ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER POST

In which Elder Eli returns to his previous neighborhood of Coronation Park; arises early for actual gym workouts; and serves the young, single adults of the area — which is totally fine! (“Young Single Adults” is the moniker given to, well, young, single adults aged 18–29. They have their own congregation and everything. [And it’s run by Old, Married Adults, so fret not.])

Hello to loved ones worldwide,

This was a crazy week! Like I mentioned last week, I was transferred. Now I’m back in Edmonton as a Zone Leader, and I’m serving in a YSA. Basically everything I’m doing is different. Now I wake up at 5:40 every morning to work out at the gym for an hour. My companion had a personal trainer when he was home, so he knows his stuff. I’ve also had breakfast every morning I’ve been here, so that’s a welcome improvement.

The work is crazy! We’ve currently got four progressing investigators. We put two investigators on date for baptism last Saturday. I’ll give you a quick rundown. Skyler is amazing. He teaches himself everything before the lesson, then when we go to teach him and bring up a principle he’ll say something like, “Oh, they talk about that in the pamphlet!” Then he’ll turn to it and tell us about it. He’s going to be baptized on September 6th. He wants to serve a mission and he’s so excited to be a part of the church. Travis is engaged to a member in our ward. He’s a firefighter and he works for a railroad company up here. He’s very humble and genuine. He’s going to be baptized on October 18th. Vince is a little tricky, but he’s got a good heart. Remember my investigator Rob, from Coronation? Well, Vince is his best friend, and we get to teach him because he’s YSA. He’s got a harder time understanding the message and why it’s important, but he does want to find out. He’s working towards being baptized on October 25th. Eric has not yet agreed to baptism, but he’s on the right track. He keeps all of his commitments and it seems like he wants to know. He understands what we teach and he asks excellent questions. He also gives excellent answers to our questions. I believe it’s only a matter of time with him.

YSA is so different! Everyone texts, everyone goes by their first name, and sacrament meeting is really quiet without babies. It’s so social, too! You can just talk to everyone and relate to them and get to be buddies. It’s wild.

With all of this teaching plus what we have to do as Zone Leaders, we’re constantly busy. It’s awesome. The days have flown by because it’s just one thing then the next, but it’s good. My muscles are sore. Elder Ganley is awesome. He’s from Arizona, and he actually lives just up the street from my MTC companion, Elder Monks! Crazy. He’s a hard worker and he likes being a missionary. Phew! He goes home in November, so I’ll probably be his last companion. There’s so much I’m doing now that I’ve never done on my mission, and I’m having such a good time! What’s especially amazing is that we’re still teaching the same Gospel. Even though the people and experiences are completely different, the Gospel is universal and all-encompassing. I’m grateful for a Heavenly Father that knows each of us and cares about each of us enough to give us a Gospel that each of us can relate to. The Church is true!

Thanks for reading! I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this scripture before, but I still love it and it’s still true, so check out Mosiah 2:41. Keep praying, keep trying, and keep loving.

Keep the faith,

Elder Eli

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