New area, New Companion.....

Hey family!!

  Thanks so much for writing me!  I love you all so much.  So I’m in a new area with a new companion... my comp is from Arizona and his name is Elder Garlock.  It’s been interesting; he's definitely one of a kind.  He's pretty much known as the most disobedient missionary in the mission and I was SUPER afraid to serve with him from the stories that I heard.  And yup, they were all right and it’s been really hard.  But I’ve learned a ton. I judged my comp so hard in the beginning and I feel super bad about it, but after having a few one on ones with God, my heart has been softened and I LOVE my comp. I’m not perfect and I’m still learning too, and I’m NOT God's gift to missionary work.  This new transfer has taught me to stop focusing on myself and care more for others.  I’m so grateful for this lesson b/c I realized how selfish I was being.  I’m reading a book by Neal A. Maxwell right now and in it, it talks about selfishness.  He stresses the point that selfishness is a form of self-worship and when we worship ourselves, we're not putting God first...therefore breaking one of the 10 commandments.  It’s a little harsh but I understand where he's coming from.  My life has been flipped 180 and it’s hard but when I put others first, it gets a ton easier.  God has helped me truly love my comp; I still try my best to be exactly obedient at all times given the circumstances.  My comp doesn’t really get up till 8 30/ 9 ish (among other things) and it’s really hard b/c I want the blessing of being an instrument in the Lord's hands but I can’t do it alone! We’re a team and that’s the way it’s meant to be, not only for missionary work but for the individuals going through the experience, learning and growing. It's been an interesting experience so far but I’m grateful I’m going through it, this experience helps show me my imperfections and how I can work on them.  So that’s a bit about my new comp, now...my area...is SO COOOOOOOOOL! At church yesterday there were about 95 people there!! It was crazy, the branch actually functions and it makes missionary work so much easier!  We held a youth night on Friday night and it was the 1st one...and we had 5 people show up and 2 brought friends and we had an absolute blast.  The youth in this branch are super strong and way cool, we probably have 5 or 6 return missionaries in this branch and it’s so cool to finally see things moving.  I’ve been noticing the effects/affects (I have no idea which word I should use anymore haha) of maintaining worthiness of the spirit with thoughts and actions...etc., we had a lesson but it was SO GOOD!  It was in part English which is always a blessing, we'll work with what we can get, and the spirit guided the whole thing.  On my mission I’ve learned to recognize the promptings of the spirit which I thought I could do at home...nope, not at all.  I see more and more why missions are important, it is so important b/c (for me) it takes practice to work with the spirit and to recognize how the spirit works with you, and I don’t know if I ever would have learned the importance of the spirit if I had not come here.  Anyways, I hope you all have a great week! I love you and think about you often!!

-Elder Rooney