DOUBLED OUT!!

Elder Wagner & Elder Barney

Served together in the Casa Loma Ward

Dear Family,

Craziness! We got called Saturday night for transfer calls by President Smith and we are both getting transferred out!!! Elder Barney is going to be a zone leader. I'm going somewhere else as a normal missionary. Its crazy, we got transferred in together and now we're leaving together. And I didn't get the package saturday and we leave Tuesday morning early. I hope you sent it to the office, but don't worry if not, I'll get it at a zone conference or something.

Anyways, we are leaving the area really awesome. We have 3 set baptismal dates. One with Jose Torres and then Vicky and Zuriel Soria. Its crazy. I think I talked about Vicky and her son Zuriel last week. They want to get baptized before the end of this month because Vicky is moving to Utah of all places to live with her sister. Its crazy. I hope that I can come back for their baptisms. This last week went really well. I was really suprised when we got called and told we are both leaving.

Its been a fun 4-1/2 months (3 6-week transfers) with Elder Barney. He thinks I'm getting a companion that has even less time in the field than me, but tomorrow I'll find out and you'll find out next week. I've learned so much about how to do missionary work and how to find joy in the service of the Lord. Its strange I'm leaving this ward, but I'm so excited for the new opportunities and experiences that are coming. It seemed like we were just starting to really get the work rolling here in Casa Linda (wards name, Dallas East stake). And then, bam, we get the boot. But the Lord is in it and whatever will happen will be the best for us, the investigators and the ward.

You mention Justin and Lorena and how Justin doesn't really want to go to church. We've been working with a very similiar situation for like 3 or 4 months. Andres (the husband) is not a member and the wife, Erica has been inactive since high school. At first Andres was willing to listen but very set in being Catholic (even though he doesn't go). We kept visiting them and little by little he started recognizing the spirit. He has a hard time understanding the scriptures but one time without thinking I left an assignment from the January Liahona. That one talked all about Joseph Smith. He loved it. Fast forward to this last Friday, we talked about some questions he had. But afterwards, his wife tolds us (with out him knowing) that the other day he had said he wanted to get baptized. Keep in mind he has never been to church, for one reason or another. So Sunday he went finally!!!! It was awesome. He liked it I hope. The point of this little story is we though so many times to drop him and stop teaching him because he wasn't progressing or changing. But he needed to gain his own testimony first and we just had to be there to help him, invite him and be there to support them.

Anyways. I'm so happy for Marissa. BYU is awesome. So exciting! Thats cool JQ is pretty enough for the Ford Dimension thing. Keep up the good work!

I'll talk to you next week from where ever I am. Take care! Oh, Brett emailed me and I'll write him back next week to see if we can meet somewhere.

Love,

Elder Wagner