New companion.....possibly last companion!

On Wednesday we had an all mission conference which also included a mini-transfers. My new companion is Elder Yates. He is from Miles City Montana. He is a really cool Elder. He is one of the missionaries that came in from the Cherry Hill mission. His last area was Long Branch, which is where Elder Larsen just went. Elder Yates may be my last companion as well. On the 4th of August we have transfers, and they will most likely put us in a three-some for the last 2 weeks or they will just have some areas combine when Elder Godfrey and I go home. Either way.

This week has been a little rough and stressful for me. I am now in charge of the area basically, and my companion doesn't know anything about the area yet, so planning is completely up to me. I've been in this situation before, but it's still stressful when it happens. I also haven't been sleeping very well, which hasn't been helping at all.

That's a bummer that Nick hasn't got his call yet. Hopefully he gets it this week. I know that during the summer the number of misionaries entering the MTC and also submitting papers goes up considerably, so perhaps that is one reason it is taking a while. I hope, though, that he gets it this week. I know that when I was waiting for my call the suspense was almost unbearable.

Also, I'm sorry to hear that Ian broke his arm again. Hopefully he heals soon. And I am also really excited for Em getting Peanut back. I am excited to meet this dog.

We are doing well in the area. This week was a little slow, first off Elder Larsen saying goodbye, then the conference, and then showing Elder Yates the area so he could get to know everything. Hopefully this week things will pick up.

In other news this week Joseph's baptismal date fell through. He went on vacation last week and isn't getting back until Next Monday. So we won't even be able to visit him at all this week. However, on the positive side of things, we'll be able to focus a lot on Samuel. He has come really far in the last few weeks, hopefully soon we'll be able to commit him to baptism. He has already made some big changes in his life, and I know that he can continue to improve his life, and he'll want to be baptized. I just hope that happens before I go home.

We also have another investigator who is doing really well. Her name is Katherine. She is Dominican. She said she would come to church yesterday, but she didn't come. She has accepted a baptismal invitation, and is praying about a date. We just need to get her to come to church, and I know she'll be baptized.

Things are going really well right now in this area. I love this area so much. I have grown to love the people so much. This is a great area to be my last area. The ward here is really strong as well.

Next week I do not know if or when I'll be able to check or send an email. Next Monday I have the departing trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. So, I have no idea what time we'll be gettin back from that. If I don't get back on time Monday I'll do it on Tuesday sometime.

Also, here are a couple of pictures.

The first one is a picture of me in missionary clothes. I hope this is what Dad was looking for.

The other one is Elder Larsen with Samuel and Dolores. Dolores was really sad that Elder Larsen left. She cried. She was happy to meet my new companion as well though. This picture is from Tuesday when we went to say goodbye.

I love you all and hope you have a good week this week. I hope Ian recovers quickly and Nick gets his call. I hope everyone is having a great summer, and I can't wait to see you again.

Love,

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

4th of July and transfers.....

This week has been amazing. Because the 4th was on a Sunday, we were not allowed to go to fireworks on the 4th, but we went last night to Summit (in the short hills area) and watched the show they put on there. It was awesome, I took some cool pictures, but I forgot my camera today so I can't send any pics today...

Yesterday also officially marks 6 weeks remaining. After todays email there are only 5 more weekly emails left, I can't believe it. On Sunday we got the transfer news, President Bahr called and told Elder Larsen that he is leaving, and he will be a district leader down in a place called Long Branch, apparently down in the new southern part of the mission. Tomorrow we have a all mission conference to welcome the new missionaries to our mission, and to have as well "mini-transfers" where Elder Larsen and I will be split apart, and I will get a new companion. Next week I will have the news of who. I am so grateful to have been with Elder Larsen. He is an amazing missionary, I have learned so much from him. He is the companion I've been with the longest on my mission, it has been great, we are sad to be splitting up, but I am also excited to see who my new companion will be.

I'm glad to hear that the 4th went well. The Canada Day party sounds like it was a blast. I am so excited to hear that Nick got the Melchizedek Priesthood. It will be a really great blessing in his life. I think it would be awesome to go with Nick to the temple, I hope he gets his call soon.

I'm glad to hear Great Grandpa Smith is doing well. I feel bad though, I've really failed at writing him. I think I've only written him once on my mission. As a matter of fact, I really have done terribly at writing any extended family, most P-days there is no time to write letters. I hope to be able to write a few letters next week, but I really haven't done very well when it comes to writing anyone. Thankfully there is the blog so everyone can at least read how I'm doing...

This week was amazing, we saw so many miracles. Just one that I briefly wanted to share, on Sunday we were a long distance away, but we had planned to be on the other side of our area, so we decided to follow our plans rather than just tract in the area where we were, so we went to try and stop by some potentials, and we saw this lady on the stairs in front of her apartment, so we went to go talk to her. We had met her a few weeks before, helping her to carry her groceries home, but she rents out a small room in an apartment, so she had told us we really couldn't come and visit her. Well, we saw her outside and so we sat down on the stairs and taught her a lesson on her stairs. It was really powerful. She is really prepared. We have another appointment to visit with her outside on Saturday again and she told us she really wants to come to church next Sunday. It was really cool, she is super prepared. Her name was Magdalena.

Things are going well here, I am so excited for this area. We are still hoping to get Joseph baptized soon, but we need to let him take his time. I feel we've been pushing him too much, and he need to take this at his own pace. I have faith he'll get baptized, but at his pace, not ours.

That's about all the news from this week. I hope that everyone is doing well, and I hope that things continue to go well. Have fun at camp Dad and Ian! And I hope that camp is going well for Nick. I hope to hear from you again next week.

Love,

Elder Isaac Ellsworth