Transfers!!

Good morning, y'all! This week was crazy awesome I don't even know where to start! Well the first half wasn't too exciting, but the second half was great.

Elder Mcgee and I went on exchanges in Cahaba Heights with Elder Hodges the first half of the week. We did a lot of walking and talking and knocking. But it was a lot of fun, Elder Hodges is crazy. He is a hard worker and he's funny and he's real. So that's cool. 

Other than that, nothing too exciting happened. We did a short exchange with our zone leader as well...luckily it was short cause I think I'd be home pretty soon if he were my companion.......haha. But I survived!

So Friday night, we met with this couple - Aaron and Sarah - who are what we call "eternal investigators." He has read the entire Book of Mormon and D&C which can be scary, but he is a really cool dude. He wants it to be true but at the same time, he just won't open his heart up to it. He is very intellectual and our conversation went a little over my head..luckily my companions are pretty smart. Before we did anything, we had to define "truth," "knowledge," and "gospel." It was pretty crazy. I wasn't saying much the whole lesson, but then I said something that just sounded so right, and I didn't even realize it before! "The gospel was not restored in the Book of Mormon. The gospel is contained in the Bible AND the Book of Mormon. The restoration is all about authority. The same authority Jesus Christ gave his apostles has been restored, and the Book of Mormon is just proof of that. Because if it is true, Joseph Smith was not crazy, and this is Jesus Christ's church." I said something to that effect. The spirit was so strong and it was just a really cool experience. The Holy Ghost is real and he's there for you, even if you feel like he's not! That's something i've struggled a bit on my mission- recognizing the spirit. But the more I feel it, and the longer I'm here, the easier it's becoming to recognize and act. So after that, Sarah told us that Joseph Smith had a mental illness and therefore wrote the book of mormon. Aaaaaaaand the spirit was gone. Ha. That is definitely a new idea though, never heard that one! We're meeting with them again tonight so we'll see what happens.

Saturday we went to Tuscaloosa for a baptism. Goodness is that place amazing. We saw the baptism which was great, we ate the most delicious ribs at Dreamland BBQ, we stopped by the UofA stadium and then ate Cold Stone. It was the greatest day of my life. Kay, not really, but it was fantastic. The stadium is ginormous, and does not disappoint. It was so hyped up and I never thought it would be as great as it was. Man. I can't wait to take you there once I get home, you're gonna love it. They have statues of all their coaches and the years they won the nat'l championship. I got some pretty good pictures I'll send you. Speaking of which, so sorry I haven't sent any pictures lately. The walmart here doesn't have a photo center and we've never gotten a chance to go anywhere else. So I'll try to print some off this week!

So that night we get transfer calls, where they tell us if we'll be staying or leaving. We thought two of us would stay for sure but boy were we wrong. Both Elder Fredrickson and I are leaving and leaving McGee with a new companion! He's not training, but he's only been out 6 weeks and he seems pretty nervous. He relied on us for most of the transfer for everything and now he's realizing he should have payed attention...whoops. But he'll be alright, he's a good missionary and will figure everything out. Elder Fredrickson will be a zone leader and I have no idea! We have transfer meeting on Wednesday and then we go straight to where they tell us! Missions are fun. I'll email you my new address probably this week sometime. I'll really miss this area, but change is good. It'll be exciting for sure!

I miss you all so much, but I know I'm where I'm supposed to be! I'll get to Brazil when/if I need to but for now I'll roll tide!!! Don't forget to read those scriptures and make good choices! There's no point in doing stupid stuff that doesn't make life happy. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of happiness - LASTING happiness! Keep it up. Love you. Talk to you soon.

Love,

Elder Weight