everytime I go there I eat so much I think I am going to throw up. But oh my goodness, I love Mike's family and Fred's family SO much. I can see them in white and they make me want to be even more diligent so I can help prepare them to be members of Christ's church.

It was a wild week and honestly I feel like I am missing out on something. But I just want to say that these last 6 weeks have been such a blast. I have loved them so much and I am going to miss Elder Tueller so much!!! We made so many memories and took so many amazing pictures together. He and I are literally the same person. Next week I will be with a new companion and I can't wait to keep giving it all to the Lord here in Traverse City. I know miracles are coming our way.

I love you all. Next time I write, it will be almost Christmas!

Love,