March 3, 2014

Well the one thing that I was worried about with being transferred was being sent to a ward where nothing was going on, I for sure do not have to worry about that.  This week has been weird, I feel like I have been on a week long exchange, but it is starting to settle in that this is my new area.  It is crazy that I am only 5 miles away from my old area, but it is totally different.  This ward mostly consists of older people and some young couples.  Church yesterday was so weird, there were no young men to pass the sacrament or to bless it.  It was all men that were 65+ that were doing it.  There are no youth in this ward, maybe a total of two that are actually active.  I loved working with the youth and spending time with them in my last area.  During the whole sacrament I was just shocked of how small the ward was, there was maybe 60 people there total and that is what it is normally. It felt like a branch to me, I am so use to filled chapels and with my last two areas the overflow was filled as well.  I am over the Shoshone ward, and they have had their own set of missionaries for about 6 months now, but the missionaries have been seeing the same less actives/people every single week.  During our weekly planning my companion and I wrote down all the less actives or people that she wasn't sure of being active on a board. There is 180+!!!! I have decided that the Lord has been preparing me for this.  In my last area I really became better at working with the members and helping some less actives to come back to church.  I really found a lot of joy seeing those lost sheep come back and regain their testimonies.  So I know that I need to really get down to work in this area and help reach out to these less actives.  I know that this is where a lot of the work is going to be at.  We have a couple of investigators, but they are "eternal" investigators, missionaries have been meeting with them for months and some even years.  One of my goals that I had set out before this transfer was to be more bold with people.  This is what I am called to do, to call people to repentance.  I am representing the Lord and I should not be timid with less actives.  Seeing how small the ward is and how many less actives there are has really put a fire under me.  I have been trying to "be bold but not overbearing" as Elder Holland would say. I have a feeling that this is going to be a tiring transfer, in a good way.  One of my goals has been not to slack and to continue to be diligent and I feel like in this area I won't have time to take a break or to let off the gas.  I know that trough building the trust of the members and working with the less actives and the part member families that there will be much joy and success in this area.

   Mom I got the flowers yesterday day, I loved them!!!! Did you know that when you dropped them off that I was actually home.  We were having dinner, the members don't feed in this area as much as my last.  Which is fine because I need a break from being fed to much.  Anyways when we were leaving after our dinner hour I saw them there and I thought I had heard someone come up the stairs earlier and was gonna check but thought against it.  To be honest before that I had totally forgotten that you were going to be up in Boise this weekend.  When I think of my mission I don't think of me being in Boise, I forget that I have family here.  When I hear of people coming to visit I get excited when I read the email but by the time that you all get here I forget about because of how busy I become with missionary work.  I love how it has consumed my life and my thoughts, constantly thinking about others and who to go see and how we can get them to progress in the gospel.  I have been trying to learn the area and the people we meet, but I feel like my companion won't be here past this transfer.  I met the bishop this week and he seems to have a push for missionary work right now.  Sister Allen(my companion) said that when she first got here and even two transfers ago he didn't really care much for them.  We had a good meeting with him yesterday and I can see the passion that he has now for missionary work, I guess the Lord has been tugging at his heart strings with this.

   This week has been a really good week for us, we got 17 total lessons which is a pretty big deal.  We set a goal of 20 for this week, I have been praying to know how the Lord needs me to push His work along in this area.  We actually found a new investigator this week, it was pretty cool.  The sisters have been stopping by visiting this guy off and on for a while just to "visit".  I have been trying this new thing when I meet new people to picture them in all white like on their baptismal day.  I did that with this guy and I talked to him about the church and invited him to learn more by taking the missionary lessons and he agreed!  We will see where it will go, he loves to drink, but I can really see him changing his live around.  Had some interesting stories for this week trying to contact some less actives.  One had moved away, but his roommate and an opinion on Mormons! We were stuck on the doorstep for like 5 minutes.  I would just say well you have a good night, but he just had to throw in a few more things about why the church was wrong and how God doesn't exist. We just sat there and listened to him because we knew trying to argue with him or straighten things out with him wouldn't make a difference.  I kind of hope to see that guy in the next life and see his face when he realizes that the Church is true and that God is real.

   This week we will start going on exchanges with the sisters that we are over, I am excited to see how the other sisters are doing and to learn different things from them.  This week all the STL's got together to start planning a sisters conference at the end of the month.  Sister Allen and I decided that we are going to talk about companionship unity and resolving problems. I just realized that I haven't told you about my companion.  Her name is Sister Allen, she is from Lewiston, Idaho and is 19.  She went to BYU-I before her mission, she is so sweet and loving.  She can be timid with people at times, but I feel like us together will make a good companionship.  I feel like this first week just flew by so quickly!!! This Saturday is Max's baptism in my old area, I am so excited to go back and see him as well as all my old investigators.

   I love you all so much, thank you for all the love and support and the prayers that you continually show to me.  I pray for all of you as well. My favorite quote from the week " when someone is speaking to us from their heart, we must listen with our heart". Continue to do the little things everyday, they add up and make a difference.  I am excited for this transfer because I know it is going to be challenging, but the Lord is going to push me to the person that I need to become.

Love

Sister Metcalf