Thursday, July 12, 2018

Not a Ward, Not a Branch ... an "Extension" (2/19)

[from February 19, 2018]

Hey guys! Wow I have a lot to fill you guys in on! This last week was kinda nuts. So on Monday I let you guys know I had emergency changes, and I was still really suprised when I wrote. The next day I had interviews with President Carlisle and it went really well. He told me more or less how things were in this area, but he also said that he had had this area in mind for me for a while. It`s really small. Well, the area`s big but it`s an area where the church just recently entered into. There are just two member families, and previously they had to travel about 45 minutes to attend church in Sonaguera (a nearby town) where there is a tiny chapel. So it`s pretty small, it isn`t technically a branch here yet, because we still need two more melchezidek priesthood holders for it to be a branch- So technically it`s still considered an extension of the Sonaguera ward. This is the only area like this in the mission- where it`s an extension, and where the missionary apartment also serves as the church building. It`s an intersting experience and I think it`s different than anything I would be able to experience otherwise. It`s really cool to be somewhere where the church hasn`t been yet. Like I told dad, my companion is from Uruguay and he has a way thick accent. It`s funny when investigators ask me what he said. He`s the only companion I`ve had that`s taller than me, and we get along great. I was sad to leave behind Elder Asturias, but I wasn`t sad to leave behind that district. The other missionarys were being bad and stressing me out. Here my district is full of cool guys who are working hard and doing good stuff. Today we climbed a mountain together and it was really fun to hang out with them. When my comp gets together with the Argentino in the district they go nuts with their slang from that part of the world. But no, we`re working really hard. This last week we had a ton of new contacts and some look really promising. We`re also the only guys with permission to write every monday in an internet cafe.

yeah, i was a little bit still suprised when i emailed last week. i told you a little about sabà earlier. it`s way different than anywhere else in this mission. the church is so new here.

On wednesday I traveled all day to get here. I got here about six at night and nobody was at the bus stop waiting for me. To be honest I was kinda nervous to be alone with all my bags and stuff. I started talking to a guy at the bus stop and I called the ap`s who told gave me the number of the Sonaguera missionaries who were supposed to be waiting for me with my new companion. They told me they were in Sonaguera waiting for me. So I got on another bus, went to Sonaguera still alone. I got to the bus stop in Sonaguera and still nobody was there. I borrowed another phone and called Sonaguera who told me they had got to visit there close while they waited for the bus. It was a crazy day. My companion is awesome. He`s always smiling and laughing. We get along really well. He doesn`t have a lot of time in the mission, but he works really hard and teaches good. Thanks for praying for us, I think this change has gone way better than I thought it would.

I think Heavenly Father had a plan for sending me here. I want to do the best I can to get the ball rolling here in Sabà.  

I would love to go to spain, i think it would be a really good experience and give me a chance to use some spanish. 

All good here, I`m in a new place, but I`m really happy. 

Love you guys! Have a good week!
Elder Stoddard

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