TRANSFERRED!

Hi All,

Well, as you guessed, I'm being transferred. 8 months here. That's a long time. I'm not surprised. I was pretty sure that I was going. Now the question is where I am going. Honestly, I have no clue. I'm excited to go start again in a new area. It's always hard but fun. I feel like in my time here I accomplished what I needed to do, and that the Lord is happy with me and my work. Especially with having Leonila's baptism, I feel like I finished the last of what I was sent here to do. I really feel like I was here for her.

Well, this week was long, but good. We did a lot of finding, especially because pretty much all of our apointments canceled on us. That is where you really learn the value of your back up plans. We had some that put us in the right place at the right time. The coolest happened on Friday. We had set an apointment to visit a family, and then they had to cancel on us last minute. We decided to go visit one of the less actives in the ward, Gloria. We showed up over there and didn't find her, but did find her sister and neice sitting outside. They were coming to stay while Gloria went to Mexico for the weekend. There had been a mix-up and the keys Gloria had left with a neighbor didn't get to her sister. The cool thing was that we showed up and were able to help get the keys, talk to them, and now she wants missionaries to come visit her at her home. I had worked with this sister just 4 months ago, and she wan't interested. But after that chance to serve her and help her out, she was more willing to listen and excited to have missionaries come to her home and share more with her family.

Sorry, I have a feeling this is going to be a pretty spacey letter... my mind is spinning wondering where I will be sent. The rumor is they are opening a new sisters area this transfer... I'm really hoping that I get to go there. I think opening an area would be really fun. But who knows. There are some other areas that are also options, I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out exactly where I'm going.

I thought I would look back on my time here in this area... This has certainly been a growing experience for me to serve here. I've learned a lot. Especially as I've worked with a lot of different people over a long period of time. I've also seen a lot of results and a lot of blessings here. I watched on Sunday as an Hermano who I've worked some with recieved his first calling in years... when I first came he never came to church, but slowly he's come back and I was so happy to see him finally reach this point. Also I've seen a lot of the same progress with Oscar Carrillo and his family. I'll be excited to come back for his daughter's baptism in a few weeks.

I've also learned a lot here about diligence. I'm not going to lie. It's been pretty hard at times. Missions aren't easy. I've had a lot of things that have not gone as I would have hoped, and I've had a lot of dissapointments, but I've also seen a lot of joy and happiness here. I can honestly say that I love the people I've worked with. Serving here has taken everything I have, but it's been worth it. I'm excited to go somewhere new and to do the same thing, and to really work hard and give all that I have.

I've also learned a lot from my current companion, Hna Alvarez. I'm really going to miss that girl. She's taught me a lot about how to work with people, and how to really love those we serve. She's so good at looking for those who are forgotten and reminding them that they are loved. I've learned a lot from her about the value of slowing down a little to take a little more time with someone, and that we don't have to run at 100mph all the time. I've learned that it is okay to take a few minutes for yourself when you are exhausted (I thought it was super funny that Trent mentioned the same thing in his letter... I think both of us have some of the same perfectionist and workaholic attitudes as missionaries). Anyhow, this has been a good area for me, and I know I'll miss it. But I'm also excited to see what the Lord has in store for me.

Thanks for the letters and all of the support. I really appreciate those of you who have taken the time to write me. I'll try to get a few letters out this week, but I have a feeling that I'll end up using most of my p-day time to pack. So, if you don't here from me this week, it's because I spent my p-day trying to cram 8 months worth of life into the back of our car... yikes!

I love you all!

Hermana Okeson