Transferred Up The Street

Family,

Well you pretty much know a lot about where I was sent. Sister Perry told me yesterday at church that she called you guys but once again you weren't home. So I told her that you guys were probably Jeepin' up the canyon or something, and she said, "Yeah they're having fun without you." And so we had a good little joke.

But yeah, I was sent up to Georgetown, in the Serenada ward. Their ward was closed for a transfer and the Georgetown elders covered both the Georgetown Ward and the Serenada Ward. Our area is huge. It goes from almost the center of Georgetown all the way up to the end of Williamson County (which by the way is out of our mission boundaries). But we are able to go up there because members live up there and it is in our area. It was pretty crazy when we first found that out.

This area is RICH! There are some huge houses here and it is a super nice area. We have 1 ghetto... And we have spent a lot of days in there. The ward is not very big. It is known as the Retirement Ward, and it reminds me of the ward at home. A lot of old people in this ward. There are maybe like 100 that come or less. But there are a lot of less actives. We have like 10 ex-Bishops, a couple of ex-Stake Presidents, an ex-Mission President and so forth. So, let's just say that Gospel Principles class gets pretty deep. Yesterday we were talking about Isaiah and my companion and I were way lost. One of the families that live in this area is a part member family. He is not a member and he plays for the San Diego Padres. So those are some cool little facts about this area.

Let's see... My companion is Elder Roland. he has been out 14 months. He came from a Spanish area and so we are pretty much doing everything in Spanish which is good. I'm still learning a lot of things and this transfer is going to be sweet. My companion is from Las Vegas, he is a good dude. He is a hard worker and we are getting along very good. We are working hard that is for sure. When we arrived in the area, we knew nothing about it, but we have got things organized and we are doing work.

Our Area Book is crap. The last couple sets of missionaries have not completed forms and just have not made it possible for us to use it. So pretty much we are going out knocking and finding new people.

We have been able to do a lot of things the last 4 days. We got here and just went to work. The first couple of days we worked at organizing everything so that we can actually do something and then we went to work. We have found 4 new investigators in those last 3 days. We are finding good, interested people too. We found this guy, his name is Bill, who just had a stroke. He is super humble. We had a return appointment with him last night and we brought a member with us. Now this lesson was so sick.

The member we took with us was Bro. Erbstoesser, he is a convert when he was 28 and he has had 5 boys all serve missions and is just super sick. He is a trucker and is super humble. His testimony, that he bore, was like boom here it is. The spirit was so strong there. And we had an awesome experience and Bill felt the spirit. He was super excited that we gave him a Book of Mormon to read and he said that he would read it. We are going back on Tuesday to meet with him again. We are pumped!

We have some good things happening here already. I forgot to tell you that this area has been dead for a long time. The last time that they had a baptism was 2 years ago... But Elder Roland and I are here to change that. The ward here is somewhat excited about missionary work, but not enough. There are a couple of members that are super pumped because they are widowers and have realized that that is the best way to spend their time. Like Brother Hanks, we met with him last night and he is like the most missionary minded guy I have ever talked to. He just kept telling us of how his work now that his wife has passed away is 100% to do the Lord's work. Ha - it was so sweet to hear that, because Elder Roland and I have been lost and stuff this last week but we are getting used to it.

Doubling in is crazy. And I'm glad that I learned early on how important Area Books are and up to date records. I'm growing like crazy. Spiritually growing... I have seen a big difference in me already. Tell Bishop Jones that I would love him to come take me to dinner or to lunch. It is pretty far up from New Braunfels, but it would be super worth it for him. Ha! When are they coming down?

Well i think that is about it for this email. We are working hard and keep praying for us!

Serenada here we come to baptize!

Elder Harvey