First off I want to let the Wells family know they are in my thoughts and
prayers. Sadie was an incredible person and she touched the lives of
countless people, including mine.
Wow a very emotional week for me as a lot happened. So we received our
transfer calls and I have been transferred to Geneva, Switzerland as a
zone leader and my new companion is....Scroll down to the bottom of
this email right now and click on the picture to see :) This is not a
joke. It's so weird that we were saying goodbye on his porch the day
before He left thinking we wouldn't see each other for 3 years and now
we are going to be companions. It's so crazy and I know that we have
some work we need to do together in Geneva.
I don't have a lot of time today as we been taking trains and already
have some work to do in Geneva, but I want to talk a little bit about
my experience serving the people of Ajaccio on the crazy island of
Corsica. My heart absolutely broke last night as I said goodbye to
some people that have absolutely stolen my heart over these last 4
months. Saying goodbye to Marie Rose, Sylvia and Noel was unbelievably
hard for me. I love them so much. I have watched their lives change so
much over these 4 months I can't even begin to describe how big the
change has been in their lives. The funny and cheesy thing is that
every missionary at some point of their mission says "I went on my
mission to change people's lives, but in reality they changed mine." I
fully figured out what that statement meant as I said goodbye to those
3. I have seen them make so many big changes to their lives and we've
seen them be baptized, but they have changed my life way more than I
could have ever changed theirs. I love them so much and they will
always have a special place in my heart. That whole group will always
have a special place in my heart...the church is so small on the
island but the members there are so strong and faithful. I grew so
close with them while I was there and they will forever be my Corsican
family. And by family I mean, family.
Leaving an area that you love so dearly not only means you leave the
members, but also the people you are teaching.
Micca, Immanuel and Samuel are incredible. When we said goodbye to
them, there were tears all around and cute little 7 year old Samuel
was just crying his eyes out. Micca talked about the change in his
life over the last few months since we found them and it has been
incredible. We were over at their house 4 times this past week and
they are amazing. On Wednesday we ate pizza and taught the plan of
salvation and they loved it. While we were eating, Micca was drinking
a beer and he asked us why we didn't drink. So we just told him that
it was something we were going to talk about with him a little later,
but then we just taught the word of wisdom on the spot...at the end of
teaching it to him, he stood up and walked over to the trash can and
threw his half full beer in the garbage and said "I'm done drinking."
It was incredible. Then on Friday we gave Micca "The Family: A
proclamation to the world" and talked with him about how he needs to
get married before his baptism and he said he will. They will be
baptized. They want to be baptized so bad and I'm so happy for them.
It was so hard for me to leave them and I love them so much and I am
so grateful that the gospel is blessing their lives so much right now.
We found another family this week and I want to tell the story...so
you guys remember that guy that we showed the video about dads to? We
went and visited them this week and they told us the background from
their side of the story of the day that they met us. So, the day we
showed up at their house, they decided to try and make their
relationship work for the kids. They were both just looking for
something to help them and they both were at the lowest points of
their life. So, that day we prayed to be led to someone and we drove
25 minutes out of Ajaccio and ended up finding them. So they loved the
gospel and the mom (Chrystelle) is so amazing and wants her family to
be strong and we testified that through the gospel they can be. So
that was so cool.
I am loving my mission so much and I am so grateful for the people
I've met, the places I've been, the experiences I've had, and the
people I'm serving. I am grateful to have served with Elder Johnson
for 3 transfers and Elder Hall for 2. I love them a lot. Thank you for
the support!
Elder Wade
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