December 12th

Well, it is great to know that you had as plesant of an experience as possible at the funeral. I've never really like funerals but it is always great to hear the wonderful stories that people have to tell about their experiences with those who have passed away. 

So this week I dont really have a lot of news to tell you. This week is transfer week but I am staying for atleast one transfer more. The only real news is that the mission is spliting the zone so I no longer have to take care of 20 missionaries. We are actually going to have two zones of 12 missionaries each and in the next few months, the mission will be opening new sectors in each zone. The missionaries are working hard and we are seeing results.

SO this week was probably one of the most disappointing of my mission. We had a number of investigators turn their backs to the church and decide to not keep progressing. We now have a very small teaching pool but now we are going to only teach gold. It was a humbling experience but now we have a new perspective on what we need to do. It is going to be hard but we are going to fix things here in the sector. It will just require a little bit of time.

This week also had some funny moments, the best of which is worth telling. So we left with a recent convert to go visit some families in our sector. We were walking and talking about our great plans and who were going to teach and we arrived at the first house. We saw that the gate was open so we politely walked into the front yard when, out of no-where the gate closed behind us. We then found out that the gate was automatic and could only be opened from inside the house. We also quickly realized that there was nobody home. We tried calling the family. They didnt answer their phones. We tried to find a way into the  house to open the gate and leave, but the house was impenetrable. I decided that it would be best to jump the fence and keep going but my comp was not going to risk it (he is a lot bigger than I am). We ended up waiting for more than an hour for some one to help (by this point in time I had already jumped the fence and working out how my comp would be able to get out). In the end, the family showed up and thought it was hysterical what happened and were really grateful that we were the people who got stuck in there and not anybody with alternative motives. That was an experience worth remembering. 

Anyway, I am sorry I dont really have any other news for you. I have decided that I am going to change my major when I go back to BYU but that still is a ways away. So things are going well. I hope you are happy and healthy and enjoy the time you will have with Mike and Kerri.

Love,

Elder McNeil