Elder Josh Carlile's Mission Blog: December 5, 2016 -- Who Said Surprises Are Bad Things?

This week has been full of surprises! The biggest one came Monday night when I got a call from President Rogers informing me that the missionary I was going to train had to go home for medical problems; so, instead of me training, I would be getting Elder Crandall. I was a bit bummed when I heard the news. I had mentally come to terms with the fact that I was going to train. As I was praying and studying the next morning, I received a very clear message that I shouldn't question the inspiration President Rogers received from Heavenly Father. After that, I felt at peace about the whole thing. Now that I've spent almost 5 days with Elder Crandall, I can say that we were meant to be companions in Elmira.

The day that I dreaded for weeks finally came this past Wednesday. . .transfers, because that meant I had to say goodbye to Elder Rasband. I am so grateful that I had the chance to train that goob. I'm going to miss all the jokes and good laughs we had. He is going to do great in Schenectady! We said our goodbyes to each other and parted ways in the Utica Mission Office. One good suprise was seeing Elder Wawro!!! We gave each other the biggest hug and caught up on old times! It was refreshing to get the update on how good old Orem was doing. On the drive home from Utica, I got to know Elder Crandall. He is from Mesa, Arizona. He likes to play piano and sing specifically in A Capella groups. We have been singing Christmas music for days! He has been out on his mission for 16 months, only 6 more weeks than I have. He is a very genuine person and best of all has a great desire to do missionary work. Like I said before, this week was full of surprises.

It seems that the theme of what we have been teaching people this week is the power of the Book of Mormon. It's the keystone of our religion and the reason that Christ's true church stands today. There is a converting power that comes when people read it sincerely. The times I see our investigators progress the most is when they are consistently reading the Book of Mormon. It's the same thing in my life as well as everyone else. I am thankful for this great tool that we missionaries have to use. Overall the work is going great in Elmira. I guess you could say Elder Crandall and I are lighting the world ( pun most definitely intended!)

The sky is blue, the Church is true, and life is good.

Elder Carlile out