Monday, April 8, 2013


hello!

This is one of those messages where I will try to fit a lot of information into a couple of paragraphs. I was transferred! I am now serving as a zone leader in the Apple Valley Zone in the high desert. My new area will be a new challenge for me. This will be different than any area I have ever served in. I am now serving in the Ridgecrest young single adult ward! We cover every single adult from ages 18-30 in the entire High Desert. That means we cover three stakes! My companion is one of the more respected missionaries in this mission: Elder Hargraves from Pocatello Idaho. We have been around each other at many meetings over the last year so we already get along great. I'll be honest one of the things that has scared me about being a zone leader was the possibility of serving in one of the mission's ysa wards. It will be interesting that my missionary work will shift from talking to people on the street to going to activities like FHE, basketball, volley-ball, and other random gatherings of singles from ages 18-30. :) It should be great, but it will take a little time to get used to. Maybe God is trying to ease me back into life at home in the next four months. :) The primary reason I have been afraid is simply the work in ysa can be a lot slower and it rests a lot on the members in the ward. My fears have been eased in the last few days because we received three referrals that seem to be golden. I will report on those next week. The greatest work I hope to be involved in this transfer will be keeping ten other areas baptizing.  Brother Thorn, Our high councilman over missionary work here in Apple Valley, will be a huge assets in that quest. He has several master degrees and a doctorate, all of which are business focused. He owns a firm where he consults huge companies on how to improve or in some cases save their company. In other words he is one of the smartest people I have met. He gave a leadership training to all of the zone leaders a couple of months back. It was focused on leadership skills. I learned much that I have been able to apply here and I will also apply what I learned when I am home. It will be an honor to work with him for the duration of my mission. This transfer decided that I will be in THE RANCHO CUCAMONGA MISSION for my last transfer. I will have a chance to see a new mission be organized. It is only one of three new missions opening in California. There are a lot of exciting things happening, a lot of change. Leaving The Summit Ward after being there for so long was hard. Saying goodbye to those who were taught and baptized was especially difficult. Saying goodbye to the Carrolls stands out to me the most in my mind. The spirit was so strong as I shared my last message with them after dinner on the Monday. I told them that I new they were one of the reasons I stayed in the summit ward for as long as I did. I told them that I knew they were one of the reasons I was sent to this mission. There were tears in all of our eyes and Casey was especially emotional. I gave them hugs goodbye, and Stephen said, with a lot of feeling, "if you ever need anything we will do it for you." I ended that night saying goodbye to Keith, who has been a good friend. Looking back on this message reminds me why serving has been the best decision I have ever made. Conference also confirmed that. I can't see me sitting on the sideline of salvation for the rest of my life. I echo the testimonies of the prophets we heard about this work. I started this journey in Hesperia and now I will end my mission covering Hesperia again. The scripture rings true that the work of the Lord is one Eternal round.

love,
-Elder Roos