Last Area

So I have been transferred to Ramona, Highland Valley Ward! It is a super awesome area! And I am White Wash Training... so please send prayers literally don't know where to start considering the circumstances. 

#wearestillbaptizinginthemission

Spooky week... the world has shut down it is pretty interesting. We are to work from our apartments as much as possible. We are allowed to leave to go on a walk, emergency service, and go to the church for Wifi. Not going to lie with all this and us not being able to do a lot of the things we were doing before, I felt very off for the last week. But I have since come to terms with it and am now doing very well. Grateful that life has been able to slow down, in many ways so I can have really been able to appreciate the simple things in life. Honestly a handshake... forget what that is. We are not allowed to meet as a district. And we have been asked to coordinate who is at the church so we do not run into different companionships. 

This is a very interesting time to be a missionary, but it has been a privilege to serve at this time! 

#wearestillbaptizinginthemission

I am just spooked....

 A spooky week indeed. 

First off we had Zone Conferences at Camp Wildwood!!! It was so much fun we did team-building exercises and had a blast the first day. Sunny out it was like 25° no wind. Perfect weather. We Even got President Stubbs to where matching space Eagle Shirts with us and the senior sister training leaders. (I will send pics) 

Them the next to days it poured rain! So we did our trainings in the morning and then played a massive game of soccer in the rain for 2hours!!! It was so much fun. Low key a lot of the missionaries got sick because of it Haha.

We got to stay up at camp Wildwood for three days to run the zone conferences so we went out with the Ramona Elders in the evening after dinner with the Stubbs. We even had an extra half hour in the evening so we just caught frogs Haha felt like we were running a summer camp Haha. But not really because it was a grind during the day. 

Then everything blew up with the virus. And members started cancelling appointments on us and missionaries around the mission. So the work has definitely changed. 

Then I found out that I am being sent home early in May... super sad, it has come as a shock to many Elders and I will be forever grateful for the time I have had to serve my Savior. And the short time that I have left. 

Love Elder Palmer!

Fear not

We had Elder Brent Neilson of the Seventy come to our stake conference! It was so good! He spoke to us about our days and how even though the world has never been in so much turmoil and strife. There is no escaping it. Whether you leave home or travel to some temporal paradise the commotion will never settle, the words will only get more bitter. Yet in this day of tribulation, the Church of Jesus Christ has never been so well established, as church attendance across the globe decreases the church of Jesus Christ continues to increase. Why do we fear? This has been prophesied and foretold since the Prophets of Old. In fact, the Prophets in our day have and are warning us of these days and the days to come  "in the coming days it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the constant guidance and Directing influence of the Holy Ghost."-President Nelson

Elder Neilson shared with us some council he heard from Boyd K Packer "do you know what the only emotion the 12 apostles do not feel?... Fear" 

Fear chases away Faith. For Fear is not of God.

2 Timothy1

7. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

2 Kings6

16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

 "Every man eventually is backed up to the wall of faith, and there he must make his stand" - President Ezra Taft Benson

And finally the voice of the Lord himself 

John16 

33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

One of the greatest things I have learned is that the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is accessible through daily Repentance.

Love Elder Palmer

P.S went to the USS Midway museum, (basically an aircraft carrier)

With our District, it was so fun!!!

A whole lot of everything

We had a really good week!!! Busy busy busy with lessons and meetings exchanges...honestly a whole lot of everything! 

We got to play some Basketball with Drey (a good friend of ours) and some of his friends that are way better at basketball than Elder Rausch and I Haha. But not sure what came over me and Elder Rausch but we were playing really good...seriously we were both making buckets so Drey and All his friends Loved us 😂😂😂. 

We Had exchanges in El Centro this week and I was on Bikes with Elder Jones who was an Elder we played our helmet joke on. We worked so hard that day we set up 3 retuned appointments talked to everyone and had a very productive day! The thing was that I was in the area for one day and Elder Jones had been there for just over a week so he didn't know the area very well. When we got back to the Apartment we found out that we had been working in the Sisters area Alllllday... pretty funny but we sent off all the return appointments haha.

This week we also did a mini Mission for the youth in the Santee stake "leap into your mission" for the leap year. We got to take out three young men and I mean young 12,13 and 16

But it was super good! We got to take a boy out named Marlen who is not a member yet, he came to church after he had a sleepover with a friend and came to church that morning with his friend. When he got home he ran to his Parents and was yelling "we have to be Mormons Mom we Have to be!" After only 4 weeks He and now his whole family of 5 are working towards being baptized on the 21st! 

So we took Marlen out with us and we taught a couple lessons but the highlight was actually tracting with him! Three of us walk up to the first door and I stop to explain how things are going to go and he blows past me and knocks on the door. I ask him "aren't you a little scared" ( his friend was) to which he responded, "no, why Would I be?" 

I was amazed, when the scriptures speak of babes confounding the wise this was definitely it. I was confounded. And later found a quote that described him perfectly 

"Why be scared of what is in front of you when you Have HIM standing behind you."

The door opened and I started talking we had a good conversation and as we were saying goodbye Marlen puts his Hand out with a pass-along card and says "come to church with us!" (He was doing my job I forgot to give him a card)

Then Marlen literally started running from door to door skipping some because he felt we should find the homes that were ready for us... we had a system he would pick and knock on the door and I would do the talking then he would give the invitation or card, pamphlet. He was so excited about serving a mission someday! Oh and he is the 12 year old. 

Got to Go on Exchanges with my MTC companion Elder J Taylor!!! He is in Swahili work. We did a White Board booth on the Grossmont Campus and we talked to so many people and we have out 3 copies of the Book of Mormon and pamphlets and Pass along Cards + some really interesting conversations. Even had a guy come and yell at us about how God Does not Exist for about a minute. But people kept talking to us! Just so happened to have some Swahili speakers come up to us and Elder Taylor was able to talk to them and get their numbers!!!

Been studying Humility in the Book of Mormon in preparation for General Conference. I read in

 (Alma 29:14-17)

As a Natural man, it is easy to feel that one's Success somehow takes away from your worth. 

But let us deliberately Joy more in the Success of our fellow servants more than we joy in ourselves. 

Love you All!!!

-Elder Palmer