Hello! This week was very, very busy. It started off with exchanges with the APs. I went with one in 1/2 the area and my companion went in the other 1/2 with the other Assistant. We saw a miracle from it! The Assistants have a Ford F150. So rather than put our bags into the backseat like we would in a sedan, we put them in the bed of the truck. Well out here in North Carolina we get massive thunderstorms out of nowhere. That happened while we were out! Pouring rain, huge splashes caused by the car, lots of mud, typical North Carolina summer storm. About 20 minutes into the storm I remembered that our bags were in the back. We were driving the whole time and had stopped while trying to find addresses that didn't exist, so we never thought about them. I went to take a picture, and realized that it was in my bag, in the back. So we stopped the car, ran and got them, getting very wet in the process. My bag is waterproof and nothing was wet. Not even damp! No wavy pages, no water spots. Nothing. The same with the other Elder's bag. It was a miracle!
Other than that, nothing exciting temporally happened. We found 2 new Investigators! Not sure how promising one of them is, but the other is a member referral and is very promising! He is honestly seeking and has been asking us questions and reading the Book of Mormon! We are excited for him. We also meet with a lot of people this week. We spent a lot of time at a specific family's place last week. They are an amazing family that would only become more amazing with the Gospel! That is why we are here! :) I am honestly so excited for them!!! We also taught them the Word of Wisdom and they had some things they need to give up, but they committed to do so! Up next is the Law of Chastity, but we figure that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Mom and Dad should like it too! lol. Our other baptismal date is off. She moved to Pittsburgh out of the blue. We still have her phone number and we will send the missionaries up there over ASAP. Some Sisters in the Raleigh Mission sent us a new family who is ready for baptism! They moved into the area and had a baptismal date for mid-August. Not sure if we will keep the date, but the people seem really nice. We will know more after we have a proper meeting with them this week.
Next week is transfers. A total of 60 missionaries are coming in before I go home. So we have no idea what is happening. A lot will be changing, especially since most going home are in leadership. The entire mission is preparing for it and we are holding our breath. I will explain the logistics so y'all can understand why it is such a big deal and disruption. The 30 departing missionaries report to the Mission Home on Monday, July 31 to have a dinner and devotional. They fly out Tuesday Morning after spending the night in a hotel. That means there are 30 missionaries, who won't have companions. There are only about 90 companionships. Which means that 1/3 of the mission won't have missionaries for 3 days. The incoming missionaries fly in Tuesday evening and after spending the night in a hotel and having a devotional and interviews, they meet their companions midday Wednesday. So other than temporarily placing the 30 departing missionaries' companions, they have to keep track of 30 cars that will be parked somewhere until Wednesday, and make sure everyone hops on the proper transfer van to get to their new area. Oh, and the 30 training missionaries have to make it up to Portsmouth by 8, Wednesday morning. It is a 5-6 hour drive for some, not including traffic (we are about 4 hours away). So some of those might room with other missionaries in the VA Beach area Tuesday night. Not sure. This happens every 6 weeks, but normally with only 5-10 departing missionaries! Not 30! So pray for President Weed!
Have a wonderful week! I love you!!
Elder Ciminski
