Elder Chandler Obray: Wide Eyes and Butterflies

Hey Hey Hey to my favorite people on the planet. It was a super wild week here in Des Moines and I am super pumped to tell you all about it. Have I told you that I love missionary work before? We are seeing some sweet blessings here in the IDMM. Let’s jump right on into it.

First up. Elder Robley got released as a Zone Leader and was transferred to Iowa City. He and one of my favorite missionaries (Elder Van Haren) are training a new missionary together. It was sad to see him go, we had a lot of fun together. We laid a lot of the ground work for this area and we are finally going to start seeing the fruits of our labors.

My new companion is Elder Milligan from Eagle, Idaho. He is a stud missionary. He and Elder Robley came out together so I will most likely end up killing him (be his last companion before he goes home). I am super stoked for the next little while. We have a ton in common and we get along great. He even knows good music so it has been a treat to talk about the good ole days when I was normal. We have already seen some awesome miracles and I am super stoked for the next little while. I guess I really am a problem missionary, companions can't stand to be around me for longer than six weeks.

The first crazy thing that happened this week was because we drive the coolest van in the mid-west, we are given the responsibility to pick up all the new missionaries when they get to Iowa. On Wednesday, we spent most the day hanging out with the new missionaries. It is super crazy because just over a year ago I was getting picked up from the airport with wide eyes and butterflies. It is wild how fast time is flying these days.

Our zone had an awesome week this week. Our mission goal is to have 11 people progressing towards a baptismal date in each zone. As of yesterday, we have 20 people. It is so awesome to see the fruits of laboring hard in the Lord's vineyard. Plus, Des Moines is pretty much the greatest place to be a missionary. Elder Milligan and I were super blessed to have seven investigators at church yesterday. Four of which have baptismal dates here in the next few weeks. You don't receive a witness until after the trial of your faith, right?

We had a pretty sweet experience this week. It was getting towards the end of the night and one or our appointments fell through so we were thinking about what we should do instead when I had this impression that we needed to go visit one of our investigators that we haven't seen for a few weeks. We drove over to his apartment and found him home and he was by himself. Elder Matthews and I found him on exchanges a few weeks ago. We had an awesome lesson with him and he committed to come to church the next day. He showed up in a suit and had some great comments during Sunday school. He told me that he wants our church to be his "regular church." He is a stud. He has some concerns to work through, but he is on track to get baptized in October.

That is pretty much all I have to report on this week. Just know that I am happy as can be and I am content with life as a missionary. I love this work. As usual, tell Jen she looks slim for me and give my nephew a hug. Bob, I expect a back flip on the wake board by next week. I love you guys. Have a great week. CTR.

Still a problem missionary,

Elder Obray