So I have been transferred to the White
House. White House, Tennessee, that
is. My new address is 103 Heritage Dr.
White House, TN 37188. My new companion
is Elder Mortensen. He is from Star Valley,
Wyoming. He has been out 14 months. He is pretty cool. Unfortunately we don't have a full-time car,
which sucks. We share a car with some
other Elders and switch every other week. It's a bit of an adjustment – since we are on
foot for an entire week. My feet hurt, not to mention that we don't have as
many lessons or get to see as many people. Luckily the weather wasn't too bad Thursday through Sunday. Only Tuesday and Wednesday were
really cold. So my ponderize scripture
this week is Alma 27: 18 which says, "Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save
it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness." So leading up to this scripture, Ammon and his
brethren were traveling back to Zarahemla after their missionary service and
met Alma on the way. Ammon's joy was so
great he fell over and colapsed. I have
been thinking about how I can get to the point where I can feel that great of
joy – the joy that comes from God. I
have come to realize that I must be humble and not have pride in myself, but I
must remember that everything I have is from Him. Also to be truly penitent means to be repentant.
When we become truly repentant of the
sins and mistakes we have made then we open up more room to receive blessings
that will help us to feel this kind of joy. I am still trying to change myself so that I can
experience that joy they talk about in the scripture. I feel joy sometimes, but it can grow to so
much more.
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| The Patterson's - They are awesome! |
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| John & Tracey |
Monday was my last day in Dickson so we did the only thing there is to do in Dickson, go bowling -haha. Then we went to the Patterson's for dinner. We went to see Branden and Kassie, then John and Tracey. That was my last day as a “Greenie.” Sad day.
Tuesday I was transferred to White House. I am now in the Madison zone which has a bunch of Elders. That means P-days will be awesome and we will be playing ball together.
Wednesday we had our District Meeting and I got to meet my new district. We then biked all day and saw a less-active member. Later we taught another less-active member and his wife, who isn't a member. We kind of rushed that lesson because we had a meeting with our Ward Mission Leader and he is pretty cool.
Thursday we walked all over. We didn't teach anyone, but we got a “potential” while tracting. We will see how it goes when we return to see him. We got locked out of our apartment because the keys were inside, but Elder Mortensen used a card to open the door. It’s a comfort to know it is so easy to break in. Haha. I then got to meet our landlords and they are really cool and nice. I also added Pig’s Brain to my list of “weird foods I ate on my mission.” It tasted and smelled like mushy tuna and it was as bad as you would think. I didn’t know what it was before I tried it.
Friday for most of the day we helped our landlord change the brakes on his son’s car. I was zero help because I had no idea what to do, but I learned a lot. Now I kind of know what to do. We tried to see some people later, but no luck.
Saturday we went and helped an older lady put up her Christmas decorations. Then later we walked a ton trying to see people. We then went and heard the Nashville Community Choir sing Handle's Messiah. It was good. I also learned that one of my investigators from Dickson, Kerry, most likely got “antied” by her family over Thanksgiving, so she stopped seeing the missionaries. Bummer. However, Mike's baptism is next Saturday. Hopefully I will be able to go back to Dickson to see it.
Sunday I said the opening prayer in Sacrament Meeting. We had no luck later as we tracted. We saw a less-active member that night and we’re hoping she comes to church next Sunday.
Well that was my week. Not much happened, but that is OK. I was told that this area does a lot of service, which I love. This week I have really come to know of the power of reading the scriptures. They can truly change and bless your life with more happiness. Reading the scriptures everyday is one of the simple things we can all do to help us know God's will. They bring happiness, joy, peace, and knowledge into our lives as well. When we are doing the simple things, such as reading, praying, and going to church, everything else just somehow falls into place the way it needs to. I have a strong testimony of these things and know good stuff happens if we do them. I leave my testimony with you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.
Hope you all have a wonderful week and remember that our Savior is the greatest gift of Christmas. He is more important than any material gift we could ever receive. I pray for all of you. I hope you all find true peace and happiness and find ways to look beyond yourselves to help someone out in some way this Christmas. Until next time. Goodbye y'all.
Elder Ellison
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| Elder Mortensen & I - We live behind the house with the boat in the driveway. |
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