Monday, October 3, 2016

Only Six Weeks More.....!!!!

(It's his LAST transfer!! He is still training Elder Campbell but Elder Christianson has moved on to another trainer. They have been a good tripanionship!!!)

Mother and Father,

   It is indeed transfer week. Elder Christianson's new trainer is Elder Gould. I honestly know nothing about him. That means it is back to just the Chimney RockWward for Elder Campbell and I. We did enjoy Brother McMillon's baptism on Saturday. President McMurray gave us permission to confirm him at the baptismal service, so that took care of that. (Bro. McMillon gave Andrew suspenders as a baptismal gift. I'll attach a picture.)
   When it comes to social conversion/gospel conversion, I see both sides of the argument. My opinion is that conversion to the gospel is the only form of conversion that really matters, but it is not always realistic to expect that conversion to take place without some form of social conversion. This is more than just a cultural coincidence. Moroni Chapter 6 instructs us on this, as well as Matthew 18:20. The ward council should be in charge of the fellowship of this new coming family, but as I have learned well on my mission, relying on a ward council to do anything is an exercise in futility. (Please don't have your feelings hurt if you are presently on a ward council. This is just Elder Campbell sharing his true colors!!)
   This being the fourth General Conference of my mission, it was the first one with an emphasis on missionary work! The last three conferences had great messages, but hardly a mention of missionary work was made. This one had two big talks about sharing the gospel, and references to missionaries and missionary work throughout. We view it as the ammunition needed to move forward with working with members. I also very much appreciated Elder Meurs talk on the Sacrament. It
gave me a lot to think about as to how I will approach partaking of the sacrament after my mission. I especially like the suggestion that we use Saturday to prepare to take the sacrament. I need to repent and better utilize this gift from Heavenly Father. I am excited to be reading the talks soon, because trying to take it all in in one go is difficult at best. I did like the emphasis on repentance. Before my
mission I didn't feel the need to repent because I thought I was walking perfection. My mission has transformed my view of the nature of repentance. Once I faced a couple trials I realized that my state is weak at best. Repentance is one of the greatest gifts we have received. It is the only exercise of our agency that really matters. (What a great life lesson to learn.)
   So, about the going home preparations. The mission office recommends that you take time to back-up your I-pad before you go home. I will probably move everything to Dropbox soon. I also begin the MyPlan program this week. I have to work on making plans on continuing discipleship, schooling, careers, and dating/marriage (😱😱😱😱). As difficult as being a missionary is. Real adulthood seems scarier.(Oh, it is, my son, it is!!) Pray for me to have the spirit with me as I make these plans.

Love,

Elder Andrew Campbell

(Attached are the following pictures: Andrew's baptism suspenders from his new convert, he and his companions in an empty Chinese restaurant--he commented about their lack of coordinating their faces---and looks like a Papa Murphy pizza. Oh, yeah!!)






No comments:

Post a Comment