¡Fue un Emocionando Traslado!

¡Buenos Días Fonzfam!

At the end of my P-day last week, Elder Moffat and I went to a couple Mexican Tiendas along the Tualatin Valley Highway. They are always super filled with Latino food, treats, and decorations. Across the high way was a pastelería, a Latino bakery. We didn't have dinner til 8 that night so we decided to get a small treat. There was so much to choose from, but we ultimately got a big role that looks like a seashell called a "Concha," as well as a churro and couple other things. There were a lot of other Latinos in the store and so it was really easy to start talking with them. It's always the best when their eyes widen a little after we begin talking to them in Spanish. But going back to the pastelería I was beginning to pull out my wallet and I got a tap on my shoulder. The man who was in front of us, in Spanish said that he paid for us and that it was all covered. I said gracias and turned to the woman at the counter and she confirmed that he had indeed paid for our purchase. Quickly after grabbing our bag of goodies we ran outside to go find this kind man, but he was just pulling out of the parking lot in his old beat up car. It was such a nice gesture and I hope that he crosses paths with the missionaries this holiday season.

‎That Monday night I was awaiting the transfer news from the Zone Leaders. It came a lot earlier this time than last, but I wasn't 100% excited about what I learned. They told me mine first, and all they said was "Fonnesbeck, your leaving to Tualatin with Elder Montague, Elder Moffat is staying." I couldn't believe it, I had only been with Elder Moffat for five weeks and now we had to split up! But after getting the rest of the news to share with my district I turned to him and just sat there. It had been an awesome short transfer, we had had so many miracles and had really unified. It was hard to say good-bye when it came to transfers on Wednesday. But I am blessed to be in my new area with my new companion.

‎This week Elder Montague and I have been super busy. There is a lot more of a Hispanic presence here in Tualatin than in Cedar Mill. I am learning the area as fast as I can, which has been easier than when I first had to learn my old area back in August. The branch, or rama, that I work out of has about 40 active members and all of which are super nice and missionary driven. We already have a baptism lined up for the end of January for a little girl who is nine, and her dad is a convert. They're heading to México for the holidays and won't be back for a few weeks. This is similar with a lot of people during this time of year.

‎My new companion, Elder Montague, is the coolest, friendliest person I have ever met! He came out on his mission one day after me on July 5th, but went to Provo for some reason for six weeks. I had only met him a few times during my mission, and now we've been paired up. He's from Arizona like Elder Clarke and the oldest of five also. We have already unified really well and have done so many things together in the last few days. I'm excited for this next, extra long transfer of seven weeks. It won't end until the last day of January! But what is also really cool is that we not only get to celebrate Christmas together, but also our six month marks together! It's going to be so fun to get to know through the weeks.

It took me a while but I finally feel that I have settled into my new crib pretty well. It is a little smaller than my last one, so we sleep in the main living room on our beds. It's actually really nice to have my study desk as a night stand so I can write in my journal from my warm covers and just set it back on the desk when I'm done. Our apartment is very festive with lights bordering the window, my other new lights bordering our weekly planning board, and a couple foot tall trees that are anything but impressive. It's been a joy to be a missionary during this holiday season and being able to light the world with a simple message everyday. I have loved seeing people's reactions to the videos as they curiously find out what Christmas and Mormons are about. I really hope that you Christmas is merry and you all enjoy the time spent together. Send me a picture of you doing the nativity so I can share it with my investigators and members. I am so excited for our call next week! I can't wait to see you all and see how much you've already grown.

¡Feliz Navidad de su misionero en Portland!
Elder Fonnesbeck