Urgency in the Work

 

Hi!

So, Jack (Elder Kauffman)  sent me a picture of him in Argentina. It looks really cold. I hate the cold. I remember one day in Hutchinson it was -30 wind chill, and me and Elder Banderas (from Ecuador) were both so cold we just sat behind McDonalds away from the wind, for like an hour, because we couldn’t move.

 

YEs I got the ties! Thanks a ton that Superman tie is a winner for sure. I have really got this tie trading thing down now. I have 110 ties. And 30 Wembleys. And as a missionary it is like currency. I got this sweet baby blue three- piece suit that fits like a champ, completely paid for with ties the other day. I will send you a picture. It is such a sweet suit.

 

This week was alright. I had a lot of little problems with the bike. Really annoying ones that could be fixed for less than a dollar, but there is just no bike store here. There isn't even a bike store in our zone. The closest one is 2 hours away in Garden City. But we got it to work for the time being.

We were teaching this really cool family of 6 that was preparing to be baptized at the end of this month but they went out of town to Mexico for a week, and came back and decided they were Catholic, haven't been to church in 5 years. I don't understand it. But we still have 5 people preparing to be baptized here in the next couple of weeks. But there are only 2 left in the transfer, hopefully they keep me here. I’m tired of only staying 3 months in an area. I just want to be left alone for 6 months or so. Guymon is sweet! I really love it here. The town is so good to missionaries. Everyone is so nice. We are constantly waved at and honked at by people on the street, and we have no Idea who they are.

This Tuesday I was in Liberal on exchanges with the Zone Bums. It was great to be in Liberal again for a day. I spent the whole day with Elder Budge. We finally were companions for a day. It was good. He was called to be a zone lord last transfer there in Liberal. First time we have been in the same zone.

We have met some really cool people this week. The big pig plant here, Seaboard, recruits people from all over the place. They have representatives go out to Mexico all the way to Mexico City trying to get people to come to Guymon and work. So there were a hand full of new people that moved in. We are teaching this really cool guy, Claudio from Mexicali. Only been here for a couple of weeks. The people from México are super nice, I hope I never serve with and English missionary or in another English area again. Hutchinson was cool. But I felt out of place. I can say everything I want to, and understand completely now in Spanish. I gave a ten minute talk in sacrament in Spanish yesterday. Serving in a branch is fun. Much different that a ward. We are kinda expected to do a lot! I'm the Young Men’s President too.

 

I really enjoy missionary work. It really is a lot of fun. We meet so many cool people every day. And work with incredible people. My testimony has definitely grown incredibly. And I feel it continue to grow. So many principles that I really didn't understand before that now make 100% sense to me. It's awesome. I really search to have spiritual experiences. And I found that if we search we find them. I feel sick to think that we are heading out of summer here. I only have 6 transfers left. It seems like so little time. I feel like there are so many things I still have to do. Too many things to do in 10 and a half months. I really wish I would have understood the clock earlier in my mission. But just like sports there is always that 3 and 4th quarter push, President Bell was telling us about it the other day.

 



Barely a year ago, Budge and I were different people

It is weird seeing a lot of my good friends go home. Elder Garnett finishes his mission this Wednesday. He is already done. I’m going to miss him a ton. He was my companion in Arkansas City. But he is done. It was cool to talk to Elder Budge after so much time. I feel that we have pretty much came to the same place spiritually.


We both talked about what the mission clock feels like. And although we have almost our whole mission been on opposite sides, we kind of progressed in the same direction it seems.

Love Elder Packard