One Crazy Week!

Sorry to be sending this email so late, its been a pretty busy day. We get numbers from all the zone and district leaders Sunday night and we organize them Monday morning and then have a meeting with President. We are having some specialized trainings in Medford and ZLC this next week so we had a lot to prepare for so our meeting went from 9-1 and then we had to go to the office to finish a power point President wanted us to make. Then next thing you know President is here at the office and he wants to have a meeting with us and the office staff about what areas the mission is going to open up, and that led to all sorts of different things, and next thing you know it was time to get to our 7 pm dinner appointment. So it was not much a P-day but we got a lot of good stuff done today, I am very exited for the stuff we have been working on. 

This week has been really busy, and really good. Being a AP is not what i thought it would be like, its just go go go. Everyday President has something he wants us to work on, I knew i would be working with President Young a lot but i did not realize how much. I have been in Presidents office at the mission home at least once per day since i have been here. We also have a proselyting area, and they actually just switched the AP's ward, so we have been able to "white wash" which has been really good. We don't have much time to work in our area, mostly just nights and weekends but we try to make the most out of our time there. The ward we cover is the Santa Clara 6th ward, its about 15 minutes away from our apartment. Its funny cuz about 1 year ago i was serving in the Santa Clara 4th ward, so now i am back in the same stake. The ward has been very welcoming and we are really exited for the work ahead.

So i am going to do a day by day thing for last week.
Monday: I got to Eugene around noon and immediately started to work. Elder Hacket and i went to the office and started updating our programs on the transfers so President and the office can know where each missionary is, I really dont remember too much from that day it was so much business but we ended the night by going to the mission home and eating some of the left overs from the good bye dinner for those going home. We got back late and ended up getting to bed a little late

Tuesday:  We woke up early to take the missionary's who were going home to the airport at 6 30, and i got to drive the 12 passenger transfer van for the first time! After we got back we had a meeting with President about the calendar and scheduled some trainings and conferences. That night we taught at the "train the trainers" meeting. We did not have much time to prepare, and had a hour to teach, but it ended up going really well. One of the things we taught about how important it was for the trainers to be really positive around their new missionaries and how important it is to show them how exiting it is to be a missionary. The training went really well and then all the Elders that were training came and stayed at our place because there were too many sisters training (12) for Elders and Sisters to stay at the mission home. All the Elders went back to our apartment and it was a lot of fun. Elder Howard my former companion who i am replacing was training so he was there, us and few others got to sleep on the floor. Its was nice Elder Howard again, I think its safe to say that so far he was my favorite Comp.

Wednesday: We got to sleep in till 6 30! and then we took all the trainers to church for some exercise. Then we got the two transfer vans ready to go pick up our 19 new missionaries. Around 10 we got to go with President Young and pick up the new missionaries from the air port. It was a lot of fun. It really made me think back to my first day being in the exact same spot but as a new missionary. I remember so well going down the stairs and threw the gait and meeting President Young and the AP's (Elder Sorensen & Elder Knight) The new missionaries were so exited to be here. We took them all back to the mission home and had lunch. After lunch President started interviewing the new missionaries, and while he was interviewing one we were assigned to train the other new missionaries and the trainers. Again we were a under prepared, but we were definitely led by the spirit and it ended up running very smoothly. I made a special effort to start a strong relationship with all 7 of the new Elders, and they made it really easy for me cuz they are all such great guys! And the sisters were also very strong missionaries.

Thursday: Thursday was finally a little slower of pace. We went to the mission home in the morning and had a meeting with President with the stress of transfers over we were able to get a lot planned for. We also were able to spend a good amount of time in our area.
 Well i dont actually have time to keep going threw day by day and even on the days i was able to do i missed so much. But i will say it has been a really good week. It is incredible to see how much the Lord has strengthened me and helped me with everything going on. The very fact that i have been able to function with the little amount of sleep i have been getting, because of us needed to wake up early, has been a miracle in and of itself. I know with out a doubt that the Lord provides a way to do what ever he commands us. I have experienced it this week in a very real way. I love you all. Thanks for your prayers. 


Love
        Elder Covey

My coastal vacation is over, I'm headed to Eugene

I am sending this pretty early in the morning because I am getting transferred and there is a small chance i might not have time to email, in my new area. I dont have much time at all but i wanted to send something right now in case i dont get a chance later. So as for transfers, I really had the feeling that i would be staying in my area, but i was wrong. I am being transferred to Eugene, on a assignment to be a Assistant to the President. 

I got the call Friday morning. President Young called us and told me i was released as a zone leader, and i thought that maybe what would come next would be a call to be a trainer (cuz president only personally calls for assignments, the AP's will call and tell you are being released.) but it was then he asked me if i would be his assistant. Part of me is very scared, I look at past AP's and think that i could never be as good as them. I never asked for this assignment, and i honestly don't know if i am the best man for the job, but i do know that President Young is inspired and its where the Lord wants me, and I am going to do my very best. I am not sure how it is in other missions but in the OEM the AP's do cover a ward, although it seems like they dont get to spend a lot of time working in their own area. 

I am really not sure all that it will Intel or really what it will be like, but i have always loved change and this is a big one, so part of me is very exiting. My companion is going to be Elder Hacket, this is his last transfer before he goes home, so i will probably be there for either 2 or 3 transfers (3 or 4 1/2 months). I am not sure what this next week will be like, all i really know is i will be there for when the new missionaries come in (Wednesday), and that will be pretty cool cuz this is our first group of 18 year old Elders and 19 sisters. We are getting 12 sisters and i think 5 Elders. I love you all, please pray for me, and for this mission. love ya!

Elder Covey

-- 
Fearless via Faith

Good Week in North Bend

It has been another good week here in North Bend, and this week I am going to do a day by day thing.

Monday: A really good P day. Mostly because the Coos Bay missionaries went to the Macy's and found out they were having a insane tie sell and told us to come over. A plethora of Calvin Klien ties were %90 off, so they were only five bucks, which is pretty much a missionaries dream come true! So i got a few for myself and also a few as gifts for some missionaries and President Young. The proselyting time was also good, we were able to catch some people at home and set up appointments.

Tuesday: We had ZLC on Tuesday so we took our early morning drive down to Eugene, a drive i am getting pretty use to. Since there are a lot more people at ZLC we had to do it at a chapel instead of the mission home, which was kind of a let down, but it was still good. At ZLC we discussed a lot about all the new missionaries, and how its all going to happen. Its Exiting times!

Wednesdy: We had a awesome lesson with our investigator Troy and is girlfriend Mowana. Last time we taught him the restoration so this time we felt like it would be good to watch the Restoration DVD and really focus on the Book of Mormon. He had read from the BOM since last time and liked it. He has some obstacles (living with girl fiend, smokes) but he has a lot of potential. He is about 30. Really cool guy. Wednesday night we met with 4 Young Men in our ward to give a missionary fireside type thing, its something we had been preparing for a little while. We talked about how they can share the gospel by doing simple things. The first step usually is to get their friends to a activity something in the church. So we set up a blow dart Nerf war night, on Feb. 1st. After that the goal is to get them to ask bishop if they can speak in sacrament meeting and then invite those friends to that. We have great young men, they want to share the gospel. We have high hopes for them.

Thursday: We taught our Zone Training Meeting (3 Hrs of us teaching what we learned at ZLC) It went really well, we did not have much time to prepare for it because we had just gotten the material 2 days before and we had the young men presentation, but it went better than i thought it would. We are really focusing on getting the wards involved, and invested in missionary work.

Friday: We had a great lesson with our investigator Kathy. She is 60 year old ladie we found tracting on one of our first days here. We brought a older couple in the ward and had the lesson at the church. We watched the restoration DVD with her, and taught her about church. She committed to come the next Sunday. The Older couple we brought were both converts an they bore powerful testimony on how they came to know the truth and how much it helped them.

Saturday: I am running out of time but i do want to share one story from Saturday. Elder Berg and i have been trying to walk more so we can talk to more people on the streets and more people can see us. We were walking in the very small down town area to visit a less active, and this good old Oregonian crazy lady started talking to us. We were not sure if she was all there, but she was nice and wanted to talk, we were right outside this hotel that had been converted into low income housing, so she invited us into the lobby, there were a few people there some were pretty crazy but all really nice. And in the Lobby there was a ping pong table, so obviously when i walked in i wanted to play some ping pong. After being there about 10 minutes this older lady walked in probably in her late 60's or early 70's. When she came in the original crazy lady asked us if either of us wanted to get whooped in ping pong. I ended up playing the old ladie, and she was really good. She actually beat me 21-18, i was going easy on her ( I never have had the hart to beat a old ladie in her favorite game.) It was a fun experience

Sunday: Sunday was a good day. Kathy did come to church and stayed all three hours. She seemed to really enjoy it. We also had 2 Less actives we have been working with come.

Well I am more than out of time. But i would like to bear a quick testimony, I mentioned how i watched the restoration DVD (20 min. video about the Joseph Smith Story) with two of my investigators. Its funny cuz we watch that video a ton. I have seen it at least 30+ times by now, but every time I watch it, the story behind it still amazes me and rings true. I am so grateful for the restoration of the gospel. The restored gospel truly exits me. It is such a incredible thing, I cant imagine myself without it.

Love

Elder Covey  


Fearless via Faith

Christmas & New Years Pictures

New Years Day 2013

new whale shirt - "one of my best thrift store finds here on the coast"

Oregon Eugene Mission

Never too old to play leap frog on the beach