Hopefully the proceeding email with this weeks photos got to you already.
Anyway, it's been another long week, as they always are. So as you can see we had our 3rd baptism this transfer. Sergio Del Agula, it was yesterday but unlike our others it was done in Baring, which is close to downtown Houston in the stake center there because Sergio's cousin, Alex Del Agula, was leaving the following day to the MTC and he was getting set apart as a missionary. So that was nice and all.
Saturday was a rather stressful day, for it was transfer call day. Now after all of that nonsense that I spoke of a couple weeks ago we were pretty certain that there would be a lot of changes, it was just a question of who. So throughout the whole day everyone was stressed. The zone leaders finally called our district leader at like 9:45 pm with the info. Elder Astin is getting transferred to one of the downtown Houston Zones, he's not happy at all about that, I'm staying here and my new companion will be Elder Porter, I've only met him once at our last zone conference, he seems like a nice guy but also like a preachy wind-bag as he was the guy that sat front row and center and was making preachy comments every 5 seconds during zone conference. He's also pretty hard core from what I here, that he won't waste a second, so I guess I'll be tracting a lot during this upcoming transfer which will start on Wednesday. Elder Nelson is to be leaving as well and will be replaced with a new missionary, so I won't be the newbie in the district anymore. Elder Pitts is going home, his time is up, and Elder Dexter is going somewhere and they're to be replaced by Elder Beck, who I think played on BYU's football team, he's a Polynesian who was an AP for a while, and he will be training another new missionary.
Hmm... Other things that happened this week. We did quite a bit of service this week. On Tuesday we went with the english elders to a member's ranch at like 7 AM and fed their dozen or so horses and then spent the next five hours splitting logs. I'm still tired from that but it was fun. Then on saturday we went out to some red-neck country and helped a member put up a fence for several hours, we dug holes, put logs in them and packed them in, all around his several acres of property. It was rather fun and also rather back breaking.
Well that's about it. Oh I also thought of a few more things you could get me for christmas. You get me a calender, preferably a two year one, with a cool theme like medieval or Napoleonic battles or something like that. And you get me some electronic clippers and electronic shaving device, of which I know nothing about, so good luck with that. Maybe also a new camel back, this dog was chewing on the straps and plastic buckles the other day and the thing in general is only just holding together but it can hold out for the rest of this year so no worries.
Well that's all I got for today.
-- Elder Rice
