Hey everybody!
So first things first, transfers....the dread or the delight of every missionary. I had them this past Thursday and a lot of things got switched around in the Spanish program. President is having to prepare all the areas for mid-April which is when 7 Spanish missionaries all go home at once. So there are going to be a lot of changes coming next transfers. As for this transfer, turns out President thinks I'm doing a good job and that I need to stay for one more transfer. Yep, I'm staying in Little River for yet another, and this transfer is going to be 7 weeks! I already have 6 months in this ward and by the time I'm done here, I'll have spent 8 months here. That's 1/3 of my mission in one area! There's only a handful of people who have spent 5 transfers in one area so far, and now I'm part of that group
I also had a pretty cool experience last night that I'd like to share. As me and Elder Justesen were in a lesson with a family we were teaching, we started joking around and being super friendly with these people. We also had the chance to teach them a little bit of the Plan of Salvation and how that can affect their family. Anyways, I want to focus more on the conversation we were having before the lesson. There wasn't anything special to it, no groundbreaking information that we found out, nothing crazy, it was just short simple conversation. That got me thinking, "How crazy is it that I am having a conversation and joking around with a complete stranger inside of his home with his family?" And it's true, that just doesn't happen in the world today, where someone you meet for the first time, you invite them in and have a good conversation with them. It's hard enough just to get people to talk to their neighbors. Yet here I am being invited into the homes of complete strangers. It makes me wonder exactly how much power the position of missionary holds in the eyes of other people. What would compel them to invite a complete stranger into their house? Someone they've never met before. It must be something unique to being a missionary, a servant of the Lord. And the people recognize this, and they want it in their homes. I've never been hit so hard at exactly how much power I have just by wearing this plaque on my chest, that has His name on it, Jesus Christ. It's something special indeed.
I love my mission and being able to serve the people here in northern Virginia, especially in the cities of Springfield, Burke and Lorton. It's practically my second home now I've been here so long! That is a joke a lot of the members have with me, they keep asking "Elder Biehn, when are you going to switch your records over to Little River? You've been here long enough!" I've come to love these members and I'm thankful for another transfer to be able to serve them.
Elder Biehn
