Re-earning my Laurels!

Hey y'all!

So remember how I said at the end of my last email how I probably

wasn't going to be transferred? Well not even five minutes after I

sent that last email, Talbot and I got a call from President Johnson

saying that while we are going to be kept together this transfer, we

are moving to whitewash the Laurel Ward (aka my first, or "birth",

area. Meaning my trend of revisiting areas continues!). And thus, much

of the rest of Monday and Tuesday were spent preparing to move all of

our stuff to Laurel.

Wednesday was transfers. Because we didn't have a car, we had to go up

to the DC Stake center, wait two hours for the Elders we were

replacing to get there (they were super late), drive back down to DC,

pack up all of our stuff into one Corolla, then drive up to Laurel. It

was an adventure to be sure, but on the bright side, I can now say

that I've driven in DC (for whatever that's worth)!

Thursday was my Birthday! Much of it was spent with District meeting

and becoming re-acquainted with my old area. Friday was when we were

really able to get some good work done. When we arrived in the area,

we had some 28 uncontacted referrals from the previous missionaries

that had been there, so we set to work on contacting all of them. So

far, we have managed to get in contact with about 5 or 6 of them and

for the most part, all of them have been pretty solid thus far! I will

hopefully have more specific stories for y'all next week, but I'll

just say that the Lord truly is hastening his work here and it is

truly a blessing to be a part of it right now! I hope to be able to

spend a good chunk of the rest of my mission back here in Laurel!

Saturday, we were able to help a returning member move from one part

of the Ward to another. It was really cool to be able to get to know

them and be able to see some members of the Ward that I hadn't seen in

over a year! What wasn't as fun was that while there, Brother Yeardly,

a counselor in the bishopric asked Elder Talbot and I to both speak in

Sacrament meeting the next morning about one of our favorite

conference talks. We also had teaching gospel principles sprung on us

pretty last minute as well so the Ward wasted no time in putting us to

work! Never a dull moment in the life of a missionary!

On Sunday, I got to reintroduce myself in church and was very

pleasantly surprised at how many members of the Ward not only

remembered me, but were also very happy to see me again. It's always

good to see that!

That's about all from me this week! I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Sincerely,

Elder Sam Williams

8301 Ashford Blvd #606

Laurel, MD, 20707

Anacostia District