Ok, you guys said you wanted to know my opinion of transfers... Well, my reaction when I first got the call went a little something like this. "What. The. HEY!!!???!?"

I was not expecting that at all, Spanish Elders have gone English before, but the transition has always been Spanish District leader to English Zone leader. And now I'm whitewashing as a district leader when my companion has been out longer than me and was a district leader for 4 transfers, I bumped down the district leader who was already in the district, and there is another Elder in the district that I don't know very well but he's a super good missionary. So I would say right now stress factor #1 is being a district leader when I know nothing about what is going on.

Stress factor #2 is... well, whitewashing, and freaking the area that I'm in. From what I've heard, it's like the deadest area in the mission. For the past 6 months the missionaries here have been covering this ward and a neighboring ward, because this area has nothing going on in it. There is nothing in the area book, no nobody to work with, and it's freaking small which is something I've never had to worry about before.

Don't get me wrong, I know that a negative attitude won't do anything and I'm excited to be working here, but Im just stressed right now, I don't know what to do...

Dad there is a talk I would appreciate if you could send to me, it was given by Elder Holland at a BYU speech, it's called "Remember Lot's Wife."

If you could send me it in a PDF, soon, that would be great! And, also, if you have any thoughts, please don't wait until next week to tell me, because by then you will have forgotten them and I need to here them sooner rather than later.

To make things even crazier, although this is a good crazy, I'm living with a senior couple of missionaries for a week. Their name is the Holts and they are from Alberta, Canada.

They are my adopted grandparents, they're letting us eat their food and making us breakfast and Sister Holt is working on some of my shirts, which I'm good on by the way, and they're just nice, loving people:) So that helps!  (Editor's note:  we discovered that Elder Jorgensen's dad played football with Bro and Sister Holt's son Ben in High School in Cardston.  Small world)

My companions name is Elder Peterson and he is from Alpine, Utah... he's been out about a year and a half and we both just finished training... except him for his third time and me for my first (again with the whole why I am I district leader deal)....

Ok so all in all... I'm doing good. I really am, I'm just trying to get used to the new... stuff... and right now there's a lot to get used to! I love you guys and I'll talk to you next week!

Elder Travis Jorgensen