The one with 3-day and the last AP exchange!

This week we went down Early tuesday morning to McAllen for our 3 days of trainings from the president, his wife, and the assistants. we had to drive down two cars that were getting retired. it was hard on our zone's miles to take 2 down when we could have all fit into 1, but it's ok. 3 day was really good, all the trainings were good!... but after being in the mission so long it seems to get more than a little repetitive. (there's only so many times you can hear about David! haha) I learned a lot though. I got a chance to work really close to my old area in llano grande, and even tried to see some recent converts, but they weren't home.

Then the APs came up to Corpus to work with Eisenhut and I. it was really good. we did our weekly planning together as a zone for about an hour. then let them do in on their own around the church, and we just bounced around helping them learn how to plan more effectively and such.

I was with Elder Rosero, he's a new AP and is going home with me. It was cool to be with someone else going home, we could talk about lots of the same feelings we both have. I learned a lot. especially about was to use District Leaders better.

This week has been good. we found a cool new lady who came to church. we introduced her to some other young couples in the ward it was great and we have a lesson set up with one of them tomorrow.

I'm starting to show my age in the mission. it's hitting me how close home is, I'm starting to feel less and less motivated to do some of the remedial stuff... but it's ok! I just need to find something to kick me in the butt for the next couple of weeks!

-love you lots! Elder Duerst!

The one with Mother's Day & MLC

This week we went down to MLC on tuesday in the morning super early. it was a great meeting and we learned a lot! They talked about the power of prayer and the spirit. it's crazy to me just how much we need to reminded about what you'd think would be basic stuff!

On thursday we did a zone roleplays and on saturday we did a zone meeting, both were really cool! it was a great week! someone got baptized in the zone which is first time in a long time! it was an awesome faith filling moment for the rest of the missionaries as well!

Sunday was good. we drove to one of our outlining missionaries to interview someone. the interview went well, not great, but good. after that we booked it back to church. Church was good. we did an exchange on saturday through sunday so I was with another Elder Saturday during work.

Tomorrow we have to go back to McAllen for "3-day"... usually we go in the afternoon of monday, but we're going super early tomorrow morning. I guess I need to see the positives in things like this, but I've been more and more frustrated. But it's whatever, God gives you opportunities to work on what you want to improve!

-Love you all lots! it was good to see you all yesterday! Elder Duerst!

The one with the end of the month, and the start of the end!

yesterday at church I bore my testimony for the last time as a missionary! (in a sacrament meeting that is! I bare my testimony dozens of time everyday!) that was a very weird experience. I'm excited for the month we have ahead of us. my companion and I made really good plans on what we're going to do, and just like that the month is full of meetings, exchanges, and trips to McAllen! I have a feeling it is going to fly by if I don't think about it, but will drag if I do. It's been weird doing my transition plans. the church has a new thing online for returning missionaries called "my plan" you can tell it's meant for missionaries with ipads and the ability to use them frequently.

I don't know what there is to say, we found a pretty cool family. after this month the faith is pretty low in the zone. I feel excited to finish strong, but I can see that my companion is struggling, he's always joking around, but I can tell he's having a hard time, it's hard to be the ones the whole zone looks up to, to have the most faith and work the hardest, especially when we have our own struggles. but we had a good talk today and we're excite to work even harder next month and trust even more in the Lord!

Sorry my week wasn't more eventful!

-Love Elder Duerst, see you on sunday at 6:30!

Holland and First Week of my Last Transfer!

So we got transfer calls and it shocked me to hear that Elder Davis was leaving! we both expected him to stay, but it is what it is. My new Companion is Elder Eisenhut, he jokes and tells people his name is Icy-Hot or Pizza Hut! he's super funny! we have two new DL's they are both great guys and I'm excited to see what they can get going. I couldn't email yesterday because we were driving to McAllen to see Holland. he came to our mission, and it was an awesome meeting! Elder Robins came too! I have been sick the last couple days, so I was battling with a headache the whole day. but I still got a lot out of it!

now I'm here in McAllen with one of our AP's Elder Ivey. and get this, we got the Cops called on us! it was crazy! we were walking to this Part Members home to teach the mom, and there were these two little girls in the parking lot of the Apartments, so we asked if they knew Abril (April, in english) and they said yeah! (because they were same ages) so we invited them to come listen to a message we were going to share with the member family. and they said sure, because they weren't doing anything. then as we were walking this guy pops out and started yelling all this weird stuff about how he's going to call the cops, I guess he thought we were kidnapping the kids. He was a real jerk about it. I think he had something against us, because a sane person would have let us explain the situation without calling the police, but the cops said we just need to be careful with kids and just took our names (I assume that he'll look us up, and if either of us were known kidnappers we'd have some more guys looking for us in a little, Good thing that won't happen!)

-Love you all lots! sorry I don't have a full hour to write more!

Elder Duerst!

Transfer calls in the middle of emailing!

This week has been a long one, we did a cool zone meeting all about "selfless self-improvement" it's kind of hard to explain our training, but the scriptural story we relied on was solomon asking the Lord for more wisdom in a dream so that he could bless the lives of those around him. is was... "selfless self-improvement" (copyright, Elder Duerst)

The zone has been struggling, but the transfer call came in and we have some stud DL's coming in, and they should really get things going! I'm happy to be ending my mission here in Corpus. it's going to be weird starting my last transfer, it really is a bitter-sweet moment. I'm just curious who my new companion will be, I didn't expect to have a new companion. it might be good. I guess I learned what I needed to from Elder Davis.

we did a lot of good exchanges, and a couple of blitz. it was all really good. we had the senior couples in charge of apartments, come down and check all the apartments in the Zone. they took us to dinner after, it was pretty good. we went to a restaurant that a member owns up here.

Well, that's the end of another transfer! and there goes the last transfer call that means anything to me! haha! love you all lots!

-Elder Duerst

Super Long Week!

This week has been super full of stuff! looking back at it, it looks more like 2 weeks packed into one!

We had a really cool P-Day Activity at the aquarium here in CC! it was a lot of fun, and we had members let us in, because there are a lot of them with family passes, so they just used those, so we didn't have to pay! (I think the Brownsville Zoo was more fun, but this wasn't too shabby either!)

On tuesday the whole zone had interviews. I found out I'm the senior zone leader. I had a feeling I was, because I was last transfer, but I never really brought it up. My President told me that was dumb, if he wanted us to be co-seniors he would have made us co-seniors. he told me about how Elder Davis needs to learn to follow, and I can't do that if I don't take the lead and be the leader. I've spent my whole mission working on being more humble and it confuses the crud out of me! because half the time I'm prideful and the other I'm a push-over (which isn't Real humility at all) But things have been changing since interviews.

we had three exchanges and a blitz. the first with the assistants after interviews. I got the chance to work with Elder Ivey. We had a good chance to talk about a lot of different things. We talked for awhile about how being in leadership changes missionaries. I think it helps us learn and get things done. but it is very hard to not become cold in doing so. I think Ivey is a great example to me of a loving leader!

We did zone roleplays as well, they were well planned and full of animo! We're trying to get the DL's to be a source of excitement in their districts! we're starting a new game in our zone! it's called "Capture the Flag: on the Bay" it's full of fun challenges and key indicator challenges. we've really seen the animo go up, and our numbers are highest than they've been all transfer, which confuses us, because we had the worst week at church attendance! we only had 2 people come! we're having an emergency DLT today and we're going to implement some new things and counsel to make something change in the zone.

It's honestly very hard to get along with Elder Davis, we don't fight, but we have very different personalities. this transfer is just showing me how much more there is to learn! I have a feeling he will be with me again next transfer! it's very possible, it would only be his 3rd transfer here in CC and my 2nd. The whole zone essentially stayed the same, but I think there will be major changes come next week!

-Love you all lots! Elder Duerst!

p.s. I start transition plans next week! that's going to be weird!

The one with MLC and General Conference!

This thursday we had an awesome experience going to McAllen for our monthly accountability to the mission president. it was a little different than usual however, because all the district leaders came with us. president always seems to know to inspire so easily. I just wish we can get the zone up here in Corpus the same excitement.

General conference was a great experience! we weren't able to get as many investigators to church as we would have liked! it's crazy how hard it is to get people to just watch something so small as a video online! but they really missed out, and there's no reason to dwell on the negative, just have to work harder to find the prepared people out there.

I really loved many of the talks that were given this weedend! I especially liked the talk by Jeffrey R Holland, it was all about leaving spiritual highs, but not getting discouraged when we get back to the "real world" I hope I can always remember the spiritually growth I've been blessed with here as a missionary!

-Well we're going to the aquarium today, so we have to do!

Love you all lots! Elder Duerst!