So transfers are today! And.... I'm staying in the same area with the same companion! Whoot! Still in the Laramie River YSA (young single adults) for another 6 weeks in Laramie, Wyoming. We both thought that would be the case. We are looking forward to an exciting and productive transfer. We anticipate both leaving the area and having no missionaries to replace us because the 6 week transfer period ends 2 weeks before the school year. There are 3 YSA wards during the school year, but only 1 or perhaps 2 over the summer because so many residents are gone (kinda like how half of the Davis, CA population is students so the city shrinks in half when school is out). Either way, we believe our ward will for sure be done over the summer. This last thing I learned the other day about this area blew me away. There are 9 zones in the mission (for example, I am in the Laramie Zone) and ~100 companionships (~200 missionaries) in the mission. Of them, only 9 of them cover YSA wards. And among those covering them, 5 of them are zone leader companionships (they oversee the whole zone while covering the YSA ward). Then, 3 of the companionships are sister missionaries, leaving only 1 other available companionship spot for elders that aren't zone leaders to serve in a YSA. I happened to be assigned on my first transfer to be in that spot AND stay another transfer in that spot. What I'm getting at is that this is HIGHLY unlikely. It almost never happens that a missionary is trained in a YSA ward. The missionary in my district (Elder Murray) who goes home today never served in a YSA his entire 2-year mission! I am blessed for sure! It is awesome being here.
My mission goals are coming along. I remember learning... perhaps 2 years ago now about the concept that Benjamin Franklin used to become who he desired to be. When he was about 20 years old a friend told him the brutal truth - he was a jerk and no one really liked him. So he decided to take that truth and create a list of virtues in his life that he wanted to developed to make a positive impact. He made 12 of them; his friend added the 13th: "Humility - imitate Jesus and Socrates." Haha. So, he had these virtues and took it upon himself to study 1 per week for 13 weeks, which would cycle through 4 times each year. He would analyze his life on a daily basis to see how he could implement that virtue more in his life.
I say all of this because I finally have a plan to implement that process in my life using the Christlike attributes (i.e. faith, charity, virtue, patience, etc) and having the companionship of the Spirit as the weekly study topics. I just started this 2 days ago and it is kinda overly ambitious with the amount I want to learn on a daily basis, so we will see how it goes. But the idea is to go to take the "Attribute Inventory" test in the Preach My Gospel to analyze how I am doing with that quality in my life right now, then study it using the topical guide that references where that quality is found in the scriptures, and perhaps study a general conference talk on that quality. ALSO, it was suggested that I also create a talk on a weekly basis, so I plan on creating a talk based on what I learned/implemented that week. Ultimately, I created a 12 week (2 6-week transfer periods) personal study strategy. So I am excited to see it work. This seems to have a much greater likelihood of working than when I tried something similar many times during college because I already 1 hour set aside in the morning from 8-9am to study! But obviously if it isn't working, then I'll figure something else out. The reason why I made it is because sometimes studying in the morning causes me to fall asleep if there isn't something I am actively seeking to learn or develop in my life. This plan could be the solution to changing that.
The most exciting thing this week was meeting with our Investigator Alaina. She is awesome. She is about my age and unmarried, but her son Colt just turned 1 years old yesterday! We have taught her 3x now. The first lesson when we invited her to be baptized, she accepted but didn't want to set a date. Last lesson we set her up with a date - April 5th! That was super exciting. During that lesson I was trying to explain some points about the Gospel that apparently didn't make any sense to anyone there. Then she explained how she thought about the principle and it made total sense! I think I should take lessons from her! She knows the Gospel really well! So, we are excited to meet with her in the next day or two for another lesson.
Lastly, a couple miracles. 1 member invited us on the day of to feed us dinner when we didn't have a dinner appointment! That was amazing. And then another day a member accepted the invitation to feed us on the day of. So blessed to have members stepping up to feed us! AND we had a chance to HOLD a 1st edition copy of the Book of Mormon as well as a 1660 edition of the King James Bible (and see a gold plated Koran and a 1400 Catholic Prayer book and more) at the rare book museum at the University of Wyoming Campus. I'll send some pictures somehow! Overall, amazing week. There is so much to share, but this email is long already.
Have a great week!
Elder Jeffrey Campbell
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