Well, my time here in Estrella is up. I'm gonna miss this ward. I really love it. But I've felt a sense of closure this week. I just feel like I've done what the Lord sent me to do here.
Of course, I couldn't leave the ward without one last little piece of drama. Our new Bishop has been very strict on our ward being "Spanish-only" and it seems to conveniently benefit the side of the ward we absorbed in the boundary change. So a lot of people from our side of the ward are jumping ship to English wards. Mostly it's because of their kids who don't speak Spanish as well as English. So it seems like instead of a graft we just got a transplant when the boundaries shifted. Our bishop's plan is that by speaking only Spanish in all the classes including the youth that somehow we'll replace all of the people who are leaving through missionary work. Some members I talked to had the good point that if the only thing you had to do was speak Spanish to baptize that the wards in Mexico would be a lot bigger. I really miss our old bishop.
This week I got to say goodbye to Cesar, one of the brothers we've been working with in this ward. He has to spend some time in Mexico to get his straighten out his immigration status. It's sad to see him go. His wife just barely had a little boy a month ago. That's the thing I dislike about immigration laws. There needs to be a way so that they don't destroy families. We went by last night and today they're on their way to the border to meet with the immigration officials. I felt honored because Cesar said he just knew he needed to talk to me before he left. It made me feel good to know that I'd had that kind of impact on someone. We gave him a Priesthood blessing and I felt like I needed to tell him to fast before his interview with the judge. Hopefully everything turns out well. He's a great guy. I felt a real sense of closure after saying goodbye to him.
We have a baptism coming up on Sunday that I won't be here for. Really, it's not that big of a deal. I was here for the conversion, which is the hard part. Just as long as she gets baptized I'll be happy. That'll make three people that I've taught here in Estrella that have gotten baptized, although one of them I'm not entirely sure about because he moved out of the mission. It's been nice to see those three develop their own testimonies and make the right decisions.
We were talking to a recent convert from the sisters' area that we took out on visits with us about where he's from in Mexico. Apparently when he was little he would collect these red worms and sell them to people to cook and eat. It seems that you can make money in certain parts of Mexico by catching bugs and selling them to people to snack on. I guess that's one way to get your protein.
Our entire zone is going to transfers. It'll be interesting to see what happens to everyone. I have no clue where I'm going. Elder Cheadle went home from Cottonwood so that's a possibility, but there's gonna be a whole bunch more changes. I feel pretty good about this transfer. I feel like there's one more area out there that I need to help. There's something else I still need to get done before it's all over. I'm also crossing my fingers that my next companion will be a little less socially awkward than my current one. Missionary work is a very social thing and so it's hard when you've got an uncomfortably weird companion.
But, yeah, I feel like my work here is done. It's a good feeling. There's something good about knowing you've done a good job and accomplished what the Lord required of you. That's the feeling I hope to have in four months when I wrap up my full-time missionary service. I'm looking forward to what I'm gonna do in these last four months. It's my time to shine.
I'll email my new address when I get into my new area. I'm excited!
Love,
Elder Grasley
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