Sam had his first zone conference on his mission. Zone conference is a time for the mission President and other leaders to meet with all of the missionaries to discuss and learn together to make their mission greater. The picture is not very clear but Sam's red hair makes it easy to find him.
Wow time sure does fly. This week went by so fast. I've found that as you focus on helping others and missionary work, the time just flies. This week was pretty good. We have a few new people to teach and have had lessons almost every day. I even had my first media referral this week. Someone requested a bible study from a church add so we did a zoom call with her and read from the bible. That was not a way I thought i would be finding or teaching people on my mission. Its definitely warmer here than it is back home. The only problem with being warm is the bugs. I saw my first cockroach the other day and that was pretty gross. The members here are still feeding us a lot and that is awesome. We have got lots of different kinds of food and that is so cool. There are twins in our ward who had a birthday this week. To celebrate they had a around the world dinner and invited us over. They made food from Lithuania, Africa, Korea. It was awesome. I'm still adjusting but that's normal. I am almost at 2 weeks but who's counting. I have had lots of awesome experiences with people I would have never met. I am learning a lot about teaching people and just being a missionary in general. Thank you for all your support, I am so grateful for you all.
Hey everyone!
I am doing great and am excited to be in North Carolina. I am living in a small town called Cameron but serving in the Anderson Creek Park ward. The people here are amazing. They are willing to help with lessons and are feeding us almost every night. The area is just awesome. We also get to live in a house. We have a small house that is in Cameron which isn't actually in our area. It's fun because we have two bathrooms so I have my own. It's warm and humid in North Carolina. It is so beautiful, it reminds me of West Virginia. The sunsets are super pretty and I will try and get a picture of one and have my dad post it on the blog. I am having a lot of fun and am enjoying getting to know the people. It is such a big change and I am learning new things every day. I know this is where the Lord needs me right now and that he has a plan for me. I know that the Lord lives and through him we can return to live with him and our Father in Heaven. This is the message I am sharing with the world and I have seen the joy it can bring my life. Being able to bring it to others and seeing their joy is amazing. Love you all!
Elder West
Sam and his missionary companion have the entire 3 bedroom/2 bath house for themselves. The Bronco is not theirs.
Not sure about the tiger rug ;)
Today was Sam 1st preparation day (p-day). This is a day that he goes grocery shopping, does his laundry and has more personal time to have some fun (with his companion of course). We also get to chat with him each week on P-Day which is one of the highlights of my week.
He had the chance to do some archery with a member from his area. Sam was always a great shot with a bow.
Sam stayed in a hotel in Raleigh the first night and the today met his new companion, Elder Stone. Sounds like they are getting along. First day in the mission and they are already at work!
Sam made it safe and sound to Raleigh. He had a long layover in Minneapolis and found that while he was waiting, 3 other elders and 1 sister were joining him on the flight. Here he is coming down the escalator in Raleigh with Sister Maurer (wife of his mission president) at the lead!
This is President and Sister Maurer. They will be responsible for Sam while he is in the North Carolina Raleigh Mission. They are originally from Australia.
Sam had an early flight out of Fargo en route to Raleigh, NC. We took him to the airport to say goodbye for 2 years. We are so proud of him and will miss him!
We took family pictures with Elder (Sam) West on his last Sunday before he left for North Carolina. Sam looked awesome in his new suit and official missionary name tag!
With COVID-19, missionaries entering the Missionary Training Center (MTC; Provo, UT) would instead have an "online" MTC. Sam was in the "online" MTC for 3 weeks prior to leaving for North Carolina. During one of his training sessions, I snuck a picture of him. He worked really hard during his training and his instructors really enjoyed having him.
