Overwhelmed

Good morning yall! 


      I'm overwhelmed with how amazing this new area is. I'm overwhelmed with being in a ward again. I'm overwhelmed with how many people we have to teach and how much work there is to do. It feels so good to be back and teaching and grinding again. I never thought I'd miss things like getting rejected, doors slammed in my face, or just the many hours of walking, knocking, and sweating. I've been starving for a while and now it's time to eat up the work! I'm trying to take a step back and make sure that I'm not pushing my comp or myself too hard, but man have I missed this. Our ward fills up all the way to the very back and we had trouble finding somewhere to sit. It was overwhelming to see how many people were in our ward. We passed out a meal calendar to our ward, something I haven't done in ages, and I was overwhelmed when every day was filled up. I checked our teaching pool, and I was overwhelmed with how many people there was to teach. I'm beyond overwhelmed with gratitude. Is this what a mission is like? 


       Joy instantly filled my soul the second I got on the van to Abilene. I feel like I'm starting over my mission again, where everything is new and exciting and I just want to eat it all up. It's concerning but also incredible to see how much I've forgotten since serving in some harder areas. I feel so rusty with doing simple things that I used to be so confident and good at, it's an interesting adjustment but I'm enjoying it. Things like door approaches, home to home contacting, even phone calls and texts, have felt so foreign to me. Don't get me wrong I did a lot of that in Alpine, but it never worked or we were told not to do some of those things due to some area complications. We texted and called well over 500 people this week and our phone has been going off like crazy. We've been able to setup a lot of lessons for this upcoming week, so I'm overwhelmed with how many lessons I'm about to be having. My new ward is super awesome and our boundaries cover most of the super wealthy areas here, they've been super kind and giving already, not to mention that the ward is willing to feed us everynight. I have never heard of this place before in my life and I'm a little hurt that this magic place has been kept a secret from me for so long. 


       This email is probably going to turn into a spill of just how much im enjoying this area if it hasn't already. I'm finding joy in the little things again like just being in a city around missionaries, or my favorite restaurants within walking distance from us. Our new apartment is pretty nice as well and we have separate bathrooms and showers. My new comp is pretty cool and we've been getting along really well already. Man I could go on all day. My suffering in Alpine was worth it because it makes this area seem so much better. I might have not appreciated this area and the work as much if I didn't serve in Alpine or my first transfer in Plainview. I remember thinking that plainview was hard and there was no work, but now I realize how blessed I was and how amazing that area was and how busy I was. I grinded so hard in that area and I didnt want to leave because of how much it grew and how much my appreciation for it grew. I can't wait to see this area do that, although it's going to be pretty hard to beat plainview. I already know this is going to be a very good transfer, and one that's going to heal me and rocket me up to become a better missionary. My prayers have been full of gratitude lately, so those of you that I know have been keeping me in your prayers, it's time to pray with gratitude and for your own strengths and blessings! 


     Anyways yall I'll leave it at that. I'll go into more detail about who were teaching and the work and the fun details in my next email, but I just wanted to update yall on how I'm doing and how the area has been. It's been so good. Thanks for all those who have reached out and for all of you who are supporting me! You rock. Love yall and peace! 


-elder jj 


3649 Cedar Run road, 79606 #413


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