Good Bye Maizuru

May 16, 2010 We received an email Sunday night--the first in a very long time. Grady has been transferred and he is now in a bigger city and he is able to email again! I loved getting his hand written letters, but I must admit, I like getting an email each Sunday.

Hey family! It was good to talk to you guys this Mothers Day. I sent a package last week so it should get there in a month or so. It was by boat. Oh, and yes, I got transferred. I am in Amagasaki in Hyogo prefecture. It was way sad saying good bye to all the people in Maizuru. That place was home to me and I made a lot of way good friends. I will never forget the experiences I had there. Ya, it is a bummer when people don't listen sometimes to us or the spirit. What I have learned over and over again is that free agency is a powerful gift to humankind. Leaving Maizuru was extra sad because there were 3 people getting ready for baptism. They are all getting baptized in June. My new area is a lot different than Maizuru. I am in a big city with a lot of people again. It isn't as many people as Abeno but still a lot. There are about 50 active members and they are way nice. My new companion is named Elder Campbell. He is from Hurricane, Utah, the same place as Elder Harris. He is way cool and is going home after next transfer. I am learning a lot from him. Right now this area needs a boost of energy or something so that is what I am trying to do. I have already seen a lot of way cool things happen. One happened today. We met this Brazilian lady named Sariah yesterday and had a lesson with her today. She is searching for a church and definitely has been prepared. The spirit was way strong during the lesson and she has a Baptismal date for June 13th. Ill keep you posted. Yesterday in sacrament meeting an older member was giving a talk and I felt really good. It was one of those, "Wow, I am so blessed" moments. These members here might not do everything perfect but they have the strongest testimony of the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. Most of them were baptized simply by understanding the scriptures. I love communicating through the Book of Mormon because I know it is words from God. I am going to end here so I can send you some Pics but I love you all and the mission is great. It is going way fast and I love it. Oh, and hold off on sending me the contact stuff. I have a Costco in my area. Pretty sweet huh. But anyway till next week.