Exchanges

October 31, 2011

FlightAware. I love that website. I never really had any flights to track, but I would just watch the activity around the SLC Airport and find out information about different airports. I don't know how it was for international flight though.


This last week was pretty ok. I went on exchanges with Elder Northrup. We were in the same apartment in La Carlota for six months. He is a very interesting person, talks a lot. But I still love the guy. We had a great time together. Taught some lessons and found some new investigators. He also told me about a movie that his family watched that Mom would really like. It's about this guy that has some strange disease and needs to take steroids. So he gets way fat and sick. He decides to go on a all vegetable and fruit diet. Then he tours the country. While he is touring he meets another guy with the same problem. He decides to do the juice thing too. They both end up losing a bunch of weight and their health condition improves. I forgot the title. I'll ask Elder Northrup next time I see him (Wednesday at Zone Conference).

So, our investigators that were married and baptized last week didn't come to church this week. We saw them Saturday night and they were planning on coming to church, so I was puzzled. Later last night we were talking with another member and they mentioned something about them, so I commented that they weren't at church. He made a surprised look then asked, "Elder, you haven't heard the news?" I said I hadn't. He was then very pleased to inform us that the wife had her baby! It's a boy! Hopefully we get to see them sometime this week. Now we have one less pregnant lady in our branch (soon to be ward in a couple of weeks). There are a ton of pregnant members in our branch right now. And they are all due in the next two months. At least two of them are first time mothers too. They are way excited.

Earlier today we held our second choir practice for Zone Conference. It went really good. We were able to recruit another companionship of elders, and that added a lot to it. I am way excited for Zone Conference now. Magnificent choir and I redid my training this last week. I went through it again this week and ended up throwing out a lot and adding in a bunch of new stuff. It is so much better now. There is still room for more though. But that is the beauty of it; my goal is to get the other missionaries talking and contributing. That is the best way for them to get the most out of it. I was talking to Sister Baluyot after choir practice and sharing some of my notes. She is way excited. She was in my District when I was in Ayungon. I told her that my training was going to be a lot like my lessons in District Meeting where I just purpose ideas and encourage the others to freely contribute. I guess the lessons turned out really well. It was always a revelatory experience, for everyone, especially as everyone contributed to the revelatory process.

Next week we will get transfer announcements. I really have no guesses about myself and Elder Johnson. I have some ideas about other people in the zone. I hoping that i'll get an interview with President Tobias and that will answer some questions; or maybe just add to them. Sometimes President is straight forward, but other times he likes to keep you guessing and play with your mind, at least about transfers.

I feel like I'll stay here in Alijis, because my companion Zone Leader, Elder Hill, goes home this transfer and they'll leave me here so there is a Zone Leader that knows the zone. But nothing is sure.

Elder Phelps