Labor in the Vineyard: Week 36: Changes

May 1, 2017

Family and Friends,

It's been a week of pure farewells here in Buin. We had five missionaries finishing the mission last week. We had a farewell, or two, for Elder Strong here in our branch, and we sent him off Friday morning.

On Saturday, we got the transfers. Elder Terrazas will be going down to Santa Cruz, a smaller zone (In terms of active members) out in the country. My new companion is Elder Villegas ("ll" makes a "y" sound) from Columbia. He's coming out of the office where he's been a Mission Secretary for the last few changes.

I've also been assigned to be a District Leader here in Buin. It'll be interesting adjusting to my new responsibilities.

The transfers meant more farewells, and seeing how Elder Terrazas was here for 6 months, there were a lot of people to say goodbye to.

I don't know if I ever mentioned how much Sushi we ate the last change. It was A LOT. At least three times a week, for six weeks. Sadly, without Elder Strong's deep pockets and Elder Terrazas' sushi addiction, I don't think we'll be eating quite as much next change.

Yesterday we went to Buin Zoo, which was open for the first time on a P-Day thanks to Labor Day. It was a bit small, but it was great to go. They had a massive white tiger, but I couldn't get a good picture of it.

When the Sisters in my district gave me their call-in report yesterday, I was really impressed by their work in their sector. I asked what they'd been applying that had been making such a difference in the success of their sector, and they told me it was thanks to their commitment to follow the first impressions of the Spirit. Elder Rasband gave a great talk on that topic in General Conference in April. I've learn a lot about the importance of listening to the Spirit and following its promptings.

Love you guys,
Elder Olson