Transfer #8!

Here is the first of many letters from my beloved Sister Henson!

Hey Family,
Wow, the Lord continually surprises me. This last week was transfers and despite the confidence of my companionship staying the same, Sister Foutz was transferred. This has been the fastest transfer of my mission. I feel like I blinked, and it’s gone. I hear it only gets worse; I’m not excited about that. However, I am excited about my new companion, I am training again, and her name is Sister Moore from Layton, Utah. She is a sweet little thing and is anxious to learn and grow. She has such a gentle, kind spirit. We all know I am nearly the exact opposite of that, so I am excited to learn from her example as well. If it seems that I'm turning into a softie, you'll know why. We are getting along great, of course. Just in the last couple days we’ve had a wide variety of experiences. Most of which happened at an apartment complex I like to call the “Pizza Hut Apartments.” They look like those old school pizza huts with the hut top. Anyway, we decided to do a little tracting in between our appointments on Saturday. I asked Sister Moore to pick a building and I could tell she did it prayerfully. I like to start from the top of the building and work our way down. The top floor was empty, no one was home. The second floor was filled with opposition. I’ve never found such a concentration of mean people before. I was afraid that Sister Moore was getting discouraged so I almost suggested we leave, I’m so glad we didn’t. We went to the bottom floor and Sister Moore knocked on a door that had music playing behind it, at least we knew someone would be home. Her first knock was a little timid so I encouraged her to try again. This next time she put some urgency in it and a young man named Trever Grayber answered. At his appearance, I half expected Sister Moore to turn and run! He was wearing a loose tank top that nicely displayed his mass collection of tattoos! Looks can be deceiving though, you never know who the Lord’s elect might be. We introduced ourselves and asked a couple questions and he opened right up. Thirty minutes later we left him with a Book of Mormon and a return appointment, which is tonight. I’m so excited. We stopped by yesterday to give him a birthday card, and he was so appreciative. He had spoken with his Grandmother just the day before and she gave him a lot of heat when he told her about us. He is already receiving opposition and overcoming it! He is amazing.
We are working really hard on getting our area ready for the Mission of Excellence in a couple weeks. Remember the Standard and District of Excellence I told you about the other week? Starting March 24th, the entire mission will be striving to get the Standard! It’s all very exciting and I know that it’s attainable. The Lord showed us that the other week. I imagine it will be the most exhausting and grueling week of my mission, and it’s going to feel so good! I love being tired, it’s a great manifestation of the work that you’ve been doing. I imagine that other missionaries might be able to work just as hard and not be tired, maybe they’re just in better shape than I am ;) Either way, keep the mission in your prayers as we strive for the standard. I am preparing to see miracles!
The Trail Center is starting to get busy. I’ve given a couple tours the last week that were so neat. This time of year brings a lot of locals in, it’s an exciting way to do missionary work. They think they’re coming here for some history and they get a huge dose of the Spirit! It’s amazing to see the way that the Lord brings people here to prepare them for the Gospel. I love missionary work!
You’ll notice that I haven’t complained about the weather yet. No, I’m not trying to buck up and just deal with it… it hasn’t really given me reason to complain! It’s a whopping 54 degrees today! I can almost see green starting to emerge here and there! I can’t wait! Please remind me of how much I longed for summer when I complain about how hot and humid it is…. Haha!
Well, take care, I love you all and may the Lord bless you with missionary opportunities. Or may you just make your own. Go to mormon.org and send an e-pass-a-long card! You can’t make it easier than that! I expect to hear back from everyone about the e-card they sent! This is an email world, may we use it for good!
Love, Sister Henson