June 7th  Week 35  Transfers and Transitions  Layton Utah Week 25 (T1 - Trainer DL W/Gibson)

皆さん!

 Holy heck it's been something of a week and a half. I'm just... still reeling. Brace yourselves everyone - this is going to be something of a longer email back home to you all... 

 Last Monday after I emailed you all, we received the transfer board - essentially, the chart that highlights where everyone is going during that transfer. To explain how crazy things have gotten, let me take a step - or five back:

 Within the mission, there are sort of geographical slices that dictate how the organization of that area is. Within the mission, there are zones that usually cover the entirety of a city, and all of the missionaries within a zone are led by zone leaders. Within the zone, there are districts of about eight to ten missionaries (four to five companionships) or so, led by district leaders. And then there are the individual areas that a single companionship has jurisdiction over. 

 Before the transfer board, we had roughly seven zones - Layton, Layton Spanish, Bountiful, Syracuse, Farmington, Kaysville, Roy and Centerville. We figured that one of the zones would be dissolved this transfer, but...  with this transfer, two zones have completely dissolved, Kaysville and Centerville. That just leaves Layton, Layton Spanish, Bountiful, Syracuse, Farmington, and Roy.

 That means some pretty big changes have happened. Lots of missionaries going to their original assignments means we can't maintain as many areas as we have been able to up to this point. And so the Farmington Zone, to accomodate, shrunk immensely. What was four districts combined into two, and we took the north and south parts of the zones above and below us.

 But that means that as of now, almost every single stake is now covered by a single companionship - and that means that ours was fated for the chaff, too.

 Elder Thompson was transferred out of our stake up to Roy (his area the literal northwest corner of the mission, so the Lord and President Call trusts him!). Elder Caryotakis is joining Elder Gibson and I, and now, their area is merging with ours. And not only that, we have about a week and a half with Elder Caryotakis before he leaves to his original mission - Aguas Calientes, Mexico.

 And what's more than that, my entire district has basically dissolved. The Sisters got moved up to Layton, and of course, Elder Thompson left and Elder Caryotakis is leaving soon, too. Elder Davis, too - one of the ZLs - got moved to become DL over Farmington A, which means we have a new zone leader in the district. I have a completely new district I'm working with now - and the only people I really know here are Elder Gibson, Elder Caryotakis (who leaves soon) and Elder Cope (who's still zone leader - they finally got moved back into our district. not sure why they left in the first place but who am I to judge the Lord's ways).

 I've met the other elders before, but it's still been a little bit of an adjustment. Saying goodbye to everyone was one of the hardest things I've done on the mission so far - Farmington C (Farmington "C"hamps) as we call it - will live and have a place in my heart forever. Goodbyes are always hard, but it's alright - that's what a mission is! Adapting, improving, continuing to change - it's our people's way, after all. Is it hard? Absolutely. Is it necessary? Absolutely. I wish them well in their new areas, and I know that the Lord has placed them there for a specific purpose and reason. I've prayed about it - I've gained that testimony. After all, I know that it is through the Lord's providence that I am able to be here - I know that I'm here for a reason, as well, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to have met the people I have and to serve and teach the people I've been able to. 

 Plus, I suppose I'll see them at zone conference and things like that. So we'll still get to say hi! We just don't be a district, is all... 

 I'm grateful for the hard work President Call puts into receiving revelation on behalf of the mission. The Lord places us all in specific places, for specific reasons and to teach specific people. He puts in hours upon hours upon each transfer board in order to make sure that the Lord's will is done, praying and looking at the board, seeking revelation constantly as to where each missionary is to go - sometimes forty hours a week, as well as the other work he has to do as mission president. Every piece affects another, and it's a giant puzzle to slowly be put together, piece by piece affecting the rest of the pieces, just as even a pawn's movement can shift the entire positioning and strategy of the chessboard. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be able to serve underneath him. He and Sister Call put so much effort and so much love into everything they do - along with all the senior missionaries working in the mission office - and I'm so grateful for all that they do for each and every one of us. Bless them!

 Now I have five new elders in my district, and making sure I'm getting to know them and everything like that has been good. It's a different dynamic and I'm finding myself having to adjust, but we're working on it. District activities, nightly call-ins... however we get the chance to bond and talk with each other, I'm all for it!

 But unfortunately, we have another puzzle to be solved.

 As a result of my stake converging into one set of missionaries, it's turned into something of a logistical nightmare to try to figure out everything. Ever week, we meet with members of the Elders Quorum, Relief Society, and youth committees, as well as our ward mission leader within each ward to coordinate missionary efforts within. They're called missionary coordination meetings. And now that we're jumping from five wards to ten, there's a lot more to coordinate - as well as a lot more work to be done.

 We're basically trying to reset expectations - and really trying to push how effective we can be. We've worked with our MCMs - mission coordination meetings - for a while now, and we know what they're capable of. They're amazing - they've given us so much support and help, and they've truly helped us to become the best missionaries that we can be in numerous ways. It's good to be able to work with them and push how much further we can get this work going in the wards we cover. But the macroplay here is more complex than I thought. We have to continue the work we're already doing, while at the same time basically raising the bar for what we're expecting our missionary coordination meetings to do - because they're capable! But the North half of the stake hasn't had nearly the same expectations that we've had for the south half of the stake, just simply because of different missionary styles. On-boarding them isn't going to be the hardest challenge in the world - they're already plenty capable - but it's going to be a slow and intensive process. The dilemma we face right now is what path we take to get them on board - do we take a slow approach and ease them into the expectations that we have already set for the south half of the stake, and then ramp them up to what we expect now? Or do we hit the ground running with the same expectations as the south half, and then push the work forward together? We've been leaning more towards the latter - and so far, they've responded well. I think the Lord gave us the revelation we needed in order to make the best choice for this take. But that's not even talking about the scheduling that has to be reconfigured for ten wards instead of five. That means time cuts and less time to get everything done within the coordination meetings. At the same time, we're recombining our efforts within the stake, shifting and broadening our focus to be able to accomodate for the work which has to be done within five more wards, with different distances and different members to work with. It's a lot of people to meet and get to know. And on top of that, we have to combine teaching pools, learn where each person is in their progression, and try to seek inspiration on how best to help them to draw closer unto Christ. And that's not to say the members of the ward that are struggling with hardships themselves!

 tl;dr - All in all... it's a lot to keep in mind, and a lot to coordinate.

 But we're doing our best to make sure we're continuing to be as effective as we can, while still doing what we are here to do - to invite people to come unto Christ. Yesterday in particular, we focused on getting everything in order - figuring out the schedules (who's going to be when), readjusting how long the MCMs/weekly huddles are, and setting expectations again for all of them in what we're looking for. It's a lot of things to juggle - but we're trying our best to get it done. We know they're capable - and we know the Lord is blessing us as we work our hardest to get as much as we can done.

 When we're not reorganizing and refocusing the efforts, we've been contacting people to set up inspired walks - or as of late, we've been going on proactive walks ourselves. Especially with a new area to learn about, and Elder Caryotakis slated to go in a week in a half, it's been a bit of a scramble to try to learn all of the streets and people within the north half of the stake. But I think we're doing a pretty fair job. During those proactive walks, we've been able to share a remarkable amount of scriptures with those we meet, now that summer has come and everyone's been out in their yards. It's interesting to see the productive hours flip from 5:00-7:30 to 7:30-9:00. 5:00-7:30 is still decently productive, but we've seen the most success from 7:30 to 9:00 for sure. And now that school's out, scheduling is going to be hard - but we're going to be trying to find as many opportunities to serve and to help out as many people as we can!

 We've had a ton of miracles we've consistently seen as we've continued on and working as hard as we can. The Lord knows us and wants to help us - and I'm convinced we're able to get this done through His grace and His will. I'm truly grateful for His guidance and support - and I'm grateful for the love and support I feel from you all, as well! We'll keep running forwards, doing all that we can to be the biggest blessing in others' lives as much and as best as we can!

 I'd like to share something out of Moses 5 - talking specifically about Jesus Christ as the Only Begotten Son of the Father:

 4 And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence.

 5 And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.

 6 And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.

 7 And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.

 8 Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.

 It's interesting to think of how many things in the church we do as a similitude of the Only Begotten - even Jesus Christ. If it wasn't established by Jesus Christ Himself in the meridian of time, it is commanded by the Lord as a symbol of He who lived, bled, and died for us. His kindness saves us - and all that we do should repay that kindness, that charity… that love. For it is through love that the Atonement came to pass. Because of the Atonement, the Lord could know our circumstances and our hearts - and could know whether or not we have truly repented within our hearts. And because He knows that, He can show Heavenly Father that we aren't in need of the consequences of our actions - for the divine consequences of our actions are for us to learn more than any other reason. But if we've already learned those things… then there is no more need for those consequences. And as such, the Only Begotten of the Father becomes the Arbiter of our guilt and our learning - our Advocate to the Father, sent from the Father.

 It's going to be a good week. Hot - we're averaging about 90 degrees here now - but it's going to be a good week. Lots of things to do, so we're keeping busy. Hope you all are able to do the same - or, conversely, I hope you all are able to take some time to relax, as well, too!

 Take care - have a great week! You all are amazing!

 Cheers,

Elder Decker

デッカー長老