So for transfer news, I am staying in San Jacinto and so is Elder Herald! That was kind of a surprise since Elder Herald has been here so long, but it's a good surprise. We get along well and he already knows the area and the Ward so it should be a good transfer. Elder Briggs has a new companion though - Elder Yang. He is from China, and this is his first area serving in an English speaking Ward. He spent nearly his entire first year either in Eastvale Chinese Ward or UC-Riverside Chinese Ward. We are all excited to serve with him in this area. Other transfer news, Elder Andrew is leaving, all the way to Jurupa on the north side of the mission. Also, Elder Anderson is the new AP. I am the only person in the Hemet Zone that goes home next transfer. That means I'll be the only missionary giving an outgoing testimony at our next Zone Conference.
This week was sort of rough for the work unfortunately. Just about every scheduled lesson with an investigator cancelled. Karen had food poisoning, the Greenman's friends had a school dance, Jarrell just wasn't there, etc. . . So the work was kind of slow. We did have success with one potential from the blitz. It was actually a part member family, and we were able to meet with them on Monday night, and will be going back tonight. He is willing to talk with us at least. He's a little bit of a conspiracy theorist on some things, but overall I think he's alright. His main concern right now is whether there is any physical or archaeological proof of the Book of Mormon. So if we can find some examples of small things, then maybe we can get him to take the lessons more seriously. We also received a couple of referrals from his wife for people in the neighborhood, so we're trying to meet with them as well. Now that we know Elder Herald is most likely going to be here for the next 12 weeks, I think he'll work super hard to have some investigators progress.
This week was exciting because we had a lot of service opportunities. One thing we did was help a Presbyterian church move all of their stuff from one building that they were closing, to another building across the street. We also helped a lady move into our apartment complex. Her neighbors at the old complex were Elders and they had helped her move out so we were able to finish the job by helping her move in. The last service opportunity for the week will also become a regular service opportunity. We were able to volunteer at the Salvation Army's "Club 60", which is a free senior luncheon that they host on Fridays. I was on drink duty, so I was serving iced tea and coffee which was kind of ironic, but it was fun to talk with all the people and just see how excited they were to have us helping out. Previously, the San Jacinto Zone has had zero ongoing service opportunities, so this "Club 60" luncheon will be a great chance to serve in the community. It's also a nice break in the week to go do something different and work with other missionaries in a fun service activity. Of course every once in a while you get preached to while doing service. It happened while we were moving the Presbyterian church, and it was all about some ancient scroll they found that proved something or other about the translation of the Bible. It was interesting but it's frustrating because they always start out "I admire you guys so much and don't mean to shake your faith, BUT...". It's like saying no offense, right before you tear into someone. You can see it coming from a mile away.
I'm excited to be staying in the San Jacinto area for my last transfer and to be able to assist in progressing the work we started last transfer. I hope to help Elder Herald continue to grow and develop in his missionary service and prepare him for future assignments in the mission. Can't wait to see all of you soon and hope everything is going well for you.
From the West Side . . . .
Elder Cornaby
This week was exciting because we had a lot of service opportunities. One thing we did was help a Presbyterian church move all of their stuff from one building that they were closing, to another building across the street. We also helped a lady move into our apartment complex. Her neighbors at the old complex were Elders and they had helped her move out so we were able to finish the job by helping her move in. The last service opportunity for the week will also become a regular service opportunity. We were able to volunteer at the Salvation Army's "Club 60", which is a free senior luncheon that they host on Fridays. I was on drink duty, so I was serving iced tea and coffee which was kind of ironic, but it was fun to talk with all the people and just see how excited they were to have us helping out. Previously, the San Jacinto Zone has had zero ongoing service opportunities, so this "Club 60" luncheon will be a great chance to serve in the community. It's also a nice break in the week to go do something different and work with other missionaries in a fun service activity. Of course every once in a while you get preached to while doing service. It happened while we were moving the Presbyterian church, and it was all about some ancient scroll they found that proved something or other about the translation of the Bible. It was interesting but it's frustrating because they always start out "I admire you guys so much and don't mean to shake your faith, BUT...". It's like saying no offense, right before you tear into someone. You can see it coming from a mile away.
I'm excited to be staying in the San Jacinto area for my last transfer and to be able to assist in progressing the work we started last transfer. I hope to help Elder Herald continue to grow and develop in his missionary service and prepare him for future assignments in the mission. Can't wait to see all of you soon and hope everything is going well for you.
From the West Side . . . .
Elder Cornaby