NOV_19_18_MOM_PITT_From your Mother
Hey Mother!!
Wow, this has been an insane week!! I feel like I've packed every emotion into these past 24 hours!! Joy, happiness, excitement, sadness, nostalgia, regret, anxiety... you name it, I've felt it!! Things are starting to wind down, but come tomorrow, things are going to get crazy again.
So, the results are in, and I am getting transferred to.... TOWANDA, PENNSYLVANIA!! To give you an indication of where it is, it is on the farthest Northeastern corner of the mission. I am literally as far away from Pittsburgh as you can get. Essentially, I have been banished to the nethermost region
. I don't know too much about the area I'm serving in, other than the fact that it is a ward (yay!!), I am going to be staying in a mobile home (I hear its pretty nice?), I will be driving a Toyota Tacoma (perfect for snow driving!), and I serve in the ward with a companionship of sisters. In his email to me yesterday, President told me to keep an eye out for Julie Andrews and the Von Trapp children because, as he puts it, 'the hills are alive.'
My new companion will be named Elder Dillon Foster. I know virtually nothing about him, other than the fact that he came out on his mission at the same time as Elder Toomer, so he is still a relatively new missionary. He just barely got done being trained. Basically all I know about him is that he's pretty quiet? I just looked him up and found out he's from Sandy, Utah. So yeah. More on him in the future!
We had Rose's baptism on Saturday!! It was so great to see her all dressed in white, ready to make this covenant with the Lord.
As usual, I was a little nervous about how the service was going to go, but everything came together perfectly!! She arrived on time, everybody who was assigned to participate was there. The water in the font didn't drain while we were in the relief society room. I couldn't have asked for a better service!!
She looked so happy coming out of the water. Just beaming with pure joy at the thought of being clean. A member of our ward, Brother Williams, was the one who baptized her. He served in the Caribbean Islands where she is from, and has really helped the entire teaching process. He said the baptismal prayer in French!! Being one of the witnesses, I had to look at a little piece of paper to ensure he said the words correctly (then again, French is so complicated, he could have totally butchered it and I wouldn't have known.)
The next day, on Sunday, she was confirmed a member of the church. I was privileged to stand in the circle with Elder Toomer and Brother Williams to perform that ordinance. Once again, it was in French, so I had no idea what was said. But she appreciated it, and so did I. However, just prior to Sacrament Meeting, I had told Rose that I was going to be leaving, and she got really sad. She was also really sad that she doesn't have any family here in the United States that could support her in this big decision to join the church. She was crying all throughout church, and it just made me really sad. :( As a missionary, we really learn to love these people, and want what's best for them. Seeing her so distraught made me want to do something ANYTHING, to help her. But all I can do is teach the doctrine and pray for her.
So yeah, saying goodbye to her last night was difficult. As you know, this area and ward have definitely not been my favorite. There are not many people here that I will miss when I go to Towanda. But I will miss Rose. A lot. I love her to death and hope that her problems get resolved. I've given her the tools she needs to be happy. I've helped her get on the covenant keeping path, and have witnessed her recieve the greatest gift God has given us, the Holy Ghost. I trust that God will watch over her and allow her to keep pressing forward and endure to the end.
Regarding my tablet... As far as I can tell, it still functions properly. The only problem is the screen. It got cracked pretty good, not gonna lie. Nearly half of the screen is covered in spiderweb cracks, running from corner to corner, like a diagonally cut sandwich. It makes showing videos and pictures on it pretty difficult. I'm concerned about how I'm going to show the Light the World Video on it. The touchscreen still works, but some of the cracks are still pretty raw, and I've cut my finger on it already. I just don't know how much it costs to get the screen fixed. If it's extremely expensive, I don't know if it would be worth it. I always feels so guilty putting an unnecessary financial burden on you guys. Obviously, I would like to get it fixed. It probably wouldn't be too difficult, either. Just take it in to Best Buy or something. But I need you to make sure it's worth it before I spend a lot of money to fix a year and a half old machine. Let me know!
Alright. I'm done with all of the important mission information that I needed to tell you. Now, the most important thing: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! It's so cool that your birthday is almost going to be on Thanksgiving this year!! Like you said, it will be great having half the family home to celebrate this holiday/birthday with you. I hope you have a great birthday!! I'll be thinking about you a lot on Wednesday!! I love you so much!!
Crap. Utah is playing really well this year. I hear they're ranked 19th, and are going to their conference championship game for the first time this year. Like you said, one can hope for the best, right? Speaking of Utah and BYU, Elder Toomer got a package from his parents this week, and they sent him a Utah Pillowcase and me a BYU pillowcase there was a sticky note on them that said: "The Big Game is on Nov. 24th. May the best team win!" haha. It was pretty great.
Anyways, I'll be emailing you next week from Towanda! Just FYI, this is my new mailing address :
31 Horseshoe Ln, Athens, PA 18810
I love you! Happy birthday again!
Elder Jake Gonzales
Wow, this has been an insane week!! I feel like I've packed every emotion into these past 24 hours!! Joy, happiness, excitement, sadness, nostalgia, regret, anxiety... you name it, I've felt it!! Things are starting to wind down, but come tomorrow, things are going to get crazy again.
So, the results are in, and I am getting transferred to.... TOWANDA, PENNSYLVANIA!! To give you an indication of where it is, it is on the farthest Northeastern corner of the mission. I am literally as far away from Pittsburgh as you can get. Essentially, I have been banished to the nethermost region
My new companion will be named Elder Dillon Foster. I know virtually nothing about him, other than the fact that he came out on his mission at the same time as Elder Toomer, so he is still a relatively new missionary. He just barely got done being trained. Basically all I know about him is that he's pretty quiet? I just looked him up and found out he's from Sandy, Utah. So yeah. More on him in the future!
We had Rose's baptism on Saturday!! It was so great to see her all dressed in white, ready to make this covenant with the Lord.
She looked so happy coming out of the water. Just beaming with pure joy at the thought of being clean. A member of our ward, Brother Williams, was the one who baptized her. He served in the Caribbean Islands where she is from, and has really helped the entire teaching process. He said the baptismal prayer in French!! Being one of the witnesses, I had to look at a little piece of paper to ensure he said the words correctly (then again, French is so complicated, he could have totally butchered it and I wouldn't have known.)
The next day, on Sunday, she was confirmed a member of the church. I was privileged to stand in the circle with Elder Toomer and Brother Williams to perform that ordinance. Once again, it was in French, so I had no idea what was said. But she appreciated it, and so did I. However, just prior to Sacrament Meeting, I had told Rose that I was going to be leaving, and she got really sad. She was also really sad that she doesn't have any family here in the United States that could support her in this big decision to join the church. She was crying all throughout church, and it just made me really sad. :( As a missionary, we really learn to love these people, and want what's best for them. Seeing her so distraught made me want to do something ANYTHING, to help her. But all I can do is teach the doctrine and pray for her.
So yeah, saying goodbye to her last night was difficult. As you know, this area and ward have definitely not been my favorite. There are not many people here that I will miss when I go to Towanda. But I will miss Rose. A lot. I love her to death and hope that her problems get resolved. I've given her the tools she needs to be happy. I've helped her get on the covenant keeping path, and have witnessed her recieve the greatest gift God has given us, the Holy Ghost. I trust that God will watch over her and allow her to keep pressing forward and endure to the end.
Regarding my tablet... As far as I can tell, it still functions properly. The only problem is the screen. It got cracked pretty good, not gonna lie. Nearly half of the screen is covered in spiderweb cracks, running from corner to corner, like a diagonally cut sandwich. It makes showing videos and pictures on it pretty difficult. I'm concerned about how I'm going to show the Light the World Video on it. The touchscreen still works, but some of the cracks are still pretty raw, and I've cut my finger on it already. I just don't know how much it costs to get the screen fixed. If it's extremely expensive, I don't know if it would be worth it. I always feels so guilty putting an unnecessary financial burden on you guys. Obviously, I would like to get it fixed. It probably wouldn't be too difficult, either. Just take it in to Best Buy or something. But I need you to make sure it's worth it before I spend a lot of money to fix a year and a half old machine. Let me know!
Alright. I'm done with all of the important mission information that I needed to tell you. Now, the most important thing: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! It's so cool that your birthday is almost going to be on Thanksgiving this year!! Like you said, it will be great having half the family home to celebrate this holiday/birthday with you. I hope you have a great birthday!! I'll be thinking about you a lot on Wednesday!! I love you so much!!
Crap. Utah is playing really well this year. I hear they're ranked 19th, and are going to their conference championship game for the first time this year. Like you said, one can hope for the best, right? Speaking of Utah and BYU, Elder Toomer got a package from his parents this week, and they sent him a Utah Pillowcase and me a BYU pillowcase
Anyways, I'll be emailing you next week from Towanda! Just FYI, this is my new mailing address :
31 Horseshoe Ln, Athens, PA 18810
I love you! Happy birthday again!
Elder Jake Gonzales
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