And so has Elder Mortimer's, oddly enough! We're both getting transferred! They're taking us out and replacing us with Sister missionaries! (Which is reffered to as a "pinkwash" instead of a whitewash) It's gonna be a hectic day saying goodbye to everyone here and making sure the car and apartment are spotless enough to not gross out Sister (Spidler? something like that) and her companion. There's not enough time in one day!!!
So Elder Mortimer is taking off for Santa Barbara! I can't believe they're moving him from his first area already! It's a very unusual turn of events. He's going to be with Elder Cole (Whom I do not know). I'll be going to Simi Valley, wherever that is. (Somewhere near Thousand Oaks) I've heard it's a lovely place, so I'm a bit excited. It'll be great to be there for the summer though. As it turns out, I'm apparently going to be the district leader too, so that'll be different. I'm super nervous and quite excited about it at the same time. At any rate it'll be a great time of growth for me. Wish me luck! I'll be serving with Elder Naldor, whom I also do not know. Sounds like a blast! Another thing that's interesting is that it appears that Elder Mortimer and I will be in the California Ventura Mission for good. I think that this is the transfer that decides it. (I've heard Elder Jenkins is moving too so I hope he's coming out to Ventura with me!!!)
This past week has been a madhouse for the work. We taught 9 lessons with a member there and 6 others! We've been truly blessed to have a bunch of lessons fall out of nowhere. Also, Eliel came to church! He's a way cool guy who called us over to his car while we were tracting. He's kinda been bouncing around churches looking for one that teaches truth. He'd left a few because they strayed from the teachings of the bible, and he's been leaning towards the Seventh Day Adventist church, because they do a pretty good job of following what's there. We had a perfect Restoration lesson with him, and then, he's the first investigator we've had come to church in forever! He loved it, and probably the coolest bit was when we were walking down the halls, he started asking about the paintings we have of Mormon, Moroni, and Joseph Smith getting the plates. He thought they were really cool, but he LOVED the painting of Christ visiting America.
At any rate, I'm so proud of Kali and Grandpa for taking such huge steps in the Gospel! It's awesome that the Missionaries there got so close to them; that's really the best part. I'm so glad they came by and blessed our family like that. I hope everyone's doing well, and that Dad and Danielle get feeling better!
Love,
Elder Matthew David Clough
