Leadership Training and a Mission Tour

Last week I had two days of leadership training, what a blast. Being with 30+ missionaries for two days, and now I'm at the point in my mission where I know everybody. It's was always a dread to go so missionary functions as a new missionary, where you know maybe 3 or 4 of the elders there. Glad that's behind me. Tomorrow we have our mission tour with Elder Paul V. Johnson of the seventy, an all morning and afternoon event. I won't lie, have no idea who he is, but I'll learn great things from him that will have me saying, "I LOVE ELDER PAUL V. JOHNSON" next week.

This week the rest of our people for the month of August fell off date for baptism. We had four Cambodians, three siblings and a woman. The parents of the kids are less active members, who have a desire to have the gospel back in their lives and for their children, but they don't want to force it on them. The children are pre-teen age, so of course religion is not on their minds right now. Sad. The other one, the woman, looked promising but just picked up another job, and now she is never available to meet with us.

This is the last full week of the transfer, and being a trainer has made it fly by. The end of next transfer is conference, and after that, only ONE more conference to go! That will be exciting, the last conference for a missionary they receive plaza conference tickets, and sit right in front by the side all the leaders enter. My dad wrote me and said something along the lines that not every week will be a spiritual high in the mission field, that sometimes the trials just continue on. That definitely was this past week. Nothing too amazing happened, we contacted many referrals and none turned out to be interested. Talking to people on the streets and out walking didn't want to hear about it, and investigators dropped us themselves this week. I feel like I'm clearing up the desk and organizing it, before I can bring out my books and start studying. Right now and just getting things ready for when those who are prepared will have the attention and focus they deserve from us.

But there was one miracle in particular that occurred this week! This morning, when I stood on the scale.....179.2 lbs!!!! HUZZAH! I haven't seen a "7" as the second number since high school! So there's one thing going right for me :)

Keep the faith, and don't get discouraged when things go wrong, it will all figure out.

LOVE,

Elder Scotty