Transfers...Kinda Sorta

Hey, everyone! 

So, the news you've all kinda sorta been waiting for: (if you don't like the phrase "kinda sorta"... take luck, because I'm kinda sorta using it a lot in this email. XD) Yes, I do have just one companion now!  The trio has been disbanded.  But, no. My greenie has not come yet (flippin paperwork!!).  One of the missionaries serving in a different area in our zone has returned home, so his companion came up here to be with me- but we are kinda sorta covering just one ward.  When I say "kinda sorta" I mean we will still be going down to his area to work, to "keep alive what needs to be kept alive" as far as missionary work goes.  So Elder Nelson (that's my companion's name) and I will be traveling 80 miles south on Tuesday and Thursday to get to the other part of our area known as Socorro, New Mexico!  We now cover the 2nd most northern area (the Sage ward) and we kinda sorta cover the farthest south area in our zone (Socorro), but nothing in between!  Don't worry, it should only be for this week, then it'll return to "normal"... whatever that is.  XD

A little background, Elder Nelson and I met when I was still in El Paso, and we kinda sorta shared a ward down there (that's a long story) but that was for one transfer.  Then I came up north in the mission and a transfer after I got here, he came up and was in my zone for the next 5 transfers.  So we've served around each other for basically a year.  It was one of those "we'll never be companions" or anything like that, but boom!  Here we are.  We're kinda sorta sure this is only going to be for a week (until transfers next Wednesday, and we know that from some inside details from President Guffey).  In short, we've known each other long enough and we get along really well together, so it's going to be a party this week!

I did give a talk in the Ladera ward yesterday, even though as of Saturday I was no longer serving in that ward.  It was slightly weird to think about as I gave my talk, but that's alright.  I was talking about trials, and it was really good!  It was an enjoyable experience (I say that because I have offered 20+ ish talks (don't argue, I've counted them) in different sacrament meetings throughout my life- I was more prepared for this one, and so I call it enjoyable merely because I was improvising for 10 minutes, like I may or may not have done in multiple of those previous 20 talks), and I'm going to miss that ward, even though I'm just right down the road from them!

As for my talk for yesterday, I'll sum it up in one sentence for you: When we are in our trials, we need to practice patience prayerfully.  Now I'll give you a nice little rundown (which is not Englished very well, just go with it): I talked about the 3 P's to overcome the hurdles of life: practice, patience and prayer. I used the example from my life of running hurdles, talked about practicing good habits now so trials don't destroy us later, I shared the example of the Stripling warriors, how they probably practiced using weapons before they went in to battle, before they even decided to go to war.  I then went on to patience and shared that perfection doesn't come immediately, just as trials don't end the instant you wake up from your Sunday naps (I literally said that, I shocked myself when it came out of my mouth) but then shared the experience from Alma 14, where Alma and Amulek are forced to watch everyone they grew close to on their mission be brutally burned to death, and are imprisoned for "many days" before being delivered.  Next I went on to prayer and how prayer helped me to have the peace I needed to run hurdles even though the outcome at the end of the trial wasn't the one I wanted.

Super choppy rough draft right there, but that's alright, because I only used an outline in my talk. XD  

That's the end of the email for me this week, I invite you all to ponder on how patience, practice and prayer all go together throughout this week- and to do all three with whatever trials come your way this week and throughout your life!

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!

Elder Eli James Dial