Hey everyone,
It has been a good week. We got our transfer calls last night and it looks like I will be staying in Bakersfield 2nd Ward for round three! Also, I will be staying with Elder Morales. I am super happy, that was exactly what I hoped for. Elder Morales is awesome and I really love the area and the people in it. The bummer part of transfers is that half of the District is being transferred. A lot of my good friends who I have been serving with for the past three months are leaving. Today is our last day all together, so we are going to meet at the church and play some sports for our last P-Day. I am really looking forward to serving another six weeks here in Bakersfield.
The rest of the week was pretty good. There is a huge fair going on in Bakersfield, so Elder Morales and I went this Monday. It was really cool, they sold all kinds of food and they had a bunch of rides. That was pretty fun. We met a couple members who were running some of the booths. On Monday, we had dinner with Mario and Yasira. They are doing so much better now and the whole family looks so much happier. We had a nice visit with them. Mario is still looking for a new place, but it is hard for him to find something he can afford. Mario told us that he really wants to be baptized and so we made a goal for him to be baptized byNovember 9th. He says that if he can, he would like to do it sooner. He also told us that he would like all of the lessons again. So that night, we shared the first lesson with them. He really loves everything that we teach. He has told us that with all the stuff that he has been through in the past, he is feeling better about his life now. He really wants his Heavenly Father to be happy with him for the things that he is doing in his life. It is really cool to see people have a sincere desire to please their Father in Heaven and it makes me really happy as a missionary.
Yesterday at church was pretty interesting too. After Rudy was all done blessing the Sacrament, he came over and sat between Elder Morales and I. I told him that we were getting our transfer calls that night and he looked at me and said, "You know you are leaving right?" And I asked him, "Why is that?" And what he said was really nice. He was tearing up a bit and told me that while I have been here I have blessed him in more ways than I know and that he has felt the Spirit every time we come to his home. He told me that it is probably time for me to move on and help somebody else now. I was kind of surprised a little bit, because I don't hear things like that too often. It was just really cool to hear. Rudy had me thinking I was getting transferred, so I am pumped to go by tonight to tell him that Elder Morales and I are both staying!
Well, I hope you all have a great week. I miss you guys like crazy, but the mission is flying by and I will see you all in no time.
Much Love,
Elder Chad Thompson