Here we are, sitting in the little office center at the Preston Lakes apartment complex in Owasso Oklahoma. The pool teases me through the window on my left. I can hear the news station playing in the lobby. I stare at this blinking typey cursor thingy and wonder what I should say.... I feel like I've been here before..
Let's see I guess I only have to update you since transfers on Thursday till now! My new companion Elder Buhler is great! He is like a classic Spanish Fork right out of high school second boy to serve a mission Mormon family kind of guy. But hey he wears that profile well! And get this: the kid is like a full inch taller than me. We intimidate all who oppose us.
Transfer day- Thursday was really good and really, really sad. I was deemed transfer point leader and so had to stay there all day and orchestrate everyone and their luggage to make sure it all went smoothly. Baby-sit is a good synonym. But I had to say goodbye to some of my all-time favorite guys in this mission. Elder Murdock and Elder Horsley and many many others spread their wings and flew home this week. We went to lunch with my buddy Elder Murdock and his cousin Elder Gordon who was in my zone this last transfer. You can guess all they talked about! They are so funny though, I can't wait to get home and party it up with them in Utah. Then I saw Elder Horsley as he came around on the loop. Seems like yesterday we were serving together in St. Rob and he would say, "I only have 4 months left.... I better start thinking about it." BAM ITS HERE. And its sad to see them go. But also awesome, because they are men who have really been changed by their service, and impacted a lot of people. But then Elder Buhler showed up and I immediately looked up to him. Literally, I had to physically tilt my head back a little bit. It was a strange new experience for me. He's such a good guy though! I even reenacted the first few moments I had with my trainer, and Elder Buhler didn't even know it! We walked into the same bathroom in the same building that Elder Durrant and I met in 515 days ago. We stood at the same urinals, and I looked over at him and said the words that Durrant said to me... "Do I look fatter than my picture?" Unfortunately his response was the same as mine all those years ago: "I'm gonna be honest with you, yes" Daaaaaaannnggggiiiittt! Hahaha so funny though.
He's good humored and honest and already impressing me with his gospel knowledge and teaching ability. I'm gonna have to sprint hard to stay ahead of this guy. I've had to mess with him a couple of times though. He's likes to ask obvious questions and he can see my sarcasm a mile away now. The first few times were hilarious! We were driving home Friday night and he saw the big ole Central Baptist church on our street with the big white steeple all lit up in the dark and asked, "Whoa what's that?" ..."That my friend is the Owasso temple." Shocked, he looks closer. "Weird! Why isn't there a Moroni on top??" *Much Laughter* You also must watch this attached video. He is literally the heaviest sleeper on this green earth. Luckily he's popped right up every morning when the alarm goes off, but that's because he's been awake for a little bit. If he doesn't wake up naturally, there is no sound in this universe that will disturb him hahaha. We took a 30 minute snooze right after church before we went to dinner and I captured the experience of waking him up.
I forgot how fun training is. It's really fun to be with a companion who is having new experiences every day. With older elders it drags sometimes. There's a new fire to everything we do, it's much appreciated. I have no doubt we will see many miracles according to our faith in the next six weeks. We need to, because we have a lot of finding to do and an audience that's got cotton in their ears!
Till next week :)
Elder Hakes
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