Pretty fun week...

Hey all, 

Wow, sometimes I wish I just had some normal weeks. I'll get into my week later on, but it was a weird one. (I'm starting to think weird weeks are more normal than the normal weeks.) Excited for Boo's call coming soon! 

Tell us more about Elder Holman...where is he from, how long has he been out, what does he like?

Elder Holman is from Idaho Falls. He's just hit his year mark. He likes rock climbing, wrestling, movies, spending time with friends, the usual. He's a hard worker, which is really nice, we go out and work a lot. And yes, still zone leaders. 

Do you like being a zone leader? Would it feel like a demotion if you were asked to do something else, like train, or whatever? Will you feel bad if you are never AP?

In answer to the other question, I do like being a zone leader. It's a lot of fun to be able to help the district leaders train and to work with the MLC to make the mission focuses. I've learned a lot. But I don't think it would feel like a demotion if I was asked to do something else. It would just be another part of missionary life. Eventually I NEED to leave leadership so that new leaders can take my place and gain the experience needed to guide the mission in the future. And I don't think I will feel bad if I'm never assistant. The funny thing is that whether you were never in mission leadership or you were an assistant, everyone finishes their mission as a RM. That's kinda like our lives in an eternal perspective. Whether you are the prophet, or whether you are just a counselor in Young Men's, if you are worthy and following the gospel, we will all become like our Heavenly Father. I'm kinda already past the point where I could become assistant anyway, haha. 

Do you think you'll ever serve outside of New Brunswick???

Maybe I'll get to serve out of New Brunswick, haha. You never know. I think I might end up serving in Nova Scotia next transfer, but there's no guarantee. I'll be totally fine if I don't though. Cause what might end up happening is I might go to my last area for 2 more transfers, and the 4 weeks before I come home. (Long story, but basically I'm coming home July 19th again :)) 

How was your week?

Our week was busy as usual. This week we went down to Halifax, again. That makes the 5th week in a row that I've gone down. We went down for MLC, which was pretty good. We were planning on heading home that Thursday afternoon, but there was this big storm in Nova Scotia, and there was lots of snow. It definitely wasn't the worst storm I've driven in, but our president wanted us to say in Halifax, so I went on a surprise exchange with Elder Bluth. Lots of fun, but it ment we had to cancel our lesson again with Nadia. 

Sunday was nice, we got this referral from Ottawa, of a less active family moving into our ward. They're the Alwards, and they moved to Saint-Louis-de-Kent (they're an hour away). Anyway, we went and helped them move. They had probably 2 feet of ice blocking the truck from coming into the driveway, so we spend like an hour clearing ice, then moving their stuff in. It was pretty fun. 

How is everyone progressing? Anyone new?

Everyone's in the same spot as last week. Haven't been able to teach anyone. 

You talked about being "mentally tough" in the letter about hard things...how do you think you develop that? Does it just come naturally for you, or are there things you've done to cultivate it?

I don't know if there's an easy answer about being mentally tough, but one thing I think is recognizing when you are not thinking in a normal pattern, then change your thought process into a positive one. 

What are you studying lately?

I've been studying the Book of Mormon. But this time instead of just telling you something I learned, I'll tell you a question I found, and I invite you to try to answer it yourself! One question from my studies this week is why is it always Jared asking the Brother of Jared to do stuff? If the Brother of Jared is the prophet, wouldn't he be leading? 

How are you holding up in the cold?

Not going to lie, It actually feels pretty warm, but that's all just relative, right? The only thing that is cold is the wind, it makes my face cold, but a scarf and a hat do the trick. 

Love you all so much! You guys are the best.

Elder Marsh