Busy With Transfers

Hello Everyone,

So this week was transfers so we stayed super busy; however, we were not able to teach as many lessons as we would have liked.  Still a great week though!

The week started out with excitement as I flooded the bathroom.  The washing machines are pretty much a box with a spinner at the bottom.  So you fill it up with the hose from the shower and then let your clothes spin around for awhile.  Attempting to multi-task, I started filling that while helping clean elsewhere in the apartment.   About twenty minutes later I realized that I had neglected to turn it off when I was greeted by about two centimeters of water on the floor and rising.  Awesome!  We quickly threw every towel that we had on the floor and started wringing them out in the tub to empty the floor.  Luckily the bathroom is all tile so nothing leaked else where.  Elder Jolley was a great sport about the entire thing and even found time to film a short video.  It made us a bit late to our appointment, but at least everyone got a good laugh and an even better memory.  Needless to say it wasn't my best moment.

The week was such a blur that I'm not really sure of the order of the rest of the events.  During transfers Elder Jolley basically becomes  responsible for the transporting of 60 missionaries and all of there things. There were missionaries in and out of the office all day, everyday needing things sent and picking up other things. Five new missionaries came this week.  They spent the last three weeks at the Phillipines' MTC.

The new missionaries that came in were all oriented on Saturday and I was privileged to take part.  I manned the "how to have proper dental hygiene station" which was a lot of fun.  I also was forced to learn a lot of new vocabulary which is always a bonus.  All of the new missionaries promised me they would brush twice a day so I'm going to count that as a success.

Wednesday we were leaving for my English class when the mission doctor came around the corner and told us that they were having trouble keeping a sister missionary conscious and she needed to go to the hospital right away.  Fighting midday traffic, aka parking lot, we made our way to the hospital and then quickly to my English teaching.  Fortunately, the sister has since made a full recovery and has happily returned to work.

At one point during the week Elder Boyd and I went on a split together to teach a lesson.  Unfortunately, the investigator was a no-show, but a young man in the building wanted to meet with us.  He spoke very good English.  He began to tell us about some troubles that he has been having with his family.  They ridiculed him for his faith.  He felt alone and without friends.  As he told us these things I had never wanted the calming power of the spirit for someone else, so strongly ever before in my life.  Elder Boyd and I were able to share a few scriptures and some thoughts from our own lives.  I shared a section out of President Monson's priesthood talk "Dare to Stand Alone"  and reminded him that he is never alone.  The Savior stands along side us when we bear with courage the trials and temptations that befall all of us in this mortal probation. When we come to realize the blessings that the Lord gives and has in store for us we realize the non-importance of worldly cares.  Elder Jolley's Bishop sent him a letter this week which included this quote....."We must always remember that we are not just mortals having spiritual experience, but also spiritual beings having a mortal experience."  It's better to look up.

On Friday and Saturday we had the opportunity to make several trips to the airport.  We went and came back on Friday night at 11:00ish and then returned around 6am the next morning.  I'm fighting to stay awake, but Elder Jolley is still going strong.  He's fielding phone calls, helping a thousand missionaries like its child's play.  What up?  We got to go one more time to the airport Saturday evening where we picked up two missionaries flying in from Khovd.  Just so that transfers were a little more exciting, as we left the airport we were suddenly pulled over by a cop.  He started talking about some rules of the road. I wasn't really sure what was going on.  He took Elder Jolley and one of the missionaries over to the cop car and I was getting a little worried.  I was trying to read the emotions of the missionary that was still sitting in the car with me.  Elder Jolley talked with the policeman for about ten minutes in the -20 degree Fahrenheit air and then finally the policeman let us go.  In summary the policeman wanted some money and decided to pull us over for hardly a reason.  We paid some fine and we were on our way.

Tonight we are meeting with a less active member and we hope that it springboards us into a great week of teaching fabulous lessons with as many investigators as possible.  Every time we teach lessons my testimony of the gospel grows.  There's no greater feeling than putting my name tag on in the morning and realizing that we are here representing the Lord.
  

I love all of you,

Elder Neuberger

PS Mrs Kramer don't worry about putting anything together. I've found a book to use for English.  But thanks for all of your insights.  English teaching has been quite the "hit the ground running" experience.