Week 22

An explanation for those who don't know missionary lingo... (Like me!)

"Impending death" refers to a missionary getting ready to go home.

To "kill him" means to be that missionaries last companion before they go home. 

Yes, I had a slight heart attack when I read the fist sentence, but all is well :)

 

Here ya go!

Hello Friends and Family,

This week has been incredibly long, yet incredibly short with the impending death of my companion. It has been pretty funny watching Elder Tortorici ride the emotional roller coaster bouncing between totally trunky and 110% dedicated. We were still able to have several amazing lessons. My new companion is Elder Tebbs. He has 2 transfers left in his mission so I think I might kill him as well. I hear great things about him, so I'm pretty excited. 

This week numerically was not the greatest, but the lessons we did teach were incredible. We set 3 new people with baptismal dates! We were also able to see many people we haven't seen in a long time because Elder Tortorici was leaving. Everybody wanted to say one last goodbye. 

As for me, I am doing pretty well. Missionary life is quite literally the greatest. If I were allowed, I would do this every day. I have no idea how to describe it. Its long, hard, and incredibly rewarding. My area is mostly a college town. ECU is about 10 min from my apartment. There is also quite a large "hood" community here as well. Some times I feel like I'm back in Newport News. I heard once, that Greenville was nationally ranked for some of the worst drivers, and that is completely true. I see some pretty bizarre driving. My favorite part about the area is the people. Every one is incredibly friendly and will talk to you at least once. 

As for things I learned this week:

• Recently President Baker has had the entire mission studying prayer. There is so much more to prayer than I thought. I suggest reading the Bible dictionary definition of Prayer. That alone opened my eyes to how significant it is. Prayer becomes instinctive as we understand our true relationship with God.
• Quickly adhering to counsel brings rapid improvement. As we counsel with the Lord, we learn of things we need to change, do, and improve. The sooner we make those changes, without being compelled, the more blessings we will see. Our opportunity to receive correction helps us quickly grow and become better. 
• One thing I learned from Jesus the Christ, is Christ was able to learn so quickly because of his sinless life. He was constantly being filled with further truth and knowledge. If we want to know if something is true, we need to be striving to live like Christ. As we apply correct principles in our life, then the spirit can testify of their truthfulness. I see this in my life, and in my investigators lives. Hearts are softened once you try it. 

I love yall. Make sure to be a member missionary!

- Elder Shill