Another Week (August 5, 2013)

My new companion is the man. He came out 3 transfers after me so has been out around 8 months. It is actually really funny because in so many ways we are really similar. Sometimes it is hard to get along with people that are similar to you, but so far it has been really easy. 

This week it started to heat up a little. Saturday it hit 33 C which is around 90 degrees, and it is the middle of winter. The last couple of weeks I could feel it starting to heat up just a little, but was not expecting it to get this warm. My companion thought it was really funny because the day before he came up he was using a heater in Perth, and now he is using the air con. Hopefully it will cool down a little, and I am starting to be really glad that I probably will not be up here for summer. 

It was really funny because this weekend was a big festival up her called FeNaClNG (Feenacleing). It is like the Pilbara version of a county fair. Fe is the element symbol of Iron, NaCl is the chemical formula of salt and the NG is for natural gas.  Those are the three main sources of income up here. It has been the only thing people could talk about for the last couple of weeks. We went for a little to check it out and we spent most of the time with one of our investigators. I thought I was going to be disappointed because Karratha is pretty small. I was really surprised that it was about the same size as the Grape Festival at home. 

It is really weird to think that my year mark is coming up. It is also really weird because I am at the same place lots of the missionaries I served around when I first came in were at, but I feel like they knew so much more than I do now. It has gone quick and slow at the same time. But it is really weird that the sisters that came in with me are leaving in 4 transfers and then I only have 4 transfers after that. This week I have been looking back and it is cool to see what I have learned over the last year. Each area I have served in has had its challenges and rewards, and because of that I have learned a lot from them. Also I might actually see other missionaries this transfer. Port Headland, which is 3 hours away is having a combined youth and ysa conference with Karratha, and the other elders are trying to get us there as well. We will see what President Lindsay says. 

I am doing good and am looking forward for this transfer

Love,

Elder Cook