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Sunday, December 27, 2015

Surprises!!! - Letter to Mom - 13 December, 2015

Mom,

How are you this week? I hope that things have been going well! I just received your message that your email will come in the morning. I look forward to reading it! :D I hope that you are still up, because there are some BIG surprises in this email!!! ;D

The first surprise is.....I have no idea when I can send your Christmas package!! haha I haven't found time to shop, and my life is just going to get busier. I am going to have to look for the time in the next couple of weeks to find things, package them, and ship them. Is that okay? I hope so! I love you so much and I look forward to sending things home for you!

Second surprise. I ran really far today. Like, really really far. Elder Cook and I woke up at 5:30 in the morning so that we could run further. It was great! I loved it! I definitely felt a part of the "runner's high" that everyone talks about. Plus we got to visit my favorite building in the world. ;) Landmark tower! It is just outside of our area, about 4.7 km away from our apartment, so we woke up an hour early to run there, take some pictures, and run back. :) I'll send the pictures later! It really was so much fun, though. Call me crazy. haha I did find out, though, that if I have some sort of goal in mind (running to Landmark Tower and back) it is a lot easier to run and not think about the running part of things. It really is just best to run with someone, so that I can talk with them. Good thing I have Jenna to run with when I go home!! ;) haha

Third and biggest surprise:

I received this message from the mission this past week concerning transfers:

December 12, 2015

Dear  Elder  Livingston,
Thank  you  for  the  service  you  have  provided  in  your  assigned area  this  transfer.  For  this  next transfer,  you  will  be assigned  to  _____________  in  the  _____________  Zone  as  a Surprise.  Your companion will be Elder _____________.

Keep reading to find out the blanks. ;D

I would love to tell you all of the blanks right away, but that would just be too easy. Yes, the fact that it was sent as a surprise was a part of the email. The people in the office are really funny, and know me well, and that I would be surprised, so they sent this. I am transferring, I will tell you that. It was such a short time here in Kanagawa. I loved it, and I love Yokohama. For sure my favorite city in Japan. But, I am headed out. I am so sad to see Elder Cook get a new companion (actually, Elder Nagano will be his companion! We already live together, so that was a surprise). I learned so so much from him. He is such an incredible missionary. I learned a lot about diligence, and the need to work hard and constantly strive for more obedience. It was great. So, are you ready? Are you ready?? I am transferring back to Kichijoji!! haha crazy, right? I came from there to here, and I am headed right back! I will be companions with Elder Richardson and I have been asked to be...an Assistant to President Wada.

So, there it is. The biggest shock ever. haha Elder Richardson was just called in to be an assistant about two or three weeks ago, and has been getting training from the other two assistants since then, so I thought there was absolutely NO way that I was going to be an assistant on my mission. I was "safe" haha. it was a really strange moment for me. I opened the call and just kind of looked at it. The feelings inside of me were all over the place. I was nervous, excited,
scared, curious at what happened, confident, insecure, etc. etc. haha I got a call from Elder Richardson not too long after that saying that the day before he had been surprised too when President pulled up the transfer board and his companion Elder Murakami was gone. haha (Elder Murakami will be a traveling assistant with another elder, Elder Vandyken. They will go around the mission and train a bunch of people, mainly district leaders, and things like that). We shared our mutual
excitement, and that was that.

I spent the rest of the day in shock. I have felt very inadequate this week. I do not feel prepared to be an Assistant. There are a lot of responsibilities and assignments that come along with this, and I have felt the weight of that for sure. But, Saturday night I just knelt down and prayed. I really just opened my heart to the Lord and told Him I didn't feel ready, I didn't know what I was supposed to do, etc. And he just sent such a peaceful feeling. He basically just told me to be patient, and to let Him direct everything. He directed me to just continue being obedient, and to do everything that I could to have and show Charity. If I did that, there would be no problem, because of just how pure and all encompassing the attribute of charity is. So, I am going to work on that. Please pray for me to have the strength and the help that I need to fulfill this new assignment to the best of my ability.

I love you, and I hope that you have a fantastic week, Mom!! I can't wait to hear from you. :) I am grateful for you and all that you do. Remember, sometimes the Lord just needs to humble us. So if that is happening to you (that is definitely what this has done for me! haha) let Him do it. It's much easier that way. ;D I love you so much!! :D <3

Also, as a side note, I may get another P-day this week. The office staff (including the Assistants) get theirs on Saturday, so I may also have another one on Saturday. I don't know. But, if I don't, I probably won't have one until NEXT Saturday, so there would be a gap. So, if I don't happen to email next Monday, that is what happened. I love you!!

Love,

Elder Livingston

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