Vienna Waits for you 3-3-2025

Wow this week has been so crazy...I'll try to start with Monday haha. I was on edge about transfers but I knew that God has a plan for me. I continued to struggle with my companion but all is well I am happy. Tuesday was my last district council in the mount vernon zone....the only zone I have served in. I was so sad to leave and I have seen each companionship grow and turn to Christ. We had an amazing district council on diligence that was so spirit filled and I loved it. The Sisters in my district have changed my life. Sister Newbold got a call in the middle of a baptism from our misison president's wife calling her to be an stl in the most struggling zone in the mission and the growth I have seen from her and among so many other missionaries humbles me and changes me. I got a call to be a district leader again in the northwest zone serving in Vienna Virginia. I feel God wants me to have fun and he is allowing me to do that this upcoming transfer. Wednesday I said bye to Isha and she was so sad I was leaving it broke my heart. We had a whole lesson on Joy amidst sadness and it was powerful. My companion was really struggling bad with the fact I was leaving and we ended up having another two hour long companion study and I came to realize even more why God put me in his life. I won't say all these things about him but I will say these few eternal truths..... Fear is a liar, Pride is the thief of all Joy, God wants us to be happy, We are sons and daughter of God with divine potential, It's ok to Like yourself, Trust in God allows his grace, we need him every hour, the spirit is willing but the flesh is week. It is impossible to replicate conversations, and experiences I have had but I am a changed man. I have been able to use divine Gifts God has given me to lift others up and see them for who they are and how God sees them. I know how to connect with others and lift them where they stand and what greater gift is that than to help others? There is none other... That night I said goodbye to some family's one in particular the szamasfolvis and I will miss them. They are so amazing. Going to bed that night I felt that I did everything God needed me to do in that area and with training and district leading and what better feeling is there than that? I feel so blessed. Thursday was transfer day and for that morning of before transfers we went to early moring seminary with the youth and it was amazing I love them all and will miss Alexandria. As I drove to transfers met my new companion I quickly found my purpose. I am in the best ward in the entire mission I am not even joking I feel so blessed. I am district leading over the stlz, the zoneleaders, and another companionship of seasoned Elders...This zone has been struggling and I know how much we can baptize and the impact our district can have on the zone as we lead out. I am so pumped, It is a biking area and its spring time I'm excited!! When I got to the area I soon found out that the previous transfer they did 0 missionary work. One of the Elders slept in till like 1 and stayed in all day and nothing got done. Ward relations was slacking and there are 0 recent converts, no progressing friends or anything. I feel blessed to have this opportunity to be here and within 1 hour of being in the area we cold called a refferal and met with him 30 minutes later and put him on date to be baptized. I felt called to him he reminded me of my last comp and was living a life of fear but through Jesus Christ he will overcome it, We then made 4 friends, met some ward members by biking to their house on a beautiful spring day and I was so happy. This area feels like Bella Vista Arkansas and Show Low Arizona had a kid named Vienna I love it here so much. We also had an entire suprise lesson with a British family and that was wild! We biked over to the Elders quarorm president and their family happens to be from the white mountains and related to the hatch family I was blown away! They then took us out to dinner for some street tacos on a whim and it was the highlight of my life I felt like I was home and able to serve Jesus Christ in my capacity and work hard. There are 19 preists in this ward and over 30 active youth it is incredible!! My last companion has never been happier either he has been dying to work hard due to his previous companion and he has been treating me so well. Life couldn't get better. Friday was a privilege I reunited with my favorite missionary ever Elder Tuala and we went to Chik Fila for lunch and then went to a powerful leadership training meeting with all district leaders, stls, and zoneleaders and it was so amazing I have had so many questions that I have been studying that was just answered. I know God is preparing me for something in life and I was able to catch even more of a glimpse there. One of the sisters in my district the previous transfer just got called to whitewash and be an stl for the first time in a zone that is struggling and it's a lot. During that meeting she made me a note thanking me for being the best district leader and it meant so much to me I quite literally poured my heart out to everyone the past 3 months and seeing the fruits of it made my heart so full. One of the Elders who has been out for 18 months and has never been in any leadership was in my previous district and I witnessed him change and was part of that process and then he too was in that meeting and it warmed me to see him there and to be in the position he is now with the growth we have seen together. God is so good Part of leadership is being the salt of the earth and what does salt do? It brings out the flavor in the elements around them. In this case the people we are surrounded by everyday and serve with. Our job as disciples of Christ is to draw out the good in others and help them see who they are and who they can become through Christ. Later after the meeting we then stopped by bishop and got to know the ward more and I am hyped. Riding my bike to bishops house the stars were out it was 60 degrees I had a light sweater on and I just couldn't stop smiling I was so happy. Saturday was intense I loved it haha. In the morning we went riding to a park to do comp studies and contacts and the weather was beautiful I was on top of the world riding though forest trails to get there. Later on after lunch things turned, It became 30 degrees with high wind speeds and we just rode 30 minutes to a finding location and my legs got cooked from biking but yet I was still happy haha. We found a family from Nepal who wants to come to church and the husband is now praying about Baptism as we taught him about christ and what he can do for us. God is so good, This area was finding 0-1 friends a week the past six weeks and so far we are at 9, finding 4 a day and God is so good to us I love him. After we got cooked on the bikes riding uphills in crazy cold wind we went to wawas, got some shakes and it was amazing. God wants me to have fun this transfer!! Sunday was great! We got a family of 4 and a member refferal who is progressing and it was literally the most amount of people I have ever got to church. The family that came is the one from Nepal. It was hard because of the language barrier and they grew up Hindu so they had their phones on Google translate and listened in through that it was precious haha. This ward is so amazing I feel like I'm in Bella Vista Arkansas and show low it's the weirdest feeling ever. We had a member meal with an amazing family and one of their daughters is 18 and going to byu in the fall and they have like 10 other seniors in the ward and we talked about starting a Bible class with the seniors in the ward and have them invite their non member friends and get us missionaries involved and she was so hyped about that. I just had an impression to talk about that during dinner and I'm excited to get to know all of the youth and baptize. We have a goal of Baptizing twice this month while involving youth. It's already forming to fruition. This ward doesn't have any recent converts either but it gets so many member refferals it just needs more diligent missionaries haha. We held our first companionship council and my companion is super funny I love him and he's so easy to get along with. He has had a rough mission so far and I have been able to see a portion of God's plan for him and how I can lift him up to higher heights. This area hasn't found more than two friends in the past 6 weeks and just from Thursday-Saturday we found 9 friends. I have already has so many amazing experiences and am excited to see how I can lift others and baptize this transfer. I love each and everyone of you Shoutout to Xander for having his birthday on Sunday I love him Reach out to me and "Stay Sweet"-Elder Williams