Transfers and Conference

This was a busy week.

Monday- Elder Sanderson and Elder Bettilyon came down from New Kent and we schooled some guys at basketball. We had a lesson that night and it didn't quite go the way we had hoped.

Tuesday- Elder Cameron and I spent a good portion of the day packing. The New Kent Elders came down again. We went and all visited a less active, then Elder Bettilyon and Elder Aitken had a meeting with the Stake President, so Elder Cameron, Elder Sanderson, and I went and walked around New Town and just talked with a bunch of people.

Wednesday- Transfer day. We got everything packed up, and we left for Portsmouth. We met in Newport News to get a ride down with some other Elders. We got to P-Town pretty early. We just hung out until President Baker was done with the Trainers meeting. We got everything loaded up, and got on our way. We stopped in Elizabeth City where I got to see Elder Terril. He's a zone leader there. We then left for Greenville. It was me, Elder Cameron, and Elder Ferguson in the truck. We listened to a few talks and some music. At last we made it to my old stomping ground. I got to see Elders Black, Ludwig, and Siddoway. I found Elder Fullerton and we left for Roanoke Rapids, about a 1 and a half drive. We had a lesson with an investigator named Justin. He came to church before, but didn't feel very comfortable there. He said that he'd come again soon.

Thursday- We did some service for a sister in the ward named Sister Crawford. We went back and did weekly planning. We had coordination with our ward mission leader, Bro. Brletich and the sisters. This is the first time I've had sisters serving in the same ward since Greenville. It's weird, and they're both Canadien.

Friday- We had district meeting in Rocky Mount. We went with the Rocky Mount Elders to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. We came home and helped a member move something heavy from his truck. It was like, 300 pounds or so. We went and walked around a neighborhood for about an hour and we got 14 I/Os. We went to the Brletich's for dinner, then we left to try to visit some less actives.

Saturday- We went to the church for conference. I was very upset when we were sustaining the leaders, and those people shouted "opposed." I heard that it's the Ordain Women group. Conference was absolutely spectacular except for that part. I loved Elder Clayton's talk in the morning session and also Elder Renlund's in the afternoon. We met at the church at 7:30 for some pizza before Priesthood session. Not a whole lot of Brethren were there. It was a great session.

Sunday- We went to the church for the morning session. I loved Elder Nielson, Elder Holland, and President Uchtdorf. We went for lunch at the Brletich's house and stayed for the afternoon session. Elder Pino's talk was probably my favorite from this session. We went later that night and tried to visit some less actives. We struck out the first two times, but the third time was the charm. This less active wants to come back to church and wants his wife and kids to start taking the discussions. Miracle of the week.

Spiritual thought- Taking from Elder Dale G. Renlund's talk about keeping on trying. God truly does care a lot more about who we are becoming and who we are, then who we once were. The Atonement of Jesus Christ makes gives us an unlimited amount of chances to change. "No failure need be final." It is the adversary that tells us that we are too far gone to change, or that there is no hope. Don't listen. He's been the destroyer of hope from the beginning. Christ offers all men and women hope. It doesn't matter who were once were, all that matters is who we are becoming. The only way to condemn ourselves is if we stop trying. If you fall down, get back up. One of my favorite quotes on this subject comes from Rocky 5, "The world ain't full of sunshine and rainbows, it's a mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it's not about how hard your hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning it done." My beloved friends and family, we don't have to do it alone. Christ is there for anyone who will take his hand. The new church video Because of Him urges us to reach out and to call out to him. Make this a priority in your lives. I know it's a priority in my life. I love you all. Have a great week.

Elder Dumont