Yeah. That happened.
Transfers have arrived, and I am headed off to Primavera, in San Pedro de Macoris, to be a zone leader with Elder R****, a mexican from Cuernavaca who I already know fairly well--we've been in the same zones a few times. I am yet again nervous. It's going to be a lot of work. Also, I've never gone out to the campo (country) before (I'm going to be between 1.5 and 2 hours from the city, and that's talking open freeway and no traffic). I've been told that San Pedro is a pretty big city, and that I won't feel like I'm in a campo. Also, San Pedro is a district, so President Corbitt will be out there all the time (District President) and I'll get to work more closely with him. I am SUPER EXCITED. It makes me sad that he won't be the mission president to give me my final interview and send me home.
I REALLLY wish I was there to enjoy the cold. (We have had record breaking snow this year along with crazy cold temps. Our kids have only been in school for 4 1/2 days since before Christmas. It has been unprecedented.) I miss being cold. Dry cold, I should say. Here at night with a fan on I get cold sometimes, but it's just a passing chill. I presume the other chilluns have been enjoying the lack of school, but that is indeed worrying. Being late on stuff like that means that finals are going to be weird, and that all those poor AP kids are going to be BEHIND when May rolls around.
To answer Jessica's question, (she asked: How teaching about/from the Book of Mormon has strengthened his testimony in the gospel.) it has made ALL the difference. The Book of Mormon is the center, the keystone, of everything in the gospel and everything that has to do with testimony. I have had my testimony fortified tenfold by reading in the Book of Mormon on my own and in focusing my teaching around it. Everything is just so much clearer there. There are some good things that the Bible says--a lot of good things--but you have to dig to understand them. The Book of Mormon is just so...direct. To my mind come flooding the various Nephi quotes about how he delights in plainness and glories in directness. One thing in which I have come to confide is the promise that to ANYONE who reads it with sincere intent and prays about it the Spirit will testify of its truthfulness. I have seen it over and over again. Even if people don't get baptized, or long before that point, they know that the Book of Mormon is full of good things, or they know specifically that it is true. The cultural difficulty here is the link between that and the commitment to baptism. Commitment is hard for people here sometimes. However, the process is GREATLY helped along by members and fellowshipping efforts. Members who pass by from time to time just to chat, who give them follow-up about their reading in the Book of Mormon are 5-STAR members.
My head is spinning a bit with the assignment as zone leader--I'm going to be in charge of helping, inspiring, exciting, and exhorting 20-something missionaries and helping them to, in unity, fulfil their goals and be diligent. I know that the Lord will be there to help out--I just hope I don't have to struggle for too long. Funny enough, patience has come up in personal study 3 times this week by pure chance, and it was one of the prime topics at church Sunday. We had a Caribbean Area Regional Conference by satelite transmission on Sunday with Elder J. Devn Cornish of the 70, Hna. Linda K. Burton (RS General President), Elder Craig C. Christensen of the Presidency of the 70, and Elder Neil L. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It was super edifying. The focus of the talks were discipleship and its requirements: faith, diligence, and patience. As we nurture our faith and strive to be better disciples with all diligence, we need a LOT of patience. Things are going to happen on the Lord's time, and we need to be ready to hold out like the people of Alma under Amulon's rule.
Anyhow, LOVE YOU GUYS! Best of luck this week--I hope that all that snow and stuff doesn't hold back the studies and successes.
Have a great one!
Élder Rowe
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