7-29-13

Dear Family, 

Well the news finally came on Tuesday of this week. President called me that evening to discuss a few of the elders in this district to try to get an idea on where he needed to put them, and who was able to be in a leadership position. We talked for a little bit about what I thought and then at the end He just asked me how I had enjoyed Walnut Creeks YSA ward a year ago. I didn't think anything about it, but told him that I loved it and that I wish I would have spent more time there. He just kinda chuckled and said great cause I'd like you to go back there this Tuesday! He said I am splitting the YSA and family ward into two areas and would like you to go and cover the YSA ward out there. I told him that I would love to! He then said that he was also giving me an honorable release as a district leader and thanked me for serving in that position for the past 10 months or so. Ha that made me think back cause it surprised me that it has been that long that I have been a District Leader. I thanked him for the kind words he had said and told him that I was excited about the new area. He told me at that point that I would be the Jr companion, and that I would be the Jr Companion Zone leader out there! I will be serving with an elder named Elder Fahardo. He has been out there for like 9 months already so he will know the area really well, and will be able to focus really well on making sure that I learn how to be a zone leader as fast as possible. With all of the changes that have been happening in the mission, President has been asking a lot of the zone leaders to step up and do a lot of the training for the different missionary meetings and things like that so it will be a big change. There really is never any down time as a Zone leader and so that will be crazy, but good at the same time. The days that are the hardest, are the days when you are just roaming around trying to figure out what to do and there probably won't be very many of those days anymore! Elder Santiago is going to be staying in this area, and will be follow up training one of the other Tagalog Elders. He is really excited! It is a huge compliment to him on the work that he has done, and he has really been working hard to learn the area, and to become the best missionary that he possibly can! I have a lot of faith in him and know that he is going to do great! Elder Perez is actually transferring all the way across the street into the other Tagalog ward that Elder Peralta is in. He will be follow up trained by Elder Cabral who is Elder Roberts trainy who is from here, but speaks Tagalog so that will be really really good for him! He still lacks a little bit of confidence in himself, and so having a trainer who will speak pure Tagalog to him will really be a big step! They both are going to do big things in this mission, as they continue to work hard and be diligent! It is going to be a great experience for them to not have me around to train them. Some times they just expect me to save them if they slip up on something or if they don't know what to do. This is really going to make them stretch and they are going to have to step it up really fast! Elder Santiago cried this morning as we had our last companionship study and I bore my testimony to them, and thanked them for all of the hard work and the good times that we have had. We have all three gotten very close over the past three months, and it will be hard to leave, but it will be good for them to have to start relying on themselves and to not be able to just expect me to save them. I am so proud of them, and I know that we will see each other again if not in the mission, then after for sure! I have a feeling that this will probably be my last transfer move. I have 4 more transfers, and I feel like I will probably be in Walnut Creek for those last four. But who knows. It's all up to the lord, and he is going to make the final decision anyways! It was pretty cool to talk to President two weeks ago and have him know already that he was going to be moving me. He said that my switch was one of the first that he knew for sure was going to happen. He said that he knows I am needed out there. Maybe we will go find Noushil and Hope again and we will be able to get some of my formers out there to start learning again. We will see. I am so excited for this switch to get back to the English program! I love the Tagalog ward and the challenge that it was, but I am ready to be able to teach to my full ability and to truly follow the spirit in lessons and be the missionary that I have been become!

This was kind of a slow week, but we still were able to have 9 lessons. We had a lot of our less active lessons fall through, and none of our recent converts were able to make it to our lessons with them. Basically all of our lessons were with investigators, or with a few less actives. Sister Amporias didn't come to church again yesterday, and it looks like Elder Santiago is going to drop her this next week if nothing improves and if she doesn't show more of a desire. She was doing so good for a while, but has since just kinda fallen off the cliff. They are going to lay it on the line with her this week about taking things seriously and not just listening to us because she likes to talk about God and Christ. We will see how all that goes. They are going to keep in contact with me through email and stuff so I will be able to hear how everyone out here is doing! 

June has kinda plateaued as well. We are worried about the whole financial support thing, and they are really going to ask him about why he is doing this. We have planned for the bishop to come to one of the lessons also and to talk to him about how it is going and why he is looking into the church. He just bought a flight to go back to the Philippines about a month after his baptism, so it kinda seems like he was just trying to get money from the members to get back home. He is still meeting with us a few times a week and coming to church, so who knows. He may pull through and just be going through a tough time and needed some help. We just need to make sure that he is sincere about it all before we baptize him and have him make covenants that he doesn't fully understand! We just keep praying for him and hoping that he will open up to the spirit, and be able to make it the rest of the way to the 13th! He is getting so close we would hate to see him fall away at this point.

Well I have got to head out! We are going to try to go out to pier 39 and do some site seeing, but we have got to get to Oakland to go pick up some money for a few things that we need to deep clean our apartment! Thank you all so much for your examples and for your amazing spirits and testimonies! I love to receive your letters and emails each week and to watch as everyone continues to progress together in this Gospel. I know that Jesus is the Christ and that he performed an infinite Atonement for us that allows us to repent and come closer to him every single day! I am so thankful for Joseph Smith and the sufferings he went through to get us where we are at today! I love this great work, and I love being a missionary! The end is coming up WAY to fast, and it scares me half to death. I don't want this to ever end! Like it always says, we leave our families for 2 years or 18 months so that others can be with their families for eternity! I am so thankful for my family who loves and supports me through this wonderful work of salvation that I have been so blessed to participate in! There is nothing that I would rather be doing at this stage in life then preaching the Gospel! My parents have been the best and the greatest support to me and I am so lucky to have them! Thanks mom and pops for your love and support! I love you all and am so grateful for your prayers and your love for me! Till next week in Walnut Creek!

Love, 
Elder Shelley

pictures: 1. Mackay and a family in San Fran (doesn't he look like a giant!?)
              2. Mackay and Elder Santiago
              3. Mackay and Elder Perez