Hey Everybody!!

Want to hear the best news ever?!?!?!!? I will tell you at the end.... :p

This has been a great week!! We had some great experiences, not a whole lot of funny stories but the people we are working with are progressing very well. :D

Church:

-We had 11 people at church sunday that we brought. A mixture of both less active members and also investigators. Our ward mission leaders family from Birmingham also came so the chapel was pretty packed. A member who recently had his baby blessed him on Sunday and he invited some friends. It was poppin!! :D

Christmas Devotional:

-We had an awesome time at our devotional last night, we had a pie and ice cream social and more members brought their friends and had a packed chapel to watch it. Our recent convert the teenage girl "daughter awesome" was being followed by a young man in the ward making it really akward. haha I felt silly but I had to tell him to knock it off and pull him away from her. Teenager kids are so corny!! haha

Baptism:

-The ward we share a building with had a baptism on Saturday. We invited one of our progressing investigators and she said she would come, but she was late she came after the service. But our 2nd counselor in the Mission presidency came and we had a solid lesson with her. Spirit was so strong!!! She is on for the 22nd of December but we might have a mass baptism on the 29th depending on some variables.

Okay heres the big news and I then gotta go:

-Transfers happened!!! I am leaving to.....JUST KIDDING!!! I am staying here with Elder Franchino in Dothan until I die! Hip-hip-hooray!!! I am very excited to stay! So many good things are coming! Love it! Elder Franchino is a great missionary! Love serving here with him. Maybe one day though he will understand that Arizona is WAY better then Washington state.

Something:

-I wrote this to CJ originally but wanted to include it in the mass email as well. Love yall!

-Just found out I will be here with Elder Franchino for the next transfer!! I am dying here!!! :D Thats so awesome we have alot of baptisms coming up, at least three before I go, hopefully four or more. Yippee!! This ward has totally changed around! When I got here Elder Franchino had done a great job at serving and working hard with members. When I got here him and I really put our shoulders to the wheel. We did things differently than in all my other areas too. We really made the focus on the members, we were very inexperienced with member work, we had both had negative experiences in the past with asking for refferalls and members not wanting to help. But we made it a high priority to get to know EVERYONE in the ward and become a part of their lives. We would make the effort to greet and introduce ourselves to as many members each week. Just did everything we could to go out of our way to show them love. Over the past 6 months things have totally changed. Our Bishop originally didn't want anything to do with missionary work and wouldn't give us the time of day really. After our first baptism we had here he warmed up a little, then when we baptized the family a couple weeks ago, the next day he was totally changed. His encouragement to the Priesthood body was to do missionary work. He was blown away with the Spirit that permeated the baptism. Now we are on the wards side and so many good things are coming. Members are working hard to invite people, fellowship has increased. We had 11 people at church yesterday less actives and investigators included. I know that it is all by the grace of God this has happened, I am so grateful to just enjoy the piece of the pie He has cut out for me. He has been so merciful. In my last area it was pretty hard, I loved it but the work was slow. I prayed the last bit of my mission I would have a great ending and He has answered my prayers.

Love yall! Have a great week!

-Elder West