transfer week

Hello from Connell!

It’s been a good transfer week. On Monday and Tuesday Elder Hammond got a lot done, and found some good new people, Wednesday we met at the Yakima Stake Center for transfers. I got to drive a car down that they were getting ready to retire. So that was cool. We got to Kennewick and got to see some familiar faces and meet my new companion Elder Derek Young! He is from Kansas, he just got trained and he is a great missionary. From there, Brother Anderson, a member from Basin City 1st ward took us in his truck to Pasco. He asked if I'd had a bite to eat, I told him no, so he took us to IHop. Man did I have a good omelet! Than after shopping at Wal-Mart we headed North to The Basin!

So we're covering Connell 1st ward and 2nd (Spanish) branch, and Basin city 2nd ward. That afternoon we went and met an investigator in Basin City and than went to dinner with our Bishop, Bishop Hawkins. It sounds like they've got some good plans brewing. They are planning on calling 20 new ward missionaries. They're going to be making a big missionary work push, so that will be good. The next couple of days we were able to work in Connell, and meet a lot of people there. I lied, its about 18 miles from basin city, not 30-40. Its a good little town though, kind of like Boardman.

On Sunday Morning we went to Connell branch sacrament meeting. They had it in the relief society room. I got to bless the sacrament for the first time in over a year. It was an awesome experience. After that we taught gospel principles to the ward because our wml was out of town, after that we went home and ate lunch and headed out to basin city for church. We found somebody named Chui on Saturday night. He seemed to be a really good kid. He wanted to come to church with us to see how it was but had to go to tri-cities with his brother to help sell stuff at the flea market.

I want to share a thought before I close, it is about the faith to find. The first thing that needs to happen before any missionary work can happen, is that someone, needs to have the faith to find. The knowledge that we're all god's children, that he wants as many as us as possible to return to him, that he'll pour out the spirit to prepare people and that he already is pouring out the spirit to prepare people in OUR area and people that WE know to receive the gospel. We don't make the excuse that, everybody has already heard it, that you've already tried everyone you know, or anything like that. You try again. You pray for guidance, and you find those who "will receive you" or I'd think of it more as those who "will receive [Him]" There’s some food for thought. I knew it applied to missionaries before but I didn't realize how it applied to members till this week.

Well Everybody have a great week!

Love Elder Partridge