Clarksville to Cookeville

Visiting the temple

Buenos!

Well, this is transfer week. We got quite the surprise...I'm getting moved! It kind of came as a shock, still trying to process it, but I'm changing areas again. I'll be moving from Clarksville to Cookeville!! It's about an hour and a half east of Nashville, in the very eastern part of the mission.  From what people have told me, it's a medium sized city with a small university. I was also told that there's lots of Hispanics, so hopefully there'll be plenty of work to do. Here's the kick: I'm going to be white-washing. We're going to be replacing the sisters that were there, so neither I nor my new comp will know the area at all. Speaking of which, my new companion will be Elder C! I don't know him super well, I've only seen him around at zone conferences a couple of times, but he seems pretty chill. He is 6'5 though, so we're going to have two tall white guys talking to all the short Hispanics haha. It'll definitely be a challenge white-washing into the area, but I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for us in Cookeville! Also, Elder W will stay in Clarksville and his new companion will be my former companion, Elder S.
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My last week in Clarksville was pretty slow. We had a rough week. We got straight zeroes. No lessons, no new investigators, no nothing. It was a pretty rough week as far as the work goes. We tried to see lots of people, but everything just kept falling through, and our tracting just wasn't very successful. So yeah, it was pretty slow, but hopefully the area will pick up next transfer.

The highlight of the week though was Friday. We got to go to the Temple! It was awesome. It had been almost 7 months since I'd been able to go, so I was stoked. Some members drove us to Franklin, and we had a session of missionaries and their rides. The Nashville temple is so tiny!! Holy cow! It's still pretty great though. I loved being in the temple again, being able to feel the calm peace of the spirit. Going to the temple is definitely something that I had missed. It truly is the house of the Lord.

For my ponderizer this week is a quote from Kevin W Pearson. "When trials and challenges come our way, we are often told to simply “hang in there.” Let me be clear: to “hang in there” is not a principle of the gospel." As missionaries, we are asked to endure a lot. We endure rejection a lot. If all we are doing is hanging in there, waiting for things to get better, we will never be successful. Elder Pearson explains that to endure means to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him. As we turn to the Lord, He will be able to help us bear our burdens, and endure our trials well. I definitely could've endured my setbacks here in Clarksville a little better, but I’m hoping for a fresh start again in Cookeville. Alright, hope y’all have a good one!

Love,
Elder Mitchell

A sister made these awesome bibs for the missionaries

The Samoan family that liked to feed them

The senior couple in Clarksville made breakfast 

for the zone to end the transfer

With the senior couple at the breakfast

Lots of napping this week

Saying goodbye to Clarksville