A New Area and a Trainer Already???

Saying good-bye to good friends from Battle Ground

I have arrived safely in the Parkers Landing area with my new companion, Elder Johansen.  He is a great young man.  He is a little tall, he is from Riverton, Utah & he likes gross bagels.  The ones that smell like onions and taste like Ogre bread.  We have been enjoying our time here in this area.  Washougal is an excellent place, but it has been around 103 degrees most of the week and we are right by the Columbia River and Washougal River... so the natives swim in the rivers all day & we look like we swim in the rivers too, but it is just perspiration.

Since we have been doubled in here with 2 other missionaries, it has been interesting trying to figure
the area out. We have a golden Corolla so wherever we go, we go fast & in style.  The area is relatively small. We live in an apartment with the District leader and his companion.  It is a very nice abode.  So, LIFE’S GOOD.  Although on the first day we hit the streets and forgot to sip on beverages and hydrate our bodies.... so Elder Johansen got a little sick the second day (I perhaps worked him a little too hard and whipped him too much).  He is an awesome Elder actually.  I swear he is the one training me.  But we got a lot of work done this week.  We ate at Taco Bell one day, we had some little kids take our I pads and name tags and walk around with us, and we ate a snowcone the size of a basketball.

Quick miracle... On day one we were really confused on what we were supposed to do in our new area.  The other elders whom served here before left us with a 4 day schedule that was synced on the I pads... & the i pads were malfunctioning.  We had apparently 4 lessons and a dinner appointment. So we were left to use the old school techniques and just get out a paper list of the ward and follow the spirit.  We prayed for some guidance and then decided to go visit the Leifson family... Well it turns out we showed up right at the family’s home where we were to be having dinner.  We also went to the church after dinner to try and sync our I pads and apparently we had a lesson scheduled at the church right after dinner too...so the Lord is working miracles even through foolish missionaries who don’t know what they are doing.

Great new area and great ward.  They are all about missionary work and asked me at church what kind of foods we like and without hesitation I replied "Red Lobster", so hopefully they will treat me right with some gourmet seafood around here.