Elder Thomas Pilkington: Jan 26, 2015

Happy 2015!

Sorry I'm a few weeks late. I'm not doing as great as I would've hoped on getting these letters sent out.

First of all, you may have seen the animal pictures already. [I love animals. They taste supa goooood (Not the eagle, that's illegal) (I'm a poet)] {Not funny, Thomas...}There is a bald eagle on the reservation in Mesa that we've taken pictures of. Another one was of me skinning a sheep. In Mexico, they have a tradition of eating sheep every New Years Eve. We went out to the sheep field that the church owns on the res and caught one for the ward party. That's all the detail I'll give. (You're welcome Mom ;)) {I, Jill, asked him if the Sheep's name was Lucy....got to get a little guilt in there, right? It didn't work. This was his response....}

Nope, but close. His name was SAAAAAAM (in a sheep voice)

After having spent the last year in Mesa in the Mesa Grande Ward, I've been switched to the mountains! Several things have changed actually. First, I'm now 100% in English work. No mas espanol. Hopefully I don't lose it too quickly. I'm still going to study as much as we have time for.

Second, I'm a zone leader again. I was kind of hoping the transfer long break they gave me would be two or three transfers long. It was great to have the entire day to work in the area. I really am glad to be able to serve in leadership again though. So many fun stories come from other missionaries that we're able to work closer with as zone leaders. Third, we are covering two wards. That will be a big change to adapt to.

My companion is Elder Hinds. He is also from UT and lived most recently in Layton. He has been serving for about a year. More details on him will come.

I'm in Snowflake. Luckily, there's no snow, but I was still asked to buy some warmer clothes and boots. The area is great! We cover two wards, Snowflake 1st and 8th. Our boundaries are pretty much east of main street to the county line. One half of concho rd is 8th and the other half is 1st. Our ward mission leaders are brothers. One of them is the city judge and the other is a guard at the prison. Both have some pretty neat stories. We go to meetings and church starting at 7 am and are gone until about 3, so it's not as bad as the missionaries covering 3 wards who are gone until 5. The zone covers all of Snowflake, Concho/St. Johns, and out to Eager. The entire part of the mission in New Mexico is one area and is in our zone. (I may be wrong on that, but we DO cover at least part of New Mexico in our zone.) It takes about 1 hour to get to the missionaries in Concho/ St. Johns and another hour from there to get to Eager. I'm excited for the service we'll be able to do. I'll send pictures in the next few months.

This is a big change for me, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to grow. I have faith and trust that the Lord will help me as I struggle with the language barrier for the first few weeks. I know that this IS part of His plan for me and that He knows my full potential. I'm excited to see how this change will provide me with a stronger ability teach in English and to figure out the best way to help this area grow.

I know the Lord lives and loves us each. He truly does have a plan for us all.

Until next week! (Or a few months... sorry ;))

Elder Pilkington