Zone Leader!

Well this week was a special week. It was transfer week so everyone was anxious, wondering where they will go next. I had a feeling I would be leaving so I was especially anxious and excited. So on Saturday night before we got our transfer calls President Hymas called me and said that after they had prayed about it, he felt like the Lord has would like me to serve as a Zone Leader. I was so excited, and grateful for this amazing opportunity but also humbled by it as well. When I asked him what zone I would be serving in he said in El Dorado Zone with Elder Henderson! That was some crazy news because I was serving in the El Dorado zone already in the Placerville and Georgetown wards. So I will be staying in the same zone but just a different ward. I will be in the Green Valley ward and the Folsom Lake YSA ward. I am excited to be serving here but it is so weird because I have gone on exchanges in this ward before and I know the members we live with already and several of the other members. It is going to be an exciting experience. One of the things I am looking forward to the most is that the Folsom Lake YSA ward meets at a church building right next to the temple. So every Sunday we get to drive to the temple. It is so beautiful there. This is going to be an amazing transfer. Elder Henderson is going home after this transfer so we are going to really give it everything we have this transfer so he can finish strong. Something else I was thinking about was that I will probably be spending most of my mission in the El Dorado zone. I was in the Placerville and Georgetown wards for about 5 months and I will probably be in these wards for another 5-6 months. It is honestly the best zone to be in though. It is so beautiful here. I love it.

So last transfer was such a blessing to be able to be companions with Elder Hatch. At the beginning of the transfer he was really having a hard time with some personal things and he kept wanting to go home. He would always be calling President and meeting with him. It was a struggle. But we had some really good conversations where we talked about the gospel and what it means to us and I noticed he hadn't been reading the Book of Mormon that much during his studies, so I encouraged him to read at least 30 mins a day. He did and it totally changed him. At the end of the transfer, his testimony had grown so much. He knew the Book of Mormon was true. He knew that this Church and Gospel was true and he told me what it meant to him. It was so amazing to see the power that comes from the Book of Mormon. It totally changed his mission. He now has no desire to leave but a desire to stay out and keep sharing this gospel with others. I am so grateful that the Lord placed us together, and I had an opportunity to witness that change in him.

Love,

Elder Hallmark