An extra letter...

An extra letter from Jacob this week because of transfers:

Dear Family,

These last 3 months flew by! It seems like I was new in Christchurch just a few weeks ago! It's been so fun serving here with wonderful missionaries, ward members, and investigators!

The email this week will prpbably be very short because I'm very limited on time. I said goodbye to Elder Poulino today and will be meeting Elder Rife later today! I've heard very good things about him and am super pumped to serve with him! He's been on his mission for about 17 months and is a convert to the church himself.

The sad news that I mentioned previously is that Bob wasn't baptized on Saturday as was planned. He had a few issues that he needed to "Settle in his mind" before he was ready and met with the Bishop this past Sunday. Elder Poulino and I taught him later in the afternoon on Sunday and helped him realize that he is completely ready for baptism and that it will be a huge blessing in his life and ours as well. Once my new companion gets here we will set up another date for him to baptized! He told us that his heart is telling him that this is right. He also made the observation that even if the Church wasn't true (which he knows it is) joining the Church would still be a really good thing. He has a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and is ready to make sacred covenants with the Lord.

Moves were so crazy! Elder Poulino and I were up until 2 AM packing all of his things for him to be ready to move. We spent yesterday evening with the ward mission leader and the sisters in our district having dinner and playing some games, as well as exchanging all of our pictures from the last transfer. I have loads of pictures to share but I have no time to upload them this week. I'm really sorry. I will make sure the pictures coming in next week make up for the drought over the past few weeks.

It was so wonderful to be able to Skype and see you on Christmas day. I will admit that it harrowed up a bit of homesickness but it quickly went away as I was able to enjoy the rest of Christmas with a family that we have grown particularly fond of. It was a great Christmas and it was a blessing to be able to spend this Christmas serving the Lord with an eye single to the work.

I love being a missionary more and more everyday. The Church is true! The world needs to know this message!

I love you all so much and look forward to your emails every week. I wish I could be in closer contact with you but I know that I need to focus 100% on the work that needs to be done here.

Love,
Elder Draney