Hello there!
This week was pretty good and decently packed full of things which was nice. Monday night, we finished off with a lesson with Katie Ownby which was good. It’s been really awesome to help her to teach her friend by going over the questions she has. And it’s been cool to see Katie’s testimony strengthen, and she’s a beast and will be a great missionary in a couple years when she can go serve. Then, we finished and watched the mission devotional we missed. But seriously it was a good way to end the day.
Tuesday I went on an exchange with Elder Young the new zone leader this transfer. Unfortunately, all the lessons fell through in their area but we still had a good time and a good discussion on what we could do to help the missionaries we are over which was a really good way to use that time I thought. So that was a lot of fun, and we also got an awesome member meal. So there are two companionships in the ward the zone leaders are in so multiply this by two, a whole rotisserie chicken, a bag of avocado toast salad (which was great), Hawaiian rolls, cantaloupe and a lemon cake (which was pretty lemony and I was impressed). So thank you to those members; it was great. We got to eat in seperate rooms with the door open with Elder Stepen and Oakeson the other two elders from Lake Stevens so that was good.
Yeah then Wednesday, we had the usual, service and then district council. District council was good, and we even had it outside which was great. Like awesome, the sun was shining and it was pretty warm. So we loved that. Thursday we had some good lessons, and it was a pretty chill day; and then Friday I had another exchange with Elder Glazier and this time I went to his area. That was good we had 3 lessons and were able to get 2 refferalls of people to teach and that was of course fantastic. Who wouldn’t want to teach more people about what could bring them lasting joy? So that was a good day too.
Saturday was a pretty packed day and I got to have a lesson with my best friends which was also great. Drew, Luke and Carson all were super happy to talk, and we decided we’re going to call every Wednesday and go over a parable and catch up. It’s great. I also had a lesson with my friend Anne-Elaine as well. She’s really come a long way and seems to be a lot more religious than she was before my mission which is really awesome. Oh I guess Elder Castillo on Friday met with Perla and Elian. Perla was good; she got her temple recommend, and Elian said she wants to be baptized which is great.
Sunday we had a good time at church and we started having a 30 minute Sunday school this week which was great. Hermana Mora said we’re going to try to meet with her two nieces from Mexico and help get them read for baptism. They can’t be baptized in Mexico only because there are no missionaries there currently. I am not complaining, and I’m excited to be able to start that. So that was the week. It was good. Oh I guess no word on Elder Castillo leaving but a bunch of missionaries are starting to, so I may not have to be in quarantine with Elder Castillo when he does leave. Then Elder Kleven my first comp when I came back is leaving to Mexico soon. He is actually in SLC today getting his visa figured out. Very cool stuff.
Questions-
What have you learned about yourself in the last few weeks? – Patience is something that is still needing improvement. That’ll be a very good skill for the rest of my life so might as well start learning more of it now right?
In what way have you built up personal resilience during your mission and the pandemic? – Just having to learn how to stay productive especially when it is easier and more enjoyable to sleep or read all day.
Share something that’s made you laugh this week. – Hmm at district council we had a roast/compliment time to help promote district unity. It was funny
Is there something that you’ve learned from your companion or another missionary in the past week or two?- How to correct better from Elder Young. It’s not easy and unfortunately sometimes dispite your best efforts you may not be liked.
What is one of your favorite principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to teach? – Repentance because it brings peace and joy.
This week I tried my hand at Ice Cream Cake Bars (I made my own fo-ice cream from making whipped cream and mixing sweetened condensed milk and mixed it with Texas sheet cake, let that freeze and then cut it and dipped them. [These are a very Tonkinson thing. They are a blend of cake and ice cream, frozen and dipped in chocolate. Most of us love to mix cake and ice cream at birthdays, and this is just a more sophisticated way to do that] The district liked them. And then I also made pasta yesterday which was really good and worth the effort I think haha.
Elder Tonkinson
https://eldertonkinson.home.blog/
Elder Gideon Tonkinson, Washington Everett Mission 