Elder O'Brien with President and Sister Leavitt
Before I begin let me take you back a year ago on Friday. It started out as another ordinary day. Dad woke me up to have family prayers before he went to work and Chris and Mom went to school. In the days leading up to that day, I had been checking the mail constantly hoping my mission call would be there. My mission call was sent a week and half before. It had been about two weeks since it was sent. I had breakfast and watched a little television and checked my iPhone. At 11 o'clock, I went to check the mail hoping today would be the day I got my mission call. At this point I didn't have high hopes of it being there given my other friends didn't get their's until 3 weeks later. When I opened the mailbox, I saw a big envelope and then all of a sudden my eyes got really wide. I took out the envelope and there it was. I finally got my mission call. I was shocked.I then proceeded to call Dad in midst of the my excitement. I then phoned Mom and told her the exciting news that my mission call was in. She got really excited on the phone. After that I went back to the house and laid it on the kitchen table. At lunch I texted Julie to tell her that it's here and I told her to come at 8:30. I spent the afternoon mowing the lawn as dad asked the prior day. I posted on facebook that my mission call was in. Dillon expressed his interest in watching me open my call. Michael asked when I was opening it. That night, I went to the Streetside Market to get some ice cream. Becca Dow was working at that time and asked me if I had opened my call yet and I said no not yet. On the way back Sister Dow see me walking back and stopped and asked if I had opened it yet. Taylor Barr also stopped and asked me as well. Everyone was excited for me and was anxious to find out where I was going. My friends were fairly early so we had some time to kill. Julie then drove up at 8:30. At long last I opened my call and read that I was going to the Canada Halifax Mission and the rest is history. My friends were excited for me and so was my family.
It is been a beautiful week here in Nova Scotia. The sun has been out and it's been hot. I just finished writing my farewell note to President & SIster Leavitt. A U-Haul truck is at the mission home right now and they are beginning to move their stuff back home. Six weeks from now President Leavitt will be gone and President Pratt will be in. The clock is ticking on President & Sister Leavitt.
On Tuesday, President Leavitt came for Interviews. In my interview with him, we talked about my mission so far. We talked about my companions and the areas I served in.
Wednesday we had district meeting in Sackville. We talked about what our lives would be like without the gospel and compared it to our lives with the gospel. We likened that to tracting and meeting people who need the gospel in their lives. While we were tracting, we talked to these two Baptist guys who were very nice but was trying to bash with us. We were running late for a dinner appointment at the time so we had to go. Anyway, they ended up giving us each $20 for the work we do. It was so weird. I've never been offered money while tracting before.
On Friday, we had lunch at the Stake President's, President Evans. During lunch we talked about his calling and his experiences releasing missionaries. He said that he often asks a returned missionary what habit they want to continue after their mission but then a year and a half later they fall off the rails. He said it's important to keep the gospel habits you have when you're a missionary. It was a very nice lunch and it was very enlightening.
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder O'Brien
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