weekly update 8/25/2011

HOLA FAMILIA!

First of all transfers was this week, and here are the results. I am staying in Preston. Elder Diaz is staying in South Ribble, and Elder Cofone went to Blackburn. I am now serving with Elder Schmid, Who is from Austria. He speaks german. Today is Elder Schmid's 2nd day in the mission field. So he is brand new, fresh from the MTC. On a side note; I recieved a call to be a district leader. The district consists of Us and Southribble.

This has been a very eventful week! On Sunday I got the call to be a district leader and trainer. I was so nervous! So many things were going through my mind. Something that helped me to calm down was the knowledge that i'm not alone in this calling. I have the support of a great district, and more importantly I have the support of my Heavenly father. I know that these calls have come from revelation from god through you. I am grateful for the trust that you and the lord have in me.

Tuesday was the last day that I had with Elder Cofone and Diaz. It was so good to learn from them and to serve with them. They have been such a great support to me in the last transfer. They made covering two areas a lot less stressful as it could have been.

Last week we had a lot of investigators drop us. But rather than letting it bring us down, we made it into a learning experiance that we all could grow from. We have already seen the blessings from doing so. The investigators that dropped us ended up getting in contact with us and said they still want to be taught. I think the reason we were blessed with this great miracle came from being positive about the situation.

I'm am really enjoying serving with Elder Schmid! He already has a strong desire. The biggest strength I see in him is his diligence in finding! He is already a forever finder! He is already stopping people on bikes, speaking to people in their cars, etc. He speaks to absolutly everyone!

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With Love,
Elder Ballantyne