"The work of salvation is not a sprint it's a long distance race."
Eagle is a lot different than Boise South, that is for sure. I am back to covering two wards again which is weird. I remember going down to one ward and I thought that it was going to be hard, but not it is weird to me to go back to being over 2 wards. I loved being able to just focus on one ward, but I am still excited to be over the Eagle 1st ward and the Eagle 6th ward. The area that Sister Haas and I cover is an array of different living styles, we have mansions and even some trailer parks and then everything in between. The members here are awesome, the work is a little slow but we actually had a really good week this week. I actually live outside my area, with a family. They are the Dumas(do misses), who are in the bishopric for the YSA ward. They are super awesome and super talkative. They have 4 kids and their youngest daughter is 20 and leaving for LDS business college next week. They have a black lab, so I feel right at home I feel like. Their house is super nice, it has been a little bit of an adjustment because its been 6 months since I have lived with members. But I love it. They know where Simi Valley is, they talked about how they have been to the Ronald Reagan Library a couple of times and just love it! Funny fact, last night I was talking to the wife and she was telling me about her conversion story. She told me how it was because of her friend form 3rd grade. We talked for a little bit and found out her friend lives in Ventura. Turns out she is the mother of Austin(Amanda Shoemakers Boyfriend when she passed away.) It is crazy how small the world is and even smaller in the church.
As a mission we have set a commitment for everyone to talk to 10 new people a day which I think has been great in this area for us. We talk to everyone we see on the street and if there is no one out we go and knock on some doors. We are hitting all aspects of missionary work and showing the Lord that we are willing to do anything. I truly feel like we saw some tender mercies from the Lord this week. We found quite of few potentials by talking to people and knocking on some doors. Obviously there were quite a few people that were not interested one bit, but we tried. I love serving with Sister Haas, I feel like we are a power house and she is just so bold like I am. We feel we have very similar teaching styles. We are hoping that we will serve together for 3 transfers, we truly feel like we can build up the work in this area. This week we actually have gotten some referrals from some members that really seem promising. Can I just tell you how much I love working with members and how much more quickly people progress when it is their friends that introduce/invite them.
We actually found a new investigator, Nate. He is someone that the sisters had tracted into the previous week and we went back and taught him. He threw us some curve balls, I guess doesn't really know if there is a God or not, almost like an agnostic view. Both Sister Haas and I had the impression to teach him The Plan of Salvation. We taught him the 1st half of it and he invited us back to teach the rest this week. We hope that all will go well, he is really big into families and he even takes care of his brother who has down syndrome so we really feel like he will like he will be receptive when we teach him about Resurrection. It will probably be a longer process for him but he is interested and we hope he has that desire there.
This week we actually had Stake Conference this weekend so I didn't really get to meet the new ward members, but I did get a chance to meet the Bishops, Relief Society Presidents, and Ward Mission Leaders. Stake conference was really good, the Saturday session was so good! I feel it always is. They had some return missionaries speak as well as an Elder that is currently serving in the Stake. They all had some really good things to say. One of the Stake Presidency members talked about preparing the youth now so they are prepared when they go out into the field. He talked about how it is in the home where they are to learn the doctrine and how PMG should be apart of their scripture study as well. I thought that was really good as well. The Stake President talked about the hastening of the work and about the temple being built. He said that the work is moving along but not as much as it should be. There really is so much potential in this area I feel like. We just have to dig deep and find those that are searching. The next day my mission President and his wife spoke about progression in the gospel and the other speakers talked about Pioneer Trek. It is something that the youth just did recently did. They do it every four years and it is where the youth act and trek just like the pioneers for 3 days. Can I just tell you how excited I am to have so many youth. I just felt like all during stake conference that we really need to work. They are just on fire and I feel like that is where a lot of missionary work is at because they are so open about talking to their friends. Two of our recent converts that we are working with are 13 and 15.
After the Sunday session all the missionaries serving from the stake went over to the Stake Presidents house to have lunch, which was really good. Apparently he doesn't like to work with missionaries very much and same with his high councilor that is over missionary work. But Sister Haas and I plan on changing that, we actually talked to the high councilor about meeting each week with him to let him know how the week was for us and he agreed to that. So yesterday and the lunch we gave him our progress records and talked to him about everything. He seemed really impressed, Sister Haas and I are going to try to really get the stake involved because I feel like it is so crucial for everyone to be involved and aware of what is going on in the Lord's work.
Know that I am being well...too well fed. I just think of the story Megan told me how she talked to someone who served in Boise and when his parents picked him up they didn't recognize him hahaha I can see how that happens in this area. But my companion and I are running every morning and working out so that eases my mind when members are wanting to serve us like 4 course meals. Sister Haas and I just get along great as well, I feel like we are just laughing all the time. Funny story from earlier this week is that she took us to see a family in the ward that is super awesome. But she had told me that it was a potential family that we were trying to contact that was a referral that they had received. So I didn't know this was an active family but thought they were nonmembers,apparently they had set this up last Sunday. So we went to go contact these people and I was the one to start the conversation. Well she acted like she was not interested and we tried our best but she wasn't interested. So we left and when we got back to the car my companion said that she really felt like we should go back to give them a Book of Mormon. I wasn't too sure about this and told her that she was seriously not interested and I didn't think that we should shove it down their throats, that I didn't want to mess up any opportunities that they would have in the future. Well after a few minutes she convinced me to go back so we did. So when we knocked on the door she was just like "Oh your back". So we started talking to her and then in the back round you could here her husband saying things. She then went on to invite us in, but then her husband was yelling to her that she didn't want us to come in. So they were yelling back and forth to each other for a minute and I just felt super on comfortable. And then I started to know the pictures of Christ that were in their home that usually only LDS members have and that's when she said "I want them to come in because I have Ice Cream cake!" My companion just started cracking up and then the family just came out of know where. I was so confused for a minute until it registered in my head that Sister Haas had just pulled a prank on me. It was kind of funny and I admit she had gotten me good.
Sorry this email is a little scattered brain, but things here are going really well. Some days things go really well and then others all of our appointments cancel, but that is just the life of a missionary. We actually had a really good week number of lessons wise, it was about the same as my last area and better than usual for this area which was great to see. I am enjoying every minute of it and not wasting a second of this precious time that I have out here. I hope is going well for you! I love you and miss you all!
Love
Sister Metcalf
P.S. My new address is
4547 W. Cardon St.
Eagle, Idaho
83616
I actually live in the same block as where Jensa's Kids go to school...crazy!)
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