Zone Leader

This past week was our first week with the branch split and it was weird haha, but good and very promising. I also heard about BYU, that they are just killing it and fredette is a BEAST haha i don't know if members are supposed to tell us or not but if we don't ask and they bring it up, i don't have a problem with it haha, we got an update on the tournament yesterday from one of the families we ate with.

But transfers are coming up this tuesday and let's just say there will be some changes...i will fill you in soon :) but what i will tell you is that this letter might not be as long as normal because it's my "abuelo's" last day on his mission today and we are having a big basketball tournament and stuff so it will be soo funn! oh and i have to pack some too..

This week was great though. We had an awesome zone conference this week. We all went to corvalis and came prepared to teach "using time wisely". Luckily this time i didn't have to teach but there were some new guys and old guys that did and it was a pretty cool experience. I think i needed to hear it, i was getting into a little bit of a routine and not "stirring the pot" and making stuff happen. SO it was good to remember exactly who's time we are on. Then we had our mission presidency talk to us and one of our A.P.s.

They THREW IT DOWN. Dang man it was pretty intense but way awesome. Even mission president's wife just talked about how when her boys were on their missions all of her sons had some trouble companions and how she was like if those missionaries causing problems are being disobedient and stuff, why are they even out there. She said she wanted them to just go home and how even with that attitude, she can't send any of our missionaries home haha. Then Elder groskruitz our AP gets home and is just like if you woulda told me that the O.E.M. was gonna be down like this 4 months ago, i woulda said ur crazy! But apparently our mission is really suffering right now and just went way downhill. President talked about trunkiness and stuff but not for ourselves, for him. He said that we do not have the right to be vicariously trunky for him and "coast". They all gave great talks and my favorite quote from the AP was "if you're doin stupid stuff, knock it off!" and "if you're being disobedient and still seeing results, shame on you! because it's not you!" He literally was getting so into it and for me it was soo rallying haha and motivating but i guess some people needed a little reprimand. Their talks were great though, and we also got a new car! we got a 2011 toyota corolla. BUT, the crazy news is that when Elder Campbell handed me and envelope with keys in it there was a note on the envelope that said "enjoy your new car for 6 more days" so i was like WHAT?! I wasn't sure if he was serious or just playing haha but that's when all the transfer drama started and everybody started talkinga bout who's going where.

We also initiated this new program called 5 highs and it is soo cool. Our first day trying it, we were about to knock on our first door and this lady comes walking up to us in the street and says hey elders, i need a book of mormon! And we're like uhhh...ditch the door we just knocked on and go talk to her haha! We talked with her and taught a lesson right there in the parking lot. WE had actually knocked on her door a few days before and she said she was busy so we said fine and thoht nothing of it. But she was telling us that fter we knocked on her door, she has been reading a book and she sat down to read right after we knocked and in the book it talked about mormon elders and she said, i don't believe in coincidences and knew i had to find you again. So just like that, she found us haha and i think it was inspired that we were tracting there again in those apartments right when she was outside too. The english work actually picked up a little bit this week which was cool.

On Friday morning we get a text from president saying call me at this number. So, we are kind of nervous especially after zone conference but we were hoping it was something for transfers. But, i called him and he says "ELDER edwards, how are ya? He says well, i'm just gonna cut to the chase, i'd like you to take on the responsibilities of a zone leader and folllow the footsteps of your father elder puertas by going down to medford"

WHAT?!!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I was blown away. He said that with the mission down right now they are going even as low as me to be a zone leader, can you feel the love? haha it was way funny but president is awesome and it was soo cool to get that call. He said that i was originally gonna go to kalamath falls and be a zone leader there in english, but he said when he was praying about it, he felt that i needed to go to medford and that puertas needed to go to Kalamth falls. Ohh myy gosh, i honestly couldn't believe it. I just feel like, i don't know, unprepared all over again, but i know that it will all be good. I was more nervous i think in waiting for gomez and being a DL but still i'm worried to go into a full spanish area, and obviously be a zone leader! man i'm sooo pumped though! Seriously i can't tell you, i'm gonna serve with elder klinefelter and he was back here in albany before so i've met him. I am so excited to serve with him and the other day he sent me a text that made my day he was like, elder edwards, i've heard a ton of good things about you and am so pumped to serve with you. We have got our work cut out for us with puertas leaving but we will see miracles and tear it up!

Ahhh man i can't wait. It's super bittersweet beacuse i feel like i'm leaving another home, man we wrote a cool song for our branch that we played at our last branhc party. the words went like this

"levante con una corbata, y mi camisa blanca
los elderes dos en dos, estan listos
para predicar el evangelio al que sea justo, en el mundo
pero necesitamos la ayuda del senor

Estamos lejos, lejos de casa
pero si me preguntan, les diria,
que ya estoy, estoy en casa
y la rama es mi familia

Nos ves en las calles, riendo llorando y gente gritando,
pero seguimos seguimos trabajando unidos
en la obra del senor, trabajando unidos


Estamos lejos, lejos de casa
pero si me preguntan, les diria,
que ya estoy, estoy en casa
y la rama es mi familia

So with all the excitement of going to medford, we said goodbye to some famliies yesterday which was hard but at the same time it boosted my pride a little bit. In kind of a twisted way, it was cool to see families that were sad for me leaving ya know? i know it sounds kind of wrong but just these families that i love so much have an equal feeling ya know? It is the most rewarding thing knowing that work and sweat and stress all comes back in the love that you have for these families and thye have in return.

I think it will be a really good experience for me too to get out of my first area. There's a part of me that doesn't ever want to go, but the other part of me says i need to be out to grow up a little more. I'm sad to leave my boy too. It was weird but cool because just in these last few days i feel like we've been closer than we've ever been. I feel like ew both got more personal with each other and just shared stuff that was close to our hearts or feelings and nerves and it was really cool to bond. I love the kid and i know he is gonna tear it up here. Seriously, he came into the field so prepared and he is gonna be amazing. I look forward to see how he does with his new companion Elder Fuller.

Well i'm so excited to tell you about medford next week! it's gonna be a long drive down there. I'm going from the most north to the most south (i think), and well have a temple in our zone and i just can't wait to go down there! It's so exciting this new step and i just can't wait to be better. I feel like it will be big step forward that i just need to get out of my little greenie shell from my first area. I can be anyone i want to be now.

Anyways, i love you guys so much and it was so good to hear from you. I don't think this letter was too short so i don't feel too bad anymore haha but really you guys mean so much to me and i pray for you ever single night. I can't wait to hear from you next week!
love elder edwards