Well. It's been an interesting week of packing, and then packing again, and then unpacking. We got Elder Warren packed, and sent him on his way with President and other missionaries going home at the Memphis temple. After that, I joined a tri-panionship with Elder Jarvis and Elder Owen. We spent the next couple days packing for THEM, since they were both gonna leave Walnut Grove. Transfer day was a very nervous day for all of us. About 70% of the mission was getting switched up, so anything could happen. We knew for SURE that Walnut Grove was getting Sisters. Elder Owen was a nervous wreck because he didn't know where he was going. I had about 5 missionaries I wanted to be comps with. Elder Jarvis wanted to go back to the Arkansas side. After a tense half hour of President talking, he announced the new companionships.
Elder Owen was sent to Oxford, a college town in Mississippi. Elder Jarvis got sent to Arkansas. WALNUT GROVE GOT ELDERS (we were looking at each other like President just said a bad word), and I was paired up with ELDER FALEAO.
His name is Samoan. Here's a guide on how to say his name. Fa. Lay. Ow. Faleao. Not FuhLAYoh. Not FAlieh. FA as in CAR, LAY as in MAY and OW as in PAIN IN YOUR FACE IF YOU CAN'T SAY IT RIGHT. I feel so bad for the guy. Most people can't speak Polynesian words to save themselves. I'll have pictures of him eventually. He's from Colorado Springs, Colorado. His dad's Samoan and his mom's German. He was serving with Elder Warren in Walnut Grove when I first got here, so I knew him for a bit before he came to Collierville. I've been blessed to know my companions before serving with them so far. Besides Walnut Grove and Collierville, Elder Faleao has only served on the Arkansas side of the mission.
NEW FAMILY ALERT. I might have talked about them before. If not, here it goes. Last summer, Legendary Elder Arnold (the missionary that served 10.5 months here shortly before I came) and the ward mission leader Bro. Pennington were driving around (and one other Elder in the mix, but I don't remember who), and they passed by this lady on the side of the road holding a donkey. They stopped and asked if she could help. They introduced themselves as missionaries and asked if they could teach her about our church. Well, this past Thursday Elder Faleao and I were able to teach this lady, along with her husband, their first discussion. They are a great family. This lady has told us (back when Elder Fry was here, I believe) that she felt like the message we had for her was extremely important for her and her family.
She and her husband are very friendly, mild people. They find great joy in their grandchildren. We taught them the first discussion on Thursday, and then yesterday after church, Bro. Pennington took us up to try and see them again. One big reason we haven't been able to teach them up until now is that their schedules are very busy. Miraculously, they were there yesterday as well. They eagerly welcomed us. The husband asks the funniest questions. His first concern was with marriage (which Bro. Pennington handled marvelously), and then we addressed a separate concern yesterday. Coffee.
Word had gotten to him somehow that Mormons don't drink coffee, and he was freaking out. His wife said that coffee was his blood. It was all pretty comical, really. They like to tease us and stuff. Just a very happy couple. Anyway, we taught them the Word of Wisdom, and by the end of the lesson, they committed to keep it! They have so much faith. She knows for a fact that what we have to say is important.
Speaking of families, though, we haven't been able to see the other new family since they came to church a couple weeks ago. Some of that was because we were very busy with other things, but that's understandable. They're hard to contact with their busy schedules. I really don't want to lose this family. We're working to get with them as soon as we can.
We're getting the car this week, so that's a blessing. Also, a couple weeks ago, there were 100+ tornadoes that swept through the South. Luckily, here in Collierville, we're on higher terrain so the storm kinda gets shoved around us. Still, let's hope we don't get hit too bad. Hope everything's alright in Utah. A member here told us that there was snow there this past week. So dumb... The only white stuff we have here are falling petals from the trees. That's its own beauty, though.
A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO JARED, WHO SENT ME A LETTER THIS PAST WEEK. Thanks for that! It made my day!
Love you guys! Stay safe!
-Elder Staib
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