Tuesday came and the transfer text came. And guess what? There was my
name. It was at the bottom of the text but it was there. I had a
little time to pack. It is remarkable how much stuff you can acquire
in just under three months. Thank goodness I don't have a hoarding
issue because I would not have made it out of that front door. I even
bought some of those airtight ziplock bags and I still was cramming.
When we got to the transfer meeting I sat and waited to hear where the
mission president would call me to serve. I sat and I sat and I sat.
Cotten wood came and went, Prescott, and finally Flagstaff. Nothing. I
was the second to last missionary to get my call. I was called to serve
in the Glendale North zone so I am still in the valley and the soon to
be heat. As of now the weather is absolutely beautiful and I can never
complain. We live with an older man named brother Fullmer. He is so
amazing. He is about 75 and retired so he is here all the time. His
house is beautiful and he is so funny. He treats us as if we are his
grandsons so he is always checking on us, joking with us or pinching
our cheeks or sides. We live with another set of elders and it is too
fun. Way too much haha I love it.
My new companion is Elder Morgan Nielsen from Riverton Utah. He has
been out for a year and is a handful. He is so funny and down to
earth. We have a ton of fun together and are going to get work done
here in this area. The ward is full of either terribly old couples or
newly weds. There is two colleges in our area so that is where a
majority of the congregation comes from. It is definitely different
for me but it is going to be great. The members are all ready to work
and to share the gospel in whatever ways they can.
We were riding to an appointment and we saw these two kids on really nice razor
scooters. We started to talk to them and answered some questions that they had. I then asked to see one of their scooters and I totally wrecked their day. I showed him my scooter
skills and elder Nielsen taught the gospel haha it was pretty sweet.
We met this kid on the street names Najib from Moroco who was insanely
high on drugs. He tried to catch a bee and was tripping out. It was so
great. On Friday night we got to partake in a Jewish sabbath ritual.
It was so weird but very informational. We got to wear yarmulkes and
everything. I will never forget this experience!
We are teaching a couple of people right now and they are coming along
wonderfully. The most interesting investigator we have is this 72 year
old woman named Karen. She is so dang funny. Whenever we go over there
we get an hour long synopsis of her weekly dating life and the guys
she has seen. It is incredible how many guys she has gone through. She
is a member of about five dating sites and tells us all about those.
She has already had two failed marriages and wants to find someone
else to spend her time with. We do the lessons over at a members house
but she is also an older woman so the two of them go to town chatting
away on any topic under the sun. We try to teach but she goes off on
tangents that are so far way from what we were originally talking
about. She did however tell us that she would like to be baptized so
we are looking forward to when she finally sets a date for when she
wants that to happen because she doesn't let us "determine her
future". We hope that it is soon. We are also teaching a couple of
students and they are great to teach. The trouble is helping them to
see the importance of our visits and to make time for us to come and
see them. I know it will work out in the end. It is just getting it
there faster then the speed we are rolling right now.
Good news is that I have officially traveled over 1,600 miles on my
bicycle in the past six months all in suit pants and a button up shirt
with a tie on! It's pretty great.
I love you all and will talk to you next week.
Elder Cole Safford
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| Jewish Sabbath |
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| yeah baby |
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