Sorry it’s been a while, but I hope ya’ll enjoy! Happy Monday!

Sincerely,
Elder Whitchurch
Matthew 11:29

Transcription

Okay, so last week, I made a recording for my email last week and I totally didn’t send it. So instead of just sending that one and then sending a second one about this week, I’m just kind of like merge the two.

First of all, like sorry for being so silent and distant the last few weeks. This transfer was like low-key kind of tough for me and so I did not really feel like writing emails. P-Day was like the one day that I just had to chill out because the rest of it was kind of just stressful. So thank you for your patience, you guys are awesome. I found out that there’s actually quite a few of you listening to these and reading my weekly emails. So that’s really, really nice to know that there are people who are interested in what I’m going through and how the mission’s going. So that was really cool to hear.

But yeah, no, the last few weeks have been kind of crazy. We had transfer news last P-Day, so a week ago, and we found out that my companion, Elder Alan, at the time was getting transferred and that I was getting a new companion. His name is Elder Greenwood. And let me tell you, Elder Greenwood is awesome. Like he is definitely like top three. Well, we’ll see how it is by the end of the transfer. But as of right now, top companion, like he is a really cool guy. He and I are really similar. And so we’ve gotten along really well so far since the beginning of the transfer. It’s only been like half a week, but still it’s just been really great. So I hope it stays that way. I’m going to try and keep it that way. But yeah, no, it’s been awesome.

Last transfer, kind of just, there was a lot of like focus on the work because I, yeah, not much else to do other than focus on that to keep me going. So we had a lot of really cool friends that we made.

We met a lady named Mary. She’s really cool. She had some missionaries offer to help her move out. Like as she was in the process of loading her truck, some missionaries walked up and she was like, hey, or they were like, hey, do you need help? And she said, no, I’m actually done. But if you could help me unpack over in Chandler, that’d be awesome. And those Gilbert missionaries were like, well, we can’t really go there. But we know the missionaries out in that area would be more than happy to help. And so they got in contact with us.

We got in contact with Mary. And by the time we were headed over to help her, she was like, yeah, I actually finished it. I’m going to drop off the truck tonight, but come over tomorrow. And so we met her. She’s awesome. We had a couple lessons with her since, and she came to church once. She missed it yesterday, which was kind of sad, but she had something else that came up and she couldn’t make it. But Mary is just awesome. So we’re excited to continue to teach her.

She had like a Joseph Smith kind of perspective of things. Like she was just looking at different churches, trying to find something that felt right. And she couldn’t find something that had like that feeling she was looking for. And so hopefully that’s what she can find here. But it’s just really cool to see.

We ran into this lady. She follows Jainism, which is similar, like a break off of Buddhism. And so like similar to what Mary was experiencing, like listening to her explain her religion. She was really respectful. She was really cool. She was really nice. Wasn’t interested in anything like that we had to share about Jesus Christ. It was kind of cool to see like the connections where people still have those little bits of truth. They don’t have everything, but like those little bits of truth that shine through are just really cool. And so we hope to kind of help Mary see that wonderful, beautiful truth of the gospel.

So we have a family that we met, the Pages. They are really cool. We have four kids and they are, one of them is a member, the mom is a member, and then the rest aren’t. And so we’ve been teaching them. They’re really awesome. Love the Page family. They’re goofy sometimes, get a little distracted, but we’re working it out. Kind of just finding fun things to help them hold their attention and also learn something really cool.

So let’s see what else. Our friend Jackie, she’s really awesome. She’s 12. She just recently went to the temple for the first time because of that. And we got to go with it because it was her first time after being baptized, first time ever. And so we got to be a part of that and that was amazing. It’s really cool to see like, see like people experience that for the first time and then remember like your first time going to the temple. It’s so cool.

The guy who helped her with baptisms for the dead, like she was really nervous and he was really sweet. He was really kind and helped her through everything, walked her through everything. And so that was like a tender mercy because she’s kind of a shy, quiet girl sometimes when she doesn’t know people. And so it was really cool to watch.

But let’s see what else. So the last few weeks, I got to see some really cool cars. I know that’s like a random side tangent, but like there are a lot of really cool cars in Chandler because it’s a nicer area. There’s a member who has a Shelby Cobra and he started it up for us and let us sit in it. That was awesome. Like dream come true type thing. That was super cool. A couple of Porsches and just like random cars here and there that are just really, really cool.

So let’s see, we had interviews with president at the end of last transfer and President Law is just so cool. I know I’ve used that word a lot, so I’ll use a different one. He is amazing. Like he is, he is just, he’s great. Like you can tell I don’t really have the words to explain it. He’s just so awesome. So that’s been really cool to be able to have someone to like feel comfortable talking to and asking questions and like somebody I know will support whenever something goes down. So he’s been awesome.

But yeah, I think, oh, fun, fun little story with the interviews. Sister Law, his wife, she loves doing like little crafts and stuff. President Law calls it Sister Law’s preschool, which is kind of hilarious, but it’s like in between interviews when everybody’s waiting for everybody else to be done, she’ll like, she’ll have us do some fun crafts.

And so this last time we did Shrinky Dinks and she said she loved watching like grown men geek out over like Shrinky Dinks. Like she loves watching us get so giddy about it and we’re like, okay, that’s fair because we’re just all huddled around the table, like drawing on pieces of plastic and watching them shrink. It’s a really cool process. So it’s kind of valid that we do, but yeah, no, that’s, that’s been hilarious to see like what craft she comes up with next is just such fun, such a fun thing to look forward to each transfer.

Let me see. I’ve got a wall of sticky notes with like really cool things that have happened in the last few weeks, which is really helpful for right about now.

I don’t know, I’ve studied a lot this past transfer and the beginning of this transfer in the scriptures and in Preach My Gospel, which is like our handbook essentially. And it’s been really cool to like gain a testimony, to watch what happens when you like you take knowledge and truth from something and you like incorporate it into your testimony, your experiences, your life, excuse me, your life and like watching it change the way you see things.

We had a member the other day, he was like, you know, the Book of Mormon, they only had so much space to write these things. So like with that perspective, like imagine every single time you come upon something in the Book of Mormon and it’s like, why is this even here? Like, what is this? Think about like it must have been important because Moroni would not have put it in there like he or sorry, Mormon would not have put it in there like he he wouldn’t have compiled that part of the Book of Mormon and put it in. He would have just left it out. And so like, why is that important?

It was really cool. Like I know, like looking back kind of seems a little simple, but those simple things that change your perspective are just they’re amazing. So the gospel is real and the gospel is awesome. Because it just changes. It changes the way we see life and it helps it to become that much better. So there’s my little testimony bit. Every missionary email seems to have to have one.

So but yeah, no, since transfers, we’ve had so many amazing lessons and so many amazing experiences together. Elder Greenwood and I, he is a really cool guy. And so we’ve been able to like really help each other out and just support each other. And it’s been really cool to see like the blessings that come from having such an awesome companion and from wanting to work towards continuing that that great companionship. And so I’m just really excited for this transfer. Like he’s he’s great. And I’m excited to like see what the Lord brings with with each new day.

Yeah, that’s that’s really it. It’s been a been a crazy, kind of tough, but also really wonderful last few weeks. It’s really been a mix of everything. And I’ve just seen like the blessings that come from it, the knowledge, the experience. It’s been a struggle, but it’s been worth it.

So thank you all for listening to another episode of Elder Witchurch talking about his week. And I hope to see you guys or I guess talk to you guys next week. But yeah, have a wonderful Monday. Have a wonderful week. And I’ll talk to you then. Bye bye.