Hey everyone!
I'm writing this morning from the Rockwall public library. Although transfers aren't until this weekend, I was emergency transferred last Tuesday here to Rockwall. The whole experience has been crazy! I guess the Lord just has me set up to be a mover and a shaker. This is now my 4th area in 7months, and the transfer isn't even over yet!
Tuesday morning I was on an exchange with my district leader's greenie. We had just ridden about 25 minutes to a member's street so we could knock it out before dinner when I got the phone call from the Assistants. They told me about a missionary in Plano who needed to be moved asap and asked if I could be packed and ready to go in about an hour. I, of course told them yes. We ran back to the member's home to let them know what was going on and this poor greenie did his best to keep up as we sped back to my apartment. I gave my district leader and Elder Low a call and they arrived shortly after we did. The 3 Elders helped me quickly pack and it went very smoothly. I got everything packed and ready to go in under and hour. The Assistants arrived on schedule with the displaced Elder from Plano, unloaded his things, loaded mine up, and we were off to Rockwall.
My new companion's name is Elder Layton. This is his first transfer so I'm taking over his training(not that he needs much of it, he's super sharp). Elder Layton is from Glendale, AZ. His trainer was moved to Plano in the 3 way emergency transfer. He was pretty sad to see his trainer go, but we have been having a lot of fun and working really hard. This area has a lot of wealth, and it reminds me of McKinney a lot. This is both good and bad. I haven't seen a whole lot of humility in very many people, but I'm optimistic. I know the Lord prepares people everywhere and in all situations and walks of life. Elder Layton shared with me that the area has been struggling pretty badly, but it's on the upswing now. We will be working our tails off to keep the momentum growing. The ward mission leader here is a champ. I am really impressed by him. I found out that there's a Lyman family here in Rockwall. I didn't get to meet them because they weren't at church yesterday, but I've heard about them from just about every member of the ward it seems.
Admittedly, it has been a little rough getting thrown into another area without any notice. Luckily, Elder Layton is a stud, and although he is still learning, he has been a big help to me in getting to know the area. I feel a little bit of big brother syndrome for the kid, but I'm getting used to the feeling. I'm getting older and older in the mission compared to the incoming missionaries. There's been a lot of big groups finish up their missions lately, and I'm probably in the 75th percentile of most senior missionaries in a now, very young mission. I find myself realizing that I'm also a bit older(in real life) than these guys that are just coming out. Sometimes it makes me feel a bit disconnected with them, but it mostly just makes me feel pressure to be a better example for them. I find it interesting that I'm now older than 99% of the missionaries going home each transfer.
According to the weekly standards e-mail, Aaron was baptized as scheduled on Saturday. As is my curse, I wasn't able to see his baptism because of the E.T. obviously, but I'm still way excited for him. I am continuing to pray for the investigators in Grand Prairie that are so special to me. I can't wait to hear about their upcoming baptisms.
Because of dropped appointments, I haven't met many of the investigators here in the Rockwall area yet. I'm sure it won't take long before I become connected and attached to them just like in my previous areas. I'll be sure to keep you updated as I learn more about the people we are and will be teaching.
At the moment I don't think I have anything else to report. I'm still trying to get my bearings here, so my thoughts are pretty scattered at times. Thank you all so much for all your love and support. I appreciate your continued prayers and thoughts in my behalf. I love you all very much and I hope to hear more from each of you soon. Until next time; be good, stay safe, and keep the faith!
Love,
Elder Michael P. Lyman
Texas Dallas Mission
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