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Dear Family,                                                                                3/14/2012

WOWOWOW a lot has changed in the past 24 hours!!  You know how I didn’t know if I was going to be transferred or not well…..

I got a call from President Lee ( Matt’s mission Pres) yesterday and he told me that I was getting transferred and that I was going to be a district leader, but he wouldn’t tell me where my assignment was going to be! A lot of thoughts ran through my head during and after that phone call.

I actually got transferred for the first time in my mission!  I was being transferred from the only area that I have been in since leaving the CTM (MTC) – and all of the close relationships that develop when you work with people for a common good. I really came to love my peps in El Ejido!  But leaving El Ejido was way way hard for me and I don’t know how I am going to function without them. They are amazing people and I really hope that I will be able to see them again during my mission or after, or when I’m dead, whichever.  It became my home away from home.

 It was very humbling to hear about my new calling as a district leader, especially since I haven’t even been a senior companion yet. Ha.  But then to be left up in the air as to where I was going on the transfer, well I guess that I was already numb so that didn’t really matter – I’ll go where you want me to go…..

   

Today I got the news that would be transferred to DAJABON!  It’s on the western most part of the mission right on the border, literally right on the border of Dominican Republic and Haiti. There is a river that runs in between the two countries that’s kind of like the Rio Grande, I guess, not very wide and not very deep right now.  It’s kind of a dry climate where they grow rice, coffee and cows.  I might have to use some of the Creole language that I learned from Elder Alexis when we were comps! haha

So, I found out that we are whitewashing (starting from scratch) this area. The mission just barely opened in Dajabon and we’ll split the area around here with another set of Elders.  They have been here for about one or two transfers I think.

My comps name is Elder Gurrero and he is from somewhere close to the capital, Santo Domingo. He’s a really cool missionary.  He got lowered I guess you could say because he hasn’t been very obedient during his mission.  He was almost sent home but the president gave him another chance and sent him out here with me. He is almost finished with his mission.  Anywho, we´ll work hard – don’t really have any other choice in this newly created area. haha but it’s cool. 

We got to our house today after a bus ride of 2 and a half hours.  It’s a brand new house that the mission just bought and they put brand new stuff in it, but it’s still missing a lot; kind of missionary minimalist. Haha.  The house is nice but there is nothing in it hahah No gas , barely any water, and not a store anywhere close.  We don’t know any members or where the church is haha.  We feel a little bit lost. I know I really need to come up with some ideas of how I’m going to work here hahaha . But it’ll all be good!  We were sent here for a purpose and it’ll be up to us with help from above and hard work to find out what that is!  The other missionaries that are in this general area came over to help us out a little bit – a little orientation I guess.  But wow, it has been a big big change and I really really needed it.  haha

   

Elder Ruiz stayed in el Ejido and Elder Stratford who is in my same group  (in the MTC at the same time) got sent there. I hope they do well and I’m jealous because I got sent to the desert and they are in the city, but it’ll be fun. 

There are just two companionships in my district.  The other is another missionary from my group (in the MTC at the same time) who is training. So it’ll be sweet to learn together. !!

I hope that everything is going well at home I LOVE ALL OF YOU!!

ELDER GRINER