Dear Family,
How are you? This week I am well; we're in the middle of transfers. We
had a terrific storm here in Córdoba that left most of the city (and
some of the province) without power, thus, I write a bit late.
My replacement was announced on Saturday—his name is Elder Rowse. He
arrived in the mission while I was secretary, so he's rather new. I
told President that I could train him in one week, then he suggested
three, and we agreed upon two. Thus, in two or three weeks I'm off to
Leones, a town about three or four hours away from Córdoba. Today,
Elder Rowse and I started the day doing reimbursements in the bus
terminal, at 6:30 AM onward, which is how I also started as secretary.
At the end of the training we'll have an exam with President to see if
he's ready.
I'm excited for a change; President commented to me that missionaries
go through three stages: first, the missionary is very self-centred,
focused on his personal progress, on the language, on his skills, etc,
then, he begins to focus on the investigators, but still teeters
somewhat between being focusing on himself and the investigators. He
gets upset when it rains, when it's too hot, when investigators don't
meet his expectations, etc, but, after enough time and diligence, he
reaches an epiphany point and essentially loses himself in the service
of others, or, loses his focus on himself. This is the goal because it
is, firstly, a stepping-stone in personal conversion, it is an active
acceptance of grace, and permits the Lord to work through the
missionary. It also expands his vision and his understanding of the
spiritual progress of other missionaries.
Anyhow, I'm in the process of handing over my keys, cell phone and
computer and moving my focus more to the work than work. I've also
been called to be a District Leader, so now I'm responsible have five
missionaries!
Love,
Elder Schlachter
