Transfer accomplished!

Eldrew has arrived in his new area. Here is his letter today.

Hey hey Family-

So....I'm sure you are all sooooooooo anxious to hear where I am. So...I guess I can fill you in.

I got transferred to a new area in the Texas Houston South Mission called Pasadena. It is part of the newly formed League City Stake. The boundary change is the reason for the new area in our mission because it was formally an area in the Texas Houston East Mission--you should ask Josh Madsen if he's served here or heard of it? So, it's pretty much suburb style...lots of cozzy homes and nice people. Country folk for sure.

My companion's name is Elder Beck from Blackfoot, Idaho. He's pretty funny and used to dirt bike.

We live in a member's home. He's a high priest and is retired and Red--the Red haired grandmother--works everyday somewhere. They have...or had (I'll explain in a second)...a parrot, 2 cats, and two dogs. BUT Suzie, the Bassett hound, an aged and important member of the family died last night after being a bit sluggish and sad the passed few days. Red was very sad and doesn't want anymore dogs because she "can't go through this anymore"...so today, Elder Beck and I dug a grave and buried Suzie...not your typical P-day activity.

We have some solid investigators and are working on a few others. I've met some great people already and I'm starting to learn how to be myself and be a missionary at the same time...if that makes any sense? ha.

Elder Bellomy

We will post again after he talks to his Mom on Christmas Day.

"I'll be (fill in the blank) for Christmas."

There is an old song, "I'll be home for Christmas." We know that Eldrew is not going to be in Utah this year for Christmas. But as of right now, we don't know where he will be for Christmas.

We got our weekly email from Eldrew. It was very, very short. The only real news is that he has been notified that he will be getting transferred this week. He is sad to leave Maplewood. Elder Rios has been a great companion, and Eldrew loves the area.

As of the time he wrote the email, he does not know where he is going, or who his new companion will be. I believe that the process is that he is given a head's up on the Sunday before transfers. I think he finds out late yesterday or today where and who. The actual transfers are on Wednesday. I don't know if he will let us know on Wednesday or if we wait until the weekly email on Monday to get all the details. We will keep our loyal readers up to date when we learn more.

I will say that Eldrew is sort of blowing me away. His letters are positive and energetic...even if they are short. His comedic view of the world comes through in every word he writes. It is amazing to see his committment to the Gospel growing each week. I can tell he is really focused.

Susan and I spent some time last night talking about my companions. I had some wonderful missionary compainions...and some real duds. I can honestly say that I loved all of my areas that I worked in. Each was unique and interesting. Eldrew is in for an adventure as he moves on to his next chapter on his mission.

Thanksgiving with “Familia Mendez.”

A really, really long letter this week...

Eldrew reported on his Thanksgiving Day, singing, upcoming events, some frustrations, and other items. About Thanksgiving he reports.

“Thanksgiving was kind of funny. We woke up and did our usual thing. Thursdays are our weekly planning day so we sit down and plan for 3 or so hours so we did that. Then we had dinner at Familia Mendez (a somewhat new family into our ward from the Spanish Ward). We had Turkey, Ham, Rice, and peppers. We scheduled appointments at member's homes earlier that week so we would be expected and we didn't stay more that 40 minutes at each home. Of course we did no tracting or OYMing (open your mouth)ing on a family day like Thanksgiving. Then we went home and slept. Ha!”

This week was sort of frustrating.
 I think that Eldrew is not having the most fun he’s had so far. This week seems to have had some down moments.

“This week was a bummer! Ha, Ha. That's very pessimistic, but we didn't really get out a lot to go spread the gospel. I like talking and working physically...planning is good but too much planning and meetings and interviews and etc, etc, etc...makes for a week that feels very claustrophobic, that is very low in results, and is very discouraging."

The work.
Eldrew reports that he will be participating in his first baptism. It is planned for this Saturday. It is a young man who is 19 and was introduced to the missionaries by a member of the Church. Elder Bellomy and Rios taught the young man and let the sister missionaries continue teaching him. Elder Bellomy and Rios are staying involved because of their relationship with him

Eldrew reports that they have other great people they are teaching, but that they often have trouble keeping the appointments. Eldrew sees the importance of this. He says:

“We have currently some very good [people] we are working with, though presently we are having a hard time getting them to keep appointments. Which is a big part in teaching...weird right? We are working hard still, more mentally than physically though 2 weeks ago my throat was hurting from talking so much. I was never expecting that."

He and Elder Rios get a vote of confidence.
“Another other cool things is the Bishop in our ward told Elder Rios and I that we are good missionaries and he has enjoyed watching us.”

Looking forward to the Christmas call.
Missionaries are allowed to call home to Mom twice a year – Christmas and Mother’s Day. Eldrew is getting ready for the call. He says:

“This Christmas, I don't know when I will call ya'll but hey...I will at some point. I'll let you know the ball park.”

Snow Day.
"Oh so I almost forgot...I'm staying warm and the snow was really weird because it didn't stop. It went all day. It just accumulated on cars but melted on everything else but people were making snowmen and work was cancelled and stuff...it was funny. I heard that people were afraid to drive in it???...it was just like rain. Ha, Ha."

Have guitar. Will sing the Gospel.
"I used it [guitar] for the first time in a lesson this week. Elder Rios and I say 'Israel Israel, God is Calling'. It brought the spirit and started us off for a great lesson."

Not on our Christmas wish list – Transfers.
Eldrew reports that transfer news will be coming on the 15th. That’s when he and Elder Rios will know if they will be together for another month. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he and Elder Rios will stay together. We think Elder Rios has been a great companion. We will be very sad when they are assigned new companions. But, transfers aren’t our call. Elder Bellomy and Rios have a wise and caring Mission President who will make the right, inspired decision.

Snow in Houston! Earliest ever.

News reports today are that Houston is receiving its earliest snow ever. The forcast is for as much as 2 inches in some places.

Photo courtesy of The Houston Chronicle. They have a story and photo gallery here: Houston braces for icy night after early snowfall

I hope the Elders drive carefully and stay warm.

Mission trivia from Elder Bellomy.

Here is a small item of trivia shared by Eldrew in his letter this week.

The President of the LDS Stake that Elder Bellomy is serving in is Gifford Nielsen. (A "Stake" is the LDS name for and administrative group of four to six LDS congregations. Is is sort of like a dioceses is the Catholic Church. A Stake president is equivilent to a Bishop in the Catholic Church.)

For anyone who is familiar with Brigham Young University football, Gifford Nielsen is one of the most famous quarterbacks to come out of the fabled BYU Quarterback Factory. He was an All-American and played in the NFL for the Houston Oilers. Until recently, Gifford Nielsen was the Sports Director at KHOU-TV in Houston.

Dear Park Meadows Ward. From Elder Bellomy.

Hello Park Meadows!

How are ya'll doing'? Well, I trust.

I want to start out by saying how thankful I am for you all. I wanted to express my gratitude for such an awesome ward. I also wanted to pass on a little message.

This holiday season is an excellent opportunity for us to ponder on blessings and to pray thankfully to the Lord for all we have been given. President Monson in conference just over a year ago pointed out that gratitude is necessary to find "joy in the journey". Essential to find happiness while we are striving for that complete joy we wish to experience in the eternities. He quoted a well known author who points out that in our lives there always exists abundance and lack of abundance and it is up to us as to where we put our focus.
Unfortunately, we, me included, don't take the time through out the year to focus on that abundance, to see our lives as half full and not half empty.

This is not all, however. Much like the change from the gratitude of Thanksgiving to the spirit of giving that comes from Christmas we must realize being thankful has 2 parts.
Professing what you have is only half of gratitude. Isn't the most bitter form of ingratitude keeping all those blessings to yourself? Isn't this completely contrary to everything Jesus Christ taught? Will you just acknowledge your blessings and just bury them?

Now, of course, there are some blessings we can't share, like having a good home ward while you're on your mission. And there are blessings we reap that are all commonly owned, like the color of autumn on the Wasatch mountain side. But, there are certainly blessings that are to be shared--I may interject the more portions.

I am reminded of the hymn, "because I have been given much I too must give."

The Lord's restored Gospel is not made to be buried treasure! Look for opportunities to serve, to teach, to build. If you make the Lord's mission your mission, you will do just that! I know blessings come from sharing the gospel, I can testify to you that it strengthens your testimony, it brings the spirit and it increases the faith the Lord has in you because you become a profitable servant and not a deer caught in the head lights with a book of Mormon that never left your bag.


I challenge you to share what you know and feel.
The Savior lives and His Atonement is real. I love this gospel because it is true and the promises are [stoppable.]

I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.