Well, my 14th transfer in the field officially started this week, and we have hit the ground running. This transfer has brought a lot of change.
The biggest of the changes is our new companion. Elder Mitchell and I welcomed Elder Graham this week to our area. He is from Arkansas and is awaiting his visa to Taiwan where he was originally called. I am his trainer, and he will be here with us for the transfer. I haven't been in a trio since the MTC, so this week has been quite the readjustment. We've been busy with new missionary training and a host of other meetings we've had to attend. Elder Graham is adjusting well.
Another change; President and Sister Frandsen left us this week! It was very sad to see them go. They have made quite the lasting impact on my life and this mission. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to serve under their stewardship. We welcomed President and Sister Durham on Saturday, and from the word I've been getting from home recently, he already knows who I am... We got to chance to meet him in the hallway just moments ago, which was very cool. He has heard a little about me and is very knowledgeable and friendly. Should make for a fun last few months of my mission.
We found a new investigator this week! Her name is Francoise, and she was a referral from missionaries in Hong Kong (Elders Clark and Hayden, both of whom I knew growing up in China!). Her mother was previously baptized, and she has come to the States for the summer to get some college courses under her belt. We had the chance to sit down with her on Diablo Valley College campus and talked with her about the purpose of life. She told us that she wants to be apart of finding the cure for cancer! We congratulated her on her noble pursuit and taught her about God's plan for all of us, and our purpose for being on Earth. We have a return appointment scheduled for later this week, where we will talk a little more about the nature of God and the relationship we can have with Him, something I am continuously learning about here in the field. Things are looking up when it comes to finding people. We had the chance to do a lot of finding, too. With more people to talk to as you walk between doors, tracting is easier. We knocked into a lot of interesting people this week... I, unfortunately, got all the mean people behind all the doors I knocked. One person on the street even spat at me and told me that Satan loves me...that was fun...
We also have continued to search out our less-active Elders in the Branch. We went all the way up to Hercules one night to contact Bro. Fang, who works in a restaurant up north. We shared a pretty simple message with him, but we are happy to be tracking down so many of our missing members. Things are happening.
Needless to say, it has been a stressful week, but we continue to move along. I am finding I really need to learn to trust in the Lord and carry on. I have faith, but trust is something that I need to develop a little more, and I think that is exactly what this transfer will do for me.
I love you all! Thank you for the continued support, prayers, thoughts, and love.
Have an amazing week!
Elder Butters/Bao ZhangLao
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