Happy New Year!

Hey Mom!

I cannot believe it's the new year... It's just crazy. Last year I was just starting my mission and I felt like I had my whole mission in front of me. 2016 was the only full year I'm going to spend as a missionary! I don't like that at all. 2017 has come and I don't know if I'm ready for it. I still have plenty of time left on my mission though so I'm happy about that. I hope to continue to progress forward with my teaching skills and just to be a better missionary this upcoming year. With how fast I'm moving around I still could probably have another area, maybe 2 more haha! I think the thing that weirds me out the most is that Sammy graduates this year. Ah that's so weird! Time just continues to fly by that's for sure. 

Jonny with current and past companions

Jonny's district in Norfolk, VA

Jonny with his bishop and family

Christmas Eve! Everyone got hot chocolate but Jonny!
He got a Slurpee! That's my boy!

Jonny and Elder Hargraves

Christmas Morning!

For New Years eve we just stayed at our apartment and played some games with the other Elders in our ward. It was pretty fun! Went to bed at 10:30, woke up at 6:30, the usual. New Year's day was super cool cause I got to go to church in my new ward and I love it here! The whole ward is awesome. They LOVE the missionaries and love missionary work. This stake is doing really good work too, and as a Zone Leader I guess I'm going to work with Stake Leaders a lot more so that'll be exciting! 

So New Bern is super cool! Our apartment is really old and has probably had missionaries living there for at least 10 years, and everyone in our little complex knows us SUPER well. But it's a cool little apartment. New Bern is a funny little town. There's about 26,000 people that live in the town (or so I've heard) and it's one of the oldest in North Carolina! Pepsi was founded here too. North Carolina is just the best. The people here are super funny too. EVERYONE in North Carolina loves to talk. They will just fill silence with talking about random things! You have to learn to tactfully cut them off when you're trying to teach so that'll be a new struggle for me. 

My new companion is Elder Ward! He goes home after this transfer so he's been out a while. He's from Howell, Utah, it's a little town outside of Tremonton. He's super fun! 

Jonny and current companion, Elder Ward

We're teaching this guy named Calvin who is super cool! He had come to church before I got here, but hey had never taught him so he technically wasn't an investigator. But we taught him this last week and he came to church again. The lesson went okay.. .the member we had with us talked for a long time so we're going to have to probably teach the lesson we had planned to teach again, But we were able to find some stuff out about what he was looking for! He really enjoys coming to church and I think he's going to get baptized. Other than him there's not a lot going on, it's kinda slow like how my other areas have been when I've come in. So it's time to pick it back up! Getting the ward super involved is going to be key. It always is. 

There's not much else that is new... This week is going to be super fun though! I'm going up to Portsmouth for a Mission Leadership Council meeting, and then up to Virginia Beach because Elder Quentin L. Cook is coming and is going to speak with our whole mission! It's going to be a really good week. 

My ponderizing scripture for this week is in D&C 50:26 "He that is ordained of God and sent forth, the same is appointed to be the greatest, notwithstanding he is the least and the servant of all." This stood out to me because has a set apart missionary I am ordained of God and sent forth, and to be an example of Jesus Christ and be the least of all. And it's so cool to be on the serving end all the time. I just love it and there's nothing better. I know for sure that this is God's plan. 

I hope you have a great week Mom! I love ya so much and am so grateful for you. I hope you had a great New Years! Yes I was sick for a little bit, but I'm over it now! 

Love you so much Mom and I'll talk to you soon!

Elder Collier