Buenos Dias,
Alright, So this e-mail might be a little shorter than normal because we have a shorter time today to e-mail with it being labor day. A nice lady in our ward opened up the Family History Center for us to e-mail. And just so you know that this Saturday we get a call of where we are transferring and transfers on a week from today. So if you are wanting to hand write me letters send them to the mission office(Cole rd) until next p day when I can tell you where I will be living. So on Monday we taught our investigator Joe, we taught the Plan of Salvation and it went really well. We invited him to be baptized and he said he wants to in the future so I asked him if he would prepare himself for September 21st. He was thinking about it in his mind, and we invited his home teacher to sit in on his lessons. Well Brother Koyle (the member) jumps in saying that we are asking him really early. He is use to teaching 7 lessons and asking on the last lesson. It was kind of awkward as he talked about Joe not feeling pressured and how he sees our side of things. He kind of made it seem that we only care about baptisms. We talked about it a little more and told Joe that really are just trying to get baptism in his horizon. We asked him if he will pray to know if he would be able to prepare himself for that day and he said that he would. I have great faith in him. He actually called us a few days ago and wants to change the location of our lessontonight from the church to his house. We I think will be great because I am hoping that his wife will sit in on it as well, who is a less active. I am going to really sad if I get transferred out of Joe's ward, but I know that no matter what I will be going to his baptism. On Tuesday we did exchanges and I was with Sister Chen and Sister Farley in sister Chen's area for 24 hours. Sister Chen is from ti wan and has only been out in the mission field for 3 months. She speaks English very well, but is not confident in it, she doesn't like to talk much. It was an awesome experience though because as we were planning out the day in her area, she didn't really have anyone for us to see, so sister Farley and I were picking families in their area book to go see. One family that we saw, we shared a message with and the woman started crying. We really didn't know what to do so we just kept talking. She told us how she needed to hear what we told her. That just showed me how the Lord guides us to the people that we need to see. He answers our prayers through others. We had a couple opportunities for service this week which is rare for us cuz honestly no one takes us up on our offer to do service for them. We helped clean somes home that is a less active/ her husband was a former investigator, the Gutches. Actually last Monday when we went to go teach them Josh told us how he doesn't want to take the lessons anymore because he is not ready to change his lifestyle. There was nothing really we could say to him so we just taught the wife the first lesson. She agreed for us to teach her which will be nice because Josh kept walking in and out while we were talking. We are hoping that at some point he will just come and sit in with us. Anyways we also went to the cannery. It is a big thing up here, we help canned peaches. I really enjoy doing service, it not only adds variety in our day, but I just love the feeling I have afterwards. One semi-funny experience that happened this week is that we have been trying to catch a lady in one of our wards that in less active. She is really going through a hard time right now and the R.S. president thinks that it would be really good for the missionaries to stop by and visit with her. The only trouble with her is she never answers the door, she is home all the time because she doesn't work, but she just chooses not to answer. So on Thursday night we went by her house and she didn't answer, after we got back in our car we saw a car pull up and she got out of the car and headed inside. We waited a few minutes so it wasn't so awkward and then went to go knock on her door again. And of course she did not answer, it was a kind of funny situation. Another funny story, kind of is that while we were at our ward mission leaders house, his wife gave us some cake to take home. So we took it home and put it on the counter. The next day sister dickey grabbed a piece before we headed out the door. When we came back home several hours later we noticed that the plate that the cake was on and the foil was torn up. We discovered that their dog had jumped up on the counter and got the plate down and ate all the cake. We just laughed because we take her running every morning and it kind of went to waste with her eating 5 pieces for coconut cake, which was apparently super sweet. This week we also got the opportunity to spend a couple hours on mormon.org which I loved. I seriously love watching church videos. So if you have any good ones that I should watch send them my way because we spend 2 hours a month on the church websites. As much as I love sports and college football, as a missionary I hate it. Saturday was seriously such a rough day for us, Boise states opener game was on and everywhere we tried to visit either the people were not home or they were watching the game. It is crazy how many Boise State fanatics there are here, people will do anything in order to watch the game. So during football season it might be a little difficult for us to go visit people when the game is on. I did hear in church though how BSU got annihilated, there were a lot of upset people at church. People defiantly keep me updated with sports here since they know that I went to USU. It is nice in a way have something to talk about with some of the brethren in the wards, but at the same time I really don't care all that much, but I always make them think that I am interested with what is going on in the sports world. On Saturday morning we also taught our other investigator Greg, well we tried to teach him the 3rd lesson. He always has a lot of questions for us and it always pulls us off on different tangents. I feel like he is progressing intellectually in the gospel but not spiritually which we are really trying to help him with. He talked to us a little on baptism towards the end and about how he would have to get re baptized because our church doesn't regonize his baptism. He feels like we are taking away from his heritage. We are hoping to address this issue next week. He told us how he might be moving in a few weeks to be closer to family and was asking how that would work. We said how we would have to pass him off to other missionaries. He said that he didn't want anyone else to teach us and how he hos grown close to us. He wasn't saying that he wouldn't continue with other missionaries but he would miss us and that really touched my heart. I am glad that our investigators have grown to care about us and a bond with us as we have with him. This week was our last Sunday in at least one if not both of our wards because there is stake conference next week. It is going to be hard to say goodbye to my investigators as well as some of the members. Well Sorry this e-mail was all jumbled up, but I hope that all is going well on the home front. I love you and miss you all. Read this poem this week which I really love.
The Touch of the Masters Hand
Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneerthought it scarcely worth his while to waste much time on the old violin,but held it up with a smile; "What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,"Who'll start the bidding for me?" "A dollar, a dollar"; then two!" "Onlytwo? Two dollars, and who'll make it three? Three dollars, once; threedollars twice; going for three.." But no, from the room, far back, agray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow; Then, wiping the dustfrom the old violin, and tightening the loose strings, he played a melodypure and sweet as caroling angel sings.The music ceased, and the auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low,said; "What am I bid for the old violin?" And he held it up with the bow.A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two? Two thousand! And who'll makeit three? Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice, and going andgone," said he. The people cheered, but some of them cried, "We do notquite understnad what changed its worth." Swift came the reply: "The touchof a master's hand."And many a man with life out of tune, and battered and scarred with sin,Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd, much like the old violin, A"mess of pottage," a glass of wine; a game - and he travels on. "He isgoing" once, and "going twice, He's going and almost gone." But the Mastercomes, and the foolish crowd never can quite understand the worth of a souland the change that's wrought by the touch of the Master's hand.
Much love from Meridian, ID
Love,
Sister Metcalf
P.S. Mom I got my medicine and the other things this week, thank you so much you really didn't have to send that other stuff.P.P.S. Ryan I met a guy in my ward who served in Johannesburg South Africa who is around your age. His last name was Haddock, don't know if you would know him but I thought I would just ask.
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