Sunday, November 27, 2016

Week 92 - A Busy Week

Dear Mary,

Thank you for getting the room ready! I can't wait to see how it's gonna be!

This week was a very interesting one! We are now a Spanish district again, because we have 6 missionaries in the ward! I'm super glad to have Elder Dowda as a companion, and so glad to have Elder Dressman and Elder Taylor come into our district! We had to help them out a lot this week, so not too much in our area was accomplished, but we at least helped Dressman and Taylor pick up the beginning of their transfer so that it can be an amazing transfer! I do feel like this last transfer is gonna be the best one ever!! I'm excited to work with all these missionaries, and to have unity between all of us!

During the first half of the week, we were running around like chickens with their heads cut off! We had to help Elders Dressman and Taylor get everything that they needed to be able to work well in their new area here in Oceanside. It was quite the week and very fun at the same time! To start off, Elders Dressman and his new missionary, Elder Taylor did not have a ride from the mission office to Oceanside, but Carlos was so gracious to take our stuff to our apartment and then to go back and get Dressman and Taylor, and their belongings. Second, They don't have a phone yet! So the first night we let them stay at our apartment (even though they already had an apartment with other elders) so that it would be easier to communicate with us. But they decided to move into their apartment the next day after the Zone Welcome and to just decide before hand where and when we would meet them to pick them up for things. So we asked the hermanas help us move their things into their new apartment, which was very kind of them! Then we discovered that the only the had were beds. No dresser, no desks, no chairs, no extra silverware or plates, and no shower curtain... so we called the mission office and asked them for all of these things, which were brought over by the next couple of days. We hadn't even gone to dinner or shopped yet! So we went to dinner first at the Palacios house, which is always amazing!! They are an amazing family! Then we went shopping afterwards, and by the time we were done, it was nearly time to go home for the evening. So we did. We're also in a car share with the elders as well, and we decided that we give them the car on Wednesdays, so you know what that means... BIKING!!! :D Well, I'm excited about it at least haha We ended up not biking that day, because we discovered while biking that Elder Dowda's bike needed tuning up, and that we both needed bike lights. The elders had already dropped us off in our area, and we had no way to contact them because they had no phone, so we started calling other missionaries to come help us, but luckily, Elders Dressman and Taylor had come back and gave us a ride to walmart to get the stuff that we needed, then they took us back to our apartment to get everything fixed. Then on Friday we had breakfast with our Bishop as we usually do at the beginning of the transfer, then later we organized our area books to find anything that belongs to the other missionaries in the ward, which took 3 hours. Then we biked to the other elders apartment (because that was the previously agreed point of pick up so that w could all go to dinner) and it took us about an hour to do. Just in time to go to dinner! haha On Saturday, we had a joined Language study/lunch with all 6 Spanish missionaries in our ward, and it was so much fun!! We played a game where we all created following sentences of a story. The story was about a King Shark, a King Turtle, a family of fish made of gold, and a penguin marrying the turtle widow... it was super funny and weird! but lots of fun! That pretty much sums up all the craziness! But it was SOOO much fun!! The week went by very quickly!

I'm not complaining, this week was actually very fun!! I love when stuff like this happens, it makes the time fly by soo much!! :)

Elder Dressman told me yesterday that I give really good advice! We were helping someone who was struggling with personal things and after we had left, Elder Dressman had told me that I just always had good advice to give. I never thought of myself as being that way, but it's good to hear that someone thinks that of me.

He also rekindled my dream of acting the other night! I was doing a couple of voices, and he asked if I had thought of acting before. I told him that it was my dream as I was growing up. He told me that I should do it and that I would be really good! I never had someone bring that up to me before, I was a bit surprised! But I'm definitely gonna try going for it! We'll see what God has in store for me!

Write when you can, I love hearing from you!!

With much love,

Elder Patrick Wockenfuss

Week 93 - The Nightmare Transfer Before Christmas

Dear Mary,

I'm glad that the weather is finally getting normal there! It'll be so weird to not have SoCal weather when I come home haha

On thanksgiving, we are going to the Delaveaux family's house for dinner!! :D I think I've told you about them before, they are so awesome!! They are one of the many sets of "Mission Parents" that we have :)

As for my plans... I'm gonna get a job at Kum & Go, maybe go to school at uaccm (still not sure), I want to get a good smart phone, (not a cheap walmart-y type of smart phone, but a better one, maybe like yours, not sure yet), I want to weekly be researching different careers that interest me, I want to be going to the temple at least once a month as a family (like how we used to do slow Saturdays), get a calling asap and magnify it to the best of my ability, and go out with the missionaries weekly if possible. That's just an idea of what I want to be doing when I get back. I'm gonna meet with President Thomas this week to discuss My Plan, iron out details of what I plan to do, and have my final interview with him.

The title of this email should be "The Nightmare Transfer Before Christmas" because so much craziness has happened! And as a play on words of the title of the Tim Burton movie :P [Note: Whether he was joking about that or not, we did it!]

So! This past week, a sister missionary came in from Bolivia and was assigned to the Hermanas in our district, so they're in a trio now :D The sister from Bolivia is learning English, and is doing really well at it! They seem happy with each other, and are doing good work! The night that she came in, we ate at the Palacios house, and it was such a good time! We were all laughing and enjoying the company! The Hermanas even noted that it was great to see me so happy since my past struggles :)

That night we got a call from the Assistants telling us that the next day we would be receiving one of the new missionaries that had come in a week and a half previous, because one elder in the mission had to go home for knee surgery, so things had to be switched up a bit. So we would have 2 trios in our ward!! haha 8 missionaries and 3 areas! so crazy!! and all the companionships are training! haha

The next day our mission had the opportunity to meet together in Escondido with Elder Dallin H.Oaks of the Quorum of the 12!! :D He wanted to shake every missionary's hand before the meeting started, and as I passed through to shake his hand, he grabbed my lapel to get a closer look at my name. "Wockenfuss...Is that how you pronounce it?" he said with a smile on his face "Yes sir, it is" is what I thought I said, but I'm sure it came out as "ahfiaubfblbiul" (:P) because I was amazed that I actually got to meet him and that he touched my nametag!! :D :D

[Family freaking out at the awesomeness!!!]

It was a wonderful meeting though! It was centered around being witnesses of Christ and gaining a greater relationship with Him and how we can rely on him as missionaries. It was so wonderful! We felt the spirit so strong there!

The Proclamation of The Living Christ was discussed as well, and a bit of behind the scenes of how it came about. It made me realize that I have never read The Living Christ before, so I want to do that this week! I'll tell you next week what I learned from it! :)

We got Elder A. (the new missionary) after the meeting with Elder Oaks and had lunch as a district, and since then it has been a difficult time! [Removed for privacy]

Please continue to write and email when you can, I love hearing from you!

Love,

Elder Patrick Wockenfuss

Monday, November 7, 2016

Week 91 - It's the Final Transfer!

Dear Mary,

Well... This is it!....The transfer to end all transfers.... what a weird thought!! I'm excited for it though! I'm gonna be working as hard as I can till the end! I only have 5 more weeks to wear this nametag, I'd better make the best of it! :)

Transfer calls came on Saturday night, and we found out that Elder Sedgwick is leaving to Vista, and I'm getting Elder Dowda! And we're getting a new set of elders into the ward as well! :) I'm excited for the change and am going to make this the best transfer of my life!

I totally admire Nephi for how much faith he had in completing Heavenly Father's commandments! I feel exactly like Nephi as I come to the end of my mission "being lead by the spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which [I] should do." My life is coming before me! And I don't know how everything is going to turn out! But I know that God WILL provide for us! I remember Mom telling me for years that when she passed away I'm supposed to keep the family together and be the spiritual leader. I always thought, "Yeah that'll be a LONG time down the road, so I don't have to worry about it right now."  but I was wrong! I didn't expect to take that to happen so soon! But I'm so glad that we can all work together and strengthen each other and that we're all still going strong in the gospel and that we haven't broken apart! I'm learning more and more of how Mom truly did have to rely on the spirit and God in her decisions! It's truly a blessing that we can communicate with Heavenly Father anytime that we want! I know that as we continue faithfully, everything God has promised will come to pass for us :)

Elder Sedgwick and I got the opportunity to teach the young men's class in church yesterday! It was on education and developing skills. I honestly learned stuff to help me to prepare for education more! I certainly hope that they learned something from it, because I know I did :)

People have been giving us sooo much Halloween candy!!! Our kitchen counter is just filled with candy upon candy! ...we're probably gonna get a little fat haha :P

Speaking of Halloween! Here's a couple pics of my Halloween costumes!

My Batman PJs, of course!



I was also the Joker! with green hairspray! It was pretty awesome!



I wore both of them at the exact same time! I showed up to our Zone activity wearing the Batman Pjs, (which everyone loved!) and after a while I was like "Man, It's getting hot in here" (which yes it was), I unzipped the pjs and joker came out from underneath! I loved the first look of confusion when I pulled off the batman hood and people could see green hair! And then they all just laughed when my Joker costume was just beneath it haha :) I thought it was pretty snazzy lookin! haha :P

Write when you can, we've only got 5 weeks left haha :P

With much love,

Elder Patrick Wockenfuss