This week has been so crazy. We got transferred to Merritt on Tuesday, but only after a bunch of crazy stuff. First, neither of us had a license, so the Zone Leaders took us to the driver's license place so I could get a "New Driver" tag. After that, we drove 45 minutes to Vernon, then we got picked up by the Kamloops Elders and drove all the way (2 1/2 hours) to Kamloops. We got in at like 7:30 and started going through our new area book. Neither of us have been in that area before, and it was closed for a transfer, so we are trying to get to know the area and what-have-you.
So our area is actually an hour away from our apartment. They closed down the Merritt apartment when they pulled the Elders out so we live in Kamloops. It is pretty fun to commute all the way every day, but it wastes up a lot of our time and gas. Last night we barely made it to a gas station before we had to buy a little bit of fuel to get home. (I know, we broke the Sabbath Day). Also, the highway can get pretty foggy sometimes, so we have to drive slower than normal. Luckily I'm an experienced Idaho driver!
Merritt is a pretty cool place, though. It is a small town, but it's self-titled the "Country Music Capital of Canada", which is pretty neat. All over town there are murals of famous country stars like Randy Travis, Brooks & Dunn, Dolly Parton, Reba, Carrie Underwood and Alan Jackson. I'll have to take some pictures this week of those. But Merritt is a good place. There are a lot of natives here, and everyone seems to know us. Most of the people we talk to are less-actives or former investigators. It is an interesting vibe to live in a small community like this.
The Branch is another story. There are about 30-40 active members, half of which are children. So understandably there is a different approach to member work here! The Stake President specifically asked for Elders back in Merritt because he sees the potential here. His vision is for Merritt to become a ward by the end of the year! It's totally possible, but we will need about 60-70 more active members in the branch before that happens. Most of the members have 3 or 4 callings, and I blessed the Sacrament my first Sunday there! The members are super nice though, and one of them fed us dinner yesterday after we brought her sick husband the Sacrament!
So this week was full of new experiences. Lots of challenges, but otherwise pretty good. I'm staying positive and not letting myself get frustrated.
That's cool about the workout stuff, and too bad about Bobbie. Hopefully you get the house cleaned up! I definitely agree, an organized and clean house is a house conducive to the Spirit. We have been working at doing that here in our apartment as well.
Personally, I think one of them will stay and they'll bring up a new guy like Elder Renlund. We will see!
Take care everyone! I love you guys!
-Elder Clark
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