Transfers came and went really fast. I had no more than 20 minutes to say hi to people at the Milwaukee transfer point, and also say goodbye to some of the missionaries that were heading home (one of which was my trainer, another was a former companion, and a third was a missionary that had been in my district way back in the beginning of my mission who I have become close friends with.) It was really sad to see my trainer leave; I can't believe that he and I served together over 21 months ago. It has been so much fun seeing him every once and a while and be able to catch up on some good old U.P stories. Thank goodness for Facebook and being able to reconnect with mission friends and members that I meet and serve with here in Wisconsin/Michigan. Then they kicked me out of the building and said go back to Kenosha, transfers was fast.

So long to my trainer, Elder Thompson, who returned home.

My new companion is Elder Norton from South Jordan Utah. He has been on his mission for a little over 18 months. He came out with Elder Baird (who I trained). Elder Norton is a 2013 High School graduate; he did one year of football and three years of marching band. He has not done any college but he plans on attending LDS Business College after his mission ends in September of this year. Elder Norton is the second oldest in his family of four siblings. His older brother returned from a mission in Missouri just a few months after Elder Norton started his mission. Elder Norton and I have served around or with some of the same people. I know, or have served with most of his companions. It sounds really odd to say, but Elder Norton will probably be my last companion. Unless President Cutler pulls some big stunt, both Elder Norton and I will both finish our missions here in the Kenosha B area. (I already know I'm finishing here in Kenosha, the question is whether or not we will serve together two transfers, but President seemed to imply that we will.)

We had interviews with President Cutler on Friday. He is such a wonderful man. He can also be really funny when he isn't trying to be. During the opening prayer to our interviews President made mention "to bless Elder Luymes' future family". This caught me way off guard. He exerts so much effort into helping missionaries stay focused on their missions and not about home, yet he is the one making mention of home and post mission stuff. Later in the interview President said to me "Elder Luymes, I am so excited for you to start having kids." AARRGGGHH! President Cutler, why? In truth, he is such a great Mission President, an inspired leader, and a fantastic example. Eternal Life is Family Life.

Elder Norton and I had a once in a mission life experience. It was Friday morning, early Friday morning. The alarm went off at 6:30am and like a good boy I climbed out of bed, and knelt down to say my morning prayers at exactly 6:30am. Obviously I'm still tired and I'm pretty sure humans don't think clearly when they wake up that early, but just as I'm bowing my head to pray, the door buzzer rings. I was ticked off as I thought it was the other Kenosha Elders buzzing us so that we would hurry up and come down for morning exercise. I thought to myself, “how dare they buzz us this early in the morning”, they know we will come down as soon as were ready to play basketball. Buzzing us right as the alarm goes off, that's just wrong! It buzzed again, and Elder Norton climbed out of bed and answered it. A voice came through the intercom and it was not the Elders. Some guy was panting and telling us he was lost, he was cold, he needs our cell phone to call for help, he asked us to call 911, etc. Is this a joke, or was he being serious? We couldn't tell. I listened (still on my knees) while Elder Norton talked to the guy over the intercom system. Finally I got up and put on my sweats. We went down stairs and sure enough there was a man who showed the outward signs of distress and being cold. We approached him cautiously and begun talking with him. This guy was maybe 26 and was born and raised his entire life in Kenosha, yet he had no idea where he was. He explained his story to us about how he had been up all night drinking with his girlfriend, then he insulted her and she dropped him off at the side of the road and left him with no cell phone. He told us that he had been walking for over an hour and was lost, and wanted us to call 911. Clearly the alcohol was messing with his brain (we later got his address and we discovered that he was only a mile away from home.) The other Elders showed up at the door and we continued to talk with this guy to calm him down. We called his brother who eventually picked up and came to the rescue. This guy asked us if we could come over to his house and begin teaching him the missionary lessons, and we also found out that he is the son of a less active. A pretty crazy way to start off the morning, the story continued on Saturday when we actually met him at the house and we taught him and his friend, and brother the Restoration. Sweet!

Scripture for the week: Mormon 9:11-13

11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.

 12 Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.

 13 And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.

Thank you all so much!

Elder Luymes

Of my many talents, taking hot pans out of the oven is not one of them.